Northstar Vale you've made a pig's ear

no other word for it than being starstruck. if this was what it felt to be liked, she'd bottle the feeling up in an iv bag and have it fed into her forever. never mind the health risks. suddenly the cat's got her tongue. 

astynome's cheeks turn bright glowing red looking at andraste. she turns away like someone getting caught looking at your shadow through the shower curtain, someone red-handed in your underwear drawer. the man offers her words— he's all senior businessman now. all tailored suit and all polished loafers.

a few moments pass before she processes his question. she forces herself to look at his steel toed feet. "i know healing. i know—" she catches herself. heartbeat noise fills up every crevice in her. like being dragged off your feet. "i know how to fix colds and scratches and to help with childbirth..." she's slipping back into the job interview.
there go your eyes, looking at the patterns in the drywall. and there goes your tongue.