Noctisardor Bypass i will hold this house up with my own two hands

“oh,” said phaedra, who expected some sort of babble in response and was struck momentaraily laconic. “are… you and her playing hide and seek?”

intrigued and perturbed by turns, phaedra indulged the former first — mostly because addressing the latter head-on meant having to march a kid around knocking on doors and she really didn’t want to do that. 

the girl plucked up any feet skaigona investigated, whirling to keep track of the little puffball as she toddled up to the treewell. phaedra rounded on the tree, perching her elbows on its edge; prepared to scruff the whelp if she got too carried away with herself.

at length, skaigona did not seem one bit impressed. humor curved phaedra’s mouth, and when the reddled bairn whipped herself into a right tizzy, the girl didn’t react with much ado. 

“what did you see?” she whispered, swirling the water with her pawtip. 

in retrospect, this water was probably a vector for parasites — but it was sustained by a gentle trickle from a bolehole, and after all, she had supped from it herself. 

a conspiratorial shift of eyes, then: “can i tell you a secret about this well?”