Dust in a hailstorm

Ray had known Mortar for a week already, and the fact that she had only gotten him into trouble once was a mystery to her. She supposed it helped that she had been kept busy by her father and Uncle, but still... Mortar needed to experience the world like she did, it was certainly a more fun way to live life! She could not believe he had been holed up in that den alone for so long. What kind of life was that? She would make it her life's mission to show him a world that would make him never want to go home again. He would want to explore and see and experience – just like she did! Of course, everything was twice as fun when she dragged him along too.

Today, she already knew exactly where she would be going, what trouble she would be dragging him into. She even had another story to tell him! She made her way to his den, thumping her feet loudly on the earth at the entrance was the only warning he would get before she poked her head in and strolled on inside, once again with the authority of one who owned the place.

“Mortar?” she said as she blinked her eyes to adjust them. She was only a few steps into his den and she was already stopping. “Where going on an adventure” she told him, and once again it was a statement, a fact of life. They would be adventuring together again today, fun, and trouble, the whole package deal. “I know exactly where we can go, and I have another story to tell you!” she promised him.

Speech