Nothing Lasts Forever

To his offer, she said maybe. But hey, it wasn't a no, so Alarik just smiled and nodded before going to the bush to get more of those berries. She told him they were called strawberries, and that if you looked closely you could see that they were covered in seeds. Alarik leaned in and squinted a bit and sure enough, they were. "Cool," he said, smiling as he plucked a few more off the bush and set a couple of them down in front of Faine.

"Good, because I'm not picky," he said with a goofy grin, picking up another strawberry and wagging his tail like a pup while eating it. This woman was smart, thinking of berries as a substitute for meat during a famine of prey animals. He'd file that information away for later. "But what would you do if there was a drought causing the famine, and that drought also wiped out the berries?" he asked, mostly just to keep the conversation going. It was a thought provoking question. Maybe Faine, as smart as she was, had an answer.

Alarik smiled in a boyish, charming way and ate another strawberry as he awaited an answer.