Knocking on the door

It wasn’t the familiar form of her brother that stepped out across the rocky terrain. Instead of scowling at the boy and pretending to be mad at him, she had a different familiar face in front of her. “Manea!” she cried, grinning at the familiar form of her cousin. The stunning purple-marked woman seemed just as happy to see her.

Ara returned the gesture, bumping her own nose into the woman’s other cheek. “I have not!” she exclaimed in mock dismay. ‘The rat’s avoiding me.” She wiggled her tail, and knew even Manea wouldn’t think her anger at her brother was real. “It’s really good to see you, too.” she promised, stepping back and looking the woman up and down. “You look good, really good. Are you glowing?’ she accused. The woman hadn’t had a husband the last time she had seen her after all. But, as for the matter of her brother... “I don’t suppose you’ve seen the stinker, have you?”

"Speech"