If you're good we'll get a toy after

It wasn't until Ikigai mentioned a surprise that Mariah realigned her attention to her aunt once more. Her ears flicked to attention, as she couldn't help but express interest with the thought of something spectacular was coming their way. However, she maintained a tight grasp on her baseline suspicion, not allowing herself to be so easily won over.

After she was done with her initial interaction with Malico, she became aware that the healer’s attention shifted to herself. Aunt Ikigai broke the ice with a compliment, in which the girl offered a simple shrug and a monotoned acknowledgment. "Thanks." I guess. Not knowing really what else to say. The next question she was given was a little more relative. She felt the same as she did every day. "I feel normal." It was difficult for her to try and judge what that meant based solely on herself. She had a difficult time keeping up with her brother, but he was also a boy. So it didn't leave her with much of a solid answer. It seemed he could eat a lot more than her- her stomach was very finicky- and could play a lot longer. She just didn’t have the energy he did, from what she could tell. But maybe that was something that was wrong with Malico, not her.