The child's thin lips were pursed in a small frown as she gazed upon the stranger, annoyance evident in her cold gaze. He asked if her mother was Song, and she slowly nodded her head. "Yes, she is," she told him matter-of-factly. Her green gaze was locked on him, enthralled suddenly by the fact that he shared the family markings, and yet he both looked and smelled unlike any of her other family.
He said he'd been given permission to stay here. But he seemed insistent that she leave him alone, which only fueled her own irritation and desire to stay with him for the time being. What did he need so badly? "Why?" she started, a childlike curiosity bubbling through, stubborn refusing to move despite his protests. Even still, he moved to walk, and she would pick herself up and trail alongside him. "Where are you going that's so important?"
