when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer
Charlie’s smile flashes open at once, bright and sharp, all white teeth and fangs and utterly shameless delight as Knell lands on the answer with her whole body. "Exactly," she croons, giving Knell’s hand a squeeze that’s less congratulation than celebration, her tail curling in an approving little flourish behind her.
Her gaze follows Knell’s toward the crowded tangle of plants and trees, but Charlie doesn’t hurry to fill the silence, letting the uncertainty stretch just long enough for her daughter to feel the edges of it without being swallowed by it. There’s a difference, after all, between being lost and simply not having found the next clue yet, and if Charlie knows anything about worship, motherhood, or survival, it’s that most things worth learning arrive better when they’re discovered with one’s own teeth.
"Well," she says at last, lifting one shoulder in a little shrug as though the Outer Brambles have presented them with a menu and she is merely choosing between courses, "we’ve got a few options now, and since we aren’t starving, if we make the wrong choice it isn’t really a big deal." Her smile softens without losing any of its mischief, her thumb brushing once over Knell’s knuckles. "That’s important, by the way. Some choices are sharp and hungry, but this one’s more like trying on shoes; if it pinches, we take it off and try something else."
With her free hand, Charlie ticks the choices off on her fingers, each one given the proper little sparkle of a performance. "I could shift into something really big and try to flush the hares out from wherever they’re hiding and you could see which way they go and chase them down. Or we could keep walking along like this and see what else the brambles give us." Then her grin turns sly, her eyes glittering down at Knell. "Or we could both shift and use our noses."
Her gaze follows Knell’s toward the crowded tangle of plants and trees, but Charlie doesn’t hurry to fill the silence, letting the uncertainty stretch just long enough for her daughter to feel the edges of it without being swallowed by it. There’s a difference, after all, between being lost and simply not having found the next clue yet, and if Charlie knows anything about worship, motherhood, or survival, it’s that most things worth learning arrive better when they’re discovered with one’s own teeth.
"Well," she says at last, lifting one shoulder in a little shrug as though the Outer Brambles have presented them with a menu and she is merely choosing between courses, "we’ve got a few options now, and since we aren’t starving, if we make the wrong choice it isn’t really a big deal." Her smile softens without losing any of its mischief, her thumb brushing once over Knell’s knuckles. "That’s important, by the way. Some choices are sharp and hungry, but this one’s more like trying on shoes; if it pinches, we take it off and try something else."
With her free hand, Charlie ticks the choices off on her fingers, each one given the proper little sparkle of a performance. "I could shift into something really big and try to flush the hares out from wherever they’re hiding and you could see which way they go and chase them down. Or we could keep walking along like this and see what else the brambles give us." Then her grin turns sly, her eyes glittering down at Knell. "Or we could both shift and use our noses."
.
Hella golden retriever energy. Small unrefined horns made of ruby. Regular spade-shaped tail.
