JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper nodded. "If the portal is clear, trade can continue all through Deepfrost. And until it is, we can certainly plan to fill your stores before travel stops."but it's the easiest thing to do
Morgan's words were a clear dismissal, a dismissal that Juniper easily accepted. The conversation had gone as well as she could have hoped -- far better than she'd feared. She'd gotten what she needed and wanted from Morgan, and she'd also gotten a sense of the Warden: a practical woman with good sense. They would work together well in the future, Juniper thought.
"I'm probably older than you are," she said, without rancor, amusement in her voice. Her grasp of how outsiders aged was a bit loose, but 50 was old for them, wasn't it? And Morgan did not strike her as old. "But you're right: among my own people, I'm still considered quite young. So thank you -- and thank you for meeting me as well."
Even as she bade Morgan farewell, Juniper's thoughts were already turning to the future -- to Torchline, and then the Hollowed Grounds, and then ... ? She didn't know, but she fully intended to find out.
{FIN}
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
