If you had explained to Delya the concept of angels, she would have laughed. The girl didn’t understand what was going on in Diveen, most likely in the idea that she’d never been there. She’d seen a lot, and that wasn’t something she’d buy into. The Technicolor dreamer didn’t really believe in a hell of a lot. Brilliant, intelligent and completely competent. Completely cynical under the mask of optimism in the way that she carried herself with. That’s what she is—a brilliant conundrum. A brilliant conundrum that didn’t believe in angels, didn’t believe in demons, and had her own little piece cut out of the universe.

There’s a creature somewhere amongst the dappled shadows, and Delya laughs. She can hear his jaws snapping, and she catches him snapping after her quarry. The girl laughs, laughs openly, tail thrashing. She’s taller, lighter, faster, and more graceful than the creature that she looked at. She’s a little on the cocky side, but that’s the way she can be sometimes. Delya is allowed, at least she feels. Graceful strides bring her before the stranger, allowing the rodent to go free. She’d let him live for the day, the other man being far more interesting. Yes, there’s interest here in the young man.

“We can do more interesting things than ground rodents, you and me.” The words come from her lips with her little Russian accent, and the tall creature looks at the boy with her brightly flecked eyes. Tall and lithe and silky, still moving across the ground with her long strided step. It’s so easy to track the way she does, and there are birds on her brain. Pheasants, partridge, dove, anything they could dream of out here. It was a damn fine day for it, especially early like this, and Delya wouldn’t be wasting that.

“Birds?” Eyebrow raised at the man, tail wagging, maybe a bit of a playful blow to the strange man’s shoulder.