Pine seemed more or less content when she was given Cenmatl’s name, more so when he told her where she could find him in the future. “Grandson of Coszcotl, of Taviora.’ Her heart pounded. It seemed critical now that any wrong Taviora had thought against her were righted and ties between the two lands were easy. She held the desire to be around this curious male, though she could not pinpoint why. Either way, she wanted to be able to find him. Feigning innocence, she got to her feet again and circled him, her nose working furiously and her mind spinning to memorize his scent. Every breath she took seemed to be an ember that was breathing deep in her chest. The feeling confused but also thrilled her. It was something entirely new and different and she could not compare it to anything else she had felt in her existence. She must ask Big Wolf about it.

Her forest eyes shifted to his face, the light brown and green highlights flashing even in the dark of the night. Matini? Her questioning word blurted out before she could stop herself, not that she scared. With a flick of her ear she continued to answer his question. Her grin was impish and playful, the rueful nature that embodied her so fully seeped from her in waves. Her name was so many things. They call me Flea, Brat, Whelp, Burr, Pest…Only sometimes ‘Elite Guard’ Aster probably had a great number of names for her locked in her mind and she was pretty sure no one willingly called her by her ranking title. I think Big Wolf named me Pine, though. But more often he calls me ‘Little Flea’. The girl did not seem perturbed at all by this statement. In fact, she held her head high. Anything Maverick gave to her was a treasure in her heart, even if it was a pet name implying a parasitic pesky nature.

Attention shifting rather swiftly, and with more energy than one her age should responsibly possess, she walked around Cenna, sniffing at the ground around them, staring at him daringly. What about you, Cenmatl? Why are you hanging out on the border of Iromar?