The girl chewed her lip.  “It’s not that they’re won’t ever hurt you.  But the /why/ is different, so the way to handle it is different.  Like...like if someone is really, really cold, and they’re unconscious and almost dead, you need to warm them up, right?  But if someone is unconscious because it’s hot and they don’t have any water, warming them up will only make things worse.  It looks the same at first, but a different why means something good in one instance is bad in the other.”  Amuné paused, then continued in a softer voice.  “Mommy always told me that it’s important to know why people do things, so you can understand them better.”  Grey eyes searched his for an indication of understanding, though she would be hard pressed to catch it with his mask in the way.

When Cain shared his name, he was rewarded with a warm smile.  “It’s nice to meet you,” the child replied, pushing away from the wall she’d leaned against to curtsey politely.  And when he summoned the dark flower as he had the first time they’d met, her face lit up.  “Oh!  I remember that trick,” she exclaimed.  Amuné watched it twirl lazily for a bit before looking up at his mask again.  “I should be going,” she told him, sounding reluctant.  “I don’t want to.  Even if they haven’t noticed that I’m gone, Ms. Primm will be angry that I ruined my dress.”  The girl made a face.  “It seems like she’s always angry about /something/.  At least I had some time to myself, though.  And I ran into you!  ...I hope you turn up again sometime.”  She smiled shyly, and turned to walk away.  “Farewell, Cain.”