363 → Sorry for the atrocious wait m'dear; I think I've written this four times now.
Listening in quiet comprehension as to go about helping with the weir's progress, she barely acknowledged hearing the woman from whom she seemed to have drawn none of her appearance. With some luck she might take after her older Sylvia and have curves, but even that was unlikely, and made the child bitter. She'd considered asking one of the slaves if she was a pretty child, but felt they would lie to her, and rightfully so. In her frustration it wouldn't be entirely unlikely for her to lash out at an underling, someone who wouldn't fight back or complain. The occasional swoosh of water was the only thing around to alert her as to where her mother was, but it was enough, and when it stopped Arte turned slowly to watch her bend to retrieve a stone from the bottom of the river.
Water was a foreign element to her, but she understood from Molca's preachings as a puppy that she wouldn't be able to breathe while submerged, and that the tides were—as Eris had been kind enough to remind her—dangerous. So she took to reaching below the surface for a rock as one from the chelonian family might; slowly but surely. Only when she couldn't reach any further without dipping underneath did fear momentarily paralyze her. Glancing about, as if to make sure no one would attack her while she was vulnerable under the water, she finally sank into its depths and dislodge a smallish rock by her foot. Gripping it with both hands, she felt a pang of pride. Placing it quickly next to the one Eris had just lined up next to the others, the child couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth move into a wary smile.
Only after repeating the process a few times and she'd begun to get her bearings in the river did she broach the subject of growing up, a process she could neither ignore or fully begin to understand the ramifications of. "If I desired a job that took me from away from Salsola, would it upset you?" Her wary smile had disintegrated to a thin line, obviously seeking approval.
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