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Listening to the youngster talk, Alacrity was beginning to wonder if English had been the girl's native tongue. It might have been worth it to see if they had any other languages in common. Alacrity held off on trying the idea for a number of reasons. First, Alacrity only spoke a couple of other languages, and none of them very well. Secondly, trying to establish which language would be most convenient was likely to be more trouble than it was worth. And finally, they were in a place where English seemed to be the common tongue of choice, and if both of them were to live here for any length of time (which it looked like they might be), then it only made sense to become fluent, even if the process was less than enjoyable.
"Fathers can sometimes be unreliable things," she told the girl softly. Her own had been present, but emotionally detached from all of his children. Extremely protective of them, but his heart was miles away. Alacrity didn't know how this girl and her sister came to be fatherless in a pack, but if they were with others at least their basic needs were likely to be met. "If he's worth the title, he'll find you and your sister when he can." Alacrity hoped that the girl's father would find her, but in life there were no guarantees - and she was not about to offer empty consolations.
She didn't consider it healthy for a child be so defeated, and said so. "Cheer up," she smiled and nudged the girl to standing, defaulting to big sister mode. How many times had she had to rebuild her little sisters' self esteem, after her elder sisters had destroyed it? "Let's go hunting," she proposed, giving the girl some (but very little) margin to refuse. A diversion was what she needed, and youths could always use the practice anyway.
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