Fatima bit down on the inside of her cheek. She stood up straight again, nodding. "Try to stick to the greener shrubbery," she muttered. Given the fact that they were talking like D&D characters, she supposed that probably went without saying. But plants were an area of expertise near and dear to Fatima's heart. And she didn't exactly want to end up at the 'kiddie table' of this expedition.

And, in a larger sense, the kiddie table of the town.

Merali girls were royalty in their own way. She'd fought too long and hard to prove herself to start it all over again.

Mouth set in a firm line, she pulled the hunting knife out of her boot and started to move off the road.