“Are you planning to wait out there darkening my doorstep while I have tea and scones with your beautiful companion?” the woman asked.

“Oh, I like her,” Sinna said, who’d somehow already moved inside without Cainan seeming to notice.

Cainan crossed the threshold, still unable to find his words. Perhaps he feared his foot would end up in his mouth as Sinna had suggested it might.

“I’m Cora. Been living here, oh, three years, give or take? Was tired of people, to be honest, so I figured living by myself in the countryside was a better way to spend my days. Of course then the forest kept growing and soon I was in it. Luckily for me I discovered that I enjoy forest dwelling even more than country dwelling. And there are plenty of creatures who need my help.” She gestured across one of the walls, which was filled with makeshift cages and small beds inhabited by a variety of woodland animals, all of which seemed to have some injury or ailment. A sparrow with a damaged wing that was now stabilized with a makeshift splint. A mouse with a missing leg gnawed on a bit of carrot. The bandaged bunny she’d brought inside not so long ago. There was even a fawn lying on a bed of hay, the nature of its injury hidden from his prying eyes.

“That’s kind of you, but why not just let nature take its course?” Sinna asked, sliding onto the chair that Cora pushed out for her at a small, square table. A mountain of scones rested on a plate in the center, while a teapot stood on a pad so as to not damage the wood, its spout still billowing steam.

“What you call ‘nature’ is just a series of choices made by those who are strong enough to make them. To act or not to act. To intervene or to stand aside and watch as those too weak to care for themselves suffer needlessly.”

“That’s a rather cheerful way to view the world,” Sinna said.

“Cheerful doesn’t equal foolish, if that’s what you’re implying. And why shouldn’t I think that way? The sun is shining. The forest is teeming with life. There is fresh air in my lungs. I am alive.”

“A groundhog with its head planted in the dirt and its feet sticking straight up in the air might feel the same way until the wolf sinks its teeth into its arse.”

If Cora was offended by the comparison, she showed no signs, instead flashing another mesmerizing smile. “Oh, I like her, too,” she said, pulling out the second chair and gesturing for Cainan to sit. He paused, feeling rather uncomfortable sitting when she was forced to stand. “I’d prefer to stretch my legs,” she said, as though sensing his hesitation. So he sat, having still not spoken a single word.

“I’m Sinna,” Sinna said. “And my stoic, silent friend is Cainan.”