Feo embraced me and laughed. “Is that him?” she whispered, nodding toward Hernan. “He is pretty.”

I forestalled her before she could even joke about the next bit. No, he’s not her traveling-companion, but mine; if he wants to join the circle, if he wants the circle to join us, that’s his choice, not mine.

Feo’s not stupid, of course. “I see,” she said, “serious, yes?”

She didn’t add: he’s awfully young (because he’s not all that much younger than she is, and we already had that argument), nor how foreign (because we’re Outposts for a reason).

***

The narrator is Taryn the Outlander. From character interviews for the Ship’s Heart universe.

Weekend Writing Warriors offers a selection of eight-sentence excerpts from many different writers. For the full selection, see here.