Don't blame you for that one there. Let it simmer a bit.

[ she watches that flinch - used to it maybe. she's seen jumpy boys, boy singular. from the front, he'd jump even at the sound of his own name or the slightest creak of a floorboard. she smiles a little bit. ]

And... yeah, we're planned sacrifices, sure, but we've got time. More than I was given last time if they are to be believed [ she's maybe a bit skeptical still, but there's no point in stepping on the gas now, so to speak. they don't have the resources for that ] I have hope for the... forty of us. Whew. What a number.

[ she picks her way over carefully to crouch, not seeming to mind her skirt spreading a little in the dirt. ]

Anything of use here so far?