Quinlan exhaled and lifted his gaze.
He took all his companions in.
Then he straightened.
"I am ready to depart. Let's go."
Rosie didn't need more prompting. The dryad girl, listening acutely until now, dropped down from her tree and landed squarely on Quinlan's shoulder.
Her weight was light, familiar. She hooked her legs around his collarbone and let them dangle, heels kicking rapidly in open excitement as she settled in. Leaves rustled above where she had jumped from.
"Are we finally leaving?!" she chirped, voice bright and carefully pitched. "Rosie can't wait! This will be the best day ever!"
She leaned forward, hands planted on his head for balance, smiling far too widely.
Quinlan tilted his head just enough to look up at her from the corner of his eye. He knew very well that his daughter was putting on an act of extreme cuteness. Rosie was a prim and proper young lady who could act much older than her age.
