[OMYGOD I LOVE HIM.]

The girl hadn't even tried to keep her creations alive for any extended length of time. She felt her body growing more and more tired the longer their permanence lasted, and she would often let them crumble rather than pushing herself to find out her limits. The thought hadn't ever actually occurred to her. She knew the duration of life was short, and so why shouldn't the duration of her ability to create be short as well? Turning her golden stare to the earthen beings, she shrugged. "They make my body tired the longer they last. " She replied, as if that was answer enough. They last as long as I can make them last.

His next question interested her much more. The girl had learned that there was much to learn in this world, and although she was slightly saddened to hear that this interesting creature had already been warped by the social constraints of a mother-son relationship, perhaps it had given him insight into things unknown. Did he really know more than she about spirits? Had his Ma given him some explanation about what the girl had taken to calling the solid-body problem? Her mind recalled the argument she had been flirting with, and her lips opened to allow her thoughts to tumble out. "I've seen dead bodies. Old ones who die, ones who are murdered. I've seen animals die in fires, and trees fall over. But what I don't see are spirits." She began, her voice finding a rhythm as she elaborated on her empiricist beliefs. "If you cut me, I'll bleed. So will you. You could open me up and find all the squishy things that make me work alongside my bones, but that is all you'll find. Everything can be explained by our physical nature - " As if to prove her point, she let her creations crumble to the ground, becoming mere clumps of dirt and moss. "See? Nothing." The girl's nostrils flared as she continued to think. Perhaps he would say that spirits were just invisible and that's why they couldn't be seen. But ... why? The question tugged at her mind. Why posit invisible entities to explain what mere physical description already could? Was it like having mothers and fathers? Were spirits just another thing that the rest of Helovia simply needed to believe in?

Her wide golden stare refocused upon the boy, hopeful and interested. Perhaps he would have the answers.

Finally, the girl shook her head. At first telling others that she didn't call Kahlua mother, but instead called her by her name seemed ... reasonable. Mother could apply to anyone. But Kahlua had been given a name that specifically meant her. Why would the girl call her anything else? But as more and more time passed, and the looks she received became more and more annoyed and intolerant, the girl had kept such thoughts to herself. As the boy mentioned that her Ma probably told her stories, and wondered about the nature of her non-name, the girl felt internal struggle. She wanted to tell him ... felt like he might understand, but was still partially gripped by the condescending and disapproving stares of so many who had come before him.

Taking a breath, the girl lowered her gaze, exhaling softly.

"No. My ... mother and I are not ... close?" Was that the right word? They weren't close ? "I'm not good with relationships." She confided softly, the truthfulness of her words making her face feel hot.

She had never told anyone that before.

"I asked her not to name me ... she wanted to though. Wanted my name to begin with a K to continue some ritual in her family but ... " Helplessly she shrugged her shoulders, her golden gaze rising and falling to see what he was making of her comments. "...I don't know. Names are important. A name is what they will call me for the rest of my life. One my cousin said that she just knew her name. I guess I'm just waiting until I find it."