Origins: Snapshots In time 179

"I hope she's just playing..." Matthew muttered halfway under his breath as he reached for his coffee cup again.

"Mm. If she wasn't, we'd know. The nose knows, remember?" Shun let out a quick chuckle and tapped his nose, then looked back over at Matthew. "Did she sleep in the bed yet?"

"No." Matthew shook his head. "She hasn't used her bed once yet... she just keeps pulling the blankets and covers down and making a nest on the floor..."

"She'll get there, Matthew." Chang called over her shoulder before grinning as she watched the girl with one of the wolven pups. "In her own time."

"I know, I know...but--"

"Of course it's going to bother you. But if she's sleeping, that's a step in the right direction already." Shun commented, shrugging. "Up until last week, she wasn't even sleeping really..."

"Oh, she slept." Matthew said simply. "She just didn't do it in her room. She was going into the south end corridor and curling up in one of the crooks of rock..."

"Right. Where she thought nobody would happen by her. Matthew, she's looking for security." Shun shrugged, and reached for his plate.

"I know that. That's not the point." He took another swig of coffee and then glanced over at where Lei was on the floor with the wolven pup 'playing'. "She hasn't spoken yet, either. Huang's determined she's capable of it, so we just don't know yet if it's a conscious refusal, or if she just hasn't learned yet."

"Well if it's a simple lack of learning, she ought to start doing it soon. And what.. is she.. doing..." The pack Alpha broke off of one subject and blinked over at the two kids.

"...that's what I'm trying to figure out." Matthew murmured, and set his coffee cup back down on the table, putting a hand through his own morning-dishevelled hair.

"Drawing." Chang answered the guys in an almost sing-song voice. "I showed her a picture of a dragon recently. She was quite taken with it. She's drawing. She doesn't need crayons and paper, boy..."

"I know. Illusionist and all that..." Matthew groaned. "Let's just hope she doesn't decide to make it--" He got cut off as Chang tucked her hand into her sleeve and put the sleeve-covered hand over his mouth abruptly.

"Shhh. Matthew, you know better. You've raised children. Don't give them ideas." At the Scorpion's exasperated look, the old woman let out an amused laugh and turned back to the counter.

"...do you know how many YEARS it's been since someone's done that to me?" Matthew blurted, and just stared at her.

Chang snickered, pouring another cup of coffee and trading it for the empty cup on the table in front of Matthew. "Well, boy... it quieted you, didn't it?"

And Matthew just groaned. Smart-aleck old lady...