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It’s always been obvious that Alaunna is hiding something. Most people are. It’s not as though she’s hiding being a murderer. Xullara knew that bit from the start. She’s hiding something to do with her family, they’re pretty sure. That’s not so surprising, maybe, considering. People like them don’t get easy, comfortable, palatable paths.
Alaunna seems like somebody used to something else. There is no better way to put it. Sometimes, there’s a particular look on her face, a specific kind of discomfort, that makes Xullara wonder what she used to know.
She judges Xullara’s own childhood, that much is clear. She’s not cruel about it, but it is very apparent that she thinks their upbringing strange. Most people do. Alaunna, though, has none of the concerns about Xullara learning to hunt and kill as a mere youth that so many others do. Her concerns are about the forest, and loneliness, concerns she shares with many. Xullara doesn’t know how to explain it, how to put to words that they never minded being alone out there.
Alaunna, wry and laughing, tells them that they are too honest. They have never really needed to lie. Not like she has. Out in the forest, there was nobody to judge their intentions. It was sufficient to be quiet and still until the right moment to strike. In the city, that is a long way from being good enough, when people judge them almost on sight. Alaunna tries to hide what she is, smiling to conceal the ruthless current that Xullara knows so well. They cannot conceal their own nature. The best they can do is to say nothing, and let the conclusions fall where they will.