rereading because it's good and I can't concentrate on new things.
Damaya has got to deal with this. Now.
She decides she needs an ally.
There's another girl among the loners that she's noticed. Everyone notices this girl. There's something wrong with her. Her orogeny is a precarious pent thing. A dagger constantly poised to plunge into the earth. And training has only made it worse, because now the knife is sharper. That's not supposed to happen. Selu is her name, and she hasn't yet earned or been given an orogeny name. But the other grits call her Crack to be funny, and that is the name that has stuck. She even answers to that name, since she can't seem to stop them from using it.
Everyone's already whispering that she won't make it, which means she's perfect.
Damaya makes her move on Crack at breakfast the next day. (She drinks only water now, which she has drawn from a nearby fountain. She has to eat the food that they serve her, but she inspects it carefully before putting anything in her mouth.) "Hi," she says, setting her tray down.
Crack eyes her. "Really? Things are bad enough that you need me?"
