More than anything

Greta notes that questioning look, and lifts a hand in appeasement. It seems most sensible to just tell Sam, first. Whether he wants Jordan to know about fairy lights and selkies is up to him; for all she knows, he's trying to shield her from as many of Darrow's oddities as he can. Saoirse's magic might be harmless, but the Village was never short on parents who didn't want their children mixed up with anything magic-related. All things considered, she couldn't really blame them.

Once Saoirse seems to have herself situated, Greta straightens. "Right, off with you," she says, watching with a fond smile as the two get back to kicking the ball around (this time moving away from the waterline).

She waits until they're out of earshot, then falls in next to Sam. "Saoirse is..." she almost says 'not quite human,' but that, she thinks, would be doing the girl a disservice. 'Not quite' is too close to 'less than,' and she's a child. Besides, if Sam's to find out anyway, she's not sure there's any point in trying to approach the subject delicately. He's not from the Village.

"Well," she says, glancing up at him, "have you ever heard of selkies? Do they have stories about them, where you're from?"