#ofmaxine

elvie: how am I the the FIRSTBORN GRANDCHILD who's NAMED after him but STILL manage to be the least favorite grandkid?

     niko isn’t very tall and no one in their right mind would have called him strong, but he is nimble, and really, that’s the most important part when it comes to tree-climbing. he’s not unlike a monkey the way he maneuvers himself from one branch to another, rising high enough that the branches themselves lose some of their bulkiness and threaten to no longer hold his weight. he stops before that can happen, but he’s at least twenty feet off the ground and that dizzying height when he looks down makes him feel alive. “i might build a nest up here,” he calls down to max, plucking a plump blue mulberry from one of the branches and popping it in his mouth. the tangy sweetness makes his eyes water and suddenly he wants to know if his tongue has changed color. “here--” he shakes the branch so that a combination of leaves and berries fall down on her, grinning to himself as he does it. “we should make jam! mulberry jam is so fucking good, dude.”