"Oh, no," Kiri laughed, stumbling a bit when he nudged her shoulder but recovering quickly enough to turn the stumble into a nudge back. "No no, I've indulged my pride quite enough for one day, I should think. No foot races for me."
She hefted her sack and added with a slight, crooked smile, "Not that I'm afraid of one, though. Maybe another day."
It was a rather long trek back to her mother's home, but strangely she didn't feel nearly as tired as she should by the time she could pick out the shape of it through a gap in the trees: situated comfortably just at the edge of the village she'd been born into, it was one of maybe three houses that nearly brushed up against the jungle itself.
There were three children playing outside the house, and as Makani and Kiri approached, the seemingly oldest raised their head and peered into the steadily darkening trees. When Kiri raised her hand, they called over their shoulder into the house, "Maaaaaamaaaaa! Kiri's back!"
Another of the children piped up with pure mischief in her eyes, "And she brought a stranger!"
"And a boar," Kiri protested with a laugh, dropping her sack so the youngest of the three could jump up into her arms once she was close enough that a running start was doable. Glancing sidelong at Makani, she quirked one eyebrow and muttered, "Sure you're ready for this?"