"Me?" That question from anyone else would've made Maizie suspect they were trying to say something judgmental about her personality, but from Teagan it was kind of flattering. She put value on being a fighter. Maizie found herself wishing she could answer with an affirmative.
"Nah," she said, ducking her head. "I mean kid stuff, maybe, but not anything lately. I was always more of the type to use words as weapons. Not 'cause I was trying to be mean or anything, just typical shouty teenager stuff." Thank goodness she'd never said anything she'd truly regretted. Yeah, there were plenty of times she'd told Dad he was unfair or that his rules sucked, but even at her angriest she'd never been cruel.
"I kinda wish I knew more about fighting and survival and stuff." Maizie skated around the uncomfortable thoughts of Dad -- again, jeez -- and back into safer ground. "My friend at the shelter was telling me the other day about how we gotta learn the important skills, not just typical education stuff." Maizie met Teagan's eyes, trusting the older woman to tell her the truth. "Do you think that's true?"