"It's not so bad in hindsight," she amends, quick to react to his second-hand embarrassment. "He's a good guy, not the kind of person who'd hold a grudge for a rookie mistake, but I... always wanted to be the best, I guess."

She shrugs, glancing down to nudge at the armadillo with one boot. "Point is, you'll get the hang of it. And if you wanna try something else, there's other gear I could get from home that could help you."