[ Her smile (smirk) makes him uncomfortable, but there's no way of telling if it's the regular kind of uncomfortable or the kind he should be worried about. There's an odd sensation he gets looking at her, like a tongue probing against a tooth just barely loose in the socket, but if his eyes were the tongue and she was a tooth socketed into the world.
He shouldn't be looking at her anyway. He should be looking down at the trail, which he does as he nods, fixing his attention to the forest dirt. He pretends there's no smell but foreign leaves. His expression is neutrally blank, tinted with nervousness, but that's fine. That's normal. ]
Okay. Let's go.
[ Turning his back on her is hard in a way that embarrasses him. He walks ahead in the direction of the town, keeping his steps measured and even.
He gets ten steps before his head almost rises at the sound of a low gibbering off to the left - or is it the right? It's a sound he instantly knows wants him to look, but he won't. He won't. ]
Nice day for a walk.
[ He says, throat tight. He wants her to be able to hear it too, for her to go what are you talking about? what was that?, because then he's not alone with the sound. He wants her to not be able to hear it, because maybe that'll keep her safe. He wants to go home. He wants someone else to be here, and that's the worst want of all. ]
no subject
He shouldn't be looking at her anyway. He should be looking down at the trail, which he does as he nods, fixing his attention to the forest dirt. He pretends there's no smell but foreign leaves. His expression is neutrally blank, tinted with nervousness, but that's fine. That's normal. ]
Okay. Let's go.
[ Turning his back on her is hard in a way that embarrasses him. He walks ahead in the direction of the town, keeping his steps measured and even.
He gets ten steps before his head almost rises at the sound of a low gibbering off to the left - or is it the right? It's a sound he instantly knows wants him to look, but he won't. He won't. ]
Nice day for a walk.
[ He says, throat tight. He wants her to be able to hear it too, for her to go what are you talking about? what was that?, because then he's not alone with the sound. He wants her to not be able to hear it, because maybe that'll keep her safe. He wants to go home. He wants someone else to be here, and that's the worst want of all. ]