The girls face tightened, scrunching painfully No, she said immediately her ears flattening against her head as if he had accused her of something embarrassing or shameful. I don' care she insisted, but when asked what she planned to do she fell quiet. Her gaze drifted past him toward the trees, she could go somewhere. There were plenty of somewheres she just had to pick one

Well, I'm gonna...go   her mouth twisted, Go...somewhere but even she didn't seem satisfied with the answer. Hazel eyes dropped softening for a flickering moment before suspicion creeped across her face that he hadn't grabbed her, scolded her, or told her to go back. For another moment she stood there, caught between the awful embarrassment of admitting she had nowhere to go and the equally awful idea of actually walking away from the first one who had bothered to notice she existed.

....where're you going? the question carried her accusatory edge, but regardless of that Ranyin crept a half step closer this time and her ears slowly lifted.

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