[ This he says quite matter-of-factly, even if he ducks his head again as he does. The truth is rarely, if ever, taken well by her kind, but there is little else for the matter. The truth is - his territory ends well before the eastern edge of the forest, and no manmade roads cut so close to the heart. He'd have better luck trying to lead her over the mountains, up past the treeline where they'd both be left in a weakened state, equally unfit to fend off whatever dwelt beyond the woods' reach.
Besides - he hasn't got any reason left to rationalize going and sticking his neck out for her. If nothing else, her words certainly cement that much in his mind, and when he stands up abruptly to abandon late afternoon lunch with an interloper, his demeanor is as cool as the clear spring water. ]
And I don't want anything from you, either. I already told you that.
[ If she took his irritation as at nothing more than the grating nature of needing to repeat himself so often, so much the better. The reality of it was more rooted in a feeling he wouldn't so much as acknowledge, himself, buried closer to his total confusion with her apparent desperation to be indebted to him. Ordinarily, it was favors, favors, favors, and he was lucky when the proper payment was left, in turn.
(And if not, that the recompense he took came willingly enough. Fouling livestock wasn't a favorite pastime of his, but more often than not it was entirely too troublesome to simply relocate the stubborn, domesticated beasts.)
Without looking back but for one arch sliver of a glance over his shoulder, he folds his arms over his chest and adds, ]
no subject
[ This he says quite matter-of-factly, even if he ducks his head again as he does. The truth is rarely, if ever, taken well by her kind, but there is little else for the matter. The truth is - his territory ends well before the eastern edge of the forest, and no manmade roads cut so close to the heart. He'd have better luck trying to lead her over the mountains, up past the treeline where they'd both be left in a weakened state, equally unfit to fend off whatever dwelt beyond the woods' reach.
Besides - he hasn't got any reason left to rationalize going and sticking his neck out for her. If nothing else, her words certainly cement that much in his mind, and when he stands up abruptly to abandon late afternoon lunch with an interloper, his demeanor is as cool as the clear spring water. ]
And I don't want anything from you, either. I already told you that.
[ If she took his irritation as at nothing more than the grating nature of needing to repeat himself so often, so much the better. The reality of it was more rooted in a feeling he wouldn't so much as acknowledge, himself, buried closer to his total confusion with her apparent desperation to be indebted to him. Ordinarily, it was favors, favors, favors, and he was lucky when the proper payment was left, in turn.
(And if not, that the recompense he took came willingly enough. Fouling livestock wasn't a favorite pastime of his, but more often than not it was entirely too troublesome to simply relocate the stubborn, domesticated beasts.)
Without looking back but for one arch sliver of a glance over his shoulder, he folds his arms over his chest and adds, ]
You couldn't afford it, anyway.