Re: Rooftop floor/R1: 3:00 a.m.
She wasn't sure if you could say he had an actual expression on his face, but his body language was telling enough without it. It savored of rejection, and she felt a strange pang, an ache at possibly having hurt him with her reaction.
The water forgotten, she left the kitchen and walked back to where he was. She slowed as she neared him, but she didn't stop at the safe distance of the couch this time.
Instead, she very carefully and very intentionally knelt in front of him, and she sat back against her heels, watching him carefully as she moved. He was so much larger than her, that she couldn't see past him without craning, but his eyes looked kind, and maybe even a little sad. Her gaze fell to the blood on his fur, sorry that she'd caused him to move with her fear.
"I was just surprised," she explained, soft and careful and caring. "And a little scared," she admitted openly, having none of Ella's emotional walls. "I don't understand anything," she said, reaching out a tentative hand as she spoke, but only halfway, in case the touch wasn't welcome.