A shiver ran down her neck as Mark was placed into her arms, afraid to even breathe in case it disturbed him. He wriggled slightly, and Allison bit down hard on her bottom lip, taking a few deep breaths to relax her muscles, because she knew keeping them tense in that position for a long time would just end up hurting. And she heard Derek's tone, and felt bad for that as well.
"I don't hate children. I've just never had anything to do with them." She sighed, not looking at him, but focusing on Mark, moving her thumb slightly to stroke at his arm, gently. "My mom and dad kept me kind of... isolated a lot of the time. Then I spent all my time perfecting my archery, and then when they told me everything that was happening in town... It just was more important for me to train than help out any other way. And I'm an only child, so..." She trailed off, finally looking up at him. She felt they still had crossed wires, and she paused, trying to find a way to explain her thought process.
"And one of the things I was taught in my training is to think three moves ahead. To anticipate what your opponent is going to do and counteract it as early as possible. Block them off. And it's a hard habit to shake. So when I came in and saw them, I just... assumed that's what you were doing. That it was a test. That making me do this was some kind of... proof that I could."