Listlessly staring up at the sky, ignoring everything but the stars above her, she jumped when she felt the touch on her boot. Body tensing, every muscle locking up she did her best to pretend the hand touching her was not there. Toes curling up in her boots she tilted her head down to catch his eyes. The firelight was glowing warmly behind him, illuminating his back and darkening his face so she could barely see his expression.
Canting her head to the side as he spoke she gently untangled her hand from her hair, smoothing out the knots as she went. Slowly drawing it down her face she cradled her chin in the palm of her hand. Breathing a small sigh of relief when he released her boot she tried to discretely pull her feet in closer to her body as he sat across from her. Wrapping her free arm around her legs she drew them back towards her body, resting her other arm on her knee she shook off his apologies. There was no reason for him to be sorry, she was being foolish. Gritting her teeth Seda cursed herself. She wasn’t some incapable little girl who cried at every misfortune, why in the world was she getting so torn up over a simple question? He didn’t know why she was here; it was a normal thing to ask. She should be touched by his concern or annoyed at it (she could take care of herself) but not… not teary.
Chewing at her lip she continued to stare at him, trying to come up with something to say. An apology of her own, she was acting terrible. Taking a deep breath Seda prepared to speak when Pavak started to talk. Biting down on her tongue she leaned in closer to her his story, eyes glittering in interest. Fighting down the urge to run off a thousand questions she sat silently, listening attentively. Seda had always loved stories and Pavak was telling one of her favorite kinds. Closing her eyes she tried to imagine the life he led, the places he had seen, the people he had met. It sounded so fantastical, it was strange to picture.
Slowly blinking her eyes open she watched him carefully, wincing when he winked at her. Huffing she turned away, watching him warily from the corner of her eye. Whipping her head around to face him when his voice broke she grimaced, one hand outstretched. Clenching her fist Seda drew the hand back to her chest and looked away from him. She wasn’t exactly in the position to be comforting anyone; she had no idea what to say to him, no clue what he had really been through before he came here. Anything she said wouldn’t mean anything and apologizing to him seemed so hollow. She didn’t understand what he had been through; her saying sorry wouldn’t mean anything.
Lost in thought she flinched when Pavak suddenly got to his feet and stared in confusion. What was he doing, where was he going? Eyes wide she practically sputtered in shock when he bowed before her. He was going to leave. Hands shaking she stared at him, upset at the thought of him going anywhere. Swallowing she tried to come up with something, anything to say. She barely knew him, had stabbed him, but the thought of being alone again was terrifying. It had been so long since she had seen someone else, talked to them and just basked in their company. Thinking of being on her own physically hurt, her whole chest ached. She wasn’t ready, not yet. She knew she was being ridiculous but she had missed having people around, there was no denying that now, and she wasn’t going to have Pavak driven away because she was acting horrible and rude.