Heron Lake Plateau To waste away the waking hours

They'll be lining up.

They? Who the hell was they? Niamh's smiling mouth closed, and she regarded him with concern, as all the suspended hopes she'd been entertaining slowly began to crumble and fall, like leaves that had turned red in the autumn. They weren't just talking vaguely anymore- now, all of a sudden, he was talking about them. And he explained that it was complicated...And what did that even mean? If he was interested, he was interested- why couldn't he just come out and say that he wasn't?

Niamh was hurt. She sat up, water dripping from the fur about her ruff, but she didn't bother to shake it off; the cool felt nice, even though she felt like something inside her had suddenly frozen. She gritted her teeth together, and told herself to be strong, but the hurt showed plainly on her stubborn features. "Nah, I get it." She said, turning her gaze away, and flattening her ears. "You don' need to explain." She said, and shrugged. "You're not actually interested. Whatever." She said. She wouldn't allow herself to break...She couldn't do it...But she was having an immensely difficult time keeping herself together.