Dragoncrest Cliffs Anglerfish

While he didn't shift or move away, he looked smaller to her now. His confusion was genuine, though, which was discouraging. She expected more from him for no obvious reason, which was unfair- she was comparing his reaction to Quennell's, and she knew which already she favoured. Still, the red-tailed boy had come around to try and find out what it was that was wrong. Stubbornly, she wanted to deny him that, and make him figure it out for himself. She wanted him to be sorry simply because her feelings had been hurt, not just because she had a reason that he judged to be fit. 

She looked at the ground and frowned. Now, oddly enough, she felt smaller. What if she explained to him...And he thought she was foolish? She'd been trying to convince herself for the past few days that it hadn't been a good idea to try and befriend the gull in the first place. She'd tried telling herself that the sea had every right to give and take...And that the bargain she'd wanted- to have Requiem found safe- had been met, and a debt had been owed...But grief didn't listen to reason. It seeped through all the layers of logic she tried to use to stop the flow. 

She softened, and she unwittingly lowered her head slightly. Dejectedly, she fixed her gaze on a little shell in the sand, and wished she could just crawl inside it until he went away. She almost wanted to kick the shell away too, flick it into the waves so she wouldn't have to look at it. But that wasn't a way to fix a problem. 

"You will t'ink I am stupid." She murmured bitterly, refusing to raise her eyes to meet his.