Shadewood two hearts, too hard

It was some mixture of relief and guilt that the boy felt when Boone agreed to hold his tongue. Part of him wished the cowboy would just leave him here - return to the Isle and fix it all...somehow. But Matteo was old enough to realise that some things couldn't be fixed with a simple press of a button, no matter how much he wanted them to.

The mention of the river makes his heart swell nervously as images of Iseul began to surface. "Let's be quick about it then," he manages to choke out eventually. It felt a little rude to say decline the offer once Boone's metaphorical olive branch had been accepted. Even as his stomach churned and his appetite shrank to the size of a mouse.

Stiffly, he follows the cowboy's lead, ears pricking at the mention of the coast. "Heard about this beach place before," he muses, "From Iseul. Said things about some Moon-something, can' r'member the name exactly." Moontide. He remembered it crystal clear. "Can't suck more than here."

Perhaps it was the naive hope that Iseul would be waiting for him on the beach that drove him to follow Boone as they walked, even as the thought of her brought the anger bubbling right back.