Blackfoot Forest [m] I think that she knows, can't keep sealed tight

Cole caught her scent first, faint on the breeze, but enough to lead him through the trees with that easy, unhurried gait of his. He found her there, golden eyes flickering over some path only she saw, a trace of tension in her posture that he hadn’t expected to see. Alone, too.

Thought a girl like you’d have an entourage, he drawled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. The remark held that faint note of teasing as his gaze swept the woods, almost as if expecting her guardians to appear. But they didn’t.

Cole let the silence stretch, studying her in the quiet that followed. You doin' alright, miss? The words came softer, the concern barely there but unmistakable, as he leaned against a nearby tree, a dark figure blending almost seamlessly with the shadows. There was a dangerous quality about him, true—a sharpness that hadn’t dulled, even in his casual stance. And yet, as he waited, he seemed content to simply linger, offering her that strange, quiet sense of companionship she hadn’t quite expected.