Haunted Wood there is a light

he tilted his head, catching her lingering gaze with a curious flicker of his own. the pride that swelled within him at her admiration for his home was honest, plain as day, but her words—soft and lilting—wrapped around meanings he didn’t entirely understand. lucky was having enough meat to fill the pack, not… whatever it was she saw in his life.

when she mentioned his appearance, he let out a small, puzzled huff, glancing down as if expecting to see something unusual about himself. handsome. a word he recognized, but not one often tossed around in his world, where worth was measured in strength, in scars, in survival, not in appearances. she was strange in a way he could not grasp. the way her eyes moved over him, the teasing tilt of her voice—it all felt out of place, more like a riddle than something real.

peach, he repeated, testing the word on his tongue like a strange taste, glancing at her face to make sure he had it right. it felt as unfamiliar to him as her manner, but he’d use it all the same. if this was what she wanted, then so be it.