Stone Circle And I end the story that we didn’t even get to start

The shout that left her maw surprised him, yet that surprise soon wilted away when her response was clarified. He watched her, searching for anything that might suggest she did care—but Alexander had never been good at reading emotions, their complexity often leaving him uncertain; he didn’t feel as if he could trust his own judgement. But even still, his eyes did not leave her, not when she spoke nor even as he picked the rabbit back up again. And slowly, cautiously, he made to approach her, intending to get within a few feet before tossing the rabbit her way and promptly sinking to the ground thereafter. Uncomfortable, he looked away and shifted his weight around, searching for the words he wanted to say.

But all that he wanted to say, all that he needed to say, abandoned him. Left him voiceless, unable to explain all that he wished her to hear. So, for now, he asked, “Are you okay?” Are you okay? As the question left his mouth, those same words echoed through his head; it was a stupid question to ask, one he never liked to hear himself, but the only one that didn’t evade his tongue.