Haunted Wood de dragul tău

Never had she heard Issorartuyok speak in this tone of voice. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, ears folding slightly. He insisted she was putting words in his mouth. Meerkat felt an unpleasant heat licking in her belly. She hadn't meant to do that. She barely had a chance to contemplate it before his next few words hit her like a punch.

She turned her head, gaze weighing on his contorted features. Her brow furrowed. Surely he didn't mean that he way Meerkat initially took it. Issorartuyok went on to say he only wanted to treat her with honor and respect. She was beginning to realize there was a massive communication breakdown at work here and that, very possibly, they were on completely different pages about how something like courtship worked.

"I don't want you to bed me," Meerkat refuted with a strained laugh. "I'm not looking for some grand romantic gesture or anything like that, either. I mean. I just... I like you, Issor." Never before had she called him that. She wondered if he minded. What did that matter, compared to what she was confessing? "I mean romantically. To use a childish word, I have a crush on you. And of course I was hoping you felt the same..."

But you don't, she thought. She wanted to say that. And that's okay. But Meerkat bit her tongue lest she put words in his mouth again. She didn't dare hope she had totally misread that part, though she bit her lip too, waiting to see if he might clarify, now that she had attempted.