"Ethan?"
"Yes?" Ethan flinched at the sound of Clara's voice and turned toward her, realizing a moment too late that she had been speaking to him for some time.
The concern etched across her face made it clear that his inattentiveness had not gone unnoticed.
"I'm sorry. My mind has been a little occupied lately." He offered an apologetic smile before leaning back in his seat, hoping to brush the matter aside.
They were sitting in a cafeteria outside the base, a place the two of them often visited after missions.
Clara leaned forward, her pink hair falling slightly over her shoulder as she studied him. "If something is weighing on your mind, and you don't mind sharing it, please let me know."
She had been growing increasingly concerned about him lately. His sudden change in personality had initially caught her off guard, but she had eventually put the cause of it to the loss of his mother.
