-Ezra:
I walked behind him.
The forest had gone quiet again, as if nothing had happened. No voices, no footsteps, no scent of danger lingering in the air. Just the faint rustle of leaves and the distant echo of water somewhere behind us. It was safe.
At least… it should have been.
But my eyes stayed on him.
On his small frame, moving ahead of me, his steps light, almost too light for someone who had just witnessed what he had. His body looked… fragile. Delicate in a way that didn't belong in a place like this. The fabric of his clothes clung slightly to him, still damp in places because of how close he was to the water earlier, outlining just how small he really was compared to me.
Something in my chest flared.
Sharp. Sudden.
Protect him.
The thought came without warning, without reason, settling deep in my bones as if it had always been there. Like it wasn't something I was choosing—but something I was meant to do.
