His laughter does nothing but irritate her and it takes quite a bit of restraint to avoid asking him what was so funny. She certainly didn’t believe her lack of trust in others something that warranted laughter. Then again, she didn’t really care. He could laugh at her all he wanted. As long as she was left alone to her own thoughts, he could do as he pleased. For all that Sloane was, or wasn’t, she lived by a very strict set of rules that governed her actions. It was a short list, and she was one to bend the rules from time to time, but it usually worked well for her. One such rule was to not allow the thoughts or opinions of others sway her. She would not let this boy get under her skin nor would she show him just how much he annoyed her. To do so would only fluff his ego a little more. She certainly didn’t need this encounter to turn into some sort of power trip.
She wonders aloud why he is out in the forest, not that she really cares about the answer he gives. His thoughts, actions, and risks taken were his own to choose and the consequences that came with them were his to bear. The same could be said for herself. She knew the risks of being in the forest alone, a yet, she understands what could happen should the monster find her. She is at peace with her own choices, but is he?
She was trying to be friendly, as friendly as she might can be, to warn him that there were, in fact, dangers in this forest. And yet, he doesn’t seem to care that she warns him, instead he’s more interested in asking why she too is alone in the forest. She doesn’t have to answer him, to tell him why she’s alone. It is her business only. He doesn’t need to know that she relishes the darkness, that she loves the way her heart beats faster if she thinks the monster is following him. Those raw feelings are for her alone, not for him to be made aware of.
She is almost ready to take her leave, to allow him to figure out the consequences of her own actions. And yet, he speaks just as she was putting one foot in front of her. He says he knows the dangers, he should then understand the risks of being out here alone. Sure, their likelihood of surviving is far greater when they walk together. However, Sloane is much to proud to admit that. Perhaps she might for some people, but this fellow was not one of them. “Good for you.” She wasn’t about to tell him exactly what the forest held anyway.
She steps past him, close enough that he can feel the way the wind tunnels between them as she passes. She makes sure to flick her tail for good measure, the hair brushing against him. She means nothing by it nor does she expect any sort of reaction in return. She’ll leave him to him to welcome the consequences of his choices, just as she will welcome her own.
Into the shadows she goes, her body suddenly engulfed with darkness as the other side of the forest swallows her up. She continues her meander, her eyes sharp and ready for anything that might step from the darkness.
@Toulouse
