Theron felt her gaze before he saw it.
When he turned, she looked away almost instantly, as though being caught would reveal too much.
Something in his chest tightened, but he let it pass.
"Let's get you something to eat," he said gently, his hand coming to rest against her back in a quiet, reassuring gesture.
She didn't pull away. But she didn't lean into it either.
Theron smiled faintly to himself.
So… she had learned.
His little hare was no longer as trusting as she once was. There was caution in her now, a careful distance that hadn't existed before. And perhaps… that was for the best. The world she stood in now demanded it.
She needed to protect herself…Even from him.
He would allow that.
He would allow her wariness, her silence, even the way she seemed to shrink away from his presence.
She could do anything… except leave him.
Because that… was the one thing he would never survive.
*****
Theron bought Aveline everything she used to love.
