lights within

marcus

I want it all give me everything that you got

Had he been in any other company, he may have snorted when she immediately seized on the compliment. But he was unsurprised by how readily she accepted it. If anything, he suspected she would have been more suspicious if he hadn't agreed with her assessment of herself. When she reminded him that he had not let her get in the pools, he wanted to argue about how he was scared he would never see her again. Argue how her mother would skin him alive despite any love she had for his father. Instead, he tipped his head back to watch the impossible river looping overhead, listening to the steady rush of crimson water. When his gaze drifted back toward her, it was just in time to watch her dramatically flop into the grass beside him. TThen her stomach growled.

The moment she admitted she was hungry, Marcus was already pushing himself to his feet. He brushed bits of grass and dirt from his pants, eyes automatically tracking toward the surrounding treeline. Hunting was as natural to him as breathing. Problem identified, solution found. “If you're hungry, I'll find something.” His gaze swept the forest edge, listening for movement beyond the clearing. “Rabbit, maybe. Or whatever the Greatwood decides to give us.” A smile softened his features as he glanced back down at her, reassuring. With that, he turned toward the trees, still smiling to himself as he started searching for tracks.

The full transplant bleeding with a new heart