She stared at him with hard eyes of amber, like solidified tree sap and not without a tiny hint of suspicion. Gwendy couldn’t help it. She’d only ever been around mama and papa, so to be out in the open like this and left to her own devices… well he could try to stomp her right out of existence. But the mere thought of that made her flex her odd little claws in the earth, ripping the grass and making furrows in the dirt.
Gwendy knew that she’d scratch him up as good as she could if he tried anything funny. But he’s giving her a smile so that must mean not all his intentions are bad. Oh sure, he could still be up to no good but the little lion-girl will give him the benefit of the doubt! She’d just have to keep her eyes on him at all times…
“Me?” she says with a bit of a growly squeak as she looks up at him, almost sizing him up as if he were her next meal. Except she didn’t inherit papa’s teeth and she really should still be sucking her mama dry of milk but she’s had to grow up a little sooner than necessary. That makes her think about all the grass she’s lying in and how bland it tastes to her right now. Until she swipes a paw at some of it and assumes a more upright position, perched on her rump with her paws splayed before her and her lion’s tail still twitching.
Oh, he’s talking again. The unsettling realization of that sinks in and leaves Gwendy frowning as she finally shifts her eyes from him to the ground that she kneads with her paws. Mama taught her manners and as much as she wants to be brash and rebel, they rise to the forefront and she straightens up a little more to answer him. “I’m Gwendy and it’s nice to meet you, I think.” because she’s still a tad bit suspicious.
It doesn’t help that she can see him casting around for another adult, like the kind who’s supervision she ought to be under. Her face smooths out and her childish intonation goes flat as she stares him dead in the face, “No one is coming for me. They’re all dead.” She’d already cried so many tears before he came along that she’s not surprised to discover there are no more right now. Gwendy finally dried up that deep well of sorrow that she thought could never dry out.
She continues to stare but is not looking for or expecting a shred of sympathy. Pity would be worse, as well. But adults confuse her as her own parents had and she finally just looks away at no particular point in the meadow that is somewhere in the middle between earth and sky and could be a bit of both.
@[Pteron]