One of the kids in the house mentioned that there were witches nearby. The thing is, he did it in this dumb spoooooky voice that left Jack pretty much convinced he was lying, and he's more or less forgotten the story. Even now with the sudden appearance of a girl, his mind doesn't go to witch house. It doesn't actually... go to anything at all, really. Completely blank, startled at being addressed out here in the middle of nowhere.
His eyes go wide, and he freezes with his hands clutching his book.
Jack got thrown out of the car because he couldn't stop hiccuping. Because noise set his father off. Because kids were meant to be neither seen nor heard, and saying the wrong thing could bring down a world of pain. He was safer not saying anything at all, particularly after being levelled with something confrontational.
That's the same strategy he employs here — no answer, total silence, just... staring at her.
He wants to say that he's pretty sure the tree doesn't belong to anybody, that she doesn't own the forest. Probably. He wants to apologize, maybe. Mostly, he just wants her to go away.
no subject
His eyes go wide, and he freezes with his hands clutching his book.
Jack got thrown out of the car because he couldn't stop hiccuping. Because noise set his father off. Because kids were meant to be neither seen nor heard, and saying the wrong thing could bring down a world of pain. He was safer not saying anything at all, particularly after being levelled with something confrontational.
That's the same strategy he employs here — no answer, total silence, just... staring at her.
He wants to say that he's pretty sure the tree doesn't belong to anybody, that she doesn't own the forest. Probably. He wants to apologize, maybe. Mostly, he just wants her to go away.