Her mind started turning back—rewinding, picking through everything slowly.
She thought of the days they had spent near the salt waters. The wind. The dry air. The stinging feeling that had clung to her own skin. Even now, her eyes still ached, and her arms had turned slightly red from the exposure.
Her gaze lowered again to the sparrow's small form.
He was so tiny. His feathers looked dull, almost weighed down. And that look on his face—it wasn't just sulking, was it?
Maybe… just maybe… his body was irritated.
Not emotionally. Physically.
She blinked slowly, as a thought settled quietly in her head.
If her skin felt this way—then how bad must it be for a body that small?
Her fingers adjusted slightly, cupping him closer. More carefully now. More understanding in her touch than before.
That must be it, right?
Maybe that's why he looked like that.
And just like that, her frustration from earlier softened into something else entirely.
The sparrow was stunned.
