​Admittedly, he had a slower recovery than he normally would. Fragments of rotted wood dug into his ribs and he struggled to suck in a breath. Nothing was broken from what he could tell, but the fall had been farther than it had appeared and something he was thoroughly unprepared for.

He was only just pulling himself shakily to his feet as she approached and he pulled his hood down over his hair and ears out of reflex. He didn't know how this was going to go, but his air of surprise was past.