"But I like ten mile hikes in the morning," Thomas said, only half joking. Maybe not ten miles but he'd taken some early morning hikes since arriving to Darrow. They got him outside, let him run and allowed him to explore.

"I like being with you too," he murmured after a quiet moment. "And I wasn't trying to sound otherwise. You're just surprisingly cuddly a day after you got the shuck beat out of you."