He seemed suddenly uncomfortable with her words, shaking his head with a frown. "It's nothing." He paused before noticing the fish gathering at the edge of the water, eyeing them anxiously. He cleared his throat. "Where did this happen?"
He sighed, but it seemed less annoyed and more concerned. He used the knife to cut through a few more ropes, biting his bottom lip. "Alright, Tezhki. We're going to need to pull this up over your head, okay? Otherwise, you'll get stuck again." His gaze flickered up to hers and he hesitated. "I think this is the most painless way to do it."
She she watched his hands warily, quickly wiping blood from her forehead. She finally nodded. Her eyes showed her fear, but it was quickly disappearing, as getting caught was the only thing that terrified her. "A-Alright. Will it hurt any?"
He hesitated, his lips pursing. After a moment of silence, he sighed and looked up at her, looking resigned. “It may a little,” he admitted. “But I think it’s the best possible option right now. Otherwise we’ll be doing this for hours.”
She frowned, her brows furrowing. Sighing, she eventually nodded. "Okay. Let's just get it over with, then."
He slowly began to tug at the hooks in her skin, pulling them out as gently as he could. The net slowly moved up her body, and he began to roll it up, releasing many of the hooks in the process. His brow was furrowed as he worked, but he seemed more concerned than frustrated. He managed to isolate it into a thick roll along her waist and he began to gingerly pull it off her. “Lift your hands in the air, please,” he murmured, his eyes flickering to meet hers.
He began to shimmy the ropes off her waist, his brows furrowed with concentration. He seemed to take it slowly in the area around her gills, seemingly aware of their location and vulnerability. His fingers accidentally brushed her cheek as he passed before he finally pulled it off, unhooking her hair from the barbs. “There,” he said, his eyes flickering upto meet hers. “It’s off.”
She looked up at him with wide, thankful eyes. Her hands were still shaky, and she took a deep breath. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you."
He pulled away instantly, standing up as he wiped his hands on his trousers. “It’s nothing,” he said sharply, stuffing the net into his bag, muttering a curse as he cut his finger on one of the barbs. “Be more careful next time, though. I won’t be around to help you.”
“Of course I am,” he said sharply, frowning at her, running a hand through his hair irritatedly. His expression was almost accusatory as he glared at her, folding the flap over the top of his bag. “I’m not the one who got caught.”
She hesitated, looking down with what seemed like embarrassment. "I know. I was just asking because your finger."
“My finger is fine,” he said bluntly, turning away from her as he headed back into the forest, his bag thudding against his hip. “Go clean yourself up. Get medical attention or something. The hooks are gone, but you’re still bleeding.”
With nothing more than a nod, he was gone, disappearing into the woods, the only sign of him being his bright hair, glinting as the sun filtered through the tree branches and rested lightly on his head.
