"About a month," she said brightly, "but mostly I needed to learn how to control it before I did anything. That helped a lot."
He sighed a little, beginning to roll up the bed. "Years of practice, but it took you one month to figure it out."
She went to do the same with hers. "Like I said, it was probably luck. It's pretty early and yours is more physical, so being tired might have more of an effect."
She seemed a lot happier than before, content to simply talk to him in a neutral manner. "I mean it! Besides, I bet you're really good when we're up against true danger."
"Don't patronize me," he replied, playfulness still in his tone. Ben watched them talking, his head tilted thoughtfully.
She pursed her lips, a small smirk crossing her face. "If you didn't want to get patronized maybe you shouldn'ta' lost."
She looked over at Ben with a smile, coming over and taking his hand. "How much farther do you think?"
He looked over at her, squeezing it. "Quite a ways... we have to get through the pass, right Puck?" Puck nodded, slipping on his pack. "That's right."
She pulled on her bag as well, looking around. Her shoulders were relaxed and she actually looked happier. "Oh, well. It'll go by quick."
Ben was not laughing, clearly lost in thought. He gave her a quick smile as she looked up at him, though.
He didn’t respond, but it was difficult to tell if he genuinely couldn’t hear her, or if he was ignoring it.
