Kenta shrugged. "I was told to walk you home. If you were to take a detour..." He was being a smart ass, but his smile said he was clearly on board for this.
Shay gave him a leveled stare. He was being smart and not in an intelligent way, but she had to appreciate the confidence, even if Shay would have never admitted it.
With that said, the girl took a sharp turn to walk them along the long way home, through a forest trail. People walked it, of course, but you saw them so few and far between there was plenty of privacy to give.
"As long as you don't think I'm leading you into a trap." She could play too.
Kenta smirked, keeping pace with her. "If thats what I thought, I would probably still be here." He told her. He was joking, but not completely. Theres a good chance he'd have walked into her trap just to see what she came up with.
Shay wished she did now, but she couldn't think of any jump scare that would affect him. She watched him as they walked, feeling calmer and calmer as the seconds went by. Her earlier frustrations have been fully forgotten at this point.
"Nothing fazes you, does it?"
"Not much." He answered. So quickly she forgot how upset he was. It didin't last long, so maybe thats what she means? His eyes drifted around, looking at the area. "It... doesn't look so different from the normal forest. Is the difference deeper in?"
"This isn't the forbidden forest," Shay laughed. "That's way deeper in and I never go inside of it." Shay stopped at a tree, picking up a sharp stone and scratching a messy star into the bark.
"Huh?" He seemed kinda disappointed. He stopped and watched her carve her star. "Why not? It sounds like a great place to explore."
"I don't know. I just never wanted to deal with anything in there. I don't have any powers to protect myself and I'm small. Better to be safe than sorry." She turned partially and held the rock out to him.
"Hm..." He took the rock and tossed it in his hand for a bit, thinking of what he should carve. "You know..." He started saying as he began carving. "I could protect you. We should go explore it together!" He soon backed away. She had carved a star, so he had carved a crescent moon.
Shay felt her cheeks giving way to rouge. She turned her head from him, feigning interest in something within the trees. Protect her? It had been a long time since Shay accepted protection from anyone. She had learned to watch out for herself. That's what she had to do, because if not her, then who?
"I... Can protect myself," she said. She didn't want to tell him no, but all the same, she wouldn't be some tag along. She was strong. She didn't need other people. Needing people was dangerous. That's when they were torn away from you.