"Exactly," he said, still not looking at me. "I should be doing this on my own. Not forcing you to help with my personal problems."
Suddenly his moodiness earlier made sense. He wasn't being cold to me—he was upset with himself.
I stood up and approached Meeko from behind, pausing a few steps away. I didn't want to scare him. What was the best way to comfort him? Probably not putting my talon-covered hand on his shoulder...
Awkwardly keeping my arms down, I said, "First of all, you're notforcingme to do anything. I offered my help, remember? I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to help."
Meeko turned his face only enough for me to see one side, but his inward grimace was clear. I hoped my words were getting through to him.
"I just don't understand why you bothered," Meeko mumbled.
"Let me ask you something. If you stumbled into someone who needed help, would you have ignored them?"
Meeko turned to me with a wry smile. "It depends."
"Let's say you came upon me. A harpy."
Meeko's smile faded, replaced with a flicker of guilt. "Honestly? I would have ignored you."
Knowing how Meeko thought about the world, and how he'd never heard the shifter taboo before, that didn't surprise me. Why go out of your way to help someone who could kill you? I didn't think that was an easy way to live, but I hadn't been through the same experiences as Meeko. I'd never been a small, vulnerable mouse omega.
Trying to lighten the mood, I tilted my head and asked, "What about now? Would you still ignore me?"
Meeko didn't respond right away. He raked his gaze over me, wearing an expression I couldn't read.
"No."
My feathers ruffled with hope. A grin threatened to break across my lips. 'No' was a very different answer than 'it depends'. Was Meeko finally seeing me as something other than an enemy?
Meeko opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his growling stomach. His mouth turned into a grumpy line. I laughed at how cute he looked.
"Oops," I said. "Tomorrow we'll sneak in a snack break during the flight."
He crossed his arms, his cheeks flushing. "I don't need a snack break."
I stifled a snort. Even he couldn't subsist on crankiness alone. "Sure. Come on, let's scrounge for dinner."
He huffed. "And I don't need toscroungeeither. I know exactly where to find food."
"You do?"
Meeko nodded up at the sparse trees surrounding us. "These are crabapples and the fruits are in season."
"I didn't know that," I said, gazing up at the leaves. Even though my eyesight was sharp, it was harder to see in the twilight. I could barely make out the round shapes hanging off the branches.
"Stay here," Meeko said.
Before I could argue, he shifted into mouse form to scurry up the side of the tree. I'd never thought much of mice before, but it was fascinating to see a creature so small defy gravity like that. When he reached the branches, he disappeared behind the leaves. A second later, they rustled with motion.
A crabapple dropped from the sky. I scrambled to catch it without stabbing it with my talons. Then another, and another. Soon my arms were full of little apples.
"Whoa, slow down!" I called, laughing.
Meeko popped back into human form, making the branch groan beneath his weight. He grinned down at me.
"Here. Catch," he said, tossing another crabapple.
Without any space left in my arms, I opened my mouth and bit down on it. To my surprise, Meeko let out a soft chuckle.
