The city was quiet, the kind of soft, calm night that wrapped around the streets like a velvet blanket. Maria and her father, walked along the river path, the lamplights reflecting faintly on the rippling water. The forested edges of the city gave the path an almost dreamlike quality, the leaves whispering softly in the wind.
“Your feet are dragging,” Thane said with a teasing tone, matching her pace as she tried to keep up
“I've been in the forest all day,” Maria muttered, the weight of the barred owl research still pressing her shoulders down. “I think my legs are plotting against me.”
He chuckled, the sound warm in the cool night air. “You'll survive. And besides, you're finally walking without clutching a notebook or checking a timeline for Collins.”
Maria scowled, though it soften
