22.

"Madeleine," He softly called out in another attempt to draw her attention, worry creasing his otherwise stony features as he looked at the side of her face, watching how those tiny muscles tensed whilst moisture still gathered between her eyes and lower eyelids, her breathing a little ragged and uneven as her throat muscles remained tensed as well, indicating that she was still struggling to not shed some more tears.

"You still haven't eaten yet," He pointed out as soon as she threw him a fleeting glance, listening to her blow out a sigh before she eventually stopped that aimless trudging through the tall trees and turned to face him instead, giving him an expecting look from between those wet eyelashes.

"You should rest your legs while you eat, we still have a long journey ahead of us," He suggested whilst lowering his backpack over his arm to open it and retrieve two power bars from inside.

He then placed them both in her awaiting palm, looking into her eyes for a moment before she