Noah took a little breath, smelling the crispness of the air directly by the river. She went to answer him. He nodded at her search for clarification, he meant like an object, it was how it sounded to him when she explained it the first time. As she answered him still, he brought a hand to his hair, tugging on one of the curls. His brow furrowed at the mention of him possibly not listening to Yahal’s supposed lessons in purity and faithfulness, words he was beginning to loathe. Loathe them as he may, he wasn’t upset, minorly confused though.

“Yes, that’s what I mean, our relationship and this trip,” he answered. “Is he just using all of this so you can know him better?”

Noah approached the solidity of the shore once more and bent down to take off his shoes, slipping them off before going back towards the sandy shore. With his bare feet in the cool sand, he attempted to sort through his own thoughts on the subject. He didn’t like being used by anyone or anything, it was an uneasing association in his mind.