His response did little to comfort her. She had hoped it was not just her but the young man seemed content enough, which may well have been a result of the alcohol she could smell of his breath even from this distance. It was quite revolting and reminded her forcibly of the unfortunates she had attempted to help in her youth with charity and patience before their refusal to better themselves had almost made her doubt her own cause. Those had not been especially fine times in her life but she clung to them as reminders of the squalid underbelly that it seemed some were unable to avoid becoming a part of.

And yet, despite all of that, he was not as off-putting as her mind wanted him to be.

“The heat. Surely you can feel it too?”

---

Wonderful set by Lady <3