Mathias

"There's always someone else around." It wasn't like living a city, where the crowds kept moving, heedless. People here had nowhere else to be. They came in close, paid attention. Small town, small talk. "Especially when you live in the Compound." She'd learned to ignore it all as best she could, and moving out had improved things. She couldn't ignore his moving closer, though. Even so, she stood her ground - kept treading water in place, anyway - watching him. "It's why I left. Needed a little privacy."