[Neil]
On the beach, sitting on a towel near the water, watching Sam as she plays in the shallow water, Mathias wishes his cast was off already. He has only a few days left, hopefully, but he wants to be in that water with her now, he wants to be diving and swimming and surfing, but he still can't do any of those things. It isn't that he's in a bad mood, just that he's feeling restless and restricted. Though no one would know it to look at him, he's also faintly troubled about his actions lately.
It's something he'd done as a much younger man, after his heart had been broken, visiting pubs with Henrich, getting drunk and ending up in bed with a girl he hadn't known. He's always thought he's grown out of that, but apparently he hasn't. His heart is broken and so he's looked for something to drown that out, but the problem with doing that on the island is that no one is really a stranger.
Not that he had even tried to seek out someone he didn't know. Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn't notice the dogs sniffing around Sam at first.
"King, no!" he calls when the big dogs knocks her over and for a moment she just looks at Mathias, as if she's deciding whether or not she wants to cry, then begins to whimper. It's a bit of a display, but eventually Mathias manages to heave himself to his feet and hops across the sand to where Sam is sitting, trying to keep himself out of the water.
"Can you stand up and come with me, honey?" he asks, holding his hands out to her.
"Pick me up," Sam says and Mathias winces.
"A few more days yet," he tells her, still holding his hands out, standing on one foot in the shallow waters on the beach.
It's something he'd done as a much younger man, after his heart had been broken, visiting pubs with Henrich, getting drunk and ending up in bed with a girl he hadn't known. He's always thought he's grown out of that, but apparently he hasn't. His heart is broken and so he's looked for something to drown that out, but the problem with doing that on the island is that no one is really a stranger.
Not that he had even tried to seek out someone he didn't know. Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn't notice the dogs sniffing around Sam at first.
"King, no!" he calls when the big dogs knocks her over and for a moment she just looks at Mathias, as if she's deciding whether or not she wants to cry, then begins to whimper. It's a bit of a display, but eventually Mathias manages to heave himself to his feet and hops across the sand to where Sam is sitting, trying to keep himself out of the water.
"Can you stand up and come with me, honey?" he asks, holding his hands out to her.
"Pick me up," Sam says and Mathias winces.
"A few more days yet," he tells her, still holding his hands out, standing on one foot in the shallow waters on the beach.