[Wendy wants a sip of tea because her throat feels so dry all of a sudden, but she doesn’t dare touch the thermos. Might accidentally brush against him, and he probably doesn’t want the contact right now. She feels a bit… weird staying so close to him. But the forest is dark and less-traveled and there’s no telling what could be lurking. She keeps her hands to herself, wraps her arms around her middle to occupy them.]

We couldn’t even if we wanted to. Wasn’t exactly a job you could walk away from. [A pause.] High turnover though. [Connect the dots…]

I don’t regret it - mostly. It was work that had to be done. Someone had to do it. And being responsible for the fate of humanity… It’s a lot. Important. [A person gets used to it after a while. But she doesn’t say that out loud.]