[He finishes out her thought, and just like that, it's even harder to keep it together. Even when she was blathering on like an idiot to herself, she never dared to say that thought aloud, and this was fucking why. Son of a bitch.

Then he speaks again, and she realizes that despite the fact that he'd saved her life from Cujo, it wasn't until this rescue that she's actually felt grateful for him. He's made her much too stunned to cry, now.]

Huh?

[Normally, this would be where it all clicked and she barreled on with the answer she'd been prompted for, but maybe she really misheard it this time, or didn't process it correctly in the end? No, it was much too quiet around them to have that sort of thing happen, even if his voice was a rasp out of a nightmare. Whether he repeats himself or not, she isn't sure, too absorbed in actually thinking about the question, now. Why the heck would he want that?

Ah, right, humans were social creatures. Even dead ones were normal enough to be like that, apparently. Fucked up.]

...Nnnot...good company. Um...

[The thought is terrifying. She knows it shouldn't be. She knows that the biggest reason she's terrified definitely shouldn't be the idea that now there's someone to prove that she's real.]

I... O-okay.

[It wasn't going to be permanent. She didn't have to exist forever -- but she could remember, maybe, what it was like. Maybe she'd need it. Maybe that wish, of her mom holding her tight, can be real, too.

Ryder curls her arms around herself and quickly looks away, stumbling a little as she tries to pick up the pace like it will propel her out of her awkwardness.]

I h-hhhave s-some -- stuff. Already. Food, some m-medicine... Dunno what y-you nnneed, though.