Hawke was startled at first, because despite her friendliness, and the chipper way she lived her life, she was still never quite sure enough of herself to understand affection could go both ways. She would've done and said the same for him, of course, obviously, and yet was surprised all the same by the gesture. This was the problem with having sincere friends. They really had a way of crushing the cynic out of her. She was lucky enough to have a lot of family, all by choice, and it made her heart hurt in a good way, to think she might have found some more.

"I promise, I won't leave the sun." I won't leave you either. She flickered a bright smile at him like none of it mattered, and winked. "Go, go, help Stark, I'll be fine." And so he didn't get distracted any more, Hawke turned back toward the village and started to walk. Sometimes just knowing someone else would notice if you were gone could make a bad situation better.