Evelise stood stiffly near the window, her arms folded and her ears twitching with irritation. The color had mostly returned to her face, but the embarrassment still lingered in every movement she made. She refused to look directly at Sid, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Listen."

She said finally, her tone firm though her voice still trembled a little.

"From now on, I want personal space. You understand?"

Sid blinked, still half groggy.

"Personal space? You mean, like— what, a privacy bubble?"

"I mean space , Human!"

She snapped, pointing toward the floor.

"You stay on your side, and I stay on mine. No more... laps, no more touching, no more anything."

Sid groaned, rubbing his temple.

"Are you serious right now? You’re acting like I planned that. You literally fell asleep there."

Evelise ignored him and began rummaging through the small drawers by the cabin wall. She found a chunk of charcoal, the kind used to mark wood, and held it up like a sacred tool.

"Perfect!"

"Wait, wait— don’t tell me you’re actually—"

Before he could finish, she crouched down and began to draw a dark line right across the creaky wooden floor. The sound of scraping filled the cabin as she dragged the charcoal with exaggerated precision. Sid watched, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"You’re seriously drawing a line. A literal line! In a zombie-infested world."

"Yes! Because someone here doesn’t understand boundaries."

Sid threw up his hands.

"You were the one sleeping on me!"

Her ears twitched sharply, and her face flushed green again.

"T-That was an accident! Don’t twist this around!"

She finished the line and stood up with a huff, hands on her hips. The black streak cut the small cabin in half, running from wall to wall. Then, without a word, she sniffed at the air, her nose twitching again. She moved toward the far end of the cabin, finding the small hidden room covered by vines. Peeling them aside, she looked in and nodded to herself.

"This is mine too."

She said, stepping inside. Sid frowned.

"Wait— hold on. That’s a whole room!"

"It’s part of my space."

She replied simply, her tone calm and matter of fact. With a few swift motions, she pulled away the vines covering the room and tossed them aside. Then stepped back over her charcoal line to inspect her work with satisfaction. Sid stared at her, speechless and talk slowy.

"So let me get this straight. Everything past this line, this entire cabin, including the only other room... is yours?"

Evelise nodded seriously.

"Yes. And you—"

She jabbed a finger toward him

"—stay there!"

Sid looked down. The space she had left for him was barely enough for a sleeping bag, if he even had one, and his backpack. He stared at it, then looked up again with an incredulous laugh.

"You’re kidding me. This little corner? You gave me, what, one square meter?"

"You don’t need more. You’re messy."

Sid stood, brushing off his knees.

"Messy? I’m the one who cleaned this place last night!"

"Then you’ll be comfortable keeping it clean."

He glared at her, and she glared right back. Neither of them moved until he smirked, stepping forward with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You know, that line looks awfully thin. I could just... accidentally cross it."

Evelise’s ears twitched sharply.

"Don’t you dare."

Sid leaned forward and let his boot hover just above the line.

"Oopsies..."

He said, grinning.

"Look at that. I think I’m slipping—"

The moment his foot touched the floor past the mark, Evelise hissed. It was sharp and sudden, showing her animal side, her lips parting to show faint fangs. Sid flinched back, startled, then barked out a laugh.

"Whoa! You actually hissed at me! What are you, a cat now?"

She didn’t answer. Her red eyes narrowed dangerously as she stepped forward. Before he could react, she leaned in fast and bit his arm— hard enough to make him yelp, but not enough to break skin.

"Ow! Hey! What the hell, Evelise?!"

Sid shouted, jerking his arm back. Evelise looked away, cheeks burning again and muttered.

"That’s what you get for crossing the line!"

Sid stared at her, rubbing his arm glaring at the faint mark on his skin.

"You bit me. You seriously bit me over a line? You’re such a child!"

She shot him a sideways glance, her expression halfway between angry and flustered.

"You didn’t respect my space. If you can’t understand words, maybe you’ll understand that."

Sid blinked, speechless for a moment, then sighed and dropped onto the floor, grumbling.

"Unbelievable. Out of all the people the system could’ve revived, I get the one who marks territory like a territorial bunny zombie."

Evelise sniffed and turned her back to him, folding her arms with a small huff.

"Good. Then stay in your corner and behave, human."

"Yeah, yeah... I’ll just sit here and enjoy my one square meter of freedom."

Sid leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, watching Evelise pace like a restless animal. Her ears flicked every few seconds, and her nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air, still acting territorial. He felt the corners of his mouth tighten. She had this childlike attitude, drawing lines on the floor and hissing at him, yet at least she was speaking now— arguing, even. Yesterday she would not even look at him, only obeying his orders like a machine.

He shifted his weight and spoke without looking at her.

"You know, for someone who keeps talking about personal space, you sure like making a lot of noise."

Evelise whipped her head around and glared at him.

"At least I’m talking. Yesterday you were barking commands at me like I’m some— some program!"

Sid raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply. She huffed and stalked toward the small room she had claimed as hers. Before she slammed the door closed, she threw her words at him like knives.

"And don’t you ever try to command me again! You hear me? You’re not my master. You’re some kind of warlock— some man witch twisting me like a puppet!"