"Hey..." This response is hissed, and there's a ticklish brush of her hair across his wrist as he invisibly covers her mouth with his palm. It's loose, not threatening, still the sort of thing a kid who doesn't have wartime experience would do. The solid warmth of his palm and the hot breath Collette will feel on her ear when he leans in and whispers to her are proof enough he's no ghost.

"Don't spread it around, okay? I'm not supposed to have this thing, you know?"