I'm still breathing

Her failure to give him any sort of reaction to his invasion of her personal space was perhaps what drove him absolutely mad for her in this moment. He had expected her to stress, to realize the mistake she was making- but she stared at him with an unfaltering look on her face that told him nothing more than determination. Did.. she... trust him? As she was quiet, watching him... there was a fire growing within him and burning toward her through his infrared stare as he waited for her words with growing desperation every second he went without them.

When she looked away, he felt his heart sink within his chest and his muscles tensed as he anticipated her inevitable realization that this was impossible, that they had no other choice but to forfeit any attachments they had for one another. Did he misread her, did she not trust him? Did he have no effect on her? Is that why she didn't move, didn't fear him... why had she asked him not to leave if not for the same feeling that he was experiencing? That demon dwelling behind his eyes was beginning to gnaw on the edges of his psyche, growling in his mind as it seemed to finally share a hunger for the same thing as Elias' true heart. A hunger for her.

'I'll go with you,' and just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore the silence migrated from the air around him and instead infected the room behind his skull- her words immediately hushing the usually insatiable demon that dwelled there. His eyes widened slightly and stilled, locking on to her as if questioning whether or not he'd heard her correctly. She went on to explain her words, explain why she'd come to this decision and he swore he could feel his soul transcend and meld with her own.

'If they could just see what I see...' What did she see? He couldn't help but wonder, but he dared not question it. Whatever she saw in him, it kept her here.. looking at him and promising him her company. She actually wanted to come with him, after everything. She wanted to leave Lirim, he wasn't forcing her.. he wasn't controlling her. He even advised her to reconsider who he was, and yet.. this was her decision. Hers.

She dangled everything that he wanted right there in front of him, offering it to him and all guilt that he had gone through over the past two years wasn't enough for him to resist the desire that moved him to take it. He longed to close the space between them, and just as that craving began to become unbearable- she stepped closer to him and looked up to him. She was so close that her intoxicating fragrance, her beautiful and captivating image, and the feeling of her warm breath against his fur and flesh caused him to lose communication with the rest of reality and fall into an abyss where it was only them.

'Can I?' She questioned him and he sucked in a breath, her words hitting him in warm waves of emotion that knocked the wind out of his lungs. His lips parted as his jaw began to hang partially open, he wanted to speak but the feelings that were overwhelming him weren't ones he was able to adequately express with the use of words. So, he didn't.

He had been holding his head high, keeping himself just out of reach of her. He had been so scared to touch her and risk hurting her again in the past that it was instinctual for him to keep away from her, yet.. that fear was slowly fleeting. His eyes finally relaxed some as the tension in his muscles began to smooth out, his heart loudly beating within his chest that he could hear it in his own ears and feel the pressure in his veins from its insistence on not slowing down until he gave in to what it wanted. His forelimbs moved first, making more space between them as he stretched out the thick of his neck. His massive skull lowered to be level with her own, the right side of his snout brushing his own cheek against hers. The touch was light at first, delicate as he tested her resistance before he continued.

He stopped holding his breath, warm air brushing against her cheek to be followed by his own as he moved his face further down her skull, pressing more firmly against her. His nose saught out the base of her ear, his teeth grazing against it for just a moment before he finally stepped in close to her, bringing his chest up against her own and her neck. He moved slightly so that he could embrace her, so he could rest his heavy neck over her nape and come around to the back of her other ear and administer the same loving teething. His body curled toward her own, haunches lowering to ground himself against the terrain while he lifted his right forelimb, hooking it across her left shoulder and chest to keep her near. He just wanted to hold her, but his doubts still plagued him too much to allow him to completely enjoy this moment without them. "Yes, but you have to promise me that you will stay." Warm whispers were spoken against that ear, did she understand the sort of torment he would go through if she ripped this away from him after she gave him this promise? He didn't want to think about it, but he needed to know. Could he give himself to her and trust her not to run?