I'm still breathing
04-21-2018, 09:37 PM
It felt like the air had gone still and they were standing in suspended animation while she waited for an answer and saw him struggle to find the words. For a moment she thought that this had been a mistake and she had moved too far too fast, but then she saw him shift and watched as he brought his face down closer to hers. The brush against her cheek was so gentle but that simple touch made everything feel like it was sent back into motion. The breath that she didn't realize she had been holding finally passed her lips in a silent sigh and the slight tension in her shoulders melted away. It wasn't even an anxiety or fear around him touching her. It was only a nervousness that how she thought she felt was all made up in her mind. She felt herself leaning into that touch like she had little control over her own actions. Her body moved for her as a warm wave of feeling and emotion washed over her. His teeth grazed her ear and her eyes closed for a moment while that warmth threatened to knock her paws out from under her. It suddenly occurred to her as she felt his neck curve around her own and felt his forelimb settle across her shoulders that she had never felt any kind of affection like this. Elias had been the only wolf she had been with and with how their first time together had gone... Perhaps that was why even the smallest brush of his muzzle affected her like this. Would she ever get used to it? Or would she always melt into him like ice in the summer sun? As he pulled her against his chest she easily gave into the motion. She pressed her face into the thicker fur around his neck and settled on her haunches so that she was sitting against his chest, wrapped up in his neck and foreleg like a blanket across her shoulders. She felt so small against him and she tucked into him so easily and so perfectly. She left her eyes closed and for a moment she just savored the sound of his heartbeat against her ears and the gentle weight of him around her. She began to wonder how she could feel so safe and secure against someone who thought of himself as so incredibly dangerous for her. His voice made her ear twitch as she instinctively turned it to listen to his whispered words. Her response came easy and without hesitation. "I promise," she replied, a small smile pulling at her lips as she nuzzled deeper into his fur. She didn't take those words lightly and she knew they carried a heavy weight. She didn't know what to expect out of the future, but she was willing to take the risk and work with the uncertainty in order to be with him. It did make her wonder how she could possibly agree to all of this so easily and so quickly given their history and everything that was at stake... but when she thought about the alternative her heart ached and every fiber of her body screamed for her to stay. Her mind liked to work in a logical, methodical way of cause and effect. A certain ailment could always be treated in one or two certain ways. Nothing about this was logical. She didn't quite know how to process it yet, but she was happy. Zuriel finally opened her eyes a touch and she wanted to lean back so she could see the expression on his face, but she also didn't want to leave this embrace he had her in. In the back of her mind she knew there were things she would have to do before she left Lirim, but it was so hard for her to break this little bubble they had created for themselves. "I'll have to talk to our children about all of this, won't I?" she said softly after a few moments. She had been thinking of them as her children for so long in an effort to keep herself from thinking about Elias too much, but now he would be in all of their lives... assuming they wanted to leave as well. They were adults now, she couldn't force them to follow her decisions. She hoped they would understand and agree... The thought of not being with them after not being with her sons for so long saddened her. "Oh and Frost too... since Faite isn't leading the pack any more." |