On pins and needles

Walk | Talk | Think

As sympathetic was she was toward Awaken and his current predicament, there was still a certain amount of humor to it. A porcupine? The luck! Though she knew such creatures were typically less common toward their previous home, how their unique scent might not be so obvious to others of their pack. Likely this would not be the last case of quills she would need to tend to. "Oh, Awaken," she repeated pitifully though with a touch of gentle laughter to her voice as he gave her the go ahead and rested himself upon his stomach. He did seem so sore about the whole thing, and she did her best not to crack too big of a smile as she stepped closer, still examining the quills where they rested. He tried vainly to dislodge them by merely running his paw over them, but she turned her ears back at the mere sight. Surely it was going to do no good.

He eventually gave up on that venture as useless, delving instead to what seemed like an inner struggle that Mercianne mistook as adjusting to the newly caused pain. Awaken was a strong creature, but if he had complained as he had about them than surely this was a special kind of pain entirely its own. "I'll be gentle, okay?" she warned with quiet reassurance, sparing his forehead a little touch of her nose as she lowered her muzzle to reach carefully for the first of the quills.

Her jaws were parted, ready to close and pull, when the darkly colored wolf spoke up. She paused, drawing her head back and closing her jaws quietly as she listened with a sudden look of concern, sensing an urgency about him that was unfamiliar and nerve wracking. He apologized for avoiding her - a fact Merci had thought to be true but had been avoiding thought of - and surprised her completely by his next admission. It came loudly, unexpectedly, and the timid little wolf flinched a little at the sound, the message taking a moment to follow.

And when it did, she felt her heart stop for a beat, and then pick up double time. He loved her? He wanted her to be his mate? She fidgeted, unable to hold still as she stared at him, meeting his poison apple stare with her dark brown eyes. She could tell he meant it, every word, and probably having to contain it for however long he had been plagued by it had been a torture. But she could not say she hadn't gone unscathed either. It had been odd, the sudden need to nuzzle him or brush against him any time she saw him, just a little nudge to satisfy that need.

Her tail wagged and sped up as her smile grew, her fidgeting becoming more pronounced. "Really?" she asked quietly at a near whisper, "Me?" Unable to deny herself, or him she supposed, any longer, she reached forward and carefully nuzzled the side of his neck opposite to his porcupine quills, burying her face in the thick fur there as she answered, "Of course. I...I love you too." She stayed there for a moment, relishing in the small bit of contact even though she wanted more, to press herself more closely to him and kiss his face if he would allow it. But she still had to tend to his reason for calling. With visible reluctance, she drew her head away, sharing a shy, happy smile with him as she moved her muzzle toward his other cheek. "I should...get these out," she stated softly, distractedly, as she reached for the first and gave it a good tug between her teeth, pulling it from his skin and then hurrying to finish the rest of them while Awaken was still hopefully stuck on her answer.