You're being rescued, please to not resist

The concern that creased his brow deepened as he watched this woman contract into herself even more once they stopped so that he could ask for her name, his heart wrenching in his chest. Now that they were away from the pressing eyes of the slavers he was able to get a better look at her, the mistreatment and lack of nutrition more than evident in her thin frame and lack of shine to her coat. Even still, she was absolutely gorgeous with stunning patterns that were unlike anything he had ever seen. Even if he wasn't necessarily interested in women in a romantic or sexual way, he could still objectively recognize and appreciate that. The rasp to her voice and the fearfulness it held broke what little resolve he had left. He had never intended to treat whoever he ended up with badly, but he had gone into this thinking he was hiring help - not bringing in a new member of the family. Perhaps he should have known his own soft heart better, but now here he was.

He sat onto his haunches and reached into his bag, pulling out a water skin and a shallow dish, pouring some of the liquid out for her and picking a piece of dried venison for her from his supplies. He took a couple laps of the water for himself and took a bite of the meat before he passed it over - not because he was hungry, but because he wanted to show it was safe. "Here... It's not much, but just a little something to get you through till we get back to the den." He gave her a bit of space then, sitting back and letting her rest for a moment while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. He felt gross and dirty about the whole situation and if she wasn't sitting right here he might have gone back and ripped apart those slavers for what they were doing. He couldn't think of her as a slave or even a servant. It just felt wrong.

When she was done he tucked the water skin and the dish back into his bag and stood there for a moment, just looking at the ground between them uncertainly. He wanted a family with Void, but this wasn't how he wanted to do it. "You're free, Rava," he said after a moment with a sigh, bringing his emerald gaze back to hers. "I thought... I thought I could do this, but I can't. I did this with the intention of finding a woman to be a surrogate and a nanny for my husband and I, but I can't force you into this. I'm sorry you were put in this situation at all." He hesitated, looking at her, wondering to himself if she'd be any better off being let out into the wilds on her own again. What were the chances that she'd just be snatched up again, locked away and sold to someone far worse than himself?

"I don't know if you'd even want this or not, but... If you want somewhere to stay then you're welcome to stay with my husband and I. We have a large den with a separate room you could use. His name is Void and he's the softest, sweetest wolf I've ever met." Without really meaning to, a soft smile pulled across his lips as he spoke of Void, even just the mention of his new husband making him happy. "It's up to you though. I won't force you to stay. But if you want somewhere to be you have it."

Plague | Viridis | Procella