I missed you in the storms

He laughed softly at the memory she drew forth. He’d had no idea what the tiny handmaiden would mean to him. No idea the adventures they would share, or the fire in her heart. He remembered her calm in the face of his anger. From making pillows, to falling in the Ashen lake. “Perhaps so.” He agreed. It had snuck up on him, until it felt like it hit him over the head, and suddenly, he would have killed to have her at his side.

Her next question brought another hint of sadness to the Warlord. Yes, they had shared a den. They had done so effectively for a time, cuddling while awake, and sleeping safely apart, but close by. “Are you saying you wish to do so again? Sometimes he thought… he was sure that she was revolted at the touch of him. Knowing that he had slept with another.

There were so many fissures between them, he felt like he was circling her slowly, looking for a way back in, but afraid to make the leap. His gaze turned hungry. Keeping the distance between them was necessary… but difficult. That urge inside of him to draw her tightly into his arms, to hold her and never let go. Surely now she would suffocate within it. Had to… had to give her time. He needed her so badly that he couldn’t risk scaring her away.

"Speech"