Tis But A Scratch

"Eska"

Sweet, emotional Ulric. The expressions on his face made his thought process so easy to read. His gaze shifted, silver depths casting downward and Eska touched his cheek again. "Don't feel guilty. None of this was your fault. We can't constantly be together and even if we could, I wouldn't." The sore, tired fae placed a kiss upon his forehead. "I need my freedom. I need to go out on my own to breathe. These things... sometimes happen. At least it was me and not someone weaker." She looked towards the bright lining and didn't mention specifics, but the thought of this happening to Jane or Lillith or Gwyn... it was revolting.

Eventually Ulric gave in and promised to help train her. She graced him with a smile and returned the kiss that he'd given her. She savored the taste of him rather than the iron of the rapists blood still clinging to her mouth. "Thank you." The back of her head was throbbing where she'd clocked the bastard and her body was waving a white flag. The woman pressed her muzzle beneath Ulric's chin, her eyes closing. "Stay with me while I sleep." The experience hadn't been as traumatic to her as it would be to most, but she would still feel more comfortable knowing that Ulric was there beside her.

Gently, Eska rearranged her sore limbs, hissing only once as the wounds in her neck were pulled. Her hind end was tender and again, she thought of how much she couldn't wait to walk out into the ocean after she slept. Sleep came quickly. Eska slept like the dead. No dreams haunted her sleep. No black and blue monsters waited under her bed. There was just the steady rise and fall of her own breathing and the warmth of the man that loved her.