I need someone, not just anyone

The gentle affections against her cheek was her lifeline that eventually tugged her away from the clutches of her nightmare and when she woke up with a gasp, her marbled gaze flew open and she frantically looked around the room until her eyes finally landed on Ysmir at her side. She panted for a few moments while she came back to her senses, blinking as she looked at him with blurry, teary eyes. The man that attacked her was no longer there, the weight of him on top of her was gone, but it still took several moments for her mind to catch up. She was home, in her room, with Ysmir beside her. A shaky sigh left her as she slowly began to calm down and blink her eyes clear of any of the fearful tears that had gathered in her eyes. An apology for waking him up hung on her tongue, some fake assurances that she was okay hung there as well. In the end she didn't say any of them. Her ears folded back against her head and as she looked at his kind face there was really only one thing she could think of that would make her feel better.

She carefully shifted closer, leaving her gaze on his with a questioning look that asked if this was okay as she moved to press into his chest. She put herself in his embrace the same way she had when he found her by the river and she curled into him with her face pressed into his chest as if she could hide from the world here with him. He felt like safety and stability when everything else felt like it was spiraling out of control. She knew that he physically couldn't speak, but right now she was thankful for his silence. All she needed was his presence and the feeling of him holding her like a shield that could protect her from whatever was coming for her. Slowly she began to relax again and another sigh left her as she gently nuzzled his chest thankfully, her forelegs slipping around him to hug him in return.

It wasn't really until after she was fully calmed down again and back in the present away from the nightmare that lurked on the edges of her mind that she realized how tangled up with him she was and how she had pressed herself to him. The realization made her heart skip and her face flush as her ears flicked back shyly, but when she lifted her head from his chest to look up at him she couldn't quite convince herself to pull away. She looked up at his two toned eyes and even though they still didn't know that much about each other she just couldn't find any reason to not fully trust him. A small, bashful smile pulled at her lips before she daringly brought her muzzle to his to give him a sweet, gentle kiss. A silent thank you for being here with her and comforting her through all of this. Her heart was doing flips and summersaults in her chest and she quickly tucked her face away into his neck to hide the burning read flush on her face that she was mistakenly convinced he'd be able to see even through her dark fur in the dark.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"