lonely in a crowded room

Taiga flashed her dangerous ivory teeth in a grin as he returned her words. He was grateful for her presence, even if she was not a deer herself they shared a similar background and future. She spoke just as gently, echoing his thoughts with her words. They were the only ones they had in many different ways. Rannoch was grateful for his herd mates everyday, but they did not share the same fate as the doomed creatures from across the ice bridge. She told him they should stay together and her textured tongue was pulled across his white chin again.

A deep rumble formed in his chest and reverberated in pleasant agreement with her. They might have been the last of their kind, but they could have each other. Someone else that understood the other despite how very different the two of them were. That fact made him struggle with the sudden thumping of his heart against his chest and the fluttering in his stomach that was certainly not fermentation. Taiga pulled away slightly as she rolled to her belly. Rannoch was nowhere near as limber or flexible as the lioness rolled onto her back and stretched herself. Far longer than he could get his body to contort to.

She sighed softly and curled up next to him, nuzzling into his shoulder and bedding down comfortably with him there. He sighed in contentment, lowering his head over hers affectionately. Nuzzling his muzzle against her soft ears. He hummed softly, a sound he’d never heard himself make before, but he had never felt as… safe as he did when he was next to the powerful lioness.

"Speech"