All By Yourself

Manea let her eyes close as she continued to lean into Irilyth's affections, letting herself be distracted and comforted by the gentle nuzzles and kisses she received across her forehead and brow from her lover. As much as she hadn't wanted to disturb Irilyth or anyone else in her life with her issues and her sorrows, she knew she was at a breaking point and something was going to have to give and this felt like a small price to pay in comparison to being completely useless to the rest of her pack and family as she continued to exhaust herself. She was always grateful for the role that Irilyth played in her life, but in times like these when the little blonde fae stepped up and gave her exactly what she needed that became even more true. When Irilyth offered to talk about things or just lay here until she fell asleep, Manea leaned back a bit, letting her head rest on the bedding beneath her again to look up at Irilyth where she was perched along her body.

One of her large paws trailed up along Irilyth's side, tracing over her shoulder and the side of her neck till she reached her cheek. "Just laying here with you is helping more than any talking would..." she replied softly with a bit of a smile as she cupped Irilyth's cheek gently in her large paw that nearly dwarfed the side of her lover's face. The loneliness hit her harder than anything else in Alastor's absence so just having Irilyth fill that void was helping more than she could express. It didn't fix anything and was certainly more of southing salve than anything else, but for now she would take what she could get. She tipped her muzzle up, guiding Irilyth's lips to hers as she shared a tender kiss with the smaller woman. "I love you, Irilyth... Thank you for being here for me," she added when their lips parted, letting her toes trace over the edge of Irilyth's soft ear.

Manea shifted then, wrapping her forelegs around her again to support her delicate frame as she rolled onto her side and brought Irilyth along with her, letting her back lean into the wall of the small den to leave enough room on the modest bed for them both, she pulled Irilyth into her chest, tucking her head down over her lover's and nuzzling her ears, letting Irilyth's scent fill her nose and drown out everything else that cluttered her mind. She was warm and soft, both sending delicate tingles along her skin wherever they touched while comforting her and pulling her toward sleep with every passing moment. She left gentle kisses across Irilyth's ears and forehead, one paw rubbing along her back as well until her motions began to slow and stutter. Her eyelids dropped as the combination of Irilyth's calming presence and the warmth that built in this small space started to lull her to sleep, leaning her cheek into the top of Irilyth's head as her eyes finally closed. Within moments her breathing settled into deep, even breaths and she settled into blissfully dreamless sleep, holding tight to Irilyth's body through the rest of the night as if she was afraid that she might wake up and find her gone.

"Manea" & "Irilyth"