Settling in

There was a pause, a lull as the silence took them over as Marina tried to pretend she was anywhere but here and Wylan was doing…whatever it was Wylan was doing. She didn’t want to look up at him to see. She didn’t want to look at anybody right now. He said that he would be right back and then he’d leave her alone for he night. Thank the gods, at least he listened better than that big blue bastard did. Marina felt the touch of his kiss to her forehead and visibly flinched at the touch on reflex. Wylan left and was gone for a while, more than Marina expected. At some point she wondered if perhaps he had just decided not to come back. Feeling a little bit of safety in her solitude, the marine-hued fae slowly uncurled herself and turned to face the opposite wall, sniffling quietly while she waited for sleep to take her.

But then she heard paws coming into her den again and the sound of things being set down before quiet claimed the den once more. There were no words, no attempts at unwanted conversation. Just a quiet drop off and then nothing. Marina’s ear flicked, but she didn’t move—not right away at least. When a couple minutes had passed, she cautiously lifted her head and peeked back over her shoulder to see… nobody. A pile of supplies sat near the doorway, but Wylan had kept to his word and had left her alone. Marina rolled back over and winced as she slowly raised herself up on her paws, hobbling over to the supplies he'd left to inspect them. There were sweets and furs, a bottle of something dark and smelled strongly of alcohol, and a stuffed polar bear. Marina eyed the pile with suspicion. Why was he being so damn nice to her?

It was a direct defying of her orders, but Marina shuffled over to the den entrance and poked her head outside, but Wylan was already gone. She slunk back into the den, shuffling through the items he'd left and lifted the polar bear up, looking over the well-crafted yet totally childish memento. And yet, despite how juvenile it was, Marina couldn't help but hold the stuffed toy close. It reminded her of home, of her own plush toys she'd never see again, sitting alone and forlorn in an empty bedroom in a den far, far away. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and Marina carried the toy with surprising care over to her bedding, where she collapsed down onto the bed with the polar bear clutched close to her chest until she finally passed out into an uneasy sleep.

"Marina"