Mount Apikuni don't go out tonight

He can tell that there is no self-satisfaction in what she is doing.  She does not glow and swell when he submits himself to her, and it puts him at ease to know that there is at least some modicum of mutual respect between them.

Every once in a while he emits a gravelly rumble, reminiscent of a purr.  Where he lingers he is able to feel her pulse and he is aware of how alive she is.  He continues his preening as if he his searching for some color beneath a faded cotton topcoat, but the downy fur underneath is just as desaturated as what is on top.