Heron Lake Plateau Lost some pieces I can't replace

She moved in closer and he had to agree - it was nice.  He'd missed the warmth of close contact, and he hadn't had a friend close enough to share it with in a long while.  Even with siblings, the Blackthorns weren't much of a cuddle fam - the older Blackthorns at least.

"It is," he said, laying his head down with a small exhaled sigh. He could feel her teeth combing the fur at his shoulder and it was relaxing as shit.  Ok, her turn.  If he was doin the hospitality thing then he was at least gonna do it right.  So he lifted his head and, leaning over, began returning the favor, grooming the fur near the base of her ears and around the back of her ruff.

Soothed by his body warmth and his murmured agreement, Niamh settled in against Colt, on the brink of slipping into a sleep while grooming his fur, until he lifted his head and began to feather through the fur behind her ear. Relishing the treatment she was being given, she lowered her head and closed her eyes, uttering a small, satisfied moan. Her near hind foot quivered for a moment, as though it too wanted to scratch at that place as well, but she flattened it and allowed him to continue, arching her back slightly against him.

She began to drift off, though, and knowing that she would likely fall asleep any second, she lifted her head once more to place a grateful kiss on his cheek before she settled down to sleep.

He kept it up for a little while, until she'd fallen asleep, enjoying the afterghost of the kiss and the gentle warmth of her beside him.  He wasn't sure what this dynamic was, and wasn't much willing to think about it, but this was definitely the closest he'd felt to anyone save maybe Finley since showing up.  Any feeling he might have held, however small, that he made a mistake in returning was silenced.

He lay down, but stared for a while longer, thinking on both past and future as he slowly drifted off as well.