Stavanger Bay everyone, step aside; this is the last warning

The scrappy little witch doctor relaxed into her errand boy’s embrace and he felt again that odd stirring of mingled confidence and possessiveness; he drew a breath so deep his obsidian-ribbed chest shuddered with it, then let it out on a heavy, contented sigh. He found it fascinating, the catlike way she arched her neck and crooned as he nibbled at her nape, but before he could explore it further his Chosen One drew away from him to resume her place on the spotted hide. He watched her, allowing the last remaining shreds of trepidation to fall away as he chuckled amusement at the tidy way she coiled herself with a swivel of her oversized ears and a flicker of her tail. His plan had worked! Szymon felt like something of a genius. He thought if he could only lie next to her in the den, he would learn to love the walls that surrounded them — and even if that hadn’t been on his own sneaky agenda, he would have been helpless before the look in her eyes.

Her tightly wound musculature uncoiled then and she melted bonelessly on the den floor with a beseeching paw stretched out to him — this was a gesture he more than understood, and fondness warmed the eerie yellow of his eyes as he recalled their first few forays into physical touch. The mischievous look in her eyes and the “innocent” musing as to how she’d ever sleep with so much extra space clued even Szymon in to her machinations, but it was just the right way to go about it — he could handle solemnity and sentimentality, to some degree, but having those two things plus a new situation — and a walled situation besides! — had been more than his neurotic heart could take.

He sidled over to her eagerly, fitting his body around her to nibble again at her nape, wondering if she’d make that fascinating noise of contentment again. He tried for suavity, but missed the mark — but now it didn’t seem to matter so much: “Mm,” he murmured thoughtfully through a bristly mouthful of her fur, his bass timbre honeyed with affection for her, “g-guess I could h-help, if y-you’re — if you need — I mean…if y-you’re asking.”