Dragoncrest Cliffs Sunstone

Her greeting came quick and he couldn't guess what he should expect in the face of her evident excitement. Since the Dragon had evicted them, he'd withheld even less when it came to her because why bother? He was fond of her, and wanted it this way. Maybe it was more gradual than it seemed to him, but he was certainly making himself comfortable with his life intertwining delicately with hers. While he was glad she was fine, shoulder-wise, he was getting suspicious by the second that there was more. He peered right back at her thoughtfully, beginning to forget about the rabbit for a moment.

She made him curious right away. He was certainly all ears, and accompanied by a tilt to his head, he didn't know what this was going to lead to: and of it all, not necessarily that. Dio gaped at her quietly then reached in for a soft kiss against her muzzle. When disaster came upon their old claim, he'd known first he had needed to get to her and to ensure that she was safe. The rest of Drageda was not far behind her, of course, but somehow he'd admittedly let it become so much more. While once it had been easy enough to write it all off as protecting what was valuable to the pack, this just wasn't like that anymore, and really hadn't been for a while. His ears moved anxiously then he huffed, dismayed and stricken at once but he'd not let it frustrate him too badly; this all was coming sooner or later.

There was still a hesitantly happy switch to his tail and he felt so much, so fast while splaying his ears a lot like hers had been. "It's not easy to be away, either. Especially in this still-foreign place and not knowing what could even happen to us all next. But.." It was his job, and for the well-being of the Drageda. He sighed, always torn and feeling it badly now that her admission of love left a lot of his doubts discredited and him scrambling to regroup. "Damn. I don't know. I just want you to be in my life, Portia, and to be in yours." He stared back carefully. Was that love, too? Did he want it to be so? Hell if he knew in truth, for it manifested differently. There was no doubt she was an exquisite balance of many precious, beautiful things he scarcely felt deserving of having all to himself. "I hated not knowing if you were okay when things first started falling apart at the Dragon. I guess I've been thinking about it a lot since then? Winter, too.." He licked his lips and leaned to nuzzle her cheek, should she have it.