Falls of the Hinterlands and i'm always tired, but never of you

Nothing existed so brightly as his firebird did in that moment. The world had been grey and dull for the ex-soldier for too long. So long that the color Mona breathed into everything she touched had hurt him to look at in the beginning. Now he couldn't take his eyes away from her.
If Nathaniel had been thinking clearly, he might have stopped things there. He wasn't thinking at all, though-- he was only feeling, and slowly he grew bolder in his affections. The ex-soldier resumed preening his firebird, this time along the soft fur of her neck. He was still mindful of her comfort, keeping his progression slow-- and if she expressed any discomfort, he would pull away immediately. That was the extent of the Rochester's thoughtfulness, now; any ideas of taking things slow were entirely lost on him now, as Nathaniel was not, without great effort, a creature of thought.