Emberwood fairytale revisionist

His begging, heartfelt as it was, was also incredibly pathetic. The fear behind his words was stronger than anything and kept her on-edge, hyperfocused in her fragile state. She couldn't sleep even if she had wanted to (and wouldn't for a while yet, thanks to that coma). His insistent tone was grating to her ears. Ibis' eyes fluttered open.

She lifted her head up just a smidge as Kukulkan began to press in to the den with his too-big body; there wasn't room enough for both of them in this tiny space, and she couldn't accommodate him even if she had wanted to, so everything was awkward and stressful. Until he began to affectionately touch upon her narrow shoulders, her neck, her cheek - and the kiss to her forehead, that drew a contented little sigh from her. As strenuous as this predicament was for her, Ibis was just as touch-starved as the pirate. She could not fight back as he came close; his warmth was like a blanket, each touch electrifying, and then he was drawing back -- Ibis having forgotten her own words and her physical needs for the briefest of blessed moments.

When he was gone, she missed him -- that warmth, that closeness, all of it. The cold drifted in to the hollow where she lay. He had crushed the flowers lovingly placed around her by Reiko, and the pelt that had been laid down upon the floor was torn along the edge, frayed by his hasty movements to kiss at her and then depart. Time ebbed on, but for Ibis it crawled, and she could not stop the pounding pain of her starvation. She watched the colors morph beyond the trees until his dark shape returned along the fringe of her vision, and she smiled meekly in his direction.