Neverwinter Forest [m] Thalassic

He was lost in thought again by the time she remembered him. The redirection of her attention saw him stilling in anticipation — and some small measure of trepidation. He, too, expected this to hurt. He had already decided that it was a worthy price and, often, part of the draw. But it still hurt, and he still sometimes felt the need to brace himself for it.

But instead, she only laid next to him. Against him, so that he could feel her weight, and her heart pumping blood through her small body. The renewed scent of Luhtar brought their dealings back to the forefront of his mind, and the same feeling from before thrummed through him. Now, however, the balm to these feelings did not lie in confronting the other man. It was somewhere in his prisoner, though he was uncertain as to how to extract it.

He followed his usual instinct to pin her in place; one long arm was pulled from between them to draw over her back. His claws curled reflexively into her side, dragging rhythmically against her skin as her ribcage fanned in and out. Then, carefully, he began to pick feathers out of her fur, and to clean the blood from her face.