Ocean's Breath Plateau grandcousin

the misty rain continued. chakliux took raiyuk out to hunt throughout the next day, but the majority of their time was spent inside the lodge, either in silence or soft conversation.
as evening approached, falling dark across the sea, chakliux found himself alone with @Marina for a time.
his eyes were encouraging. he did not reach to touch her, only produced a small bit of goat fat wrapped in oceangrass, and pushed this small bundle across the floor to her.
goats were not common so close to the sea. he hoped she would like it. "how are you feeling?"

The rains were cleansing. The days passed and with each morning it felt more like it had all been a dream, some terrible nightmare you wake from sick and trembling. The difference was that a nightmare never left the confines of the mind that conjured it. Marina knew that the others knew what had happened to her. Maybe not the details. But they knew. And that made it feel so much more real.

So she kept close to the den she now shared with Tullik and Chakliux, and she did not seek company beyond them. When evening approached she still fled from the sight of the stars. She couldn't bear to look at them. Not yet.

For Chakliux she had a soft smile, light lingering touches; nothing more for now, but he seemed to understand and did not seek more than she gave. For that she was grateful. Marina could hardly bear the thought of intimacy beyond this simple warmth. Not yet.

As with so many things, it would take time. She took the grass-wrapped bundle offered by her husband with a curious but grateful smile, turning it over once in her paws before she began to unwrap it. The scent on it was goat. It'd been some time since she'd last tasted goat. Tired, She admitted softly; always tired, lately. But better than before. Thank you. Her eyes lifted from the bundle to her husband's striking magenta gaze as the grass fell away and revealed a bit of fat. For a moment she was overcome with affection and appreciation for him, for his continued steadiness in the face of tragedy and her crumbling, but she could not find the words to express this. She hoped he would see it in her eyes.

chakliux did see this. each day was marina's struggle and her healing illuminated to his observation. learning to be a good husband had been a thing of observation. a man learned his wife's expressions, her moods, her thoughts.
he was emboldened, heartened, to see her take the item of food. "then i will bring a softer pelt for your head," the seal hunter decided, smiling softly at her, teasingly; hoping to bring a new light to her beautiful face.
the lodge was divided communally, and when its renovations were finished, chakliux hoped to have a sleeping-place, a cache, a drying rack, and a protected circle of bare earth where prey could be cut out of the rain and wind, each of these for each wife. for now, a place for marina's sleep had been added, though chakliux hoped one day that she would join he and tullik upon the larger pelts in communal slumber.
for now, he glanced toward the sea. "is there anything i can bring you? i will go to find it. only say." another beam, dazzling his eyes.