Extraordinarily Pleased

Personal Space

Felicia and Ivvrett walked side by side along a not-oft trodden path, the morning sun seeping through the trees above them, coming and going as cloud cover passed across the sky. Ivvrett was setting about his traps for the day. As usual, they would gather whatever else that caught their eye, or stop to eat then and there. What had, just weeks earlier, struck her as rugged and individualistic, she now realized was yet another routine... just one that had been novel to her, that was now anything but novel.

She did intend to move on from him. She had to.

Soon.

Somehow.

As soon as she could figure out how.

Felicia had succeeded at hiding her trepidation from Ivvrett. Or, at least he hadn't noticed. Or if he had, he didn't ask her about it. In any case, it hadn't come up, and that was just fine by her.

The traps successfully prepared for whatever unassuming woodland creatures happened upon them, and a healthy haul of insects and fungi each, the pair headed back home.

Ivvrett's home. His home. Not Felicia's. It wasn't her home, and she was not about to let herself fall into referring to it as such. Absolutely not.

As the two began walking, Ivvrett held out his hand for Felicia to hold, as he often did. She looked at it for half a second. She should take it. If she didn't, he'd ask what was wrong. But wasn't her goal to eventually tell him just that? Not yet. She didn't have a plan yet.

"Is everything all right?" Ivvrett asked simply, his hand still extended. His eyebrow raised quizzically, ever so slightly.

Ironically, her current hesitation had brought about his concern, anyway.

"Of course!" Felicia chirped automatically, putting a smile back on her face as her clammy hand grabbed his, but not quite meeting his eye.

"Are you sure?" Ivvrett asked. "You've seemed kind of, I don't know, spacey the last week or so–"

"Yes, I'm fine," she emphasized, squeezing his hand affectionately. She looked up at him, and kissed him lightly.

Ivvrett allowed himself to return the grin. "Okay, well, if there was anything, you could tell me. We're, you know... together."

Felicia's stomach flipped inside-out at his utterly casual observation, but her face maintained its pleasant facade. She squeezed his hand again and nodded, to save herself from having to say anything else.

She really needed to figure something out, and soon.

The pair soon enough came back upon the modest homestead, the thicket of trees thinning in the last dozen-yard stretch to the firepit in the "courtyard." Seeing the familiar front door brought Felicia a mix of relief, as well as a renewed anxiety about the predicament still looming over her head.

The churning in her mind was abruptly cut short, however, as Ivvrett gripped her hand tighter, pulling her back to where he'd frozen.

"Wha–" Felicia began to ask, but was quickly shushed as he pulled her with him behind a tree.

"Someone's been here," Ivvrett whispered to her. He listened, taking in any unusual stimuli around. Felicia attempted to as well, but she couldn't hear, or smell anything out of–

Snap. A twig, from around the back of the house, out of view. The two looked at each other, silently agreeing to continue forward toward the misguided intruder.

Ivvrett and Felicia crept closer toward the front door, and split as they approached the fire pit, ready to double-team from both sides whatever buffoon had encroached on an ogre's home. As they got closer, the faint sound of grass rustling behind the dwelling became clearer. Felicia was finally able to detect the scent profile of the uninvited interloper. She paused mid-stride, her eyes widening... there was no possible way that was–