Safe Haven

Tea (2)

Getting a drunk Xilä down the few stone steps leading to their home was much more of a challenge than Neteyam anticipated. And only having so much patience, he decided to scoop her up instead, strong arms hooking under her thighs and back.

The new position instantly reminded him of the first day they'd met- of how frail she'd been back then. Neteyam stared at her as she got comfortable, trying to stifle his fury from his interaction with W'aote a few minutes ago.

With him not wanting to have such a large party in the first place, and then with all of the male attention his mate had been receiving all night, not to mention her sudden string of little boyfriends he didn't even know she had, the night had been too much for him to handle.

"You're warm," she mumbled into his chest.

Blinking out of his reverie, he huffed at the state of his wife. Her sudden mood changes while being intoxicated amused him to a degree, yet it wasn't enough to break him from his bad tempered frame of mind.

As he made his way down the remaining steps, he paused when he spotted an odd moving shadow. Although the blasting music coming from their home blocked his hearing from any other sounds, his ears perked up still, straining to hear anything unusual.

Alert, he rounded the bend of their tent in curiosity, pausing in shock at the moaning, tangled mess of limbs before him.

A peel of laughter from nearby momentarily distracted the warrior in front of him, and when her eyes peaked open and met Neteyam's, they instantly widened and her jaw dropped with a gasp.

Neteyam watched as Leati scrambled to pull herself off of Ze'lu, pushing him roughly away with a hard smack of her palm against his chest, while the other hand hastily wiped at her obvious kiss swollen lips. And as she righted her twisted top from where Ze'lu's hand had been previously hidden under, she glared at Netetam as if he were the one caught in a compromising position and not her.

Xilä, who had just noticed he was no longer moving, peaked out from her snuggled form against him and perked up in excitement.

"Leatiiiii, you stayed!" she sang in awe, oblivious to the tension of the others. Her jerky movements had her husband panicking for a split second when she almost went tumbling out of his arms.

Ze'lu ducked his head shyly. He was blushing furiously as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, unsure what to do or say.

Without another word or even addressing the situation, Leati began to storm off, halting in her tracks when she realized her make out partner was right behind.

"Don't follow me," she hissed through clenched teeth. "This," she pointed between the two of them, "is not a thing," she snapped unkindly at Ze'lu before quickly making her escape, head held high.

Shooting a still staring Neteyam a sheepish grin, Ze'lu chuckled. "She's great right?" he said, seeming unfazed by the female warrior's jibe. If anything the man looked completely smitten. "Uh, I'm going to-" he gestured at Leati's retreating figure, then followed after her anyway with a silly smile stretched across his face.

Neteyam blinked at a loss for words at what he'd just witnessed.

Glancing down at Xi who was now busy tracing over the dark markings on his chest with her index finger, humming quietly to herself, he shook his head, hefted her a little higher, then strolled off.

Despite how late it was, there were quite a few clan members still out and about. The forest held a lingering uncommon glow to it, showing off a beautiful end to the txep syulang's journey into hibernation.