Cult of the Lamb : The Man in the Forest

Chapter 34: Her Home Away From Home

[Author Note: We have officially surpassed 400 pages for The Man in the Forest, friends! This has been my longest project ever, by far. My life has been nothing but Cult of the Lamb for over a year now 😅 But, I'm not complaining. I am so happy to have these projects and the few dedicated readers I still have. Thank you all for sticking with me through my unfortunately frequent breaks, I appreciate the support!]

[Extra little side note: I am thinking about starting up a Patreon. It's in the works and I want to get a bunch of content ready to go before I start it. The whole reason is, besides these stories, I also have roughly 300 pages of Alternate Universe stuff (mainly AU Merida, AU Miralai etc...) that I don't want to post on here. Along with art to go with said AUs. I'm having a lot of apprehension over it (hurray for crippling social anxiety) But, it is something I'm considering. Your thoughts would be appreciated!]

[Side not to that side note: Yes, the AU stuff is a big reason for some of my hiatuses. Not counting the hiatus I had to take for work reasons. I get an idea that won't fit in my canon stuck in my brain and go all out on side stories. I'm awful, I know lol]

Despite the somewhat rocky start, Merida was glad to be back at the cottage. Some small part of her felt like she was home. She knew how awful that was. Her home was the Cult, and her home needed her. But, she needed a mental break from all of those problems. There were too many, and most were not hers to bear.

Her first day back at the cottage went wonderfully. She and Kenedra spent a great deal of time in the cat's room, they talked while Kenedra got to work on her paintings. When dinner came around, Narinder treated them to a lovely stew and they sat down for tea afterwards.

Night had fallen, Merida and Kenedra bid Narinder goodnight and retired to the bedroom. For the first time in two months, Merida and her love were able to enjoy a night of privacy. Between their promise to Aym and Lydie's nightly presence in their shared bedroom, romance had been made impossible. That was no longer the case. A fact that became increasingly apparent as Kenedra changed into her nightgown. As always, Merida found that her gaze was magnetically drawn to the cat. The more bare Kenedra became, the more difficult it was to avert her eyes for the sake of politeness. Thankfully, the glimpse of Ken's form was short lived. She was soon in one of her silky nightgowns, a deep green one.

"Ah, it is so good to be home." She sighed as she plopped down on the bed beside Merida. "I enjoyed visiting Mir̃alai's Cult of course, but I missed being here."

"I missed it too." Merida said as she unfastened her fleece and hung it on the bedpost. "It's nice having a room to ourselves again."

"Oh, I know." Kenedra agreed, hugging her arms over Merida's shoulders. "This bed is so much bigger too. I love cuddling with you, Merida, but you really are a bed-hog."

"Ha, look who's talking!" Merida laughed and pulled Kenedra in by her waist, taking in her lovely floral scent. "I can't even tell you how many times I nearly fell out of bed because of you."

"Alright, maybe we both needed a bit more space." Ken leaned over to kiss Merida's jaw. "There are... other things I missed too." She purred. Merida smirked, her tail flicking mischievously.

"Yeah?" Merida chuckled and kissed the other's neck. "Like what?"

"Do not embarrass me..." Kenedra grumbled, shifting in Merida's grasp.

"Hey, you started it." Merida teased and eased Ken back to lay against the bed. "I'm just curious what you missed so much." She pressed as she positioned herself over the cat, one hand on either side of her head. Kenedra's cheeks went red and she turned onto her side to hide her face in the pillow. Merida laughed, finding her attempts adorable.