𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 || 18+ 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚡 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙵𝙼𝙲

┉┈◈†𐐎𐌴𐍀†𐌸-†𐌷𐍂𐌴𐌴◈┈┉

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

As Charlie regained consciousness, the throbbing pain in her head pulled a groan from her throat. The memories flooding back only worsened the pain and she forced her eyes to open. It was dim in the space she was in, but she noticed that was because of a blanket made into a small tent around her. Slowly sitting up from the softness of the cushions she'd been laid upon, she reached out and pushed back the flap with the back of her hand, wincing as more light filtered into her sensitive eyes.

It was firelight. As her gaze roamed the place, she thought maybe this was what a hobbit hole might look like with the roots of a tree taking over one side of the packed dirt ceiling, dug out shelves lining a few walls with various items resting on them, and a large red woven rug laid out on the stone floor. Despite all four curved walls being made of packed dirt and rock, it felt tidy and clean. It was a big, cozy space with a fireplace in the middle of the far wall. The ceiling was quite high above her, she noticed as she began thinking of escape. The more she looked, she couldn't find where an exit would be.

Until Dekar came right out of a hole in the ceiling she hadn't spotted yet and landed soundlessly near the fireplace, startling her. His scarred, muscled torso was bare and he wore those same grey baggy pants she'd seen when he fought Tük'hala. Dekar straightened from his low landing crouch and immediately noticed she was up. An elated smile stretched on his shadowed face, his back to the fire.

"Charlie," he purred, beginning to make his way towards her at a leisurely pace. "Were you able to get good sleep? I was impatient to see your pretty eyes again and had to hunt to distract myself."

Charlie glared at him, her hand still holding the blanket tent open. Maybe the silent treatment was childish, but she didn't know what would hurt him more. He deserved some sort of punishment.

A raspy chuckle shook his chest. "You must have slept very well. I see that fire in your eyes again."

Her heart beat faster in trepidation as his slow steps brought him right in front of her before he crouched down to her level. His head tilted to the side, dim orange eyes flickering over her features as if savoring the sight of her.

"Are you not going to speak to me, my love? You won't grace me with that alluring voice of yours?"

Charlie grit her teeth, refusing to reply.

His hand shot out, the sudden grip on her jaw making her breath hitch. A foreboding weight dropped in her stomach when she caught the dangerous tone that accompanied his next words. "I expect you to answer me when I talk to you. If you're angry with me, say it. Shout at me. Do not stubbornly refuse to speak. I will count it as disrespect."

"But you wouldn't count me shouting at you as disrespect?" she reluctantly spoke, raising a brow and trying to come off as if his unpredictable behavior didn't terrify her.

Dekar's grin sharpened and he softened his grip on her jaw, caressing along the delicate edge as if she was made of porcelain. "No. Your shouting would come from your valid feelings of anger. As long as you refrain from name calling, I'll allow it."

"Great, I'll keep that in mind," Charlie dropped the blanket flap keeping the tent open, letting it come between them after she pulled away from his gentled grip.

The dark chuckle that followed made her nervous. "Keeping the blanket over your head never protected you from the monsters in the night, Charlie."

There was a small pause before she replied stubbornly, "It did as long as I believed it."

He plucked the blanket away, letting it drop to the side. Charlie glared up at him in the firelight, though her head was pounding, and he stared back with amusement shining in his eyes. He began to lean in closer and her pulse spiked. She instinctually leaned back away from him, her hand braced behind her on the pillows.