Not Alone

Chapter 23: New Roomie!

Poor guy. I don't think he could be any more visibly uncomfortable if he tried.

Sorn, bless his heart, while dutifully performing frequent checks on me throughout the week (perhaps a bit too frequently) has been firmly but very politely rebuffing any attempts on my part to make his kidnapping feel less like he is essentially being held hostage by three very dangerous, temperamental males and more like he has been invited to stay for a couple of weeks by his patients family... Can't say I blame him, honestly.

Watching him from where I'm sitting, reclined across Silan's wonderfully comfy thunder thighs, I idly consider that Sorn may also be a bit of a neat freak. 

With a few long, stiff feathers wrapped to the end of a long stick with a bit of twine, Sorn is a hurricane leaving clean floors, brushed furs, and bundles of strong-smelling herbs in his wake. While I'm sure that there are probably plenty of other things for him to do outdoors, the bitter cold and calf-high snow are probably a bit annoying for a man whose local fashion is centered around showing as much skin as possible without being outright naked. Not that I would know of course, as I can't go 5 minutes outside at a time without Silan sweeping me off my feet to whisk me back inside.

Dias, instead of being at all helpful, is braiding tufts of Silan's black and white hair as he chatters away "So! I've been thinking," "A worrying notion, but go on" "Once the snow melts off, I really want to try my hand at building us a proper table and maybe some wood flooring. Sitting around the fire is pretty nice, but a table would be so much easier to prepare and eat food on. And if I can swing it, some wood plank flooring would be so much warmer and softer on the feet. I mean, not my feet. My feet are as tough as nails. For the curtain-climbers!"

"Tough as nails huh?" I tease, "coming from the man who shrieked like a baby when I pressed my feet against his last night" Dias peers over Silan's muscular shoulder to scowl at me "You're feet are supernaturally cold and don't count"

I can feel Silan snicker quietly, his chest shaking against my side. I glare up at him "Laugh now big guy, my cold feet are coming for you tonight" I press my chilled fingers to his neck, absorbing his body heat with the added bonus of making him jump. He grasps my hand in his, drawing it away from his neck and up to his lips, where he presses a kiss to the back of my hand "My warmth is yours" Damn! Foiled again! He is just too smooth!

Asper, on the other hand, is actually getting to know our new house-guest "You are uninterested in children? Are you not a healer?"

Sorn looks up from his frantic sweeping around the ashy firepit "I like offspring. Just not my own"

Completely fascinated, Asper leans forward "Why not? The greatest joy in a beastman's life often comes from a mate and offspring"

Sorn leans his makeshift broom against the wall and begins raking his fingers through the furs on the wall, brushing out any dirt and debris as he shakes his head, a slightly disgusted look on his face "You have clearly never seen Owl young then. Newly hatched, they are incredibly ugly and disturbing to look at"

Dias, now interested, chimes in "But don't they get all fluffy later? Once they grow in a couple feathers?" "Then they are annoying, with a constant mess to clean as they are always shedding feathers. The cleaning is never-ending" "You have feathers too?" "Mine do not fall off in large clumps, nor do they stubbornly stick to every available surface"

Huh, okay. Letting Silan keep a loose hold on my hand, I ask next "What about when they attain human form?" Sorn shoots me an odd look "Then they are ready to leave and begin their own nests with mates of their own, as all Beastmen do at that stage" Shit, right. That's a thing.