Closed Everyone's a Critic [Kaden]

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit didn't know what to say to Kaden's replies. He didn't seem to believe her. He'd mentioned slavery, earlier that day... was this what he'd gone through? Was this what the slavers had beaten into him? If that was the case... she'd just have to make him forget such thoughts, teach him otherwise. She was his bondmate, couldn't she do things like that? She didn't want the Kelvic to go through his entire life fearing showing weakness and pain.

"You don't need to suffer through the pain. People can help you. I can help you." That last was a slight over statement. Though she could deal with some things... her skills were limited, meaning that even though she wanted to help, sometimes she couldn't. Which was why she wanted to get better, hone her skills... then she could help Kaden get better, next time he hurt himself. Still... she felt pity, so much pity, for all her bonded had gone through.

Shaking her head, she re-focused on the puppy before her... yep, it was Icicle. The little creature was growling playfully, darting forward to snap at stray strands of hair. When he came close, Spirit herself threw out a similar growl, lips turned wide into a grin. She grabbed Icicle's head and shoulders, and used them to flip the puppy onto his back. The dog wriggled and squirmed, yowling, but she kept him in that spot, adding a thorough belly rub to the mix. Finally, the creature slipped out of her grasp, and dashed over to crash into Kaden, grabbing a hold of the Kelvic's shirt.

"Lets not talk about stuff like this" she finalized, deciding she really didn't like this conversation. It was too... disturbing. She tried to remember some other topic of conversation, and remembered... he'd wanted to work with 'the bears', right? As an Icewatch. "Hey... you remember how you wanted to work with the bears? Well, I was thinking of working as a veterinarian - an animal healer - in the Icewatch barracks, healing the bears, when I'm good enough. That could... work out, right? We could both work with the Icewatch!"

It wasn't a flawless idea. What if they wanted him to bond with someone else, someone who could fight? What if they wanted her to fight? Well... not all Icewatch fought. They just needed to be able to survive well in the wilderness, right? And there was a branch in the Whitevine hold that specialized in healing. She could join that group, and help them! Kaden would be her form of a bear. The whole idea sounded purely marvelous, to her. So much fun... Her mind forgot the stresses of earlier, and she grinned widely in excitement.

x
x

[Kaden Swift]

He looked up sharply in surprise as she spoke again. People could help the pain? Spirit was distressed that he hurt and didn’t say anything. Was it different for these humans then, did they not want pain but to make it go away? The medical hall, he had only gotten more pain for the trouble of going there but none of his wounds had gotten infected and he had not gotten ill and fevered. Even now he hardly noticed the wounds unless he hit them or was grooming himself.

He watched her now playing with the puppy and he recalled the doe with such a strong swoop that he paled and had to quickly swallow before he was ill. If Spirit knew, he would never be allowed near her. She was gentle with the dog and playful, too nice. Just like a doe with a broken leg. Then the puppy crashed into him and Kaden snapped his teeth in warning. He didn’t want the shirt Spirit gave him to be ruined even if it was still covered in the dust of horses.

Reaching down he brushed his hand over the little males nose until he had no force but to let go; then he shoved to force the puppy to its side. It was a quick instinctive show that Kaden wasn’t to be tested with more than play. Ticker snapped at the other puppy to start a new game and Kaden was left to himself shirt intact as Spirit started up again. She would heal animals not humans? So she really would help pain if he told her. He nodded. “I can work with them; I am smaller but faster and better claws.” Least in his opinion but a cats opinion to himself was worth more than gold could ever buy.

“I have a bonded now,” and he smiled just a bit. “I can join, it would be different.” A job to, he knew he needed one of those and now he had to make sure it wasn’t just Ticker fed but Spirit to and the rest of her dogs. He would have to hunt better than he did, which wasn’t all too well in honesty. Most of his hunting was sheer dumb luck and simple numbers. She was small and skinny; he had to make sure she got more food. His mind went back to the offer. Though she was upset about pain Spirit offered to help it. That no one had ever offered him before.

He debated back and forth as he stared at her without blinking. Should he admit now that he worried over the wound at his neck and shoulder because he couldn’t clean them? That the one on his neck was warmer than it should be? Spirit was his bonded, and that decided it. “If you can help pain, could you help the one on my neck?” He asked it with a small and hesitant voice. He was scared of her rejection or sudden attack. He didn’t want to hurt her but he wasn’t willing to be killed. “It’s not bad it’s just hard to clean.” He added the last bit to hide the wound away again.

He didn’t want anyone to know it hurt. Feeling trapped again Kaden ducked his head. “Can I shift now?” He no longer cared about the wound, just wanted claws and teeth, and to get the filth from his skin as quickly as he could.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Kaden seemed to like her idea, causing Spirit to grin. If they worked together on this... they could do it! He could fight, protect the city, and hunt... and she could heal, and care for animals, and the other bears. Excitement nearly overwhelmed her, though it quickly dissolved into slight surprise at her bondmate's next request. It seemed like he'd broken through his fear, and asked for her help... excellent!

She nodded vigorously pushing herself up from her seat, and dislodging Fog, who had taken to resting on her lap. The dog looked vaguely disappointed, but allowed the Frostfawn to set off on a new quest: to aid the Kelvic. Spirit moved delicately through the small pile of dogs and over to her companion, standing over him to get a good look at his neck. Yes... there were the stitches, but... the cut didn't look very good.

She frowned at it, and gently touched the wound. It was warmer than usual... though she wasn't entirely sure what that meant. It wasn't normal, for sure, but... did it mean there was some kind of infection? That would warrant the odd appearance. "Does it hurt more than the others?" she asked, musing over the various ways she could help this.

She didn't know if she was supposed to cut off the stitches and re-clean it, clean it from here... or... Morwen help her, she didn't know. She thought she'd cleaned it out well enough earlier, but apparently not. Infection - if that was what it was - was not good. However, she'd only seen infection once before... and it had been pretty bad. It had smelled kind of rotting, with white lines near the wound. This was missing that... so was it only minor infection? Still, that man had apparently lost his hand... In this situation, you couldn't exactly amputate anything. The neck was too critical a spot.

She frowned, worried. Maybe she could run or ride to the medical center, fetch one of the doctors, and head back here... she knew Kaden didn't like the place, and didn't want him to go through that again. Honestly... she didn't know what else to ask. "Does... no wait, I already asked that. Um... you're used to things healing, right? Does this feel like it could heal? You mention cleaning... is there a way you could clean it, with my help?" She wondered if a dog licking the wound would have the same effect as a cat. She knew both creatures, in the wild, licked their injuries. She didn't have any disinfectant nearby, though a Frostfawn might have some... Lusina? She was a Veterinarian right? And nearby, too. The woman always helped every animal... hopefully even Kaden.

"Shift? Uh..." she hesitated, unsure. Would it help with the injury, or make it worse? Well, she couldn't see any problem with it, other than the extra fur. "Take whichever form you feel more comfortable in, right now... though depending on how we deal with this, you might need to go back to human." She was pretty sure Lusina wouldn't mind healing him in tiger form, but a Whitevine healer would probably prefer human.

x
x

[Kaden Swift]

He saw and was happy as Spirits mood picked up. She seemed to like the idea of the big bears. He would go there soon to ask them if he could join, but he worried. Right now he was wounded and he would be putting himself closer to a group of Kelvic. This was not a fond thought but for Spirit he would do so. The bears belonged to Morwen; maybe belonging to a god was different then belonging to a human. He hoped that was so. He watched Spirit move through the dogs to him.

As she came closer he felt torn to just bolt or keep still. He had asked however and she was his bonded. Delicately he shivered as he took off his shirt and bowed his head so she could see it better. He was unable to keep from flinching at her touch but he didn’t move. He forced himself to relax under her hand which he was surprised was soft and light. Then again, hadn’t it been before?

Confused he bowed further to and let his muscles drop. She had always known he was hurt hadn’t she, she had been with him. Even when he slept she hadn’t done anything. Kaden felt a sudden was of guilt at his previous thoughts. He was unaccustomed to this emotion and how to fix it. He thought about his various pains as she asked. “Yes, this one hurts with every heart beat.” So it did, with each pump of his heart blood rushed to the wound fighting away infection.

Still he felt guilt, why hadn’t he trusted Spirit when she had done nothing to him at all? He kept silent and unmoving as he tried to puzzle out the whys. He was so use to humans hurting him, he had only met a few that didn’t but he never gave them that chance. Spirit had the chance over and over again. She asked him another question that made him reevaluate his past wounds. “It will heal, but it will take longer and I will get sick. I will get hot, and I will get dizzy and not be able to move well.” He would throw up, be unable to think clearly.

“I don’t know how to clean what I can’t reach,” he admitted at last. Peering back to look at Spirit he made a low soft humming sound. “How do humans clean?” She said he could shift but might have to go back. He could handle that. He lifted his hips and tugged away his pants. Dropping it to his shirt he sat back down and shifted. He felt the power of muscles and claws; the strength of strong bones and his nose filled with the scent of dog and the harder smell to find that was Spirit. Whiskers fanning he opened his eyes to a duller world.

No colors, but he had scent and hearing now. Getting up he turned to face Spirit .There, now he could touch her. He walked the last step to her and butted his head against her stomach chuffing pleasantly. Even in this form the wound was clearly wrong, the fur along his neck had started to thin around it to try and help it cool off. He had wronged his bonded by thinking she would hurt him but it was hard to trust. In this form it was easier, he was faster and stronger and wasn’t as scared. He longed for touch while he was like this.

With a sigh Kaden looked at her, in this form he could see straight into her eyes. He wanted to show her he was sorry and didn’t know how. He didn’t even know how to tell her as a human. Sorry was a word he understood and knew but it didn’t seem to mean the same thing or even be important for how much it was used. Brushing against her he sat down. Well he could groom her; that was bonding and trusting. Pleased with himself his whiskers fanned and he licked her arm once then again. He chuffed and rubbed his face against the new clean patch before going back to licking. Clean helps everything.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit sighed when Kaden admitted the injury hurt. However, her next diagnosis caused her to frown. It was partially his accurate prediction that surprised her, but also what he said... and it didn't sound good. At least it didn't involve amputation, but she still didn't want him getting sick like that. No... they needed to clean it out. She mused for a few moments on how to do that, but her concentration was broken when she felt a lick on her arm.

Her bonded had shifted, and was now licking... cleaning... her elbow. She smiled, always loving his thick fur in this form, and rubbed the Kelvic's head happily. After a few moments of quiet contentment, she remembered the current situation. She wasn't entirely sure what to do, and didn't have the materials... so she'd get Lusina. Right. Or just ask Lusina what to do, grab disinfectant and anything else needed, and deal with this herself. She thought Kaden would be more comfortable in the latter situation, anyways.

"Kaden, I'm going to need to get some things to help with your wound, okay? Just stay here, and I'll be right back. I'm just going to the stables." She rubbed his nose once, before backing through the crowd of dogs that had gathered to sniff the Kelvic, and slipping out of the room. She shut the door behind her, so no one saw the odd sight inside... a giant tiger in a room stuffed with dogs.

Once outside, she quickly made her way to the exit, moving into a half jog every few steps to quicken her pace. She exited the Arvinta in moments, and was at the stables within a chime. Inside, she immediately spotted her boss, grooming a magnificent horse. "Lusina!" she called, taking a few steps to be closer to the head groom. "One of my... dogs had hurt himself, but its something I can deal with... sort of. What does it mean when a wound is constantly in pain, and is warmer than usual?" The woman frowned at the abrupt introduction, before stating "Infection..."

Just what she'd thought. "If it's already stitched up... how do I deal with it?" That was the more complicated part. Again, another few seconds of thought, before Lusina answered "Clean it with alcohol... a lot. But... your dog has stitches?" Spirit blushed at this, but waved a hand. She wasn't quite ready to admit she had a tiger in her room, so instead ignored the question. "May I borrow some disinfectant then? I know you have some for the horses." Lusina nodded and turned, and within seconds she was back with a clean cloth and alcohol "Are you -"
"Yes!" the Frostfawn called, and speed walked back into her Arvinta.

Inside, she went up to Kaden, lifting the bottle to show him her prize. "This will help clean the wound" she told him with a smile. She tried to calm herself down from the rush she'd worked herself into, closing her eyes for a moment. When they opened, she still saw the furry orange tiger, and she moved up to his shoulder. She added some alcohol to the cloth, making sure it was soaked. "Now... this is going to hurt, okay? But it will clean your wound, and make it better." She'd probably told him that last time she'd cleaned his cuts, but it was always good to repeat the mantra.

Once she was sure the Kelvic was ready, she pressed the injury with the cloth, careful not to irritate it more than needed. She rubbed gently, thankful that Lusina's cloths were always soft. When it seemed she could clean no more, she retracted the cloth and set it aside on the table. After a few more tries... she'd return that to Lusina. Probably at tomorrow's work. "Does that feel cleaner?" she asked, vaguely hopeful.

x
x

[Kaden Swift]

Whiskers fanning, Kaden continued with his grooming even after Spirit had touched and petted his head. He still hadn’t puzzled out just how the humans bathed since his own attempt had left him wet with spit and a horrid taste in his mouth. This was something he could do but it was also more. It was calming and a motion he was use to and knew was one made to show acceptance and comfort. His eyes had a sort of glazed over look to them and that his tongue caught on Spirits shirt a few times didn’t faze him. Already he had cleaned a nice spot but it was different cleaning skin he mused. Harder, and his tongue scrapped over it not unpleasantly just not the same as fur.

He was bemused when Spirit suddenly started talking. Pulling back he straightened up as he tried to go from calm and nearly asleep to understanding his bonded was leaving him here. Eyes crossing Kaden tried to see his nose as she pet him then breezed out. He was utterly confused and sat staring after her, his tongue still sticking out of his mouth. Why did she want to go back to the horse home? He had just started getting her clean! Tail lasing Kaden coughed in dislike even as he turned his attention to the dogs he suddenly realized were all around him.

He couldn’t tell any of them apart aside from Apple and Ticker, all their colors blended into black white and grays; some red and orange getting through here and there but hardly helpful. So it was that he knew it was Ticker who ignored all of them and sat beside him. Looking down at the puppy he chuffed in greeting knowing exactly what Ticker just did. Like a cat he had ignored the other dogs and set claim to Kaden all while showing he wasn’t scared like they were. Kaden felt some pride in his dog. His ears turned back as the other dogs circled around him. They were wary now that Spirit was gone. Kaden himself wasn’t amused by their crowding and growled warningly. It did nothing.

The puppy Icicle taking a note from Ticker approached Kaden and promptly shoved at him. Kaden just looked down at the tiny animal and wondered how the dog was so brave. All Kaden had to do was sit on the small male and it would be the end. Grumbling inwardly he shoved the puppy away only for another one to take its place. He snarled and slammed a paw down hard, but once more his threat might as well have been a rabbit for all the dogs took notice of them. Agitated he sat stonily still as he was buffered with sniffs and shoves. They were unrelenting in interest and Kaden spun around and hissed as one licked a small cut on his back. They didn’t care and finally Kaden coughing in disgust moved away only to have one of the bigger ones slam into him.

He wasn’t a happy cat as even Ticker took the game and finally he had no choice. They were Spirits dogs and Kaden couldn’t hurt them. Flopping down he stayed utterly still and just let them crawl around him and do as they pleased. He couldn’t help his shudder of revulsion when one licked him however. Agitated he started grooming himself and snarled if one of the dogs grew to close or looked as if they might lick him again. He was glad to see Spirit whole an unharmed. She had as much energy as the dogs it seemed. He lay down for her as she approached him with the bottle and rag.

He closed his eyes and gave his tail an agreeing flick as she warned him of it hurting. He understood it would hurt but the sharp sheering pain caused all his fur to stand on end but he didn’t growl at her or make any movement to ward her off. It hurt, worse than the wound hurt. Still he knew she was trying to be gentle despite that it hurt just the same. When she moved away and asked if it was better he looked at her before shifting. He kept lying on the floor his arms crossed under his head for a pillow. “No, that hurt.” He glared at her but there was no heat in the look. He twisted to try and see it but he only tugged at the stitches forcing him to stop.

Without clothes and stretched out all his scars were on show over his back. There were stripes along his shoulder blades and the back of his ribs, one or two were indented they had run so deep. Then there were many smaller ones that were a shiny and flat white; while a few like bites and scratches were a raised red or pink. None were as nasty as the one around his neck or his wrists and ankles. He was watching Spirit in a lazy feline like fashion that was almost like he was looking through her.

In Kaden’s case he was calm and feeling lazy. “Your dogs keep licking me.” He said it so gravely it might as well have been the worst sin in the world. He was surprisingly clean for the most part; his hair and a few patches on his back still had the dusty dirty look but in Spirits short trip he had managed to get clean. He was happy she had come back, if not for Spirits dogs he would have been out the door trying to follow her no matter that she told him to stay. Now he was really looking at her checking for any sort of wound that might have appeared.

“Why did you go back,” he asked still in a sullen voice. “Now you have more horse smell and dust.” Kaden suddenly gave a yawn and stretched further along the floor. Then suddenly he was rolling to his feet and he paused a second blinking as if confused. He looked from Spirit to himself then brow furrowed he sat abruptly and looked along the floor. “Clothes.” He didn’t want them back on, they were dirt and in any case they itched. He wondered how often Spirit would make him wear the stuffy things.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit had to shoo away all the dogs as she'd entered... they'd seemed to have climbed all over Kaden, though Morwen knew why. She noticed that he didn't like the pain at all... but there was nothing else she could do. This would make it feel better in the long run, at least. Though he technically didn't show any signs of the pain... she knew it hurt him anyways. This bond of theirs was... strange, but useful at the same time. She felt like she knew who she was talking to. More than she knew anyone else, at least.

When he shifted, she blinked her eyes shut, before remembering that he was lying down. She kept her eyes staring at his face, rather than anywhere else... though she caught glimpses of scars on his back. They didn't look nice, and she shuddered to think where they'd come from. Instead, she frowned when he complained about the pain, but quickly turned it into a smile.

"I told you it would, didn't I? If it hurts, it means it's cleaning. Does it feel cleaner, at least?" She cocked her head slightly, wondering if he'd notice such a change. Would it have done anything at all? Did any of the disinfectant get into the cut? She hoped it did... she didn't want to put her bonded through anything painful and horrible, like what he'd described earlier. If need be, she'd take him to one of the Whitevine healers.

Kaden left the injury behind, and proceeded to complain about the dogs... licking him, apparently. She personally didn't mind being licked too much... she was used to it. However, she did spot one of the puppies creeping towards the man's back. "No" she told Orange firmly, standing and pushing the dog firmly off her bondmate. "No licking." The canine probably didn't understand the words, but should have gotten the tone. This would require a bit of training...

"If they try licking you again, say 'no' and push them away. The older ones should know better." She glared at the trio of adults, who simply gave her innocent looks. She sighed, shook her head, and grabbed Orange from where she'd been attempting to lick the Kelvic. "No" she repeated, voice even more stern than before. Picking up the puppy was harder than it used to be, but they were used to it... her uncle had told her to pick them up a lot, so they got used to human contact.

"I went back to get disinfectant from Lusina, so I could clean your cut" she told Kaden, in answer to the question. She sat cross-legged opposite to him, keeping her eyes on his face. "Clothes?" She glanced around, and spotted Icicle with said garments in his mouth, trying to throw them around. Fog came and placed a paw on the clothes, and the Frostfawn leaned over to snatch them from both dogs. "No" she told them, before handing them to the Kelvic.

She waited for him to get dressed, allowing Wind to come and collapse on her lap. Apple tried to take the same position, but the sled dog simply growled him off. Though Spirit was in charge, Wind was her second-in-command... though that was possible to change, with Kaden's arrival. "So... how does your neck feel now? Better?" She wanted to hear his diagnosis on it again, and see if anything had changed... Lusina had also told her to clean multiple times, so it might not have done much on the first cleaning.

x
x

[Kaden Swift]

He hummed as she smiled, but he was happy that she was. He complained because she expected him to; not because he wanted to. Pain was pain but if it helped her feel better he would complain about it. “Yes,” he said but he still huffed. “No, just burned.” How would burning it clean anything? He wished again that there was another cat he could go to and request a bath from. Again he felt a small bit of loneliness hit him but then it was gone as he took a deep calming breath. He wasn’t really alone.

Cats were solitary animals but he wasn’t. Some part of him disliked the large groups of people all around but a larger part decided that the noise of their life was nice. It was like watching birds build a nest but they never stopped, more and more went around talking and moving; living. Yet out of them all there was no cat, he had never met another feline Kelvic and somehow that hurt. He didn’t understand why that was but it didn’t stop the feeling no matter his idea of it.

Deep in is musing, Kaden flinched when Spirit suddenly said no. Heart beating just a bit faster he looked at her only to see she wasn’t looking at him and he understood that no wasn’t directed at him when she continued with the command that followed; relaxing he nodded firmly. “Dogs have bad breath.” He highly doubted their licking would help him and he shuttered at the idea of smelling like that. It was one thing for him to smell of their fur but their spit was a whole other matter. He flinched again as once more Spirit said no.

It wasn’t at him but she had such a stern air when she said it. Kaden couldn’t help go through the list of things he could possibly stop. Right now he wasn’t doing anything but breathing and he knew that was not something he could stop even for her. Watching her pick up the troublesome puppy was amusing. He watched it wiggle just a bit before stilling. ‘That’s right, she could drop you.’ “The horse place.” So he had been right. He didn’t move as she sat, though he wished she would be closer. He didn’t understand why she didn’t like him touching her while he looked like a human; even less that she grew red and fidgety when he didn’t have clothes.

He took to looking where she did and saw his forgotten clothes with a puppy that seemed content to destroy them. Hissing through his teeth Kaden accepted them back as handed to him. More dog slobber, what was with dogs and their mouths! He made a small face but pulled his clothing back on. Pants first then shirt, no one seemed as bothered about his shirt as his pants until they caught sigh of his scars. He froze mid motion of pulling it on when Wind growled. Kaden was stock still as he stared at the old dog. He was not happy at all.

A very large part of him wanted to take the beast and shake it in his jaws like a toy. It growled at the other dog, deciding it chose who would get near Spirit, his bonded. Kaden flashed his teeth but he started pulling his shirt on again. Spirit was his; the dog would not decide anything for his bonded. “Yes, not as hurting,” he replied after a small time thinking and feeling it out. He was surprised by the fact. It really was strange that it had eased so quickly when it had been hurting so much just minutes before. Reaching up he prodded at the wound but it was still there and still the same.

“I did not know pain could stop till it healed,” even then it didn’t always. He peered at Spirit with a hooded and lazy gaze. How did she do that? It still hurt, but it didn’t feel like the wound was his heartbeat anymore. Letting his hands fall back to his lap Kaden stared at Wind and scowled. “If he growls I will bite,” said in such a matter-of-fact way as Kaden moved closer to Spirit. Without another word he leaned toward her. He waited for neither Spirit nor Wind to react. Moving still closer he wrapped his arms around her waist. Lifting he dislodged Wind from her lap.

He was not a dog to be growled at by Wind, nor a dog to be commanded by Spirit. He would not let the mistake continue. Kaden pulling Spirit to his side till she was in his own lap, he had to uncrossed his legs enough that she fit between them; then he folded his arms around her tucking her to his chest. He was not a dog, he refused to be cowed by a beast bellow him and refused still to be owned like one. He tucked Spirit flush against him, then rested his chin on her head and sighed. From there he didn’t move just held her tight. He was strong and he wasn’t letting her go but neither did he want to scare her.

He had seen another male hold a female like this when she had been crying. Well Spirit wasn’t crying but like this he could protect her and get the dogs away all while laying his claim. She was his, not just the other way around. He wasn’t just one more dog in her pack that Wind could growl and snap at deciding when he could approach her. Neither was he a dog Spirit could command for the same thing. Hugging her just a bit tighter he purred. Humans could purr if they knew the muscles to use, as a tiger Kaden couldn’t but as a man he could. He did so now because he was happy and content.

He had his bonded in his arms and he was strong enough to hold her there and protect her even if at the moment there was no threat. “Mine.” He rubbed the top of his chin over her hair then his cheek. No scent glans as a human but it was the movement all the same. Then he could suddenly feel a glimmer of something that wasn’t his. The bond woke on his side finally, and Kaden relaxed even more.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

OOCArgg, sorry for the delay on this! I should be speeding up

Spirit frowned at Wind when the dog growled at her bonded. He had no reason to... was he just trying to keep up his position as second in the pack? He'd been in that place forever, with only the Frostfawn above him... age, experience, and size contributing to his rank. With Kaden coming around, bigger and stronger and smarter than the Zypherian, the dog was probably feeling a little put off. Still... resorting to growling? That was extreme, especially for Wind... who was usually quite quiet.

Her companion seemed surprised and amazed that his wound hurt less, but it was relieving for the groom herself. Hurting less was a good sign in almost every case... unless someone had frostbite, where the wound felt numb and lacked any feeling at all. On that note, she really needed to learn how to treat something like that, especially in Avanthal. Did you just try and warm it up? That was all she could think of.

Her attention was focused on these things for more than a few moments, going over various possibilities in her mind. She stared blankly at the floor, expression holding a tiny frown of concentration. She was so out of it that she didn't notice the Kelvic's movements until she was firmly in his hold.

She squeaked in surprise... why did Kaden keep making her do that. For a moment, she froze, resisting the temptation to wriggle out of her bondmate's grasp and free herself. Partially because she knew it would upset him, and partially because... she didn't really have any logical reason to do so. There was no malevolent feel in this grasp, or recklessly playful, like the two times he'd grabbed her three days before. No, it felt... calmer, more peaceful... though she was still uptight.

Reminding herself that this wasn't a bad thing, she forced herself to relax... though her body refused to lean against him. She asked herself the reason for this, but only came up with a grumpy no. She was a little out of her comfort zone here, and wasn't about to admit to, or agree to, anything... right?

She couldn't help her cheeks reddening as Kaden rubbed his face on the top of her head, however, and scowled slightly because of it. The comment of 'mine' was a little amusing, though strangely so, in such a situation. She had to remember that cats did rub their cheeks and sides against things... something to do with scent glands. Most animals did something similar, with different parts for each creature. She doubted humans had any (that she knew of) so it was more the thought that counted, in this case.

But what an odd way to use the saying. What did cats do the cheek-rubbing thing for again? Dogs used it to mark territory, if she could remember correctly. Was it the same for cats? That would certainly link to his earlier statement, a simple, possessive, 'mine'. Cats could be funny and sweet at the same time, though they usually weren't so... big. Or human.

Sighing quietly to herself, she let her shoulders droop, shoving out all the tenseness that had gathered in those muscles as she thought. It was oh so tempting just to lean back and close her eyes, but... no. Not yet. She was locked into a position that was awkward and unintentional, at least in her case. She mused over a tactical way to get out of the lock... and found one.

"Food!" she exclaimed in surprise. She began pushing on her bonded's hold, trying to force herself up. "I have to feed the dogs... it's their dinner time!" Though there wasn't an official time for feeding (she liked to vary it up) it was a convenient excuse to get back to doing things, and stop thinking. Thinking was nice, but... sometimes you got stuck in it, and it led you to annoying and awkward thoughts.

x
x

[Ablation]

Spirit :

Experience:

Socialization +3
Observation +2
Teaching +2
Rhetoric +2

Experience:
Animals try and hide weakness
Slavers: Damage Kelvic Psychology
Infection: Sensitive warm wounds

Other

-10GM - Bed and Mattress
-5SM - Winter Blanket

Please don't be afraid to PM me with any questions ^-^ and please don't forget to remove your grading request from the list to keep My office spick and span.