Completed The Time Together Will Be Relentless. [ Licearsvansan ]

[Samantha Grenth]

Samantha had calmed down and had started to part from the snake, who had looked pissed and then suddenly calmed down; which confused her, when she found herself being pulled back towards the snake by her shoulder. Samantha went to turn her head and growl at Svan when she felt a slimy finger press hard down her cheek. Samantha let out a whine when it started to burn and tried to get out of his hold but stopped moving entirely when he practically made her eat her words. Without another word the snake let go of her and went to the cub. Samantha stood there with eyes like a deer as she watched him start to skin the Kougara. "No." Samantha came back to herself and furiously wiped at her cheek but the stinging wouldn't stop. Samantha stomped to Svan threw down the bloody and muddy cloths and hissed at him "Svan they were in my hand! You could have just used that! And stop stealing my catchy phrases!" Samantha huffed before uncrossing her arms and shifting right there. Landing on all fours Samantha gave a glare before shaking off the rest of her wet fur. Some water still clung to it but not at much. Giving Svan a slight nudge she walked around him and began to look around them for a good tree to brake branches and twigs off of. It didn't take as long as she thought it would. Finding a tree that looked like it was ready to fall Samantha pounced on the weak side. The tree creaked and Samantha jumped down. Walking a good few steps away Samantha turned and burst back into a full sprint. This time she turned herself and knocked her side into the tree. Samantha cringed when her body bent a little from the impact but sighed in relief when the tree fell before she could brake anything. The tree was small enough that she could drag it back to Svan. God, did she feel worse than dog right now. And if Svan said a single thing he better start slithering away because Samantha would eat him for dinner. Dropping the tree with a huff and puff Samantha turned her attention to the small amount of sticks and branches on the tree and began to snap the dry ones off. The wet or green ones she left alone because her claws were not a knife. Once she had enough for a small fire Samantha moved to a dry sandy area. Clearing out a little bit of the area round Samantha walked to the bush and grabbed a good mouthful. Shaking her head back and forth Samantha almost puked at the taste of the greens. While in human form she could stand salads and some few vegetables, in her tiger form they tasted like... she didn't know they just gross. Spitting out the dry-ish kindling in her whole Samantha dropped beside it. Samantha cringed when she went to stand again. Slowing down her process of moving Samantha walked off the bruise on her side and the bite/claw marks that she was staring the feel. Samantha dragged the rest of the of the sticks over and the logs before she finally shifted. Sitting on her knees Samantha started to form a small tent of sticks. Reaching around Samantha dragged over her bag. Rummaging in it for a little while Samantha let out a sigh of pleasure when she found her flint and steel. It took a couple trys but Samantha found herself let out a small smile when she got the fire going. It was small so she would be fine. But she needed it to be bigger than she was comfortable with for Svan to keep warm and for her to dry her self. Slowly easing herself down to the ground Samantha laid on her non bruised side and stared into the fire. Setting in a bigger piece of wood Samantha growled. Sitting back up she addressed her side. It was bleeding and was dirty. 'Oh great. an infection.' Samantha sighed and slowly laid back down. She could address those later.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan gave the slightest wince of guilt as the tigress shouted at him. Normally he would give her some rude rebuttal or come up with some clever way of twisting her words, but the snake was no longer in the mood to argue with the tiger. Instead, Svan simply returned to his job of preparing the kougara in silence.

...

By the time Svan finished cleaning the Kougara it was already dusk. The light in the sky was growing dim, and his ability to actually see the dead beast was quickly diminishing. It really shouldn't have taken him this long, but he was more in a mood to curl into a corner and sleep than to preform any sort of labor. Eventually as Svan saw the light of the campfire spring up in the distance he decided that to forgo the formalities of properly cutting his meat and simply sawed off the remaining leg and swallowed it whole. The dhani took a few moments to choke down the appendage before returning to the rest of the scraps. The dhani moved his hands back into his pack and began salting the remaining scraps so that they would have some food later. Finally finished with the carcass, Svan wrapped up the remaining food in a tarp and dragged it over to the campfire.

Once he reached the fire he glanced over to see the the tiger staring at her new wounds. The sight of her injuries immediately reminded him of his own, and Svan turned quickly from her in hopes that his painful drum beat headache would calm down. Moving with a certain sluggishness Svan slithered over to the tiger, fished out a large piece of meat, and placed it at her side. He then coiled his body back and set the remaining meat against a tree. With that done Svan glided silently across the ground until he faced the opposite side of the fire as Samantha. In this spot he was both as far from Samantha as he could manage while still being as close to the fire as he liked.

Feeling the rejuvenating warmth of the flames, the dhani relaxed his tired muscles and positioned his head to lie atop his folded arms as he lay next to the fire. His solemn gaze remained fixed on the dancing flames as dusk began to slowly give way to the night. He didn't notice it at first, but as time began to draw on, Svan realized just how big the flame was. Did she do this for me? Svan wondered. The thought quickly began to cause Svan discomfort. Why would she do such a thing? Didn't she hate him? Wasn't she afraid of fire? Svan tried to push the thoughts from his mind but to no avail. He wanted to pinch his eyes shut and pretend that the fire wasn't there, but he had no eyelids to close, and no power to resist the heat of the flames. Svan's snake face began to slowly resemble that of a guilty pup as the memory of Samantha's fearful eyes burned in his mind like the fire before him. Eventually Svan could take now more and a few muted words escaped his scaly lips. "I'm sorry"

Svan looked up for a split moment to see if the tiger had heard. Unfortunately, the crackling of the fire and the sounds of the night easily silenced Svan's apology. Even his own keen ears had barely managed to hear his voice.

The snake let out yet another sigh and fixed his eyes onto the bright orange flames once again. After a moment to gather his courage the dhani spoke once more, "I'm...sorry." Svan's words were painfully slow, and it was quite obvious that he wasn't used to this sort of thing. The dhani's eyes flicked up towards the tiger to see if she heard him before returning his gaze to the fire. "I-I'm sorry for the fire I mean. The bad one..." Svan's body was now slightly risen from his rested position, and a hand moved unconsciously to scratch the scars at his neck.

"I just..." Svan wanted to make an excuse for his actions but found none. Instead he simply bowed his head and looked to his side, unsure of what to do next.

[Samantha Grenth]

Samantha's eyes were closed and she was trying her best to focus on anything but the fire. She heard Svan settle on the other side but didn't move to take up the meat he had given her. As hungry as she was she didn't have the will to get up. Behind her closed eyes Samantha felt sleep begin to grasp her. Shifting a little to get better comfort Samantha let out a small hiss when some of her cuts stung. Samantha slowly opened her tiger eyes to land on the large fire. Quickly shutting them and turning her head away Samantha breathed out of her nose to calm herself. Just as Samantha had calmed herself and was heading back into a sleepy state Svan slowly drawled out words she never thought she would hear from the snake. Samantha opened her eyes but kept her back to from him. Letting her fingers play with some strands of her hair Samantha listened. Samantha heard the sound of scratching and guessed he was scratching the back of his neck. She would be doing the same thing if she were him. When he went to excuse his actions Samantha's eyes narrowed but slowly they went blank when he stopped talking. No words passed for a time and Samantha found herself letting out a sigh. Slowly dragging her aching body, when wasn't it, up Samantha painfully twisted her self so her lower body was still faced away but her torso was twisted towards him, "Don't just it. It's in the past. It didn't help anything so don't dwell on it." Samantha had to force herself to ignore the fire and pay attention to Svan. Samantha went to lay back down but when she twisted back her side felt like it was going to give out. And it did. Samantha found herself back on the ground in the blink of an eyes and angrily she let out a growl. She couldn't lay on her side's because one was bruised and no matter how hard she tried to get comfortable on her other side it just wasn't working. She never could, even as a child, get comfortable on her right side. Samantha decided the best thing to do was to shift. Shifting and then turning to lay on her stomach Samantha let out a pleased sound. Laying her head on her massive paws Samantha closed her eyes. Just as Samantha closed them she realized that Svan was apologizing and here she was dismissing it. Samantha internally fought with herself before she pulled herself up and walked around the fire. Using the sounds of it to keep a good distance away. Opening her eyes when she felt she was closer to Svan, Samantha looked him in the eye and then nodded once. Then she moved behind him and dropped. Allowing her body to be a safe distance from Svan for him to choose if he would like her body heat or if he wanted to move. Her body was like a long pillow that curled behind him. But also she was far away enough that she wasn't so close to the fire. Her tummy lightly grumbled but Samantha couldn't find a reason to care. Samantha closed her eyes and set her head down. And curled her tail against Svan. Letting him know that she was alright with him and didn't mind him for the time being. They had cooled down now and there was no reason for words. But Samantha knew Svan and wouldn't be surprised if he misinterpreted her actions. Like usual.

[Licearsvansan]

"Don't just it. It's in the past. It didn't help anything so don't dwell on it."

Svan gave the tigress a troubled look before eventually letting his snake lips form a small smile. He wasn't quite sure what she meant, but as he thought about it he realized it didn't matter. Even though Svan wasn't known for letting things go she seemed willing to forgive him, and that was already more than he expected from her.

Satisfied with her answer Svan allowed his gaze to return to the fire. No sooner did he do so then Samantha begin to stir again and lift her heavy body towards the snake. The snake eyed the tiger warily, unsure of her reasons for moving. As she sat down near him and brushed him with her tail Svan realized that she was allowing him to lie next to her. Had he been human Svan might have blushed nervously, but luckily such an emotion was not easily visible on a snake.

Despite Svan's pride he nearly took the offer of a warm furry pillow, but before he was able to rest his head on her he saw the scratches that covered her body. The sight of the wounds reminded Svan of the medicine in his pack and he quickly moved to grab it. Digging through his pack Svan turned his head to look at the tigress. "Before you go to sleep Samantha, we should address your wounds." The dhani produced three bottles from his bag. Now which one of these is the poison? Making a face, Svan placed one of the bottles back into the bag and grabbed his water flask before slithering over to Samantha. "This medicine only works if applied shortly after you are wounded." Svan eyed the dirty wounds carefully, "If we wash the dirt from the cuts it may still work in time." ...I think Svan knew little about medicine aside from what he was told by the people who sold him these pastes. It luckily didn't take a genius to rub in a cream. You may want to change into a human for a moment too. I'm afraid I never asked what the dosage should be for an adult tiger." Svan began unscrewing the cap to his water. Lacking any medical experience, Svan didn't know that a saline solution would be more effective, but the water could at least clean the dirt from the wound.

As he popped the cap off his flask, he turned to look Samantha in the face, "I don't mean to keep you awake, but the last thing we need is you getting sick from that wound. I don't have the medicine nor skill to treat a cold, and we are sadly too far from any hospital for me to carry you."

[Samantha Grenth]

Why did he have to move. She was fine. She didn't need him to baby her. So Samantha turned her head away and snorted. Only to regret it. Clenching her teeth and breathing slowly but heavily a the ground her slowly turned her head back to Svan. She could let her insticts go on hold. She could let her body become even more open while he was near her with fangs and claws and poison. She...... could.. she couldn't do it. But when she locked eyes with him she found herself slowly complying. Relaxing her body and letting the shift take over one last time Samantha shivered on the ground. "Svan, you just lost your source of heat when the fire goes out. I hope you know this."Samantha shivered when a breeze went by. She wasn't fully dry yet and wet hair was usually a problem when it came to humans. And boy did Samantha hate it when she was cold in human form. Wasn't as warm as being an animal with fur and tuns of muscle. Samantha peered at Svan, "And after this, give me that meat. I didn't eat and probably should have." Samantha glanced at the fire and quickly looked back to Svan. Focusing on his snake form.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan gave her a wide smile when she finished shifting. A smile that immediately faded upon hearing the news that he could no longer use her for warmth.

The snake watched patiently as Samantha continued to speak, and once she finished he glided over to her side with tonics in hand, eager to be done with his task. Looking her over carefully, Svan noticed that she was wet and shivering. I guess that water-proof fur works both ways. He noted silently to himself. "Lost my source of heat you say? Whats to stop me from slowly coiling myself around that slender body of yours? I'm sure that would make me plenty warm." To add emphasis, Svan began to circle more tightly to Samantha until he had practically wound himself around the tigress. He pushed his face close to hers and lifted a coil behind her to stop her should she try to move away. "Or I could just eat you here and now. Your warm body would certainly warm my stomach, and you're too weak to resist me right now." The snake gave her a devilish smile before backing away. As he moved back he popped the cork out of one of the bottles, and dipped his fingers into the paste. Adjusting his tone so that it was more playful Svan spoke again, "You should be more careful than to trust a dhani. You are far to vulnerable to me in your human form. If you don't have the strength to fight me off should I decide to attack you, then I can't promise your safety." The dhani wagged a paste covered finger mockingly and moved it towards her wounds, "Which is why we need to get you healed as quickly a possible." As he began to rub in the cream he gave her a light reassuring smile. He was still in control of himself. For now at least Svan could stuff down the urge to cause unnecessary trouble. Though there was a certain sadistic pleasure Svan got out of splashing water against her drying body. Once he finished cleaning the caked dirt from her wounds the snake went to apply the medicine.

First came the tulja paste. This he applied to the smaller cuts and scrapes on her body. The paste was thick and sticky on his hands, and as he rubbed it against her skin he only had to lightly brush over the wound for it to stay. There was a certain wet earthy smell filling Svan's nostrils as he pressed the thick goo into her wounds. Aside from a certain bitterness to the smell, it was actually quite a pleasant scent to Svan. Or perhaps it was simply a familiar smell to him. He had spent so much of his time in the past few years with his head being crushed into the dirt that he had likely just grown used to the smell.

Whether Samantha agreed or not about the scent of the first potion, she was certain to like the second. Svan's second healing paste was a krolar poultice, and it was a mixture of crushed treebark and wild flowers. The smell of it reminded the snake of his time in the Syliran domain. While it wasn't as fast acting as the first, it was more effective at speeding the recovery of large wounds. Unfortunately, where the tulja poultice was thick and sticky, the second was thin and creamy. Svan was forced to press deeply into her largest wounds to spread the paste. He made a face as he imagined how uncomfortable it must be to have a dhani digging its nails into an open wound. As he pressing his fingers into a gash at her side, Svan slithered his body behind her and clasped a hand over her shoulder. He couldn't help but notice just how much flimsier Samantha was in this form. The dhani was torn between gratitude for the trust she had given him, and contentment for her stupidity in putting faith in a dhani.

After some time passed, Svan finished covering all of Samantha's wounds and stood behind the naked woman. He let his gaze fall to the burn wounds that tarnish what would normally an very attractive body. Almost unconsciously Svan's hand moved to lightly spread paste over the charred skin. The man who sold Svan this cream stated that it could aid with the recovery of nearly any wound. Sadly, the snake could only hope that the cream would have some effect this late in the healing process.

As Svan pulled his hand away from the burn he turned his head to that it faced the fire before them. The flames, now smaller than before, jumped and flickered in the night's gentle breeze. Svan arced his torso over his tail and slid around the fire to grab the meat before going back to rest on the ground beside Samantha. With a flick of his tail he motioned Samantha to join him and take the food. With the hungry tiger now having food Svan turned his attention back to the flames. Not taking his eyes from the fire, Svan spoke as softly as he could, "You're afraid of it aren't you?" Svan said, obviously speaking about the fire, "I don't mean to pry, but when I set the field on fire back when we fought...I just saw the way you looked at it." Svan flicked his eyes briefly to Samantha to see her face. "As surprised as you must be to know this, dhani aren't unfamiliar with fear. I can't tell what exactly causes a person's fears, but tell the difference between a person who is afraid...and one who is traumatized." Svan lifted a finger to point at the tigress.

His eyes looked deep into hers in an attempt to tell her that he meant no harm, "I'm not going to force you to tell me what it was that made you like that. Not if you don't want to. However, this is a campfire, and I can think of few better places to share a story."

[Samantha Grenth]

Samantha might be tired and close to platonic at the current time but she could still send glares and be the Pussy-cat she is. Which mean't she he decided to wrap himself around her with cold scales, Samantha sent her best bitchface and listened to the snake. Sometimes she wondered why she even dealt with snakes. They would taste much better than they talk. The face turned into a tired sneer when he mentioned eating her. She might be tired but she could still kick his butt... okay maybe after her wounds were taken care of. But Samantha would never say that aloud. Surprisingly when he moved away she did become cold. Samantha wrapped her arms around her self and rolled her eyes when Svan mentioned her trusting him is a bad thing. If it was a bad thing she doubt she would be alive right now, but something in the back of her head whispered tales of fire and scars. Ignoring the voice Samantha dropped her arms and let Svan do his work. Samantha uncomfortable with all the touching Svan has to do and can't help but squirm a little when he touches places close to her back and sometimes fully on her back. It's weird and is making her shivers worse... She was talking about the salve. Samantha didn't like either of the smells coming off of the salves. Actually she hated to floral sent of the first one. And it was so sticky feeling. The second one was... it felt more like a thick oil than anything. Samantha had always hated medicines and Hospitals and it was mostly because they both were crap and almost did nothing to help. Of course there was that one occasion but this certainly wasn't it. Samantha kept her tired body from flinching when he had to press this salve into her wounds and muffled whines of distress when his nails would only make it worse with small pricks. When she finally thought the torture was over Svan was behind her and Samantha let out a tired sigh. Just as she was getting ready to move she felt light hands over her back. In the places she knew the still pink scars deformed her skin. Samantha stopped and blinked a couple times and turned her head to look at Svan, who was being all snake-like and bringing her food to her. Slowly moving herself beside him Samantha sits close enough that she's not touching him and faraway enough from the fire to be in comfort. Slowly Samantha eats and is almost done when Svan starts talking. Samantha looked up from her food to Svan and followed his eyes' gaze. The fire. Samantha set down her food and gazed at the fire. It wasn't that she was afraid of the fire... Samantha tried lying to herself and usually was pretty good about it but when Samantha looked over at Svan he was pointing at her and keeping a gaze that said that he wanted to know. He wanted to know what kept her guard up around the warmth. Samantha was silent for several ticks. Then she dropped her gaze and looked at the fire ," You know how Kelvics are brought up don't you?" Not waiting for an answer Samantha continued, "We are supposed to grow up under the care of our parents until our body if an adult by our 'animal' standards. And then we leave. "But that wasn't the case for me. My mother wanted for me to grow up as a human child. To see many years and have a great education. So she tried to have me grow up as one even though within a year I was practically an adult." Samantha sighed, "I hate her for having me grow up as something I'm not. I have too much 'humanity' for a beast. But I still love her for being a mother." Samantha glanced over at Svan, "I already had an unease with fire. No reason to but it was there. So when my father came in a mess and had wrapped himself around me and the smell of smoke filled the city of Lhavit. I snapped. I didn't cry, didn't sniffle, didn't show any emotion. But when I went to see the damage I was there when they pulled her chard body out of the rubble and small fires." Samantha slowly brought her knee's to her chest, " I try to talk myself into thinking I'm not afraid of fire and I'm just afraid of what it can do. But I know it's both." Samantha was drifting into sleep so she slowly scooted over to Svan, " I don't know about you but I am freezing and numb." Samantha didn't want to say that he was actually warm after her body got used to the temperature. So she didn't, mostly because that would mean that her body temperature was lower than it should be and that she enjoyed his company.

[Licearsvansan]

OOCSvan is speaking with a dhani lisp

Svan adjusted himself so that he could more easily face Samantha, and listened attentively as the woman began her story. The instant she began to speak about her mother the Dhani knew that there wasn't going to be a happy ending. He hadn't expected one, but he had still held a small candle of hope that Samantha's phobia might have a humorous back-story. That small flicker of hope was quickly smothered by the tale that she was now revealing to him.

Despite their near ceaseless fighting, Svan couldn't help but be sadden by the story. While they didn't always get along, the Dhani knew that the tigress was actually a good person underneath her detestable exterior, and he was not so heartless that he could simply shrug at a her suffering. The snake kept his eyes on her but allowed his head to gently glide to the side. A subconscious effort to make her feel less pressured. As she told him about her relationship with her mother, Svan nodded slightly. He also disagreed with the ideals held by his mom, but just she still loved her mother, he too could claim no real hatred for his parent. Their parents, while perhaps misguided, had acted out of love for them. Though this love had brought them both serious pain later in life, it was difficult to hate a parent who only had good intentions for their child.

Still Svan couldn't help but notice the ironic contrast between the two. Samantha had been born a beast, but raised as a human, and now saw her kind upbringing as her flaw. However, for Svan it had been just the opposite. Even what they saw as strength was different. She seemed to see her beast-like traits as her finest features, but Svan had always found human compassion, even if it resulted in weakness, to be sentient life's greatest attribute. It was almost disturbing how eerily similar they could be in some ways, and yet still be so vastly different from one another in others.

As she finished her story Svan clasped his hands together and watched the woman scoot up to him. He looked neither sorrowful, nor glad. Instead the muscles around his eyes tensed, and his scaly skin folded into subtle lines that revealed that he was lost in deep thought. His unblinking snake eyes flicked over to Samantha once she finished moving. His expression was thoughtful and had traces of sympathy. When he had first met Samantha he had simply assumed that she was just another wannabe tough girlguy. Not until the fire did he begin to wonder if there was more to her.

The snake slowly rose off up and coiled slightly around Samantha before plopping his head down on the folded arms that now lie on the ground next to her. He let out a small guilty chuckle and spoke to her in his serpentine accent as he stared into the flames. "I'm sorry for your loss. I had no idea..." He paused briefly and considered whether he wanted to continue. What he was about to tell was one of his closest guarded secrets. Mainly because it left him with an easily exploitable weakness that other could use to take advantage of him. She however had shared the story of her fear with him, and so it was only fair he returned the favor. "I have never lost any family to a fire. However, I am well aware of its dangers. I don't judge you in the slightest for fearing it." Before she could accuse him of having no idea of how horrible fire could be, Svan lifted his tail into the air and let the tigress see the normally hidden burn scars that traced up and down the bottom of his tail. Considering how well hidden the scars usually were, the marks were surprisingly large. "The scales hide it", he said solemnly referring to the burn. "Where I in my human form it would be as clear as day, but I normally hide the scars. Not only is it a mark of a failure long gone, but just like a gimp leg it cripples me even now. These burns have left me unable to morph my legs into anything but my natural form. There is not a day I wish I could be free of these marks, but even more so I wish I could be free of them memory they came from." He stopped again to glace over to see if Samantha was still awake before continuing. "Its not the same as losing a mother, but its the deepest secret I have to give. I owe you that much. Anyways, a campfire is the place for stories."

Resting his head on his arms Svan watched the fire before them dance. He put down his tail and stretched it close to the flames to conduct the warmth into his cool blood. "It was many years ago, in the woodlands of the Talderan forest. The day had started much like any other, and yet had ended so horribly-" he began. As he unfolded the story of how he had foolishly tried to put out a forest fire all by himself, the sparks of the flames before him danced, and in his vibrantly creative mind he saw his past unfolding like a play within the tongues of fire. He had never told anyone who wasn't a healer this story before, and he wasn't quite sure why he did now. All he knew was that once it ended he felt as if a weight had been lifted from him.

Though, considering Svan was now using Samantha's well endowed body as a pillow, she might not feel the same.


Story Link

[Samantha Grenth]

Svan seemed thoughtful and Samantha seemed... almost dead. While she had finished a little bit of the meat and there was still some left she didn't feel that she could make herself eat more. Before Samantha could close her eyes and sleep away her numbness after Svan had coiled around her and made things slightly easier, Svan started to talk. As if reading her mind after saying he was aware of its danger and knowing she would rebut his tail was lifted into the air. Samantha's tired gaze fell upon the end and found herself looking at scars much like the ones her back had. Though hers looked like the fire was wrapping around her these looked like they were climbing or crawling up his body. Samantha turned a little, not that she could turn much with him coiled around, so she could see his face... or more the top of his head. He continued to talk and paused a second as if to check if she was still awake. Somehow she found herself to be. Barley there but enough to register his story. Samantha didn't expect him to actually tell her his secrets. And to her trying to fight against nature wasn't a secret because everyone did it. But She guessed that as he has said, his scars were a cripple to him just as her mother was a cripple and a reminder to her. As the tale continued Svan seemed to get more comfortable with Samantha and by the time he was done she was now the pillow. Though his coils did support her body as well. A thought crept in her mind as she thought of what to say. Their relationship was a give and take. They couldn't stand the other having an advantage over them and didn't like it when they had the upper hand. It didn't make sense and it shouldn't work but some how they made it so. Samantha didn't know how to voice those thoughts. Samantha let a hand, that could move, rest upon his head and slowed her breathing. She didn't look at Svan in fear of... she didn't know if fear of what. She didn't usually show emotions or actions of such as she was the fierce Tigress that would have to protect her self and her cubs when the time came. But that time wasn't anytime soon and she knew it. But to her Svan was the troublesome child who never seemed to stop fighting. Much like a younger sibling that wouldn't stop but you still took-care of. Or maybe he was more like the twins that she used to see in town. They always fought but when one of them became sick his twin sister took care of him. Realizing she was supposed to say something Samantha tried to. But no words would work. So she closed her mouth, shut her eyes, and let her thumb drift back and forth. Besides she needed to sleep anyway and they were sure to ruin the moment later on.

[Licearsvansan]

Having revealed one of his greatest secrets Svan could think of nothing else to say. Luckily it seemed that nothing else need to be said. Samantha was slowly, but surely drifting off to sleep. The snake smiled softly as the woman brushed her hand over his head. The last time they had met they had nearly killed each other, but now they huddled together sharing warmth by a dying campfire as if they had known each other their entire lives. There were words that Samantha seemed to want to say, but instead of speaking she closed her mouth and began to drift. Words were unnecessary, her eyes, her actions, and her reactions had already said more than any word could manage. In that silence, volumes had been sai without a single word spoken. Was this Nura Svan wondered to himself. It couldn't be, he was not yet a witch, and even if he was it wouldn't work on a Kelvic. So if it wasn't the language of Nura, what was it? Svan didn't know, but neither did he really care. The peace of this moment washed away his frustration, and made it impossible for him to stress over any thought.

As Samantha fell to sleep the snake stayed awake. Snakes could sleep as little as 2 hours a day and be perfectly fine. Svan was not an exception to this rule. Time passed by with the Dhani staring wordlessly into the fire before them as the woman slept. He made no movements save for the rhythmic beats of his heart, and the light rise and falls of his chest as he breathed. He remained coiled around the woman as she gently shifted in her slumber. With his heat pits he scanned the world around them, reaching with his vision he watched their surroundings making sure that no threats drew near the pair.

For bells he kept his silent vigil until finally the the urge to sleep began to overtake him. Doing his best not to disturb the woman, Svan placed his head on her stomach. As he did so he was met with the strangest of sensations. Like most snake, Svan was capable of hearing due to the vibrations that sounds made in his jaw. For Svan this had always been a curse. It was horrible to feel a still breath prey as it struggled to live despite having been swallowed whole. When he was younger it had caused him endless misery to be able to hear the exact moment when a prey's heart stopped beating. However, now he heard a different kind of heart beat. It wasn't the strained beat of a struggling creature, but instead it was the soft flutter of a sleeping woman. He heard the sound as clearly as if it were it was his own. Svan made a weary smile and slowly his vision dimmed as he fell into a deep slumber.

Briefly before he was entirely asleep the snake wondered when it was that he last felt like this. He had lived much of his life in isolation. Even when traveling through the wilderness he was always alone. He wondered what it was that made him feel this way. Was this love? No, certainly not. Perhaps this was what friendship felt like. No, that wasn't quite it either. If it was neither love nor friendship then what was it? What was this woman to Svan.

As the last moments of wakefulness came to an end Svan stopped himself.

She was simply Samantha, and that was all that mattered.