//------------------------------// // Bonding // Story: Time and death intertwined // by SilverHoof1 //------------------------------// My mind slowly wandered its way back to wakefulness, and I found myself with warm, strong arms wrapped around me. My eyes widened, worried and tempted by the idea of what could have happened during the night, then memory slowly waded back over. My body relaxed, and closing my eyes I pressed to him, smiling a bit and closing my eyes. Maybe this literal cat could be sweet. Last night He slowly laid down ontop of the bed, it seeming to fold under him and his weight as he sighed softly. He had pulled off his pants and now simply wore a large pair of boxers, and trying to avert my eyes to anywhere but there cheeks aflame, I myself pulled off my top and shorts before slipping under the covers, feeling a bit self conscious. He noticed this, blinked then laughed softly pulling up the blanket to go under himself. “That explains how you stay warm, I had been wondering how people could stay warm while they slept,” he mused still chuckling, and I looked at him surprised. “You mean you really haven’t ever slept on a bed?” “Nope, well maybe in a past life, but when I first woke up I was in the forest,” he explained, eyes going distant. “I woke up, surprised and wondering who I even was. Then I saw the trees, the wildlife and immediately felt at home, even though a part of me knew this wasn’t a normal home. I slept, talked with the creatures of the forest and watched the city from the forest, fascinated by the lights and large structures,” “Did you ever go and explore the city?” “A few times yes, I noticed some people give me odd looks as I explored, and I think it was because I looked so surprised by everything,” he mused softly, looking at the roof of the building. “It was like a completely different world then what I was used to, a world of rock, stone and glass where people worked on electronic devices for most of their work and where giant machines helped construct new wonders, the place i felt most at home was the library, where it was quiet except for hushed whispers and the ‘whoosh’ of air made by paper as pages were turned,” I nodded, taking all this in. I could understand what he meant, remembering the act that had happened a few years ago causing the banning of any construction or hunting near the forest. The surprising part was this had been done by the republicans while most of the democrats didn’t want it to happen. The act had still been passed, but do to the strange turn that it had seemed to take people suspected magic had a role in it. I think it was that green guy I saw floating around every once and I while, but that could just be a guess. I was snapped out of my thoughts back into reality when Byron shifted and turned towards me, looking at me with a small smile. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to introduce you to how i slept in the forest,” he said softly, and I blinked, confused. “Uhm i’m not sure I want to sleep on the ground,” I responded, rubbing the back of my head confused. He shook his head, then touched the bedpost. I noticed, the wooden, bedpost. Almost immediately it looked healthier, stronger and the small patterns in the wood seems to shift and move like they were real. Then it slowly growed, the wood spiraling up like small trees as little shoots of leaves sprouted from the wood. I stared in awe as all four corners of the bed grew and grew until large, thick leaves formed out of them quickly seeming to tie themselves together before producing another, until above us was something like a canopy, the dim light shining through the leaves giving it a green glow and showing the veins of the plants. Then, slowly the bed itself changed a bit, the fibers of the blanket and sheets turning green and smooth. Then he pulled his hand away, a bead of sweat present as he wiggled his fingers a bit, like he was stretching it out. The small changes had made the entire room different, giving it a feeling as if we were laying outside. I turned to him, pleasantly surprised as he smiled a bit. “The forest can be beautiful, and in my opinion it looks best… “ he trailed off as a hand reached up, making a finger gun before slowly twisting, and the paint on the walls shifted color, the walls resembling green forests while the roof turned an amazing purple and orange. The colors seemed to mold together, and the position of the light even seemed to change, making it look like a setting sun. “.. best at twilight,” he finished with a sigh, staring at the ceiling which now had small stars barely visible through the twilight light, and I watched him and the ceiling, struck speechless. We laid like that for a while, watching as the sunset slowly faded, and as the light moved to behind us and changed to a silvery shine, like the moon. The sky darkened and more and more stars appear, twinkling down at us as we watched. It took me a bit before I realized we had been watching the sunset in reality and had been watching for a few hours already, and feeling tired I yawned, trying to stretch out my limbs. Then a warm, strong heat was next to me and I turned to find Byron pressing against me a bit, his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips. “Oh.. h-hey there,” i stuttered softly, turning to face him a bit more. An eye opened to look to me, and he laughed softly. “Don’t worry i’m not going to do anything, night is a time for sleep and relaxation,” he soothed, and then very gently slid one arm over me. I didn’t do anything, feeling stunned as he slowly drew me close to his chest. He was warm like the blanket that covered us both, but it was different warmth then usual. It was like his fur had caught the suns rays and were warmed from the inside, and as I was pressed to him I felt his heartbeat beat against my back, strong and sure. When I looked down, cheeks tinted red I saw the red thread connecting me to him had gotten a bit bigger and stronger, even tinted with green and my eyes widened. I had only seen something like that happen once, when I had first seen Inum and Morrow. The edges of their threads had each been specially tinted, showing both put just as much in as the other one side tinted black and blue while the other a rainbow of colors. Now I saw tiny fringes of pink appearing on mine as his had turned green, shocking me. He had been so factual, so sure of what love is and all of a sudden it had turned much more emotional than what he had described before. Then in a soft tone, he responded to the question that had burned its way into my brain. “You told me what love was, and you showed me with your own feelings.. I don’t completely understand it yet, but I find myself drawn to you, and i’m willing to try,” he said softly, and after a second I smiled a bit and pressed to him, just a bit. “I guess I am too then,” I responded teasingly, and slowly, as we both fell into sleep, I swear I could feel a soft purr build up in his chest as I fell asleep. Present I slowly stretched out, pulling away from him a bit to let my arms and legs fully extend and get full feeling again. I felt eyes on my back and I turned to see Byron looking at me, eyes hazy with sleep. Then the haze cleared and he smiled, pressing a hand to my back, then his fingers started twitching. At first I was confused, then my body completely relaxed and my mouth involuntarily formed into an ‘o’ of complete happiness as his fingers seemed to push away any strain, tension and wariness in my limbs. The next couple minutes was me just squirming a bit while he worked magic on me, or at least that's what it felt like. My toes were curled and my fingers twitching a bit, and he laughed softly drawing his hand away. All I could do in response was lay like a puddle, so that's exactly what I did. “So i’m guessing you're not used to special massages?” he teased softly, and I did my best to nod, but I had the feeling it was just me lolling my head in a more or less up and down direction. His hands slowly scooped me up, and I felt like liquid as my body naturally fit into every crook and cranny of his arms as he sat up and pulled me onto his lap. It took me a solid minute before I had control again, and for the first time in a long time my body felt completely fresh and new. I sighed loudly, then relaxing against his chest I said simply “If thats apart of the package you come with i’m all yours,” He laughed, and I felt his hands slowly massage he stomach as he did. He shook his head a couple moments later still smiling, and I turned my head up to look at him. Even though I was reasonably tall, even while sitting he was still a bit taller, which really just let me look up at his face easier. He smiled down at me, then after a second I slowly pulled out of his lap languidly, feeling like a cat who had been sunbathing. My body felt warm and refreshed, and I smiled over at him while I pulled on a new top and pair of shorts. He watched for a second, his cheeks turns a bit red for the first time before turning away and sliding on a new pair of pants himself. After a second we both turned to regard each other, then he walked over and touched my neck. I felt a warmth against my neck that slowly spread along my body, making me stop, a bit surprised. I watched as intricate green lines spread along my body, taking up designs that looked almost like vines and trees spiraling down my legs and arms. I felt it swirl up a bit onto my face, and I looked at him a bit confused. His cheeks turned red again and he shrugged, smiling a bit. “Your colors I had the feeling would look really nice with green, and i think i was right,” he said a bit embarrassed, and after a second I nodded, then waved towards the door smiling. “Come on Byron, lets go get some breakfast,” As we went out into the hall we saw Inum sitting at the table, seeming to be stretching her jaw a bit as if it had cramped. Her hair was a bit disheveled too, the flames flicking around messily in random directions. It was evident she couldn’t exactly brush them, that or something else had happened. Morrow seemed in a good mood as well as her though, Morrow humming a soft toon as he cooked and I noticed her tail was slowly wagging under the table, as if she didn’t want Morrow to notice. She was such the little tsundere. “Hey you too, sleep well?” I called, smiling as the two of us walked over. Inum looked to us mouth already open and producing words before she cut off surprised. “Yeah we slep- oh wow, you're looking different,” “Mhm, apparently Byron thought I would look good with green,” I mused softly, reaching back to poke him with a finger. I felt him shrug and say over my shoulder “I don’t think I was wrong either~” Morrow caught by the conversation turned his head to look at us, and he smiled nodding a bit. “Mhm it does look nice,” he called warmly, and then went back to cooking, seeming to be working on pancakes today. Byron and I took our seats across from Inum, and the three of us began to chat for a bit talking about the news and just random topics. A couple minutes later Morrow finished and walked over with a plate stacked high with both plane and blueberry pancakes, and Byron gave a small act, starring in ‘open mouthed horror’ at the blueberry pancakes before saying in an overly dramatic and sad voice “Noo bob! And is that Jerry and Rick too?!” He pointed to three blue berries on the top pancake, and Inum smirking playfully grabbed it, and promptly chomped all three blueberries at the same time to, giving him an evil look. “Mhmm, and they are quite tasty too~” “NOOO!” he cried in vane at the loss of three blueberries, then promptly grabbed one himself and ate a piece containing a blueberry before shrugging. “I never liked Billy anyway,”. The three of us laughed, and then we all began eating, each taking their prefered type and toppings. By the end of it all four of us were stuffed like turkeys, and I groaned leaning back a bit. This had been a good day, with good company and a good morning. The only question that remained in my mind before flying out to reach the ears of those sitting with me. “So, where to now?”