//------------------------------// // Ch 25: One Week Later // Story: Enchanted // by The Whiskey Spirit //------------------------------// She awoke to find herself wrapped in warmth. It wasn’t the same comfortable warmth that the blanket or the scarf brought. This one was different. Namely because it was something solid, yet soft that wrapped around her. Despite how comfortable a position it would normally be, she couldn’t help but find a lump in her throat. She didn’t even need to open her eyes to know what was around her. When she opened them, she was met with the Alpha’s chest. His scent was overpowering at this close range. It was all she could smell. Gritting her teeth, she tried her best to stop herself from tearing his throat out right there. With her focus on that, her claws were free to do as they pleased. Of course, that means they quickly found their way deep in the Alpha’s chest. He awoke with his own teeth grit, though this was from the pain, as opposed to Ashwyn’s anger. Popping open an eye, he glared down at her, confusion evident on his face. Though after a moment, realization dawned and the Alpha sighed. “Are you feeling any better now?” He asked quietly. She could feel one of the Alpha’s hands running through her mane. In another circumstance, she might have like the feeling, but at this point, it only served to make her shudder. She was confused about the question, though. Was he asking about her clawing him again? She didn’t think so. That was when she noticed how wet his shirt was. At least, where she had been pressed into it. One of her paws extricated itself from him and gently pressed against her eyes. It came away wet. She was crying. Did she have another nightmare? Was that why he was holding her? Was he trying to comfort her, or was it because he didn’t want her to ruin his bed in her flailing? Numerous questions filled her mind as they remained where they were. At some point, the Alpha rolled his eyes and closed them again. He wasn’t sleeping. She could tell by his heart rate, but he didn’t appear to even try and fake her out, as his hand still gently ran through her hair. Eventually, she relented. Her claws retracted from him once more, leaving bloodied holes that he was quick to patch with magic. A frown set firmly on her face, she rested her head against his chest once more, a single word emerging from her that even she hadn’t thought possible. “Thank.” ~-~ Aurick rubbed at his chest with a groan as he prepared breakfast. That mare was going to be the death of him. He could tell. With expert finesse, he flipped the pancake, allowing the other side to cook to perfection. There was only one thing that had truly surprised him about when he woke up. That, of course, being the fact that she thanked him. He had no idea if it was genuine, or if she was saying that because she thought it would appease him, but he’d prefer to believe the former. If only so that he could feel he was making progress in some form. He turned to the other pan, and was pleased to find the bacon turning out nicely. He had been told of a method that would use the oven for the bacon, but he still wasn’t sure how to do it right. Though he made a mental note to do so at some point. It would allow him to cook so much more of the delectable breakfast item. It wasn’t long before he found himself with a plate of two fluffy pancakes and some bacon. The sheer sight of it made his stomach growl out. He prevented himself from devouring it outright. He still had a guest to feed. He put a couple more strips of bacon on a second plate, and placed a couple gems on there as well. Evidently, the mare was able to consume gems, so he thought she’d appreciate some variety. He was quick to find his way up to the room, wanting to be equally as quick on the return, as to not deal with cold food. Upon arrival, he found the mare still in bed. She was avoiding his gaze, though. He could only assume it had something to do with waking up in his arms. It probably wasn’t the most pleasant awakening, considering what she had thought he was going to do to her on the bed. Sadly, it was the only option he really had available to him. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let her ruin another bed, at least. “Here.” He mumbled as he set the plate down in front of her. She looked at the bacon with mild confusion. She glanced at him for a moment before she leaned down and sniffed a strip. Tentatively, she grabbed one in her mouth. Aurick, sadly, blinked and hadn’t seen what happened next, but by the time his eyes were open, the plate was cleared. She was looking up at him with wide eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sun’s light. He looked back at her for a moment, before realizing what she was getting at. “Fine, I’ll make some more.” He chuckled as he made his way out of the room, leaving the mare to try and lick up all the crumbs left over on the plate. He should have expected this turn of events. After all, everyone loves bacon. ~-~ Aurick had opened up his business again, having closed down for the past week while he assisted Luna with Ashwyn. Now that she was safe and secure, he could get back to work. He flipped the closed sign he had bought over, revealing that he, was in fact, open. He honestly didn’t expect ponies to show up that day. Not just because of the snow, but he doubted anyone would see that the sign had flipped. Clearly he was wrong, as not even an hour later the first customers started rolling in. A couple of them wanted to get the same heat enchantments that he had worked on with Rarity, having not been fast enough to purchase any before stocks ran out. If he hadn’t been so busy, he might have gone back and made some more, but sadly that never came to pass. Still, better late than never. The rest were his usual customers. Town’s folk that wanted some minor things done to items of interest. He had to out right refuse any requests to go into town. He lied and told them he had a sick friend that he didn’t want to be away from for too long. They bought it, and he heard no complaints about it afterwards. It had taken some time to go through them all, and he had to excuse himself a couple times to go check on Ashwyn and bring her some gems to eat. He didn’t want to bring some meat up with the ponies right there. They’d probably freak out. By the time that the last one had left, his supply of money was starting to look pretty good again. If he didn’t have to take care of Ashwyn, he might have gone out to eat and invited Twilight and her friends. Sadly, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. ~-~ A couple days passed in similar fashion. Every night, Ash would be wrought with nightmares, and every night, Aurick tried his best to comfort her. After the second time Ashwyn had awoken in his arms, she had come to accept it as an inevitability. That didn’t mean she liked it, however, as her constant scowls were a testament to. Sadly Luna still hadn't been able to find her dreams, so she was of no help in this. Ponies continued to come in with work. Though after the first day, word seemed to spread that he wasn’t taking any house calls at the moment. Something he was grateful for. Twilight had come by at one point to let him know that Fluttershy and Zecora thanked him for helping keep them safe. He responded by waving her off and telling her that’s what he does. Of course, alongside all the work that was brought in, he still had Luna’s armours to make. He had spoken with her about them, and she said that she’d still like them made, despite Ashwyn’s current demeanor. It was a nice safety net, and they could be used for other situations, should the need arise. As such, he continued his work on them, and almost a week after Ashwyn had become a part of his household, he had finished the last one. The thought brought a smile to his face and a weight off his shoulders. With the last of that done, he was free to get paid and take on another large job. Either that, or he could finally get to building on his house like he had been wanting to. One way or another, there was now a large block in his afternoons that he had nothing to do. A thought for another time, perhaps. After all, it was getting fairly dark out. With nothing left to do, he made his way upstairs and into the bedroom. Ashwyn already had her eyes closed, though an ear perked up upon his entry, telling him she was still awake. Scratching his still growing beard, he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. So imagine his surprise when he felt something soft press against him. Looking down, he found that Ashwyn had moved closer to him, and was resting her head on his chest. A smile crossed his face and he couldn’t help but think all the annoyance was worth it for how adorable she looked at that moment. With an arm holding her close, he closed his eyes once more and drifted off to sleep.