Ashwyn huffed as the pair finished moving the Alpha’s work bench. He had claimed to be able to make a larger space for his work. She did not fully understand the need of this, as it did not appear he needed the space to begin with. He had made due with the single bench, why would he need more?
She had suggested using that other room in the basement, but he claimed that it was a storage room. She had looked in there. He was not storing anything. Something that confounded her. Either way, the Alpha had said that he desired to expand and that was what he would do.
Once the pair had moved the bench, the Alpha moved to the wall where it once was. Closing his eyes, he lowered himself to a knee, a hand pressed to the ground. One of the rings on his hand softly glowed as his face became a neutral slate. After a couple moments, the ring flared, and suddenly, the wall shot back. A terrible noise echoes within the basement, making Ashwyn pin her ears down and hold her paws on them. To her immense relief, this noise soon was fading.
As she looked back to where the wall once was, her jaw dropped. Where there once was a wall, there was now a large open space. The walls had been crafted to look like the stone bricks that lined the rest of the house, and there were a couple shelves carved out of them.
The Alpha stood up, taking a deep breath as he stretched his back. He shook his hand, as though it hurt, and she could see that the ring he had used fell off. It was split, the gem having shattered after its use. “Gonna have to make another one of those.” He mumbled to himself before walking forward into the space.
He began to examine the walls, probably thinking about what he’d be able to put where. Whatever those things were. A small frown crossed her face as she realized how little she knew of her Alpha’s job. She had those vague ideas she got from context, but she didn’t really know anything. She had decided to help him with this, so she should really learn what was happening.
Perhaps she should be in attendance when he was teaching that Twilight mare? That might be the best way for her to learn. With a small nod, she decided that was what she would do. Then again, what if that mare failed the initial test? Maybe she could just ask the Alpha to teach her? That might work. He had already promised to teach that mare, it should be considerably easier teaching to someone who couldn’t do it, right? You could just explain the concepts and move on.
It was something to think about. Something not to think about right now, as the Alpha was attempting to get her attention.
“You wanna go shopping?” He asked with a broad smile. He seemed excited about the prospect, and seemed to desire her company on the trip. She would of course provide. He was her Alpha, and if her presence made him happy, then she was more than willing to give it.
The fact that it made her happy too was irrelevant.
~-~
Ashwyn woke up to find something wrong. Namely, the fact that the Alpha had left her. She sat up in bed with a frown, a paw gently rubbing an eye. This was the second time this had happened, and now she could say with certainty that she didn’t like it. As she got out of bed, she briefly pondered trying a coffee again. If only to wake her up some.
With a sad sigh, she tossed the idea out the window. With her current form, the drink tasted worse than anything else. Something she didn’t want to experience again. Instead, she decided a nice shower should work. With a yawn, she made her way towards the bathroom.
Opening the door, she found that the light was already on. In fact, a bath was already drawn as well. Not to mention the Alpha relaxing in said bath.
Ashwyn’s face grew a bright red as she stared at her naked Alpha. Seemingly lacking any form of decency, he met her gaze and gave her a casual wave.
“Morning.” A small smile played on his lips. Ashwyn was frozen in place, the desperate need to cover her eyes being unfulfilled due to it. Unblocked, she couldn’t stop herself from taking in the Alpha’s fully revealed form. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t very muscular, but what did catch her eye were the numerous scars that littered his skin. A number of them looking to have been caused by what should have been fatal wounds. A massive gash across his gut being the worst case. Her eyes were brought back up to the Alpha’s when he spoke next. “What’re you standing there for? Weren’t you going to join me?”
Ashwyn’s eyes widened, and her face grew even hotter. “J-Join? Is not…” Her words slowly dissolved into intelligible nonsense, even as the Alpha raised a brow at her.
“Is this one of those pony things?” His head tilted as he asked this. “People don’t bathe together?” Ashwyn didn’t trust her words to make sense, so she simply shook her head. “That’s weird. Sounds like a waste of water to me.” He sighed and shrugged. “Whatever, I’ll let you do whatever you need to.”
Then the Alpha stood up. Ashwyn’s paralysis was suddenly not an issue, as a paw slammed against her eyes. She just wished she was faster, because it did not save her from the initial sight.
“Oh come on!” She heard the Alpha shout in exasperation. “You and the rest of the ponies are naked all day. Why does it matter if I am?”
“Is not same.” She said in a shaky voice, earning an annoyed grumble in response.
“I swear this whole fuckin’ world is weird.” He said, his voice growing closer. “I’m dressed, happy?” She carefully lowered her paw to find that he was speaking the truth. He was frowning down at her and she found it incredibly difficult to look him in the eyes. He sighed and walked out of the bathroom. “I’ll be in the basement.” He said as he left.
Ashwyn was left alone in the bathroom, her face still beet red. She desperately tried to get the images out of her head, but they would not leave her mind.
Turning towards the shower, she decided that a colder wash might be good.
~-~
Aurick sat on the couch, a book in his hand. With a small frown, he glanced at Ashwyn, who was sitting much further away than usual. Rolling his eyes, he returned to the book.
He truly did not understand. She was always naked, baring the scarf he had given her. Was it because she had never seen him naked before? That could make sense, but still. To have such a strong reaction to it? Seemed a bit weird. On top of the bath thing. Seriously seemed like a waste of water to him.
Back in his hometown, the bath house was a common gathering spot. Everyone was naked and bathing together, and there was no issue because there was no need for there to be one. These ponies had prescribed an issue to a situation that really shouldn’t have one. The purpose of a bath was to clean up. It only gets easier when you have someone to help you. The back was a really hard place to clean. Then you’d reciprocate.
He shook his head with a sigh. He had only been in this world for about a month, there was still a lot he did not understand yet. This was just another thing on the ever growing list. Closing the book, he got up and stretched.
“I’ll go make breakfast.” He told the mare who still refused to look him in the eye. She only nodded, and after a moment of no further response, he frowned. “Bacon?” That got her attention. The mare’s head shot up, and her eyes met his. Then her face flushed and she looked away again. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he moved into the kitchen. This was going to be mildly annoying.