//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty: In the Eye of the Beholder // Story: The Lion and the Lamb // by CrazyChickenLady //------------------------------// Chapter Twenty: In the Eye of the Beholder Now that Smokey was occupied in the kitchenette, Ross shuffled closer to Fluttershy and touched his twitching nose to her leg to take in her scent. To his delight, the pony smelled wonderful, sensing absolutely no hint of negative vibes on her. Reassured that she was no threat, he moved closer to her with confidence, placing his paws on her leg and gazing up at her with bright eyes. “Oh! Why, hello there.” Fluttershy smiled warmly, moving to pet the bunny on top of his head. “You’re… Ross, right? Such a cute bunny…” Stroking him for a minute, she giggled, closing her eyes. “You know, I wish Angel bunny was here with me. You two would probably get along well.” The small leporidae nodded and pressed his head into the equine’s touch with a soft coo, ears erecting and swiveling every now and again as Smokey shifted around the kitchen. He was quite intrigued that she had a rabbit herself and was certain his caretaker would ask if they could meet sometime. Ross knew the draconian liked it when he socialized with other creatures. That was one of the perks of traveling on foot--meeting the local wildlife. “Angel will be happy to see another bunny. He likes making new friends. All of my animals like making new friends!” She then smiled over at the cluster of doves. “I’m sure you’d like to see my home one day.” She turned her head to cough into her foreleg. “Oh… I hate feeling sick… If I wasn’t feeling so weak I’d take you there.” The birds’ beady black eyes lit up, cooing their response in short, happy notes. Like Ross, they too, loved making new acquaintances. Ross moved closer to plop and sink into the mare’s lap, resting his head on her leg. It would be a while until dinner, so why not get comfortable or even take a little nap until then? Fluttershy chuckled, stroking his fur. With Chenoa sleeping nearby, she let out a small yawn and nodded her head forward, her eyelids feeling heavy. Within moments, she was softly snoozing away, still sitting upright. By the time Smokey had the soup put together in one of his large pots and the cheese for the fondue melting, he went for the industrial sized bags of seeds and pellets in the cabinet underneath the counter to quickly feed his animals. They had waited long enough and their patience was rewarded with a little extra food. Meal set upon the table, the critters broke away from the pegasus’ vicinity and bolted to it, keen on extinguishing the hunger gnawing at their bellies. The mare was still sleeping--having not noticed the animals leave her side at all. Chest rising and falling, her hair dangled down the sides of her head and obscured a good portion of her face. Oddly, a tiny bubble from her nose that was inflating and deflating in sync with her breathing. On his way back to the kitchen, the crimson reptile stopped and watched the equine with a bemused smirk, finding the image of her sleeping sitting up with that bubble of mucus rather humorous--cute even. Tearing away from her, he made a detour into the bedroom to retrieve another quilt from the chest and went back to her in a silent tiptoe as not to arouse her from her slumber. Bringing himself onto his knees, he unfolded the fabric and carefully wrapped it around her body. Locking the edges in front of her, he couldn’t help but stare again, absorbing the fine details of the viewable area of her face. Her mane was disheveled and tangled, her fur out of place, hairs underneath her nostrils stuck together with dried mucus, but that didn’t deter him from his next words. “She really is beautiful…” he murmured to himself. The pegasus wasn’t disturbed at all as the blanket was furled around her. Smiling, she released a sigh, curling up… and promptly falling over. Waking with a gasp, she reached out to catch herself. Holding herself up, she looked around in slight shock. Smokey’s eyes went a little wide, his heart picking up into a startled pace. “Oh! Miss Fluttershy, are you all right? I’m sorry, I… I was just wrapping you up in a blanket so you… would stay warm… I didn’t mean to wake you.” “Oh… yes. Yes, I’m… fine. I’m all right,” she assured him, smiling up at him nervously as she sat back up. “I just… felt really warm and next thing I know I was falling over.” Moving closer, feeling calm now, he reached forth to pull the blanket more snugly around her. But he did feel embarrassed for getting concerned over nothing. “Oh, good. I was worried you might have hurt yourself… Though… the odds of that happening are quite slim since you are on a comfortable mattress.” Straightening out the creases in the quilt, one of his palms smoothed up the side of her face and over her head to stroke her mane. He went silent, staring at her with a soft grin. “I… thank you, Smokey,” she said, leaning into his touch. “For your concern, and for the extra blanket. I’m fine--and not hurt, just… startled. I didn’t expect to fall over like that… I didn’t even expect to fall asleep.” Gazing into his eyes, she allowed herself to melt more into his caress. “But… I appreciate your concern. Really, I do…” Chuckling softly, Smokey gave her mane a few more strokes, his other hand moving to cup her cheek. “You and I both weren’t expecting you to fall asleep sitting up.” Closing his eyes halfway, thumb kneading the fur on her cheek, the dragon fell silent as he became lost in her eyes… After a few minutes elapsed, he finally broke the silence. “And, nor am I the only one with beautiful eyes…” The pegasus blushed again, though she didn’t turn away or avert her eyes as she leaned into his touch. Feeling herself practically melt in his fingers, she realized she was staring… no… mesmerized by his own sea green pools. Absorbed by them, her heart beat harder and faster as she smiled weakly up at him. Shutting her eyes partially, she sighed, another wave of fatigue spreading over her. “You’re… You’re too much…” The hand coasting over her head sank its fingers into her hair, threading through the pink locks. He fell even deeper into his transfixed state, feeling a desire to lean in and touch his lips to her cheeks, her forehead, her nose… her own lips… Wait, no! They just became friends; he shouldn’t be having these thoughts and desires! He couldn’t be blamed though… He was a lonely male… And she was a beautiful female--even sickened, he found her attractive. Well… maybe just one chaste kiss wouldn’t hurt… Biting his lower lip for a short second, he leaned in and delivered a kiss to her cheek, mere millimeters from the corner of her mouth. Eyes wide as she gazed at him in befuddlement, she locked up at the gesture. Her lips twitched, face beginning to feel hot from the amount of blood rushing to her cheeks. Despite her puzzlement and shock, she did not shy or back away. In fact, she smiled with a look of affection. As Smokey drew back, petting a small section of her cheek again with his thumb, he matched her expression. Taking in her facial features, the dragon was put at ease he hadn’t caused any unwanted feelings or discomfort. “My apologies, Miss Fluttershy, but like our little girl, you were simply too adorable for me not to dote some form of affection on you.” “It’s fine,” she squeaked, laying down on her stomach after Smokey backed away, in case she were to fall asleep again and would not fall over. He was immensely relieved that she had not been put off by his forward antics. Though, a small sliver of doubt lingered. What if she just said that to be polite? “Are… you sure, my dear? If you’re uncomfortable with me lavishing such attention on you, I will not do it again.” “Um… well…” she mumbled, turning away slightly. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable… I’m just… not really used to receiving so much. It… actually reminds me of my time as a model. Kind of.” She returned her vision to him with a grin. “But… you’re only one dragon. And you’re not constantly snapping my photograph, so…” Smokey’s doubt was snubbed and was replaced by respite. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship when it had just started. Should I… not give that kind of attention at all? Like I said--I do not wish to damage our relationship.” “Oh, no.” Fluttershy shook her head, before realizing. “Oh! I mean, I don’t mind. I… um.” The mare went quiet with the blush still prominent on her face. Looking away, she placed her hooves to her face as she felt her heart beat a little faster. Her behavior inspired a chuckle from the dragon, an audible purr escaping him as he tilted his head with half-closed lids. He was filled with the urge to cup her face and administer another kiss, but he withheld and settled for staring at her instead. As he opened his mouth to say something else, the scent of soup and cheese wafted into his nostrils. The smell reminded him of the meal he was cooking, snapping out of his entrancement and tossing him into a mild panic. The dragon clamored to his feet and raced into the kitchenette, hoping nothing was burning. Fluttershy continued smiling at him--until she smelled the same thing, and her stomach rumbled in response. Stretching out her legs, she laid back down. Yawning once again, she rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. This time, however, instead of actually going to sleep, she fought to remain awake as she listened to him shuffling around in the kitchen. Ear twitching once, she sighed in contentment. As the dragon stirred the contents around in their respective pots, he was happy to see no signs of burning. Now that he had his full attention on the food, he noticed the soup was a little too thick and he remedied this with a little more cream. Turning back to the melting cheese, he spontaneously added just a tiny bit of the white liquid. The burner under the fondue was on its lowest setting to ensure nothing would burn. Smokey turned the heat up on the soup, poking the potatoes occasionally to make sure they were cooking properly. Throughout the duration it took for everything to cook, he had remained diligently by the stove to watch over dinner. As much as he liked Fluttershy’s company, he did not wish to risk getting distracted again. Getting out a few bowls and filling them with soup--one partially, meaning to give that one to Chenoa. A trio of forks were next, two of them intended to be used to dunk chunks of potato from the soup into the fondue. The third was utilized to mash up the large pieces so the baby griffon wouldn’t choke. The soup for the mare and chick was carried out to the living room first and set down beside the mattress. “Miss Fluttershy, would you mind waking Chenoa once her soup cools?” “Hmmm?” Sniffing lightly, the realization that food was near drew her out of her drowsiness. Eyes opening wide in excitement, she smiled up at him in appreciation. “Oh! Thank you! Yes, I most certainly will.” Her smile bursting into a grin, she reached forward with her mouth to lap up the soup--only to jump back from the heat. Wincing, she blew softly before blushing up at him. “Forgot it would be hot. I’m just so hungry…” A smirk was drawn on Smokey’s face, his ear frills perking at the sounds emanating from underneath the blanket covering Chenoa. She child stirred, her slumber having been disturbed by Fluttershy’s unintentional exclamation. The tiny being rubbed at her eyes and released a deep yawn before curling back up again. “Let’s be a little quieter and allow her to rest while her soup cools down.” The pink-maned pony gave a nervous smile, gazing over at the sleeping baby for a moment. She felt bad for accidentally interrupting her nap, and part of her didn’t even want to wake her up at all. “You know… if it weren’t for dinner being made, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of waking her at all…” “Well, if you wouldn’t have, then I would’ve. She needs to eat dinner sometime. Though… I‘m certain she would wake up on her own eventually.” Getting back up, the dragon returned to the kitchen for his own soup and the pot of fondue, forks jutting out of the cheesy mixture. As he sat back down, the pot was set between them so that the both of them had access to it. “Here we are. I hope you enjoy everything, my dear.” “Oh, I’m sure I will.” Fluttershy smiled warmly at the scaly creature then blew on the soup to cool it down. Leaning down to slurp up the liquid, she ate a couple of potato chunks directly from the bowl before she recalled her manners and took a fork from the pot of fondue. Gripping it in her good hoof, she dipped a few of the larger pieces into the cheese and devoured them fondly.