Opal Reyne

She laughed more when her giggle echoed back through the crevice of his mouth as though she was answering herself from beyond the grave.

He paused, and her hands reached up to grab at the long fur around his chest, knowing this was the moment and bracing herself for pain.

Waiting. Waiting.

She giggled a little more, and it sounded loopier by the second.

A deep huff sounded right before his head started to back away.

He sniffed her. Sniffed her! Quick sniffs that brushed waves over her.

“What are you doing?” The sensation was tickling, and her nerves were so fried she wasn’t sure what else to say or do as she continued to clutch his fur.

“You taste of elderberries and roses. You smell of it.”

He buried the end his snout against her neck and drew his tongue over it, making her flinch when a shiver shot through her. “I was also curious about why I could taste elderberries and roses rather than blood. You are lucky I am not so hungry now after eating parts of those men, I may not have come to my senses before it was too late.”

“Aren’t you going to eat me anyway?”

He licked her neck again before sniffing against it.

“That depends solely upon you. Although I can make no promises, that is not actually my intention with you.”

“I would bear your pain for you if I could, soft human.”

He didn’t know why she averted her gaze, but his heart sank at the idea of it being because she didn’t like to look upon him.

His tail, which was fox-shaped and fluffy, tapped against the ground twice.

“Will... you give me a name?”

Her beauty, on the other hand, was a completely different matter, and he didn’t have the intelligence to formulate the words of appreciation he had for it.

I want to hold her when she is not sleeping. I want her to reach her hands up and stroke my snout.

Why is she staring at me like that? He didn’t know why his heart began to thump wildly in his chest. And why does she look so... pretty right now?