Embers of Fall

Early Grave

In the morning they lay tangled together, warm and satiated.

She thought for a moment upon waking that he wouldn't be there, but the heaviness of his arm draped around her made her aware of his presence. Her eyes flickered over to him, outlining the shape of his face and his chiseled jaw.

She hesitated before lifting the tip of her bandaged fingers and began curiously running them slowly along the length of his nose, then traced the scar that ran jagged at the edge of his lips. There was another above his brow and along his neck, but she focused on his mouth.

When one finger brushed over his lips, she flinched, startled when he unexpectedly nipped lightly at it. She had thought he was asleep.

"Choiki," She grumbled that he was a trickster and snatched her hand back before turning away from him, embarrassed that he had caught her in the act of admiring him.

He released a sleepy laugh, one that made her heart quicken in her chest. He never laughed in front of her before. The sound made her feel butterflies, not the nervous ones, but the overwhelmingly happy ones.

A lazy half smile soon played on his lips and he nuzzled his face into her hair, his breath warm on her neck.

She couldn't help but laugh with him and turned in his grasp, coming closer and let her wrapped fingers roam through his hair that laid messy and undone. His eyes stayed closed and he mumbled about getting up against her shoulder, but he laid locked with her, her own legs still entwined with his.

"Hweshigayeu," He unexpectedly breathed out, placing a featherlight kiss across her collar bone. A strange feeling fluttered in her stomach at his words and her fingers came to a stop in his hair. "Haheyigayeu," She was reluctant at first, but let the words tumble free from her lips.

His eyes reopened to look at her, gold and green, bright as the sun and vibrant as the forest. Kotve felt a surge of pride and fondness swell in his chest. At last she had begun to reciprocate, showing affection towards him when he did for her. He would not take such a pleasant thing so lightly.

As her dark hair spilled across her breasts and against his chest, he lifted his head to kiss her softly. The kiss was different from all the rest.

It was gentle and kind and genuine.

Above all things, it made her heart soar and all sense of hidden rivalry and unspoken agendas fell away. She returned his kiss, pouring out her heart to him and he treasured it.

They spent the rest of the morning exploring the new depths of their growing fondness with unabashed honesty and mutual curiosity.

-
Kotve had eventually forced himself out of bed and left around noon, while Navati stood out on the porch growing tired of seeing the snow.

White blanketed every corner of land and the birds no longer flew and sang upon the fence posts. Her snowshoes sunk in the cold and were buried with every step as she then marched over to the back of the barn to help. At least her thick coat kept her warm.

She worked slowly, carrying a few logs in her arms, and trudging back through the snow to bring them inside. Each cabin needed a steady supply to keep the fires going.

She was shoving her legs through the deepening snow when she noticed Pata watching her from one of the cabin windows. The older woman turned scarlet upon seeing her and ducked away, child on her hip. It didn't take long to figure out that she had heard them from down the hall.

But Navati wasn't ashamed, she was no longer inexperienced and shy about her nights with Kotve. She would not hide it, though deep down it still made the young girl within her embarrassed and irritated.