[PRP] Deepened Relationship [Baik x Ume]

[- Mynsed -]

”Are you ready to leave?” Baik asked, a bit breathless, excitement clear in his eyes. It had been a few days with Ume and his days have been fantastic. Sure, there was still hunting to do, ground to cover, shelter to find. But he had company to do these things. He had Ume by his side. And it was blissful.

It was the morning of a week being with her. They were approaching lands with a bit more water sources compared to where they had first been. In fact, they had came upon a river the day before and Baik had decided to follow it; why go away from the water source when they could just follow it? He definitely didn’t know which direction he should be going. Nor did it matter.

No, today it didn’t matter. It had been a week of knowing Ume. And yet, he knew barely anything about her. Nor she about him. And he wanted to change that. He wanted to know her more. He wanted her to know him, even the bits he’d rather no one know about. ”I want to know more about you, Ume,” he announced softly.

Lithiasaur

 

[Lithiasaur]

- Mynsed -

Ume was not sure how to respond to the question, at first. She felt like she wanted to leave, and that pull was stronger than ever, but now that she was facing the chance to change her life, to do things differently, she felt very afraid. What if she was not meant to be anywhere but here? What if she had already lost the one life she was meant to have, and there was nothing else for her?

She would disappoint him, just like her mother always told her she would.

But when she looked at Baik she felt something in her chest that she had never experienced before meeting him, and getting used to him simply being around. It was warm and it was strong, as if she was glowing on the inside. She smiled at him, more than she ever smiled in her entire life so far, and she felt safe. She felt stronger, which chased away her fear.

He was near her because he wanted to be, and that meant something really special to Ume, who had never been wanted.

"There... there isn't much to know," she confessed, though she padded forward and nodded, indicating she was ready to leave. No matter how uncertain she was, anything that was out there had to be better than what she was leaving behind, right? "I've always been here. I took care of my mother, when she could not take care of herself... but... she... uhm. She never liked me much, I suppose. I wasn't much good at anything. And she hated my pelt. Said I was too much like my father, and that the black was a stain he left me with to make sure no one would... uhm. A-anyway, it's very boring..."  

[- Mynsed -]

Baik felt an exhilaration he hadn’t necessarily experienced before. Not like this, the heart throbbing, the butterflies fluttering about. He felt trembly but confident. Yet… not confident enough. Hopefully he didn’t say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing.

Walking beside her, he finally realized how much he dwarfed her. Was he… really that large? Or was she so small that she almost seemed delicate, fragile. He left his family of hares before he had finish growing but he was sure he didn’t grow such much that she seemed almost their size. But… she could easily look over the tall brush of the savannah. No, he must have grown. It made him feel giddy, proudful. And also… insanely protective.

And when she told him about herself, that fierce need to shield this small female from the world grew. He couldn’t help his growl that rumbled deep in his throat. When he heard the sound, he could hardly believe he was the one making the sound. He was a peaceful lion, with violence towards prey that is swift and as painless as could be. If he wasn’t sure he could stop the prey from suffering, he would hesitate. Growling wasn’t something he did. It was a threatening noise. He did not threaten.

But Ume’s mother… he would threaten her, he realized. Ears flat, he thought of someone like Ume being verbally tormented. His past hadn’t been better, he knew what it was like to not fit in. His own father had abandoned him. But he had the Head Hare and her mate, his hare siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. They weren’t the same species but they were his family. Ume had had… no one.

”I’m sorry,” he quickly blurted out, ducking his head when he finally realized he had been growling. ”I… it doesn’t make sense. I have only known you for a few days but from what I have seen, I have only seen beauty.” he felt his face heat up and he nearly stumbled a step. A saying his mother, the head hare, had came up. ”A beautiful soul with a beautiful appearance,” he repeated softly before letting out a small, nervous laugh. He decided to steer away from the topic. It would either lead to him making a fool of himself or painful memories for his companion. He cleared his throat.

”Where should we go to first?” he asked excitedly.

Lithiasaur

 

[Lithiasaur]

- Mynsed -

Ume looked at Baik and took comfort in his excitement. She felt it too, but her nerves were flaring to life. She had never left for anything 'better' before, after all: her mom always told her there was nothing out there for her. She was a waste, and she just did not deserve to take up the time and effort her trying would take away from someone elses chance. She felt like if she took up a place in the world, she was forcing someone else to miss theirs.

And she was made to believe that she would be wrong for doing that. She would be bad. Was this bad?

She moved suddenly when he spoke, though, and bumped her head against his chest, burying her face in his mane for a moment and gathering herself. She felt like the closer she was to him, the braver she felt. Which should have been awkward, except she had never really learned the proper way to interact with others. Direct contact did not actually bother her, though she was not too used to anyone being kind to her. It was when they gave her compliments, as Baik was the first to ever do, that she sort of fell apart.

"I'd like to see green," she said, finally. "Lots of green. It's always so yellow and sad here, but my mom told me she came from a place that was green before she was ruined and forced to stay here. If... if that's okay."

She didn't seem to notice she still had her face buried in his fur.  

[- Mynsed -]

He couldn’t breathe, all of a sudden. He had forgotten how to. He thought his heart had even stopped but his heartbeat was all he could hear in his ears. And despite not breathing, he smelled her. Her scent was like the sun. He couldn’t imagine ever feeling this way. He never thought he would have this kind of reaction. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he suddenly sucked in a breath into his depraved lungs.

”Green?” he murmured, his voice low and rough. He was surprised he could speak at all. ”I’ve seen green places… though I’ve heard there are jungles full of green. And other colors.” the more he spoke, the easier it got to breathe. An urge ran through him and, before he could give it a second thought, he dropped his head to the top of her head. She was so small. She felt good. He nuzzled her for a brief moment before feeling his face heat up. Was he being too forward.

Moving back a few steps, he stammered out an apology. ”S-sorry, I… I hope you didn’t mind.. t-that,” he told her. He wasn’t usually a stammering mess. How long before he can speak easily to her? ”Let’s go to the green,” he added hastily.

Lithiasaur

 

[Lithiasaur]

- Mynsed -

Ume looked at him as he stopped and stared at her, looking confused and very worried about him. Had she done something wrong, or was he in some sort of pain? He was breathing very deeply, and she wondered if he had done something to hurt his lungs or his throat or something...

Had she done something wrong?

She bristled as he put his head to hers, thinking maybe he was going to push her away, but she quickly relaxed into the fur is his mane. He was so soft and gentle, and it always made her feel so much calmer when she was near him. It was like her anxiety could not get close, or through whatever barrier his being there seemed to put up for her.

"I don't mind it," she said softly, though her voice was usually soft at the best of times. Now, though, she felt something shift, and she was less nervous about it as she was... excited? It was strange and new in a lot of ways.

"Okay. The green. No matter where we go, as long as you don't mind me following along... I'll be happy."