Frost Forest [Goblin]

[Juno]

Sophie turned her head to watch his attempts, fascinated at the results of his failures. She watched him move away, frowning that he was wordlessly rejecting her offers. For a while she remained silent as well, staring at the ceiling and just listening to the sounds of the jungle beyond his den.

Once she made up her mind she stood quietly and made her way outside. She walked slowly around the immediate area, taking in the view of the place to be sure she could remember it when she returned. She went further out to gather what good wood she could find for a fire from what she hoped was still his territory, dragging it back piece by piece to the entrance of his home to form a loose pile.

When she was finished she sorted what she would use for the day from the surplus and moved the extra aside while she built and started the fire outside where she sat before it. If he didn't want to use it she definitely would do so herself.

[GoblinFae]

He tried to doze where he rested but the sounds of her movements distracted him. Fintan did his best to ignore it but the moment she left his den he knew. Tiredly, he rolled to his side to see what she was up to and immediately he wished he has not. Already his slowly a airing headache came flaring back at full force once he caught sight of her not only outside but in her human form.

The shifter rolled to his belly, his joints cracking as he move so that he could drag himself to the cave's entrance to confront her. All the while he cursed in his mind that surely he had not been delirious and dreamed up telling her to stay put.

A deep growl rose in volume from deep within his throat by the time she sat down to enjoy her little human fire. "What part of stay inside or shift of you must leave was hard for you? Are you trying to get yourself kilt?"

[Juno]

She jumped at the sound of his voice and growl, not realizing she had been watched all that time. Sophie glared at him defiantly, purposefully meeting his eyes and refusing to look away. "I'm right here. There is no danger and I didn't truly 'leave,'" she argued, not seeing it his way at all. How could a bit of work outside but in sight of his cave be considered "leaving" anyway?

"My leopard can't protect me any better than I can protect myself," she told him stubbornly.

[GoblinFae]

"In here," he grunted, pointing back to the den where he was, "I can protect you, out there I cannot! If your other half cannot protect you better than this half then you are either far more capable than I ever gave you credit for in this form or are entirely foolish in believing your other half is useless and refusing to nurture it. You are in my territory right now and you must follow the rules of this jungle! You are not in the north anymore where young cats can do as they please. Here you can die and there is nothing you could do to stop it if you allow weakness to rule you. If another shifter invaded this territory, which would not be unusual, then you would be fair game to an attack from a full-grown healthy and hungry tiger. You still think you can win against that?"

[Juno]

"But I'm right here," Sophie laughed, gesturing at the very small space between herself and the mouth of the cave. "If there truly is any danger I'm certain I could retreat there before it reached me here, right? Besides, what shifter could possibly eat another? That's crazy talk. That's just the sort of thing that doesn't happen."

She chucked a few sticks onto the fire, causing it to dance and and reach out to her, but the flame never touched her skin. "I came here hunting a tiger, a wild one. I almost killed you but I did not. Because you are a shifter. We just don't....do that to one another, right?"

[GoblinFae]

Fintan flinched as the fire danced, but did his best to hide his reaction by readjusting how he was sitting. For a long while he simply stared at her with a deep, penetrating gaze before finally answering in a gruff voice. "You're not back home anymore. Here the rules are very much of the wild and while they might not eat you there are other things men hunger for here."

[Juno]

It took her a moment, but Sophie eventually figured out that Fintan's implication was the same thing her father had warned her against in her travels. She glared at him, though she was not angry at him directly for it. She found the reminder itself disturbing once she'd realized. "That's equally awful," she stated quietly, shaking her head in disappointment. "This is exactly what should not happen."

She stared into the fire in silence for a few more moments before she quietly moved to sit just within the mouth of the cave to take the place beside him. She couldn't feel the warmth of the fire as much, but if it guaranteed her safety and calmed her host she was happy enough to remain. "I'll only go out to keep the fire going, is that fair?"

[GoblinFae]

He watched her like a hawk as she finally came to sit beside him. It secretly pleased him that she finally obeyed and while he would never admit it, Fintan did significantly relax against the cave wall although his arms did remain crossed about his chest. A small nod of his head and an affirmative grunt were the only pleased response her obedience would earn though. He was still irritated she would have to leave at all but given that he was already there despite the cold, there really was no use complaining in his eyes since he would be able to watch over her from then on.

"You can't move it closer?" he asked nodding towards the dancing flames.

[Juno]

Sophie looked between him and fire a bit, uncertain if she really could move it easily. "I would be nervous to try, but I'm sure I can manage." And just like that she was up again, moving quickly to the fire as she began to drag it through the dirt two branches at a time. She was wary of the bursts of flame that reached out towards her as she shifted things around, nearly getting licked quite a few times as she moved it piece by piece. Once it was settled and calmed from its adjustments she rejoined him to sit inside the cave once more, allowing their legs to brush ever so slightly as she did so.

She smiled proudly for her work, rubbing her hands together a bit and reaching out to feel the pulsing heat on her palms. "Much better, yeah?"

[GoblinFae]

Fintan sputtered as she was once more up and moving away from him. He had not expected her to literally move it right then and there and as she nearly burned herself from time to time he made sounds of distress and discomfort. It was only once she was back beside him, palms sweating and heart racing that he finally felt able to breathe again. The man wheezed as air refilled his lungs once more. It was a relief though to feel the heat of the fire seep into his bones and chase away the chill the fever seemed to have left him with. Fintan bowed his head gratefully to her. "Thank you," he offered quietly yet sincerely. "That was...unexpected. Thank you."

[Juno]

"Well it's just a fire, but you need it. You must stay warm," she warned, shaking her head at his continued stubbornness. Sophie settled and relaxed easily enough, though, her heart calm once again since it seemed to her that she was forgiven. "Are you sure you don't want to borrow anything of mine? I think it would help, but if you're really so against it... I suppose I can try to keep the fire going until you're well."

[GoblinFae]

"You could have just made a new one or waited until it died. There was no need to risk yourself simply because you feel that I need such things. It would not do if we were both harmed," he lectured her tensely, not liking the idea of needing a fire himself. "What things of yours are you referring to? Not more plants I hope," Fintan grumbled skeptically.

[Juno]

"I'd rather see you comfortable," she told him honestly, though she smiled at a thought as she continued teasingly. "Though it doesn't seem to spare me your grumpiness, does it?" She shook her head about his question regarding the plants, blushing with embarrassment for the awful mess she'd caused before.

"No, no. No plants, I promise. Not yet at least. I meant clothing, mostly. If you would like to borrow any I'd be happy to lend it to you," she explained gently. "Though I know you hadn't seemed too keen on it before... Thought I might offer again."

[GoblinFae]

Fintan flinched at the "yet," eyeing her with a tense and nervous expression. It soon faded though as he eyed her up and down curiously, taking in her rather delicate and minute form before turning his gaze to his own person.

"You believe clothing would be a satisfactory substitute for fur but I admit I find it rather difficult to believe. You have something that would cover this?" Fintan waved a hand towards his person. "You are still very small kitten and I am much bigger."

[Juno]

Her offer had come under the innocent assumption that size would not be an issue, but she furrowed her brow at the way he pointed out their differences. "I'm no kitten," she protested, turning her head to peer over her shoulder into the darker parts of his cave. "I might have something that will fit you. I must, I'm sure."

Sophie rose quietly to go to her pack. From it she withdrew a set of clothes and a cloak she knew to be quite warm that had been reserved for her early and assumed later days of travel once she returned to her tundra home. She personally felt dwarfed within it so she hoped it might be suitable for him. "Perhaps your shoulders are a bit wide," she finally agreed, giving him that at least even though she knew there were much more obvious differences between them.

Returning to sit with him with the garments on her lap she held out the cloak to him first. "If this doesn't fit then the others might not...be so comfortable. I'm sure it will, though, just try it," she urged softly. "Just think of it as...a temporary fur replacement."

[GoblinFae]

He quietly if tensely accepted the cloak turning it this way and that as he inspected. At any moment he was expecting something to suddenly jump out at him or for it to suddenly come alive and strangle him. When it did neither of those things he brought it a bit closer to his face to scent it. The cloth smelled of far away places and of her. Otherwise it seemed rather harmless.

Giving in with a heavy, long-suffering sigh, Fintan finally struggled to situate over his person. Having never worn a cloak before himself nor seen anyone else wear one in the sweltering jungle. Eventually though he managed to drape it upside down over himself with the bottom wrapped around his front and shoulders and the narrow part over his crossed knees. "So...it fits?"

[Juno]

Sophie watched him calmly, patient even as he "wore" it wrong. "If you're comfortable like that, but it's meant to go around you," she explained, leaning over him to reach for it. "Let me correct it, see if you like that any better," she offered, slowly taking up the fabric and turning it over to reveal the small leather tie that was meant to be around the neck.

"This goes in front," she explained, smoothing her hand over his knee through the fabric before she pulled his blanketed version away. She opened it slowly, to demonstrate how to do it should he need to keep using it, and then leaned forward and reached around him, almost hugging him to bring it up and drape over his shoulders. It certainly seemed a good bit shorter than was necessary but she thought it still usable in its state.

"And this you tie in front. Very loosely usually," she added, fiddling with the tie at the base of his throat to make a bow of it. "It's a bit short for you and the hood is a bit small I have to admit, but it's probably for the best. Might get too warm if you wore it up. Are you feeling any warmer?" she asked gently, sitting back on one folded leg to admire her work.

[GoblinFae]

Fintan allowed her to correct the cloak, barely able to listen as he marveled in the warmth her body was letting off. He truly was freezing despite his stubbornness and having her close again reminded him how much he had enjoyed being curled up close with her. With the cloak readjusted he learned much to his disappointment that he had been correct and human things just were not meant for him. The shifter growled softly as he attempted to pull both ends of the cloak together and found he was unable to due to his broader chest. He huffed in annoyance then decisively reached forward and gently but firmly pulled Sophie into his chest and lap.

"Still cold," he complained. "You're warmer. Stay?"

[Juno]

Sophie watched him expectantly, though she frowned slightly for the way the cloak didn't quite come together. "It seemed bigger than that on me," she apologized. While entirely unexpected and giving her cause to tense and stare at him wide-eyed, the relocation was not entirely unwelcome.

He was comfortable despite his grumpy nature and his reasoning seemed genuine enough when almost all he'd talked of had to do with warmth. Perhaps, she reasoned, he just naturally ran cold. She could definitely see its advantages in the jungle.

Adjusting her legs to straddle him, she draped her arms loosely at his waist and allowed her front to lean fully against his own, her head tucking nicely against one shoulder. To her it was simply a gesture of comfort and something she certainly owed him for all the trouble she'd caused. "If this suits you better," she agreed. "But I warn you I'll be cramping if you must sit like this all day," she reminded him, hoping he would not treat her as some sort of furniture in her kindness. "Did you want me to remove that, then?" she asked, allowing her fingers to play with the fabric of the cloak.

[GoblinFae]

He lifted his arms to not be holding her in place and allow her the freedom of movement. "Get comfortable then, please. Your warm and this human thing," Fintan gestured to the cloak, "only works so much. It was warmer when you were close before and I want that again. You want to be out here so I stay." The shifter sighed with exhaustion, allowing his head to fall back against the cave wall and his eyes to flutter closed. "Just don't run off...please. Don't want you hurt," he murmured softly, a great deal of worry and concern lacing his tone as he warned her once more.