A Love Like Stardust [Goblin]

[Juno]

Her directions made no sense to him at all. In fact, Jack just thought even harder on it and was troubled when he came up with nothing. At least she seemed willing to lead the way. He fell into step with her, walking a little faster than was comfortable on his feet to keep up with her peculiar gait, like a skipping child.

What information she shared with him both made sense and saddened him. It was the way of country life. Everyone needed something and marriages were often arranged to produce children between families and strengthen each other's farms. Still, many were free to marry for love without need of a dowry. He had no doubt most if not all of his younger siblings would be free to do so.

"I'm very sorry about that," he apologized, more for his mother and the circumstances; he knew it wasn't his fault directly. "I didn't know any of this was happening... And goats?" Well, they were more for his family than him.

Jack shook his head, frowning in thought. "Goats don't matter. Your sister doesn't matter. About us, at least." He didn't want her thinking he might have regrets. He really didn't. There was nothing to regret, he wouldn't be missing out on anything. He was just marrying a little younger than he'd thought he would and to a beautiful young woman he just happened to not know all that well yet, even if she was a little odd.

[GoblinFae]

Kendall looked at Jack with a look of confusion that was quickly shrugged away. "You've done nothing to apologize for. This is how it is." She shrugged again before skipping them over an old wooden bridge with no railings and down a path that was eventually completely shadowed by a pine tree that had grown at an angle so as to survive the winds that had tried to break it in its youth.

"That's where I used to live," she told him pointing off to the home she had woken up in only just that morning. A small, chattering blur quickly approached them before flinging itself at Kendall and all but screeching in her ears, much to her amusement. "No, I wasn't leaving you behind Dewey. You're coming too," she giggled, scooping the squirrel off her shoulder and into the crook of her arm to cuddle. "He wanted to come to the wedding," she told Jack, "but mother would not let him. It's a shame. He would have been sweet."

[Juno]

Things began to seem a bit more familiar as they approached her home, her family's home now. It was a place he'd visited as a child but never in recent years. The sudden squeaking startled him and he flinched away from the blur of fur flying towards Kendall.

It was only when he heard her giggling that he realized there was no danger, no strange bird swooping down upon them suddenly or anything like that. Just a...squirrel. A pet squirrel. He hadn't even thought such a thing was possible before seeing it with his own eyes.

Jack lightly squeezed her hand, moving forward towards the house again so they could retrieve her things but decidedly cautious about the chattering furball on her arm that his wife had already decided would be joining them. He couldn't exactly tell her no easily if she never asked in the first place. Perhaps that had been the point.

"Dewey..? Have long have you had him?" he tried to clarify with a sideways glance, uncertain if he'd heard correctly, not bothering with her telling him such a crazy thing as the creature "wanting" to come to their wedding. Did that mean she could talk to animals? Or just the squirrel?

[GoblinFae]

"I've had him since he was a wee kitten. He fell from his nest and his momma didn't want him no more. He's been my constant companion ever since," Kendall informed him as she led him inside her empty family home. Everyone was still busy at the reception so there was no need to worry about being overheard.

She let go of Jack's hand before quickly thrusting Dewey into his arms. "You hold him for a bit. He won't stay put if I try and change while holding him," the bride informed him before promptly beginning to strip out of her dress right there in the family room. There was no ceremony or seduction about her actions. Ties were simply undone and the whole mess of muddied fabric was allowed to pool onto the floor as she stepped out of it, completely naked save for her boots.

[Juno]

While a sad story, it didn't make much sense to him why she would even want to keep a wild animal once he was grown and could have return to the wilds on his own.

Following her inside, Jack took his time looking around the empty place, a bit uncertain about where he should go or what he should do or offer her. When the squirrel was thrust upon him he had no time to complain and he drew a blank, sputtering nonsensically for a moment as he stared, wide-eyed at the tiny creature.

He held him slightly away from his body, wary of the furball biting or scratching him as a stranger if nothing else. "Uh- I'm not so sure this is a good idea, Kendall. I've never-" Jack's jaw dropped when he looked away from the small, furry creature to his new bride and she was just... Naked.

His cheeks burned brightly with a blush and he turned his head sharply to look anywhere but at her. Despite his light flirtations Jack had never seen the naked body of a woman in its entirety in his life. Sure a peek here or there but he'd never really gotten -or gone- very far with anyone.

He swallowed nervously, his throat suddenly feeling like there was something caught in it as he tried to speak again, "K-Kendall. You didn't have to- Let me give you some...privacy." Surely that was what she wanted! He couldn't even fathom the idea that she might not even care about being seen.

Even as he said it Jack was paralyzed, his feet unmoving and stuck to the same spot on the floor with a dumbstruck look on his face.

[GoblinFae]

Dewey stared up at the new human, feeling wary but not aggressive. Very slowly he unfurled his little body and readjusted so that he was able to better sit rather than lay in Jack's palm and so that his own little paws were able to gently clasp Jack's fingers for stability. He continued to dart glances towards the human male but otherwise kept quiet and still in his new perch.

Unlike Jack though, Kendall was completely unfazed by his embarrassment at seeing her body. She was neither a prude nor a virgin and considered her body to be nothing special or out of the ordinary.

"There's no need," she replied blandly. "We're husband and wife now. It's nothing you aren't going to see more often. You might as well look now. It's as good a time as ever, no?" she offered, standing before him openly.

[Juno]

He struggled to find any words as he just stared at all of the mysterious curves and lines to a woman suddenly bare to him. Her reasoning didn't seem enough, though. Being husband and wife didn't mean they knew each other any better! At least not yet.

"Well it's certainly very sudden," Jack mumbled, having no good reason why she might want privacy to change clothes other than his own assumption and silent customs throughout his years in shared housing. In truth his thoughts also drifted towards adultery if she was so free with herself around a stranger for a husband. They didn't really have any sort of foundation to their relationship yet. Other men didn't seem that much more of a jump.

Jack turned his arm slightly, nervous about the tiny, tiny claws touching lightly along the skin of his palm and hoping he could encourage the squirrel to climb up his arm instead. He turned his head to watch the small creature intently instead of her, cheeks still burning and skin feeling a bit clammy as he tried not to notice Kendall out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll wait here," he offered quietly, tense with his uncertainty about the whole situation sudden as it was.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh," Kendall said softly, a faint, tight smile tugging at her lips, "I don't please you," she murmured, stepping back from him quickly so that he would not suffer the sight of her. "I'll return clothed shortly," Kendall assured him before whisking herself away into her bedroom. Normally she would have had to share her room as all her other sisters did but with her poor health, Kendall had been moved to a secluded albeit rather cramped room in order to be allowed the rest her body so desperately needed.

While she dressed quickly in warm woolen clothes, Dewey continued to eye Jack nervously. The squirrel did not like one bit the fact that his perch was shifting about and not keeping stead beneath him. With chattering irritation he hopped onto Jack's sleeve, raced up his arm and then took refuge in his hair. His little paws clung gently to the strands of soft wavy curls as his tail swished about in agitation and occasionally smacked the man in the face.

[Juno]

Jack did glance her way one more time, eyes filled with confused concern as he watched her disappear to her room. Please him?! Like...with her body? Did she not think she was nice to look at? He definitely thought she was. Perhaps too nice. He hadn't expected a woman to look so...like her.

He was distracted from such thoughts when the squirrel darted up on top of his head, chattering in a way that seemed particularly menacing to Jack. He hissed under his breath for the sudden assault on his hair, uncertain what Dewey was doing but unhappy about being bopped on the nose constantly from the twitching tail. "Ah- Kendall!? Your squirrel's attacking me... I think... Help?" he called pleadingly, uncertain if that was what the creature was attempting but not wanting to take any chances. Surely she would know how to handle it best.

[GoblinFae]

"He's saying hello," she called back to him as she struggled to get her long socks pulled up properly again beneath her thick skirts. "Speak softly and pet him and he should settle. It's very rude not to say hello back to someone you know," Kendall chided with an amused shake of her head that he would not be able to see with her still in her room.

At the sound of her voice though the squirrel stilled his tail and hopped around to face where she had disappeared off to. Dewey continued to cling lightly to Jack's hair but his tail now bounced about on his back instead of his face as he chittered and chattered while patting Jack's head carefully.

[Juno]

"But we don't know each other! We just met!" Jack whined, feeling rather helpless and at this tiny furball's mercy as he was patted by tiny hands and the chattering sounds seemed just so loud against his skull.

He winced, gingerly reaching up to try to get his fingers under the small body to remove Dewey from his hair. He was uncertain how he was going to manage to untangle him without pulling it but resigned himself to accepting that it was just going to happen.

"Easy there, little buddy," he muttered, tilting his head slightly to try to peek up at Dewey with a wary, wide-eyed look.

[GoblinFae]

Dewey squealed at all the noise that proceeded his sudden displacement. Desperately he clung with his forepaws to Jack's hair and looked down at the man in horror. He was terrified of being dropped and while he did not tug or yank on the human's hair he was not about to let go anytime soon. There was no telling what would happen to him if he did so.

"You're not petting him," Kendall chastised him as she finally finished getting ready. "Have you never handled an animal in your life before?" she questioned honestly, her head tilting to the side as she rounded the corner into the main room. "You have to make him feel safe and secure, not like you're about to chuck him across the room at any moment."

[Juno]

"Ouch!" Jack winced as he tugged his own hair for putting pressure on Dewey to vacate. He groaned and shot Kendall a pleading look once she emerged, shuffling a little closer to her. He didn't really believe all of that, how could a wild animal settle down for a bit of petting?!

"We have plenty of animals, they just live outside," he informed her defensively, leaning his head forward slightly to try to just dump the squirrel into his waiting hands instead. "Can't you just tell him to come down already?"

[GoblinFae]

Kendall sighed and shook her head. Instead of chiding him for not listening she did exactly as she had instructed him. Two fingers came up to gently stroke up and down Dewey's soft, tawny-furred back until he relaxed and went limp. He eventually even let go, falling into her own waiting hand and curling up like a peaceful babe. Dewey even yawned with list little mouth causing the woman to smile fondly.

"Petting is soothing to him. What you were doing was frightening. How would you feel if someone a hundred times your size suddenly tried to pluck you up? He's just a little thing after all." Kendall sighed sadly as she cradled her squirrel against her chest. "I hoped you'd like him too. Do you want me to get rid of him then?"

[Juno]

Jack righted himself quickly once he was free, running his hands through his hair to soothe out the phantom sensation of a squirrel mussing it up. He watched the way he relaxed with her in awe, convinced she was just some sort of miracle-worker with animals for that alone.

The sadness in her tone puzzled him, not really understanding why she might think he didn't like Dewey. It was just a very, very rough start between them as far as he was concerned.

"No, no. You can keep him if he can behave himself indoors. I think it's more that he might not like me," he offered, chuckling under his breath like he was certain that was all it was, not really understanding that he was the one that needed to build trust with her pet.

He reached out cautiously to try to pet Dewey seeing as he seemed much more content in Kendall's hand, finally taking up some of her advice as he introduced himself slowly to the squirrel like he was a child that might not understand him if he spoke too fast, "Hi... Dewey. I'm Jack. Your new...um-"

Jack lifted his head to meet Kendall's eyes questioningly, "Does he consider you his mother? Will I be his father, then?"

[GoblinFae]

"He'd like you just fine if you weren't so afraid of him," she told him plainly while stroking Dewey's belly. The squirrel completely melted at her touch and therefore barely noticed as Jack began to touch him. The man's voice made him peek an eye open though and blink slowly. It was only then that the squirrel noticed he was being touched and curiously began to sniff him. Nothing seemed amiss so he gave Jack a few licks to the fingers before curling up and falling right back to sleep.

Dewey's actions made Kendall smile and pull her pet up to kiss upon the head. "He's my only friend," she whispered fondly so as to not wake her pet. "I'm sure he'd welcome another friend though. If you give him a chance you'll see he's more frightened of you than you are of him. You made his poor little heart race as it is with all your teasing."

[Juno]

For a moment Jack stilled, wary of the possibility of being bitten. When it never came he just allowed the odd squirrel-kisses briefly before resuming a cautious stroking along Dewey's fur until Kendall took him out of reach. He watched the way she handled him so gently, quickly realizing she was very serious about having such a creature as a pet. "Alright. I think I can manage that," he agreed, willing to at least try if it might make her happy for them to be on good terms.

He frowned some as he removed his hand and stepped closer to the room she'd disappeared to before. "I didn't mean to frighten him but he did sort of attack me," he reminded her, thinking it just as relevant that he'd been startled. "What else would you like to bring home from here? Anything?"

[GoblinFae]

Kendall eyed his movements curiously. She did not understand why he would be moving closer to her old room. That confusion quickly turned to boredom though. "Were you injured? Did he harm you? You do not appear to be," she stated as she moved close to him again and began to closely examine his face and neck for any scratches.

"Why would I need anything? My family will be bringing it over later. There isn't much anyway. You get most of it in the dowry." She shrugged in disinterest before stepping back. "Did you need anything?"

[Juno]

"No, not injured. No scratches," he promised, distractedly looking over his hands even as he said it to check again. There were no marks at all and Jack considered himself lucky to have escaped the encounter unscathed.

Kendall's refusal of his offer puzzled him, though. Did she have no personal effects? Surely she would have wanted to take them herself if they were precious enough.

"Well I meant for you. Not the goats or anything, just- Your personal things? I don't know, brushes and trinkets and ribbons you wanted with you? Jewelry?" There was no greed in his tone, simply concern for her leaving things behind that her family might not think to bring for her with the rest of it. Of course he didn't even know his wife well enough to know if she cared for such things at all.

[GoblinFae]

"No injuries, then he didn't attack you," Kendall stated matter-of-factly before moving her pet to her shoulder where he sat up and sunk his paws into her hair to gently hang onto her. "If there's nothing that you want then we can be on our way. I have all that I want right here." Kendall smiled gently poking Dewey in the belly causing him to chatter and nuzzle his face against her head. "Ribbons and jewelry hold no interest to me. They are sullied or broken far too easily," she commented, recalling the numerous times her mother had scolded her for ruining the new things she was given.