ooc:
It was surprising that she didn’t get as much of a confrontation out of him when she refused to tend to his horse. Perhaps a little more teasing behind he eventually gave in and spared her from forcing her aching body to move. Pain and aching were physical elements she could endure, but today she didn’t want to wear and brave face and act like her body wasn’t sore. Just as he had selfishly craved her attention when he was wrecked with sickness, so did she want to be catered to this day if they were just going to hide away in the tent for what was left of it.
She chuckled as he forced herself to stand as his body made sounds of protest then slipped from the tent to tend to his animal. Left alone, she was tempted to dive back into the pile of furs and steal away whatever warmth she could. If they were going to be lazy, then she wanted to be warm in doing so. No doubt if her Shepard could see her, he would be wearing a smile of amusement while chiding her that this was no way for a warrior to spend her time. Mentally, she whined against the would-be advise of her father, giggling puppishly as she moved around the tent to collect and fold their scattered bedding furs. She kept the larger of the pelts on the ground to keep the snow underneath from seeping in then made a neat stack of their bedding in the corner keeping the area of the tent relatively free, except for the feathers still strung across their deer skinned floor.
While in the middle of cleaning, she felt a very natural urge come over her, encouraging that she change her form to better suit her body’s needs. She hadn’t left the tent for but a moment to answer nature’s call, literally darting her way through their neighbors tents in the hopes to avoid their judgmental stares. Not all of them could be avoided, but those that made eye contact were given a kind smile and hurried wag of her tail, no doubt shocking the few that had heard the ruckus this gently portrayed female could make. She did not stop to talk or make an empty apology, just hurried back into their makeshift den before she was missed and returned to her more complimenting form.
Though her rear still smarted, she was able to rest on it without too much pain at least long enough to wait before her handsome mate returned. She rolled to her hands and knees with tail waving excitedly behind her. Whatever rank she carried above him mattered nigh when it came to her affections for him. She could act however she wished and would not be chastised for it. She could wallow, sulk, complain, act like a child and still be loved just the same by him. To be free of those constraints brought on by rank gave her a reprieve few would know. Because with him, she could be as she wanted to and they would still love each other the same.
When he returned, she crawled over to greet him on all fours, then raised herself to balance on her knees and nuzzled his stomach affectionately. Mention their beliefs paused her loving attention but was replaced with a keen interest for what he wanted to share. Marriage was a word just as strange to her as ‘Nomad’ was to most anyone she came across. But it sounded like a grand moment, from what she could grasp. An unbreakable commitment from a man to his mate…or in this case, his wife. “It is… a bond between mates,” she tried to grasp. “But more than that?”