Her nose wrinkled at the sight of sand, more so at the fact a few grains landed on her nose, itching their way down the sensitive skin to drop off on the cave floor. "I can't imagine walking in the desert myself, I'd be cleaning sand from my wings and hair for weeks." It was a soft statement, but she imagined herself in the sand, the grains tangling in to her tail and all over her wings and head. It was an interesting sight, mentally.
Shaking the thought away, she waited for an answer on her question, shifting her foreleg just a little, the burn lessening little by little over time, and she drew in a slow breath, feeling heat wash over her. From head to hooves, and everywhere in between, she felt a trickle of warmth, namely in her chest and belly (and face) as she felt the weight of the large stallion's neck on hers.
It was... oddly comfortable, and it felt like they were taking a new step somewhere. Where, she had no idea, but somewhere.
Araxes felt the small twitch of her ears in response to the breath she felt, and her eyes tilted upward, glancing to find a much darker eye looking back at her, and something in her seemed to stutter for a moment. Just a brief, small, moment.
"Oh.. that.. that must be a nice, powerful position." Her voice was startlingly soft, a tender whisper of surprise more than a squeak of any sort, and her breathing picked up, despite her sleepy stance. She chalked it up to simply finally losing the adrenaline from earlier, and her head gave a tilt, pausing to press wholly against Torstein's instead, silent.
A hearty chuckle rolled form his throat and lips as the sand fell off of her nose, and gently his muzzle brushed against her own as he rid her of the last few particles that still graced her skin. Or maybe he was just.. making up an excuse to touch his skin to hers. He wasn't so sure, anymore.
And for the next few minutes, there was a quiet silence that rolled over them as he watched her reaction to his own words. She was pretty, but somehow still so naive. For a brief moment, Tor thought his words - as obvious as they were, hinting at his needs - hadn't quite registered with the much tinier mare. She was peculiar, confusing, and frustrating all at the same time.
That must be a nice, powerful position. Her words were quiet; they almost seemed nervous, submissive. But his eyes never left hers, even as she pressed her head up underneath his own and nestled up to his throat. "I assume so," he murmured, his gaze wandering away from her and staring off over her, out onto the plains where the thunder and rain tore at the landscape.
He wanted her. He wasn't sure if it was emotionally - he couldn't remember the last time he had sincere, pure feelings for anyone - or just pure primal need. He knew that he felt the need to protect her; her injured leg flashed across his mind.
Gaze dropped back down to her, and he pushed his neck a little forward - enough to nudge her head and get her attention. "You should get some sleep, speckled one. Your leg will heal faster that way," he remarked awkwardly, and cleared his throat. Hesitation gripped his thoughts, and for a moment he almost didn't utter the next phrase. Why, though, did he feel hesitant? "I'll stay with you.. watch over you while you sleep?" he proposed, leaving the statement open-ended.
Oddly enough, Araxes didn't really want to move at the nudge given to her, instead flexing a single ear, and then a wing, before her head drew back enough to allow her gaze to fall back to his. A sleepy blink was given, and her lips parted around a soft yawn before her lids fell shut again and she nodded almost in a silly way. Again, her wings tucked against her head, and she tilted it, resting herself upon the large stallion with no fear, and so much ease.
"Okay," she answered. It was sweet and easy to agree to such terms given to her, and she smiled as she adjusted her body only slightly and allowed herself to lean on him more comfortably. "Thank you..." The words trailed as her head moved to tuck under his larger one, more than happy to allow her face to press against his neck and take in his scent and warmth.
An intimate thing, she found nothing wrong with it, finding so much comfort and ease from the large stallion. Certainly he was a bit of a brute and a bit mean, but, well. It happened. Not everyone was going to be sunshine and rainbows, she knew that much. She simply held the hope that perhaps sometime, somewhere, there would be some fraction of kindness that emerged if only for a little while. Or maybe her thoughts were running away with her, sleepy as she was. It didn't take long for her to actually begin nodding off, her breathing evening out, coming in deep and steady.
Crimson eyes stared at the precious little bird as she nodded in and out of sleep-hazy consciousness, as she rested her head against his chest. Such a tiny little one was adorable, even in her exhausted state, and the idea brought a chuckle to his lips. "Sleep well, my little bird," he murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
His own neck cracked over her, resting gently upon the delicate and soft crest of her neck. Her skin was warm, and dulled his mind into its own state of exhaustion. Within moments, he felt his eyes grow heavy and the spines upon his chest slowly shut... and thus, the two fell asleep, pressed against one another as the storm roared on outside the cave.
