Can I help you?

>Be Maren
>Be washing a couple of dishes
>You and Sythe had just finished dinner
>He said he had a surprise for you, but he needed to go and get it
>As you washed a rather large pan, your mind drifted over the possibilities
>Perhaps it was a special keidran desert he had made or bought
>...
>If it was desert you hoped he bought it
>There was a reason you cooked for the two of you after all
>Sythe wasn’t the worst cook you’ve known
>That award goes to Trace
>Even before he lost his memory he couldn’t even scramble an egg properly
>Oh well, that was in the past
>Even if Sythe wasn’t too bad you still preferred to cook and do the dishes
>It reminded you of life before the attack
>Although you missed life in that inn
>Another part of you was happy it was over
>And your life with Sythe could begin
>A costly price price for happiness
>But you were glad you somehow ha-
>...
>There was a taller form standing directly behind you
>His breath was gently brushing the top of your hair
>You could feel the intense heat radiating off his thick fur
>It was inches from touching you
>Two lean arms raised up in your peripheral vision
>You prepared for a warm embrace
>But it never came
>Instead you felt his paw pads gently resting on your face
>”Can I help you?”
>”Yeah, guess who.”
>”Sythe, who else could it possibly be?”
>”Nah guess again, who is it?”
>You smirked as you rolled your paw covered eyes
>”Alright, ‘Bladuriau.’”
>Sythe had taught you the ‘Keidran’ way of saying his name
>Guess he missed his original home as much as you did
>You and him were both more than happy to help alleviate that sadness whenever it appeared
>He moved his left arm up to cover your eyes with the crook of his elbow
>It was ‘very’ majestic
>His right hand gently rubbed your body as it moved south
>But instead of resting on your hip, he removed it and began shifting through a bag
>”I have something for you.”
>”Is it desert? If so it better not be in that bag your rummaging through.”
>”Dese-? Oh no, well, yeah, but that’s later… and not in the bag. Uh, could you just… cover your eyes for a couple seconds?”
>Whatever the surprise is, it apparently required two hands
>But you were still more than happy to play along
>After closing your eyes, Sythe quickly found what he was looking for
>You swore you heard a couple of clinks as he took the gift out of his bag
>”Uh, just… keep your eyes closed until I say open, okay?”
>”Mmhmm.”
>You feel his arms wrap over your shoulders
>His thick and well groomed fur brushing past your exposed shoulders
>Something cold and metallic lands just above your breasts and is pulled up a little
>But before you could even question what it was, Sythe clicks a tiny chain in place
>It had to be a necklace or amulet
>You could tell he was a little nervous about giving it to you
>Because when he finally did embrace you
>You couldn’t hear his tail wagging like it normally would
>His head was resting on your shoulder, his snout was just under your chin
>You could feel him quickly take a couple of deep breaths through his nose
>He once told you after getting drunk with Red, that your scent was the most calming thing he ever knew
>It secretly was a small source of pride for you
>His lean arms were wrapped firmly around your apron covered belly
>You always loved when he held you tight
>The safety it brought could bring ease to your mind no matter the situation
>”Uhh, well, open them.”
>Sure enough it was an amulet
>It was small and made from brass
>It had both keidran and human text just above the edges
>The human text made your heart flutter: ”To my love Maren, thank you for making my life unbarren”
>You thought it was beautiful despite the cheesiness of it
>”H-heh cheesy I know, but gets better, open it.”
>After you wiped your wet hands off on your apron
>You gently picked up the amulet and opened it
>Your breath staggered at what you saw
>Inside was a lock of tan hair and a colored mana crystal
>The lock of hair was clearly his
>You knew it had some meaning to keidran
>So it warmed your heart a little
>And the crystal…
>The crystal was stunning
>It had a deep purple core that sharply faded into a tan surrounding
>”It’s a keidran style gift, you see uh, we like to give locks of our hair to our mates, you know, to be reminded of our scent… I don’t know if your nose is strong enough for it so…”
>”Probably not as strong as a keidran’s nose, but I’m sure it’ll still bring comfort when I’m lonely.”
>His tail started to slowly wag
>”But this crystal, it’s… breathtaking, how did you change the color like this?”
>”I ah, had Raine change color, that’s why I asked to borrow your hair brush a couple weeks ago, I needed some of your… essence, it’s why I cut a bit of my ponytail off too.”
>”Thank you…“
>You close the amulet with a small click and bring up your left hand to brush his cheek fur
>His tail was wagging pretty fast
>You took the time to place a small kiss on the top of his muzzle
>He could only nuzzle and press against the crook of your neck further
>”Sythe, have I ever told you that I love you?”
>He gave your body a small squeeze as you finished those words
>”Yeah, I love you too… So, desert?”
-Aimbot.exe