Poking the Bear

ashe    Ashe didn't speak at first. She watched the massive man as he busied himself with various lumber, and she didn't move beyond her hand rising to idly stroke over the trembling body of her spider, tucked just under her hood. She pursed her lips just slightly at the mention of the scent that she knew clung to her, breathing slowly through her nose. "His name is Kalt," she said quietly, and she nearly cringed. Her voice always felt strange after a while as the wolf. "He's.. an old friend I've reconnected with." He wasn't asking for an explanation, she didn't think, and to explain that... it would take time, and Dev seemed to already know just what he needed to say to her.    Ashe remained silent again, her eyes watching every movement from the bear. His ripples in changes of size had her tensing, but he held himself - warnings, she thought. She kept her lips pressed into a thin line, absorbing his voice, his words. There a hot coal burning in her chest, hotter and hotter as he spoke. She was trying now. She was finding her way back to people again, figuring out what it was she wanted her life to be, she wasn't hiding anymore. Just... just from the bear who told her he would kill her if she ever hurt Alistair. From the man she had claimed as her father. It was painful, and her jaw feathered with clenched teeth as she kept herself busy with Soot, trying to focus on the soft hair of his body, his delicate legs.    He expected her... to stay? Of all things... She blinked and narrowed her eyes just slightly, tried to ignore the harsh tugging and longing in her chest. She had fully expected him to say his piece, to let her know exactly what he thought of her, and tell her to go. But to stay the night? She swallowed and cast her eyes downwards as he left the room, leaving her to deal with the firepit in the floor. She stood staring at it without moving for a long moment, her teeth grinding together. Was it worth it. Let your mother know. Gone in the morning. Ashe shook her head and set to work.    It didn't take her long to get the fire started. Tinder, wood, a few sparks of lightning and encouragement from fire magic, and there was a strong and steady fire blazing in the firepit. The heat was welcome in the late fall air, but... Devrum was waiting. She stared down at the fire for a moment longer, and with a deep breath, she turned and headed up the fresh stairs.    It was a porch. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, thinking back to the farmhouse in Northaven. She glanced over the bear, hanging back in the threshold to what would be a comfortable porch when Devrum was finished with it. She blinked and glanced around it before her eyes settled on him again, her hands crossing over her middle with tense shoulders. "I didn't think you wanted to see to me again," she said in as controlled of a voice as she could manage.