Blanketed

Warmth met Noah as his eyes languidly flickered open. The mist of sleep gradually fading in light tear like stains he was quick to wipe away. As he let out a tired yawn and stretched his arms over his head, colours cleared up, becoming more vibrant, livelier until he noticed a disparity. Something was there that wasn't there when he went to bed.

Wrapping around him was a light blanket, its fluff nurturing his warmth as he lay against the wall right besides Liora's room. Having sat himself there for worry that she may do something dangerous. He had no doubts the idea was squirming somewhere inside her, whether she knew that herself or not, that he didn't know. Pinching the blanket, a smile grew to his face and he thought back to that strange dream he'd just had.

"The wealth of monsters…" he murmured. He had an idea what she meant, he'd after all read a short descriptor of an occupation that dealt with this 'wealth' of monsters not a day earlier. "Ranching is it… or did she mean breeding?" both seemed possible though the 'breeding' idea still was a strange thought to him. "Wonder if the books have anything more about those…" as he said that, an ungodly shiver assailed his spine as he recalled something important, "we… didn't bring the baskets… oh fuck I've had it for a day and I've already lost it."

With a groan, Noah forced himself to his feet, collecting the woollen blanket by folding it in half, then half again and let it hang over his arm. Moving before Liora's door he brought his hand up, ready to rap against the wood but hesitated as he didn't want to wake her if she was still sleeping. Then again, he was worried about her and that worry trumped the guilt he'd be feel if he woke her up a bit early.

Knocking thrice, he stilled for a breath or four awaiting a response yet heard nothing. "Liora?" he questioned with a voice just barely loud enough to reverberate through the wood. knocking again though slightly harder a thought came to him, 'maybe she's already awake…' it was a possibility as he hadn't the faintest about when she'd come to lay the blanket over him. For all he knew it could have been minutes after he fell asleep or even twenty minutes ago when he was still chatting with that goddess.

Yet his more worrywart side was on full display as he couldn't slay that itch that something was wrong, that she might be hurt. Or worse. He knew it was a stupid thought, a worry though found in fact and testimony, it was still something he felt somewhere deep inside wasn't something she would do. Not soberly at least.

Holding his breath for a few moments, Noah finally opted to push open her door. Slowly, silently so as to not let it squeak and awake her if she was indeed still asleep. When it was open enough, he leaned his head in and spun it around, quickly taking in its visage in the morning light billowing in golden streams in from the window. Eventually arriving atop her bed, above which was the curled form of Liora. Clad only in her nightgown with a pillow stuffed between her legs and another crushed between her arms in a positively fluffy hug as she pulled it into her bosom. Her dress near inches from falling off her shoulders to free one of her mounds.

She was still, chest raising slowly and steadily in her sleep. Noah sighed out in relief and inched his way inside. Attempting to not make much noise from the odd creaky board. His intent to arrive besides her bed and lay down the blanket atop her nightstand. Arriving besides her, he reached out the folded blanket and was about to set it down but paused when Liora stirred.

She didn't wake, no, instead she whimpered and clenched her pillows tighter as if to use them as a replacement for her lost warmth. Glancing to the blanket, Noah sighed and shook his head, "really, you have one blanket and you give it to me." unfurling it, Noah laid it over her, not daring to flap it for the noise and air pressure it would make could awake her. By the time he was done, Liora had found herself entirely clad from head to toe in the warmth she'd abandoned for him.

"Honestly," he muttered giving her one last look. Her full lips, her pale freckled skin and the frazzling of her reddened hair. She was beautiful in maturity. Yet also strangely adorable in her rest. His hand slowly reached out for her and his fingers trailed slowly over her cheek, collecting a small fringe of hair and swept it over her ear, clearing her visage and letting him feel just how chilly her skin was. "God you are to beautiful to be calling yourself a hag," he sighed, his hand pulling away as he spun around and began his creeping back to the door. Only casting her one last parting look before smiling lightly and exiting the room. The door clicking silently behind him.

Returned to the hall, Noah glanced to the left and thus started his secondary trek to the staircase, and descended into the entryway. Soon finding himself in the kitchen where Caina had cleaned his new wound and patched it up with some haemostatic cream.

"Still there," he said after stroking a digit over the hardened scab.

Searching the cupboards, Noah eventually came across a few glasses, enough for one, maybe two people and brought it to the sink. Pausing as he forgot how strangely things worked in this world. There were no nobs to the faucet. The fact there was even a faucet was amazing in itself though he knew the only reason for that metallic pipe was to act as a housing for the small blue stone that would expel water given some sort of effect.

"How did I do this again?" he questioned, recalling the time when he'd cleaned Liora of all the blood. The image bringing a flush to his cheeks as so too came the nude image of Liora. The fuzz of her crotch, the fullness of her plump breasts and her wide, accentuated hips. "Jesus, get your head out of the gutter Noah." Quickly he realigned his thoughts and returned them to the faucet before him

Atop the curled bend was a slight divet, within said divet was the faint bluish tone of the crystal-like stone that was also found within the bath. 'If I had the book, I could probably get a proper name for this stuff and how to use it.'

Laying a finger over the divet, her pressed it like a button to little effect though. Blinking, he pressed it again, yet like before, nadda occurred.

"Are… you struggling there?" Caina's voice echoed from behind causing a light spike of surprise to pummel him into jumping.

Spinning to meet her half-lidded eyes, Noah awkwardly chuckled, "ahaha… Yeah. I have no idea what I'm doing. I got the one in the bath to work and even that stove thingy, but I don't really know how they work and how to reliably turn them on."

Caina stood, cheek twitching. "How you don't know something so basic, I do not understand. Then again, you say weird things like you know more than I do about MY job."

'She's really hung up on that isn't she,' he thought.

Approaching him, Noah instinctively moved to the side and listened as she spoke.

"I'll humour your idiocy for a bit." bringing her hand over the faucet she pointed to the divet. "This is the dimple, inside is waterstone…"

'Suprisingly unsurprising naming convention.' he commented internally.

Caina's finger trailed down to the curled pipe leaning over the basin. "And this is the dick."

'There it is.'

"Excuse me?"

"It looks like a dick. Therefore dick. I've heard it's called a faucet as well, but everyone just calls it a dick."

"I mean… sure? if you squint."

"Anyways, do you know how to control your ethos?" she asked, and he drew a blank, "of course you don't. Tries to act smart and knows jack all. How does that not surprise me. Alright, it's not difficult. You think about doing something, and it happens." as an example, Caina placed her finger over the divet and suddenly water began to spew from the top of the… 'dick.'

'I cannot take this seriously with a name like that.'

Shutting off the water, Caina indicated for him to try himself. Bringing his finger back to the divet he thought of what she'd told him and thought about water coming out. Within him a small twist of energy surged, raced up his arm and to his finger, seconds later water began spurting from the end.

"That… is easier than I thought."

"Indeed. It's a miracle you didn't know how to do it in the first place. After all, even children know how to do it." Without much more flare, Caina filled a glass and tipped it up, downing it in three long gulps. Some of the water trickling from her cheeks to stain her blouse tight to her olive skin.

"Haaa," sighing out, she laid down the glass and spun around to find herself seated on one of the chairs by the table where she'd laid down a book she'd found somewhere.

Doing much similar, Noah too grabbed a glass but instead of downing it all, he only sipped.

'Knock, knock, knock.' three soft noises reverberated from the front door drawing his attention.

"I'll get it," setting his glass on the table, Noah fell into a light jog and was quick to arrive by the door. Hesitating before opening as the risk of one of the villagers coming to finish the deed was a thought much to possible for him to be comfortable with.

"I'm overthinking things. They wouldn't knock if they were here to kill us," he shook his head and the door creaked open. Yet there was not a face there to greet him. Confusedly, he leaned his head out, spun it around inspecting the pathway to find only trees, grass, and hay nearby. When his gaze fell down, he was greeted though with a surprise, two wicker baskets stuffed full with all their purchases from the previous days.

"Huh," he fell to his knee and quickly scurried through one of them, finding his books still hidden beneath his freshly purchased garb. Letting out a relieved breath, Noah gripped the handles of both and lifted them, casting one last look over the fields for whoever had been so kind to return the baskets to them.

***

Upstairs, not long after Noah's extradition from her room. Liora's eyes bolted open, her lips sucked in and her skin went red. Steam threatening to billow from her head in a heated display of embarrassment.

'Don't fall for him. Don't fall for him.' her mind repeated again and again and again. Tempting her inner self not to latch onto that beautiful comment as it was extraordinarily dangerous to her.