Snuggling for warmth

Simone fretted that she'd either truly offended Shayn or driven him away with her rather morbid parable and the reason it was on her mind.

He was quiet now, laying facing away from her, and she frowned. She wanted to apologize again, but he had definitively ended the conversation. She pursed her lips, knowing there was nothing she could say right now to make it better, anyway.

Flipping onto her back, she looked up. The moon was an eerie shade of green, and she frowned at its light. The forest looked even worse than it had before under the strange glow, and she turned to her other side, determined to ignore the anomaly in favor of trying to sleep.

She couldn't very well sleep all day and stay awake all night like the nocturnal creatures of Jarnsaxa's world. Simone cringed. She could easily have told one of the interesting stories she'd pried from the former giantess on the journey. Without her pride, the old queen was far more approachable and had many interesting things to say about the inhabitants of Pink Sky World.

Calling these things to mind to distract herself, Simone tossed and turned for a long time, until the fire dimmed. She was tempted to add more wood to it, but that required sacrificing the body heat she had accumulated inside her bedroll. Ultimately, the loss of the heat seemed too great a risk, and she stayed put, closing her eyes and willing sleep to come.

Surely the chill would subside come morning.

Eventually she fell into a light doze, semiconscious of the creaking and groaning of the forest but not really thinking heavily or marking the passage of time. Eventually, she grew warm and sighed comfortably, sinking into real rest.

Some hours later, she felt the sun's first anemic rays of the day on her eyelids, but she wasn't ready to face the day quite yet.

She sighed, snuggling into the warmth at her back, and then froze. Why was there warmth behind her? It was definitely body heat. But Shayn had slept on the other side of the fire, surely he wouldn't have done something so inappropriate…?

She finally found the courage to open her eyes at the same time that a big, snuffling snore ruffled her hair.

Shayn sat, unobtrusive, on the other side of the campfire, stoking it and adding wood to the embers to coax more life out of it. Well, that answered one question. And he didn't look concerned about her so that must mean–

She turned her head and was met with a faceful of brown and grey speckled fur. Judah snored once more, and she realized he had one of his forepaws laying gently over her like a blanket, the elbow of his other supporting her head like a pillow. It really was very cozy.

Until she tried to move. Judah's paw was extremely heavy, and she found herself trapped within the giant cat's embrace.

She wiggled, to no avail. Her arms were pinned, and she had no leverage to try to push either against the ground or Judah. Frowning, she tried gently elbowing the enormous creature awake, but his snores continued.

"Um," She said quietly. "Judah? I'm a little trapped, could I get up, please?"

The animal continued his steady breathing, but a smirk formed on Shayn's face.

"Everything ok last night? Were you warm enough?" He quipped.

"Quite," She snipped. "Maybe I could persuade you to help me out of my furry cocoon? I seem to be securely ensconced."

"I am susceptible to persuasion, with the right inducements," His grin grew.

"I can't very well cook you any breakfast until I'm freed," She quirked an eyebrow. "I understand that isn't the greatest inducement in the world, but it's the best I have to offer right now."

"I suppose that'll have to do," Shayn sighed. His stomach rumbled loudly enough for her to overhear. "When did the overgrown kitten return, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Quite late, I think. No wonder he's still asleep now," Her voice turned sympathetic. "I suppose he had to go rather far to find something to eat and water to drink."

"Probably," Shayn agreed. "All right, let's see," he said, standing and walking over to examine Simone's predicament more closely. She stared up at him. He seemed much taller towering over her like this.

"I can't get my arms free," She explained briefly. "I think if I can manage that, I should be able to slide myself free of my bedroll."

She'd been snuggled down deep inside it, and thus had no way to easily free herself. Shayn knelt and pursed his lips, looking at her uncertainly. He glanced towards Judah's large head, clearly wondering whether it was best to just try to wake him than to maneuver Simone out of his grasp.

"Let him have his rest, he'll need it," She said more softly, "just… try to lift his paw enough for me to wriggle out."

He frowned, and looped his arms around the offending foreleg. "On three," He nodded. "One, two, three!"

Shayn strained, and Simone wriggled, slowly at first and then making progress. She squirmed, finally getting one arm moved enough to liberate it from the sleeping sack, and pushed up to try and free the other.

Judah groaned deep in his chest and twitched in protest to the disturbance to his peaceful sleep with his human teddy bear. With a heavy sigh he began to roll over onto his back, and Simone exulted at her imminent freedom as the heavy weight of Judah's foreleg was lifted from her.

Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived.

Judah's other foreleg swept down from where it had been resting under his face, catching Shayn by surprise and swiping his feet out from under him. The giant cat continued rolling, hugging both humans to his chest like dolls until he'd comfortably settled in on his other side.

Simone closed her eyes and squeaked in surprise as she found herself trapped once again, this time on her stomach. She was still trying to work out exactly how the tumble had resulted in this position when she realized Shayn had been caught up as well.

Her eyes popped open, inches from his.

She was dazed by the brown flecks dancing in their green depths. She'd missed that detail before. They were shaded now from the morning sun by Judah's bulk, and the hue was darker. Or was it her imagination?

Shayn's mouth was open in surprise, and his arms were around her, probably from trying to protect her in the strange tumble and not from any impropriety. He'd had his arms around her often enough during riding and never tried anything, there was no reason for him to now.

Neither spoke for a moment. They were both in shock at the position in which they found themselves, pressed together and held in place by Judah's great paw.

"Our 'chaperone' is doing a fantastic job," Shayn teased.

Simone refused to be openly embarrassed by the remark, though inwardly she felt mortified. "I'm sure you're too much of a gentleman for us to really have need of a true chaperone, anyway."

"You're sure of that, are you?" One corner of his mouth lifted, and his gaze dropped to her lips.

Her stomach suddenly felt like it was filled with butterflies trying to escape.

"I'm… reasonably certain," She hedged, her confidence waning.

"And you think you're always right, do you?" His eyes captured hers again, alight with amusement and something else. Something more.

"I wouldn't say always," Simone replied more honestly than she wanted to just now, "I've been wrong before."

She felt like his questions were bait. The conversation was a trap, one that she wasn't sure whether she wanted to fall into or not. Part of her definitely wanted to find out what the trap entailed.

The other part, the logical, steady part of her… was oddly quiet right now. Where was it when she needed it?

"Oh?" He narrowed his eyes the barest amount. "What have you been wrong about?"

Simone hesitated a moment, and plunged ahead. "You're not half as intolerable as I first thought you were."

That elicited a smile that made her heart beat faster. He tilted his chin towards her, and she suddenly felt lightheaded.

"I have an itch," He said quietly, "On the side of my face, just here. If your arm is still free, do you think you could…?"

"Oh!" She jumped slightly, feeling a bit silly. She lifted her hand to the lower part of his cheek, and scratched gently with her fingernails. It had been days since he'd shaved, and the stubble growing along his jawline was pleasant to the touch.

He moved his head, pressing his cheek into her palm as she'd done to him the night before, when she thought for a second he was about to kiss her. For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped moving entirely.