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"I know you." He said, holding still as the cougar cub continued to look at Nakshidil, before shifting forward and sniffing at her hands. Her little dark nose quivered as she tested the scent, it was earthy and clean, much like her father's scent. Experimentally she shifted forward and touched the hands with her paw, testing, always testing. But, her curiosity got the better of her as she began to crawl from A'Hallei's arms into Nakshidil's, a little unsteadily from having just awoken. The cub's fur was soft and fluffy from a recent cleaning.

"Found the cub, mother killed." He explained softly, knowing that this was a very unconventional thing, to take care of a wild and potentially dangerous animal. The time would come when the cub would have to leave him to become a predator on her own, but for now she depended on him. She brought out a softer quality to the normally cold man. His bright eyes seemed almost sad as he gazed on the cub's body, wistfully thinking.

The cub involuntarily released a large yawn, still weary from the walk from the cave. A'Hallei was deep in thought as he watched Nakshidil hold the cougar with tenderness. He waited until the deep green eyes were on him before he shifted his head, indicating for her to follow him. He turned and thought of how to explain as he walked back toward his cave. He'd let the cub get back to sleep in the safety of their quartz home before directing Nakshidil home. After all, she had gotten lost on her way out here, it would be unlikely she could find her way back on her own.

"Out hunting...Found cougress in...poacher bear trap abandoned. Cub by mother's body." He continued to walk, clearing the obsticals with ease, but pausing every now and again to make sure the naked woman was keeping pace with him.
"Couldn't kill it." He stopped and offered a rare smile as he cracked a joke to her, "Eats a lot."

It wasn't long, but a confusing path back to the cave, which was a normal granite cave, encrusted with literally thousands of purple crystals. Sometimes, when the light came through the canopy just right, the cave lit up in a dazzling array of violet light. The floor was smoothed, the crystals chipped off and laying in a concave dish on the ground. A few natural shelves filled the space, which was actually quite expansive, stretching off into darkness, and down underground. Aside from his few personal things, there were skins on the floors, and a bed made from woven fibers and cloth. The cougresses fur was stretched over it. Actually, it wasn't bad for a naturally forming home. The enterance was disguised slightly and a gate erected to keep wandering wildlife out. It was lifted away to allow the pair access.

"Make yourself...at home." He said softly, moving to clear out his old campfire site.

Over the months he had built up the bed, until it was the size of a normal full size bed. It was soft enough remarkably to be leapt on from a height, and keep the person from injury. Really, it was where he spent most of his time when he was indoors, as even he got tired of resting on the stone.

Over the course of the journey, the cub had drifted off to sleep, purring quietly in Nakkie's lap, trusting after so short a time. The furry bundle shifted slightly and slept on, not in the least bothered by the trip. A'Hallei finished his task and looked up to say something to Nakshidil, forgetting it as he gazed upon her. She sat, a voluptious young woman upon his bed, completely nude. The eroticism of it struck him suddenly, and he shook his head slightly to clear his mind, pulling his hair back to rest behind him. It was touching the ground now, much too long. He'd cut it later to a more managable legnth.

He retrieved a pouch he was keeping some fruit in, at the moment it was a mix of blackberries and blueberries he had gathered and washed. Pulling open the drawstring, he laid it out beside her.
"They're good." He offered, standing up, suddenly without anything else to do. His nose scrunched slightly, "...Come here often?"

If Nakkie came around the woods frequently, there was a chance he could see her again. What was he thinking? She had gotten lost, not come here intentionally.

The cougar cub was growing fast, but was still easily small enough to be a lapwarmer. She shifted in Nakkie's arms, pressing her chin slightly into the young woman's arm, still a little rumble box as she slept. Nakshidil was lucky, how often did one get to have a sleeping cougar kitten in one's arms? A'Hallei watched the two with slight fondness.

"This far out, gets more dangerous. Bad people, and..." He motioned to the cougar skin she sat on. "Should stay where it is lighter overhead." He added, for her future reference, though he felt mildly like a hypocrite when he said bad people. Had he not broken a boy's arms for hitting his ex? Had he not strangled a man in a supermarket? Were those instances any different? He deserved to be out here with the beasts.

His eyes darkened slightly with the downward shift in his mood. "It has been a long time. How..Is your family?"

A'Hallei pulled off his guantlets and set them on one of the shelves, following with his pauldrons and his chestplate and boots. About sixty pounds lighter he sighed gratefully. His pale body was rippled with taut muscles, lean from use. Littered across his skin were scars, but rather than the dark lines or red lines they left on most people, his became a myriad of neon green lines, dancing almost like tattoos over his body. The skin on his thighs and upper arms were exposed, the rest covered with the teal and black material of his shift.

He would put it on before he showed her the way out, but for now it felt nice.

"You walk...With your eyes closed?" He asked, genuinely suprised at the notion. It seemed to go against any and all semblances of logic. He peered at her like she was some strange creature, until the whisperings of the voices caused him to shake his head again. He willed them away forcefully, a brief flashing grimace the only outward indication.

The cub rumbled slightly and shifted, draping a paw over her wrist. A'Hallei remained silent as she continued to speak, realizing that aside from the taller dark haired one, the blue haired one and Infi, he didn't know her family at all. And, compared to Nakshidil, he was very overdressed.

A'Hallei leveled calmer, gentler green eyes on her. Something about her put him at ease, where normally he would be a wreck, especially with his kitten in her arms. Perahps it was because she seemed to trusting to him, so gentle, like a maternal presence rather than an imposing force. A'Hallei had never known his mother, his first memories being of the mansion.

Was she derranged too, or were her offspring the lucky ones?
"Nakshidil likes company?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation afloat. This was more than he had spoken in weeks.

A'Hallei shook his head at her suggestion. He wondered if that was how Catzi had fallen through his roof, walking with her eyes closed. It seemed foolish to him, but hey. If so far it had worked for her, it was her risk to take. There had been times when A'Hallei was tempted to tear out his own eyes to make the visions go away but knew better. He accepted them, if nothing else.

He didn't know how his own family was doing. He saw Dian from time to time, but he knew the coon was afraid of him. The wraith like boy turned to look outside, breathing silently for a long moment while he thought of what to say. His ears were in better view to her in profile, the stitching still embedded more like a piercing than anything else by this point.

"Different is truth." He offered helplessly, wisely avoiding adding his own personal opinion. Sometimes, sometimes he really hated himself.
"Can Nakshidil describe spot? Might know where...is."

A'Hallei shook his head. "The forest doesn change much." He said with confidance, "Unless there is a fire." He said, aware that she was reaching out toward him. He stood motionless, allowing her hand to touch his pale, pale skin.

He didn't know what elf ears looked like, but assumed she would know. Her voice had grown quieter, almost in wonder he noticed. Softer, more breathy. He...

He loved the noises people would make sometimes when words would not fit. When in awe, or pain, when unsure, or the involuntary gasps made when suprised. Moans too, breathy incoherant noises.

She was asking about the threads that had held his ear together when he stretched them in his youth. A'Hallei rarely felt pain in those days, he wasn't very cognitive. Everything was swallowed in the billowing mists. His eyes turned to hers, green meeting green in the quartz cave, "At first."
He paused, watching her. Wonderous creature, really, "You may touch them."

A'Hallei's eyes slid closed at the contact, concentrating on her fingers sliding down the back of his ear. His skin was cold, but soft. Her touch left blazes of fire along his nerves, tingling the sensitive skin exquisitly. As her questing fingers slid down to his jaw and accross his cheek, he made a quiet noise, almost like a whimper in the back of his throat. His head tilted slightly, until he had his cheek cradled in her palm, almost like a cat himself.

"Thank you," She murmered to him, startling him slightly. Realizing what he had done, he brought his head back, trying to keep from coloring. When had he last felt embarresment? Not long enough. He focused his green eyes on hers, refusing to let himself look at her neck, traveling down to the graceful swell of her breasts, the curve of her waist...

He leaned back, moving to stand up. "Where is Nakshidil's home? I can bring you back." He offered, already moving to slide his feet back into his spiked boots.