We, who Survived

Sunlight shone through the cracks in the shutters, sending dim light into the main room. Yawning, I stretched and turned onto my side to face a still sleeping Nathan.

His arms were tucked close to his chest, his head resting on my numb arm. Underneath the blanket, I could see my marks on his chest and neck, saw how the tunic rode up to expose his pale legs and stomach. I couldn’t lie, the sight of him made me excited. To think about how I had lucked out to meet him and get him to be mine. Even though Spark had put him through utter hell, he was willing to let himself enjoy what we did.

“Can you stop staring at me?” Nathan’s voice, husky and filled with sleep, made me shiver. Smiling, I ran a hand through his hair, savouring his reaction of moaning and pressing himself closer.

“How could I stop when I have such a beautiful face to admire?” His eyes snapped open, his cheeks becoming a warm red as he gazed at me. His eyes were glimmering in their own unique way, enticing me to lean forward and kiss him. I did exactly that.

Pushing him down, I lay half on top of him, running my fingers through his hair. He kissed back and wrapped his arms around my neck. When I delved my tongue into his mouth, Nathan was an instant mess, slightly grinding himself against me. It was going so great until his body went rigid and he was pushing against my shoulders. I leaned my weight on my left arm, giving him space to sit up. He quickly covered himself with the blanket then glanced at me sadly.

“I... I had a flashback, I’m sorry.” He brought his knees to his chest, hiding his face between them.

“It’s okay, Kitten,” I said, smiling and taking his hand to rub my thumb over his knuckles. He turned his head to look at me. “Please don’t apologise.”

“But it’s going to keep happening when we want to do anything like now.”

“So, it just means we are going faster than your body can handle. It will get easier.”

Tilting my head, I laced our fingers and brought his hand to my lips. Then I smirked, catching his curiosity. He studied me, waiting for me to speak.

“We can’t mope around all day in here, you have shafts and arrows to deal with.”

And maybe I can start on your bow too.

We sat outside on the deck while Gem explored and hunted in the valley below. The sun watched over us as I set the new arrow shafts, I crafted last night in front of him. Then it was the chipped stone tips next to it and unravelling the braided twine. Later on, he would use the steel tips that I used. Lastly were the black and white feathers he would use as fletching. Nathan looked over the supplies I had placed down unenthusiastically.

“What exactly do you want me to do? Like, I get the whole learning to hunt with a bow but I already know how arrows are made.” He picked up a shaft and raised an eyebrow at me.

“You know how they’re made but have you gone through the motions of placing all the pieces together?” He stayed silent before sighing out of his nose.

“Fine, but you aren’t sitting out here with me just to watch, are you?”

“I will be working on your bow.”

He gaped at me before a large grin stretched over his lips, his mismatched eyes closing with his joy.

After finding out that he was getting his own bow, Nathan stopped asking questions and intently watched as I showed him how to secure the arrow tip to the shaft by wrapping twine into the grooves of the tip and the top of the shaft. Then it was the fletching that would help the arrow fly smoothly.

“Got it?” I asked, handing him the finished product. He analysed it before nodding and silently getting to work on the remaining seven tipless arrows. Smiling with myself, I got up to go inside to retrieve the starting images of Nathan’s bow and my carving tools. The other thing I grabbed was a large leather pouch containing dried fruit, nuts and meat for us to snack on. When I returned to my seat, Nathan had successfully finished one arrow.

As he worked on his second, his hand snaked into the food pouch and came out with a handful of the mix which he placed in the bowl his tunic made in his lap.

“What wood are you using?” He asked after he had eaten at least five pieces of the mix.

“Black Reach’s trees are mutations of the originals making it the perfect place to look for wood for our bows. Yours has the two best strains in it just like mine. The main one being Osage orange and the other being Red Oak. Both make it strong and flexible,” I explained while carving the nooks in which the string would sit. I still had to do the grip and the eye for the arrow but compared to when I had to make mine, this was going smoothly and would be finished by nightfall. The quiver I would leave Nathan to do when the Thistle’s pelt was cured.

“So, when I pull back on it, it won’t snap and hurt me?”

“You have to be able to pull back on the string first.”

“Are you saying I am weak?”

“Yes, I am.”

Nathan stopped working to pout at me. His mismatched eyes made it even more adorable as he tilted his head to the side.

“You’re a dick,” He murmured, scrunching up his nose before continuing. “Not all of us have natural muscle power like you.”

“You do have broad shoulders so it might make it easier,” I commented before flexing my arms and smirking. “Thank you for the compliment though.”

Nathan just snorted before stuffing his mouth with the mix, stopping me from teasing him further.

As we worked, a comfortable silence blanketed us, leaving only the chirping of birds and insects to fill the empty space. At one point I found myself lost in thought while gazing at Nathan. I couldn’t believe he was sitting in front of me wearing my clothes and falling asleep while working. He was just that comfortable with me now.

Looking back at my silly stalking of him and his group, I only dreamed about meeting him, getting to know him for who he was. I was still learning, will be for a long time but it was so much easier having him in front of me and reciprocating my feelings, maybe not as strong just yet but over time. Though remembering how defensive he got when he was captured almost made me laugh. You must understand, he was just so adorable and now he was doubly so when he let his walls down. I really scored this time and no way was I allowing another person to hurt him. I still blamed myself for the first time. When he leaves my side now, he would know exactly how to defend his ground from both animals and humans.

“I think I’m gonna go take a nap inside.” Nathan’s voice pried me from my thoughts, making me look up at him. He came to stand in front of me before leaning down to kiss my forehead. After that, he tiredly stumbled into the main room.

With him sleeping, I would then go hunting for our supper. The time was already past noon and thanks to the food pouch we had a stretched-out breakfast.

Standing up, I stretched before packing my supplies and placing them inside. Nathan was already snuggly wrapped in our fur blanket, his leggings lying just at the foot of the bedroll.

“Sleep tight,” I whispered before closing the door behind me after I had retrieved my bow and quiver.