“Good.” It was rather funny just how one simple word brought to him such satisfaction, ease, and fulfillment. For as long as Naira was happy, he figured, then he, too, would be happy. His touch had been reciprocated, her own muzzle reaching over to his own. The gentle caresses and the contact her nose to his had sent waves of warmth down from his head down his spine. Did she feel the same way? ...Perhaps, or so he wanted to believe. But, for now, this along with not knowing was more than he could have ever hoped for.
The years of loneliness he had endured since his second birthday had been atoned for; and, whatever bit of bitterness had remained in his attitude towards the idea of "love" or anything "romantic" had been cast away. It might have been love... might have been, Mapplethore saw more than that. There was much more at play here he realized as she eventually fell asleep comfortably against him; this was not just some sort of sappy bid for her heart, an appeal for her affection. No, there was also respect here, and a mutual give-and-take of gratitude for one another. Her small utterance of not knowing what she would have done without him had been a confirmation of the fact. If he had been without her, he probably would have been elsewhere in Relic Lore, scavenging the week-old carcasses for something to fill his belly, scraping by while still scolding others with Latin words just to make sure they stayed away from him.
He exhaled happily, still watching her mottled sides heave in the dark as he rested his head back down over his fore paws. The corners of his lips kept twitching no matter how hard he tried to relax them for the sake of sleep. Rhysis, in simply promising a full belly and forcing him up the mountainside, had given him the best gift he never would have even imagined receiving: @Naira... in all her mannerisms, sense of structure, and all her graceful ways in which she ruled over the Pass. Should the dark king come crawling back, he was determined to be ready for such a day if it ever came. He was not going to let his - the thought at last brought his smile to touch his half-lidded eyes - Queen suffer anymore than she had to. For as long as she would have him, he would be there for her and beside her.
He watched as her sides eventually fell into an even rhythm, one that suggested she had fallen soundly asleep. Good night, he extended to her from the farthest reaches of his mind and heart. A part of him knew that she would by gone before daybreak, eager to be back in her den before the daughters she had left in the middle of the night had a chance to realize she had been gone. With one more fleeting glance to her face he silently offered an "I love you," before closing his eyes, certain that he would not have the chance to "think" it again with her being so close until the pack had become comfortable and acclimated with their new pack den.