First night

The cold always had a way of putting Salmon to sleep. And she was exhausted otherwise, from the griffins, of course, and then healing that hyena earlier -- it seemed the roles had reversed now,  with Nebula cleaning and sewing up her wounds, and then sitting her down at the table a few minutes ago, where she now rested her elbows on the rough wood surface and gazed absently into the corner of the unfamiliar, high-ceilinged room. The soft scraping of a ladle against the metal cauldron in the distance did nothing to pull her from her musings, but there was no need to stay so alert here anyways. She may have been in a stupor from the pain of her wounds, but she was finally safe. She had her bag and her books and her lyre, and Nebula there to take care of her, and really, that was enough for now. But, if she was being honest, she was still rather afraid. Living a life in fear of aristocrats on her tail led her to be wary of everything that came her way -- of course she trusted Nebula, after all, the demi-goddess had shown her such kindness when taking her in and protecting her, but there would still be dangers here, dangers that she wasn't familiar with, and judging from the sheer size of everything in the realm, ones that could easily kill her.

A large, warm paw cradled the underside of her head and Salmon nearly leapt off the cushioned chair, so deep in her reverie that she'd nearly forgotten where she was. "Sorry," she whispered, looking up at the hyena, who brushed back her fur to check on the bandaged cuts on her head. The demi-goddess only laughed in response, giving her a playful tweak on the nose and reassuring her as Salmon relaxed herself once more. The scent of warm stew grew more intense, making her stomach growl as Nebula set a steaming bowl in front of her -- the dish and spoon were far too large for her, but she was so hungry that she would make do. Gripping the edge of the bowl tightly, she brought it to her lips, drinking the hot, rich broth and feeling a newfound warmth settle in her body. The shivering and chattering teeth stopped as she calmed her appetite with the stew, only setting down the bowl once she had nearly drained it to scrape the bottom with a spoon.

Salmon remained wordless after the meal, sitting down at the wooden table as her eyes scanned the room lazily, trying to take in everything. Nebula was kind, but kindness wasn't always to be trusted -- that was how the wolves got ahold of her in the first place, taking her in from the wilds and treating her well, though barely, before turning her into their slave. But Nebula wasn't like them -- the demi-goddess bothered to heal her wounds and bring her to her own home, caring for her like she would her mate.

The cat crossed her arms over her chest, shrinking down in the chair to conserve her heat and resting her head on her folded arms. It had been a long day, and the pain was exhausting to deal with -- all she wanted to do was close her eyes and drift off to sleep. It was odd, in this place, she didn't think of stealing anything, despite all the subtle luxuries in the cabin.

"Salmon?" Nebula called, standing in the doorway with a large, furry blanket.

"Hmm?" Her voice was barely audible, face buried in her arms as she lifted her eyes to look at the hyena.

"You're shivering. There's no way I'm letting you sleep alone out there, come on."

Salmon shook her head wearily, putting her forehead back down onto the table and closing her eyes once more. She was nearly asleep by the time Nebula had made her way across the room to her, giving her a gentle tap on the shoulder to wake her up before scooping the small feline into her paws. She gasped aloud, finding herself perched snugly on Nebula's forearm as the demi-goddess brought her through the cabin into the bedroom, finally setting her down onto the downy mattress. The bed gave way suddenly when Nebula sat down on it to go to sleep, Salmon rolling closer to the wall to keep from sinking into the mattress.

"It’ll be warmer up here," the demi-goddess whispered, lifting her up off the bed onto her chest. Salmon felt her stomach drop as Nebula gently let her down -- she was right, it was warmer, especially with the blanket covering the both of them, but with her tusks so close to the cat's neck, she wasn't sure she'd be able to fall asleep at all. Salmon shifted slightly, burying her head in the crook of Nebula's neck while the hyena's paws held her in place. The touch was rather comforting, paws pressing gently into her bandaged back and bringing her attention away from the pain of her wounds.

Nebula’s muzzle brushed against the top of Salmon’s  head, pulling the cat from the first sprouts of her dream back into reality.

“Neb...” Salmon mumbled, “I was just about to go to sleep, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Nebula’s voice was tinged with something Salmon had never seen in the hyena -- was she embarrassed of something? “It’s just… it’s just that you smell lovely, and--”

Nebula was cut off by a snort of laughter from Salmon. “Me? Lovely? You’re kidding, aren’t you? I’ve got all these wounds, and I’m all sweaty..”

The demi-goddess’ voice was barely a whisper then. “Do you remember, when I met you -- that day in your realm, with the griffins -- do you remember I told you I knew you would be my mate?”

Salmon nodded, sitting up then on Nebula’s chest to look at her.