Chapter 13

Ashley

This was nice. No, it was better than nice. It was great. I really enjoyed holding hands with Axon. He was warm and protective, always walking into any new caves first, and keeping me tucked behind him, making sure everything was safe.

He held up a torch with his other hand. He didn't need the light, but he knew that I couldn't see without it, which was sweet.

"I can hold the torch. I know you don't need it, so I should be the one carrying it."

Axon looked back at me and then his eyes drifted down to our joined hands. The corner of his mouth turned up and his tail thumped the floor.

"I've got it. Just enjoy yourself."

"O-okay." I found myself blushing again. I liked being taken care of like this. I liked being taken care of by him.

Our stroll eventually led us to a path that opened up to the outside. The cool fall air and the sound of water met our ears before we found the exit.

"Do a lot of these tunnels lead outside?"

"No, this is the first one I've found so far." Axon said as he peered out at a muddy bank along a small stream. He scanned our surroundings and checked for any dangerous animals.

"Any monsters lurking around out there?" I teased.

Axon drew his attention back to me and smiled. "Just me."

"You're not a monster, Axon."

"Oh yes I am, but I like being a monster. If I weren't as beastly as I am, I wouldn't be able to walk around the forest as freely as I do."

I was happy to hear Axon wasn't bothered by his shifter form like the other guys were. Axon, Jax, Sozu, and Orsu were the only ones who didn't seem too bothered by it. Brexl also seemed a lot less bothered by his shifter form now that he had Taylor.

"I should gather some of this clay. It'll be something to do while we wait out the storm."

He handed me the torch and, without breaking our connection, bent down and did a one-handed dig through the mud until he found some natural clay. He gathered it onto the rock floor of the tunnel until we had enough to make a few items each. Then he put the clay in an empty canvas bag that he in turn put into his satchel.

"Can we go to the crystal cave on our way back? I think it'd be fun to put some crystals onto the clay creations we make."

"I hadn't thought of that. I think that's a great idea," Axon agreed as he washed his hand off in the stream, still unwilling to let go of my hand.

When he was done, he took back the torch and led me to the crystal cave where we gathered handfuls of small crystal fragments to add to his satchel.

I held a particularly shiny one in my hand and commented, "I think these are going to really make our clay sparkle. Maybe we could make some Christmas gifts out of these."

"Christmas gifts?" Axon asked, tilting his head slightly in that cute way he did when he was confused about something.

Now that we'd celebrated Valentine's Day, we'd been talking about doing Christmas next, but we all agreed we should wait until after the first snow to celebrate. Gabby wanted to wait until after the offering, just in case things went particularly poorly, we'd have something to take our minds off our circumstances. We still didn't have enough food to feed the dekes for the winter and give a proper offering to the goddess. I hated the other dekes more and more everyday. Why did they get to keep the food given in the offering but we did not?

I tried not to think about that right now. I was having a good time with Axon and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Christmas is a gift giving holiday back on earth. It's a way to show your loved ones how much you know and appreciate them."

"Oh, so it's like your day of Valentine."

"Ah, not exactly. The gift giving is done a little differently and the decorations are different too. It's more about familial love than romantic love."

"Oh." Axon got quiet as he looked at a crystal. I could tell he wasn't really looking at it though. He was thinking about something.

"If I were to give you a Christmas gift, would you prefer something different from your Day of Valentine gift, or did you like that one?"

Oh right, I'd forgotten about that. He's probably wondering if I received his gift at all.

"I thought your Valentine's Day gift was amazing. Thank you, by the way. The basket of hair dyes was very thoughtful."

Axon's tail thumped the floor and he looked up from the crystal and smiled.

"Good. I'm glad."

His tail wrapped around my leg as he smiled at me, which took me by surprise. I thought that would be too much for him, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Does that not bother you?" I pointed to his tail.

His eyes grew wide with surprise and he let out a small laugh. "I guess not."

He looked back up at me, but didn't pull his tail away.

"Does it bother you?" he gave me a sheepish look as if he were a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar and was now asking if he could keep all the cookies.

"No, it doesn't bother me."

"Do you mind if I keep it there? For desensitization purposes." He quickly added that last part.

"I don't mind," my cheeks flushed red as visions of Axon and I cuddling together by the fire filled my head.

I suspect, if our hand-holding were any indication, he'd never want to let go if we ever got to the point of cuddling.

That image brought a smile to my face. Cuddling with Axon to "desensitize him" would be a very chill and cozy activity indeed. One I wouldn't mind at all.

After our adventuring around the cave tunnels had ended, we headed back to the main cave where we ate more meat, nuts, and berries. All one handed, of course.

"When we wake up tomorrow, we'll have to see if our efforts paid off by holding hands again." I commented in between bites.

Axon looked down at our joined hands and gave me a little squeeze. "What if we didn't let go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what if we slept holding hands?"

The tips of his ears had turned a dark blue as his gaze met mine and I saw the longing in his eyes. This was really important to him. Of course it is, he wants to be able to touch his mate one day. Who wouldn't?

There was still a problem with that plan though.

"Wouldn't that mean that we'd share a bed?

He ran a hand through his shaggy white hair. "Yeah, if you're okay with that."

"I'm fine with that." I said, maybe a little too quickly. Maybe we could fold up a few blankets between us, so I won't accidentally touch you during the night."

Axon nodded his head and looked slightly disappointed. "That sounds like a good plan."

After dinner, we laid down with the blankets between us, him holding tightly to my hand, and I holding tightly to his.

It was nice to share a bed together. It felt right somehow. I liked looking over and seeing his face, his short ruffled hair, pointed blue ears, and the dark blue freckles that dotted his cheeks. It was a sight I could get used to.

"Goodnight, Ashley," he whispered into the darkness of our cave.

"Goodnight, Axon," I whispered back with a smile on my face.

Not long after that, I was lulled into a deep sleep.