Chapter 7

Ashley

I followed Axon, as we trudged through the rain down a lesser-worn path than the one I'd taken to get to the kala.

I knew I shouldn't have called him out like I had. The only thing I'd succeeded in was hurting my own feelings.

Was it really so awful to touch me? If I were being chased down by jagwas, would he touch me then? He'd probably be gagging the entire time if he did.

No, no, no! I would not cry again. Get it together Ashley! I knew better than to think about Axon or to wonder why he loathed touching me. All it ever did was make me cry, and I would not cry in front of Axon. I would not let him see my pain. It was my pain, mine alone, and I didn't want to share it with anybody.

I'd come here to figure things out alone, and while I was thankful that we weren't going back to the mountain, Axon was the last person I wanted to be stuck in a cave with. It hurt too much to be around him. I felt too vulnerable already, too raw. If Axon were to accidentally touch me now, and shudder with disgust, there was no way I'd be able to hold back my tears.

"Not much further," Axon called over his shoulder. He glanced back and gave me a weak smile. I nodded my head in acknowledgment, but I didn't smile back.

He thinned his lips in a sad expression and turned back around.

We passed a few more trees and turned along a bend in the path. Then, through the brush, emerged a large cave. There was no boulder blocking the entrance, instead webbing covered the whole thing from top to bottom.

"Welcome to my moon cave." Axon gave me a sheepish smile as he brought a clawed finger down through the middle of his webbing, clearing the way for our entrance.

Once inside, he covered the entrance with webbing again. I'd only ever seen him using his webbing that one time, when he secured that healing leaf to my aching foot on our first trip to the mountain.

He shuddered when he touched me then, too. He complimented me on how soft my skin was, so I didn't think anything of it. But now I knew better. Someone doesn't suddenly shift when they are accidentally touched by someone else unless they really hate the feeling of their skin on theirs.

That didn't explain why he flirted with me for such a long time, or why he gave me an admittedly thoughtful Valentine's Day gift. Maybe he was a masochist. He didn't seem to have the self-loathing the other guys did, but maybe he was just better at hiding it. Maybe he saw me as his punishment.

Flirt with Ashley, so she'll touch you, which you hate, but you deserve the pain you gross shifter ...

No, now I was just letting my imagination get the best of me. It was easier to make up stories in my head than be left in the dark. Axon confused me, and I was already confused enough about everything else.

"It's not big, but I hope you find it to be a comfortable place to wait out the storm."

His words brought me back to reality, and I took in the sight of his immaculate moon cave for the first time.

Is Axon bougie, because this place is about as bougie as it gets on Valo Prime. The entire cave was covered in soft moss from floor to ceiling, which made it both incredible to walk on and sound proof. The difference between the sound of the rain outside verses in here was insane.

The ceiling also had those adorable glow worms that the silent cave had back in the mountain. We won't need to light a fire unless we get cold.

A small stream of water, no wider than two inches across, ran on the floor alongside the wall.

"Is this fresh water?" It'd be nice to have such easy access to clean drinking water while we were here.

"Yep, it's filtered through the rocks, so it's safe to drink."

Axon's tail swayed behind him in a nervous gesture. Was he anxious about showing me his cave?

"It's very nice, very comfy." I assured him and he seemed to relax at my words.

"Thank you. This is my safe haven that I go to when the world gets too loud. It's got everything I need. Sound proofing," he pointed to the ceiling covered in moss. "fresh water," his attention turned back to the stream, "blankets made from the softest pelts on Valo Prime." He grabbed an interesting black and white fur blanket and drapped it over my shoulders. He was right. This was the softest fur I'd ever held before.

He stared at me for a moment before moving on, and I again got the sense he wanted my opinion on his set up here.

"What animal is this?"

"It's a thrax. They're herbivores that graze in the northlands, which is why their fur is so thick."

"Oh, and this cave has amazing tunnels," he added. "There are hundreds of them that lead into the mountain behind us. I've explored a lot of them, but it would take a lifetime to explore them all."

He turned his attention back to me, and his tail nervously thumped the floor.

"And now you're here, which makes it even better."

Here we go . I bit back a sigh. You know what? I'm not even going to say anything. If I call him out on his flirting, I'm just going to cry. So it's best just to leave it alone for now.

"It's a very nice cave. I can see why you consider it your safe haven."

The tips of his ears turned blue, and he ran a hand through his hair. God damn it, why did he have to be so cute?

"Are you warm enough? Do you want me to start a fire?" Axon offered as he placed some fresh wood in the fire pit.

My damp clothes were starting to chill me to the bone. "A fire sounds nice. Do you have any extra clothes here? My wet clothes are freezing."

"Uhh, yeah." Axon looked pensive as he gazed around the room. "I should have some clothes around here somewhere."

He searched through a set of storage baskets until he found what he was looking for.

"Sorry, I only have a shirt. No pants."

I was a big girl, like six feet tall and plump, so usually I'd pass on an opportunity to wear a guys shirt. But Axon, even though he was one of the shortest sirrets in our dekes, he was still a few inches taller than me, and he had a broad chest. So I figured I might as well give it a try.

He handed me his shirt and some shoes and pointed to a cave I could use to change. My wet shoes squelched as I walked, reinforcing my desire to be warm and dry again.

I stripped off my wet clothes and took a deep breath before I pulled Axon's shirt on over my head. As it draped down my body, I was pleased to see that it was long enough to come to my knees. It smelled like him too, which was comforting in a grounding kind of way. As if smelling him made my heart stop racing and reminded me that everything was going to be okay.

I carried my wet clothes back out to hang near the fire. Axon had already set up a clothesline made of webbing for me to drape my clothes over. He turned around as he heard me approaching and his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of me.

Damn him. How could he shudder at my touch one second and the next, look at me as if I was the best thing in the world?

His tail furiously thumped the ground a few times before he grabbed it.

"I, uh, I set up a place for you to put your clothes to dry out." He pointed to the clothesline I had spotted earlier.

"Thank you," I said as I walked closer to the fire.

"Here, let me take those for you." he held out his hands expectantly, and I gave him my bundle of wet clothes.

"I put a basket of nuts and dried fruit on that blanket for you. I figured you might be hungry, since it's close to dinnertime."

"Oh, okay," I said as I sat down on the fur blanket. Things are going okay so far. I thought to myself as I got comfortable and started in on my dinner.