Exton

Alise slowly starts to feel warm again and her thoughts more clear. Her back is a mass of stinging pain, her feet and knees bruised and scraped from her escape through the woods. She starts to feel Stoney just like she always has, feels the love and tenderness, and the anger too, but she knows it isnt directed at her. When he is finished rinsing her hair, she sighs and leans against him, wrapping an arm around his waist, her injured hand resting on his chest.

“I love you Chiot, more than anything...”

Stoney pulls her close, one of his big hands cradling her injured one, thinking it looks like a tiny birds claw, three of the fingers bent at angles toward the thumb.

He gently kisses the tips of her fingers, “Does your hand hurt, Bebe?”

Alise nods, “Everything hurts. I must look hideous. Can we stay here a bit longer? The warm water feels good. Being close to you and able to touch you after so long feels... I do not know the words....but I dont want to let go.”