Nothing was strong enough to distract him, or to settle the liquid floating in front of his sight that constantly blocked his vision.
A whimper rattled out of him, seizing at his lungs.
“Ingram,” Emerie softly called, but he refused to answer.
He didn’t want to talk about this… about Aleron… anymore. It hurts too much.
So, he searched for something he could question her about. Anything.
“Hey, can you let me down for a moment?” she asked, and he shook his head in response.
He worried if he put her down, the loss of her warmth would freeze him entirely.
It didn’t matter. She found a way to safely slide off him, and he halted so he could face her. Just as he was about to grab her and throw her back on top of him, she reached her arms out to him.
His head reared back when her hands came up near his skull, unsure of what she was doing. Then she slipped her palms over his shoulders, around the nape of his neck and into the small amount of fur there, before her arms crossed behind the base of his skull. She pulled herself up until her chin was resting on his shoulder, while his beak sat on top of hers.
“What are you doing?” He wondered if she might be trying to choke him.
“It’s called a hug. Doesn’t it feel nice?” she whispered in return, soft-spoken and kind.
It… did.
Ingram placed a hand on her waist, unsure of what he was supposed to do in return. The moment he made contact with her, she leaned forward until her chest was pressing against the top of his own bowed forward one.
A desire to bring her closer nipped at his entire being, from the encompassing way her essence brushed over him. It ate at him, called to him.
He didn’t care if he wasn’t supposed to wrap his entire arm around her and shove her against him, but he couldn’t stop himself. When she started to dip underneath his body while he stood on three limbs, he leaned back and sat with his knees bent, his feet pressed firmly flat, and his tail curled to the side to balance him.
Ingram took her with him, and the changing of positions made her body lay flush with his torso. Her heat radiating through him burned at the frozen ball in his chest, like she was trying to melt it away herself.
With one arm curled around her until he was threatening to claw at her stomach, he wrapped the other across her back until he was gripping her hip.
He squished her against him until she was completely between his knees and huddled himself around her entire form.
And, when she turned her head and buried her face against the side of his neck while tightening her arms around him, something inside him slithered into place. His sight closed and blackened as he took her in completely, allowing all of Emerie to thaw him.
For a few peaceful moments, all he sensed was her.
Her lips were soft against his scales, as was her body. Her breaths were wet but warm, gently puffing over him and causing his fur and scales to lift and ripple from the pleasantness. Her scent was embracing, stealing the world to drown him in her.
Her heart is so… little.
He’d always been able to hear it, but this was the first time it’d fluttered against him. It felt delicate, and its rhythm was so utterly soothing that it was impossible to not be mollified by it.
She is so soft.
He didn’t think he’d ever held something this soft, and squishy, and breakable in his arms before. She was so tiny against his much larger body, not just in height, but also in width. He’d already thought her fragile, but this only deepened it.
And yet, Ingram couldn’t stop himself from tightening his arms around her. He wanted her to turn into liquid and seep beneath his flesh, so she could comfort him from the inside permanently.
Some of her hair pushed over his beak from the light wind, and he sightlessly buried his skull into those magnificent strands until they shielded him. He also brought his tail tip forward so he could wind it around her calves, trying anything to make their contact more intimate.
Even when she sagged against him, like she couldn’t hold her own weight any longer, Ingram made sure to support her with his arms and tail.
He refused to let go, and Emerie never tried to pull away.
It was like she was letting him take his time with it, waiting for him to stop this hug when he was done with it. He didn’t know if he’d ever be.
Although Aleron had held him similarly many times, as they often slept like this, he’d never had another outside of his kindred embrace him. But with Emerie… it was different.
There was no reason for her to do this, no bond like he’d shared with Aleron. Yet, she’d instigated this, and had gifted him the first moment of peace he’d felt in weeks by doing so.
There was also another emotion taking shape within him. It was small, barely a flowering blossom, yet it reminded him of the affection he felt for his kindred.
After a long passage of time, something rumbled between them. It wasn’t the first time her stomach had informed them she was hungry, but it was definitely the loudest.
“Quiet, Emerie’s stomach,” he grumbled, demanding it leave them be.
Her burst of laughter was so strong it shook his arms. It was the most enchanting sound he’d ever heard, even more so since he’d been able to experience it by touch as well.
“Sorry, I can’t help it,” she answered with a dying giggle. “Are you feeling better yet?”
Ingram gave her an unrelenting squeeze, and it forced a small choke from her. “No. I wish to stay like this.”
Perhaps until the end of time, he would have liked to hug Emerie’s yielding and lush form.
“Not so hard,” she said with a wince. He loosened his hold a little. “I’m really sorry, but I need to eat… among other things.”
Then she repeatedly petted the back of his hard skull and a shiver tore through him. He almost crushed her again in reaction.
The fact she was being kind and gentle to a place on his body he knew to be fatal if destroyed… caused a tender ache to swirl behind his exposed sternum. Demons and humans alike had tried to destroy him, and here was this little female petting him.
“A little longer?” he pleaded, unwilling to part from her just yet.
“Fine,” came her muffled whisper. “Just a little longer.”
Emerie was aware she’d sleep-drooled on the Duskwalker’s back when she woke up. It was hard not to when she was face down with her cheek squished against his scales. Her arms and legs dangled down on each side of him, and her empty satchel and thin sleeping bag were doing a poor job of truly making this comfortable.
Her breasts and stomach were soft enough protection against his spikes. It was mainly her bones she needed to shield.
Sleeping on the back of Ingram was horrible, but he was adamant he didn’t want to stop moving throughout the night. Honestly, it was her exhaustion and the rhythmic sway of their bodies that eventually pulled her under for a few short hours here and there.
Rubbing her face against him with a groggy moan, she peeked open her eyes. It was still night, but the sky was grey as though the sun was beginning its creep over the horizon.
Emerie pushed up to sit on him, and lazily blinked.
It’s been four nights since he’s slept.
Ingram had not stopped walking since that first night, ferrying Emerie almost the entire way. She asked to be let down a few times to stretch and shake out her aching legs. It was tiring work doing absolutely fuck-all.