Holding himself up with his elbow, Ev smiled down at her, cupping her cheek in his palm. She held his hand there, tiredly blinking up at him as she smiled at him.

Evåinic helped her to sit up, pulling her into the comfort of his arms before teleporting them back to her bed where she seemed to become hyper-aware of everything. Including their lack of clothing and extremely intimate position.

“What now?” She fidgeted in his lap for a moment and looked around the room before daring to look him in the eye. Her embarrassment had returned.

“Whatever you feel like doing, love.” Laying back, he took her down with him.

Her arms lay across his chest, her head on his shoulder. After a few tense moments, Sabele relaxed into his loose hold. His fingers traced circles on her bare hip bone, sparking fires in her nerves.

Daringly, she traced the ridges along his stomach. She had never been near a man like this before. She had never touched a man like this before.

Ev felt ecstatic by that fact. An overwhelming need to be the only man roused in his stomach. His grip on her hip tightened with the possessive need.

Her hands traced lower then stopped. After a few agonizing seconds, she chickened out on her path and continued back up. Evåinic sighed, disappointment clear on his face but he never complained. If all she did was let her hands roam his chest and tease his hairs then, by all means, let her. It was enough for him to die a happy man.

"You alright, love?" Ev smoothed her hair back from her face. She had been quiet for sometime after he covered them in wool blankets and soft pelts.

"Yeah.” Her tiredness wasn’t lost on him, it seeped in the way her body lagged, her fingers stopping to rest just beneath his heart.

"Sleep. I'm not leaving anytime soon." Sabele happily cuddled into his side.

They spent the rest of the day that way, intertwined. Evåinic left her side only to grab some heated up stew for them. Sabele would shyly look away when he got up electing a chuckle each and every time.

They spent the next couple of days keeping warm and eating food cooked from the fire. Evåinic had no problem continuing his teasing but he seemed different about it. Sabele noted he was more loving towards her, more touchy. He always had an arm around her waist or shoulders, always cuddling her into his side. She wasn't bothered by the change, she liked it in fact, but she was uncomfortable. She was uncomfortable with the fact that it was uncomfortable and that spiraled her down into a new well of confusion.

His touches were somewhat foreign to her since she had rarely even been touched while she was a priestess. Zack or the gods might hug her from time to time but never had they always kept within range of contact like Ev had been doing. But she didn’t complain, a piece of her wanted to like it, for it to be a natural as breathing.

"Evåinic, we will have to eventually dig our way out. We can't just stay in bed all day long," one of her fingers absentmindedly traced the ridges lined on his stomach. The muscles contracted as she traced her way down and then up again.

"We will... eventually. Besides, we have plenty of food," as the words left his mouth, a platter of fruits and meats appeared before them. The golden tray reflected the light of the fire not too far away. Gasping, Sabele reached out to grab a strange looking fruit. It had an hourglass shape with yellow rings all over its surface.

"Go on," Ev slightly nudged her forward, "it is really sweet. I'm sure you'll like it." She trusted his advice and took a bite. It was, in fact, sweet like candy and juicy like an apple.

"It is sweet!"

"Told you," he teased her, pecking her cheek a few times before he picked some more fruits off the plate and fed them to her.

He watched as her face lit up at the new flavors she never had before. Evåinic flashed in all kinds of foods on different trays for her to try, starting a new guessing game of what she liked and what she didn’t.

"Thank you," she gave him a full grin and a hug around the waist.

"I do love to please." She kissed him for that, partially a bold move on her part that delighted him to no end.

Tackling her to the bed, he kissed his way along her stomach, savoring every giggle he could elect from her.

Sadly, their fun ended all too soon. By the next morning, yelling and what sounded like pickaxes on ice began to echo throughout the cave. Dressing quickly, Evåinic got rid of all the foods he had brought in. Quietly, they sat by the fire and waited for the men to break through the snow. The head chief came in first and the look on his face was one of pure surprise. Then it turned to anger. He stormed out of the cave, pushing back his men.

The rest of the men eventually stopped their work and without so much as a glance, left. Evåinic cleared the rest of the snow away while Sabele looked around to the fallen trees. Snow had built up so much that it reached her waist.

"My traps are probably gone," her thoughts wandered on how she would make new ones and left her unaware of the figure behind her. Strong arms wrapped around her torso causing her to squeal.

"I'll help you rebuild them. Don't worry, love. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yet," her face fell at the realization.

She had given herself completely to him and wasn't sure she could ever get that piece of herself back. She wanted to keep him with her, always trying new foods, teasing each other, and getting used to the loving touch of another.

He had a life beyond her, one where they could only hope to see each other in passing.

"Don't let these last days be for nothing. I'm not going anywhere. Ever." His words warmed her heart, despite the fact she knew them to be untrue. “Don’t tell me this is where it ends. Tell me that you want more of this.”

Tell me you want me as much as I want you.

"You can't stay. You have to go back once this is done. I can't just leave, Evåinic.” She turned in his arms, looking at him in the eye.

Sabele obviously avoided the question, scared of what would happen should she admit it aloud.

"I can and will stay. I'm not required to go back. You don't have to leave but Sabele you can leave them anytime. Nothing holds you here. These people can't hold you," his hands cupped her cheeks, making sure she saw the sincerity and seriousness in his eyes.

Sabele just shook her head and buried it deep into the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I'm going to go check on the food storage. We kind of left it untouched these last past days," she pulled back from his warmth to leave.

Right before she left him though, he bent down to whisper in her ear, "well, we were busy those last days."

She blushed madly and dashed back inside, his light laughter following behind. A perverted demigod she had once called him. Perhaps she was right.

"The food is okay," her voice echoed off the walls from where she was in the storage room.

He decided to head back inside, with the snow everywhere there was nothing to do.

"Let's wait a few days. The snow will most likely clear itself out." Sabele nodded to that and began to prepare the meat to be cooked over the fire.

They settled down for lunch before wasting the rest of the day talking about everything and anything that came to mind. When night fell, a cool wind came, hitting the chimes. Sabele smiled, a sound she hadn't heard in days, but a sad reminder to her previous life. A life without Evåinic.

Her mood fell again but she tried to keep a smile on her face. Sabele couldn't ruin it for Evåinic. He seemed to be enjoying himself in her presence.

"Come on, let's go to bed," pulling her up with him, Ev led her through her curtains to her bed. They stripped down and Ev pulled her into a warm cocoon of blankets, pelts and himself.