The Diplomacy of Beauty

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At first Wren still felt unsure. Trevor was being kind about it, which should have been a good thing, but she just didn't know what to do. Then he made his joke and suddenly everything was alright. Of course he would take the floor, but he wanted her to know he was there for her if she needed him. It had been an awful few days, but because of Trevor she hadn't been nearly as afraid or lonely as she surely could have been.

Impulsively she went over and hugged the beastly man. "It wwwill still bbbeat sleeping on the ggground," she said to him once she let go, smiling brightly at him. She had every intention of making the floor as comfortable as she could with the spare blankets. After all she would only need a few herself. Absently she thought of how her bed before was covered in down covers and an assortment of pillows and yet tonight she was delighted for a few wool blankets and a meager half flap pillow that had been used by someone else.

Once everything was made up, Wren crawled into the bed and once Trevor was settled in as well she blew out the candle by the bed side. "Good night Trevor, sleep well," she said to him sleepily, but with only slight pauses in her speech and not the normal stuttering she had during the day typically.
 
The hug was completely unexpected, which did spark a light growl in his throat. Thoughts of his mother suddenly played in his mind as the young woman embraced him; his mother was the last person who ever hugged him. The memory was a reminder that what she was doing was nice, and kind. He was quick to ease himself in her arms, an apologetic smile on his face in case his earlier response might have offended her. He'd been living like an animal, after all.

Silently, he watched the princess make the floor comfortable for him. She truly didn't have to go through the trouble. He slept on the cold ground while it was storming out, certainly he could handle laying on the floor of an old man's home. Trevor was grateful to her, of course. He wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to use actual pillows and blankets! Two simple luxuries he seldom had.

"Thank you, Wren." he cooed as he sat down, feeling around the soft items before getting settled in. The comfort was amazing to him; this was way better than sleeping in a cave. More than that, he was glad that his friend could sleep someplace proper tonight. Wren deserved so much better than he provided.

The last words she spoke to him that night were...different. Trevor realized right away that her speech was more fluid. He always thought she had a beautiful voice, but with fewer mistakes she sounded that much prettier. Did she have a fine singing voice too? The half-breed blushed a little as he stared at the ceiling, almost wishing she would say something else for his listening pleasure. Instead, he closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland after a sweet whisper:

"Sleep sweetly, dear songbird."
 
Songbird? Wren liked the sound of that.

The next morning there were no song birds singing at dawn for it was lightly snowing once more. While the cabin was securely built, much of the heat had run out and there was a chill, though nothing compared to inside. It was by being securely behind walls and under a few blankets that Wren did not wish to awaken, though she already was. Still thiugh she selfishly wished to stay in the bed longer.

She did not however.

While Wren was not an awake by dawn person, and had done more in the last few days activity wise then she had ever done before, there was still much to do and she understood that they had to make the most of the daylight. "Ggood mmmmorning Trevor," she said as she reluctantly pushed back her blankets, knowing that her companion was likely already awake. He was after all very use to waking when the sun rose. They had a lot to do and Wren was gateful as always that she had someone accompanying her, even if neither of them had done a trip like they were doing. At least the old man, Mister Madison, was kind enough to let them have supplies. In fact he was the one instructing them on what to take. They were fortunate to have stopped here.

"Are you ready for the day?"
 
Trevor woke up minutes before she did. He contemplated going outside for a breath of fresh air, but decided on sitting quietly against the wall instead. Before that, he got the bedding folded up. He didn't do it neatly; it looked like something a five year old attempted. Needless to say, he wasn't experienced with common household chores.

"Good morning, Wren." He smiled fondly at the girl when she got out of bed, her lovely face distracting him from how cold it felt this morning. It was as if she were a campfire, or the sun. 'Wow, how poetic...' he thought dumbly to himself.

The man looked to the window, noting the fall of snow that was behind the curtain. He felt bad that she had to keep going in all this chill. This area could be merciless in the wintertime, he hoped she wouldn't fall ill in all of this. He wouldn't know what to do for her. "I'm ready as I'll ever be." Trevor said with a toothy grin. He looked forward to receiving their supplies. It made him feel more confident about completing this mission of theirs.

"Let's go see what Mister Madison is up to."
 
They soon exited the room, the blind old man was sitting in a chair by the fire smoking his pipe. "Sleep well children?" He asked them in a relaxed manner. It was as though they were very normal and welcomed additions. "There's porridge in the pot and I've pulled out a few extra things you might be needing.

'Yyes, at at least Iiii did so," Wren said as she went for a bowl and scooped up some breakfast for both herself and Trevor. It was nice to have a warm meal before starting out in the cold morning. Wren sniffed at the porridge in her own bowl as she sat down after handing Trevor his, and noted that it smelled quite pleasant.

"Surprised by my cooking, are you?" The old man teased in a friendly manner. "I might not be wealthy but I do like my food tasting good."

"Aaand it does," Wren said between spoonfuls. She ate fast, surprisingly excited to get back on with their adventure. More then once she looked over at Trevor smiling. They were going together and that made her happy.
 
Trevor looked down at the bowl of porridge with a scrunched nose; the smell of it wasn't pleasing to his nostrils. He couldn't say whether or not he liked this kind of food. Mostly, he had cravings for meat and fruit, with the occasional vegetables. If it didn't taste bloody or sweet, he normally had a hard time eating it. He knew better than to be rude, though. Politely, he nodded to the man for cooking this wonderful meal, and then to Wren for serving it to him.

Hesitantly, he spooned some into his mouth. When he was in the middle of moving the bite around in his mouth, he heard Madison's teasing. Roughly, he swallowed the porridge, and made an embarrassed (as well as apologetic) smile. His embarrassment furthered when he realized he wasn't the one being spoken to. In an effort to recover, he made a compliment: "It's tasty, thank you. I've never tried this stuff before." As a man living in the wilderness, it was probably passable if he seemed clueless about...many things.

Wren was smiling at him, he noticed. He replied with a grin of teeth before returning to his spoon. This wasn't half bad. If he ate it often enough, he'd probably like it just fine! When he finished, he went to the supplies left for them. He intended to do most, if not all, of the carrying.
 
Soon enough the food was eaten. Wren put the bowl were the old man instructed her to do so, and then went over to where the supplies were. There was a lot. She had no idea how they could carry it all. "W-we cccan't take a-all of th-th-this," she got out with a slightly exasperated tone which she quickly regretted. "N-not th-that I'm un un-grateful," she quickly amended.

"To be sure you cannot carry it all. That's why Danni is going with you," Mr Madison said, tapping at his pipe.

"Wwho is he!" Wren felt like things were going to go badly very fast and took a backwards step in Trevor's direction.

"She's my mule. Smart girl who will be a good companion to you. She doesn't get enough to do out here with me and when I need help moving things my neighbors are overly helpful." He motioned to the both of them. "Pick up what you can and we'll go out back to meet her."
 
While Wren asked about who this 'Winni' was, Trevor collected what he could of the supplies. He felt a little bit bad for taking all of this without having much to give in return. The beast of a man was basically homeless. However, he had a photographic memory and very good senses. The location of this cottage would be planted in his memories. Perhaps he would return for a visit one day, or come back to help with more chores. All he knew was he owed this kind man...

With a pack strapped to his back and a bag dangling from each shoulder, along with a small crate in his arms, he followed Wren and Mister Madison outside to meet the mule. He grinned at the creature once he saw her. Trevor loved animals. Not just because they were tasty food; they made wonderful companions. He'd befriended many critters in his days.

"You're sure, sir?" Trevor asked, turning his head to give a quizzical look. Then, he smiled and looked away. Of course the man was sure. Why did he just ask that? "Uh, I mean... We'll take good care of her. What does she eat?" That seemed like a fact worth knowing. This sort of animal was like a stranger to him. He wanted to keep her safe and happy, too.
 
"She'll forage on just about anything she can find in the woods. Mules are pretty reliable creatures and if you treat her with kindness she'll return the favor. If you happen upon carrots she'll be more then reliable, but don't spoil her too much," the old man explained. While Wren was listening, she was also petting the muzzle of the mule happily.

"Th-thank yyyou again. W-we wwwwill treat her good." Wren finally said, looking up at the two men. She then looked out at the snowy yard and sighed. It was time to get going. There were a few more goodbyes and some more advice from Mr. Madison, then Wren, Trevor and their new companion, Danni were on the road again.

It was snowing lightly as they traveled and Wren had taken the rope that lead the mule without conversation, though with the little princess the lack of conversation wasn't surprising. After a good hour though she glanced over at Trevor, a small smile upon her lips. "Did... did you like it... bbeing in a h-house?" she asked him softly.
 
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A large hand gave Trevor's hair a quick shake to get rid of some of the snowflakes. Afterwards, he made a quick glance to their traveling companion. She looked to be content in her simple job of carrying their belongings. What a useful creature, he thought.

Trevor couldn't fight the urge to smile back at Wren, having seen that lovely curve of her lips. It distracted him enough to make him miss the first few words of her question. He tuned in just in time to hear that she was asking how he liked being in a house. "Oh, it was very nice. I liked how warm and dry it was," he answered, hoping that wasn't a silly thing to say. Compared to the caves he used for shelter, that home was a paradise. His caves were nicer during the warmer weather.

The beastly man considered that they went an hour or more without speaking to each other. So he felt like he should say more. What was there to say, though? There was still so much he didn't know about her. She was the only person, except for his mother, he'd spent so much time with too. He didn't know what was going to happen in the days to come. What he did know was that with each passing day, he felt a little more attracted to her. He had no idea what to do with those feelings. Trevor was pretty sure he shouldn't follow the instincts of his fiendish half. His human side balanced it out pretty darn well, but still...he wasn't perfect.

"I think I'd like a house of my own someday." Trevor decided to say, making a thoughtful expression as he watched the path up ahead. With the proper tools and knowledge, he was confident he could pull off such a task.
 
Wren nodded to Trevor, surprised how the answer made him seem more human. She hadn't really thought much of the fact he wasn't, not completely, but his answer still was strangely assuring. He was strange in many ways, but most of that had to do with such different upbringings, not for anything Trevor was or wasn't.

"I... I think yyou sssshould someday! I-if I can hhelp..." Where was she going with that. She wanted to see what sort of home he would have, but there was more to it then that. She wanted to help him have the home he wanted and deserved. Perhaps that was normal, he was helping her so much right now. "I-i mean, well..." She blushed a bit. "A princess should be able to reward the valor of others." The words were soft and clear, her normal hesitation with speaking over come by a more acute desire to make the declaration.

There was snow and cold along their path, and the great mountains ahead of them, but despite that, Wren felt a warmth in her heart, pride perhaps.
 
Wren's support meant more to him than she'd ever know. His face was not allowed to show in a lot of places, so he couldn't possibly get connections like hiring a carpenter or even a mentor who could teach him to build a house himself. His brows rose with curiosity as he looked to her, patiently waiting to hear the rest of her response. Much to his surprise, she finished with soft spoken clarity. That wasn't the first time she surprised him, either. Her speech seemed to be getting more confident sounding around him.

"Thank you, Wren." He smiled appreciatively at the darling woman, letting his gaze drop to the snowy ground so as to hide his sheepishness. The red in his cheeks could be mistaken for winter bite marks, but he was half doubtful it would be believable. Though, he wasn't too afraid to expose his sensitive side. By now, he trusted she wouldn't hurt him.

The walk was feeling as long as it was cold. He brought his cloak around him tighter, his breath forming a quick fog while he sighed. Wren was being so tough, braving through this weather and wilderness. The princess deserved better. These thoughts lingered until the snap of a twig caught his attention, his head snapping up and his eyes of emerald darted around in search of the cause. The hair on the back of his neck was standing. Something, or someone, beyond them was lurking. For Trevor, it was unsettling.

He showed a serious look as he listened closely, realizing too late that there was more than a couple of... Whatever was out there. Whoever they were, their footsteps were impressively quiet. Even his sensitive hearing could barely pick up a single sound. "We aren't alone," he warned Wren in a low voice. His protective instincts started to kick in, prompting the beastly man to glare in random directions while a territorial growl hummed in his throat. This might not be his turf, but this was his person and his donkey. Not a single touch should come to them unless he gets himself beaten into submission.
 
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