>>42404756
I'm out of practice but you inspired me
>"Creaaaaaaak." The door annoyingly cries out, announcing your entrance into the apartment.
>The sweet smell of apple-cinamon wafts into the hallway.
>Stepping inside, you close the door and lock it behind you.
>Without the lights of the hallway behind it's almost pitch black. The only sources of light being various scented candles scattered throughout the room, the bright screen of a laptop, and two dimly glowing, dark pools starring at you as you drop your things.
>It was surprisingly chilly.
>Navigating through a few pieces of furniture you drew closer to her place on the couch.
>The candle on top the small table is bright enough to glimpse at some of her body.
>She sat upright; back slightly hunched over, rear touching the cushions, both forelegs being partially kept free, and a laptop sitting on her knees.
>Aside from her forelegs, only her face and horn were as the rest of her body was cocooned in a thick, double-layered, pink blanket.
>It's a shame she gets cold so easily because the way the flickering light dances on her obsidian chitin is a sight to behold.
>You plop down on the couch next to her, sink into the cushions, and close your eyes.
>The smell of a bakery, the "click-clacking" of typing on the laptop's keyboard, the cool air, it's all enough to make your mind wonder; not asleep, but not fully awake either.
>Life wasn't always like this, you have tons of good memories--both recent and old--still most days feel worse than the last.
>As if you were in a desperate struggle to stay above the surface, fighting against some unseen force trying to drag you into the depths of foreboding doom.
>Bad memories and thoughts rush in through your nostrils and mouth--today's events, yesterday's mistakes, tomorrow's anxieties--you feel a tap-tap at your side.
>Your eyes lift open to see her looking up at you, the look on her face impossible to read.
>You never felt or heard any movement yet she was now closer.
>A corner of the blanket once fully wrapped around her in was held towards you in a bright green shroud of energy.
>Now her visible wings glimmered in the soft candlelight.
>Taking the blanket in one hand, you pull her closer with the other.
>Although she's been buried in a blanket for God knows how long, she's still cold.
>You've asked about this before and she said it was part of her biology; Changelings don't do well in the cold.
>Upon making contact with her bare body your natural body heat starts to fade, as if someone poked a pin-sized hole in a water bottle causing it slowly drain away.
>All in one motion, she closed the laptop with a thump and laid it down on the farside of the couch while she stretched both forelegs around your abdomen.
>Her head resting on your scapula and curved horn nudging the back of your jaw.
>Not only were you back above water but now you were safe on a raft.
>Still on afloat in the ocean of life but at least you're out of the water and not alone.