Story 1 Chapter 10

An awkward air had settled between Naomi and Hyfron as she patiently waited for him to finish up gathering water. The woods behind them had fallen quiet at some point, the gurgling of the spring provided the only ambience.

Since rebuking him a little while ago, Naomi had decided to inspect the foliage along the waters edge, passing the time noting the native flora and crouching to sniff or pluck some. As she stood from collecting some sprigs of water mint, she looked around the small clearing, quietly contemplating her environment. 

'There's no birds singing, I wonder if it's anything to do with him?' Naomi wondered, glancing back at Hyfron. The beastman was crouched slightly in the waters still, his chiseled face turned away.

His chilly countenance but strong mixed signals so far had confused Naomi, she had spent less than a day with Oren but had felt to have gotten somewhat a sense of his character: reasonable and responsible, protective but maybe a little overconfident. Hyfron was handsome but totally unpredictable to her, he also appeared to somewhat disregard her personal boundaries.

Naomi pondered if this was a personal or a culture thing- Oren didn't show such behaviours but he also didn't really get a chance to 'put a foot wrong'. However she couldn't deny how much the eagle beastman had ruffled her feathers so to speak - they had been in very close quarters over the last 48 hours or so.

All of the passing questions she had for him earlier evaporated the moment he had heatedly embraced her; mind unravelled momentarily and afterwards she felt dumbstruck at her own naivety. 

 Naomi had first thought she'd perish in this landscape, or definitely under Hyfrons care but now she wasn't as afraid, he'd been trying his best not to scare her after that first night. His sudden show of attraction to her did throw her off though- just so out of the blue!

'I know the guys are a little unhinged here but I think I underestimated the whole mating culture thing-argh he is pretty much physically irresistible, I can't deny he's attractive but he's just so...brash' she hugged herself reassuringly as she contemplated his dominative demeanor.

Until now she had been peacefully picking wild carrots and scallions near the waters edge the pass the time, while subtly pulling a few loose strands of her hair leaving them in the long grass. Unbeknownst to Hyfron she had done so in the his nest this morning before they departed.

Sighing softly, she sat down and allowed her mind to wander as she stared at the crystal clear surface of the water.

Naomi had no idea if Oren was still tracking them but hoped it would help keep the trail from going cold.

She honestly wasn't too sure why she wanted to return to the golden man she briefly met; so far she was certainly safe with Hyfron and he hadn't been aggressive towards her.

Hyfron was just unreadable; she wasn't sure if he treated her like a pet, a captive, or a prospective mate (well as of recent she noted).

Deep in though Naomi was oblivious to the secret glances he'd been stealing, checking upon her with eagle eyed concern as he watched the thoughts flicker across her face.

The eagle inside him was plotting how to win over this unusual and enchanting female, Hyfron yearned to touch her beautiful soft skin but she was yet to acknowledge him as a male. Suddenly taking her had been a radical move on his part as he didn't battle and subsequently overcome her first mate to be, so he couldn't quite claim 'mating rights' succinctly. 

Tying up the water skins Hyfron quietly approached Naomi but stopped a distance short, the beautiful woman didn't lift her head to look at him, her demeanour remaining detached. 

"Do you want to refresh yourself female? We will take flight again in the morning." Hyfron queried her, secretly keen to get her out of those unusual clothes. He wasn't too worried about hostility towards her odd appearance but rather the opposite- but that she might attract too many curious males attention. 

"..No thank you." she politely replied. That wasn't true though, Naomi wanted to clean up and felt gross using the makeshift leaves so far. There wasn't much options regarding cleanliness and hygiene facilities however. 

" I don't want to be gross either...but I don't think he'll let me bathe all unaccompanied..." Naomi inwardly groaned again.

Hyfrons brow creased slightly, watching her face, before giving her a once over then gruffly adding "It should help reduce your noticeability, there are some clothing's prepared for you also." 

Finally poor Naomi relented, agreeing as a bundle of odd clothes were thrusting her hands.

Hmmm? She would have to check out what he'd supplied her with. With a bit of reluctance, and sighing between Naomi let him know her displeasure.

Hyfron stood on the bank and turned to the side so she remained in his peripheral vision, like some sort of precaution, so Naomi opted to keep her back to him in the shallow water as she splashed herself. 

Briefly sitting and bathing her lower body, she splashed her torso, armpits and washed her face before turning her top inside out to use it as a towel. Stepping out behind Hyfron to dress, he thankfully didn't move a muscle considering Naomi was only a few feet away, so he considered her safe.

Investigating the strung up pile, surprisingly she found a skirt; beautiful, high waisted and long, a soft downy tube top with leather shoulder straps and a chunky, yarned hemp bolero style shoulder wrap. He'd even provided some flat gladiator style sandals. They fitted well and felt pretty comfortable; some stitched, padded underwear also were in the bundle, lined with soft cotton from today. 

'Not bad at all! He probably wants me to blend in hehe not a bad idea to be fair...these are very bird like haha no point in attracting to much attention.' Naomi smiled to herself for a moment. 

As if sensing Naomi was finished, Hyfron turned back around to her, ready to go. His eyes immediately widened seeing her in his handmade clothes, she looked wonderful, they suited her well. With a small, sly smile he took a step towards her and extended his hand, wings outstretched; his expression lasted so briefly Naomi almost thought she imagined it- the look of satisfaction.