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Darkness was wrapped around them like the blanket around her shoulders. There was far more to his form than she remembered being there before, coils that trailed off deeper into the darkness. She had only been able to get a glimpse of him at first before the door had cut off the light available.
He could walk into a room, even in his glamour, and have people fall silent. He commanded attention. There was something old and worn in the air around him. Something ancient and untouchable that could crumble stone and liquefy shadows. That force of nature lay curled around her, asked her to stay by his side, and apologized for his seemingly mangled form.
They lay in the dark, his coils draped in such a way that she could nestle against him. He was anything but human. She would not make him out to be something he was not. There was a strange combination of feathers, scales, and coarse hair that she brushed her hands against as she felt his skulled head loom above her. She wasn’t afraid, he had given her no reason to fear him. Kind, always so kind. She pressed herself into the space between his lower jaw and chest. Heat radiated from him in the chilled room. Grateful for the blanket he had wrapped her in, she burrowed closer. He shifted, still silent in the aftermath of him reassuring her. There was nothing more to be said, not yet. There was a sense of safety in the dark with him curled around her. She pressed ever closer and felt him wrap his arms around her, another layer of protection.
A sense of low panic buzzed in the back of her mind, Ruth. Ruth was out there, unsure and wary of the door that had slammed so quickly after she had stepped in. Day by day their bond grew ever deeper. She sent him a tendril of warmth and gentle reassurance.
He wouldn’t hurt her.