Whispers

-Tybalt, what the hell? You're a fucking Charr and you're about three times my size and a half, YOU should have done the drinking contest, not I!

Tybalt Leftpaw looked sheepish.

-I worked, though! We freed Demmi, we knocked down a few pirates, and no one got hurt! You handled that booze like a champion!

-Yeah, not the last part, though. I was so drunk I almost sucked Demmi dry thinking she was one of those stupid pirates.

Tybalt snorted and patted his new and very small partner on the head. They were both at the Order of Whispers' safehouse in Lion's Arch. Salt had requested to be put on a window's ledge to get some fresh hair and Tybalt was making sure she wouldn't fall off. Below them, the workers were tirelessly re-building the city from its ruins.

-Don't worry, she thinks she got attacked by a magician pirate and that you saved her! How are you feeling now?

-I'm still tipsy and I'm hungry. Is there food in that safehouse?

-I have apples!

Salt's eyes sparkled with pure annoyance. She was about three foot tall, but she could scare the hell out of the Charr when she had that face. Even drunk, she had an air of authority about her that commanded respect.

-Alright, alright, I'll go get proper food. Try to not fall off the window, okay?

-Yes, don't worry. I'll go sit on that bench right there.

***

Salt opened an eye and instantly noticed it was night. The ocen breeze coming through the window was chilly, and her hips and her neck hurt from falling asleep on a wooden bench.

-Ow. I must have passed out. Great. Excelsior. Just what I needed.

Looking around her, she saw a plate of cheese and various curated meats on the bench next to the place where her face had been, and a pitcher of cool water. There was also an ungraceful puddle of drool. Self-conscious, the Asura wiped it with her sleeve before seizing the pitcher of water. After drinking what felt like a third of her weight in water, she attacked the plate.

As she was nimbling on a piece of aged cheddar, she finally noticed her Charr companion sleeping on one of the military beds, a dark-couloured blanket covering his white fur and making him look almost invisible in the dark on the room.

"That's nice, where's MY blanket?" grumbled Salt. She wasn't freezing, but it was cool in there. And she wasn't sleepy at all. Approaching Tybalt, she put a hand on his head, shaking it slightly to wake him up.

-Tybalt! she whispered. All she got was a groan in response.

The fur on his head was silky soft. Salt found out she really wanted to caress it, but she didn't wanted to overstep her partner's boundaries, especially when he was sleeping.

-Tybaaaaalt, where's my blanket? she tried again, louder.

Tybalt groaned and blinked. He looked lost for a small moment then seemed to recognise who was speaking to him.

-Oh, hey Salt, he said sleepily. Sorry, I tried waking you up but you were completely passed out.

-No worries. Are we spending the night here?

-Yes, I told the boss you needed rest and we would go back on the field tomorrow. Anyway, our next mission is not pressing.

Without a warning, Tybalt rised up and sat down on his bed. He had taken off his gear for the night and the white streaked fur on his chest shone in the moonlight. Salt had seen this chest in action and knew it was all muscles underneath the white softness. She thanked the darkness for hiding the violent blush on her face, She never blushed. She also hated blushing.

-Ah, sorry, I took your blanket! I was on the other bed and since these blankets are human-sized I thought I would use two to be warmer. Sorry!

-Ah, it's all good, Salt answered absent-mindedly. She really wanted to extend a hand to touch her companion's chest and she had a hard time focusing on the blanket problem. Not that it was a problem right now.

-I could, hum, you know, let you keep the two blankets and just... sleep next to you?

Tybalt seemed to grow a shade darker. Or maybe it was just a trick of Salt's imagination.

-Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't mind to, but... wou're not going to syphon my health when I sleep, right?

Salt almost giggled. God that was embarrassing.

-No, no, I just thought it would be more comfortable for both of us. You know... body heat and all. She was fumbling to search her words and felt really uncompetent all of a sudden. She was an Asura, used to explain and detail even the most difficult of concepts, and yet there she was, not able to find the proper words to explain she was attracted to the person in front of her. Not that she wasn't intelligent, but she was inexperienced in courting matters. Sex was a very cerebral thing to Asuras, and Salt had never really been attracted to someone solely on the basis of their shiny, silky-soft pelt. Mind you, Tybalt was also very smart.

Tybalt seemed to relax and tense both at the same time. Clearly, this was not a trick of Salt's imagination, he was really blushing. She was also feeling like her own face was on fire. This was becoming unbearrable.

-Only if you don't mind, of course.

-No, that I mind, I just...

-Tybalt can I touch you?

-What?

"That didn't come out well." Salt thought at this very moment.