The rest of the night passed, mostly uneventful. They sparred, had a proper dinner, and went to bed. Something drove her to lay a bit closer to him instead of futilely perching herself at the very edge as she did each night. He'd proven himself to be honorable and they'd just end up clinging to each other anyways. She knew it would keep happening unless they slept in separate beds, which didn't look to be a possibility.

She was proven right the next morning when she woke to find Aulfr cuddling her like a child's stuffed toy. She was almost that small compared to him, something she only just then realized she sort of liked. Not that she was short and slender, but that he was tall and broad, like a big tree. It made for a fun contrast when they sparred. And if she were ever honest with herself, she might have admitted that she liked that he was so big and strong, because she wanted someone to be strong for her sometimes.

But of course, that was absurd. She didn't need another person's strength. She was plenty strong.

Still, it seemed she was stuck being snuggled to death until Aulfr woke up, so she settled in and brought a hand up, running very gentle fingers through his too-soft hair. She leaned her cheek on top of his head, which was a warm and heavy weight just above her heart. It was sort of unsettling to have his face so close to her breasts, but it was comforting at the same time. She wondered if his dreams were moving to the beat of her heart, a peaceful and steady rhythm.

A lock of her wild black hair slipped into her vision and she blew it out of her face. It came to settle on her shoulder... and then past it. Oh Saints. Had her hair really gotten that long? It was a beast to tame each morning, and normally she would sheer it close to her head, but still long enough to be feminine. Now it fell past the tops of her shoulders, longer than she'd let it grow in years. She'd been sailing with pirates last time it was so long.

She glanced at her fingers, still buried in Aulfr's hair, and smiled. She hardly even gave thought to what she was doing as she leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, brushing the hair from his sleeping face. "I'll need to coerce you into letting me cut your hair," she murmured softly to herself, her voice barely a whisper.