Aulfr wasn't entirely sure on how to respond to Aleksandra's advances. She was... well, unrestricted, as the healer had warned. Except, he hadn't really expected her to be so... [i]unrestricted[/i], even though he had clearly been warned. Her grin, her hands, they... relaxed him and put him on guard at the same time. They weren't malicious, no, but there was something to them- 

His mind went blank and empty like a Noxan warrior's tankard after chugging it. Did she just bite his [i]jaw?[/i] He actually writhed somewhat, as mental capacity returned, because- and then she did it again, and again, and he found his so-called gruff exterior melting away. He was just gonna comfort her, he wasn't going to do anything, she would be mighty pissed when she woke up.

A whirlwind of emotions were whirling, now, the most prominent being something akin to excitement, the other being akin to anxiety. Because- she was saying things that he hadn't even imagined [i]anyone[/i] would ever say to him. It was such a far off notion that he'd [i]never[/i] have expected it. And he found himself agreeing with her; he really did like her. And worried for her, and she was doing sorcery to his mind. 

His heart stopped when those last words left her mouth. [i]Love?[/i] Two sides were screaming at him- his gut instinct, from the heart, or his thought process, and his training. And he went with his gut. Just as her eyes were closing, he laid a hand on her chin, tilted her head up towards him, and he kissed her right on the mouth, right before she fell asleep. He watched her eyes flicker at it, in recognition, he hoped, before her mind fell away into the abyss. 

And he held her. He smoothed her hair out, and he calmed his racing heart, and he struggled with what he was feeling. He fought against the idea of just getting rid of her, and leaving all this behind, but he knew that'd never happen. He'd never manage all this without her, whether it be just her presence or her actual help. 

And throughout it all, a small lingered in the back of his mind. [i]Where the hell is this going?[/i]