there was no answer to his question. as crazy as her question was, she needed it. her sanity needed it. yet nothing came. so her sanity remained fractured.
"why are you surprised? your work is beautiful, my love." her inquiry wrapped in genuine surprise and confusion. he was the bone carver, the master of carving intricate scenes into bone, even bone small enough that no one would have thought was possible. then again, she'd never seen him use any other medium other than bone. "almost as if carving was your calling."
then she called him out on his choice of human name, which only made her laugh softly, "you're not wrong." still, the idea of him calling himself carver bones made her giggle. "so, what do i call you now?"
first came the hesitation. then came the movement - her body carrying her where she truly wanted to be. he was already seated, and she watched him for a second, before shifting closer towards him. took another breath or two before she gathered up the courage to go through with what her mind cried out for her to do. something she'd done when they were still new to each other.
swallowing thickly, la'iria climbed into carver's lap, making herself as small as she could so he could still work but the warmth of his bare torso soaking down into her bones. his scent wrapping around her like a blanket - the comfort that she searched for but could never find. "i've missed watching you work," her voice softly, as her forehead rested in the crook of his neck for a moment before shifting to just rest on his chest.
Carver chuckled softly at her compliment and the little bit of teasing, nodding a little. She was right, it was entirely in his wheelhouse and he’d been doing it all his life. She agreed with him then about the human names, still having a little giggle about it and again he was struck by how lovely she was. How lovely it was to hear that sound again. After all the screams or silence he was surrounded by for so long. “Carver is fine,” he replied as he sat. After a moment she was shifting and he watched her from the corner of his eye as he prepared to start the project for the kids. She was moving, slowly and hesitantly at first, but he knew what she was doing. And as she finally moved to climb into his lap he adjusted naturally to the new position. It had been so long, but she had done this often before. He breathed in the smell of her again as she curled into him, closing his eyes for a moment while she settled. “I missed having you watch,” he replied before pausing for a moment. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “And I am very real.”

















