Right to a Bear's Arms, Ch. 20 (Patreon)

A hammering on the door of Kelin's bedroom tore him from a deep and restful sleep.  He sat up in alarm, blinking his eyes blearily and confused on why he couldn't see anything.  Then he remembered that he wasn't wearing his contacts and he fumbled around with one hand for his glasses.  He usually kept them on his bedside table but they seemed to be constantly just out of reach.

Whoever was at his door had still not ceased their insistent pounding on the solid wooden frame.  The sound set his teeth to clenching and his still half-asleep mind rebelled at the rude intrusion into what had been a glorious dream.

"What?!" he yelled in response to their dreadful demand for his being awake, still reaching blindly for wherever the hell his glasses had gotten to.

The knocking stopped.  "Oh, good," came Idona's voice.  "You're awake."  Kelin rolled his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs out of bed.  A second later, the door started opening, a blonde blur poking its head into the room.  "Mom says to~" she started to announce but then staggered back as she was forced to duck the first random object that Kelin reached for and threw at her.  The manga bounced off the doorframe right where her head had been.  "What's your problem?!" she demanded, poking her head back in.

"Get out!" he demanded.  "I'm not dressed yet!"

He heard his sister scoff.  "Bro, I've lived with your pale ass for 16 years, I can handle seeing you in your boxers."

He turned and vehemently kept groping for his glasses.  "Don't you have any respect for people's privacy?" he asked.  He tugged the covers back over his hips.

"No," retorted Idona cheekily.  He heard his door squeak a bit as it swung fully open.  Her blurry shape could be seen reclining against it. "Besides, I needed something that I left in here."

"This is my room," he pointed out.

"And I've been sleeping in here," she shot back.  "Don't worry, I didn't disturb the carefully coordinated man-mess that you so graciously left everywhere before running off to college."

He glared over at her shape again.  "Any mess that you found in here most likely only conveniently appeared once you moved in."

Idona snorted in that classic Tomboy way she was prone to using.  "Ok, sure, maybe I'm not the biggest neat freak, but did you know you have shirts you haven't washed since high school?  Just piles of them in the corners.  Nasty, dude.  Don't worry though, I left your porn collection alone."

Kelin growled and she growled right back.  "I do not have a porn collection," he snapped at her.

"Whatever dude, every guy has a porn collection," she gleefully retorted.  "Or should I just look harder when you leave?  I don't doubt I won't find some repository of degeneracy.  I know what you're into, big bro."

"I don't have one!" he protested vehemently.  "You realize how sexist that is to state that every guy has to have some hidden library of smutty shame?  I'm your brother, can't I get at least the least amount of respect around here?"

"As my brother, you're entitled to my undying loyalty, but my respect you have to earn.  Especially since you're my brother."  He heard Idona's infuriatingly cheeky giggle again.

He finally felt his fingers snag onto the rims of his glasses and he shoved them on.  Everything leaped into clearer focus and he blinked several times before fixing his sister with his best death stare.  He glanced around the room and had to admit that it was probably a lot neater in here than it had been when he had left for Arknought.  "Anyone ever tell you that you're a pest?" he growled at her.

She flipped her carefully braided hair over one shoulder, combing it out with a hand.  "Of course not, everyone loves me."

"Uh-huh," remarked Kelin.  "Now will you get out so I can get dressed?"

"Why?" she asked, striding inside and plucking up a book, starting to flip through it idly while she still continued to look around the room for whatever it was that she had come in originally for.  "I told you I needed to get something that I left in here.  If you're going to be staying here for the next day or so longer, I don't need your man-stink getting on them."

Kelin rolled his eyes in exasperation.  "Idona, I'm not staying that long, just today and then probably leaving tomorrow.  Now, will you get out of here?  I'm not dressed."

"So?  Walk your happy ass to the bathroom and get changed.  Mom has breakfast ready.  She and Hera have been gardening outside.  You don't wanna keep your boo-bear waiting any longer do you?"

Clasping his face in his hands, Kelin just sighed.  As Idona finally seemed to spot what she was looking for, she crossed toward the bed and leaned over past him at a bulge in the covers.  He balked and swatted at her with one hand.  "I'm not dressed," he stated again, more firmly this time.  "Now keep your paws off the covers unless you're wanting to prove it!"

Idona gazed at him in annoyance before, finally, the wheels clicked.  Her face scrunched up in horror.  "Oh god!" she groaned and she quickly wrung out the hand that had just touched the comforter, about to throw it off of him and extract whatever was still under the covers.  She wrung her hands out rapidly as if she had somehow gotten something vile on them.  "Ew, ew, ew, ew!"  She began hurriedly scooting out of the room, covering her face.

Kelin could not help himself.  He laughed at her over-the-top ridiculousness.  "Thanks, sis," he teased at her as she kept backing up.  "Should I just hand you your stuff when I'm done?"

"Just burn it!" she shrieked.  "Just burn it all!"  She backed out of the room, hand over her eyes, the other fumbling for the door.  She caught it and the door slammed shut dramatically.  He heard her making dry-heaving sounds from outside.

"Ok, drama queen!" he called, heartily amused by her discomfort now.  "You're milking it now."

"Those are my sheets!" she bellowed through the door at him.  "Oh, dear gods..."  She actually had started to sound nauseated.  "Just...hurry up!"  Her footsteps rapidly receded down the hall and down the stairs a moment later.

Kelin rolled his eyes and finally stood up.  He glanced down at the sheets and shrugged.  There were indeed not the ones he'd had on his bed when he left for Arknought.  He felt an absurd, childish surge of satisfaction as he trudged to the bathroom, washed his face, and put in his contacts.  He brushed his teeth with one hand while he pulled on a fresh pair of briefs, then trimmed his stubble with his travel razor.  It took him no time at all to get dressed.

As he tucked his wallet into his pocket and started putting on his rings and nordic necklace, he eyed the small bulge in the sheets that Idona had been so insistent on getting out.  He shrugged and, tucking his necklace of Tyr underneath his black t-shirt, he flipped the covers back and revealed what it was.  His face softened immediately and he gingerly and carefully pulled it up and off the bed.

"Hey there," he muttered softly at the faded but still well-kept and fluffy stuffed dragon toy.  The glassy, black button eyes stared up at him.  The forked tongue was slightly frayed at the edge where it was sewn onto the cartoonish mouth.  The spikes were limp, and the wings hung at the sides as all the stuffing had since migrated into the body or fallen out.  Even so, he recognized the childhood bed companion from when it had been his and then gifted it to Idona who had also always treasured it after he had gotten too old to have it in his bed at night.  "Nice to see you, Hoggy.  Sorry if I rolled over on top of you at all last night."

Nidhogg, aka Hoggy, just stared up at him cutely, of course silent.

He squeezed it once in a gentle hug before he tucked it underneath his arm.  Of course, Idona had come back for it but tried to play it off as something else.  He opened his door and descended the stairs.  His room had not always been up here, in what had originally been the attic.  He and his Uncle had transformed it into real living quarters when he was 15, to give him his own personal space during his moody teenage years.  It had quickly become the envy of everyone else in Leod Hall for its isolated placement.  Idona had bargained hard to be able to sleep there when he had left.

Hopping down the last few steps, he came in sight of his cousins at the breakfast table, comparing notes on one of their sports teams.  They jerked their heads at him and he returned the gesture.  He spotted Idona sulking at the other end, poking at her plate.  Wordlessly, he walked past her, on the pretext of going to the kitchen and acquiring his own food, and deposited Hoggy in her lap as discretely as possible.  She jerked and wrinkled her nose up at him, obviously still acting immature about their previous conversation.  He ignored her, but when he glanced sneakily back, he saw her give the toy a cautious sniff then a quick savage cuddle before shoving it back beneath the table.

In the kitchen, he saw that a covered array of plates had been prepared.  His mom, dad, and Uncle Rolf were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Hera.  He shrugged and grabbed a helping of eggs, bacon, a few biscuits, and a cup of milk, before returning to the table.  He sat down in an empty space.  He looked around.  His friends weren't around either.

"Morning, Tyr.  Happy 20," grunted Erik beside him.

"Morning," he returned, smiling.  "Where are the guys?"

"Jeremy said something about dropping his photos off at his job about half an hour ago," replied Cory, mouth half full of food.  "Stoner boy and Mr. Beard went with him.  They planned on coming back for the rest of your birthday party."

"The rest?" probed Kelin cautiously.  "I think I'm plenty partied out after the chaos of yesterday.  Also, while Dylan is a pretty chill guy, I don't think calling him Stoner Boy is entirely fair."  He laughed as he said it, and so did the twins.

"That's his personally assigned moniker as of this morning," fired back Eric cheekily.  "He literally walked into the kitchen this morning, got some food, and said 'Stoner boy needs his munchies,' so I doubt he'll mind."

Kelin shrugged, chuckling more.  He could easily see Dylan doing that.  "Fair."  He dug into his breakfast.  Halfway through his meal, the door to the garage opened and his mother trailed in.  Her overalls were stained on the knees and legs by thick mud, as were her bare elbows and one cheek.  She looked radiant all the same, as she always did when she had been able to work in her garden.  She passed each of them at the table, giving them a kiss on the cheek each and Kelin the biggest one.

"Morning all!" she crowed in her musical voice.  "It is a gorgeous day out already!"  Kelin watched her walk into the kitchen, where she washed her hands and then returned.  She walked straight over to him again and hugged him from behind.  "And a very happy birthday, Kelin hunny!"  She kissed him once more on his newly shaven cheek, the opposite one from where she had just done so a second ago.

"Thanks, mom," he chuckled, kissing her on the cheek in return before he looked around.  "Where's Hera?  Idona said that she went outside with you."

Mrs. Leod sighed, smiling broadly.  "That girl...I thought I  was an early riser, but she was up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as soon as I was.  She asked if she could help around the house and practically leaped to help me in the garden and greenhouse.  She helped me weed, water, pick vegetables, wash them, and right now she's playing with the dogs.  You picked a wonderful girlfriend, my dear."  She pinched his cheek.  "I like her a lot."

Kelin beamed.  "Yeah, she's amazing.  I like her too, and I'm super happy she's hitting it off with everyone.  She was such a recluse when we met."

"Hera?" asked Cory with a chuckle.  "Dude, she's like a can of jumping snakes.  When she opened up to me and Erik, you couldn't get her to stop talking.  She's hilarious.  Badass too."

His brother nodded vigorously.  "We can all see why you love her."  He wiggled his eyebrows and the twins made mocking, kissy faces at him from across the table.

"Shut up you Neanderthals," growled Kelin, scowling back at them, his face slightly flushed.  His mother backed him up, walking over and knocking both large boys on the back of the head with her knuckles.  Both winced and quieted down.  He gave her a grateful look and she winked back.

Mrs. Leod then went into the kitchen and fetched herself a bottle of water from the fridge.  She brought it back out and sat down beside her daughter, whose hair she fussed over one-handed while Idona tried to wave her away.  "So, Kelin, what are your plans for your birthday?" she asked, eyes brightly shining.

Kelin looked down at his plate,  shrugging.  "I don't know.  Last night was so busy that my head's still kind of spinning."

"Why don't you take Hera out into town?" she asked then.  "She mentioned wanting to see more of it while we were working."

He thought he detected a leading and noticeable implied-nudging from his mother, and he eyed her suspiciously before he shrugged again.  It wasn't a bad idea, a great one actually.  "Sure!" he replied.  "I can show her around some of my favorite stores.  She's mentioned wanting to see a real-life gaming store while we were playing last night.  Plus I wanted to go there anyway to see about getting her something."  His mom looked pleased.

Idona piped up.  "I'll come!"

Ingrid shook her head immediately.  "No, you won't, missy.  You can stay here and give them some personal space.  There's some stuff we need to work on today."

"Mom..." groaned Idona immediately, but curbed her tongue with an exasperated sigh at a single look from her imposing mother.  "Fine."

"Good," the Matron hummed, sounding delightfully pleased.  "Your father and uncle are already hard at work on setting it up."

"Where are Dad and Uncle Rolf anyway?" Kelin asked.  He assumed that they were in the workshop or forge, like usual.  The Leod Clan elders had always been the straight-to-work type of people.

A heavy, muted thrum from underneath the kitchen floor made them all look down at that exact moment.  Kelin arched an eyebrow.  It sounded like the sound-system amplifiers, as well as a series of guitar notes a couple of seconds later.

Ingrid just waved her hands.  "In the basement," was all she would say.  "Are you finished eating dear?"  She stood and hurried over to Kelin, who blinked in surprise but nodded.  She scooped up his mostly finished plate and empty cup, bustling off to the kitchen with a loud humming.  The sink turned on a second later, but he could still hear the sounds of instruments being tuned and played downstairs.

"Mom~?" he asked, drawing the word out.  "What are you guys planning?"

"Leods don't plan, dear," she called back to him.  The twins snickered.

He rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, right, they raid."  He crossed his arms, glaring over at Erik and Cory who were both not meeting his eyes and whistling innocently.  He glanced at Idona, but she just shrugged, apparently as clueless as he was.  He still didn't trust it.  Idona was the sneakiest of the entire clan.

Ingrid reemerged back into the dining room.  "Sigur eda Valhalla," she chirped at him sweetly.

Dutifully, the entire family repeated the mantra in English, one hand touching their chest with a single knuckle.  "Victory or Valhalla," they echoed, although Kelin just rolled his eyes at them all.

"Now, why don't you go check on Hera and see if she wants to head out?" she asked, raising her eyebrows pointedly.  It sounded nonchalant but her face told him it wasn't a request.  "You two can avoid the worst of the morning traffic if you take her truck into town now."

He glared around the entire room before he stood up, rolling his eyes, and slouched out of the room.  He passed by his mother, only to jerk to a halt as she grabbed him suddenly by his ear, rapidly tied back his loosely hanging hair into a ponytail with a pair of spare hairbands, then kissed him on the cheek.  He rubbed at it and his ear both as he sullenly walked out of the dining room, through the garage, and out into the spacious backyard.

The huge area was at least three acres wide, stretching all the way back into the treeline over the uneven but well-maintained yard.  A metal fence separated the property line from the forest and the mountains in the distance. He could remember hours upon hours spent where he sat out here on warm, less windy afternoons and evenings, writing in his journal, listening to music, or talking with his family and friends.  He, his cousins, and Idona had even had mock battles growing up, with fake weapons, so many times that he couldn't even count them.  About a hundred feet or so away, he saw his girlfriend.

Hera, as ever, took his breath away each and every time he saw her for the first time during a day.  She wore a tightly fitted maroon cable-knit cardigan with a loose v-neck, sleeves only reaching her elbows, as well as tight, dark jeans that reached her knees with black felt material going a bit further down to around her calves.  Her thick-soled footpaws were bare.  Ttied back in a loose tail, her silver hair hung down to her shoulder blades, and he could see she wore modest amounts of makeup that highlighted her snowy fur.

The massive crowd of dogs all bounced and leaped around her with wild abandon, tongues lolling from their mouths and ears flapping.  The wolfhounds, one and all, were overjoyed to have another playmate, especially one that apparently had so much in common with them.  Skadi, the Pyrenees, was the most enthusiastic, tackling her massive weight into Hera more than once and delighted to see someone who could not be knocked over by the 150-pound shaggy weight she possessed.  Hera towered over them all, tossing balls to be fetched and laughing openly and loudly in her angelic voice.

Her eyes scanned over the yard towards the house at that instant as he stood there, awed and stunned by her radiant beauty, and she paused.  Her smile deepened as well as softened at the same time and she jerked only slightly as Skadi again rammed into her.  She let go of the ball she had been teasingly holding well out of reach of the eager hounds, letting them squabble over it, then extricated herself easily of their churning, furry bodies to start walking toward him.  She might as well have been walking in slow motion for how the world seemed to come to a full stop, every detail about her shining in the early morning sun.  How in the world had he gotten so lucky as to have her in his life?

As she got closer, he heard the distant but slowly increasing volume of a familiar-sounding metal song blazing from her pocket.  He couldn't identify it, because, by the time she had gotten close enough to hear the individual notes, she had paused it by tapping her wireless headset around her neck, silencing the song.  She crossed over the remaining distance on her long legs to at last tower over him.  The sun sparkled off her hair.  She bent down at her waist, a few strands of her lustrous mane escaping its loose tail to hang over her gorgeous, Ursine face.

"Good morning," she rumbled softly.  She leaned in and kissed him.  His whole day brightened all at once.  He forgot immediately about how suspicious everyone had been acting inside the house.  As she eventually leaned back, her eyes gained a slightly mischievous glint and she nuzzled her wet nose against his.  "Happy birthday, my little Tyr."

Immediately dispelling his euphoria, he was able to muster enough willpower to mock-glower up at her despite the butterflies in his stomach.  "Don't you start acting all mysterious too," he growled.  "Everyone's up to something and they know I hate surprises."

She cocked her head to the side down at him.  "But why?  It is out of love, and you yourself are always full of the surprises."

He rolled his crystal-blue eyes before fixing them on her yellow ones.  "Because they always act so smug and secretive about it, which takes away from the actual reveal by the time they finally get around to it."  Hera shrugged and he noticed that the motion did noticeably wonderful things to her frame, as well as drawing his attention to the very deep v-neck of her cardigan.  Cable-knit was suddenly his very favorite texture or style of shirt for her to wear.  It made her already prodigious endowments look even bigger thanks to the optical illusion of vertical patterns.   "U-umm..." he stammered, breaking his stare at her collarbone and the lovely expanse of furry cleavage below it.  "Did you sleep okay?"

Their eyes met again and she huffed down at him.  "Nyet," she responded curtly, then winked when he looked concerned.  "Because sleeping was last thing on my mind last night, thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" he balked.

She winked.  "Frustrating dreams because of it.  Also, your picture loaded this morning."

He thought back to the Futurama reference he had sent, then chuckled, which she joined in with.  "Oh!  Right."  He scratched at the back of his head, then noticed that his hair was already escaping the loose tie his mother had bound it back in.  He reached back and undid the hairbands, releasing his modest mane of dark tresses before he gripped the tie in his teeth and started trying to tame the mess by hand.  "By the way," he mumbled up at her, concentrating on his work and trying to get every spare strand of hair to go into his usual man-bun.  "Mom wants us out of the house for a bit.  If you want, we could go back into town."  Hera hummed and paused him with a paw lifted, then made him turn around.  She took over dealing with his hair for him, tying it securely the exact way he liked it to be.  Her paws were incredibly dexterous for their size.  As she did, he continued speaking.  "I could show you that store you mentioned wanting to see last night."

She hummed more, making sure the hair tie was not done too tightly before she leaned her big bulk against his back slightly and nuzzled her furry face against his cheek.  She blinked beside him then nuzzled more, rumbling deep in her chest, almost like a purr.  "You have shaved face..." she mumbled softly.  "I like the smoothness..."

He grinned and turned his face to kiss her directly on the cheek.  "Focus, big girl.  Store.  Town."

Hera grumbled but leaned back up to her full height.  "Going to town sounds like good plan," she relented, then grinned.  "Would be nice to have little mini-date for your birthday while in hometown.  Am I allowed to buy present?"

He shook his head firmly, face only a little flushed.  "No.  No presents.  No gifts, no treats, no nothing."  He crossed his arms, trying to look stern.

She frowned, looking annoyed.  "You are very annoying boy for birthdays," she commented.  "Tradition is you buy birthday person present!  Especially since I am girlfriend!  Girlfriend gets to buy boyfriend present on birthday; that is universal law!"

"You already got me a present!" he shot back with, cocky smile in place.  At her perplexed expression, he winked.  "You."

Hera's face immediately fluffed up as all the fight went out of her just like that.  Her ears quivered and laid flat on her head.  She looked away from him cutely.  "You do not play fair," she growled.  "That was too cute of you to say."  Even flustered, her paw sought out his hand and enveloped it.  Her eyes eventually met his again and she grinned, an expression that he returned happily.  At that moment, the feeling of being watched became oppressive and they glanced to the side.

The pack of hounds stared up at them, doggy grins in place and tails wagging.  Bjorn barked.  Kelin couldn't resist a laugh and he gave each furry face a loving pat.  "Ok guys, we're heading out for a bit," he explained.  Their ears and tails twitched eagerly, making him shake his head sternly.  "No rides!"  Their ears all fell dejectedly and they fixed him with their best pleading expressions.  "No.  Now go play!" he commanded, pointing.  They barked and trotted off in various groups to run around, lay in the shade, wrestle with toys, or just generally be dogs.

Hera and he started walking towards the gate that let out into the front yard.  She eyed him, letting out a giggle.  It was such a demure and girly sound to come out of a woman who stood over 8 feet tall, was built like a bodybuilder, and was able to lift his bodyweight like a dumbbell in one paw  "Is this why you are immune to my sad-bear-eyes when I am wanting things?" she teased.  "I used to think 'Kelin is so stoic and stern', but now I see you have gotten practice against those sweet puppers.  Is almost unfair."

He chuckled with her.  "Yeah, it takes a lot of willpower to command that crew.  They don't respect Uncle Rolf as much because they know they can walk all over him.  Also he sneaks them treats so..."  They closed the gate behind them and Hera stepped inside the front door to grab her keys.  He waited by the truck for her to come back out, but she took longer than he had expected.  Just when he was getting ready to go in after her, she emerged, unlocking the monster-sized vehicle and together they climbed up into the front seats and rumbled off away from Leod Hall.  He decided to not bring it up; even if she was somehow involved in his family's nefarious plotting, she would never let it slip.

They drove into town, chatting about things as they usually did, and he gave her directions to the specific store he had in mind.  On the way, they made a few stops.  The first was a shopping mall where he used to go to hang out with his high school friends, usually Christine on dates.  Hera was fascinated to see all the tiny stores shoved into their areas, but Kelin was a bit disheartened to see more than a few staples of his childhood had since gone out of business or moved since he'd gone away to college.

Even so, he showed her around to her heart's content.  They ended the tour with the place that sold the best frozen soda drinks and sat at the cafeteria, where Hera was easily the only Anthro visible.  She drew a lot of looks and at first Kelin felt himself getting angry at how people stared, but Hera was either oblivious or didn't mind.  Only one group approached them, a gaggle of children who were led by a ferocious little girl with freckles on her face, her hair in uneven pigtails, and a gap in between her front teeth.  She was like the personification of bratty childhood rebellion.

She posed confidently in front of them, hands on her hips while her friends cowered behind her.  She pointed commandingly up at Hera, who blinked down at the absolutely tiny girl.  Kelin arched an eyebrow, ready to tell them to scram.  "You!" she lisped up at the Ursid.

"Yes?" Hera answered, smiling gently.  Her eyes sparkled and she put down her already mostly drained drink.  Kelin was shocked.  If he had drunk his that fast, he would have gotten a brain freeze.  She turned slightly in her chair to face the little girl and her crew, paws folded in her lap and leaning over slightly so she was not towering over the tiny humans so imposingly.  "May I help you, little one?"

The girl looked up towards Hera and actually seemed to wilt a little bit.  Even being as gentle as she was, Hera was massive compared to even a fully grown Human.  Even so, she drew herself up as much as possible, almost standing on her tiptoes.  "You're an Anthro!" she declared.  Hera nodded.  "I want a hug!"

Kelin paused in sipping at his drink, then glanced over towards an equally surprised Hera.  The audacity of such a request was already rude to another person, not to mention odd, but to an Anthro, who normally prized their personal space, it was potentially much worse.  Instead, Hera beamed, black lips remaining shut over her long teeth.

"But of course!" she replied.  "How could I refuse such adorable little girl?"  She got down off her chair and settled onto her knees.

The girl actually scowled.  "I'm not little; I'm tall for my age!"

Hera nodded sagely.  "I was when I was little too," she replied very kindly.  "And I bet you are very strong too!"

The girl sniffed proudly.  "Stronger than the boys in my class!" she retorted.  "Wanna play bendy fingers?"  She held up a hand, covered in bandaids, flexing her stumpy, fat digits.

Kelin was about to interject, but, instead, Hera just cocked her head to the side and then, to his adoration and amusement, just shook her head.  "That is game when you pull person's finger back to see how far they can take?" she asked kindly.  The girl nodded.  "I am afraid I am not good at that game.  You see, I am on date with most wonderful boyfriend, and would not want my paw hurt so I can not hold his hand."  Kelin's heart fluttered even as he marveled at her flawless deflection.

The girl looked at them both then shrugged.  "Fine.  I'm the best at it anyway.  Can I have that hug now?"  She didn't sound like she was really asking.  Her friends looked at her in amazement that she was so brazen and rough.

Finally speaking up, Kelin lowered his cup.  "Little girl, where are your parents?  Haven't you learned not to just randomly approach people and demand to hug them or bend their fingers?"

She scoffed at him.  "Please.  I'll kick anyone's butt that tried to mess with me."  She flicked her pigtails dismissively at Kelin, which just made him scowl.

Hera defused the situation.  "It is all right, Kelin," she said softly, smiling up at him.  She opened her arms wide at the girl.  Her ears twitched and she had not dropped that wonderful smile of hers.  Kelin actually felt jealous that she smiled at anyone else other than him that way.  It was childish and selfish, and he knew it.  He just grinned, feeling a little embarrassed, and went back to sipping his drink.

The little girl blinked at the open offer.  It was almost as if she had expected Hera to ultimately refuse with how crass she was.  She wavered, glancing back once at her friends, before she closed her eyes, set her jaw, and then rushed into Hera's arms.  Her little face thudded into the front of Hera's shirt, arms not even going around Hera's front past her ribs as she squeezed into the furry bulk beneath the shirt.

As gently as possible, Hera's arms wound around the tiny girl, not crushing or trapping her there but just barely giving the barest pressure to return the hug.  Her face was utterly heavenly and one paw softly patted the back of the tiny head of red hair.  Barely visible anymore, the little girl's eyes flew open wide as the hug was returned.  Kelin remembered the first time he had been hugged by Hera.  It truly was an experience like none other.

"There now," Hera murmured down at the girl.  She leaned down even further and whispered something else into her ear so that only the little girl could hear.  Her breath noticeably caught and her fingers buried themselves into Hera's fluffy sides. She actually started to go red, big eyes watering before she hid it completely against the front of the cable-knit sweater. There was a tiny sniff and Hera cooed softly, holding her as gently as if she were cradling a baby.  They hugged like that for several more seconds while passerby's just stared in surprise.  The other children gaped.  Eventually, Hera let go at the girl's behest and she nodded at the little, pink, tearful face.  "Remember that, okay?"

The girl, sniffling, nodded.  She turned back to her friends and wiped at her face with a dirty sleeve.  Her friends just stared.  Then, as one, they turned to look at Hera.

Wordlessly, she just chuckled and held her arms open wide.  Every single one of them, without preamble, rushed her excitedly, all wanting that same big, fluffy embrace.  Hera folded them all into her, cooing more and meeting every pair of tiny, wide-open eyes.  She let them pet her cheeks and ears, one even wanted to touch her nose and see her teeth, which she allowed by lifting up one side of her black lips and letting the boy trace one fang with his finger.  Eventually, they all broke off and stood together in a crowd.

"Thank you ma'am!" they chorused as one.  A very dainty little girl reached out and held onto the hand of the ringleader, who still looked upset but was smiling again, this time more gently.  It was such a stark contrast to the crude or smug ones from before.  They turned and walked off together back the way they had come.  Onlookers met Hera's eyes and then went about their activities.  Some actually looked tearful.

Hera rose and then sat back down in her chair, returning to sipping at her drink.  She watched the kids go with a twinkle in her eye.  Kelin could only stare at her, amazed.  She met his eyes and grinned past her straw.  "Yes?" she teased.  One yellow orb winked at him.  "Is my Kelin wanting hug too now?"

He blushed and chuckled.  "Maybe later," he deflected, although it was a lie.  "What did you say to that little girl?"

Hera looked after them again, barely visible through the crowds.  They were all milling about at the indoor play place.  "Just what I needed to hear when I was young too: that she does not need to be so strong all the time," she said simply.

Kelin felt his heart melt and it must have shown in his face because she beamed back over at him then shyly looked away, scratching at her nose with a claw.  "You are...so amazing..." he breathed.

Her ears folded down and she fluffed up a bit.  "Hush," she grunted at him then drained the rest of her drink.  She deposited it in a recycling can without having to get up from her chair, easily leaning over the food court railing to reach it.  "I like kids.  I want some."  She returned her sparkling eyes over to him.

His face heated up and he let out a laugh, assuming she was joking.  It quailed at her unbending stare.  "N-now?!" he asked in a squeak.  His heart suddenly began to hammer and he struggled to get his racing mind back under control.  They had barely been able to manage to talk about the act itself, much less discussed the possibility of having children!

She laughed then, dispelling his worries but not helping with his now frantically surging nerves.  "Nyet, but it is adorable seeing you freak out like this."  She stuck out the tip of her tongue at him, winking once more before she stood up.  She held out her paw.  "Ready to go?" she asked eagerly.

Pretending to grumble at her teasing, he took her paw and stood, throwing away his drink since it was finished as well.  Turning around, he had time only to grunt in surprise as she suddenly hauled him up onto his toes and into her arms with a single yank.  Her arms folded in around him and his face was buried in her shirt front.  Her paw stroked the back of his head gently.

"I will always have hug for you too," she whispered down at him.

She let go after a few long, heavenly moments and they left the mall, hand in paw.  Kelin was walking on air the whole time.

From there, they dropped by a bookstore, where Hera insisted on checking to see if they had the latest issue of her favorite graphic novel series.  Ironically, it was his too.  They didn't but they both stood in the aisle, leaning over one of the earlier issues and rereading one of the most dramatic scenes.

Kelin nodded at the page they were on.  "I was so mad and shocked when season 1 of the animated TV show ended right there!" he complained but was smiling.  "Talk about a cliffhanger."

Hera nodded emphatically, leaning her chin on top of his actual head and looking over him.  "Yes, but that is where actual first novel ended too, no?  In original print?"  She looked around, aided by her height, and snagged a copy of the said book off the shelf behind her.

"Nah, he ended it just after this part.  Remember the duel?" he asked.  Hera's eyes gleamed and she nodded.  "Still, a ton of people were really mad at him at first because it was like: boom, zero warning, end of book one.  Just 'Surprise guys, this series is actually a trilogy because it's too long for a single book.'"

Hera hoisted the novel in her huge paw.  "With this many pages just for book one, though, can you blame author?  Plus, each one after was just as long."  Both of their eyes fixated on the cover art and the raised letters of the emblazoned title.

It was a massive book, easily over eight hundred pages.  The hard front cover bore an alternate design from the one first released with the debut of the hard copies.  It displayed the two main characters, standing in profile before a darkly shrouded mountain and a half-hornless, half-leonine helmet, both with heavy visors.

The person on the left was an athletic, attractive, and armor-clad man, looking up at something above him.  His face was serious, contemplative, and yet warily hopeful.  He was both confident as well as reserved, like a man unsure if he would fall or fly once he took the leap of faith he was facing.

His foil, standing with her back to him, was a muscle-bound, beautiful, yet ferocious woman, whose face was turned inversely down, expression fierce and withdrawn but eyes also facing more forward instead of at the ground.  One lip had rolled back, revealing her sharp teeth which, along with the azure scales all across her body, and golden horns on her head, just made her look so drastically different than her Human counterpart.  Their gazes were set firmly on the future, with his being a destiny he knew he had to embrace, meanwhile her's intending to leave behind a painful past.

Both Kelin and Hera smiled at the book, making comments on artistic style differences between the written and illustrated versions of the same story before the Ursid put the former back where it had been originally stocked.  They put the comic in its proper place as well, then dropped by the shelf that contained the various tabletop gaming books.  There, despite her protests, Kelin insisted on paying for her to have her own copy of the Player's Handbook of the edition they had been playing last night.  She cradled it against her bosom as they left the store, got back into the truck, and kept driving.  The book, wrapped in a plastic bag bearing the bookstore's logo, was nestled securely in the backseat.

Finally, they arrived at the destination they had originally set out for.  The gaming store was not a very large place, actually squashed into the corner of a strip mall.  Hera had to duck down quite a ways to fit inside the entrance.  The ceiling was standard-sized at least and she could stand straight up once past the door.  There weren't many customers today, save for the usual lurkers who always seemed to be here no matter what time of day or year.

Most of them were typical examples of other geeks, and all of them stared up at Hera in shock as she looked around the tightly packed interior with obvious glee.  The shopkeeper, a woman in her late thirties in a stained artist smock and with very dark skin and bright purple hair, along with fake elf ears, gazed at the Anthro visitor in amazement.  Hera immediately went over to a stand of polished and painted miniatures in a glass case, bending at the waist to inspect them.  Kelin looked around at everyone but no one had eyes for anyone else but the Ursid.

He eventually cleared his throat, startling everyone.  They recognized him at once, but they kept glancing back at Hera, amazed and shocked.  He rolled his eyes.  "Hello to you all as well," he announced.  "Tony, Dave, Gavin," he nodded at a familiar trio of guys playing a card game at a table set in the back.  They jerked their heads at him.  He walked over to the proprietor.  "Jenn, how are you?"

The tall, brightly-haired woman turned her attention then to the other new arrival and she smiled at last directly at him.  "Hello, Kel!" she said brightly.  "I didn't know you were back in town!  I'm good!"

He smiled back at her, although he did notice that people kept looking over at Hera who was delightedly looking over every inch of the front of the store and their displays.  His jealous tendencies occasionally flared when he noticed a guy here or there openly staring at her and not just at what or how big she was.  Still, he knew none of them would try anything, nor would Hera let them.

Jenn was one of the obviously enthralled masses who weren't just staring at her assets but instead all of the Ursid woman with fascination.  "She with you?" she asked.  He nodded.  "She is gorgeous!" she spoke softer, so not to be thought so openly commenting on someone else.  "So whatcha need?  Just here to look today?" she asked, finally looking back down into his face.  He had once thought that there couldn't be a woman taller than Jenn.

He spoke in a hushed tone.  He was eager to finally get into his secret reason he had wanted to come specifically here today.  He had been struggling to think of natural reasoning, or an innocent enough excuse, for dragging her across town to such a small location, but it had been solved for him when she gave the perfect one by her own request after he had mentioned the place during game.  "Is your dad here today?" he asked.  Jenn shook her head.  "Are you allowed to sell his stuff?"

"Of course I am!  Looking for the usual?" she replied to which he nodded and then glanced behind him pointedly.  She followed his gaze toward Hera, who was inspecting a rulebook for another, more obscure game edition, turning the pages delicately with her claw tips.  "It for her?"

He nodded, winking.  "I didn't want to spoil the surprise, and I knew she'd object if I brought her somewhere she was asking to go to by her own interests," he explained.  "She's a geek too, so I couldn't just play it off by saying it was in thanks for coming with me or something."  At Jenn's confused expression, he added, "It's my birthday."

Jenn's eyes went big.  "Oh, happy birth~!" she started to say, but he cut her off with a shake of his head and she quieted back down.  "I'll go get the merchandise then," she winked and she bustled off down the aisle, behind the counter, and into the back room.

Kelin grinned and returned to Hera's side.  "Enjoying yourself, babe?" he asked, speaking directly to her so that everyone would know they had actually come together.  He could all but feel the jealous glares of his fellow weebs and simps and he tried to resist a pleased wriggle.  He had an extremely hot, huge girlfriend, unlike anything most of these guys would have ever seen in real life.  He wasn't nearly mature enough not to want to gloat just a little bit to these people who were all too eager to mock people like themselves for being unlucky in the dating department.

Almost everyone in the store, save for Jenn of course, had the same self-superior attitude about one another's failures.  He didn't game with many of them for this exact reason.  Gillette may have expanded over the years, but other than his family and personal friends, these guys were the only other true DND players around unless someone was willing to drive to a larger town or a city for a game.  He was eternally thankful for the circle he had been blessed with.

Hera looked up from the book's rules she was trying to understand and grinned down at him.  She actually leaned over, nuzzling her nose against his cheek in an open display of happiness.  Her ears noticeably began quivering at the soft, disgruntled chatter around them started up and she glanced at various other customers.  From Kelin's experience, whenever any couple, even fellow gamers, dared enter this realm of mostly unhealthy attitudes towards those in successful relationships, they tended to garner their fair share of dark, jealous looks and snide comments over perceived flaws.  At first, she seemed confused by whatever she was hearing.  Her ears were that much better than his.  Then, her gaze actually hardened a bit.  She leaned more openly in against him.  "Da, moya lyubov," she said, intentionally making her already thick, authentic accent even deeper and speaking in flawless Russian.

He smiled and he kissed her cheek once, loving that she was as actually happy to rub it in these obviously less than welcoming and easily judgmental guys' noses as he was.  Still, he decided to drop it there.  He took her paw and gestured with his head.  "Come on, there's something I wanna show you that is incredibly cool!"

Hera's ears twitched, intrigued, and she put down the rulebook immediately where she had found it.  She followed him.  She had to brush past the odd other customer or so, excusing herself but meeting their eyes fiercely.  She had, no doubt, identified some of the people who had been whispering about them.  No one dared to impede her or meet her eyes for more than a glance, and in no time, they stood in front of the separate back counter.  Jenn had just emerged, carrying a wooden box in her arms.  Arching an eyebrow at her boyfriend, Hera then met the proprietor's eyes.  She gave Jenn a beaming smile.

"Hello!" she said brightly.  "I am Hera, Kelin's girlfriend!"

Jenn smiled back.  "Hey!" she glowed.  "I'm Jenalee, but everyone calls me Jenn.  Enjoying the store?  Sorry, it's not very big, but I don't think the strip mall owners were exactly planning on someone as tall as you coming in.  Plus, there isn't a huge gaming crowd in so rural a town so I can't afford bigger premises."  She winked over at Kelin.  "His family alone seemingly keeps me afloat half the time with all their crazy geekiness."

Hera chuckled.  "I met them for first time last night.  They are indeed eccentric but already my second favorite family in world.  I am happy to be included in their number, even so mildly as just by dating my Kelin."  She politely looked down at the box then.  "What is this?"

Jenn unlocked the case with her key and opened it.  Hera's eyes lit up immediately at the sparkling sets of sterling silver, tungsten, and stainless steel amulets, all carefully polished and set in individual holsters, upon a black felt pad.  The shopkeeper's expression gleamed even more than it had been to see someone so enraptured by the shop's star product.  "Each piece of actually made, by hand, by my father," she explained.  "He takes commissions but otherwise just pumps out each one based on what ideas he gets.  Every single one is entirely unique and one of a kind."

Hera leaned in closer, giving a soft whistle.  "They are beautiful...Oh, look there is little dragon!  And a D20!  Oh, the crossed axes are cool too..."  She seemed indecisive about which one grabbed her attention most.  Then, finally having caught on the smug looks Kelin and Jenn had not been able to conceal, she leaned back up.  "Oh, I get it," she growled in a chuckle.  She looked down at Kelin.  "You are wanting me to pick one so that you can chivalrously buy it for me, knowing I will object because it is your birthday, then you get to be all cute with 'you already gave me best present ever,' again and fluster me so much I just agree.  You used that trick already today, will not work again."

Kelin chuckled right along with her, flushing.  "You caught me..." he admitted.  Hera gave him a mock-stern look, shaking her head judgmentally.  The only thing that spoiled it was her smile.  He gestured to the box.  "Please do pick one.  Everyone in my family gets an individual piece from Jenn's dad.  That includes my friends...and hopefully you too."

Her expression lost the pretend scowl and she once again fluffed up.  "You..." she breathed, then looked away, ears folding down for a second.  Her paw grabbed for his hand and squeezed it.  A gusty sigh grabbed their attention and they both looked back to Jenn who was leaning her paint-smeared face in her hands, staring at them dreamily.

"You two are so adorable..." she sighed.  "Why can't I find a girl who I can spoil like that?"  She winked at the pair of them, then gestured again to the box.  "Oh well, I'll just have to be proud of my dad's wares bringing yet another Crazy Leod in the fold!"

Hera pondered the contents for several long minutes, during which time Jenn left to go deal with an argument at one of the book wracks.  She stroked her chin, face conflicted.  When he caught her eyes, she grinned sheepishly.  "They are all so nice," she told him.  "I want to get perfect one."

"Well, what would make it perfect?" he prompted, trying to be helpful.  "Jenn's dad makes any and all kinds.  It helps if you find one that speaks to you of the things that matter most to you or symbolizes the things you care about.  Your morals, stuff like that.  If it speaks a story to you, you know it's the right one."  He reached into his shirt and pulled out his amulet of Tyr.  "I chose this one because I personally identify with the One-Handed God of Justice.  That's also why everyone calls me Tyr at home, even before I started playing Krieg in the campaign."

"Little Paladin," she teased, and they leaned their foreheads against one another for a moment.  Someone made a gagging sound nearby and Hera actually looked back over her shoulder, growling at the offending individual.  The greasy-haired, pimple-faced man quickly looked away from the couple.  She looked back to the box, glancing over and over at his personal one.  She trailed her claws over one in particular and extricated it from its felt slot just as Jenn was returning.

"Find one you like?" she asked, looking a bit annoyed but not at them.  She had probably just had to mediate yet another petty argument.  Kelin felt for her.  Her gaze lingered on the metal token delicately balanced on Hera's paw pads.  "Ooh, I did like when Dad finished that one!"  She leaned over the counter excitedly, winking at the Ursid.  "Figures you would pick a Norse one, dating one of the Leods after all."

Kelin leaned in as well to inspect Hera's pick, then grinned.  It depicted Fenrir, the Wolf Giant, fashioned with silver and bronze flawlessly mounted on a stainless steel plate in the shape of a dog tag.  As Hera turned it over, a series of text was etched into the back of the thick metal.  The Wolf Prayer.

Quietly, I will Endure

Silently, I will Suffer

Patiently, I will Wait

For I am a Warrior

And I will Survive.

"Fenrir, huh?" he asked.  "The Wolf of the Apocalypse.  Not many bigger symbols in all Asatroism than him.  He's fated to devour Odin the All-Father at Ragnarok."

"Is that bad?" she asked, sounding worried.

He shook his head.  "Not at all.  It's destiny.  See, that's what's great about my family's culture and religion.  Our faith tells us that there are two sides to every story.  On one side, you have the Aesir of Asgard, who are portrayed as the protectors and benefactors of mankind, willing to die to shepherd their children, the Mortals after the final battle is finished.  They also represent Humans in their taming of the natural world, aka the slaying of Ymir the first Giant to form the world.  Giants, meanwhile, represent nature itself, and in the end, will reclaim what Humans have taken, despoiled, or squandered.  Fenrir is a cautionary tale of being afraid of what can be, and by attempting to avoid the future, you only end up causing it.  See, if Odin had not been so afraid of Fenrir's size and strength, maybe he wouldn't have treated the Wolf as he did, imprisoning and torturing him until the day that Ragnarok comes and he slips his bindings.  Meanwhile, there was only one God among the Aesir who was brave enough and kind enough to play and feed Fenrir once he grew so large that he scared even mighty Thor."

Hera listened with rapt attention.  "It sounds like such sad story.  Which God was it?"  Jenn leaned in as well, obviously enthralled by Kelin's attention to detail and ability to spout off mythology mixed in with moral analysis.  It wasn't the first time he'd told someone this story.

He gestured at his own amulet.  "Tyr."  Hera looked at the metal, upward-facing arrow, set with a carved sword inside, and smiled.  "He believed in Fenrir's goodness, protected and defended him.  In the end, he was eventually convinced by Odin and the other gods that Fenrir's prophesized fate at Ragnarok meant he was too dangerous, and they had to bind the Giant.  They tricked him into allowing himself to be bound with first rope, then chains, and finally Gleipnir, the unbreakable cord.  Fenrir only agreed to do it, though, if one of the Gods would put his hand into his jaws, as a test of faith.  Only Tyr was willing to, even knowing what would happen.  Fenrir was bound, unable to escape, and pleaded, then demanded of the Gods to free him.  They refused, but Tyr still did not remove his hand from his friend's mouth, willing to pay the price for his deception.  So, Fenrir bit it off."

"So...that's why he's called the One-Handed God of Justice," breathed Jenn.  Hera looked similarly awed by the legend.  "Wow, talk about rigid moral backbone."  She actually looked at Kelin with an appreciative smile.  "You missed your calling as a preacher or a storyteller, Kel.  I'm sure there's a call somewhere for a real-life Viking skald to hold sermons and such."

Hera contemplated the metal wolf's head in her paw then palmed it, folding her padded fingers decisively over the device.  "I will take it," she stated.  Jenn nodded happily and rang it up, throwing in a bottle of polish.  She did not allow Kelin to pay for it, much to his disappointment, but she seemed grateful for it all the same.  She picked a heavy-duty, extra-long magnetic chain and let Kelin put it on for her.  He did so, careful not to snag any of her fur.  It hung right on her collarbone, wolf staring out fiercely at the world atop its pillows of bear bosom.

"Great!" commented Jenn.  "Now we just need to find her a leather coat, a pair of swords, some makeup, and she can pull off one hell of a She-Geralt cosplay!"

Hera brightened up immediately.  "From Witcher!" she declared, then deepened her voice to a gravelly rasp that actually made Kelin's stomach jerk.  Great, now he had a thing for that voice.  "Wind's howling..."  They all laughed.

A surly voice behind them made them turn around.  Another shopgoer, handling a Bestiary from an older edition, snapped the book closed.  "Witchers can't be female," he stated smugly.  Kelin glared at him.  "It's in the lore!"

Jenn held up her hands.  "You can argue that all you want, but lore changes all the time.  Besides, you try telling her that if she gets it into her head!"  She pointed up at Hera, who in turn gave the guy a self-satisfied smirk.  

Kelin saw, with immense satisfaction, her lip roll up slightly, exposing one fang tip at the guy.  "School of Bear not good enough?" she taunted.  The man, face going a bit paler than it already was, turned away quickly and shuffled off to another shelf.

They left the shop a little while later, Hera constantly looking down at her purchase with a glowing warmth.  As they climbed up into the truck, she leaned over the seat divider and planted a big kiss and even a small lick to his cheek.  

"You are awful, my Little Tyr," she told him.

"I am so terribly sorry," he told her cheekily, not meaning a word of it.

"You should be," she retorted, now faking a sniff of superiority.  "After all, you willfully deceived me, just like in story."

Kelin rolled his eyes and held out his hand as a joke.  "Fine, fine, I'm willing to accept my punishment."  He started to pull it back immediately, then jerked in surprise as, lightning-fast, Hera fastened her jaws onto his wrist, immobilizing it.  She wasn't biting down at all, but he didn't dare move.  Her tongue was hot and wet against his wrist and underarm, and her teeth nuzzled his arm hair for several tense seconds.  Her mouth was so big that it took up his entire forearm, from wrist to elbow, and he wasn't even as far back into her muzzle as he could go. "Umm..." he said eventually, voice a little nervous.  "Getting a lot more actually sorry now..."

Her eyes twinkled and she released his arm.  She winked once.  "Lucky for you, that is not way I want your hand by the end of this story," she told him matter-of-factly.  They both went silent, staring into one another's eyes more deeply than ever.  Kelin's heart quickly accelerated as he realized what she had just said, and he gazed up at her.  He had never loved someone as much as he loved her, and right now it was nearly paralyzing in its intensity.  A few seconds, although it felt more like ages, later, she broke eye contact first and looked away shyly.  Her fur fluffed up and her ears folded down in telltale fashion.  "Sorry...maybe that is moving too fast...Was bad joke."

Kelin reached out immediately and grasped Hera's paw as she lifted them to the steering wheel.  She glanced back at him, face hopeful but nervous.  He folded his fingers between hers and they locked hands.  "I'm more than willing to pay that price," he said, voice soft and barely audible.  "And pay it happily.  I'm going to find the perfect way to ask, so you better be ready."

"You...mean that?" she asked, tentative to believe he was serious.  "We have not been together for all that long, friends for while yes, but I would understand if you are not wishing to rush things.  Last night...when you told me you loved me, it made me the happiest I have ever been.  That is enough for me for now, if it is enough for you too.  I am willing to wait however long I have to."  Her expression told him that she meant it, even if deep down it wasn't the whole truth.

Kelin wordlessly plucked up her phone, unlocked it with her permission, and opened her Youtube app.  He searched for a very specific song, not letting her see the name.  As it buffered, he hung it up on the dashboard, syncing it to her speakers.  They settled back as the opening notes began to play.  As the lyrics began to slide across the screen, he met her eyes, and, without blinking, began to sing softly along, not really needing them as he knew them by heart.  He'd never meant words like these more in his whole life.  It was everything he needed to say and everything that needed to be said.

*** https://youtu.be/DZqFK4dcl2Q ***

Hera's eyes began glistening with wetness from the very beginning.  By the time the first refrain began, smoky trails of her makeup had already stained her furry cheeks all the way to her chin, her bottom lip quivering and her smile the only thing holding back her sobs of happiness.  She sang in duet with him after a while, and their voices blended together perfectly.  She squeezed his hand so hard in her paw that it almost hurt before she relaxed again.  At last, the song ended, and they both sniffed, looking away at the same time, faces burning but stupidly happy smiles pasted onto their lips.  They took turns in wiping their own cheeks, sharing a napkin.  The truck rumbled to life as Hera turned the keys one-pawed and they set off back toward Leod Hall, never letting go of one another.  They didn't speak.  They didn't need to.

Everything they had needed to say had been said.  This was the best birthday in his whole life, and he would have been willing to bet it was one of the best gifts anyone could ever receive.  He had never felt so complete, so happy, as he was with her.  Even as they pulled into his family driveway once more, when he looked in her eyes, he knew one fact above all else.

Here, right here, with her.  This was home.