Beh grumbles and rolls, taking the edge of the fur and pulling it most of the way over her head. I can’t help but smile at the act. The little noise she makes is like a small animal’s squeak. I pull at the edge of the fur, but her fingers grip hard. She holds tight to the edge of it, so I know she is really awake.
On impulse, I stick my feet underneath the fur and snuggle in beside her. I feel her body push back against mine as it seeks the warmth, and I wrap my arm around her waist. My nose slides across her shoulder blade and up to her neck as my fingers trace little light circles around her side and belly.
Beh squirms at my light touch, her grunts of protest escaping even as she giggles. I smile against the skin of her throat and run the backs of my fingers across her belly. She wriggles and laughs as she makes loud sounds and grabs my hand. I pull, bringing her to her back so I can look at her face.
Her eyes are bright, and her smile is glorious. Her hair is everywhere, creating a soft, fluffy brown cloud behind her. She gazes up at me and makes the collection of sounds she has been repeating often when we are together in the furs.
I smile back at her and then bring my mouth to her neck to suck on the skin. I’m growing hard quickly, and I know I need to stop. We have no time for mating this morning; we have to gather enough wood before nightfall. Our stores of food are growing, but we don’t have quite enough to get us through the winter. The cold morning reminds me how soon winter will be here.
I pull away from her, and Beh scratches at my jaw with her fingers, making more sounds. I start to turn from her to get up, but she grips my shoulders to hold me close to her. I tilt my head and smile back as she makes more noise. This time, she includes both of our name-sounds, which is strange.
But, that’s my mate!
I nuzzle the tip of my nose against her and start to get up again. Again, she holds me back, saying our name-sounds together with another sound. I sigh and lay my head next to hers. I look over my shoulder to the cave’s opening and wonder how late in the morning it really is.
“Ehd!”
My head moves back to look at her as she makes her name-sound, another sound, and then mine. My hand reaches up and touches her lips softly.
“Khzz?”
Beh sighs and places her lips quickly against mine. Smiling, my fingers tickle her sides again before I push myself out of the furs and pull Beh with me. We have too much to do to lie down any longer. As Beh eats, I gather up the tools we will need for the day. When she’s ready, we head to the pine forest.
I use the large chunk of flint I have sharpened into a hand axe to break the logs into manageable chunks. Even though the day is bitter cold, and the sun is not shining, the work is hard and I soon discard my outer fur wrap, choosing to work wearing only the one that wraps around my waist. Beh watches me work and also busies herself stacking the pieces I have cut so we can carry them back.
We make two trips, but we still don’t collect much wood, and the day is already late as we head back for the third load. Beh’s noises have gone from quiet and occasional to a little louder and much more constant. I can see she’s not happy, and I assume it’s because of the cold weather and the hard work. Still, we need the wood, and we can only carry so much at a time.
Beh makes some more sounds and then stomps off toward a hollow log I had already discounted; it’s too eaten out by termites to be worth hauling back. She sits by it anyway, knocking it around, then sitting back on her heels and just staring at the ground. When I glance up from my work a moment later, I can see her shoulders shaking.
I jump up, worried she may have hurt herself, and find my mate staring at a piece of broken, hollowed-out wood with tears running down her face.
“Beh?” I drop to my knees and reach out, and Beh comes into my arms.
The day is late, and even though I know we should bring a couple more loads of wood back, I also need to take care of Beh. She is upset, and though I don’t know why, I know I have to care for her until she feels better.
There are only a few pieces of cut wood, so I lead Beh over to them and position her arms to carry them. Once she curls her arms up and around the logs, I bend down, put one hand behind her knees and the other behind her back, and lift her up.
Beh grips the wood a little tighter and lays her head against my shoulder, still crying, as I begin the journey back to the cave. I look down at her closely, making sure she is not actually hurt, and run my nose over hers so she knows I will care for her. I’m tired and my muscles are sore, but Beh comes first.
I carry my mate back home as dark clouds begin to form on the horizon. The wind picks up, and I hold Beh close to my chest as I pick up my pace. We barely get the wood into the crack in the rock before the clouds begin to pour rain from the sky.
Beh heats water in one of the clay pots, and her tears eventually dry. After we eat, I watch her stand at the entrance to the cave and watch the storm soak the fields outside. She stares without moving for a long time, but she relaxes back against me as I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist.