The Field was a fucking wash. As I pretty much expected. I’m shit at selling myself, and I’m not exactly great at people on the best of days. I gave it up as a lost cause, but I’m not about to give up on the idea of finding a place to call home. Especially now. After how things have changed with Rhory, and now that there’s a baby on the way - also can I just stop and say holy shit? I’m having Rhory’s baby. My Rhory Lionheart, my best friend. Still a little floored by that turn of events, okay?

Anyhow.

Now that I’m pregnant, there’s even more reason to find a damn place to live already. And since standing in some field waiting for the right person to come find me didn’t exactly go super well, I’ve just decided to stomp around ‘til I find home my own damn self. I’m much better at stomping anyhow.

I took a few days to track this place down, wandering through the Forest, even slumming it in the Meadow a bit though I’d rather cut off my own legs than let my baby grow up in the godforsaken Meadow of all places. And every night I made sure to find my way back to my Rhory (my Rhory, mine in a completely different way now, and I can’t seem to stop touching him now that I’ve started, oops…), even if it means setting out all over again in the morning. Today, though, today I have a good feeling. And it just gets better when I sort of stumble across this gorgeous forest that immediately feels like home.

Holy shit. I think I found it. I poke around a bit first to be sure, then I’m headed back to my Rhory to drag his ass here so we can start exploring. I want to know every single inch of the place by the time the baby comes. Every nook and cranny, every little hazard for baby hooves and every little wonder for baby eyes. This little one’s too teeny tiny yet to be making its presence known even in the curve of my belly, but it’s only a matter of time. And I’m damn well gonna have home ready and waiting by the time it does.

Shit, he’s adorable. Have I mentioned that? Those summer sky blue eyes of his take a look around, but they settle on me, full of love and this absolutely stunned look of wonder he still gets when he looks at me. “It’s beautiful,” he says, but his eyes are on me, tracing the lines of my face, lingering on my lips as I smile and lean in to press them against his shoulder. My Rhory.

“You think so?” I ask, smiling as I rub my face against his neck. Then I peek up at him, catching blue eyes staring at me like I’m something special. He’s always managed to make me feel that way, like I’m something special, even when I feel like I’m nothing. Even on my worst days, he’s held me like I’m precious, and not in the sarcastic way I usually use the word. Like I’m some kind of marvel, and he’s just in awe that he gets to be near me.

Eyes like that can make a girl feel all sorts of cherished. Can maybe even make me start to believe I’m more than just some worthless Meadow rat bound to fall right back into the dirt when the world decides it’s sick of toying with me. Eyes like that can make a heart beat faster, can trigger a giddy little flutter in the belly.

I’m leaning in for a kiss, because that is definitely not getting old anytime soon, when a voice cuts in out of nowhere. “Hello. Who are the two of you, may I ask?” Okay, so it probably wasn’t out of nowhere. Not completely. Odds are the welcoming committee isn’t made up of ninjas. But I was a little distracted, and I didn’t hear her approach. Startled, I jerk my head back to look at her just before my lips touch the corner of my Rhory’s mouth. Aww damn. I was looking forward to that, too.

I’m not a fan of surprises, and missing out on a kiss makes me grumpy, so my ears pin back and my eyes narrow before I can remind myself that I’m supposed to be playing nice. Meeting the new neighbors. Making friends. I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm my nerves and the racing of my heart. And when I open them again, I sneak that kiss anyhow, even if it’s a much quicker one than it was going to be. Okay. That’s better. Now when I open my mouth, I won’t say anything stupid.

“ ‘course you can ask, princess, we’re practically invading your territory here I’m guessing, huh?” Fuck. So much for not saying anything stupid. I try again, hoping for once my mouth will listen to my brain. “We’re new. Just moved in, as of about half a minute ago.” Whether the current residents like it or not, kind of. Baby needs a home, and Mommy picked this place, and how everybody else feels about that is barely my problem. “I’m Arrya. This is Rhory. He’s my…”

I trail off, looking up at him and pretending for my own sake that I don’t have the sappiest goddamn expression on my face when I do. My...what, boyfriend? I’m not crazy about the word, but I’ll use it if he prefers it. My...mate? Sounds so solemn and serious and stuffy, but we’ve definitely done so and there’s proof on the way. Again, if he likes it, I’m game. My eyelids drift half-closed as I lean in to brush my lips along the line of his shoulder again. “My Rhory.” Easy enough. Honest enough. But it’s still incomplete. “And I’m his Arrya,” I murmur, and that finally feels like a true answer. It’s enough for me, that he’s mine and I’m his.

But I’m flexible.