No food from strangers wasn't going to be a huge worry. I don't normally do that thankfully. Maybe in a truly desperate situation he would. But Caladan thrived, and he had friends to rely on. Those situations seemed unlikely to emerge. It's the next bit that catches more of his attention. He looks down to his own claws, flexing them into the soil and feeling the dirt. Poison on claws? A tactic he'd never encountered before.

He looks up away from his own feet, fixing his vision to her dark features as she weaves together the offer to help with a veiled, unfinished, promise. She didn't have to finish that sentence. He'd had the pleasure of seeing passionate @Analía and the good fortune to never have been on the opposing side of the force that was this quiet healer. He had no want to change that and experience even an ounce of her ire. "Yes ma'am." He says softly, half under his own breath while he turns to contribute and browse around for Devil's Claw.

Fortunately it is a fairly distinct plant and even amongst the amply stocked gardens he can find some of the gnarly finger looking plants. Gently he leans over and nudges the plant with his nose, pushing around the dirt until it is free and he can, with minimal pressure, lift it up with his jaw. Pointy ears jump up, and he lifts his head back up to normal, glancing Ana's way with proud smile curling up the corners of his occupied mouth. I did it. He's no medic by any means but he's found some quality plants.

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Whenever she was around the paladin, it was hard to get a read on exactly what he was to her specifically. Analia hadn't really ever had any friend aside from Eisa and while it was easy to classify the brawny soldier as such, she also felt it didn't do enough justice. Not that she had any experience in to what anything further than friends were but she knew enough to know that she valued his time just as she did Eisa. That there was something valuable in the way that they spoke to one another and conversed that made her feel more grounded.

To this thought she was glad that he didn't partake in eating what others offered him and signaled this with a nod of her head. Happy to know that she wouldn't have to worry about a poisoning through food because it also told her that he wasn't a glutton. Even more so pleased when he issued a firm yes ma'am to her idle and silent threat and she rolled her shoulders, gave a side-smirk and watched him continue his hustle towards the plants.

Quietly she watched @Moradin find the correct plant and made for even more scrutiny as she watched him disembowel the dirt to get to the plant itself. It was easy to watch him work and do it his own way, thankfully there wasn't too many wrong ways to pick a plant and he had done well to secure a lot of it so that she could potentially replant it somewhere. Good job, you even managed to save some of the roots so that I can plant it somewhere close by to the Cove. It probably wouldn't survive for very long if she put it in the salty air and sandy seaside but closer was always good. Analia moved her head to nudge the turtle shell forward with her nose, motioning for him to set aside the herbs that he had successfully discovered all on his own.

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He likes that he has done well and earned praise from her. He realizes though just how complicated that feeling of enjoyment was. He's had a pat on the back before, a good old "atta boy" from older figures in his life growing up. And he's always wanted to do things well, to learn how to do things right even if it's a simple task and even if it was something that he would not necessarily do again over and over. This did not make him a skilled medic, and he did not imagine he'd ever be one but that did not lessen the pride.

But it was more than that. She was proud of him. And that made all the difference. He wanted to do things well, he did not always need praise for them, but from her he did crave that affirmation. He wanted to know what she thought of him, and the idea it was at all negative made his stomach drop into his guts. So he is extra careful moving over to place the plant, root and all, into her turtle shell without disrupting the others or risking damage to the plant. He had no idea how fragile roots were. He pulls back up and, unintentionally, brushes his nose up against her shoulder. He's not paying attention to what's beside and above him, just the plants for a moment, and then there is the briefest little moment of contact that sends him back a panicked step. "Sorry." Moradin bites the inside of his lip and looks away.

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In the quiet silence as he drew near to place the plant into the bowl was when her attention strangely noticed things. Like really noticed. Point being that she knew that he had more pointed ears than most lions but had she known that the outside tip of them had brown? Or that just at the tip of his nose where he had a small nose blaze, he had a darker colored freckle similar to the one's by his eyes?? No, she hadn't noticed them before but as he bent his head down to place the plant in she most certainly noticed them now.

So much so that she hadn't realized how close she had been standing, but close enough for him to graze her shoulder. Causing an energy surge to pulse through her like she had just been electrically shocked from nose to tail. Though @Moradin was quick to back up and expressed his deepest apologies to which Analia swallowed the air in her mouth and gave a more confident grin than what she would've thought possible. You... can touch me, Mor. She blinked, off-shooting her eyes to the side for a second as though questioning this herself before finding something a little less serious, unless.... you think I have cooties? Did she? She might at this point, really.

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Moradin looks back, hoping to be able to gauge some sort of reaction out of her. That his apology is enough. Turns out though it's unnecessary at all. That grin she wears, flickers of teeth appearing out from her dark muzzle, is radiant. Confidence looks good on her.

"I want to." He says aloud. He's certain if he does not that he will talk himself out of what he is feeling. Convince himself it was nothing, a misread of what he is feeling and what he wants. "Do you want me to?" He feels himself drift back in closer to her, a tug to repeat the accidental touch but with now with purpose, a chance to pause and feel. To know it was okay, it was welcomed. But not if it was only one way. He could, he always has been able to. But he will not unless it is welcomed, unless it would make her happy. He feels starved, back close to her but now very consciously holding himself back and overly aware of every inch of his own body. "Even if you have cooties" His assurance comes with a soft, deep sort of chuckle. "I know a good medic who will take care of me." His chuckle fades and he tries to catch her dark eyes, his head and visage leaning a little so that he will be more centered in her good eye. He is glad for her attempt to lighten the mood. It helps calm what nerves are running wild in his mind. He might even be able to bare if she refused him.

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There was this sudden ricochet of a bullet that threaded its way along her skin. Crawling over every inch of her body as though she were being twisted with very tickly vines that weren't letting her go. The medicine within her turtle shell very, very forgotten and she was most certain that she didn't even know she had feet anymore because she felt like she was witnessing whatever this was like she was fifty feet in the air. A part of her didn't like the way this was making her feel — as though more eyes were on her than his. Her body suddenly felt ill but it wasn't "bad" per say, it was just foreign and unfamiliar. Uncharted territory.

I don't.. think I mind? Was it want? Hardly, but she hadn't ever really been close to anyone before either than her own sister so the fact of someone touching her. Well, it went a bit over her head. Not realizing that there was something necessary in the closeness of others that she was missing. That you could be close and intimate with others and it not ruin you and make you feel awful. That there was something joyous in being close to someone else not because they had to be but because they wanted to be and wasn't that what mattered? He said he wanted to and that was good, right?

The fact that she might have cooties was mostly meant as a passing, rhetorical joke but Moradin took it in stride and gave her a bit of comfort in knowing that even if she was sick in some fashion he still would be there. Still, she felt... weird standing there. As though every fur on her body was being looked at — judged, deliberated and scrutinized.

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He's excited, he's happy, to hear she at least thinks she wouldn't mind. It not the most enthusiastic of answers but it's not an enthusiastic no either. Moradin will take that, keeping it in mind as he leans in to... well now he's not sure exactly what he should do. He knows he wants to touch her again but now so aware of his body, of hers, it feels like anything would be too much. In his indecision his movements are a little awkward, mercifully the distance is short and he does not have much time to second guess himself as he reaches out to brush his nose against the same spot he accidentally touched before. A bit slower this time he has a moment to appreciate how good it felt to have the contact and connection with her. He has always wanted her to be safe but there is a certain reassurance that only comes from feeling that someone is. She is warm, she is alive.

Far slower and with less panic this time he pulls away and breaks the touch. "I'm glad to have met you." He says after a moment of thoughtful consideration to that fact. "I could have ended up anywhere-" There was no shortage of lions who could use the extra help and protection. "But they wouldn't have had you." He was certain in that moment that even if he could stand to be other places, maybe even thrive there, they wouldn't be as worthwhile a home or place. They wouldn't be as good as whatever place meant being with Ana. He wouldn't have gotten to get to know her, what had made her the woman she was today, and he would not get to see her moments of bravery and courage. He wanted to see what more she could do for the world, what she would become.

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Without question his very presence made her stomach feel sick, but of course she wouldn't realize until later that there were good kinds of feeling ill. That the rolling in her stomach that made her feel like she either needed to vomit or otherwise was actually just good feelings associated with nerves and excitement. Anxiety, even, but she had always been familiar with that one. There was just a small amount of time before he was all the closer and his nose was right back to where it had accidentally nudged previously. Except this time, there was more weight behind it. More strength which alone made her hair feel like it had been lit on fire.

All the nerve endings in her body were alight with intensity and her body stayed rigid until one single roll of a shiver coursed through her. Muscles relaxed just as he released his closeness and moved back, his hazelnut eyes set firmly into hers. In the shared space she barely heard the few words that he had spoken but judging from the look on his face, he had said something nice. Mentally chastising herself for not having had her attention set immediately after the shiver of unfamiliar intimacy, she is certainly listening now.

If her dark fur could show a blush, it certainly would have but if he had put his cheek to hers it would no doubt be radiating an intense amount of heat. That's true, because she didn't know what else to say. When she had first invited him to the Cove and he had sworn to protect her, she thought that it was a one-off thing and that he would leave soon enough. That he would find out how boring and exhausting it was to be burdened by all that was Analia's life. So, she supposed she was still, to this day, surprised that he was still here.

Analia feels determined to tell @Moradin that she was surprised he was still here. That he hadn't dipped the second that he realized how much drama followed her and her family but a part of her knew that that wasn't what she should say. He was being pleasant and nice and she shouldn't say something as negative as sharing her initial thoughts which had been quite negatively influenced. It's been nice to have a friend that has chosen to stay, and that had not turned tail the second he could. Yes, that was definitely better to say.

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Somewhere along the way, undetected, his feelings had first slid into a friendship. Not just a pair of lions with some manner of transactional agreement but truly friends. What they were had changed, become complicated but better for it. He no longer felt like his entire world revolved around his job. He'd only known that purpose for so long, he thought it was all he was meant for and he was happy to do it. He looks at her still lost in his thoughts, he's still the protector at heart but he's no longer sure if he could fulfill that role for anyone else. It would not be the same. His entire self wasn't just that role. Ana gave him strength and want to be more dimensional, to be more whole. He wants to see her grow, and flourish. He wants the same for himself.

It's getting further complicated now though, and this time he's acutely aware of how unable he is to put a name to what they are, what he's feeling. It's scary. He doesn't want the feeling to stop either. He's barely touched her and still he feels her on the edge of his nose. Soft fur, the slight tension in her body, the way she smells lingers heavy in his nose. And gods he doesn't want to stop looking at her, looking in her eyes and taking in every detail on her face. Every expression, every shift of her mane, all three scars there between her eyes. Words are failing, he can't find ones to answer her and give her the reassurance he wants to that he is not going anywhere any time soon. Not ever if he has his way and if she wanted that too. Speech is gone, other aspects of his mind and heart dominate. Moradin leans in and up a little to brush her mane with his muzzle and see the scars more plain, aiming to give enough space where he can rest the side of his muzzle against them. I'll be here, I'm staying here.

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In these spare few moments, Analia swears that she can feel every hair on her body and is quite sure she might be able to count them all. Lungs are doing twice the work to keep her from falling over, her heart beating at a far faster rhythm than is normal as what was purely innocent statement as now blown over into something that she had not quite expected. Analia had no qualms with @Moradin and his proximity to her and certainly did not mind if he touched her, but this... this was different.

The only lion to ever receive her truest affections was likely Eisa down to a T. Every touch she had ever reveled in had always been her sisters and yet here, as her friend moved forward and his nose trailed across her scarred face and hair was moved off to the side she felt her heart panic within its cage. Even as her scars were far more noticeable now that he had removed her hair from her face, she felt seen even more. That despite not being a very fight heavy woman, she held proof that she wasn't incapable.

Yet in his presence she knew that she did not have to.

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