Hey guys!

I am sorry I have not yet responded to comments. I have been insanely busy and my laptop crashed. I've had to put in a new hard drive in it and now I have operating system woes that I'm in the middle of wading through.

Truly, I hope this year finds you better than the previous... Life is full of struggles and pain... But things do get better.

I have taken a break from writing, which I don't like doing because writing is my passion but I tend to over produce if I don't take breaks.

This morning I wrote a little something... I hope you guys like it.

Comments are welcome. May this year be better than the last.

I took in her visage as she folded the clothes, her long auburn hair masking her face, but not her mouth. She was a woman from another world, an impossible distance from my own. Some said her facial features were more akin to an animal than a human... But anyone who bothered to get to know a Naakaanee came to understand they were as kind hearted, decent, and intelligent as any human alive.

And yet, when she turned to look at me, feeling my eyes studying her, she blinked for a moment, her expressive and pointy ears moving slightly back, dulling her sense of hearing to let me know she had no malice in her heart... A gentle blush in the form of the small hairs on her cheeks bunching up as the skin underneath tightened, and no doubt turned a form of red I could not see.

Another slow, gentle closing of her soft, cool yellow eyes, the edges of her soft pink lips curled up in a sweet, gentle, feminine smile for me.

She indeed had features of many earth canines... But when she looked into my eyes with that look of love, the way her soft eyes glowed so softly, reflecting light reversely through her gentle irises, combined with her smile, and her delicate yet powerful hands gently clasping that green shirt I liked so much, it was a beauty universal to both our worlds.

“What?” She finally spoke, that grin widening, that blush intensifying, as she turned, slightly to face me.

I wasn't aware of my own smile until I tried to smile for her- But I had been smiling, unconsciously.

“I just...” I said, feeling her gentle, vulnerable feminine spirit in the air between us, her people being highly empathic.

“I just love you.”

It came out softer and quieter than I had wanted. The way I felt about her cried out inside... But I knew better then to emote like that.

She gently set the shirt down and padded on those bare feet over to me, falling into my arms. I wouldn't trade the warmth my heart and spirit felt in these moments when she was this close to me for anything.

I pulled her in close, sighing as she used her muzzle to give me an additional hug, pressing it against my back, her eyes closed, the palms of her hands pressing gently into my back.

She had that effect on me. On my spirits.

Instantly I relaxed, knowing the love she held for me in her heart... And feeling it as if her heart was beating in my chest, the telepathic bond between us that intense.

And she, accepting my human love for her, in all of its flaws, cherishing it, although some times I doubted if I, not only a man but a human man at that- was truly worthy of such a wonderful person.

She chuckled at my insecurities, and I knew it was a uniquely human flaw to doubt one's love and passion... Ones worthiness of love and compassion.

“You're so funny.” She whispered softly, ending it with a chuckle, and a gentle withdraw from my clingy arms, she looked into my eyes, her eyes softly glowing, ears fully back now.

I gave her a gentle peck on her lips, as she smiled, her face lighting up. We both walked back to the pile of laundry, her head leaning and resting on mine, her soft, warm hand in my own.

I helped her fold the rest of the laundry, and did the dishes for her after breakfast.

Later that day we stepped out on our balcony, enjoying the sunlight in Alaska, after I turned to see her bright eyes and bright face smiling so beautifully at me, expressing that feminine joy that my masculine soul craved to feast on with my eyes.

My hand found its way to gently caress her back, my fingertips exploring every muscle, every vertebrae, finally ending by pressing my palm against her blouse, in a pseudo-massage that caused a bit of warmth to soak into her back in spite of the chill in the air.

She turned to press her belly to my own, as she stood with me, her muzzle tucked in and against my chest, in deep and pure Naakaanee trust. We held each other, enjoying each others company on the deck of our remote Alaskan home. It was moments like this that made life worth living, that made my world calm down for a moment, where it was only us two, together, close.