His fingers along her jaw did not give her pause, even if he was using a bit more pressure than he had before this. His closeness and the feel of his breath on her cheek did not register as odd to her either; hadn’t he already leaned in close to murmur things to her when he took her places? She was his ward now, and he was looking out for her best interests.<br/><br/>“Nearly two months now, my lord,” Aly answered his question, not turning her head to him; there was no need. Jin tracked Kadyle for her, though it quickly became unnecessary as the man pressed himself against her and put his mouth close to her ear. She shifted uncomfortably, uncertain whether she should move away from him or not. His presence was at once warm and intimidating.<br/><br/>Her confusion reflected on her face. Aly had never had reason to hide her expression from anyone. Her natural reactions were clear for all to see and interpret. Even the concept was somewhat foreign to her. Despite the story books Garath had read to her growing up, she had never come across a reason to be duplicitous, nor ever encountered someone of that nature that she knew of.<br/><br/>The blind girl didn’t know what Kadyle meant when he said that she belonged to him. Wasn’t that the nature of being his ward? Why did he need to state it now, in the way that he did? She could tell something was different, but couldn’t understand what.<br/><br/><i>“Bite,”</i>Jin’s raspy-feeling voice sounded in her mind. He could feel the tenseness of the situation, and possibly more. His hackles were up, making it clear that he did not approve of the intrusion on his human’s personal space.<br/><br/><i>“No, Jin,” </i>she responded silently, still trying to figure out what Kadyle was implying. Aloud, she said, “I don’t understand. Have I done something wrong, Lord Kadyle?”<br/><br/>His movement away left her bereft of his warmth, making her more aware of the chill to the air around them. Jin chittered at Kadyle angrily and kept looking down at the horned wolf anxiously.<br/><br/><i>“Peace, Jin. Vokalt isn’t going to eat you while you’re on my shoulder. I need you to focus,”</i>she admonished her small friend. The ferret had a final chitter before settling down again, hopping to her opposite shoulder.<br/><br/>Once more, Aly was surprised at the man’s choice of location. Why ask her to meet him out here, only to have her take him to her room? Why were they going to her room? The whole situation made her feel off-kilter somehow, though she didn’t know why.<br/><br/>“Yes, my lord.” Still frowning in confusion, she took a few halting steps forward before finding her stride with the vision Jin provided her, and leading the way back into the manor and to the small room she had been given.