She gave a little gasp of delight and appreciation to see that the snowladen tree hid such a cozy little shelter. She moved into the space, still shivering, but gazing about herself with amazement. "This is lovely!" she exclaimed. "I'd never have known this was here!" She threw him a grateful grin, circling the tree trunk once. She didn't comment on owing him her life any further, dismissing it as he clearly preferred to. That was his prerogative., after all.
As he laid down, and she noticed his leg, she almost opened her mouth to ask him about it, then hesitated. This gave him the opporunity to beat her to speaking, indicating she should lay down next to him. She took a breath to temporize... he was a bit forbidding, which was what had stopped her just in time before asking about his leg. She wasn't really certain laying next to him was something he cared to do in reality. However, he had told her to rest, and clearly meant to share warmth to help stop her shivering. She closed her mouth and lay down gingerly, casting a cautious look up at him. She was small, even for a cheetah, due to her hybrid mother, so his frame was larger than hers in more than just the male-to-female ways.
She listened to him as he continued, and found herself brimming with questions. Who was his companion? Why would she be taken the wrong way? What was going on with his home? They boiled up inside, but rather than speak them, she laid her head down and leaned into his warmth. Her shivering was beginning to fade, and the heat coming from him felt so very good. She gave a deep sigh, finding her eyes sliding shut. As the cold faded, exhaustion overtook her, and curled next to this distant stranger, she fell into a dreamless sleep of recovery.
