She giggled as their fingers locked, callous bumping against callous. She'd never thought her own hands would be as rough as they were. She turned their intertwined hands this way and that, admiring Gwyn's long fingers and squeezing them with her own in appreciation. It was hard not to get overwhelmed with the sensations, but she managed to keep her head on straight. Focused. "Will we name a land after ourselves, then?" she said, smile almost transforming into a sly smirk. It wasn't often she poked fun at people. "Gwynpinea? Kyuwyndin?" She blinked up at Gwyn and frowned slightly. "Can't think of a good name. You got any ideas?" She paused and seemed to consider something for a long time. "Did I ever tell you my name? In real life? You know about my… condition, and I kinda know yours, but I don't think I really know any of the basic stuff about you. Your name, or your horoscope, or…" She laughed, quietly, to herself. Even more quietly, unintended for Gwyn to hear, she mumbled, "How can I like somebody I barely even know?" Her brows furrowed together in frustration as she looked up at the ceiling. Even in her confusion, her fingers remained woven with Gwyn's. It was too nice to pull away. The smile she'd worn so easily seemed to falter as her thoughts wandered further and further away from the present.
Gwyn leaned on one elbow as Kyupin busied herself studying and playing with their hands, the long line of her blonde ponytail sliding over her shoulder as she shifted. Her smile grew warm and eyelids drooped some in fond relaxation. If only they could always be like this. Soft and kind and gentle and peaceful and with all these gooey little moments sticking back together their broken world. "Felherne? Sounds old and wild. I'm thinking forests as deep as the sea. Trees like skyscrapers. Where the shadows are full of predator and prey and a little bit of both. And then you find clearings with shoals of birds, sunlight streaming in. All flowers smaller than pinky nails." She lifted her hand- Kyupin's held in it still- and held a pinky straight out with a smile. "Probably," the huntress paused as she got caught up in the Felis' eyes, "blue petals. Orange and gold too." She nodded to herself. That sounded nice. The drifting just wouldn't do though and Gwyn quickly reached out with her free hand to lightly rest her fingertips on the back of the other woman's hand. "Sabine." She squeezed her hand reassuringly and pulled it closer, turning in her wrist to bare both of their palms with the fingers still interlocked. If she had thought about it, she wouldn't have managed... but she wasn't thinking of anything but chasing away that distant look. So she didn't pause in the slightest as she pressed a kiss to the palm of Kyupin's hand. "Sabine Bertrand. I was born in France, but like... fake France? It was a military base so technically the US. I never went to college. I was a tour guide for hikers and rock climbers, working for a company that rented out people who knew the lay of the land. It was fun. I've lived out of my car before? My choice. That was fun too, minus the bears." She pressed another kiss to the heel of her hand, one to her wrist, and back to the center of her palm in between sentences. "My father is the kindest man I know, but a bit of a gentle disaster. My mother's a... well, she's a Major and a major bi- ehem, and she cares for her job more than anything. My sisters don't mind, even if I do." Gwyn scowled for a moment, but shook off the bitterness. Was a waste of fucks to give and she was running short on those. "Jeanne, my older sis, is a nerd and too smart for her own good. Alix is... for every 'tomboy' thing I've done in my life she's done about nineteen things the opposite. I hope she's just making up for the years she wasn't around to match me one-for-one. I hope." She snorted as she pulled back enough to kiss the tip of one of Kyupin's fingers. "Oh, and I'm an Aries. I only remember because Alix made a joke about my zodiac being a glorified mountain goat and how well that fit. Brat." Gwyn pulled back, twisting her hand back to clutch lightly at Kyupin's. She rested against the back of the kitchen chair with an even expression for a moment. After a pause, she sought out the other's eyes. "Point of all that? You didn't have to know it to like me. I am who I am and anything I tell you about my life as Sabine rather than Gwyn, well, it might explain things, but it doesn't change them. I think there's more to loving someone than knowing everything about them. Plus, it's fun to find out along the way, right?" The ranger pressed against the arm of the chair closer to Kyupin as she freed up the other arm to gesture grandly in her relaxed version of a rant. "I think we're just people here. And unlike home, we don't have to pretend if we don't want to and if we do pretend here? Well, good. Can't change things if you don't try and might as well get practice in. Fake it til you make it. Until you're what you want to see." Her nose scrunched up a bit in thought. "Wait, did that make sense?"
Kyupin swallowed as Gwyn spoke, a wall of words washing over her until she had some semblance of understanding. "Sabine… Bertrand." The name rolled so sweetly off her tongue. She settled in and listened, each kiss a tickling brush against her flesh that burned all the way to her belly. Her delighted laughter was certainly because she was ticklish, and not out of a sudden shyness at all these revelations that she'd not ever expected. She blinked away tears that had gathered in her eyes and smiled at Gwyn, squeezing back. "It made plenty of sense," she said with a firm nod. "You're right. I… I haven't been trying to change. I just watch and I, I hope for change but don't ever…" She licked her lips and focused on their fingers. Locked together, intertwined, tangled like the string of fate that she could almost see looping around their pinkies. "My real name's Valentina Vermeulen. I'm Belgian. Not fake Belgium, unfortunately." She smiled at her own little joke. "And I have a big brother. He… He would probably hate you because I'm supposed to be his little sister forever, and he's probably never going to get over my dating choices after…" She choked on her saliva and squeezed her eyes shut. "… After last time." She shook her head and took a long, calming breath. She had to stay in the here and now. She had to do something, had to change! It helped that Gwyn's fingers were pressed against hers, lighting her nerves like fireworks on the 4th of July. She couldn't lose herself to her overwhelming memories, not again, not after last time she'd burdened Gwyn with her tears and fears. "I—" She would stand strong, this time. Stand strong until Gwyn had to leave, and then she would curl up into Vulcan's pelt and cry and cry and cry. She sniffed. "Oh," she blinked and looked to the fireplace. "I think the soup's ready?" She adjusted herself and rose to her feet, stubbornly holding on to Gwyn's hand. Once the other woman was standing, Kyupin jerked Gwyn's hand towards her face and planted the slightest kiss to her knuckles. "Thank you," she said, head ducking to hide a shy smile, "for earlier." She let their hands fall between them once more and turned resolutely towards the fireplace, already tugging Gwyn towards the delicious smelling soup. "Let's eat! A full belly is the first step to a good day, after all!"
