Morning came slowly to the small cabin, carried in on the warm light filtering through the window.
Mark was still asleep in the middle of the bed, with Aria and Alice resting on either side of him. After everything that had happened during the night, the three of them remained deeply nestled together under the sheets.
Aria, however, was already awake.
She lay there watching Mark in silence, savoring the stillness of the moment as an increasingly tender smile crept across her face.
"Who knew you could look so cute when you sleep..." she murmured, careful not to make too much noise so as not to wake her Master.
Then she lifted a hand and began stroking his chest with her fingertips, slowly, before moving up to his hair and combing through it gently.
For Aria, moments like these had always been her favorites, since they let her see a different side of the man she loved so much.
