That hand that reached to grasp his own saw those dark eyes glance downward, resting upon that place her hand held his own, preventing him from recoiling further from her in those moments of confusion. The boy so having mistaken his touch for the thing that had harmed her. Linking that sound with the feel of his fingers on her skin and so seeing him hurriedly withdraw. He understood pain, at least, he understood it to a certain extent as something unpleasant and to be avoided. The gangly deviant having learned so early on that he was capable of inflicting pain on others both with claws and words if he tried. The boy content to use both to keep others away and yet Birdie was one of those few whose touch he not only accepted- but enjoyed. His understanding of what he was and was not so allowed to do having assured him these touches were acceptable. Tobias having learned just what he need do in order to be allowed to let his hands rest upon his side. The leopard content to repeat those actions in an effort to recreate a scenario that had worked before. Her sudden reaction entirely alarming to him. Confusion painting his face as his features frowned in some effort to understand what he had done. This reaction unanticipated, frustration tugging at his mind with that inability to comprehend even though he struggled so desperately to do just that. That kiss placed upon his forehead readily saw his features soften, her gentle words earning her his gaze once more as those dark eyes met her own before dropping to her side- head tilting at his fingers suddenly reached out again, halting abruptly now before that wound, withdrawing them again.

"Hurt. Yes."

He simply repeated the words, tasting them almost, as if testing to see whether or not his mind found it acceptable before Raven moved to guide him towards that shower. Those fathomless dark eyes narrowed readily in mistrust as she turned that water to a mere dribble, the sound of it echoing within the shower entirely displeasing, an irritable mutter falling from his lips, his hand tugging her back and away from it in turn with the assurance he would not go. It was only the softness of her words that seemed to draw his wild gaze upward again, that query as to whether he trusted her seeming to see his features frown all over again, rolling that word within his mind. He understood it, to some extent. Enough, in the least, as to perceive what she wanted- his head nodded now before uttering his assurance that he did trust her. She was his after all. His. His most favoured possession. That trust between them perhaps far greater than even the boy himself so fully comprehended. His fingers at the base of her shirt saw that almost curious look touch his features before that instinctive want seemed to press upon his mind and that part of him that was distinctly male, pulling that shirt up and over her head as he had learned to do and yet his hands hesitated still, unsure of where to place them now that those rules had changed. His gaze nearly instantly finding that blackened and purpled bruise upon her side.

The mere sight of it, perhaps, so seemed to intensify his own understanding in that moment. 'Hurt' seeming to mean more as now that his eyes could see that thing that 'hurt' even if how she had gotten that bruise remained a mystery to him. It had happened. Somehow. Hurt. Birdie hurt. Those quiet words failed to draw his attention this time, whether he heard them or not remaining to be seen as he continued to eye that bruise, the shape and colour fixating his attention before the mention of the moose. The big deer. A soft snort erupting from within him now. His mind linking that deer with the bruise and the 'hurt' his mate spoke off. The 'hurt' that was stopping his hands now. The boys eyes narrowing suddenly in disdain for that moose, aggression rising within him again, that adrenaline still thick within his veins. Her effort to coax him into helping her with her clothes met with another curious look, the query so fortunately distracting the man from the idea of further revenge. Raven turning then to offer him that bra. A previously puzzling undergarment that he had since come to understand. His simple desire for his mate in that moment overruling those other animalistic urges as his fingers reached easily to undo it, letting it fall gently away from her frame, his desire to touch momentarily side-tracked by her own hands reaching for his jeans and boxer shorts, the young man permitting her touch, stepping easily free of those garments. His mind readily attempting to understand this...new situation that had so resulted in that nakedness he'd desired all the same.

That brush of her form against his own readily seemed to grasp his attention, a part of him desiring that touch, that closeness and the feeling of the warmth of her skin. That kiss was returned as he had so learned to do. Such a gesture so often seeming to delight his mate. Tobias offering those kisses for that reason alone. Birdie one of the few beings that fractured creature so moved to display a genuine affection towards. Tobias having come to understand when she was happy, or sad, or afraid, that delicate interplay of emotion so often hidden from him and yet he had so seemingly done as many believed impossible in learning to understand those basic emotions within his mate. Learning those cues and words and facial features. This...playfulness on her part was new to him, unusual, so far from that nervousness that often tainted her frame. Raven bolder now. Assuring those desires remained all the same as her lips kissed his jaw line and she moved to step into that shower. Panic seeming to fill his gaze once more, her hand squeezing against his own. Tobias unable to decide whether he desired to release her hand or not and allow her to step into that water. Birdie so letting go off his own then before beginning to let that water run across her figure.

"No....no...Birdie....no."

Tobias own hand hesitated, the boy seemingly caught between some desire to snatch her away from that water for fear of it harming her and too- merely watching it run across her. Tobias, for all his inability hardly anything less than a man in every sense of the word. His dark gaze drawn to her figure all the same, watching as she shifted at last to block that water with her back and so attempt to encourage him forward. Hs head shaking determinedly, dark locks flinging about with the gesture, the boy so in need of a haircut and yet this was surely yet another of those things that need be built up to. It took several long moments of hesitation before the boy so finally dared to step into that shower, his form tense and rigid, fearing some attempt to pin him down at any moment and too that water pooling at his feet. The boy so deathly afraid it would rise and yet lacking the words to explain as such. That lanky man merely resigned to stand in the corner of the shower alone. Dark eyes watching her reach for that washcloth, the ma visibly flinching as if he feared the fabric itself and yet he remained within the shower all the same. For her alone. This a desperately far step for the feline so petrified of that liquid that it had all but paralysed him. His dark gaze watching her soap that cloth and rub it against her arm before asking if he might like to try.

One finger reached almost tentatively forward, poking at that wet cloth before scowling readily at it. That damp, sodden cloth hardly appealing to him. Those bubbles however, seemed to grasp his attention readily, fingers reaching to rub them across her arm. The sensation was...curious to him, head tilting slightly, his fingers continuing to run up her arm, the boy having stepped closer in those moments of distraction, that blood falling away beneath his touch. Tobias seeming to delight in the patterns those bubbles formed upon her flesh and the smooth slickness to her skin. His hand reached back again, searching for more of those bubbles, only to meet that wash cloth once more, his finger suddenly reaching to pluck it from her, lifting it upward to so suddenly place it upon the poor woman's head.

"It is...a hat."

That it was not, in fact, a hat, remained to be seen. Tobias either content to pretend it was just what he decided it would be or indeed the man truly did believe it to be headwear. Either way it had been removed from his sight, a grin almost cheeky seeming to flicker upon his features, giving way to the idea that, surely, the boy understood far more of that wash cloth then he so pretended. His attention returning with fascination to her arm. Both hands enclosed it now, that water forgotten, Tobias hands running the length of her arm and back down again, following that bubble trail, a grin so at last upon his features before those bubbles began to fade.

"Birdie! Make them....come back."

madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push