Equius blinked and tried to get his mind around how she was even here. Surely I must be dreaming, he thought to himself. Otherwise, how would she be here?
Nepeta was still hugging him senselessly. Her face was buried deep in his chest and her arms refused to let go of him. Equius felt the hot green tears on his shirt from her already. He wanted to put his hand on her head and pet her, but he couldn't ever do that. It would kill her or at least seriously maim her.
"I-I missed you!" Nepeta cried, face still in his shirt.
"Nepeta I-"
"You promised that you wouldn't leave me again!" She shouted.
"I know, but Nepeta-"
"Equius..." Nepeta whispered. It might have been quiet, but Equius stopped talking and looked at her. She brought her tear stained face off his chest and stood up. She smiled a warm, kind smile. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Equius!" She started crying again and looked down at the ground.
Equius stood up and awkwardly brought his arms around her. He didn't want to crush her, so he barely touched her with his arms. "Nepeta, you have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes I do!" She sobbed once more. "I left you!"
"What? Nepeta, you never left-"

"When you woke up from the dream bubble! I went away! I wasn't in the dream bubble anymore! I was...somewhere else. I don't remember where or when exactly. But I saw a troll with horns like yours, and he had full horns, not just one full one and a broken one. Anyway, he was really tall and strong, like you! He even had a robot hoof beast! But when he saw me, he stopped what he was doing and talked to me for a while."
"That is indeed strange, Nepeta, but-" Equius tried to get his thoughts together again before he spoke. "I don't know what to say. Do you have more to tell?" Nepeta nodded. "Then please continue."
"Okay. Well, then he took out his bow and arrow and shot a bow. He told me that he loved archery and was one of the best at it. Then I started to tell him about you and how much he reminded me of you! So then he was talking about a troll...um..I forgot her name, but he said that she was the only one that he ever let go, whatever that means, and that I was so much like her. He said that I needed to return to the world of the living and return to him, to you. I still don't get what he means by all this, but after that, I woke up in my hive with Pounce! I ran out, trying to find you and when I did, I pounced on you! I missed you so much, Equius!"
She hugged him again and he had to bring his arms up so he wouldn't accidentally touch her and hurt her. Slowly, he relaxed and brought his arms down, but didn't hug her. "Equius?"
"Hm?"
"I'm glad that I'm alive again. Especially with you."
Equius smiled and he rested his head on hers. "I am as well. But I would be happy if I were anywhere with you, it doesn't matter if it's life or death."
She smiled up at him. "Aw, Equius, that's so sweet!"
He smiled at her gently before remembering something. "Nepeta?"
"Yeah?"
"You saw me die?"
Nepeta was silent for a very long time after the question was spoken. Equius immediately regretted asking her and tried to think of something to say. He thought of nothing so he was about to open his mouth to apologize when she spoke up. "Yeah. It was scary."
"Nepeta, I am sorry that you had endured such horror. If I were in your place I would have-" Nepeta stopped him by climbing onto his back for a piggy back ride and pointed out towards the trail that her hive was on. "It's fine! The past is the past and all that matters now is that we're together again, right?"
He smirked and nodded. Still cheerful as ever.
He started walking towards the trail and Nepeta laughed when he told her about how he thought the troll had stolen his looks.
After a while, they finally got to Nepeta's cave. They went in and Pounce came over to see them. Nepeta got off and scratched Pounce behind the ears. After a few seconds of listening to the purring, she turned and took Equius by the arm farther in her cave.
He went in hesitantly and obliged when she told him to sit next to her. He sat down and tried to look around her cave, anywhere but her. Nepeta noticed this and poked his shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I am fine, Nepeta. Why do you ask?"
"Well, because you won't look at me."

Equius didn't respond. He just froze and stared at the interesting rock across the cave.
"Equius."
He slowly turned towards the cat girl, but still didn't look at her.
"Please answer me."
Equius slowly glance at the girl. Then he quickly averted his eyes back to the rock he was looking at earlier.
"Equius, please. As your moirail I ask you to talk to me."
He sighed at fully looked at her. She was clearly worried and her eyes showed it. He sighed again and turned his huge body over to her.
"Nepeta, how can you forgive me?"
"What do I have to forgive you for?" She pondered, shocked.
"I let you die."
Nepeta was silent for a few seconds while she thought about what her friend had just said. She looked up at her friend and took note of how upset he looked. His ears were flat, almost against his skin and his eyebrows looked like the top of a triangle. She paused and looked down at the floor. She was about to say something when he spoke up, so she closed her mouth and listened to what he was saying.
"I should have known that you would have needed me. I should have known that you were going to be hurt. I should have protected you, Nepeta, I am so sorry," he started to rant on and on at a ridiculous speed. "I should have tried to fight back against the highblood! I should have done something other than be weak and let him strangle me. And even worse- you saw me die! You had witnessed a terrible sight that even I would not be able to stand! I'm your moirail and I just let you...I let you see my death. If it were me in your position, I would have killed whoever had dare hurt you, regardless of their blood status, and after then, I would take your body and- what are you doing?"
Nepeta had gotten up and taken off his sun glasses. She smiled a small smile and put them down next to him. "Equius, don't talk like that. You're an amazing meowrail, and even better, you're one of the best! I should have listened to you, if I had, I would have lived. But I didn't, and I am glad that I didn't."
"Nepeta-"
"No, hear me out! Because would you like to learn that I died by the "highblood?" No. So at least I got to see you right after!" She smiled a little bigger and crawled onto his lap. She yawned and looked at him, still tired from waking up earlier.
He stammered a bit before, as gently as he could, lied down next to the wall. She smiled and crawled on his chest. She curled up like a kitty and yawned once more.
"Are you tired, Nepeta?" She nodded and pawed at her eyes. "How are you not?" She asked as she moved slightly up and down as he breathed.
"I don't get much sleep. Especially now. I had been searching for you for quite a while."
"Oh."
"Mm-hm."
She yawned once more and lied her head over his heart. She smile as she heard the familiar thumping of his heart under all the flesh. She closed her eyes and listened to the rhythm of his heart beating. She smiled a little bigger and thought of how the blue blood he had pumping through his veins was so different from her green blood. How he loved her so much even though to him she was suppose to be a low blood. How he could do whatever he wanted to her, and he wouldn't even think twice. That he could hurt her, how could he even killed her. That he was never going to even regret it.

But he never did that.
He did the opposite. He loved her as his pale mate and possibly more than himself. She was told before that whenever she was around, his protective instincts multiplied by at least 10 times. She's even seen proof of that. He refuses to even touch her in fear that he would accidentally bruise her or hurt her. She wouldn't mind though, she would just accept it. After all, she did have a high tolerance for pain and he never meant to do that.
Sometimes it seemed that he didn't even want to be strong.
She sighed into his chest and he 'hm'ed, which vibrated his chest for a second. She giggled and told him what she was thinking.
"Nepeta, being STRONG is great, but at times, yes, I do wish that I wasn't so freakishly STRONG."
"Like when?"

"Now. I wish to pet your hair, but I am afraid that I will hurt you-"
"Well, you never done it before! We don't know what would happen."
"No."
"Please?"

"No."
"Purrrty please?"
"No."
She sighed and closed her eyes, she was really tired. After a few minutes, she barely opened one eye and looked at her moirail's face. He had his arms behind his head, like a pillow.
"Equius?"
"Yes, Nepeta?"

"Thank you for being such a perfect moirail."
He was taken back by this and didn't say anything for a second when he looked down at the girl, she was fast asleep. He sighed and gently put his hand over her hair. He gently, more gently than he had ever been before, put it down on her hair. He smiled and took it back fast, just in case he hurt her.
"Thank you for everything, Nepeta."