You had chuffed at him. It wasn't that there was anything particularly startling about the act init of itself, but more so that you had done something that he'd only seen animals do. In all honesty, it felt like he was living with an animal rather than someone whom he considered his unspoken lover, but his best reassurance to himself was that it was still you...to an extent despite all that...stuff

"Stuff" referred to the traits you'd acquired during your time in the captivity of enemy soldiers, specifically ones looking to produce a new type of biological weapon. The ends of your limbs were pitch black which gradually faded away to your skin tone as it moved farther up your appendages. Your limbs also seemed longer than before in a way that now made you sport a nearly 2.3 meters tall. Lanky and spindle-like fingers and appendages in a way that reminded him of spider legs. He used to revel in your touch when you hugged or embraced but now he had to surpress a shiver whenever the thin tips of your fingers touched his skin. You were also far quieter than you used to be, your vocal abilities didn't seem to have been affected, it just seemed you chose to keep quiet most of the time and stare at him with those now sickly yellow eyes. You also now seemed to have senses greater than his own. You'd prickle and twitch whenever someone passed by the front door despite him not hearing anything. You also stared off into the dark corners of the hallway or the forest and it always set him on edge and reminded him of a cat. Your appearance had startled him the first time he'd seen you. He'd found his way into your recovery room which had doubled as a quarantine room for the first couple days, and it had taken everything he had to not yell in terror

"Did you...need something?" He glanced over at you after he seemed to get over your odd auditory expression. He fidgeted with the pencil in his hand as he waited to see if you'd respond or if you'd continue with whatever it was you were doing