Page 13 of Avery

"She smells good," the unshaven one says, and they both shrug. "Don't need much more of a reason than that."

My feathers stand on end, my eyes wide as saucers. The only reason they're here to help is because Avery smells good? I'm sure she does, but that doesn't mean these males know all she's been through. They don't know how beautiful she is on the inside as well as the outside. No, they barely know her, and I'm stunned that this was the criteria to help Avery through this.

I'm still thinking of what to say to them to make it clear I don't appreciate them coming here to aid my friend with physical intimacy only because she smells nice when the door opens. Jia walks in, a smiling Avery behind her. Or she smiles until her eyes land on me, then her smile disappears, and my feathers try even harder to stand straight up.

seven

Avery

When I see Phial sitting with the other males who've agreed to help me out with my desire to learn to be more physically intimate with someone, I experience a variety of emotions. Most are good. But a horror tickling the back of my neck tells me Phial has no idea what's happening.

When I proposed this idea to Kithi, she told me she'd support me however she could.

It isn't unheard of for Rytharian females to have bad experiences with males and need to learn to feel safe around them again. What I suggested wasn't even a new concept to her. Though telling her made my cheeks burn with embarrassment. She told me she and Jia would find some males who might be interested, and I could meet up with them and maybe talk with them to see if there was any connection between us.

I don't need a full-blown love match or anything. I just don't want to feel weird around whoever's going to help me get past this hurdle. I don't expect to see Phial sitting here with hisfeathers standing straight up like he doesn't know what he's signing up for and is finding out in real time right now.

"Phial?" I say his name as a question, and his eyes grow wider. Yeah, he had no idea what he was doing when he came here. Oh, this is humiliating.

"I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding," I say, turning to Jia, who's staring daggers at Phial.

She doesn't notice me looking at her for a couple of seconds, and when she does, she acts surprised. Her face goes soft again as she smiles at me.

"No mistake, everyone here is here because they wanted to be," Jia says.

She beams at the males, who are all sitting and staring. There are two Rytharian males here as well, but I can't force my attention away from Phial. Not now that he's frantically brushing his feathers down, only for them to spring right back up. It's something he does frequently. I'd think he'd be used to them not wanting to cooperate with him when they're like that, but he tries and tries to flatten them over and over. It has my lips twitching up at the corners because even though this is a brutally awkward encounter, he's still the same Phial.

"You want to be here?" I ask.

His eyes go wide again, the feathers twitching to ensure they stay straight. I have to bite on my lip to keep from smiling.

Phial frowns as he runs his fingers through his feathers repeatedly, an erratic movement that makes him seem nervous. Maybe he is because he's putting two and two together about what's happening here.

He lets out a loud sigh, his hands falling to his sides as he gives up on making his feather lie flat. His tail is curled around the chair he's sitting in, almost in a defensive way, like he's trying to protect himself.

"Yes, yes, I want to be here, and I know what's happening," Phial says, his eyes drifting upward like he's trying to see if his feathers are still upright even though he can't see them. I bite harder on my lip because a giggle is trying hard to work itself up and out of my mouth. "Why are you looking like that?"

"Looking like what?" I manage to get the question out as a squeak while trying to hold back the laugh.

Phial nods to himself and stands. "Okay, I've made a fool of myself. I can see that. I'm sure you'll choose a good male to help you."

Phial moves toward Jia and me, but a low growl stops him. He swivels on his heels, his body tensing as he positions himself in front of Jia and me, baring his teeth to the other males. He might think he's embarrassing himself and might think he's being foolish, but that will never stop him from protecting me. He made a promise to me months ago, and he's held true to it every single day.

"Why are you here, Phial?" I ask, reaching out and placing my hand on his shoulder.

His hiss stops immediately, a soft chirping sound taking its place for a moment before he looks down at me over his shoulder. It's the first time I've ever touched him. Well, not counting the time he carried me out of the smuggling ship or any time his tail accidentally touched me.

"Sometimes the mother tells us to do things," he says softly, his eyes brimming with the usual mischief I'm used to seeing from him.

I wish he'd tell me he's here because he wants me or because a small part of him wants to know what it would be like to be with me. I know it's not a small part of me that wonders about him.

I'll take his deity telling him to help me, though. I'm too curious to know what being with him might be like to give up theopportunity. Not to mention if things don't work out or he really truly only sees me as a friend, we can part ways on Earth.

"You know I'm looking for a male to be physical with?" I ask, making sure he knows what he's getting into.

I don't want him to feel coerced into doing something he doesn't want to do just because he's agreed to help me. He doesn't owe me anything, especially not this.

"You need someone who will protect you," he says, finally turning around to face me. He doesn't move closer, and I don't reach back up to touch him. So far, he's given me no reason to think he wants to help me to be with me. It's all been about protecting me. "I thought since I'm your friend, you'd feel safer with me."

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