Page 87 of The Weaver

The humans had crafted a massive dwelling of metal, powered by lightning, that had carried them here from distant stars. Even in its ruined state, it had been fascinating. It had been awe-inspiring.

But a cloth skillfully and lovingly woven from tiny threads was no less impressive to him. Silk was everything to the vrix—it could be warmth and privacy, it could be stories and history, it could be community as weavers worked, talked, chittered, and grumbled.

It held everything together. Everyone.

Rekosh was nearing the hem of the dress when a hand appeared in front of his face holding a large chunk of meat.

“Rekosh, eat,” Ahmya said.

He started. The needle slipped, pricking his finger, and he reflexively snapped his hand back with a hiss.

Ahmya gasped, her eyes rounding. “I’m so sorry!”

Though he’d neither seen nor heard movement, she’d apparently stood up and walked around the fire to stand beside him.

With a soft chitter, Rekosh turned his finger toward the fire, checking for the telltale glistening of blood. “The pain was small,vi’keishi. What do you say? Teenie weenie?” He held up a hand, forefinger and thumb separated by a thread’s width of space. “But I do not want to stain the cloth.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just…” She looked down, and Rekosh followed her gaze to the stick she held, along with the meat she’d torn from it in her other hand. “Sometimes when you work, you go someplace else, and it’s like everything around you disappears. You forget to even take care of yourself.”

Something warmed in Rekosh’s chest, centered around his hearts. She’d seen. Did that mean that…that she’d been watching him for as long as he’d been watching her? For her to have noticed, to care so deeply, meant more to him than he could express.

And yet, he did not want to worry her. Did not want her to have to fret over him and his wellbeing. As her mate, his duty was to ensure her existence was as carefree as possible.

His mandibles fell, and he lowered the dress slightly. “I do not mean to cause you sadness, Ahmya.”

“I’m not sad.” She met his gaze and smiled. “I can feed you while you work. You needed to eat far more than I did.”

“You would feed me, mynyleea?”

Ahmya nodded and held the piece of meat to his mouth.

A gentle trill rolled from Rekosh’s chest. He opened his mouth and extended his tongue, drawing the meat in. It had already lost much of its heat, but the flavor was still enjoyable.

More so due to how it had been given to him.

“Thank you,” he said.

He resumed his work, keeping his attention divided between his stitching and his mate. Now that she’d broken through his haze, he could not help but notice her nearness and her scent, which remained prominent despite the smells of roasted meat and smoke. And every time she offered him another bite, he opened his mouth and accepted it readily.

When he tied off the final stitch, Rekosh cut the thread, removed the needles from the seam, and inverted the dress before holding it up for inspection.

“Were you really angry with me?” Ahmya asked.

Lowering the dress, Rekosh tilted his head and regarded her. “Angry with you?”

She motioned to her clothing. “For wearing this.”

It felt like a snare cinched around his hearts and drew taut.

“Ahmya, how could I be angry at you? You are myvi’keishi, mynyleea. My wife.”

She smiled and shyly lowered her gaze, fingers picking at the meat on the stick.

Rekosh placed a finger beneath her chin and tipped her face back up. “I am angry only at that cloth touching you now.”

“You know these clothes and the vrix that made them don’t mean anything to me, right?”

“It is…instinct.” He tenderly stroked her jaw. “Vrix make silk. Even vrix who cannot weave can provide threads, and know that whatever it is woven into, it is from them. It is…a piece of that vrix. So to see you wearing this, it is as though another vrix is touching you, putting his scent upon you. And you are mine, Ahmya. Mine to hold, mine to touch. I would not allow another male to put his hands on you, and I cannot allow this cloth to embrace you.”

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