Page 41 of A Soul to Touch

“Are you saying you don’t want to?” That’d toss her plan right out the damn window.

“That isn’t what I said,” Faunus said in that deep voice while tossing the die onto the game board. “I learn fast. Then I will tryeverything within my power to defeat you in this little human game of yours.”

His orbs changed into a brighter hue of their yellow.

She was still trying to figure out what the colours meant, but Mayumi thought perhaps the brighter colour meant either happiness or determination.

Regardless, she found herself smiling.

“Bring it on, bone man.” She wiggled her arse against the ground, knowing she may be sitting here for the long haul. “I’m pretty competitive, so I’ll make you eat those words with those sharp fangs of yours.”

Bone... man?Faunus thought with a quizzical head tilt.

He was not made of bones, although he was aware he had a skull for a head, nor was he a man, even though he knew for certain he was male.

I never expected Mayumi to be this odd.

He never expected to be sitting inside her home conversing with her or learning how to play a human game. He was sure this was strange, and if either of their kinds were to walk through the door and witness them, both would be confused.

However, Faunus felt joy fluttering around his heart that he was doing so.

She re-explained how to play the game after she set up all the little round pieces, and he now had some vague understanding. Thedice,as she called them, felt odd in his large hand.

They were so small, the equivalent of a human holding a pea in their palm. Juggling to rock them in his hand in order to stir them had taken him time to master.

Holding them too tightly meant he couldn’t shake them properly, but holding them loosely meant Mayumi was forced to rush around on her hands and knees to chase them when theyslipped between the large gaps of his curled fist. He’d also tossed them onto the game board too hard the first couple of times, and they’d bounced away.

Faunus was battling to learn new information while also needing to wield his inhuman body for something designed for her size and control his overbearing strength.

By the time they’d managed to get through a whole game without him fumbling in some way, the snow outside pelted against the windows. The blizzard had come in full force, and the sound of it was high-pitched, screeching, and distracting against his sensitive hearing.

The wind whistled and howled like a ferocious creature, and even he could tell the temperature within the house had dropped significantly.

Mayumi eventually dragged the table closer to the fireplace, seeking its warmth after throwing more fuel onto it. Faunus was hesitant about getting any closer than he’d already been, but he complied without complaint for her sake.

I could keep her warmer than any fire.He quickly pushed that thought to the side.

Although Mayumi was allowing him within her home, seeking some form of companionship with him, he doubted she’d ever be willing to crawl into his lap for Faunus to shelter her in his arms.

But he would sincerely like her to.

Currently, Faunus was reserved, and almost... skittish, simply because he had no idea how things would turn out between them. What they were currently doing was more than he had ever hoped for.

When he’d managed to win his first game ofBackgammon, his orbs flashed a bright yellow, this time in delight.

“There you go,” he chuckled lightly. “I have defeated you.”

Finally.

“Beginner’s luck,” she quickly retorted with her own chuckle, making him feel as though his win was utterly invalidated.

Faunus gave a growling huff, which only seemed to deepen her humour. He’d thought he’d won the game by skill, not by ‘beginner’s luck’.

Her stomach chose then to remind them that she hadn’t eaten anything for quite some time. She’d pulled a baking tray from her cooking hearth at one point, but she hadn’t eaten the brown, lumpy food, claiming it was too hot.

“Give me a little bit,” she said, placing her hands on the edge of the table so she could stand. “I’ll make myself some dinner, then we can play seriously now that you’ve got the hang of it.”

Faunus, with nothing to do in this house he knew he didn’t fit inside of, nodded and looked to the game. He stared at it before the fireplace eventually drew his attention.

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