Page 19 of To Free a Soul
Her brows twitched into a frown as she eyed the person who sat a little close to her on her bench seat. She slid down it to make room, causing the male human to grunt and pull the other way, as if he hadn’t realised he’d encroached on her space.
“Why do you think it’s better?”
“Because Demons are who our offspring will come into contact with the most. It’s also a Nyl’therian word.” Maybe he was biased, due to his Elven nature, but he liked that a piece of his original home was given homage through his offspring.
It was better.
“I still won’t use it,” she bit out.
“Then we are at an impasse. I will use it,” he stated firmly, leaving no room for her to attempt to change his mind.
He hummed a chuckle when she poked her tongue out, then she resumed her meal without another word.
Seeing Merikh was well, and now that Weldir had updated his sculpture, he moved onto his next offspring.
Fenrir had changed much over the years, as he often wandered aimlessly throughout Austrális before returning to the cave he’d found within the Veil’s cliff wall.
Every year aided his strength and form, turning him from gaunt to just healthy enough that his muscles pushed against his protruding bones without engulfing them like Merikh. He’d had very little contact with humans, but Lindiwe had attempted many times to teach him English whenever she visited.
The lessons were slow, as he was deeply untrusting, but he wasn’t needlessly violent. Fenrir was cautious, although he desired a bond with her. He could be rather obedient when he understood her words. He didn’t mind her near his territory, so long as she didn’t go anywhere near the opening of his cave.
Leonidas, on the other hand, had made a nest southward in the Veil’s forest. Hidden well by trees and shrubbery, an openingbeneath a pile of boulders was just big enough to allow him inside, but he had to squeeze his shoulders through.
His form was similar to Fenrir – strong, but thin around the waist. And he still displayed many visible bones.
Leonidas was calm, aloof, and... cheerful? It was the only word Weldir could use to label his mountain-lion-skulled offspring, as very little seemed to bother him. Moving through the world curiously, he tried far too often to play with his meals.
The Demons nearby weren’t fond of him and mostly left him be.
November 21st, 1831
Burying her face in thick shagginess, Lindiwe nuzzled her nose into the blue-black feathers as hard as she could muster. The large, magnificent creature below her, reaching a little under eight feet, made a harsh, bird-like bawk, but the sound was muffled through their forcefully closed beak.
Autumn chilled the air, but she soaked up their near-scorching heat rather than use her talisman. She moved away from between their shoulder blades to bury her face into a nape of glossy feathers.
The deadly, frightening being struggled against the magical bonds she’d threaded around their legs, and those that strapped their arms and great wings against their body. Their caribou antlers, towering and large, brushed over her, but their head was trapped enough that they could only minutely shake it. Against her magic, she perceived them trying to open their owl beak, gaining a sliver of room before it clacked shut.
“Mmm, I’m going to miss you!” she exclaimed, hugging their back with her arms and legs.
“I think you’re distressing our offspring,”Weldirrudelytold her.
“Oh, they’re fine!” she yelled, planting her hands against the base of their wings and lifting up on straightened arms. “I never get to cuddle them when they’re all big and scary, and I never usually get to say goodbye.”
“I don’t think Ookpik appreciates your goodbye hug.”
Lindiwe parted her lips to say something, accidentally sucked a curl into her mouth, and quickly swatted it away. She narrowed her eyes and pouted.
“Well, I deserve to soak up a few seconds before I leave. I don’t understand why you even care.”
The warm, decadent, masculine chuckle that radiated throughout her skull instantly had her stomach tightening into knots. Instead of letting her shiver of delight win, she dived her arms back in Ookpik’s feathery back and hugged them from behind as Weldir spoke.
“I don’t. I just find enjoyment in teasing you.”
With her face hidden so he couldn’t see her scrunch it up, she would have poked her tongue out if it weren’t for the fact that she’d taste feathers if she did.
Ookpik was face down against the ground, offering her little snarls and bird-like barks through their shut beak. Each one vibrated through their muscles into her, and as much as she knew she was distressing them, she savoured it.
They’d forget this stress within hours anyway.
