Page 52 of To Free a Soul
I have to make them all boys.She peeked at the forest through the gaps of her fingers with stupefied, dazed eyes, as realisation settled over her like a crushing weight.Their humanity is too low when they’re first born. What if they try to have sex with a female of their own kind without understanding they’re related?
Oh my fucking god.
Gross!
A time unknown, but a confusing one
Soft humming filled Weldir’s ears as he watched all his offspring meander through their lives.
The glittering, misty edges of the viewing discs lagged behind ever so slightly when Weldir moved them around, then they reformed once he stopped. The liquid-like, non-reflective pools glowed with differing times of days and seasons. Some were vibrant with colour, like those green and lush in the northern hemisphere, while those in the south were a mix of wilting green, orange, and red – and in Leonidas’ case, a sprinkle of snow.
Orpheus he could only see from a slight distance due to his ward, and Merikh... not at all, due to Jabez’s ward.
For a long while, Weldir focused on Ari. He was seated in the midday sunlight, while the Demons before him were huddled under the shade of trees to avoid burning. They were deep in conversation, and the Demons didn’t seem to mind his disjointed communication abilities.
Ari has made new companions.For how much longer, Weldir was unsure. Most didn’t last very long.
Finding their conversation lacklustre and boring, he moved onto a new disc and inspected Ookpik walking across a dewy meadow. Not a single tree was in sight except in the far distance, and streaks of golden dawn hues shimmered across their blue-black feathers and white owl skull.
Weldir moved on, and Orpheus came into view.
He sits alone again,he thought, observing Orpheus sitting in the pouring rain in his monstrous form. Deep into the afternoon, the dark-grey clouds made it appear as though night had long ago fallen.
His orbs were a deep blue, highlighting that he was rather upset about his predicament, when his porch steps weren’t very far.
The windows of his home cast a dull glow over him, and at the movement inside, his orbs shifted bright yellow while his deer tail twitched. When Katerina didn’t come outside, his orbs receded to a solemn blue, and he looked down with his snout pointed towards the wet dirt.
Hmm. I do not understand why she makes him do this.
This was Weldir’s first time witnessing Katerina make Orpheus sit in the rain, but it wasn’t the first case of his offspring being banished outside. And if Orpheus moved from his spot at all, it somehow upset her further and prolonged his time alone.
Is this kind of punishment... normal among humans?Should I ask Lindiwe about this?That seemed like the wisest decision, especially with the current dreary nature of the rain.
Weldir leaned back to do a somersault through his realm. Weightlessly floating with utter control, he found the very female he sought before he even finished, and halted with his body upside down so they were at eye level.
She shifted her focus from the journal she’d been reading.
“Yes... Weldir?” By the twitch of her lips, he bet she’d been tempted to call him something else, somethingvexing.
“Would you say it’s normal for humans to punish each other by making their companion sit in the rain?”
Her brows drew together into a deep furrow, and her lips tightened. Her gaze grew cold, and she looked off to the side. “No, but it’s also doubtful the other person would allow that kind of punishment and actually submit to it. Someone may tell their partner to leave for a few hours so neither loses their head and says or does something they don’t mean, though.”
But Orpheus cannot conversate well, and he is exceptionally gentle with his female.Unless Katerina was the transgressor in this instance... but then wasn’t it best thatshebe the one to sit outside?
He realised it was beyond the depth of his knowledge, and without asking Katerina herself to understand her mindset on the matter, it was a moot point.
When Weldir didn’t respond, too busy musing on this, Lindiwe’s expression softened.
“How long are you going to stay upside down?” She tilted her head to the side until even her body tipped as well.
“Does it matter?”
She straightened with a laugh. “I guess not.” Then she leaned to the right to look around him, and her gaze fell upon his discs. She licked her lips. “I... actually have a question.”
“You have many questions. Constantly. What’s another hundred?”
She scrunched her nose at him, and with a shake of her head, gave what hehopedwas a playful sneer. “Is it...” She licked her lips again. “Is it possible for me to see Nathair through your scrying discs?”
