The only other Mavka to wear anything was Faunus, although he did so begrudgingly. He’d complained as he donned a pair of black pants that had been given to him by Magnar. They looked uncomfortable on him, since they stretched over his rump tootightly, while his long feline tail had been threaded through a slit in the back.
The new Mavka with large, feathered wings tilted back to look past the others with his bat-skull turned to them. His wings puffed and flared wide. On bird-like legs, he immediately ran over to them while holding the hand of the human male and unwittingly dragging him along.
“Raewyn!” he called, his orbs flaring bright yellow in joy.
As if her presence had only just been noticed properly, the raven-skulled, lizard-bodied Mavka jerked in their direction. He ran over as well, bumping into Magnar in the process like he couldn’t get to them fast enough.
“We heard you were here,” the raven-skulled one said when he was right in front of them.
“Aleron,” Raewyn greeted warmly to the winged one, before turning in the other’s general direction by following the sound of his voice. “And Ingram. It’s so nice to meet you both again.”
“Do you remember Gideon?” Aleron asked, pulling forward the human so he was in front of him. Zylah thought this must be his bride, since Aleron had a floating flame soul between his twisting goat horns.
Zylah noted his green eyes, his tanned, chiselled features, and his orange-brown hair and how it was messily brushed back. This male also had muscles that flexed. Perhaps not as much as her own mate’s, but he looked strong for such a little creature.
His face has little hairs on it like Jabez gets after a few days without shaving.The stubble wasn’t very noticeable, but she always found the texture scratchy and nice against the bone of her snout. She wondered if his Mavka felt the same way.
“Of course I do,” Raewyn answered. “It wasn’t that long ago you both came to Lezekos City in order to gain permission to speak with the Gilded Maiden.”
“You’re still as tall as I remember,” Gideon chuckled, smiling so brightly that a set of dimples dented his tanned cheeks. Then he crouched down to one knee and rested an arm across the padded leather covering it. “And this must be little Lehnenia.”
The demonling’s eyes widened as she pointed a claw at his face and bounced up and down while looking up at Raewyn. He placed his hand out, and Lehnenia rushed to touch his palm before slapping it a few times. She sucked in an overly animated gasp of wonder.
“That’s right. Last time I was a Ghost,” he stated with a chuckle.
“Raewyn, this is my bride, Emerie,” Ingram said as he gestured at the female who calmly came to his side. “She has bright-orange hair and blue eyes. She looks like a butterfly.”
Raewyn laughed at that. “I don’t know what a butterfly is, Ingram.”
He grunted, his head rearing back, then grumbled a moment later as he scratched at the scales of his neck awkwardly. The tip of his long, spiked tail curled with emotion against the ground.
Raewyn smiled as she said, “But it’s nice to meet you, Emerie. Ingram and Aleron were so friendly towards me when I first met them. I bet they make you and Gideon both very happy.”
“I’ve heard all about you,” Emerie said with a warm smile, while darting her blue eyes to Zylah. “And I guess we’re meeting again properly for the first time, Zylah.”
Her shoulders lifted, as if she wanted to recede into herself bashfully. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t remember you well.”
She drifted her sight over the webbed scarring on the left side of Emerie’s face, and the freckles on the other side. She took in the colour of her eyes, her light complexion, and her toned muscles, trying her hardest to remember such features. She hated that they remained a blur, no matter how hard she stared.
“That’s okay,” Emerie said with an awkward, shaky laugh. “You kind of gave me and Ingram a fright last time, though.”
Her sight flared bright orange, and she cupped her hands to her stomach. “I did?”
Emerie waved her hand up and down dismissively. “It’s fine. It all worked out in the end.” She drew her eyes down Zylah’s body, looking over her and the teal Elven dress she wore. “I’m really glad you’re doing well. Last time, you lacked a lot of humanity, so I never got the chance to speak to you.”
“I’m Gideon, by the way. I’m Emerie’s brother,” he greeted, as he offered his hand out, and she was thankful she now understood this custom. Zylah went to clasp his hand. When she had a firm grip, his eyes glinted with humour as he said, “Please don’t shake me headfirst into the ground. That’s happened far too many times.”
She did it softly, and his smile grew once more.
Ingram also shoved his palm out, although much more excitedly, and his grip was strong as he shook hands with Zylah.
“Me next!” Aleron called, his feathered wings flaring in excitement while his pink orbs changed to yellow to reflect that.
A laugh slipped from Zylah as she grew more comfortable with the greeting, and she did it with him as well.These Mavka are nice.But why did she get the sense that they... didn’t have as much humanity as her?
They seemed rather giddy and loud, and lacked any reservation with a stranger. Or maybe that was just how they were. She was curious about their pink and purple orb colours, though, since those emotions were startling ones she only felt with Jabez. It was actually remarkably uncomfortable to have such hues on her, despite being able to tell it was just their natural orb colours.
“Sooo,” Emerie sung, her lips thinning as she placed her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her feet. “You bonded with Jabez, huh?”
