“I’m sorry,” she cried, covering her face in disbelief.
Why couldn’t he have just stayed away a little longer? Why did it feel like it’d gone on for longer than she was used to? Especially since the sun was bright, as if noon had come and gone.
Silence greeted her apology, and she tried to make herself as small as possible against the wall. With her shoulders turning inwards and her feet overlapping, she refused to look at him.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“How often does this happen?” he asked, his voice stern but croaky from sleep.
She whimpered before answering. “Winter and summer. I don’t know why.”
He let out a loud expire and material shifted. She managed to brave peeking to watch him don his shirt once more. However, she also took in the tangled mess that was their sleeping beds, and how his spare shirt, usually hidden away in a bag, revealed she’d retrieved it like a crazed animal seeking his scent.
Oh no,she thought, hiding her face once more. Why did she do that? What else happened that she couldn’t remember through the fog of her memories?
“Calm down, Zylah,” Jabez stated, his voice surprisingly soft and kind. “It’s normal. This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced a female going through this.” Then he grumbled to himself, “My first time remaining present, though.”
“So... you know?” She was both relieved by that knowledge, and uncomfortable.
“Do you remember how I spoke to you about the differences in fertility cycles for humans and Demons? It appears you have more of a Demon nature regarding this. It’s... unpleasantfor unmated females.” He glanced at her momentarily, but she registered an awkward, uncomfortable glint to his gaze as he averted it. “Your emotions are heightened and I’m sure you’re feeling very sensitive right now.”
“Did you know...?” she asked, her shoulders turning inwards even more until her back stretched taut.
“No,” he answered immediately.
Zylah gasped when he approached and pushed her back up against the wall, but it prevented her from getting away. He merely placed his hand on the crown of her skull, shocking her into lowering her arms.
“You are the first female Mavka I’ve ever met. I didn’t know this would happen.”
He appeared tired, and there was noticeable strain in his handsome features. Yet he offered her a warm, and likely sympathetic, smile. It quickly died, and he removed his hand while remaining crouched in front of her.
Despite everything, her tears only floated faster.
She always had this horrible feeling afterwards that something terrible could have happened to her. She hated that feeling usually, and yet it made her entirely beholden to him in that moment.
He’d kept her safe, especially in this wide-open cave. She’d liked her burrow because it’d been small and easy to curl up in when she was like that.
“Thank you.” She didn’t know what she was thanking him about, but it was all she could muster.
I still feel so strange.
“It’s fine,” he answered. “But I do think it’s time we leave.”
“L-leave?” She looked around the cave... theirhome.“Why? I don’t want to leave.”
“I’ve decided it’s time you come to know yourself a little better, but I can’t answer those important questions.” His headturned to the side as he peered towards the wall. “I know someone who will aid you, and she will be a more fitting person to teach you about what’s just happened and why.”
“But you said you knew!” she argued. “That you’ve... seen it before.”
He released a sigh as he covered his face with a palm and then dug his fingers into his closed eyes. “I guess the truth is that Iwon’tanswer these questions for you.” Jabez stood and retrieved one of the two bags available, then began to collect his personal items. “Pack light. I know you’ll want to bring all your books, but it’s best you leave most of them behind.”
“Why?” Her books were important to her. Each one had been a gift from him and had helped her gain knowledge. They were so precious to her, she thought she would protect them with her life.
“Because it’s unwise to pack heavy when you are travelling through the Veil. I won’t even be bringing our bedding. Just food and my shirt.”
“We’re going to the Veil?” she asked, her voice raspy with surprise.
She’d only ever entered it to follow the bright light that led her to him. She mostly refrained from going in after being attacked by Demons multiple times.
