But in the Song, younglings ran amok without fear. With bright smiles and no scars to mar their skin or disturb their feathers. The musical tones of their chirping laughter echoed through the air. They wove in and out of crowds. People, strangers, watched them with indulgent smiles. None of them looked threatening, annoyed, or disgustingly amorous – all looks Sway would have anticipated in his old life.
No. The younglings were free. The people were free.
Grace interacted with them in the same vein. She copied their tones and, though she couldn’t make her voice as obviously musical, her laughter as she talked with the female operating the clothing store was more beautiful than all of the Song together.
The people were kind to her. They offered her smiles. Sellers beckoned her into stores, calling her lovely and pretty in attempts to entice her into buying their wares. Sway rather liked seeing how well she blended in with the people.
But then the female farasie took her into the back to try on the dress she was going to buy and have it quickly tailored to fit her smaller body.
The difference without her was immediately obvious.
Because Loyalty was still with him. In complete contrast to how they spoke to Grace, Loyalty was treated like a pariah. No one came near him. No one even spoke to him. They still gave him dirty, mistrustful looks, but no one dared approach. He was the only person whom people would take younglings by the hand and divert them away from.
Loyalty, for being a 108, was the disturbance in the otherwise idyllic scene.
And, strangely, he didn’t seem to mind. He paid none of those dirty looks any mind, just leaned back in his chair at his comfort as they waited for Grace to return.
“It doesn’t bother you?” Sway asked.
Loyalty didn’t pretend to not know what he was talking about. “Honestly, you kind of get used to it.”
“Is it really that simple for you?”
“The way I see it, the entire universe can consider me a monster if they like. It doesn’t bother me. Because to the ones that I love, the only ones who matter, I am not.” Loyalty turned his grin onto him. “But that is also why I am so dedicated to my friends. For those that are kind to me, I will always do more for them than anyone else. I consider it a trade. Those I trust are smaller in number, but my relationships with them will be stronger. Is that not how you and your crew operate?”
Sway chuckled as the door to the back opened. He was sure that’s exactly how they operated. But before he had a chance to say so, he caught sight of Grace, and the words died in his throat. All that came out instead was a long, low, yearning whistle as his crest started to rise and his cock throbbed inside his body.
Humans were a sensual species, but they combated that by also being a modest one. In comparison to what the farasie considered normal clothing, humans were practically smothered in fabric. He was accustomed to that from Garnet and Goldie and now even Grace. He had honestly expected Grace to make some adjustments to the farasie style dress to make it less revealing for her own comfort.
But he was absolutely wrong. She wore it in the farasie style, the majority of her body completely bare, all that luscious, smooth, glowing skin on shameless display.
The dress she chose came in two pieces. The skirt was barely a skirt at all. The scrap of fabric hid her rear but only barely, while the front piece trailed all the way down her front, leaving her legs completely exposed on the sides all the way up to the braided belt around her waist. The banding covering her breasts was more substantial than that, though it still left her belly, shoulders, and arms completely bare. The yellow, orange, and fuchsia coloring of the complex pattern of overlapping triangleslooked beautiful against her pale skin. He liked it a lot – a whole lot – but didn’t understand exactly why until she stopped in front of him and her eyes darted up to his crest.
She had chosen a dress in his colors. The feathers that he never displayed.
Until this moment, when he could feel his crest lifting proudly, showcasing the very colors that she had adorned her body with as she smiled at him. Confident and beautiful and enticing.
Chapter 20
Grace
It hadn’t been easy to come out of the back wearing this dress. There just wasn’t enough dress for her to feel like she was fully clothed. But she was able to rationalize it in her mind by reminding herself that she frequently wore two-piece bathing suits, and this covered more than that.
The show of bravery was more than worth it. The heat of Sway’s gaze on her was thrilling. All the more so for knowing just how chilly those black eyes could be. The stark difference between the two only made the heat stroking over her skin even better.
Then, his crest started rising, and her breath caught as her heart thudded painfully in her chest.
Farasie crests were most similar to mohawks as a hairstyle. The primary crest feather at the top of his head that covered the rest was the same light blue as the rest of him. The other feathers, when down, were hidden beneath it. They laid flat on his head, down past his neck. The colors were still visible, brief flashes of them around the primary feather and where they peeked through at the back of his neck, so they weren’t hidden, just not on display.
But as his crest rose the plumage hidden beneath lifted as well, and the beautiful feathers spread over his head like a glorious crown. The vibrant colors were all the more beautiful for having been so tightly concealed for so long.
Grace was enchanted. Without even thinking about it, she lifted a hand, raising it up to brush her fingers over the delicate bodies. The other feathers were slightly shorter than the primary crest feather, but they were also wider and more numerous. The way they spread meant the primary feather couldn’t possibly conceal them.
It was a display. Proof of his good mood. Proof of his virility. Proof of how much he enjoyed looking at her as she was now. Grace suddenly understood why lady birds liked this. The visual evidence of his desire for her, bright and proud, was quite a sight to enjoy.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.
He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist and jerking her up against his chest. “I believe that is whatI’msupposed to say.”
