She woke up warm and in a tangle of blankets. They had trudged in, exhausted after the moon. Jace and Gael hung on her and Wren. They took their mattresses off their beds, pushed them together on the floor of their room, and promptly passed out.
She was on her back with a small warm body half on top of her, but it wasn't Jace weight that kept her pinned to the bed.
It was a wing, spread over Gale, Jace, and herself. Light peered in from the window and refracted off the dark irradiances of the feathers. The colors danced and reflected like a kaleidoscope.
She tried not to breathe. If she did anything to remind him of her existence the wing would move and that self-imposed distance would be back. The gap between them lessened last night. She could feel it as he held her hand, the spirits above them dancing.
She had seen it in his eyes as he spoke of choices. She wanted to say, wanted to scream it, that he was what she chose. But she promised herself she would go at his pace. It was like earning the trust of a wild animal, one wrong move, one push too far, and they're gone.
She could be patient. She could covet the gifts he left her, revel in the heavy looks between them, and be still under the weight of his wing.
She dared to move her head, just slightly, to look at his face to find him already looking at her.
His icy eyes were soft in the early morning light, and the scales across his face were alive with movements of color.
He was wild and beautiful. She wanted to reach across the distance and brush against the colorful parts of his skin, to feel the difference. See if they would leave an imprint against her skin, a reminder he was there. She imagined his face flushed, how it would spread down his neck and across his chest.
Her thoughts must have been obvious across her face because he arched a sleepy brow and the corner of his mouth twitched.
She couldn't find it within herself to be ashamed. Especially, with the weight of his wing across her body.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
The days following the full moon were sluggish. The boys did their homework and then lazed around. When it was sunny they would lay in the grass, like little plants trying to photosynthesize.
Wren kept a chunk of wood in his hand, deftly shaping and molding it. His carvings and presence at the markets were quite a hit.
She wished they were in a place where she could tell him how proud she was.
Massie puttered around the property getting chores done. She restocked items for the market, weeded the garden, and planted seeds.
She was on her hands and knees pulling at stubborn weeds when he joined her in the garden. She peered up at him, the sun making her squint. He was wearing the loose-fitting linen pants that he preferred. They sat low on his hips. It wasn't particularly warm, but he was wearing a baggy tank top, almost the whole sides of the shirt were cut out.
She didn't know where he got this shirt, but she was thankful each time he wore it. The flash of skin always drew her eye.
She halfheartedly tugged at the weeds, trying not to get too distracted by him standing over her.
He huffed and squatted down. His wings spread out to help him keep his balance. They blocked the sun from her eyes so she could properly get distracted as his shirt dipped down past his collarbones.
They were quite nice.
His hand wrapped around hers. He kept his pale complexion despite his time in the sun. It was a nice contrast to her tanned, freckled hand.
He chuffed in his throat and used her hand to pull the stubborn weed out.
"Stupid little witch." It no longer sounded like an insult. It was fond. His wing brushed up her back and across her shoulder as he moved to the next weed. Her skin tingled where they touched.
She fell further for him while amongst the dirt and weeds.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
There was a small silver box in her coffee cup. It was the day after the market. She has found all sorts of things in her cup. Quartz, stones, flowers, and candies, but this felt different. This felt like a moment. Like whatever was in that box would help finally close the distance between them.
They had been getting closer and closer. His words no longer cut. He would brush by her the way he would the boys, His hand or wing would linger. And now there's a box.
The box was light. She took the top off carefully. Inside was a small silver bracelet. Reverently she took it out of the box and noticed the green stones. A smile overtook her face. It was lovely.
When he came down for breakfast, his eyes immediately found the bracelet on her wrist. He made a pleased rumble in his chest.
She made a point to either wear the bracelet or the quartz necklace at all times, just to remind him that she accepts the gifts, and accepts him.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
The market was winding down. There was only this weekend and the next one left. The boys seemed sad about the ending.
They enjoyed the hustle and bustle of people and they enjoyed the attention they got.
Jace was still pouting about the inventible end as they set things out on the tables.
"There's a weekend market next month for Mother's Day and they run a market twice a week all summer."
His little bottom lip was still pushed out.
Wren ran his fingers through Jace's sun-streaked hair.
"We can come into town even when there's not a market."
Jace's pout quickly disappeared. "We can?"
Wren nodded. "As long as you keep up on your chores and school work."
She hid her smile behind her hand. He was practicing his fatherly skills. It made her all soft inside when he made an effort to be their parent. He mentioned doing research on how human-like families should run.
The boys humored him when he told them to eat their vegetables and drink water. She knew that it meant a lot to them that someone would choose to act like a father towards them.
Their flesh and blood father shattered their childhood and Wren was carefully gathering the pieces and putting them back together.
She watched him give each boy a small amount of money to spend. "Don't spend it all on sweets. You'll rot your teeth."
They were spoiled. Full of wildness and love, needing for nothing, it was a wondrous thing.
Jace barreled into Wren and hugged him. Wren took it with grace.
"Thanks, Dad!" Jace shouted before shooting off into the crowd.
Wren stood there, shocked and dumb. His arms were still out from the hug.
Gael swaggered up to Wren with a Cheshire grin.
"Yeah, thanks, Dad." He said pointedly before giving him a condescending pat pat on his shoulder. He quickly took off after his brother.
Wren looked equal parts horrified and awed.
"It's a good look on you."
He turned to look at her, his eyes still a little wide. "What is?"
"Fatherhood."
He puffed his chest out and preened.
"Damn right."
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
When the doorbell rang during lunch, they all looked at each other with mild horror.
"What is it now?"
"Oh! What if it's a vampire?"
"Idiot, it's daytime."
"Dad," Jace said drawing out the 'a'. "Gael called me an idiot."
"Don't call your brother an idiot," Wren responded dryly, keeping his eye on the door.
"Well, it is daytime. Why would it be a vampire?"
"You don't know their life!" Jace responded passionately.
The doorbell rang again. Massie got up to answer it and was pulled back in her chair.
"Stupid, little witch. Sit down. "
"How come you can call her stupid but I can't call Jace an idiot?"
Wren pointed his finger at Gael and pulled the classic, "Because I said so." Causing the boys to smile. They loved it when he did "dad things."
Massie did not stay in her seat but followed close behind Wren. He flared his wing back to smack her in the face. She was always careful never to touch his wings first, but when he initiated contact she felt it was okay. She reached with gentle fingers to move and smooth his feathers out of her face and peered around his wing to watch him open the door
She forgot for a minute how fearsome he could be. His face was set in a snarl, showing off his sharp teeth.
He swung the door open, startling the little creature on the porch.
It was humanoid, standing on what could be called legs. Where feet should be were flippers. Its skin was the color of algae and covered in scales of different shades of green. Its hands were webbed.
Its eyes were too large for its face and completely black, the nose just slits that fluttered as it breathed. Its mouth had opened in shock, revealing sharp but widely spaced teeth. Its head was covered in thick, lanky hair, not unlike mud.
It was impossible to tell its gender, scales covered it from the waist down and its chest was smooth.
It was small, about the size of Jace.
"What the fuck?"
The little thing startled again when Wren spoke.
Massie tried to push in front of him, but his wing blocked her again.
"Do you need some help?" She asked.
It directed its unnerving stare to her.
"Water." It croaked.
"Wow," Gael said from where he and his brother peeked around the couch. "Is it a frog person?"
The creature looked over to them and cocked its head to the side. "Water." It said again with its rattily voice. "Dry." It continued, running a webbed hand down its chest.
Massie managed to worm her way past Wren. "You need to be wet?"
The thing nodded before chanting, "Water, water!"
So Massie directed it to the hose and sprayed it down. The thing croaked with what could only be joy and wiggled in the mud the water made.
After the little thing was wet and settled it spoke again.
"We are Jengu." It said, placing its hand on its chest and then gesturing towards the forest.
Wren grunted nose scrunched in distaste. "There's more of you?"
The Jengu didn't pick up on Wren's tone and nodded excitedly.
"Awesome!" Gael exclaimed.
"Witch." The little creature said, reaching its webbed hand towards her. "Witch help Jengu."
Wren huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's always someone needing something. "
Massie gave him a pointed look.
He clanked his teeth at her. " I didn't need your help."
She patted his leg. "Sure you didn't."
They all ended up following the little Jengu through the forest.
Gael talked to it the whole time. The Jengu seemed just as interested in Gael as Gael was in it. They communicated the best they could, Gael shortening his sentences to help the creature understand him better.
After close to an hour of walking, the Jengu led them to a little lake. She would have called it a pond if it wasn't for the creek that flowed into it.
The Jengu hopped up and down. "Water! Home!" It pulled Gael over to the water.
Little heads popped out of the water, dark eyes watching them. The Jengu gestured to Massie. "The witch. The witch help Jengu."
The eyes watched her unmoving before one body rose out of the water. Wren was close behind her, she could feel the air move as he arched his wings up, ready for a fight.
Massie was almost positive that these little creatures were harmless.
The Jengu that came out of the water held a smaller one against its chest. As they walked closer, she could hear the small one gasping as it breathed.
The Jengu stood before her, keeping her bundle tucked against her. "Help."
Massie nodded. "I can help."
The creature croaked low in its throat before shifting the little one in its arms. It was hard to guess an age, but the Jengu looked young, its dark eyes huge on its little face. It was gasping for breath, its small webbed hands clutching at its neck.
Massie slowly took the precious little bundle. "I'll help." She assured the Jengu she assumed was the parent.
She cradled the slimy child to her chest and slowly lowered herself to the ground. She placed the little one on her legs and started to check it over. Wren made a distressed noise in his chest and kneeled in the mud with her.
She reached to tilt the child's head back, causing it to whine in pain. The water rippled in the lake as all the Jengu reacted to the small ones' pain.
"It's okay." She said soothingly. "I help."
Something was around the child's neck, digging into its skin and making it hard to breathe. It was indented badly into the skin of its neck.
She nodded to her pack. "Hand me the salve with the red lid."
Wren quickly did. She smeared the salve across the Jengu's neck, softly chanting a spell for healing. The child settled against her legs and the pain lessened, the swelling in its neck went down enough to see what the trouble was. It was plastic. A thin piece of plastic was wrapped around the neck, it probably tightened further when they tried to pull it off.
She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a pocket knife. Movement and croaking started again when she flipped through the blades, looking for the one she needed. She found the thinnest blade and very carefully brought the tip to the plastic.
With the smallest amount of pressure, she started cutting through the plastic. She used small and even movements so she would know the movement it cut through.
The child gasped a big gulp of air when the plastic fell from its neck.
The Jengu in the lake cheered and the little Jengu got scooped up by their parent for inspection before passing it to another Jengu who hoisted it up for the rest of them to see.
The parent of the child fell to its knees in front of Massie. It took her face in its muddy, wet hands. It babbled, croaked, and ribbited its thanks, too relieved for words.
They spent some time at the lake. Other small Jengu, which Massie assumed were children, came out of the lake and were fascinated with Jace and Gael.
The boys stripped to their underwear and joined the Jengu in the lake. They all splashed and swam in the cold water under Wren's watchful eye.
They walked home later. The boys were tired, cold, and happy.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
Massie drank her tea and let her body settle after the long day. The house was quiet and the boys were asleep. She heard Wren's footfalls as he came down the stairs. He stood in front of her and swiped her cup from her hand. He took a drink and made a noise of disgust.
"Horrible."
She snagged her cup back. "That's why you shouldn't steal people's drinks."
She slurped the tea and smacked her lips before putting the cup on the counter.
Wren watched her with an odd look on his face.
She looked up at him and tilted her head in question.
He took half a step towards her, almost completely closing the gap between them. She could feel the heat coming off his body. Her heart was beating like a wild horse as he took her face in his hands. Her breath caught as he tilted her face up to look at him. His eyes were dark and half-lidded as they stared at her.
She was on fire. Molten, liquid. She would melt all over the floor if he wasn't touching her. Her hands pressed against his chest. He rumbled at the contact. His chest was warm and firm. She ran her hands up until her fingers met the skin of his neck.
She swayed closer to him. She was in his orbit.
His thumb moved against the apple of her cheeks. She could feel the flush across her face. He leaned down and she pushed up on her toes to meet him. His lips brushed her forehead.
She clenched her fingers in his shirt and pressed closer to him. His lips pressed again to her temple. She was a mess of quivering want. His fingers moved to hold her jaw, fingers trailing down her throat. She bared her neck, not afraid of the talons that moved across her skin. Another wet press of his lips to her cheek. She could feel his breath against her lips. So close. He was almost there. She licked her lips in anticipation.
And then his body was gone. She was breathing heavily and was in shock as he backed away.
His eyes were still heavy, betraying his need. He was smirking at her with lips that were just against her skin.
"Sweet dreams, little witch." His voice was a husky rumble that washed over her.
Then he turned and strutted out of the kitchen, leaving her wanting.
She laughed, fingers reaching up to feel the places his lips were.
The distance had been closed.