Gaffriel70

I woke to the sensation of a hand against my leg. Niala rifled around in my pocket, fishing for something, and I put my fingers on hers. Our eyes met in the dim light, and she gave me a sheepish look.

“Didn’t want to wake you,” she said as if I’d caught her doing something wrong.

I sat up and brushed my hand through my hair as she snaked her hand away. It felt a little oily and fluffy. I needed to start aulting it, but I’d been told my ault smelled like burning things and campfires so much that I didn’t want to. So I just satisfied myself with keeping it short. Also, at this point, I didn’t think Niala needed to smell more of me than she had to.

“Whatcha need?” I yawned and stretched with a shudder so hard that it made the metal quiver with me.

“Was grabbing some money for the maps and water. Didn’t want to wake you.” She didn’t meet my eyes.

“Should have woken me. Someone needs to play watch out when you go.” I didn’t like that she’d think to run off and leave me like that, where I could have woken up and panicked.

I grabbed her hand and pulled it to the side of my face. I liked feeling her touch. My breath shuddered in my chest, and I felt pain wash through me. I pulled her hand away from my face. Her ault’s smell attacked me on such a deep level. Then, she pulled her hand back to herself, and I quickly fished some money from my pocket. She plucked the bill from my hand and avoided eye contact, moving with catlike grace, descending the ladder of the sign. I looked down through the waffled grate of metal and watched her hit the roof. As much as I loved her at that moment, I needed the reprieve. The fresh air brought me so much relief.

She bound and slipped away from my sight, gone in an instant. Worst case scenario, if she couldn’t get back up the ladder, she could raise her oblivion and do coarselight from a bathroom. I had every confidence in her. My mind wandered heavily on aulting her wings.

Creator’s feathers! If she felt half of what I’m feeling … She had every right to kick my ass so far up between my shoulders I’d be a hunchback.

As quickly as she left, she came back, crawling up the side of the building with fluid agility and towards the ladder for the sign. Part of it was unnerving how silkily she moved—predatory.

From a bag on her arm, she pulled out a few water bottles, a few pieces of past-its-prime gas station fruit, markers, and a map. I grabbed an apple without thinking and bit into it while unfolding the paper.

“I want to check out the barracks.” Niala went quiet as I roved the map and plotted out the fairgrounds and the gas station. I moved the marker to point pleasant and circled that, too. Niala watched me with rapt attention, eyes narrowing to scrutinize.

“What about that one place in Missouri? The oddity museum? There’s also the one in Texas. I haven’t been to them. Kiromir took me flying the year we were with Lowak. When the flock still wanted to go, Kiromir kept taking me flying.” Niala stuck her tongue out at me. “I never got to hear the Mothman story, though.”

I averted my eyes. I’d heard the story a few months ago, myself, when Niala avoided me. “I did.”

She looked at me expectantly as I plotted another spot, the Sentinels, the songbirds, the horizons, and the Grells. She may not like it, but we needed to check those places, too.

“Well?” She did the creepy girl thing again, staring, letting her bright blue eyes bore into me.

I had to tell her. I couldn’t just, like, not tell her. She listened and nodded her head, looking embarrassed for him across the board. Kiromir was so strong, so tall and confident. He was fierce and assertive, so I couldn’t imagine him as a vulnerable kid, barely a few years older than me. Niala shifted, wringing her hands as she thought. The mystery was far more fun than the knowledge.

“Where to next?” She asked, and I didn’t know.

“Pick a number between one and nine.”