Chapter 9

Nathair watched the human rise to her feet, even when he'd been content to sit next to her by the fire. He was a simple creature who desired very little and didn't particularly long for movement. She, however, was a fidgety little thing, constantly moving, craning her head around, and warily eyeing his closeness.

She was beginning to do the last one less and less.

"Alright, Nathair," she sang, as she walked over to the fresh lake to wash her hands of the food she'd just eaten. "Instead of sitting here and letting my mind wander, would you care to show me the rest of your home?"

She turned to him and placed her hands on her hips. Her smile was gentle, not grinning in mischief, but not small enough to show it was fake.

I don't particularly understand her. She was a human sharing such an expression with a Mavka. He also didn't understand why her shining it at him made a dull throb lance his groin; it was nothing but a smile. She has a lovely smile. At least, when it was genuine.

He knew other Mavka had gained brides, so it wasn't totally strange, but they could speak to them. In his opinion, he'd thought all those humans may be unsound of mind.

Linh didn't seem completely sane, considering she'd rather beg a monster for help than find her own kind. That was like a bunny asking a wolf for help, and not expecting to have its cute, fluffy body ripped in half.

With a sigh, and dipping his head to the side purposefully to show his reluctance, Nathair unfurled himself. Waving his hand to gesture that she should follow, he slithered to the side.

"Wait! I need to grab my shoes and jacket," she stated, her feet pitter-pattering against the stone as she ran to her bag.

He waited for Linh to don a pair of black flats and return to his side. Eyeing the top of her dark hair, he noted the double braids she'd twisted into two low buns that sat on the back of her head. Her hair looked thick and glossy, even in the shadows that had befallen them.

She shone a thankful expression up at him since he'd waited.

"I don't know why, but I keep forgetting you're so big," she said with an awkward laugh, that wariness rising in her features.

He tilted his head at her, then took in that she was three feet shorter than him currently. Should he choose to, he could make that much more vast, as he was able to lean upon his tail over halfway before beginning to tip over. Going lower meant he would eventually tip forward and need to walk on his hands to keep his humanoid torso up.

He was aware he was likely over thirty-three feet in total length, if not more, since that was the last measurement Weldir had taken of him, and he'd grown much since then. Nathair was also thicker than her, except for the last few feet of his tail.

She was tiny in comparison, in every sense possible.

The cave tunnel opening of his home immediately shrouded them in sightless nothingness. Linh let out a squeak and reached her hands out to feel where she was going, unable to see that she was about to walk into a wall.

Nathair reached his arm out so that she might hold on to his forearm. Since he was a Mavka, he was able to see perfectly despite the complete lack of light. He guided her down the right of the narrow tunnel, taking her east.

Once more, Nathair showed her the area in which she could bathe. Due to the constant trickling of water, her scent didn't linger here, even though she'd already used it.

With his thumb claw, he made a tiny incision in his palm and slapped his hand against the wall. An orange magic circle glowed to life, giving her just enough light to see the entire small area if she squinted hard enough. Which she did, her straight black eyelashes tipping.

She wasn't surprised by the use of magic, as he'd already done this for her last time.

He pushed her into the room while slithering away – his way of telling her to do what she needed to.

"Y-you better not be watching!" she shouted, her voice echoing down the tunnel.

Nathair answered her with a growl, highlighting his annoyance that she needed to state this once again.

I know humans consider this private. He had enough fragments to understand many human customs, despite how pointless he considered them. No female in his memories appreciated intimate moments being heard, viewed, or smelt, and many males were similar.

"I'm just double-checking!" she whined back. Then, as if she thought he wouldn't hear, she added, "Grumpypants. Not that he can wear pants."

I like this about her. She'd been able to surmise why he'd growled. He liked that she guessed, or asked questions for clarity, and made it seem like he'd stated his intentions verbally, even when he couldn't.

She also rambled and muttered a lot, and he hoped it was done freely and in comfort. Nathair intended her no purposeful harm, and he appreciated that she could sense this.

He let her know he heard it by opening and closing his maw as silent back-talk. Her cheeks cutely pinkened when she caught the movement upon her return, and realised she'd been heard. She entered the tunnel with her face and hands wet, as if she'd washed both.

Linh guided herself back to him by pressing against the wall, then pushed away from it when she must have seen his glowing orange orbs. Something about having her delicate fingertips searching for him in the dark made his stomach and chest clench. It sent a ripple down his spine until his tail tip flicked to the side when her hot palms touched his cool forearm.

As much as he would have liked to leave his light marking everywhere they went for her benefit, it would be wasted. He could only leave one at a time, otherwise the old one would vanish.

It was a rather nifty trick: a drop of blood for a small amount of light.

He'd discovered the ability before he'd died, as he often came across underwater tunnels. After battling aquatic Demons, he found himself in dark holes and desired additional light, as it was difficult to smell anything lurking below the surface of the water if he was up on land.

It just looked like ink, otherwise.

While he tried to rest and wait to heal, his blood often dripped into the water and brought enemies to him by the taste, which pushed him to plead for light at one point. Light had appeared, glowing as a tiny, hand-sized magical symbol right where he rested.

A peaceful and comforting additional glow.

Linh tentatively held his wrist as he slithered northwest down the tunnel, his long tail creating S patterns behind him. Tiny rocks shifted between his scales, as did a tiny layer of dirt. Her shoes pattered and echoed, the steps hesitant at first, but growing more confident the longer she walked beside him.

Nathair brought his gaze to her hand placement on him, and his sight shifted to bright yellow. She touches me freely. He didn't think he'd ever not be pleasantly surprised by this.

Many long minutes passed before he took her to a large alcove. He pricked his palm with his thumb again, placing it against the ground in the middle. The orange glow barely reached the walls, but it lit up everything enough to show what was here.

He held his breath the moment a tiny waft of fear came from her.

"Are..." Linh gulped as she shrunk closer to him. "Are they Demon nests?"

He made sure she was looking up at him before he nodded. He slid closer to a partially dismembered nest and grabbed one of the decently sized branches. He yanked it free and then brought it closer to her so she could see.

Her dark brows drew together as she inspected it. She even touched the bark, only to lift a questioning expression up at him.

Nathair broke it apart in many places, then placed the pieces together on the ground.

"Oh. Are you trying to say this is where you've been grabbing the firewood from?"

He pointed at her while nodding.

Her eyes trailed over the many nests here, and an uncertain glint reflected in them. "Well, I guess we have plenty of it then." Once more, she tilted her face up to his. "Did... you have to get rid of them all, or were they already empty?"

Nathair lifted a single finger and dipped it to the left.

"The first one?" He nodded, and her lips curled. "I should have figured. You're so strong that it's almost frightening. I bet you killed those Demons just as easily as those bandits."

His chest swelling and bowing outwards with pride, he didn't dare attempt to correct her. There had been many Demons here in these tunnels – dozens of them – and it'd taken him a long while to get rid of them. They either died, and he dragged their disgusting bodies out to be washed to sea, he ate them, or they fled to save themselves.

Still, the comment on his strength had his pulse spiking.

I am strong. Physically, emotionally, mentally. Even though he knew his mind to be a little broken, his will was strong from holding back the fragments.

He knew his capabilities, his weaknesses.

He was a formidable Mavka, and she'd chosen a good protector so long as he didn't lose his lucidity and turn on her. Nathair was surprised he hadn't already.

Her scent seemed to be soothing the worst of it, as did her voice. Her face may be beautiful, but it did little to keep his horrid human memories at bay, other than shadowing them when he incidentally became lost in his slips of lucidity.

Now that she felt at ease again, she inspected the size of the room while remaining near his light.

The orange glow that matched his orbs gleamed against her skin. Seeing her washed in it, something that was solely his, had a dark emotion twisting around his heart. Somehow, she looked even more alluring in it. It brightened all her features and highlighted her high cheekbones and soft angles.

If he wasn't careful, he was aware pretty creatures like her could become the light in the darkness for a Mavka like himself – just as his glow chased away the shadows for her in this otherwise dreary alcove.

Wanting to escape such thoughts, he gently slipped his wrist against her hand. Despite her hitch of breath, she didn't recoil. She seemed to sense he wanted to move them on.

Many other areas matched the alcove he'd just shown her. He'd already rifled through the items belonging to the Demons he'd evicted, taking anything that sparkled or gleamed for himself.

Many ceramic pots lay broken or on their sides from disuse. There were a few human items they'd taken, like fishing rods, swords, and rusted plates. There was even a carriage wheel that was mostly rotten due to the constant moisture in the air.

Linh occasionally shivered under the weight of her cream-coloured hide jacket, but she never complained about the cold. He did notice she came closer to him when wind rushed up the tunnel, but he doubted his low body temperature aided her in any way.

She was the warmer one of the two of them.

She pressed her freezing fingers against his forearm when she grabbed it with both hands, and it felt like shards of ice against his scales. He didn't complain, instead soaking in the fact that she sought to be closer to him.

"Is that light up ahead?" she asked, her eyes squinting as if that would help her see.

She didn't look at him for an answer, so he didn't give one.

The answer was revealed as they came upon brightness. He could have led them further into his cave system and into darkness, but her expression stated she wanted to explore why there was light.

Nathair ducked into an opening and lowered his arm, since she no longer needed him. Except he had to quickly shove his hands out to catch her when she tripped the moment he moved his arm away.

Her gasp cut short when he propped her back on her feet, and her cheeks darkened at almost falling face first. That would have resulted in her going off the ledge and into the water below them.

"Thanks," she grumbled, her cheeks puffing as her lips pursed into a cute pout.

He snorted out a huff to let her know he heard her and didn't mind catching her. Once she was settled, she stepped closer to the high ledge with her lips parting.

A sharp wind gusted into the wide, open alcove and ruffled her clothes and hair. A large and somewhat deep puddle of water remained unmoving in a recess of rock and sand. A beach spanned between them and the ocean shore hundreds of metres away, where waves crashed and frothed.

The air was heavy with the scent of brine, and salt particles clung to his scales.

Nathair followed her gaze as she took in the massive area they were in. Rock had been smoothed over time by waves, sand, and salt, leaving a giant hole in the side of the mountain cliff.

Within the water below them, parts of a small ship lay wasted and eroded after hundreds of years of lying there. There wasn't much to it since most of it was under sand, and the mast had long broken in half. At night, during high tide, water nearly came to the ledge they stood upon.

He guessed that the ship had sunk not long after the Demons' arrival on Earth, and it had been used in a futile escape attempt. There was an abandoned and dilapidated port only a few kilometres south of here.

"I didn't know we were so close to the ocean," Linh stated at his side, her voice raspy with awe.

The pond in which he'd met her may be close, but Nathair was lightning fast beneath the water, and no creature was speedier while submerged. The tunnel they'd swam through just to get to his own nest had required her to take a breath halfway through when she'd started kicking at him. That had been after minutes.

Adding to that, they'd been walking on a slight decline at a rather brisk pace for a little over an hour. They didn't linger long anywhere.

The cliff here dips in more than anywhere else along the shore. It was as if the ocean wished to shape this part of the land.

"Can we go down?" she asked, peeking over the ledge to look at the water. "I want to check out that broken ship."

Nathair inspected the water from a distance. He didn't trust it.

He held his hand up for her to wait as he climbed his way down. He entered the shallow pool without sparing her a glance. A small rock landed on his head from her trying to peek, but he ignored it as he lowered himself.

The moment his torso was beneath the surface, and he lay down, he opened his mouth and let water rush into his lungs. His gills flared, and the change of breathing technique made the iciness of the liquid suddenly bearable.

All seemed silent. Everything seemed empty. All he saw was muddy sand and rock, and the underside of the overturned ship beneath the water.

He waited, closing his sight to concentrate.

Then the surface stopped rippling from him disturbing it.

Subtle, minute thumping eventually vibrated in the water, and Nathair opened his sight. The moment he launched himself in that direction, with his long back fins flaring from underneath their hidden flaps, a bubbling shrill sounded.

A Demon leapt from the sand to swim away, but Nathair's unmatched speed had him grabbing it by its back flippers. When he lifted it from the water, it hissed and squealed with a seal-like face. It even gave a deep bawk as it tried to swipe at him, its red eyes dazed and confused.

Considering its lack of human features, he knew it'd rarely, if ever, eaten a human.

While it wiggled, he merely tossed the small and mostly defenceless Demon into the sun just before the cave opening. It rolled against the sand and immediately began to scream.

The Demon writhed, its void-like, skinless flesh immediately melting. Sulphur wafted from it as its purple insides were exposed before they, too, began to bubble. It writhed to bury itself beneath the sand as it flung it around in waves.

It didn't matter. It couldn't get itself underneath quick enough and disintegrated halfway buried. The rest bubbled and stained the yellowy grains in a melted blob of dark purple.

Rather pleased with himself that he'd been wise enough to double-check no Demon had come to seek shelter in his territory, he lifted his skull to Linh on the ledge with bright-yellow orbs. The colour instantly snuffed out to white, since she'd fallen back on her arse and looked utterly horrified. He tilted his head towards the now deceased Demon.

I did not consider how gruesome that may be. He thought she'd be relieved that she now knew for certain the water was safe.

He climbed back on the rock next to the pool and then cautiously slithered up to her. The scent of fear coming from her was light, but enough that he halted his breathing the moment he emptied his lungs.

Dark orange lifted into his orbs when he took in how frazzled her expression was as he drew closer. Her eyebrows were scrunched in obvious distress, and her lips were parted as though she'd silently screamed. She stared at the obvious puddle in the sand that had once been a Demon.

The moment his head height came to hers, where she sat on her rump, she gasped and recoiled to the side. Only to settle immediately upon looking at his skull.

"Holy shit! You were so fast!" She brushed her hand over the top of her hair as she averted her gaze. "It was like you knew where it was. You just leapt towards the sand and suddenly a Demon sprung from it. A-a fin even came from your back!"

Her little heart was racing, her breaths shallow and short.

Without being able to speak with her to soothe her, Nathair just rolled his skull in annoyance. He folded his arms and let out a guttural groan from his throat.

"You're right," she grunted out with forced nonchalance, throwing her hands up. "Sorry, didn't mean to freak out."

His head reared back at her sudden change of tone. She got over that remarkably easily. And her response had a quiet snicker rasping from him.

As she was standing, she shouted, "Did you just laugh at me?!" She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her brown eyes into a tight glare. "That's not fair. Demons are freaky, okay? And I was about to go walking right to one."

Nathair waved his hand down his body, gesturing at it. I'm a Mavka, female. How am I any better?

As if she understood what he was trying to say, she wrung her hands together as she averted her gaze once more. Her cheeks darkened.

"You're different." Nathair waved at his body again and even lifted his tail. Her eyes darted to him due to the movement before looking off to the side. "You aren't trying to eat me."

Don't be so sure of that. He may accidentally hurt her, and the scent of her blood or fear would send him into a frenzy.

Nathair finally risked taking in a breath, and the scent of her fear had practically disappeared.

"I don't know why, but I trust you, Nathair," she grumbled while wringing her hands, making him tilt his head in surprise. "I know you're a Duskwalker, but you haven't hurt me once in the many days I've been with you. I'm afraid of a lot of things, and I'm so terrified of being alone out in the forest, but I'm not scared of you. Even though you're bigger than any Demon I've ever heard of, and quicker and stronger than any creature I've read about, you've proven how... compassionate you can be. You have no reason to protect me, and yet you've done so multiple times."

I did not know she feels this way about me. Trust? He didn't think he could obtain such a strong emotion from her.

Her faith was ill-given.

She does not belong in your nest. But with each pretty word from her mouth, each smile, and each acceptance of touch, Nathair was feeling the burning desire to put her in it. If he did, he knew he'd fucking keep her there.

Nathair darted his head away to avoid looking upon her when that burn radiated behind his sternum. He had half a mind to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, slither to his nest, and shove her round backside into it.

Suddenly the pale skin of a man dipping his hands into a small chest of battered coins slipped across his conscience. They were counted nightly, as he coveted each coin like they were a rare beauty. His bald head and clean-shaved face reflected in the window of a fancy room, highlighted by the flame of a candle that showed the twisted greed in his stare.

The era didn't feel like the same as this one, as if the man lived hundreds of years ago. When riches and fine things could easily be kept, hoarded, and stolen.

Fuck, Nathair flung out mentally, clutching at his skull.

The greed of the human fragment boiled with his own that was beginning to fester. The human's possessiveness of coin mingled with his growing desire to keep this female. Mine. All mine. It's all mine. Dark green entered his orbs, and suddenly her sweet scent wrapped around his scales like a discarded fishing net.

A small rock clunked against the side of his head, thankfully jarring him from the memory. With a snarl, he turned to Linh in anger. How dare she throw–

"Don't you groan at me like my feelings are bothersome, you silly snake!" she snapped. The mingle of hurt was evident in the slight glassiness of her eyes. "I was trying to be nice to you."

This time, she removed a shoe and launched it at his chest. Her toss had been soft, and it didn't hurt at all.

Did I groan?He didn't mean to, especially not after what she'd said to him.

Swiping her shoe, Nathair climbed up the rocks until they were the same height. He gave it to her, and she lightly snatched it in irritation before stomping it on. Unsure of how to apologise to the little female, he patted her head.

Her glare deepened, and he halted when he realised he was making it worse. She probably felt it was condescending.

He did the only thing he could think of. Nathair leaned forward quicker than she could react and slipped his tongue across her cheek. She let out a tiny gasp and stepped back. His forked tongue darted forward at the tanginess of her scent upon it, tasting it with his special glands.

"Y-you licked me." She covered his saliva track with the back of her wrist, but he noted that she wasn't attempting to wipe it away.

It seemed she didn't mind why his saliva lingered on her skin this time, or the action that had caused it.

She trusts me enough, which was why she felt brave enough to toss things at me. She'd be an idiot, otherwise. And the fact he'd hurt her feelings by accident had a warm fuzziness tingling his chest. It meant her words had been genuine.

So, he leaned against the ledge she was on until their faces were inches apart. She didn't back away, didn't even look afraid despite the concerned crinkle that formed in her forehead.

He attempted his apology a second time, as well as his gratitude for her bringing him out of the fragment with something as simple as a rock toss. Placing his hand on the small of her back to stop her from escaping, he rubbed the hard skeletal bone of his cheek against her soft one.

Nathair offered a short and sincere nuzzle, hoping that would better suit her tastes and convey what he wished to more effectively.

Within seconds, her cheek felt warmer. Her hands trembled as she held them together, and yet she never backed away.

He didn't know what any of that meant, but her eyes flicking away, only to come back before leaving again, seemed bashful.

She purposefully pouted, her cheeks rounding out. "Fine. I forgive you."

Pride in her made his chest feel swollen. She is intuitive, even with a Mavka who cannot show his emotions with flesh. He could tell she was young – she said she was in her early twenties – but she was wise enough to deduce most of what she needed to.

She was willing to try, which he would be forever grateful for. It made his lack of speech not feel so oppressing for him.

He hoped his voice one day returned, if only ever to thank her, or say her name.

Backing away, Nathair gestured towards the lower level of the cave alcove and the sunken ship. She leapt into action, and whether that be from excitement or embarrassment, he didn't know.

Linh slipped on wetness and a loose rock, and flew into him. The shock of it had him recoiling backwards, which made his tail slip down a boulder, and he fell as well. Unable to get his tail under his own body to catch himself, he wrapped his arms around her so she didn't crash against the ground.

Her scream echoed while he just patiently waited for them to stop falling. He tucked his head forward to avoid bashing his skull or horns and grunted at the impact.

The moment they halted, he dropped his arms to the ground, and closed his eyes to concentrate on not bursting into a fit of chuckles. This human is rather clumsy. If I or a Demon don't eat her, she'll fall to her death. He'd seen her trip four times now since the first day he'd met her.

"Oh my god," she groaned, covering her face and burying it against his exposed ribs. "That was so embarrassing. I'm so sorry."

Nathair, finding this rather humorous and wanting to needle her, pushed his tongue forward and let it droop down the side of his open maw. Unmoving, his sight closed, and halting his breath, he waited with his arms splayed.

"Thank you for catching me." She finally lifted her head. When he didn't do anything, she asked, "Nathair?"

Five. Four. Three. Two–

"Oh my gosh! Nathair!" She leapt off his body with a gasp, just so she could begin shaking him. "Oh no, I killed him." Then, for some weird reason, she began kicking his torso with the underside of her foot – albeit softly. "Now who will protect me from Demons? Hmm? You just had to go and die on me, didn't you?"

With a growl, he opened his sight to his usual orange and lifted his head. He lifted an arm to ask what the hell she was doing.

"Most dead things don't stick their tongue out when they die." Her eyes glinted with humour as she leaned over him with her hands on her hips. "Next time, make it more believable."

Nathair let out a loud chuckle as he twisted to push off on straightened arms, getting his tail to support his weight by shifting it under his heavy torso. Then he pulled himself upright and folded his arms.

Linh merely lifted her chin and walked around the lower level they'd fallen to.

From his spot, he stayed where he was as he watched her with mirth. She is rather funny.

If anything, Nathair was two things: lazy and bored. He found entertainment when it came crawling to him, and he enjoyed collecting things that sparkled because he adored playing with their reflective lights. Things that entertained him within his own spaces were what he coveted, and it made him greedy to keep them.

Linh filled the silence and radiated a beauty he hadn't truly understood could dazzle him. She was warm, both physically and towards him already. And she was brave enough to not be afraid of him, and he found that commendable.

I liked her weight on top of me. Her heat had instantly bled into his torso, and he yearned to wrap himself around her. He'd like his own personal heat source, one which was soft, smelt sweet, and could glitter if he showered her in sparkly, pretty things.

A shudder rippled down his body at just the thought of how much he knew that would entertain his bored and listless mind.

"Oooh! There are chests here!" she exclaimed from the other side of the pond she'd walked around.

Nathair already knew this, as he'd been the one to dig them out of the ship and had ripped them open with his claws. None of it had gained his interest except for what he'd already taken – a few bits of silver plates and cutlery.

A chest had been so waterlogged that the clothes inside had deteriorated the moment he'd tried to take them from it to cushion his nest. Another had coins and jewellery in it that he'd managed to scrape the rust from until their centres gleamed again or gems were revealed.

"There's a lamp and candles. Oh! And even some torches."

I'd forgotten about those. They had been in one of the chests that had managed to remain dry until he broke them open.

"Nathair, can you help me?" Her face was bright with cheer, as if the discovery of these ugly trinkets was wondrous. "If we fill that chest, we can light your cave so I can see better. I can use the carry lantern for the tunnels too."

She wants to change my home? Well, not change it, but add to it? Does that mean... she does not intend to leave it?

A dark emotion rippled down the exposed vertebrae of his spine. That shudder only deepened when she shone a bright and cheerful smile in his direction, and the red rubies dangling from her ears caught the bright sunshine that reflected against the sand.

This female had been in his home for less than two days, had pestered him and lingered on his territory for far longer, and now she sought to change his personal areas for herself. To add to and evolve them, as if she wished to leave her mark upon them until she forever changed them.

The places she'd left her peach-and-vanilla scent suddenly scalded his cool scales, and his heart picked up.