47. Kuret

47

Kuret

The howling wind wakes me a few times, but I simply fall back asleep each time, my body demanding the rest I've been withholding and my mind no longer overriding it because of how safe we are now. No one will be moving around in that storm.

It's daytime now, though it's hard to tell with how thick the clouds are. If it's this violent in such a protected valley, I can only imagine how destructive it must be elsewhere. I hope Ree, Thivoll, and the rest of the women are all safe.

For now, I allow myself the luxury of rest, my mind drifting in and out of sleep until my body feels sated. Rin wakes up soon after, stretching her body out and making the most endearing little squeaking sounds. Her arms get tangled up in her long hair and she grumbles about it.

"I should have cut it a long time ago," she says with a yawn. "I keep tripping over it, getting it caught on things, now it's trying to choke me."

"I could braid it for you," I say without thinking, then pull in a sharp breath.

She sits up, eyes wide. "What do you hear?"

"Nothing. Sorry, on my honor. There is no threat."

She flops back down with a huff. "Then what?"

"Braiding is something only a brother does for another," he explains, his tone carrying the weight of tradition. "And mostly only with their close bonds. Never for a female and as far as I know, they don't usually braid their hair."

"I see," she says, tilting her head slightly. "Well, you don't need to do—"

"No," I say, cutting her off. "I want to."

She smiles at me. "Alright. But, no offense, I'm not sure how your fingers manage it."

I look down at my hands. Sure, my fingers are thicker than hers, but they are just as nimble. When I look back up she has a wicked look in her eye and I use the hands she just offended to grab her.

She's starts laughing as soon as I touch her sides and it's so rewarding I just keep touching her until she tells me in heaving breaths to stop.

"I can't breathe, Kuret."

I don't tell her that I've found the perfect way to end an argument. I'll let her find out later.

Instead, I gently shift our positions, settling her in front of me, before starting to work on her hair. I instantly know what she means about my fingers being able to braid her hair. It is much thinner than mine, soft and slick, but I keep at it until I figure out the different ways it needs to be held.

After finishing the braids in the back, I have her move so I can access the ones on her side, this time pausing to undo some of my own braids so I can access a few of the ornaments.

Her eyes widen when I show her how I have woven in the little sculpture. "It's beautiful. Are you sure?"

"Yes. Samke, my bond brother made it to mimic an avioid from my world."

I unbraid another. "This is a rock I found with a natural hole in it. They are rare and are considered good luck."

She holds the object in her palm, inspecting it with curiosity. "There is a smooth section here. Is that from you rubbing it so much?"

I gently take it from her, turning it over between my fingers before weaving it into the newest braid I've crafted in her hair. "Yes, it has helped me work through many problems and fears. I have had it since I was very young."

"I can't take something so special," she protests.

"You aren't taking it. I'm giving it and it will give me great pleasure to keep touching it. Preferably while buried inside of you."

She lets out a low moan and starts squirming.

"Turn around to the other side and stay still so I can finish," I say with a playful tone, my fingers deftly tying off the braid with the ends of her hair.

She huffs out a breath and clacks her blunt teeth at me. "You're the one being the tease, Kuret."

I smile, amused, and pull another braid out of my own hair. "This wood bead I won in a race from one of the most annoying of the qendi."

"Are the qendi the name of your people?" she asks, her voice gentle.

"Yes."

She hums out a breath and I focus on finishing up the last few, not yet sure which braid I should pull out to share another of my treasures. We will need to start gathering more. She has a lot more room and we have memories to start building together with them.

The idea sends a surge of pleasure through me. I look forward to every braid, each one tying us closer together.

That thought might have left me appalled before, or at the very least made me question my sanity to be pursuing a relationship with Nasrin. Especially one with any resemblance of what I might have shared with a pairing I made among the males of my kind.

This is a new world, and she isn't qendi. From all that she has said, humans can build those bonds no matter their gender and with anyone they like. It pulls back a memory of a much younger version of me and I search my braids until I find it.

Yes, that is a perfect symbol.

"This ornament," I tell her, showing her the woven metal, "I made for myself, when I was first testing out different roles among my brothers. It is ugly, but I've always liked the reminder of a time in my life when options seemed limitless."

She holds it in her hands, spinning the hoop through her hair so she can see all side of it, as I finish tying the end of the braid. "I think it's wonderful. You could have chosen that path."

I let out a bark of laughter. "If you had seen what my teacher made, you would not say such a thing."

She smiles back at me, and I take a moment to admire the braids I have made. "You are beautiful, Nasrin."

Her marks flare and she startles, still not used to them. After a moment we both start laughing, then I see her face change, a hunger in her eyes I have started to recognize.