Chapter Five
J ennika settled against Xiroth and ignored the slight embarrassment of using a man as a chair.
Vine was on the way back, and Tuvel had joined them, perched at the edge of their group, looking uncomfortable but cheering for Emhara in her own way, sitting and doing handwork on a dress and flicking her gaze up to the artist every few minutes.
Tuvel looked like she was going to fall off the edge of the bench, and Jenn frowned.
Xiroth asked, “Something amiss?”
“Tuvel is extra tense today.”
“She sews?”
“Oh. Yeah. She makes stress-relieving clothing for all of us. She helps with containment, control, or just helps people like Eudora feel safe and at home for once.”
“She made the quilt?”
“Wow. You elves are gossipy as fuck.” She looked up at him. “For a big, scary blood drinker, it is unexpected.”
He tapped her nose. “I haven’t had to consume blood in eight and a half months.”
She blinked. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Mate response.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I didn’t know where you were, and your sister was blanked, so there was no way to find you. The portal removed all traces of you.”
She smirked. “Yeah, my friends do good work.”
Xiroth looked at the ladies who were sharing snacks and cheering on the mural that was being painted in front of them. “Where did they get those fries?”
“Vine got them. She finds what she needs to get the job done.” Jennika fidgeted.
Vine walked over to her, let go of the man’s arm, and said, “Come on.”
Xiroth frowned. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t belong in the ladies’ room.”
Understanding dawned, and Jennika blushed but let Vine help her up and link arms with her as they headed to the ladies’ room.
Jenn sighed. “How do you always know?”
“I am attuned to body language. You start fidgeting, and your mouth gets tense. If I am late, there is panic in your eyes.”
Jenn laughed as they arrived at the restroom, and she was able to go right in. The odds of having no line at a ladies’ restroom were extreme, but those were the kind of odds that happened around Vine.
Vine spoke softly. “I am going to see what Kazuya can do for me tomorrow. He says it will take a while.”
Jenn laughed. “Of course he did.”
“I don’t think it is like that. He’s deeply embarrassed about what his assistant did.”
“Good. You were so hopeful. I wanted to burn that place to the ground.”
“Yes, Jenn. I remember.”
Jennika finished and headed to the sink to wash her hands. “It infuriated me.”
“I know; it infuriated everyone around me. I know that, too. I had no chance to complain until today, so I did.”
“How did he take it?”
“He has a healer complex. He wants to fix me. I would say I am not broken, but that’s a lie, and we know I don’t lie very well.”
Jennika hugged her carefully. “So, do you want a ride to wherever you are going tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I should be able to manage it. It isn’t too far. It’s near where those Japanese-style buildings are, close to the hot springs.”
“I can take you.”
“You are going to be doing prep for that Monday tea and sending an email to HR that you are needing to prep for mat leave.”
“Right. You are very smart.”
“Not bad for someone designed to be a fuck bunny.” They left the restroom and made their way back to the stands.
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. My hormone load was extreme when it started. The pain keeps most of it at bay.”
“Not all?”
Vine was walking Jenn back to Xiroth. “Of course not all.”
Xiroth smiled, and Jenn settled on him again. Vine went to talk to Tuvel, and the murals developed to an astonishing degree.
Jenn looked at her and realized that Vine hadn’t given her a yes or no answer.
The men near her shifted, and the one Vine had been talking to sat next to her. “Miss, may I ask questions about your friend?”
“Sure. I will answer what I can.”
“She said her family had her kidnapped.”
“Yeah. There are news articles about it. She got herself emancipated and lives off the trust fund her grandparents and the Omega Centre left for her.”
“Articles?”
“There was a trial, and the Omega Centre charged them with blocking a very desirable omega. They weren’t going to make the same mistakes they made with her sister, and then she was snatched away right after being scouted.
” She looked at his calm expression. “Her parents said they were trying to save her from her sister’s fate, but the guys they hired weren’t just going to disfigure her.
It was her escape attempt that got one of them to do what he did with the vehicle.
It was a heavy truck as well. Wide tires.
They went over her legs a few times, and then the others came back and freaked out. ”
“They kept her like that for weeks?”
“Yes. Her magic woke early. Most of us activate as adults, but her body was desperate, so she gained the ability to enchant, and she found the vines hanging from trees and asked them to help. She gritted her teeth as they wrapped around her limbs and pulled them into a usable shape, and then she just had to wait. She got her moment by creating a sleep grenade out of an empty soda can and enchanted sand. She staggered her way out to the truck and learned to drive in about thirty seconds. She drove straight to a police station and told them who she was and what had happened.”
He nodded. “That is what she mentioned. Was she assaulted in other ways?”
“Not that she has mentioned, but everyone who hears the story wonders.”
“Why did she come to escort you to the lavatory?”
“Oh, because I needed to go, and she watches micro expressions that I don’t even know I am doing.”
“So she’s your nanny.”
“She’s a friend. She is willing to take on the position of nanny.”
He chuckled. “It’s surreal to think there is a person in there.”
He let his hand rest on her, and she exhaled sharply as the headbutt was sudden. “Damn. He likes you better than me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s like he’s trying to make sure you know you are wanted by beating the hell out of the inside of me, so you know he is there.”
He smiled and then frowned. “Does it hurt?”
“Not exactly comfortable. Vine is the only person who asks and waits to touch the belly. I hadn’t realized how rare that was until I started coming out at work to speak to the events with a visible bump.”
Xiroth stroked her belly, and the hard motions turned into fluttering.
“See? He does like you best.”
“I am asking him to greet me politely, with attention to the comfort of his mother.”
“If he listens, you are going to be handling parent-teacher issues.”
Xiroth nodded. “Deal.”
“Oh, what do you do for a living?”
“Antiques dealer.” He grinned.
“You are kidding.”
“I am not kidding. For a while, I was in charge of several blood clans, but that got boring. Thirty years ago, I began to open a series of antique shops. I spend my time buying estates and storage auctions.”
She giggled. “You are kidding.”
“Still no. I am also your neighbour. If you choose to come to live with me, you will be a ten-minute walk from your friends.”
“That’s moving fast.”
“In that case, I will help you outfit two baby rooms.”
She grinned. “I am surrounded by crafty women. You think I don’t have the baby room already ready? We have alternates in every open room just in case the baby doesn’t like one.”
She saw the other pixies looking at each other and nodding. Apparently, that seemed like a sensible idea.
She watched the mural taking shape and smiled. Two women were playing on computers on either side of the canvas; in between their computers, a battle was taking place. Female warrior against female warrior and engaged in energy attacks.
Jenn looked at the women taking shape and laughed. “That little cow.”
Jenn, Ivy, Sable, and Vine were all taking form on the mural. Jenn, with her fire, Sable, in half-shift feline form, fought Ivy wearing lucky symbols, and Vine was blazing with white energy, throwing glowing orbs.
Xiroth smiled. “Looks like a fair fight.”
“Nope. They are going to kick our asses.” Jennika chuckled. “I have seen Vine in a fight, and she is unstoppable. There’s a lot of rage in that little body.”
The man next to them chuckled. Jenn looked at him. “You are Kazuya, right?”
He nodded. “Yes. You are Jennika.”
“Yup. Cool; we have correctly identified each other.”
He chuckled. “I have never seen Xiroth looking so pleased to be furniture.”
“Well, he is an antique after all.”
Their grouping laughed, and the ladies turned around from the row in front of them. The joke was shared, and Vine came over. “Xiroth, I am looking for a specific piece. Do you think you can hunt it down?”
He tilted his head. “I can try. Can you send me a description?”
Vine picked up her phone and sent a sketch.
Xiroth’s phone chimed. He smiled. “I will check it later.”
Sable sighed. “My turn to get some snacks.”
She got up, and Xao got up. “I will carry things.”
Jennika waved. “Surprise me.”
Sable chuckled. Vine stopped her and gave her a different charm for her pocket. Sable nodded.
Tuvel smiled vaguely, and she looked around. Jennika smiled and waved at her, and Tuvel blushed. Xiroth must have been smiling, or maybe it was the comfortable hand on her belly. Either way, Tuvel was very shy of men. She preferred her sewing and patterns.
Jennika sighed softly as Tuvel turned and continued her sewing. One of the pixies got up and walked over to Tuvel. He sat and spoke softly, and Tuvel lifted her head, speaking in response.
Jennika chuckled. “Does he own a fabric store or something?”
“Yes. With a sewing machine annex.”
“Well, she’s either made a friend, or she’s going to seduce him for quilter’s cotton.”
Tuvel set down her needle, lifted a hand, and extended her middle finger.
Jennika laughed. She could see the sound reducers in Tuvel’s ears. Her senses were on high alert, and it was why she surrounded herself with cotton and quiet. This was an aberration, but it was mages supporting mages.