23. Chapter Twenty-Four #2
The bird gave me two more chances over the next half hour, darting toward the water and returning with its feathers briefly ruffled.
Once it landed with something small and silver caught in its beak, entirely losing interest in me while it dealt with dinner.
By the time the light grew too thin beneath the canopy to keep pushing my luck, I had several sequences that looked much closer to what I'd thought I'd captured the first time.
I checked the final series once more before lowering the camera. The eye was sharp, the branch was where it belonged, and no leaf had decided it deserved top billing.
“Finally.” I told the kingfisher as satisfaction loosened the tension that had been sitting between my shoulders all afternoon.
You click too much, the kingfisher complained as it flicked its wings, apparently deciding my photography habits were the real problem.
“I'm going to take that under consideration.” I told the kingfisher with complete seriousness as I lowered the camera.
You won't, the kingfisher replied before launching itself from the branch and disappearing upriver in a streak of green.
I watched the empty space for a second.
“That is probably fair.” I muttered after the kingfisher, smiling as I tucked the camera safely against my chest. Talking to wildlife while I worked should have felt stranger by now. Instead, I'd somehow reached the point where being criticized by a kingfisher barely interrupted my concentration.
I packed only after I was satisfied, leaving the stream with enough time to reach the temple before my six-o'clock check-in.
The path no longer required the same concentration it once had.
I knew where thick roots crossed the trail, where the ground dipped sharply after heavy rain, which curve opened toward the first weathered stone almost swallowed by vines, and where the safer footing was without stopping to search for it.
Even the insects and distant bird calls had started separating into familiar sounds instead of blending into one constant wall of rainforest noise.
A rustle moved through the branches above me before a capuchin's small face appeared between two broad leaves. It crouched along the limb with its tail curled behind it and watched me approach as though it had been waiting.
Going to the spotted ones, the capuchin announced confidently, making it a statement rather than a question as its dark eyes dropped toward the bags hanging from my shoulders.
“Apparently everyone knows my schedule now.” I told the capuchin as I adjusted the strap digging into my shoulder and stepped over a thick root crossing the trail.
Spotted ones know. Birds know. We know, the capuchin replied as it scrambled along the branch above me, pausing every few feet to make sure I was still below.
“That is mildly concerning.” I told the capuchin as I looked up through the leaves, trying to decide when the local wildlife had formed an information network around my personal life.
You are loud, the capuchin informed me as it disappeared into a dense knot of greenery.
“I am not loud.” I called after the capuchin as I continued down the path, unable to see more than a twitch of leaves where it had gone.
She is loud, a second capuchin announced from deeper in the trees, its bark carrying unmistakable amusement while leaves shook somewhere out of sight.
“Rude.” I told the unseen capuchin, shaking my head as another burst of chattering followed from the canopy.
Apparently, I wasn't going to win an argument with monkeys either.
Somewhere along the way, I'd stopped thinking of this route as unfamiliar. The animals recognized me, I knew which turns led where, and the first glimpse of old stone through the vines no longer made me wonder whether I'd somehow wandered off course.
I kept walking before I could decide what I thought about that.
Tavian found me first, dropping from a low wall in human form just as I entered the courtyard.
He landed lightly enough that I only flinched because I'd been looking toward the living section instead of above me, and the pleased expression he wore suggested he considered startling me a perfectly reasonable greeting.
“You're back.” Tavian said as he straightened with a grin, citrus and spice brightening around him while his attention immediately dropped toward the bags over my shoulders before returning to my face.
“I am, and before you ask, yes, Mara knows I'm here.” I answered Tavian as I shifted the camera strap higher before he could automatically reach for it, catching the small twitch of his hand when he stopped himself.
“I wasn't going to ask.” Tavian protested as he lifted both hands, although the quick glance he gave the radio clipped at my belt ruined the denial before he'd even finished speaking.
“You absolutely were.” I told Tavian as I walked past him toward the living section, giving him a knowing look while he fell into step beside me with the restless energy that made it nearly impossible for him to simply walk somewhere.
“I was going to wait at least thirty seconds.” Tavian corrected me as he matched my stride, lifting his chin as though that represented remarkable personal growth.
“Thirty whole seconds? I'm impressed.” I told Tavian, and the pleased expression he gave me suggested he had chosen to ignore the sarcasm entirely.
Luca appeared from an adjoining room before I reached the worktable, drying his hands on a cloth, while Malek came through the far side of the courtyard a moment later with the damp heat of the forest clinging to his skin.
His golden-brown eyes found me almost immediately, and tension I hadn't noticed carrying eased when all three scents reached me at once—cedar and damp earth, citrus and spice, sandalwood and herbs.
I'd been away from them for less than a day.
Apparently, my body already considered that long enough.
I set my camera bag down and started reaching for the zipper before I noticed the table had moved.
It had been closer to the window yesterday.
Now it sat against the drier interior wall, where rain blowing through the opening wouldn't easily reach the surface, but it was still close enough to power that I wouldn't need to trail a cord across the floor.
“What?” Luca asked when he noticed me staring, his green-gold eyes moving from my face toward the worktable as he folded the cloth once between his hands.
“You moved it.” I told Luca, pointing toward the table while my gaze continued searching the room for anything else that looked different.
“Yes. Water was reaching the stone underneath it when the wind changed.” Luca answered as he leaned one hip against the nearby counter, watching my reaction without launching into an explanation I hadn't asked for.
I crouched to put away the camera bag and noticed the storage beneath the table next.
There were two sealed boxes now, one more than yesterday, and the newer one was completely empty.
The radio charger had been moved somewhere easier to reach, one drawer near the worktable had been cleared, a section of shelf stood unused, and extra blankets rested inside a nearby cabinet.
That was all.
There were no clothes waiting in the drawer, no toiletries someone had selected because an Omega apparently needed them, and no decorations lined up on the shelf to tell me which things were supposedly mine. No one had transferred my belongings anywhere or decided where my medication should live.
They had made room and left it alone.
“Are you expecting me to move in?” I asked as I looked from Luca to Malek and finally Tavian, trying to make the question sound lighter than it felt while my fingertips pressed against the edge of the table.
“No. We thought you might want somewhere safe for your things when you're here.” Luca answered immediately, his expression softening as though he understood exactly why I'd asked, but he didn't move closer or start pointing out every change they'd made.
“You don't have to use any of it. It can stay empty.” Malek added from the edge of the room, his voice quiet and steady while his posture remained relaxed instead of turning the answer into something heavier.
“The shelf has been very patient about it.” Tavian informed me as he glanced toward the bare section of wood, his expression completely serious.
I slowly turned toward him.
“It's a shelf, Tavian. It isn't patiently doing anything.” I told Tavian, and some of the tightness beneath my ribs eased when one of his eyebrows rose.
“You don't know what it does when we're gone.” Tavian replied as he folded his arms, looking mildly offended on behalf of the furniture while Luca lowered his face to hide a smile.
“I feel comfortable making that assumption.” I answered Tavian as I looked around the room again.
Luca hadn't rushed to explain every change, and Malek hadn't told me that I needed the space because I belonged there now.
Tavian, despite apparently assigning personalities to the furniture, hadn't filled the shelf with everything he found outside.
They had listened when I talked about humidity, batteries, equipment, and all the little practical problems of dragging expensive electronics into a rainforest. They'd noticed how I worked and what I needed, then stopped before turning any of that into decisions for me.
That was what got me.
“Thank you.” I told all three men after running my fingertips over the empty drawer once and pushing it closed, letting the sincerity show this time instead of covering it with a joke.
“You're welcome.” Luca answered with a small smile, pleasure warming his expression without making a bigger deal of the moment than I could handle.
Malek gave me a slight nod from where he stood, while Tavian looked pleased enough that I suspected he had somehow decided the shelf was partly his accomplishment.