Chapter 17 #3
Winny laughs. "Goodness, no! I didn't pluck it out for you, that's um, a type of self-harm for us? So we save some from our molts to use for gift making since hurting ourselves isn't a great love gesture? If you want, I can make it into a pretty bauble you can wear. Do you want to keep it?"
"Wait, so, is the feather a mate gift or not?
" I ask, and when her face falls I rush to clarify, "I'm not rejecting it at all; I just want to be clear.
I gave you the shell because I heard static ravens mate for life and static octopuses don't really do mates?
Or I mean, they mate and then they die, so octopus shifters don't really follow their model beyond generally not grouping up the way a lot of other shifters do.
So, I wanted to give you the shell to say I pick you.
And I'm open to a deeper commitment. Is this feather a mate gift? Because you might want to pick me too?"
"Yes. A gift made with our feathers is a gift from a raven who likes you a lot.
A feather that hasn't been altered offered on solstice is basically like a static human offering you a ring.
" Winny admits, her cheeks flushing at the admission. “I mean, it’s not always a feather. My brothers went with stuff that had a meaning for them, like your sister and her mate did. But making something with my own feathers is traditional.”
"So, if you make this into a piece of jewelry for me to wear, every raven who sees it will know I agreed to be your mate?" I ask, holding up my prize.
"Um, pretty much?" Winny gives me a hopeful little smile. "You're killing me here, princess. What do you say?"
"Mhm, well, you said there was a whole speech to go with it, and you didn't actually ask anything, Dragon." I draw the feather along my cheek, reveling in how soft it feels and the hungry way Winny watches me do it.
"Fair enough," Winny turns to place both halves of her shell in the middle of the shelf, positioning it just so.
Then she smirks as she closes the distance between us, crowding in so close my breath catches in my throat in anticipation of a kiss.
She holds my gaze and instead of lowering her mouth to mine, she takes both of my hands in hers, and drops to one knee.
"My dearest treasure, light of my life. I don't do taking leaps of faith or falling for anyone anymore.
I know this is all moving fast, and I know making this last is going to take work and even then, it might not be the forever my raven yearns for.
And none of that matters. I love you, and I'm drawn to you like the moon calling the tides.
When I'm with you, it fills parts of my heart I didn't think still had the capacity for love.
Yet there you are, showing me I can let you in, and I want to love you more.
So, I meant it. I mean it. I love you. I want to keep you warm through the longest night and every night that follows, will you be my mate? "
"Yes." I nod, shifting my extra arms into place despite the awkwardness of working them free of my sweater.
The stretchy scoop neck makes it easier than with most clothes at least. Using both sets of arms makes it easier to urge her back to her feet while taking care not to jostle her injured shoulder or crumple my feather.
Still, this is all taking too long when I want nothing more than to finally kiss her like we have all the time in the world.
Her eyes are dancing with laughter as she slowly rises back to standing.
"Get over here and kiss me already!" I pout, realizing that she's drawing this out on purpose. She ignores my demand and reaches toward my feather.
"May I?" Winny plucks her feather out of my hand when I nod my assent.
She tucks it carefully into my hair, fastening the feather in place with her sea shell hair tie, she brushes the lock of hair with her feather attached to it behind my ear.
She stares at me, like she's admiring art as she says, "There.
You look exquisite in my feathers. I'll make a proper necklace with it if you bring me another shell, but I want my shell back. "
"Of course. As many as you want, they're yours, only, please, kiss me already!" I phrase it like a demand, but a part of me desperately needs her to stop talking and make me feel the truth of her words. I need her to show me how much she wants me, not just say it.
"So impatient. What's the rush? We've got all night, Gillian," Winny teases me.
She presses her thumb to my lips, and I flick out my tongue to taste her sweet vanilla and salt tang.
I wrap my tentacles around her and cling to her, careful not to crush her against me with my full strength. I don't want to hurt her.
"Even the longest night of the year isn't enough time to have you to myself," I say, pouting at her and not even trying to hide the pleading in my eyes.
She might not be able to resist teasing me, but she wants to kiss me too.
Even without chromatophores, I can read her face enough to be sure of that.
"I know." Her hands feather along my back, petting me. "I agree. That's why I'm savoring this, haven't you ever heard we enjoy with our eyes first? Teal and lavender look so good on you. I love making you beg, precious girl."
"Please?" I all but moan the word.
Winny cups my cheek in her hand. She tilts my face toward hers, and only makes me wait another heartbeat before she kisses me breathless.
My knees feel weak at the relief and want that courses through me.
I might just have stumbled if I wasn't clinging on to her, kissing her like I need her more than air.
I borrow my remaining set of tentacles from my octopus side and wind those around Winny's legs too.
Tides, clinging to my mate like this, her muscles are solid under my suckers. She lifts me like it's nothing. I guess that makes sense with all the time she spends in the pool.
She's strong enough to lift me and I wrap all of my limbs, human and octopus alike, around her. Winny half carries me down the hallway toward the stairs. We don't stop kissing until we stumble up against the first step.
"Ooph. Who put stairs there?" Winny laughs as she sets me down to catch her balance.
"I don't know, but it was a bad call." I complain. "Guess I shouldn't make you carry me up the stairs anyway?"
My lips are all tingly from kissing and I don't want to stop.
"Might be quicker if we both walk, yeah." She winks at me when I open my mouth to protest, before I can, she adds, "Easier to get our clothes off too."
"I know what's even quicker." I take a step back, loop my tentacles over the stair railing, and shift fully.
It's easy to pull myself out of the tangled clothing and up the rail to the top of the stairs.
And when I'm back on level ground, I avoid the itchy sensation of carpet on sensitive suckers by shifting back into my mostly human form.
Winny seems to like when I bring my tentacles to bed, so I keep those when I turn to pose naked at the top of the stairs and beckon her to follow me.
"Brat, you are picking these up later!" Winny scolds as she bends to grab my feather and her hair tie from the heap of clothing I left on the stairs, then she kicks it aside and follows in her human form.
I'm oddly disappointed that she doesn't shift too, but I'm not sure how to bring it up without bringing down the mood.
"Don't give me those begging eyes. You're delightful, I love seeing how freely you move between forms, treasure.
" Winny reaches the top step and cups my cheek in her hand again, and I all but whimper in anticipation of our next kiss.
Instead, she caresses the chromatophores at the corners of my eyes.
"Are these sad puppy eyes because you want to see my bird?
As delightful as you are, shifting wouldn't be a faster way to get naked for me.
Wings get all tangled up in the fabric and it can be hard to get free, easier for those of us with full range of motion, but still quite undignified.
Plus, without flight, the stairs are much faster on my human legs. "
"I know you can't fly. I just want to see your feathers, but only if you want me to."
Winny freezes. And for a second I think I killed the mood.
But then she takes a deep, shuddering breath.
She nods. "Okay. You want to see my bird, all you have to do is ask.
I don't like hopping around on the floor or burrowing out of my shirt, so let's get in bed and you can see my bird before I make you scream my name. "
Winny strides past me to her room. She places my feather and her hair tie on her bedside table along with a few other shiny trinkets she wears most days, then she shucks off her clothes and bundles them into a hamper.
"My talons are sharp and I can't fly or use my wings much to help balance so, um, much as I'd love to perch on your shoulder and preen your hair, we'll save that for a time when you have clothes on. "
"Can I pet your feathers?"
"You can, I'll beak at you if you hurt me, but go with the direction they lay naturally and it should be fine.
You can touch me all over but, since there's going to be a lot of birds in our life together, if another avian offers to let you touch their feathers, you should know general etiquette. You’re generally good to pet feathers we can't easily reach our own, so head and neck mostly, that's friendly touching.
Helping a chick with health and hygiene, or intervening for safety is similar to interacting with kids in their human forms, but otherwise, preening anywhere we can easily reach on our own is for mates or very close friends. "