Page 76 of Ruby
I catch up just in time to see Szhe’ka dunking his plume while Azoeul stands guard. I stand beside Azoeul, helplessly watching as Szhe’ka tries to save his feathers.
From the keening sound, something tells me that plume must be just as important to him as I would imagine it is for most male birds. Important to making them an attractive mate.
My eyes narrow at the thought. I don’t need him attracting another female, but I’ve hurt him. Intentionally or not, I’ve burned away a part of him important to him.
“Ani… since when could you do that?” Azoeul finally asks after tearing his eyes away from my victim.
“Just now!” I respond.
Immediately after I speak, another ball of acid flies toward the water, narrowly missing Azoeul’s legs as he darts out of reach. I cover my mouth with both hands, realizing how close I’ve come to burning him.
Could this get any worse?
“You are going to have to learn to control that before you hurt someone else,” he says in his toneless language, revealing no anger or fear.
Of course I do, genius!
The remark lingers on my tongue, but I refrain from speaking to give him a glare.
He doesn’t stay to see it, wading into the water to help Szhe’ka out. They both come out, Szhe’ka standing a few steps back, hesitant to approach. His face is downcast and his plume is destroyed. I turn around so I can talk to them without trying to burn them once more.
“Many regrets, Szhe’ka. That was so mean…”
In the middle of my sentence, I fire more acid balls, scorching the leaves beneath my feet. How long am I going to be stuck like this? I can’t stand the thought of never kissing Szhe’ka ever again.
“Accidents are not meanness,” he tells me, following the drone of Azoeul’s language with a hum infused with goodwill.
I feel his shadow lurking over me. He puts his hands on my shoulder and gently turns me so I can see him, but still facing away from anything I could harm.
“Do not look like that,” he urges. “Was not an attack.”
Even though his damaged plume is evidence otherwise, he’s still standing there, comforting me.
“This was not your old feathers,” he adds.
He means I’m trying not to be the Bitch. How gracious can one truly be?
I fall into his arms, hugging as tight as I can as I carefully keep my face pointed away. Then we walk back together to our campsite, Azoeul choosing to maintain a safe distance from me. Our walk back is accompanied by the fading sound of the flowing river.
Once we arrive, he places me on a log and walks over to a tree, creating a carved circle on it with his talons.
“Try to aim,” Szhe’ka encourages, standing by me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Every weapon takes practice,” Azoeul adds.
With nothing else to say, I mumble a thank you to them, which fires a shot right at Azoeul’s feet as he leaps away in one of his impossible moves. I fight the urge to scream in frustration, deciding instead to keep myself calm. I retrace the sensationof hotness, trying to steady it so I’m not shooting venom everywhere.
I must’ve stood there motionless for so long that I feel Szhe’ka shaking my shoulders. I open my eyes and fire a ball of acid at the tree marked with a target. It misses the target, of course, but it at least hits the tree. I pump my fist in victory, accidentally sending another Azoeul’s way.
“Maybe give it another try,” he simply remarks as he dodges away.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes and continue training the ball of acid that is now flying from my throat, enough to control it.
31
Szhe’ka
The destruction of my plumage is an unexpected loss. How is Ani to know how much time I have spent for the perfect plumage? I cannot let her know how much she has devastated me when she is so scared of her own body.
