More than like.
Well, maybe I'm not his biggest fan when he's clucking over me like a protective mother hen.
"You can go, you know?" I urge as he stands with his back to the wall of my hut, arms crossed over that impressively broad chest. "I know you've got training to do."
"Training can wait," Mavyx grumbles, eyes fixed upon my doorway as if he's getting ready to pounce on whomever strolls through next.
I twist to face him a little more from where I sit cross-legged on an animal fur on the ground, my belly getting bigger and rounder by the day. "But you said - and I quote -'the males I am left with couldn't protect themselves from a Pynka-Pynka'."
Mavyx only grunts, gaze still intent on that entryway.
"...What is a Pynka-Pynka anyway?"
Finally he looks at me and sighs. "It is a small, furred, forest animal with large eyes. They often exchange a service with larger animals in exchange for not being eaten and additional protection."
"Services?" I ask, feeling my brows rise.
"Yes. They have been spotted grooming mountain hounds and I've heard reports that they have been known to bring berries to Trixikka while in the deepest parts of the jungles."
Well that sounds damn adorable. "Why are they called Pynka-Pynka?"
Mavyx shrugs. "It is similar to the little squeaky sounds they make."
Yes, definitely adorable.
Just as Mavyx seems to relax a little, his head whips toward the doorway once more, his feathers bristling before I can even hear anyone approaching. The silhouette of a Trixikka blocks the entry to my hut and I squint to see him better.
"Jaxyn," Mavyx says in a clipped tone that sounds more like a warning than a greeting. I know he supports me doing this, but God-damn, this man is over-protective.
Giving this 'Jaxyn' a smile that I hope is welcoming, I indicate to the patch of animal fur in front of me, noticing that this Trixikka's wings hang unevenly on his back, one of them drooping at an unnatural angle. "Ignore him Jaxyn, please, sit."
Jaxyn's violet eyes remain on Mavyx behind me as he takes a seat. "Forgive female, but I cannot ignore the Second Spear."
I turn to glare at my idiot. His arms are still crossed over his chest and that tail of his is flicking back and forth behind him. "See, this is why you should leave."
"I am supporting you while you hold these dropping sessions," he says through gritted teeth, eyes still fixed on my visitor.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a breath. "They aredrop-in sessions, Mav. And they are meant to be confidential between me and whomever comes to talk to me."
Still he doesn't make a move to leave - or stop staring daggers at my guest.
And I'm grateful to him, I truly am - he'd taken me to Rynn and sold him on the idea of making me the tribe's go-between; the person anyone can come to for advice or if they have any kind of concern. Rynn hadn't needed much persuading to be honest and had even tried to give me the title of 'Tribe Mother', but I'd declined. I'll be more like an Advice Columnist and a Union Rep all rolled into one really, and I don't need a title anyway.
But here, today, Mavyx is being a pain in the ass. I've had three Trixikka come to this 'drop-in session' so far and he's been over-bearing. Granted, two of the bird-men came to ask clarification on sexual acts, but these guys are curious and I tried to answer their questions in the most mature and honest way.
All while Mavyx stood behind me looking like he was about to bust a vein. The fact that he's posted some of these guys to watch over me while he's off doing his Second Spear duties seems to have completely missed him. Apparently, because I've given any Trixikka permission to enter my home and talk to me - to ask me anything they want - it's set something off in that twinkly head of his.
The third Trixikka to come to me today had been an Elder and all he'd wanted to ask was questions about pregnancy and human babies to better understand what I was going through - the poor guy had gone pale when I'd described how the baby was actually going to leave my body and enter the world. Bea also stopped by but she didn't really have much to report or ask - I think she was just being supportive of my new role.
And now I have Jaxyn in my hut, looking overly wary about the huge, feathery guard-dog at my back.
"Mavyx," I say, getting his attention. "Just go stand outside. I'm perfectly safe, you'll only be right there." He opens his mouth to protest but I'm faster. "If you go, maybe later I could give you a demonstration of what that first drop-in session was all about," I tell him, a smirk on my lips.
The skin-stars on his temples flare up before a few from his chest start to zoom southward down his abs and into his loincloth. "The blowing jobs?" he asks.
I press my lips together to stop from laughing. That first Trixikka had been so hesitant to ask for clarification about a rumor he'd heard -a gift humans might bestow on a worthy male."Yeah," I say with a grin, "blowing jobs." Having to explain giving head wasn't on the list of things I thought I'd be doing in this new role, but here I am.
Mavyx pushes off from the wall with a grunt, stopping beside Jaxyn he crouches on his haunches and growls, "touch her, and you will be begging for a swift end, brother." Mavyx reaches for the small cup of water I'd already laid out for whoever showed up before standing and stalking out, leaving me blinking as I watch him go.
