So he’d roamed away from home, just like Myers and I had done with our road trip around the country. I could totally relate. When I didn’t speak, he went on.
“I traveled from forest to forest, seeing which Triad I didn’t mind dealing with until I heard about Phoebe and it’s refugee status for obvious Orbs, so I made my way down here. The Triad here aren’t too bad to deal with, so I decided to stay.”
“When you say you traveled from forest to forest,” The inquiry was sizzling my tongue, so intrigued by the lore I was learning about Arze and tythwig in general. “Does that mean that tythwig typically just live in the forest? Do they just shift to look like trees when they’re ready for bed or something?”
“Pretty much.” Arze chortled. “Most tythwig will either become part of the forest, per Triad guidelines, of course, or some will build a community within the forest and not care if hikers or other humans stumble upon them. I, however, prefer to live truly amongst the humans. I have my own apartment across town.”
“If you have your own apartment, then why the hell are we hooking up in this cramped ass RV?” I laughed, only half serious.
He matched my laughter, shaking his head at me. “I’m not opposed to you coming over.” Arze’s lips pressed into my shoulder as he leaned toward me. “What about you? What brought you to Phoebe?”
“When my sister graduated from school, I was at my limit at my insurance job. I’ve always dreamed of being an author, however that looked like, whether it was going the traditional or independent route. So when she brought up traveling across the country in an RV for a year before buckling down at opening the mortuary she’s always dreamed of having, I decided it was the perfect time to join her and try and give myself the freedom to finally write.”
“That’s amazing,” Arze nodded, his orange eyes full of sentiment. “What was stopping you from writing while you were at your insurance job?”
I sighed, heavy and needing to be rid of it. “Honestly, I was too stunted by how much I hated my job. I think I was more than a little depressed and never realized how much until I left that place and started traveling with my sister.”
“Well, then I’m glad you got out of it and were able to try your hand at what you really want to do with your life.” He grabbed one of my hands and squeezed it affectionately. “Have you written much?”
“Actually, quite a lot.” I beamed with pride, slightly sticking my chest out absentmindedly. “At least ever since we’ve been here in Phoebe.”
“Wonderful.” Arze smiled again, lifting our intertwined hands and placing a chaste kiss on the back of mine. “You should be very proud.”
“I am,” I nodded, feeling my cheeks blush from the duality of being praised by him and his affection decorating my hands. Arze had a way of keeping me flustered that I didn’t mind at all.
“Good. Was your family okay with you leaving to travel?”
“Oh, definitely. My mom and dad were totally supportive.”
His face turned into a somber caricature of its former glory. “You are very fortunate to have understanding parents.”
“I know.” I agreed. “Myers and I are biological siblings, but we were both adopted. Our birth parents couldn’t take care of us, from what I’ve heard, and when we got adopted, we were so young, so I don’t remember much.”
Truly, I didn’t remember ever not being a Lin. I was just always Krueger Lin and anything else related to my birth parents had been erased when they’d decided to give us up. I’m sure they had their reasons, but I had no desire to look for them. Our parents were incredible and I felt fulfilled in that way that kept me from needing or wanting to look for it elsewhere or to complete my identity. I knew who I was, and this trip had just revealed more of the me I’d always wanted access to.
“But we got lucky,” I added. “Our parents are the best, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again.”
Great, now I’d brought up the fact that I was ultimately leaving him while we were still naked and in bed together. Guilt and sorrow filled a pit in my stomach, but I refused to focus on it. I wiped the emotions from my face and gave him a smile.
“One last question about you and then I need coffee.”
Arze mirrored my forced happiness. I wondered if he was sad about me leaving as much as I was. “Alright.”
“The Triad,” I was curious about them, since there was nothing that I could think of in the human world that had something similar, other than what I’d seen on TV or read in books. “They make decisions? What’s their purpose and how are they chosen?”
“Ahh, valid. They only make decisions according to the decrees laid out in tythwig culture, which aren’t very many. They’re more of a guidance system than anything, but they can exile those who break the decrees, and spread the word to other Triads if it’s serious enough. As far as how a member of the Triad is chosen, I’m not too sure. From what I understand, members of the Triad have held the positions for centuries, so there’s been no reason to replace them.”
I wanted to delight myself in the details about the tythwig world that was housed within the one humans tended to see, but my stomach grumbled loudly in the room, cutting off our conversation as we laughed at the abhorrent sound emanating from my body.
“Let’s get you some fuel.”
We lazily pulled our clothes on, Arze’s grabbing for the clothes from last night as I went to my closet and pulled on a fresh outfit. After I buttoned my black jeans, which paired well with my black t-shirt, I gave Arze a quick smile and lead the way out of my bedroom.
I don’t know why I froze after stepping out of my bedroom, seeing Myers by the door as she cradled the keys to the truck in her hand, but I did. Arze side-stepped from behind me, so he wasn’t trapped in the doorway of my bedroom, his smile furthering upon seeing my sister. Myers and I locked eyes and I instantly felt like a teenager being caught sneaking a guy into the family home all over again.
My sister didn’t let me sweat too long, giving us both a nod and a smile. “Morning. I was going to get coffee, you both want some?”
“None for me, thank you.” Arze said, my attention twisting away from Myers and back to the man who had shared my bed last night. “I need to head home before I have to start getting ready for work.”
