Xiroth looked up and grinned at what Vine was seeing.The four ladies with him were depicted in glowing colours as warriors battling each other.“Who are the two with the controllers?”
Vine smiled.“Van Housen and...Nimue.”She chuckled hoarsely.“Funny that the most beautiful of us all is seen only from the back.”
Xiroth frowned.“How do you know them?”
“Oh.Reasons.”Vine chuckled.
Xao asked, “You work with them?”
“Now and then.I may have introduced Nimue and what’s his face.”
Xiroth checked his email and the chat they had going in the city.“Evadon?He looks like he practiced sword fighting with his face.”
Vine smiled.“And Nimue sees beauty where it is.No hiding, no physical restraints.”
Kazuya brought up his own phone, and Vine stared.“Do you have an elf group chat?”She started to read over his shoulder, and Kazuya let her, with a small grin at Xiroth.
“Don’t smirk, Kazuya, it’s unbecoming in a lady,” Vine muttered in her harsh voice and kept reading the file.
The pixies burst into laughter.
The murals were over halfway done.Both artists were being energized by their communities.Xiroth looked down at Jennika, and she was sleeping softly against him, her hand curled on his chest.
They watched the painting slowly growing in dimension and realism, and Xiroth kept a light hand on Jenn’s belly, the child moving lazily.
The couples were chatting and testing attractions.Xiroth had his lover in his arms after months of searching.This was possibly the best Saturday ever.
He watched the crowd around them for threats, but they were protected.When the other side of the event began playing music, he smiled.Jenn breathed deeply and relaxed a little more.
A song started on their side.A woman curled into a ball, who let the sound weave out and around those listening.
The watchers began to smile and look at each other, relaxed and cheerful.Emhara took a break and looked at the woman singing in a voice strong enough to eradicate the music from the other side.
Vine looked up and smiled.“She’s one of ours.”
Sable asked her, “Do you know her?”
Tuvel looked up, nodded, and lowered her head to her work.“I know her.She sews with me.Sally.”
Sally kept singing, and the voice was haunting, but at the same time, it warmed the soul and made them feel lighter.
Xiroth looked around and smiled.Imagining this moment when they first arrived would have been impossible.Hell, imagining it six months ago would have been impossible.He looked down at Jennika and stroked her hair from her cheek.Every moment of his life had been leading him to her, to them.He gently put his hand on her belly.Nine hundred years of life, and he had seventeen days to get ready to be a father.He really hoped he was good under pressure because he had never been around babies and was going to have to learn on his feet.He was going to enjoy it.
* * * *
Vine looked towardthe woman who was singing and asked Tuvel, “She’s song?”
“She’s sound.”Tuvel didn’t look up.“Audio.If part of your body can hear it, she can make the noise.”
“Why haven’t I learned about her yet?”
“Well, like you, she learned to scream, but she hasn’t been able to be around people since.”Tuvel kept sewing.“She’s amazing with clothing designs, though.Her place is full of dressmaker dummies wearing clothing for video games.I do comfort; she does impact.”
She looked over to where the woman was curled up around herself again.She was still singing, but it was softer, even though it still blanked out the sound from the other side.
Vine knew the cadence of that sound.That was a self-soothing sound.
Vine got up and walked over to Sally and held out her hand.They started crooning together, and a wave of relaxation and calm spread through the space.
