I nodded. “He has good taste.”
She smiled at Steven, not at me.
Steven picked his way up to her wrist, climbed her arm, and paused on her opposite shoulder, scowling at Sofia, who scowled right back. The driftwhisp took flight and landed on the top of Laina’s head.
“Oh.” Her eyes widened, and her hands fluttered at her sides.
Steven settled above her left ear like an adornment, clinging to her hair.
Laina stilled. “He’s in my hair.”
“Yes.”
“Is this normal?”
“No.”
Steven threaded his silver tendrils carefully through her dark strands, weaving them in. “I’ve never seen one of them do this before, though I’ve heard it can happen.”
“What’s he doing?”
“I think he’s decorating you.”
“He’s decorating my hair with…himself?”
Steven filtered silver light through Laina’s strands and went still.
“The tendrils,” I said. “He’s treating your hair like an enclosure. Sometimes they cling to the mesh.”
“I’m a habitat.”
“An honored one. Driftwhisps track emotional resonance. If Steven has chosen your hair specifically, he must wish to soak in your emotions. You’re happy.”
“I am.” Her soft laugh rang out. “Even more so with a driftwhisp adorning my hair.”
Sofia glared up at Steven, her small wings pressed flat against her body.
“I think your emberkit disapproves,” Laina said.
“Sofia considers herself the most interesting creature in any room. Steven has just installed himself somewhere she can’t follow.”
Sofia flicked her tail, making her feelings on the matter clear.
“When will Steven leave?” Laina asked.
“When you approach the enclosure door, he’ll return to the others. Driftwhisps don’t stray far from their own.”
She glanced toward the remaining driftwhisps, who were soaring among the floating plants, all but four of them, who kept darting toward Laina before flying back to the others.
“They’re looking at me,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Should I be worried?”
I considered this with the honesty it deserved. “Probably not.”
Another pause. “That’s not a no.”
