Knowing that the Mavka would be with them and had sworn to protect her did ease some of his inner turmoil.
Her smile when he told her had been unusually bright as it beamed from her delicate, pretty face. She is so lovely to behold, he thought at the time. He ached for this female in so many different ways that it stirred both his heart and his body.
They were setting off immediately. There was no reason to wait.
She’d packed a shoulder strap bag with enough food to survive the journey to the Demon Village since he told her they’d be able to obtain more while they were there. They also placed a sack of water inside the bag they could fill along the way. They’d be following the stream that ran all the way through the Veil.
While she packed, Orpheus had taken a large chunk of crystal from his room, one that was the same as those in the washing room, and took it outside. He smashed it to pieces.
When she’d asked him why, he said he would be using it to trade with. He didn’t usually need this much, but the Mavka had nothing to trade with and he was hoping Reia might like something as well. Trading it meant little to him as he had plenty of it.
Once the preparations were done, he’d washed her, so the spell was fresh, and then dressed her.
There was only one last thing to do now, and she’d looked unsure as he started to place the head of the deer he’d brought for her over her head.
“What’s this for?” she asked, her voice echoing inside the skull that had been peeled of flesh and cleaned.
“Your disguise, so you can see but not be seen.”
She couldn’t show her face. Her pale skin would give away she was human.
He started tying cloth straps to it and her so that it would stay fixed in place but could also be removed during the journey. She only needed it when they were close to the Demon village, and he needed to permanently keep her hidden.
He should have done this when he’d taken the last human to the Demon village. He hadn’t known she’d been spotted looking around underneath a large cloak hood, but they’d been left alone while inside the village. He’d thought all was well.
“There, now you look like a Mavka,” he said, before leaning down to nuzzle his snout against her neck underneath the skull mask.
“Aren’t I a bit short to pass off as one of you?”
He made a thoughtful noise. “A female Mavka, then?”
“There are females?”
Orpheus shrugged as he leaned back and stared at her through the eye holes.
“I don’t know. I have never seen one.”
He walked around her and jiggled the sword strapped to her back. It would look odd that she had one, but he didn’t think the Demons would look twice. They liked shiny things and would assume she did too. That’s why his crystals were good for trade.
A sense of foreboding and dread washed over him as they stepped towards the door to leave. I don’t want to do this.
But he wanted Reia, and that’s what pushed him forward.
The Mavka came closer to the porch on all fours and reached out to touch the deer mask that hid her face. The hood was buttoned around the antlers so they could stick up out of the material like his did. Orpheus’ Impala antlers were only two horned spikes and could fit through the holes, her disguise had forking branches.
He was actually a little disappointed she looked more like the Mavka than himself.
“She looks like Mavka,” he said with awe, stroking a claw over it when they were through the barrier.
Orpheus grabbed his wrist and threw his arm away.
“Do not touch her.” Or anything she is wearing.
She unbuttoned the cloak hood and slung the mask off so she could hand it to him.
“I guess it works,” she laughed.
He tied it around his waist to carry it for her.
“How do you wish for me to carry you?”
She turned her head up to look at him while fixing the hood back over her head to hide herself. “Carry me?”
“Yes.” He gestured down to her legs. “You will be too slow.
It is a four day walk for us. You will make it longer, and I do not want you to be out of the protections for such an unnecessary length of time.”
The quicker they did this, the better it’d be.
“Could you carry me on your arm again?”
“No,” he answered, shaking his head slightly. “You will be too close to the trees and will be easily spotted.”
She folded her arms over her chest before reaching up to stroke her lips. Her soft lips that had felt remarkable against his face and chest when she’d kissed him. I want to play with her tongue again. The fact she’d licked his tongue had brought him joy.
He’d never had a human do that before. It had felt like it was his first real kiss that he could return.
“Your back then?” She eyed his cloak. “I’m guessing you want me to be under it. Will my head fit inside your cloak with yours?”
