Page 203 of A Soul to Steal

That was not the Duskwalker in his memories.

Aleron in Tenebris had been bold, even when uncertain.

“Is there no other way for you to show him?” Orpheus asked, tilting his head and making the charm bells dangling from his horns jingle.

When one of the silver bells sparkled in the sun, it caught his eye.

His horn type is interesting. What kind of animal is–

A memory arose. A gentle and heart-warming one.

Despite the dizziness and how his mind swam, it came to him clear and hyper focused.

Aleron, with orbs bright yellow in joy, stroked the fawny-brown fur of an impala antelope. Experiencing parallel emotions, his heart gave a pang at how sweet the memory was, and how gentle Aleron tended to the creature. He looked like a monstrous beast, yet awe radiated from him with a sense of innocence.

Aleron shined that yellow at Gideon, and it brightened. In his memory, it warmed him even further. He’d trusted in Gideon’s guidance, even when his own hand released the protruding white knuckle bones of Aleron’s and he continued to pet it.

The deer’s horns had been large and imposing on such a slim creature, and Aleron had dominated it. Yet it remained, despite its wariness of the monster stroking it, as if it could sense Aleron wouldn’t harm it.

Because, like Gideon now knew, Aleron would never willingly harm anyone. He was kind, gentle, and wonderful.

His mind flittered back to the present as he took in the same horns before him.Impala antelope horns. I’ve seen sketches of them.

A choking noise burst from him, and he grabbed at the collar of his shirt. When Orpheus darted forward to pat his back, likely about to ask him if he was okay, he threw his hand up.

“Don’t worry!” he managed to get out through strangled breaths. “It happens. It’s normal.”

Normal for him, at least.

Whenever he dreamed his memories, they drifted to him peacefully. If he was awake, they tended to rip from his conscious like a cyclone. It often made him breathless and lightheaded, but it’d quickly pass.

“W-what were we talking about?” Gideon asked, lifting a crinkled and beseeching gaze at him. “Show him some other way I care? I don’t know your kind well enough to know how I could do that.”

His breaths quickly settled, and the final frantic one shuddered out of him when his heartbeat slowed to its natural rhythm.

Seeing he was unneeded, Orpheus settled back into his seat on the grass and sighed. “It does not need to be Mavka related. We often do not even know what we want. What is a human gesture you could do?”

“A human gesture?” He cupped his mouth in thought, trying to think of something he could do. “I don’t really know what I could–”

His face paled and turned cold when an idea came to mind, only for it to suddenly heat in embarrassment. The only thing he could think of... wouldn’t be easy.

At least, not for Gideon. He’d probably be a shaking, trembling mess through it.

But damn...He covered his mouth in bewilderment that made him nervously grin. Even his damn heart, which had calmed from his memory returning, fluttered shyly and with longing.Now that I’m thinking about it, I kind of really want to do it.

The wolf-skulled Duskwalker tilted his head with his orbs glowing dark yellow as he took in Gideon’s sudden emotional change. Gideon didn’t doubt he looked odd, since his eyes had probably turned glassy and yet his face was heated with an awkward blush.

“Orpheus!” came Reia’s excited squeal as she and Aleron shot to the ground.

Aleron halted their dangerous falling speed right before they touched the dirt, only to place his feet gently. She threw herself out of his arms and ran straight for Orpheus, who had already risen to his feet to greet her.

Just before they could embrace each other, Kevin leapt through the air, impatient to be against her.

“Aleron took me close to Ackermeadow Village,” she said as she hugged him.

“That is where I took you from,” Orpheus answered, nudging the end of his snout against her blonde hair.

“Yeah, I know. I could see your ward still in place, even from a distance.” Then she leaned back to stroke the baby Duskwalker shoving their face against her generous chest. “How was Kevin? I missed you both while I was gone.”

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