Page 39 of A Soul to Steal

“Uh huh, sure.” Gideon nodded as he drew close enough to put his hand out in greeting. “Hey there. My name is Gideon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The Mavka turned his skull down to inspect Gideon’s hand, twisting his head one way and then the other, which produced a quiet rattling noise. His yellow orbs darkened even further.

He said nothing, and his head movements were the most interaction Aleron had ever received from him. Usually, the Mavka would silently stare upon him, only to eventually retreat into the cocoon of his tail.

“You are supposed to shake it. It is a human greeting.” Aleron’s shoulders rounded back, making his wings flap slightly, as pride swelled within his chest. He knew something this Mavka didn’t. He assumed that made him more intelligent. “I will show you.”

He clasped Gideon’s hand, andveeerycarefully shook it.

Gideon’s eyes glinted with humour, the memory of them first doing this radiating between them. Then, he offered his hand to the Mavka once more, nudging it closer with a welcoming expression.

“Gently, though,” Aleron demanded softly.

Surprisingly, the Mavka reached out. Like Aleron, his large hand swallowed up Gideon’s as he clasped it. The Mavka shook up, and then down, yanking Gideon off his feet until his face crashed into the dirt. At the unsettling thwap of him hitting the ground, Aleron’s entire body puffed in rage.

“I said gently!” He roared, his sight shifting to deep crimson.

In the corner of his sight, the Mavka’s orbs flared a brighter orange than normal as he shrunk away. Aleron didn’t care about his wariness, or his feelings of guilt. Not when he had to carefully assist Gideon to his feet, and not just pick him up like he weighed nothing.

“Are you o–” Before he could finish checking on his wellbeing, Gideon burst into a roaring laugh.

“I can’t believe I fell for that a second time!” Once he was on his feet, his lips curled up in a bright grin. He brushed his pants of dirt that didn’t exist. “You would have thought I’d learned the first time that you guys don’t know how to control your strength.” His green eyes took in Aleron’s orbs, and then the Mavka’s, which only seemed to make him laugh harder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It only hurt for like... a second. Like I said, my name’s Gideon. What’s yours?”

Gideon turned to the Mavka once more, his smile remaining. He was much quicker to adjust to this situation, and he seemed to have the kind of personality that was easily adaptable. He’d taken learning about Emerie, Mavka, and this world with such strength.

His wings tightened against his back as a contented thrill ruffled his feathers. Gideon would fitperfectlyinto the often chaotic and sporadic nature of his kindred bond.

When the Mavka didn’t respond, Aleron reluctantly drew his gaze away from the pretty human. Despite recoiling back as though he’d intended to hide within his tail, the Mavka did eventually slither forward. Perhaps captivated by Gideon’s warm and welcoming expression, as Aleron often was, or perhaps it was the male’s beauty he was drawn to, he slowly extended himself.

“He may not have a name,” Aleron stated, since he and his kindred had only obtained their names through the kindness of Raewyn – a female Elf he’d met on Earth – and Merikh.

He hissed at Aleron.

“So, you do have a name?” Gideon asked, one of his brows arching higher, and he nodded in response. “Then why won’t you…” Gideon trailed off, as did his gaze. Then his eyes narrowed with deep thought and almost… suspicion? “You… you can’t speak, can you?”

With orbs turning bright yellow, the serpent Mavka closed the distance so swiftly that it even surprised Aleron. Gideon didn’t have a chance to stop him, his human reflexes slow in comparison.

The Mavka grabbed his hand and cupped the underside of it, while he used the other to pat the top of it.

None of them moved as he towered over Gideon, holding his hand with both of his as his tail slithered underneath his body tosupport his torso. The moment seemed intimate, as though they were having a private, unspoken conversation without Aleron.

He didn’t like that one bit, nor how it made his sight turn dark green. The nasty little emotion that had coiled in his chest with the impala antelope nipped again, this time taking on the form of a serpent within him.

He quickly attempted to insert himself between them, disliking that the Mavka seemed to purposefully leave him out of their silent conversation.

Aleron growled, only for it to choke in the back of his throat when the Mavka grabbed his hand instead. Just like with Gideon’s, he clutched it in both of his own, cradling it with a gentleness that conveyed many unnameable but weighty emotions.

He was quick to release Aleron though, but his orbs were bright yellow. It was the first time he’d seen the serpent Mavka produce a positive colour. Usually, he could be quite shy and reserved, even for one of their kind. It was obvious he preferred to be alone, whereas Aleron craved company.

A stifled chuckle caught his attention, and he darted his skull to the sound. As embarrassment flushed his sight, Aleron parted his fangs just so he could clip them menacingly at the human.

Thankfully the serpent Mavka retreated of his own volition, allowing his tail to curl and twist over himself until he was lying down. He kept his head and shoulders free so he could observe them.

“Don’t you get snappy with me.” Gideon rolled his eyes before stepping closer. “Did you really just growl like some jealous, possessive, Duskwalker-equivalent asshole? He was saying hello, I think.”

Jealousy? Was this what he’d been feeling?

“No,” Aleron lied, lifting his skull to the sky as he attempted to whistle like Gideon did when obviously caught out. However,he didn’t whistle at all, as he didn’t have lips and couldn’t figure out how else to produce such a noise other than humming. “You must have misheard me with your little human ears.”

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