She even laid it on the table to show she meant no harm with it.
“I don’t think I should,” Zylah answered, assessing the small seat further. “I’m worried I’ll break it.”
Its legs were thin and looked like they’d snap as easily as Zylah could rend a thick tree branch in half.
A giggle escaped her. “Don’t be. It has survived bigger creatures than you.”
Zylah looked down at her body, seeing nothing wrong with it. Still, she trusted the female’s confidence and stepped towards the closest chair at the shorter edge of the table and tentatively sat. It creaked under her weight but held.
“Alright. Would you like a cup of tea or some water while we talk? My kitchen can only hold so much, but I have a storage area out the back. I can procure just about anything for you if you have particular tastes.” She let out a laugh as she pushed a few strands of her short hair from her forehead. “I’ve never hosted a Mavka before, so please forgive me if I make a mistake regarding your species.”
“No. I don’t need anything,” Zylah answered, fiddling with the skirt of her dress resting between her spread thighs. “I don’t need to eat or drink.”
Fayren’s thin lips pursed before settling. The other chair’s legs scraped against the ground as she dragged it down the longer length of the table to be closer to Zylah. Her movements were slow as she sat down, and she let out a little agonised groan when her joints creaked.
Fayren stared at her for longer than was comfortable, and Zylah grew more anxious. Especially when the Demon’s gaze narrowed.
“Sit up, dear child. Slumping like an ogre is unbecoming of a lady.”
At her stern tone, Zylah’s back straightened and went rigid. “S-sorry.”
Fayren smacked the side of her knee. “And close those furry thighs of yours. You don’t want people seeing up such a short skirt.”
Zylah’s knees snapped closed, and she went to roll her shoulders forward self-consciously. She shoved them back and crossed her hands over her lap, unsure of how to sit or how to act. Being scolded by a stranger about the way she sat brought on memories of how she often sat with Jabez, who had never complained about the way she positioned herself.
Her orbs shifted to a shameful reddish pink and the bottoms of them wavered as she wondered if she’d been behaving oddly in front of him.
“Let’s start from the beginning,” Fayren said, leaning against the backrest of her chair with her hands neatly folded on her lap. “What do you know?”
Zylah figured the Demon meant regarding why they were here. “Well, I’m female,” she said, stifling the urge to scratch at her neck awkwardly in case she got in trouble for it. “I have a heat cycle, and-and breasts. I also do not have dangly bits.”
“Okay.” Fayren gave a noticeably cringing smile. “What else?”
Zylah placed one foot on top of the other in an attempt to make herself smaller. “I’m sorry, but that is all I know.”
The female’s features visibly dropped and some of her tanned completion greyed. “You’re joking,” she rasped, her eyes growing wide. “That’s... that’s nothing at all!”
“Wait! I also have a slit that is hidden away,” Zylah added, and her orbs deepened into a more embarrassed glow.
“Yes, but do you know what it iscalled? What it is? What it does?”
Zylah chittered and shook her head. For as long as she’d been alive, she hadn’t realised it was so important to know these things. With the way this Demon was responding, it was like she thought Zylah inept.
“I... have only recently gained much humanity.” She gave into the urge to scratch at the collar of fur around her neck, while turning her snout away. “Jabez says I’m intelligent, but that I lack knowledge. He has been teaching me.”
“By the cursed light,” Fayren muttered as she covered her face. “No wonder he brought you to me. I thought he was just wanting me to explain heat cycles and sex, butthis?No, this indeed requires an in-depth explanation from a female.”
Unable to hold back the emotions that were slamming into her – how uncomfortable she felt, how shame seemed to rest on her shoulders – Zylah produced a quiet whine. Her orbs refused to change from their reddish-pink glow, yet the wavering bottoms of them shattered and droplets began to float around her skull. Her heart raced, aching in her chest, and it seemed to make her insides grow hard and strained.
Suddenly her skin felt wrong, and her fur itched.
A warm hand cupped the length of her jawbone, and Zylah flinched at the unfamiliarity of the touch. Fayren steered her face towards her.
“Dear child, it’s okay.” She offered a tender smile, and her eyes appeared softer and more caring than before. “It’s normal to feel shy. You’re not the first confused female who has sat in one of my chairs. Many demonlings come to me for knowledge that they can’t get, as I’m known for offering assistance regarding this.”
“I’m not a youngling, though,” Zylah argued, pulling away from her touch.
“Oh yes, I can see that. Just by our conversation I can tell, but if no one has been around to teach you, how else are you to know? That’s not your fault.”