Page 20 of Clouded by Envy

“Because I am one of the only Jovkins who chooses not to hunt your kind down.” As Brenik got a better look, he noticed the Jovkin was female. Her golden yellow eyes narrowed at them, as if she wanted to change her mind and have them for a snack.

Reaching with her other hand, she plucked a luscious peach from the tree branch. “You see this?”

“Yes,” Brenik and Brayora said simultaneously. He licked at his lips as the Jovkin held the fruit.

“Your kind has been eating all our fruit.” Large crooked teeth smiled at the both of them.

“I am sure there is plenty to go around since we are so small,” Brayora insisted.

“That is likely not true, since we eat most of them.” The Jovkin thrust the peach closer to Brayora, and without hesitation, his sister bit into it. “My name is Junah.”

Rotating the fruit toward Brenik’s face, Junah brought it up closer to his mouth. It took him four times to finally get a full bite into his small mouth, and the peach was delicious.

After swallowing, he pointed from himself to his sister. “My name is Brenik, and this is my sister—Brayora.”

“Where is your mother?” Junah scanned the trees of the forest, searching for what was not there.

“She left because she did not want us,” he answered.

Junah’s shoulders seemed to relax, but her face was filled with fury. “Well, I suppose that means I will have to give you two a bath and find you some clothing. You cannot go around smelling like your mother any longer.” The anger was no longer on her face as it contorted into revulsion.

“Can I sit on you?” Brayora squealed as she dove forward to rest on Junah’s broad shoulder.

Junah’s revulsion seemed to subside, and a small smile crossed her face as she brought Brenik to rest on top of her other shoulder.

Brenik was thankful for this because while Brayora’s wings were already working, he was still too tired to try his out for the first time.

While traveling to the river, Junah watched the area with an intensity and a new protectiveness as she carried them along. For the first time in his short life, Brenik now felt safe and secure with his new family.

8

Bray

“Hop on board.” Wes patted his back.

Bray looked askance at what Wes was offering her. A moment ago, he had opened the car door for her and was now facing the store, slightly hunched forward for her to hop on his back. He was freshly clean after his shower and wearing a black fitted t-shirt and shorts. “I can walk. In fact, I walked barefoot to your car from the house earlier.”

Huffing, Wes turned around to face her. “The fact that you don’t care about protecting your assets is terrible. I’m not going to risk you getting tetanus, then have to take you to the hospital and explain this whole strange situation to them. So, hop on.” He gestured again at his back.

“This isn’tPretty Woman,” Bray said as she leaped onto him like a monkey, arms wrapping around his throat.

“It sure as hell isn’t—you’re at the dollar store, nothing fancy,” he coughed out, and she loosened her grip around his throat. “Although, with this getup you have on, all bets are off on what the cashier will be thinking.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my outfit.” It was a halter dress that left it easy for her wings to sprout back and forth—maybe a bit short on the length.

He didn’t respond as he gripped her thighs and headed into the store. No one else seemed to be inside besides the cashier.

“Do you have any flip-flops?” Wes asked the cashier at the front.

The gray-haired lady was possibly in her sixties and smacked her gum ever so slowly as she stared at them for a moment. “Yeah. Straight back.”

Wes gave the woman a brief nod and carried Bray through an aisle that had a whole lot of candy. She extended her hand to grab a pack of gummy worms, and Wes dodged her to the side, putting the chewy riches out of reach. “Priorities first,” he grumbled.

Bray sighed sadly against the back of his neck.

When they reached a large metal basket filled with shoes, there wasn’t much of a selection—black, green, or red. “Where’s the pink?” Bray didn’t mind the other colors, but pink would have been nice.

“For that, we’ll have to move up from dollar territory to Walmart another day. Here, try these on.” He snatched a green pair of flip-flops attached together and slipped one on her right foot, then carefully lowered her to the tiled floor.

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