He travelled there, finding Avie no problem, but also finding the male human in close contact. Rhulle felt weird at seeing that. It irked him. Crawled under his skin akin to a parasite and itched there as he watched, growing further evident as the seconds ticked by.
Rhulle already didn’t like that Owen character for poking around his home so many times in the past, but now, seeing him together with his human?
… His...?
He shook off the thought, she took the time and patience to be his friend, to extend a hand in alliance and new opportunities. He simply just didn’t like that it came so easy to the annoying creature as well. That was all.
Flying off in a huff, he tried to forget the sight of her so close, paying attention to that human instead of himself.
He nearly threw a hissy fit when he got home, pacing around his room. He thought, well, he couldn’t place his thoughts about the female in that situation. She worked so hard to earn his friendship, doing the impossible, he wanted them to have that bond now that she ended up intricately placing herself into his life. Yet Avie was so close to that irritation of a human. It was unfair that she gave her friendship bond to another male. He should be the only one!
Rhulle knocked over a stack of books, looking at the mess of a pile he created and seeing the copy of his new favorite book right away.
“But she was still scared of him because he wanted to control her,” her voice echoed in his mind.
He sobered, bending down to take the novel, catching his thoughts. It wasn’t right of him to control who she could and couldn’t see. If she expressed friendship with… him, then he would have to learn how to deal with it. But he could still not like Owen, he figured.
Avie asked so many questions in the span of a few days, getting many of them answered in return. It was exciting figuring Rhulle out, his kind, and how he all sort of… worked.
She learned that he didn’t need to eat the flesh of humans, only the blood—which was interesting, if not a little stomach churning. The young woman had been able to learn much more interesting factors, such as his species were called; Truxen or Truxi pluralized. Rhulle spoke an entirely different dialect, learning English from various reading techniques and books that were for learning said language littered around the collective. Stars glimmered in her eyes when he demonstrated a simple sentence in his native tongue.
The redhead found the length of just one of his wings was 1… 2… 2 ½ times that of her own arms span! She had measured by stretching out, palms touching the long feathers, before turning in toward his body, counting how many times her arms could fit. For how he came to Earth, he was here because he wanted to be. Technology of his planet integrated with the cosmos in a way that probably made sense to him, but left her with some confusion—boiling down to a gateway of sorts and how he arrived here.
She didn’t want to ramble off too many questions all at once, after all, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable or overwhelmed by her intrusive nature. Avie did ask about the similarities and differences between how the truxi and humans danced, seeing as it became a new passion of his.
Rhulle demonstrated in the cleared-up space, hands placed differently, palms together between them rather than on their dance partner. Stepping differently yet, still in a swinging and simple motion. It was fun to dance with him and hear his laugh while he spun her around and around—learning new dances that were similar along the way. He enjoyed movie nights; she had shown him so many other movies that kept his attention more than he would admit to her.
In the quietness of the late hour, he gave painting an enthusiastic try, enjoying creating little details on a canvas, a skill he seemed versed in. Avie watched him in fascination, every stroke with his brush calculating and planned, bathing in the light of the fire. Eventually he turned and caught her staring.
“No moving,” he said, a light-hearted affronted tone matched his side smile.
She laughed once, returning to her original pose and holding the position for a while. In the light of the fireplace, Rhulle handed her the completed work, leaving her mouth to hang open while she studied the incredible canvas.
A portrait of herself sat in profile, the fire that crinkled in the background blazed around her in the paint; blossoming into flowers that bore striking semblance to her fiery hair. They weaved into the strands, adorning a crown of intense chrysanthemums, roses, and lilies, adding to the serene expression and distinctive red lips. It felt so… alive.
“Oh my gosh... You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
He shrugged where he stood, “I picked up a few skills awhile back.”
It was the most beautiful thing she ever received. Even her own family could never put in this much effort… Her fingertips squeezed tighter around the border involuntarily, a question burned in her mind that she had been wanting to ask but danced around because of the heavier, more personal theme.
“You have another question?” The smirk stayed as he moved to sit beside her on the ground.
“Did… did you have a family that you had to leave on Celisc?”
Rhulle stiffened, his smile dropping, “I have n—I have not thought about them in a long time… What brings this all of a sudden?”
Avie looked down at the painting once more, “This is so beautiful, so much thought and talent went into making it, my own parents never took the time to think about me like this. I left them as soon as I could and moved far away, even farther now since I’m in Blacken,” she laughed nervously, “I guess I thought
