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The more she did this, the more he felt himself falling into some kind of spell.

Yet, there was an obvious barrier between them.

Not only would she not let him see and touch her unless he was seeking a comforting embrace – which she seemed happy to supply – she also revealed little about herself.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to ask her, and she wasn’t forthcoming with it.

As he’d asked himself many times, he thought,Is it because I am Mavka?

Just because she didn’t treat him like a monster, didn’t mean she... liked him. Or trusted him with her secrets.

Would it have been easier had he been a human?

Ingram paused his pacing so he could reach up to his skull and drift his claws down his raven beak.I am different to her.

His face was different, his body was different. There was nothing about them that was similar. He even had a tail and walked on all fours, whereas she didn’t.

It hadn’t escaped his notice that other Mavka sometimes walked on just two feet.

“Okay! I’m done. You can come back now,” Emerie called out.

He immediately headed back over to her, thankful to escape being alone.

Her hair was darker than normal and appeared heavily weighed down by the water. She was just twisting it and wringing it when he came upon her.

“It’s a really nice afternoon and my body is a little sore from sitting still all the time,” she said, dipping her blue eyes over to him. “I’d like to walk for a while before night falls.”

Ingram nodded, having no issue with this, even though she was incredibly slow.

Leading the way, she opened her bag and scooped out a handful of berries, popping them into her mouth as she walked.She always eats. She is a hungry thing.Ingram tried to find as many of them as he could, since she often looked cute when she was delighted to see them.

He liked that she’d turn that delight towards him.

She popped another berry in her mouth and gave a hum as she chewed. He watched her, as he often did when they were side by side.

Her arms weren’t elongated like his were, and they swayed at her sides in rhythm, yet she was able to utilise them whenever she wanted. Ingram inspected her feet and the way they moved against the ground. His sight drew up her legs, noticing they weren’t bowed like his were.

If he walked like this, similar to her and other humans, would she be more inclined to like him in return?

He could rear back if he wished to, but he’d never tried to walk. Ingram fell behind and pushed up so he was on two legs.

His torso was curled too far forward, unbalancing him, and he fell to his hands. He quickly caught up to her when she’d gained a small distance.

With his second attempt, he dug his claws into the bark of a tree, using it to hold him steady. One side of him dipped forward, unable to maintain it with the way his back was permanently bent.

Were the other Mavka born differently?He and Aleron had never stood tall. Neither had tried to do this. Ingram sat and looked down at his palms.I wish there was a way I could change my form.

The strangest sensation rippled inside him.

He twisted his head to inspect his own body, attempting to see past his beak. Dark yellow swirled into his sight.

It was slow to start, but his arms shrank in length and became thicker. His legs, on the other hand, grew thinner and longer, shaping into something else. His toes shortened as his feet widened.

He winced when his back cracked, but that was only because it was straightening. His shoulders pushed back, and even the arch of his neck changed, along with the way his skull sat above it.

The fur over his body shortened even further until it almost disappeared completely, leaving him only covered in scales.

His hands stayed the same, still large and calloused. His skull never changed, but it was weightier on his neck and began to dip to the side. He straightened it, and it almost went the other way.