Page 19 of How Not to Charm Your Human Colleague (Falling for Demons #2)
FRIENDSHIP
Aofe
A ofe set the quill down, stretching her fingers before the cramp took hold. She let out a long sigh, digging her opposite thumb into her palm to massage the stiffness.
From where her head rested in Aofe’s lap, Attie let out a soft whine and blinked two of her eyes.
“I know,” Aofe whispered, letting her fingers nestle into the fur between Attie’s ears. “I’m taking breaks.”
She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes against the sunshine. As much as she’d hoped Attie being near and the hours in the greenhouse over the last three days would help, the aches were not going away.
The atteapir snorted, nudging Aofe’s legs.
“Sweetie, you are not going to fit in my lap.” Gesturing to the pile of papers in front of her, she said, “This is important. At least, I want it to be. I don’t know if the other girls have access to this information, so if I can help?—”
“She’s in the greenhouse. Can’t miss it down the path,” came Kizros’s voice from a distance. “Right. Can’t miss it because of the… yeah, sunshine through the open door. Just, uh, shout if you need us.”
Aofe frowned. She knew he didn’t let any of his customers wander freely outside, let alone into the greenhouse, so who would he be encouraging to go and find her?
It took another minute before a small body crept into the open doorway.
Well, small was relative. Aofe was by no means tall, especially not leaning heavily on crutches, but the human hesitant to enter was making an effort to crunch her taller frame into something unnoticeable.
Aofe immediately empathized.
“Kat, right?” Aofe waved. “Hi. We, uh, didn’t get a chance to meet before.”
The woman gave a tentative smile but only lingered in the doorway, eyes squinting in the sunshine but taking in the greenhouse.
“I’d offer a tour, but”—she gestured to her crutches—“I’m not sure I’d make it very far today.”
Kat stiffened, visible eye going wide behind a curtain of tawny hair, and it took Aofe a moment to realize that she wasn’t staring at the crutches .
“Her name is Attie,” Aofe offered, petting the creature who hadn’t left her side. “She’s an atteapir.”
“A what?” Kat whispered.
Aofe grinned. “A giant fox with six eyes who can’t figure out what order they’re supposed to blink in.
” At that, a small smile crept up the visible side of Kat’s face.
“She’s very friendly, a little clingy, but she won’t bother you if you’re uncomfortable.
You can come sit with me if you’d like, or walk around. ”
Kat rocked on her heels for a breath before slowly shuffling across the stone to Aofe’s table. She kept a sizable distance from all the plants, like one brush against a leaf might hurt them. Or her.
“Your sister is Kalypso?” Aofe asked as Kat pulled out the chair to her right. “Have you seen her much?”
Whatever small ease she’d gotten out of Kat before was gone the moment she mentioned Kalypso. “Not much. Not since… not since we came here.”
And since Aofe was a master of many things, including reading people, she knew to drop that subject immediately. “You’ve been working the post? Brioni says you’re the one doing the embroideries on our clothing.”
Even now, Aofe could see the little designs Kat had stitched into her long sleeves.
The woman ducked her head, her curtain of hair slipping over her nose. “Sorry. I won’t do any more?—”
“I love them.” Kat blinked, a dip in her brow like this surprised her.
“I know I’ve been a bit picky about getting warmer clothing, but that sweater you put the flowers on?
They’re beautiful, and the detail is incredible.
I mean, you don’t have to do them if you’re busy or don’t want to, but I think they’re cute.
And you’re really talented. How did you know what to do? ”
A soft pink rose to Kat’s cheeks. “Bri said you worked at the apothecary. And that your hair was blue. I didn’t realize which shade, but I just thought of flowers and…”
She trailed off, darting a hesitant glance at Attie who let out a gentle sigh. The move shifted her hair just enough for Aofe to catch a glimpse of a scar to the right of her lips, but then Kat was tugging her hair back in place, none the wiser.
“Sounded like someone came with you,” Aofe offered into the silence.
Kat nodded quickly. “Azrion gets his paint here.”
“Kiz has the best pigments,” Aofe said with a smile before tugging on a lock of her blue hair. “The dye holds so much better than what we had in the human world.”
“It’s really pretty.” Kat’s blush darkened, but her shoulders were softening again. “Your hair is lovely. I wish I had the confidence to do something like that.”
“Believe me, the maintenance is not worth it,” Aofe teased. “I would do anything for your length, but the moment my hair gets past my shoulders, it’s just a puffball. Like this girl.” She wiggled her fingers in Attie’s fur.
That seemed to get Kat to relax even more, the tension in her body seeping away.
“Anyway, sorry. I’ve been talking to plants all morning. You don’t have to linger if you want to explore the greenhouse. The sunshine is really nice after being in the dark constantly.”
“The daymoon is really weird,” Kat whispered, then gave Aofe a soft smile. “I don’t mind sitting. I, uh, don’t know how long Azrion will be.”
Aofe refrained from inquiring about what sort of relationship Kat had with this demon, lest she scare the woman off so soon, but she did have an idea with the timing of Kat’s arrival.
“If he’s with Kiz? You might be here a while. Not to corner you, and you can say no, but I could really use your help. How would you mind a little work while we wait?”
As she expected, Kat curled away. “ My help?”
Aofe tapped her left hand on the papers spread out in front of her. “I’ve been working on this compendium for us. Plants that we can and can’t eat, things we shouldn’t touch, some of the creatures we could come across and whether they’re friendly or not. A few recipes for some home remedies.”
Kat shook her head. “I don’t think I’m going to be very useful. I don’t know anything more?—”
“I need you to draw,” Aofe blurted.
The woman blinked, mouth parted on the words she never got to say.
Aofe blew out a breath. “Sorry, I just… I’m trying to be better about this, but it’s really hard to admit when I can’t do something…
” Slowly, Aofe lifted her right hand between them.
The tremor running through her fingers was so bad, even her wrist was shaking.
“I’m not great at drawing to begin with, but my sketches are completely indecipherable. ”
Kat was silent as Aofe curled her fingers back into Attie’s fur.
“I’m sorry,” Aofe whispered again, heaving a sigh and staring at the mess in front of her. “I’m not trying to guilt you into doing this for me. I just thought, since you obviously have incredible talent and attention to detail, that you would have some drawing skills that I do not.”
There was a tension that followed her exhalation, one Aofe didn’t want to witness, until there was a quiet response.
“I can draw.”
Aofe whipped her gaze back to Kat, hoping that her relief didn’t give off desperation. “Really?”
Kat twisted her lips to the side. “I can’t promise it’ll be good.”
“Can you hold a quill?”
Kat frowned at the question before nodding carefully.
“Then I guarantee it’ll be better than what I’ve got.”
Aofe plucked a compendium page from the stack with her left hand before placing it between them on the work surface.
Kat cleared her throat. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Is that…?”
“Attie? Supposed to be,” Aofe muttered, grimacing at the attempt. Her eyes were misshapen, she seemed to have too much head and not enough body, and the tail was nowhere fluffy enough.
Attie let out a rumbling huff, and Kat gave the creature a sympathetic nod. “I think I can help.”
They spent their time in comfortable companionship, sometimes with silence, sometimes with small talk. Aofe showed her the examples of what she needed sketched, and Kat took to the task how Aofe imagined she focused on her embroidery.
And the results were much better than what Aofe could have produced, even on a good day.
“Thank you for your help, Kat.” She didn’t think Kat was much for physical touch, so when Kat stood to leave, she hoped her smile was enough. At the very least, the little purr Attie gave the other woman when she scratched behind the creature’s ears seemed like a good start.
Kat returned the smile, slightly less guarded than when they’d started.
“Hey,” Aofe offered before Kat turned. “I… can’t really get around much, but… you can come by any time.”
Kat fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. “Okay.”
Maybe it was bold, to share so much, but when there were only six humans, it felt important to stick together.
“I mean it. Even on days where I’m struggling, Kiz can let you into the greenhouse to just…
be alone. Or we can sit in silence, or read, or I can show you a few more recipes I’ve learned. You have the one for your headaches?”
She patted her pocket. “Thank you.”
“I’ll make another batch, just in case you can’t find the ingredients, and I’ll have the, uh…”
“Drayk,” Kat said with a small grin.
“I’ll have a drayk deliver the vial,” Aofe finished on a laugh. “I’m sure Kiz will be excited to show me how that works.”
Kat hesitated, rolling back on her heels before she muttered, “You and Kizros… you, um…”
And now Aofe had a lot of questions she wanted to ask the woman, but maybe next time, if she came back.
Instead, she said, “I’ve been held back a lot in my life.
Some of it’s my own doing, sometimes by others.
” At this, Kat’s eyes darted away. “I don’t have it all figured out, but…
maybe Heck was a gift. A chance to start over.
Why not do what makes us happy this time around? ”
Through the curtain of Kat’s hair, Aofe could have sworn she saw the woman’s lips tilt upward just a fraction. Then she nodded and left without another word.
And Aofe really hoped she’d come back again.