A Court of Stars and Memories

50. To Show Affection

    Mitsi was still blushing when she skipped into the house shortly after Nyx dropped her off. He'd left Mina and Micah with her too, but they'd set out into Velaris immediately after. Apparently they'd made plans to go out with their friends again, but this time, Mitsi didn't mind. She was in much too good of a mood to be bothered by that.

    She hummed to herself as she mounted the stairs to the second floor and paused beside Seren's art studio. The female was working on another painting. Thankfully, it was one Mitsi could look at this time. Seren noticed her a moment later and smiled. "I didn't hear you come in. Are Mina and Micah back yet?"

    Mitsi shook her head. "They went out with their friends. I imagine they'll be back later tonight. Oh, and Lysander and Corbin were sent to another warcamp to do some assessments. Ridgeback, I think?"

    Seren nodded, dabbing some green onto her canvas before smearing it into blades of grass with a fan-shaped brush. "Azriel mentioned Ridgeback's warlord was worried about the safety of the camp. The snow hasn't been bad over here, but apparently Ridgeback is facing some severe storms."

    Mitsi leaned back against the doorframe with a sigh. "Devlon said there haven't been any casualties but there have been injuries. Lys said it could be a few days before they come back, depending on what they have to do to protect the camp."

    "That's typical." Seren's jaw clenched briefly and Azriel's shadows flickered across her cheek. "I never have liked Azriel or Lysander being sent to do these types of assessments, especially after what happened to Emrys and Lir's parents. Landslides are dangerous, even to winged Fae."

    She heaved a sigh and faced Mitsi again. "But I won't bother you with that. You're welcome to join me if you want. I might not be as exciting as Eira and Orion, but I like to think that I'm not incredibly boring either."

    "I never thought you were boring," Mitsi laughed, and pulled up a stool beside Seren's. "And actually, I was hoping to speak with you about something."

    "Oh? What is it?"

    Mitsi smiled to herself, touching the tips of her fingers to her cheek before clasping her hands in her lap. "I was wondering if you had any ideas for me. I want to start doing things to..."

    She bit her lip, then squared her shoulders and faced Seren. "To show Lysander how much I care for him. The problem is, I'm not sure what sort of things to do. I was curious if you might have any ideas."

    Seren appeared thoughtful for a moment, then grinned and resumed painting while she spoke. "Lys needs to feel like he's important to someone in a meaningful way. If you want him to know that you care for him, you need to treat him that way. Put effort into him."

    "Do things that you know will help him or make him feel appreciated. That's very important to him. He was always trying to do things like that for the females he saw in the past, and few of them ever returned his effort."

    "What sort of things did he do for them?" Mitsi asked. "That might give me some ideas."

    Seren rubbed her chin, brows knit while she focused. "Lys always loved planning fun outings or picking out the perfect gifts for the females he was interested in. He would plan almost every aspect of a date and do whatever he could to make sure it went smoothly."

    "If for some reason they had to cancel, he always made up for it by visiting the female as soon as he could, and rescheduling their date for another time. He loved giving gifts that he knew would be useful or appreciated, or sometimes he just gave fun trinkets or treats that he knew she would enjoy."