PENUMBRA (how the flowers grow)

3. Smile

When she startles awake early in the morning, Sabina half expects the fae man to be gone, but when she looks over at the other side of the bed, she discovers he's definitely not. Tuluvey is curled up on his side, sleeping peacefully. The dark red of the bedsheets makes the pastel green of his skin stand out. The flowers in his hair have fallen out and lay scattered on the pillow under his head. Sabina reaches out to touch one, rolling it over so it faces her.

That's so weird, she thinks.

Sabina looks up at the ceiling and rubs her eyes. Her eyes feel heavy and she has little desire to get out of bed save for the urge to put some distance between her and Tuluvey. If he moved, he might accidentally touch her.

She sits up and a wave of dizziness washes over her. She looks over at Tuluvey, briefly entertaining the notion of waking him up. She sighs and stands and walks to the mirror by the water basin in the corner of the room. She smooths down her hair and tugs her gloves up. Usually, she sleeps with them off, but couldn't get herself to take them off last night.

I'm surprised I even got a wink of sleep last night, she reflects. I've made a mistake. What was I thinking?

Tuluvey isn't like anyone she's met in Shasan, but she's met people who could change themselves as easy as breathing. She met people who could alter their voices or their faces, change their personalities so quickly it's frightening. She's never been good at that, no, but others are. He could be.

She glances at him in the mirror and thinks that she can't know for sure. Fae are supposed to be more transparent than other beings. It's supposed to be easier to deal with them because of it, but Sabina didn't do missions that took her out of Shasan and fae are hard to find there. She hasn't been able to get a read on the few she's met since leaving.

Arthur's voice whispers in the back of her mind, tells her to list the things that she knows, even if she can't be sure of them. She walks away from the mirror and tugs on her jacket. She rummages through her bag for a needle and thread and makes a list in her head.

Fae. Likes to talk. Grows flowers in his hair, probably has some plant magic. Comfortable around strangers. Easy-going. Doesn't seem physically strong, but it's hard to tell with inhumans. He's not any bigger than me both heightwise and bodywise. I could take him in a fight, but I don't know how strong he is in magic.

She finds the needle and thread and sits on the edge of the bed and begins to sew up a rip in her pants the way Tuluvey taught her. The seam simply gave out and she knows she'll have to dish out coin for a new pair soon enough. She steals a glance at Tuluvey. He looks peaceful, sleeping on the bed like that. She envies his ability to relax so easily. It must be nice to let your guard down- more dangerous, yes- but less stressful. The idea of completely relaxing sounds unattainable to Sabina and just the thought of how she agreed to let a stranger share her room for the night has her stomach in knots.

For all the world, what was I thinking?

Tuluvey stirs and she rips her eyes away in a snap, realizing she was staring a bit too long at him to be anything other than creepy. She continues with her stitchwork, fingers fumbling the needle. She hears Tuluvey yawn and rustle the sheets and looks over only when she knows he's sitting up.

"Uh- morning," she says, attempting to keep the edge out of her voice.

"Good morning," Tuluvey answers and sends a drowsy smile her way.

He yawns once more and stretches like a cat. Little green sprouts peek out through the deep green curls of his hair and blossom into colorful little flowers. Sabina watches, fascinated, then quickly looks away once she realizes she's staring. Tuluvey giggles and Sabina tries not to feel defensive.