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Soothing, melodic sounds came from Mychael’s instrument as you laid back on the ground. The grass was surprisingly warm, and the trees let in just enough sunlight to warm your face. He was right. This is a good napping spot. You sighed in contentment and closed your eyes. Mychael smiled gently as he continued plucking the metal strips, the delicate melody drifted around the clearing.
“Relax and listen as long as you’d like, firefly”
Chirping and birdsong accompanied the melody filling your ears. You shifted around to get comfortable, and the movement pulled a yawn from you.
This is nice.
I’m not in a hurry…
I could…
stay here…
for a while…
…
Time passed by as you drifted off to sleep in the field. It was anyone’s guess how long you rested on the plush ground, soaking in the sun like a spoiled cat.
A featherlight touch brushed the side of your head. Maybe a butterfly had landed on you. A tingling sensation from the roots of your hair followed.
“So soft…” Mychael’s voice whispers.
You hummed and the tips of your mouth quirked upward. As you opened your eyes, you saw a sideways view of Mychael brushing through your hair with his fingers. His gaze flicked to yours and his ears perked up. Before you could do anything else, he pulled back his arm as blue bloomed across his face.
“Uh. I. Sorry,” he muttered and turned away to grab his abandoned kalimba.
Your face crinkled in a reassuring smile. “Thank you,” you laughed and Mychael whipped his head to face you. Rising up, you leaned your weight back on your hands. All four of his eyes were wide, not knowing what to make of your reply. “It’s a mess compared to yours though,” you said and reached out to brush your fingers against the braid underneath his horn. His pupils dilated, and the blue on his face refused to back down. You diverted your attention back to his face. “Do you braid it every day?”
“No… I just let it be until it comes undone,” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.
You leaned closer to inspect the well-kept hairstyle and took a few strands to twirl between your fingers. It felt like satin in your hands. “Really? Talk about mine being soft! That’s not how I’d describe… this.” You gestured to your head with a disbelieving laugh. “I usually put some effort into my hair, but it hasn’t exactly been my top priority the last few days.”
It certainly had been rough, looking for your cat, getting lost, and-
Your cat. Your cat is gone, you suddenly remembered. A somber expression took hold of your face and you bit your lip to keep it from quivering. Mychael cocked his head at you.
Trying your best to fill your lungs without breaking down, you looked to the ground.
“Listen Mychael, this has been nice. But I really should go home now. I need time to recover from losing my cat. Knowing my house will be empty when I get there… I just need to get it over with.”
Mychael put a comforting hand on your shoulder, his shock from earlier melted away to understanding. A sigh escaped his mouth as his face softened. There was disappointment in his eyes. “It’s alright. We can go to the river to freshen up, I’ll show you the way back home afterwards.”
You tried a shaky smile, despite the tears prickling at your eyes. As you stood up, a yawn escaped your mouth. Even with the loss of your cat weighing heavy on your mind, you missed the warm grass and the gentle melody from Mychael’s instrument.
Mychael seemed to know every path in the forest, he was confident and steadfast as he led the way. Trusting that he knew where he was going, you spent your time watching your feet and staring into the distance. The walk to the stream was quiet, the only noises coming from the forest. Now and again, a bird would chirp, or a bush would rustle as you walked past. A small hope lingered that it was your cat, that the little rascal would jump out of hiding and rub against your leg.
Lost in thought, you bumped into Mychael. He smiled gently at you over his shoulder. “We’re here.” The sound of running water filled your ears, beckoning you to the riverbank.
The damp ground seeped through the knees of your jeans when you sat down. A shiver ran through your spine. The river was clear, you had a full view of the stones scattered on the mossy riverbed. You leaned closed to study the surface, and caught a glimpse of your reflection. Warm embarrassment spread over your face. Messy, knotted hair covered your head, you think you even saw a small twig there. On closer inspection, your eyes were also red and puffy. You didn’t think you had cried on the walk over either, but the bloodshot eyes blinking at you contradicted that notion.
Shaking your head, you cupped your hands in the water and your reflection disappeared with the ripples. When you burrowed your face in the water, a sigh of relief immediately left your throat. The water running down your face cooled your puffy eyes, the sting was gone.
When you opened your eyes again, you saw Mychael’s reflection looking at you. Catching your gaze, he startled and turned blue, just like earlier in the field. His eyes darted to his own reflection. In an instant, his expression went from tranquil to repulsed. His ears fell, and his irises thinned. It was like a blanket of hatred settled on his face. His disgusted face disappeared from the water as he turned to walk away.
You got up and brushed your wet hands on your jeans. Mychael leaned against a tree with crossed arms, and a faraway look on his face. He smiled at you when you neared, no remnant of his earlier feelings present.
“You ready?”
You bit your cheek. No one should have that reaction looking at themself. A memory of yourself the day before entered your mind, asking him what he was. If Mychael wasn't waiting right in front of you, you might have slapped your cheeks in condemnation.
“Mychael?”
He cocked his head at you and raised an eyebrow.
“You know. You're not a monster.”
He flinched at the last word and his eyes widened.
“I saw how you were looking at yourself. The way you talk about yourself. But it’s not true. You’re not a monster, and I’ll keep telling you until you believe it.”
You took a step forward, and Mychael seemed to lean back. His hands were grasped by yours before he could back away further. Startled by the contact, he jumped slightly.
“After just one day with you, I think you’re the most wonderful person I’ve met.”
“I-. That’s not-,” Mychael managed to choke out. His ears drooped, likening himself to a sleeping fawn.
“Be quiet and listen to me!”
He shut his mouth and gulped at your outburst.
“Why should your appearance matter? You’re the nicest person I’ve ever known. You saved my life, you’re sweet, you’re charming, you’re an amazing cook. You’re a million other things, but you are not a monster, Mychael.”
You inhaled to compensate for not breathing during your tirade.
“You may look different. But guess what?”
He gulped and his shoulders crept up to make himself smaller, fearing what would come out of your mouth next.
“That makes you all the more beautiful to me.”
Mychael’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Golden irises stared into your own while you gave his trembling hands a slight squeeze. The forest around you was quiet, as if it was holding its breath.
Blood rushed to your face as your heart beat faster. Sweat was forming on your palms and you released Mychael’s hands in favour of hiding them in your pockets. “Uh.” You uttered, not having a clue what you should do next. A glance at Mychael’s face showed you he didn’t either. You took in his appearance, his face overtaken by blue, ears perked up and eyes wide in shock. The braid by his horn caught your eyes.
You got an idea, a shaky smile forming on your lips.
“Is it alright if I braid your hair?”
“Oh. Uh. Go ahead?” He seemed unsure of what you were thinking.
You plopped down on the ground and patted the space between his feet.
“Come on, sit.”
He looked around. “Huh? Here?”
“Yes, right here.”
He warily obeyed, looking at you with raised eyebrows.
You undid his plait and separated his bangs into two sections. Still sitting on your knees, you awkwardly shuffled along the side of his head while pulling new strands of hair into the braid. Lucky for you, the ground wasn’t too hard. No bruises today. It proved to be more challenging to braid his short hair than you had imagined. A few pieces of hair escaped your grasp every time your hands shifted.
Even though you knew his hair was soft, it was still a surprise to see there were almost no tangles when you were separating the strands from each other. For some reason, you hadn’t expected his hair to be this well taken care of. Well, maybe the reason was because he lived in a cabin in the middle of the woods.
As you came to the back of his head and crossed over the last pieces of hair of the first braid, you noticed his tail swinging side to side. Like a cat. You smiled ruefully, making sure not to get in its way. Thoughts of your cat still occupied your mind.
You circled back around to the front of his face and grabbed the remaining part of his bangs. As you sectioned his locks to start the process over again, a gentle pressure wrapped around your thigh. Looking down, you see Mychael’s tail circled around your leg. The mushroom appendage on its end rested against your pants. If it was on purpose or if his tail had moved of its own volition, you didn’t know.
With his hair out of the way, you had full view of his face. Surprisingly, he seemed to be asleep. There was a serene expression on his face. Lost in your thoughts, you almost missed the soft purring coming from the man. Now he really seems like a cat. Not wanting to break the comfortable atmosphere, you decided not to ask about the tail or the sounds coming from his chest.
While you moved further back to finish the braid, the tail wrapped around you loosened slightly to follow your movement. Finally, you joined the two braids and secured them in a ponytail at the back.
Pushing yourself off the ground, Mychael’s tail fell in a loose coil on the grass. The purring subsided, and he turned to look at you. You circled him once and admired your work, his eyes tried to follow you the best they could.
His bangs were pulled back, so you could see all of his face. It was strange to see him without the hair covering half of his face, but he looked quite... nice.
“There. Now I can look at your face properly,” you smiled and crouched down to his level again. He looked at you, the blue once again returning to his face. “I hope you can remember now, Mychael. Your appearance doesn’t scare me.”
His pupils widened, like an excited cat. The silence of the forest returned. You wrung your hands together, restless without Mychael’s hair to keep them busy. His lips thinned, preventing any words, any vulnerabilities, from slipping out. Every muscle in his body stilled, and you weren’t even sure he was breathing anymore.
He covered his face with his hands. “Mychael?” Anxiety bubbled in your chest. Had you done something wrong? His new hairstyle wasn’t helping you see his face this time around. The sounds of mumbling were muffled beneath his hands. “Huh?” You cocked your head at him.
Mychael looked up at you, his eyes wide and desperate like a wild animal. A chill raced up your spine from the way his gaze was trained on you. As if he couldn’t see anything else. A beat of silence. Then, he murmured, “I can't let you leave.”