She even cringed when Mayumi lifted one of her younglings into the air with both hands while giggling. She then snuggled her nose against theirs, and their pliable claws bent backwards as they happily grabbed at her cheeks.
Since her face had gone pale, Ingram drew the glossy curve of his claw against Emerie’s cheek. “Is something wrong?”
“Huh?” she rasped, directing her face to his swiftly like he’d snapped her out of her thoughts. “Oh, nothing. I think I’m just hungry.” Then she gave a light laugh. “Training can do that to a person. I used to eat like a horse after training sessions at the guild.”
Why did he feel like that was a... lie? Or, at least, a half-truth.
Emerie was trying her absolute hardest to remain all smiles and light-hearted... she really was. Or, at least, tried to hide her internal struggles as best she could from everyone.
That seemed fucking impossible with the Duskwalker that rarely took his orbs off her. He was getting worse about it too, like he could tell something was off about her. She wondered how much longer she could brush him off without imploding.
With the way she was feeling, she knew she was a hair trigger away from exploding the next time he softly and quietly asked if she was okay.
I don’t want to tell him why I’m upset. It was no one’s fault but her own, even though it was the situation that was causing it. Gosh, I feel so damn petty.
And the longer she sat in the home of this charming little family, the more a hook sunk deeper and deeper into her chest. Would it rip her open, or wait to rise to the surface?
She felt like she and Ingram were imposing on Mayumi and Faunus in their home, but they had nowhere else to go other than the tent they’d been loaned. However, Mayumi was offering to cook Emerie dinner, and she hadn’t wanted to deny her hospitality and come across as rude.
Emerie had spent almost every moment with Mayumi today. Yes, part of it was to avoid Ingram, since he seemed content next to Faunus, following him around wherever he went because he wouldn’t come near Mayumi if he didn’t have to. Another was because the woman just seemed happy to have a fellow Demonslayer around.
They’d spoken about their different lives in their sectors, reminisced on stories that were similar. Mayumi had spoken of her father and how she’d joined the guild to follow in his footsteps.
Emerie had eventually found it hard to share after that.
They had walked down the same kind of path, but one fateful decision meant they were worlds apart. Would always be worlds apart. Emerie had somewhat regretted her choice for the longest time, but this was the first instance it threatened to suffocate her.
Even if they hadn’t spoken about it, Emerie was sure Mayumi was aware of it.
The woman seemed too calculating and had an awfully keen eye. There were times Mayumi’s features would tighten, and she’d go silent, or redirect the conversation or what was happening in an attempt to help.
It didn’t.
Not when Emerie gave her a reassuring and appreciative smile, thankful she wasn’t airing out the problem.
It didn’t stop Ingram, though.
Whenever he wasn’t facing Emerie expectantly, he was staring at one of the baby Duskwalkers with his head tilting and twitching. If his tail was around her wrist or ankle, it’d curl tighter. That, or she’d feel him tense. He would also do it whenever the other couple were sweet to each other, and his orbs would change to a bright green.
He was jealous.
No matter what he wanted, he’d never get what they had from Emerie. If he tried to push it on her, she knew she would break and that wasn’t fair on him. Her past choices shouldn’t impact him, or his life, and it just made her acutely aware that she needed to draw a line in the sand between them.
No, not just a line, an entire field.
It’d been less than two days since they’d arrived in the Veil, and already she was antsy about going after the Demon King and ending all this. Either she would die, or they would be successful, and she’d ask to be dropped off at the nearest village or town.
They were her plans... even if it wasn’t what her heart was telling her she wanted.
Ingram tightened his tail on her again, and she looked up from the table towards Mayumi in the kitchen. Her pulse raced with urgency. When will dinner be ready?
The quicker it was over, the quicker she could go hide.
If she fell asleep before Ingram could even enter the tent, maybe she could avoid him touching her intimately. She wouldn’t deny him the comfort he sought by lying down next to her to relieve the wallowing loneliness that obviously ate him up inside. It was also why she hadn’t kicked his tail away when she desperately wanted to for her own self-preservation. And because she secretly knew, deep down inside, she pathetically craved it too.
She knew she liked Ingram on a level that no human probably should. Which was becoming easier to deal with now that she understood she wasn’t alone in developing feelings for a Duskwalker. Hard not to when she’d met three other women who had fallen for their own.
She wasn’t the only one that craved touching them, learning them, pleasuring them, just so they could do so in return. Just the thought had her nipples pebbling for it against her will, despite her despondent emotions.
However, if Ingram wanted a life like theirs, she just wasn’t the human for him then.
She was sure he could find a new one, a better one. One that wasn’t broken in more ways than she could count. He could use all that she’d taught him to not make mistakes and frighten them, not that Emerie minded any of the times he’d accidentally hurt her or frightened her.
At least she was setting him up for a brighter future, she hoped. Just one I probably won’t be a part of.
Gosh, why did that make her want to tear up?
“Emerie, if you are cold, I can warm you,” Ingram offered when he noticed her shiver. He placed his big hand over her left thigh.
For some reason, her scars were more sensitive, and she was more self-conscious of them than ever before.
“No, I’m okay,” she assured.
She wasn’t shivering because she was cold. She was trembling because her mind wouldn’t shut the fuck up and she wished it would stop pestering her. She wanted to enjoy her time in this warm house, filled with lovely people.
Stop pressuring me, she silently begged at him.
He didn’t mean to. He was just showing he cared, but right now, she felt like an imposter. She was worried she was going to hurt him, whether it be now or in the future, and the guilt of it was already making her skin itch.
Then, to make matters worse, Faunus approached Mayumi from behind while she was stirring something in a frypan. He licked the side of her neck while asking her what she was making, not that he was going to eat it, and placed his hand on her shoulder to bring her closer.
One of their children crawled off her and onto his hand.