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"A-are you sure you're okay with this? I know my tub's a little cramped for yo-"

Mal chose to turn in that moment to look directly at Kaela and silently raise an arched brow. "A little?"  the expression says, and the girl has the good graces to blush at that. "Okay, a lot cramped. But... there must be something else we can do?"

Mal's response is to simply take her top off, thumbing the buttons holding it in place and being careful when sliding it off her wings. "Done it before," she says, her strange voice vibrating in her chest as she stretches her wings to their full span; they cast a wide shadow on the ground behind her, over the spot Kaela stands, and she hears the audible sigh of relief as feathers ripple from shoulder to wingtip before they fold, relaxed.

Kaela hums and glances at the pond Mal's so keen on entering. It's certainly wide and seems clean enough based on its clarity, so clear she can make out the bottom of the deepest part even from where she stands. Overall, perfectly safe, but even still...

"You shouldn't have to bathe in a pond..." Kaela mutters, feeling a strange pang of guilt in her gut at the thought. It isn't her fault the tub is simply too small for someone as towering as Mal; the Spirit could barely sit in it without her legs and arms completely overtaking the edge, and that isn't including the massive wings cramped against the walls. But it was Mal's apartment as much as it was her own now, surely there were ways to accommodate her? There's got to be something else that's better than a random ol pond in the forest, right?

To her chagrin, none of her silent questions are answered with nothing but the click of a belt hitting the ground, and before she knows it water ripples with movement as Mal wanders out to the deepest depression of the pond. She sighs under her breath; they were here now, may as well make the best of it.

Setting the box of wash products on the edge of a rock where Mal can reach them, Kaela strips down to the swimsuit she wore under her clothing and lets herself slide feet-first into the cool water with her own relief. Even in the early morn and the shade of the trees the summer sun felt stifling, and it felt nice to finally get away from it.

Mindful of giving Mal space and some semblance of privacy, she closes her eyes as she sets herself adrift the pond on her back, lazily kicking this way and that. The water splashes quietly with every movement Mal makes, and while they don't speak, the silence is comfortable and relaxed. Kaela doesn't know how long they stay like this, but it's long enough for her to soak in her surroundings; morning birds chirping merrily as they get ready for their day, the warmth of the sun on her skin filtering through the green leaves of the trees, the soft smell of the soaps Mal uses mixing with the clean summer air. Kaela sighs quietly; she can't quite remember the last time she's felt this relaxed.

"Kaela?"

The sound of her name startles her enough to nearly sink underwater and she flails briefly before righting herself. Pushing some of her hair out of her face with an embarrassed sputter, she turns around to look at Mal with a hoarse "‘Ae?"

To her relief, Mal doesn't seem to mind her sudden surprise floundering (or is courteous enough to ignore it) and instead simply looks at her with a weighted gaze. Her fingers are repeatedly trailing over the expanse of her braid, tapping occasionally against the metal clasp that holds the end in place, and Kaela is suddenly struck by how nervous she looks.

For all the expanse that she's known Mal over the last few weeks, she's never seen her look nervous about anything.

She sits up fully, or at least as much as she can while actively keeping afloat, and asks "what's wrong?" The spirit shakes her head in response with a hum, takes a step closer; she's tall enough that she doesn't need to swim.
Her fingers trace over her braid one more time before she puts her hand down, allowing it sink into the water as she squares her shoulders.

"Wash my hair?"

Kaela feels her eyelashes flutter in bewilderment, and all she can do is stutter out “ah” before she falls quiet. The last time she offered to wash Mal’s hair, she was met with a guarded stare and hands flying to protectively grasp at the long expanse of dark strands. A resounding no. She never offered again after that, unwilling to make the spirit uncomfortable. But this was… new.

The silence stretching between them this time is more tense than the last, and Kaela takes the time to take in Mal’s stance; standing to the full extent of her height with the water only just reaching her waist, wings raised slightly, shoulders squared yet still just barely trembling. Mal’s eyes are burning with knowledge Kaela doesn’t quite understand, but she gets the impression her request has far more meaning behind it than it does on the surface. A silent question masked beneath another.

It didn’t feel appropriate to answer with words, so Kaela answers by hoisting herself up onto the rock nearby, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap before giving a slow, quiet nod.

Mal drawls out a breath through her nose, as if trying to expel the last of her nerves, before she wades over to where the girl sits patiently. She turns around the moment she’s in reach and allows her braid to fall in place against her back, doing nothing more than being as still as a statue. Kaela takes a moment of her own before she reaches for the braid and carefully clicks open the metal clasp, setting it aside before getting to work.

The hair is unlike anything she’s felt before; heavy and coarse, a strange mix of being rough yet smooth enough to easily glide her fingers through as she undoes the braid. Closer to the scalp the hair feels slightly harder, almost like the quills of a strong feather, and Kaela gets the impression not a strand would come loose even with a strong tug. Mal tenses when neat nails scratch lightly over her scalp, but when Kaela combs through the tresses again with her fingers to feel for any tangles, she heaves a deep, rumbling sigh that the girl feels in the base of her own chest.

Kaela sets about washing Mal’s hair with shampoo next, massaging from scalp before combing outward to the ends in a repeated motion before she cups water to wash out the suds. She repeats with conditioner, and it’s only when she begins to carefully run a toothed comb through Mal’s hair that she notices the consistent growling noise the spirit’s making. She slows the motion of the comb as she glances up with her brows furrowed in confusion.

“Are you okay?” She asks, and all she gets from Mal is a quiet “hm?” in response. “You’re… I’m not hurting you, am I?”

The spirit shifts a little at her question but otherwise remains where she is, and it takes a moment for Kaela to realize she shook her head no. She blinks as she brings the comb back up to bear, having stopped momentarily.

“Then…?” She combs downward, digging only slightly at the base of Mal’s neck before moving the comb outward again, and she can’t help a startled laughing breath when the same rolling noise erupts from the spirit in a loud,
relaxed sigh.

“Ah. Are you purring?”

Mal shakes her head again, but the movement is only followed by another one of those “purrs”, and Kaela doesn’t stop the giggle that escapes her. “Sounds kinda like you are,” she teases lightly, but she drops it when Mal snorts and shrugs, and the two fall quiet again.

For the remainder of their stay at the pond it remains quiet, not a word passed between them, but Kaela could feel the change in the air. This one is far more comfortable, even more so than any of the quiet moments before, and as Mal leads the way back into the forest and toward the path back to town, she sees how different her posture is. Still as tall as ever, but her broad shoulders are sloped, wings lax and her freshly braided hair still falling against her back instead of over her shoulder as it usually is. Not an ounce of underlying wariness she carried since the beginning of the morning, since the first time she met her.

Kaela slows her walk down and stares at her feet for a long moment, gathering up her courage to break the silence. When she does with Mal’s name, and when the spirit stops to turn and look at her, she swallows the nerves that bundles in her throat and asks:

“Can we do this again sometime?”

The silence returns for a few quickening heartbeats as Mal studies her, searching her face like she always does. Before finally, right before Kaela runs out of breath to hold, one of her rare, careful smiles curls onto her lips.

There’s warmth in her voice when she drawls out “yes”.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHRIST ALMIGHTY THIS GOT LONG! I didn’t think I’d manage to write upwards to 3 pages of Mal and Kaela hangin’ out at a pond but uh. welp. Here we are. o3o

Based on the anon question I got here asking about how long Mal’s hair was, and that ended with me writing a short story and makin’ some art to answer it. ;w;

General context of the story itself is showcasing a moment Mal, albeit nervously, decides to fully trust Kaela. I wanted to show it off in somethin’ that could seem mundane to someone else, but to Mal, who holds great importance on her hair, asking Kaela to wash her hair is essentially her asking “can I trust you? Even when vulnerable?” and the way Kaela responds is essentially her saying “you are safe with me.”

I tried not to outright say that in the story so I hope it comes off that way! ;w;

ANYWAY some additional background stuff too if you’re curious:

-A little extra artwork showing off Mal's hair is here!

-When I say Mal's voice is "strange", it's because she, and every other Spirit, speaks with a flanging voice! It essentially means they have "two voices": Spirits speak as if they’re using two separate voices, one clear and the other quieter, almost “growly” or rumbling and echoeing behind the clear voice's words, sometimes not even fully forming the words in question; it’s often described as quiet thunder rolling. The flange carries into any language the Spirit speaks, so they sound strange even when speaking a human language.

- While I'm highly considering making hair and how it’s viewed by Spirits an important part of their culture, Mal herself highly values her hair in general. It’s more than something that just grows on her head, it’s an extension of herself, and in more ways than one; when she transforms, her entire body’s covered in a pelt that’s the same as her hair and wings, and it acts as a barrier of protection from harm and the like. For Mal, in addition to the possible cultural importance of hair, to her it’d also mean safety, protection, security; when she’s nervous or uneasy she often runs her fingers along her braid to calm herself down because it’d make her feel safer.

Kaela being allowed to touch her hair, let alone help care for it, is very telling of how trusting Mal is toward her, and second only to allowing her to touch her wings.

-Mal’s too big to fit in Kaela’s tiny bathtub and the first few weeks living with her was kinda troublesome when it came to bathing. ESPECIALLY for cleaning her wings. After a few awkward tries with the extendable shower faucet, Mal outright gave up trying to use the tiny little bathtub and just opted to use the springs deep in the woods.

Kaela dislikes the idea of Mal having to use a damn lake in the woods to bathe but until they find out about Spirit Bath Houses, it’s the best they come up with, so she would sometime accompany her. This particular instance is probably the first time Mal asks Kaela to come with her. o3o

Aaaand I think that’s all I have to say for now! If you’re curious about the characters and the world they live in, just visit the Feathers and Flowers tag, of which I’ll link below! In the meantime I hope you enjoy the writing and the artwork, and thank you for taking a looksie! ^.^

More from Feathers and Flowers:

Link to more FnF lore:
earthsong9405.tumblr.com/tagge…

Enjoy my art? Consider supporting me and my work by commissioning me or joining my Patreon!

Commission Prices    Patreon

Alternatively, you can follow me and find more of my headcanons, artwork, and content on my other social media linked below!

Tumblr    Picarto    My Youtube     Brother's Youtube     Twitter

Description

"A-are you sure you're okay with this? I know my tub's a little cramped for yo-"

Mal chose to turn in that moment to look directly at Kaela and silently raise an arched brow. "A little?"  the expression says, and the girl has the good graces to blush at that. "Okay, a lot cramped. But... there must be something else we can do?"

Mal's response is to simply take her top off, thumbing the buttons holding it in place and being careful when sliding it off her wings. "Done it before," she says, her strange voice vibrating in her chest as she stretches her wings to their full span; they cast a wide shadow on the ground behind her, over the spot Kaela stands, and she hears the audible sigh of relief as feathers ripple from shoulder to wingtip before they fold, relaxed.

Kaela hums and glances at the pond Mal's so keen on entering. It's certainly wide and seems clean enough based on its clarity, so clear she can make out the bottom of the deepest part even from where she stands. Overall, perfectly safe, but even still...

"You shouldn't have to bathe in a pond..." Kaela mutters, feeling a strange pang of guilt in her gut at the thought. It isn't her fault the tub is simply too small for someone as towering as Mal; the Spirit could barely sit in it without her legs and arms completely overtaking the edge, and that isn't including the massive wings cramped against the walls. But it was Mal's apartment as much as it was her own now, surely there were ways to accommodate her? There's got to be something else that's better than a random ol pond in the forest, right?

To her chagrin, none of her silent questions are answered with nothing but the click of a belt hitting the ground, and before she knows it water ripples with movement as Mal wanders out to the deepest depression of the pond. She sighs under her breath; they were here now, may as well make the best of it.

Setting the box of wash products on the edge of a rock where Mal can reach them, Kaela strips down to the swimsuit she wore under her clothing and lets herself slide feet-first into the cool water with her own relief. Even in the early morn and the shade of the trees the summer sun felt stifling, and it felt nice to finally get away from it.

Mindful of giving Mal space and some semblance of privacy, she closes her eyes as she sets herself adrift the pond on her back, lazily kicking this way and that. The water splashes quietly with every movement Mal makes, and while they don't speak, the silence is comfortable and relaxed. Kaela doesn't know how long they stay like this, but it's long enough for her to soak in her surroundings; morning birds chirping merrily as they get ready for their day, the warmth of the sun on her skin filtering through the green leaves of the trees, the soft smell of the soaps Mal uses mixing with the clean summer air. Kaela sighs quietly; she can't quite remember the last time she's felt this relaxed.

"Kaela?"

The sound of her name startles her enough to nearly sink underwater and she flails briefly before righting herself. Pushing some of her hair out of her face with an embarrassed sputter, she turns around to look at Mal with a hoarse "‘Ae?"

To her relief, Mal doesn't seem to mind her sudden surprise floundering (or is courteous enough to ignore it) and instead simply looks at her with a weighted gaze. Her fingers are repeatedly trailing over the expanse of her braid, tapping occasionally against the metal clasp that holds the end in place, and Kaela is suddenly struck by how nervous she looks.

For all the expanse that she's known Mal over the last few weeks, she's never seen her look nervous about anything.

She sits up fully, or at least as much as she can while actively keeping afloat, and asks "what's wrong?" The spirit shakes her head in response with a hum, takes a step closer; she's tall enough that she doesn't need to swim.
Her fingers trace over her braid one more time before she puts her hand down, allowing it sink into the water as she squares her shoulders.

"Wash my hair?"

Kaela feels her eyelashes flutter in bewilderment, and all she can do is stutter out “ah” before she falls quiet. The last time she offered to wash Mal’s hair, she was met with a guarded stare and hands flying to protectively grasp at the long expanse of dark strands. A resounding no. She never offered again after that, unwilling to make the spirit uncomfortable. But this was… new.

The silence stretching between them this time is more tense than the last, and Kaela takes the time to take in Mal’s stance; standing to the full extent of her height with the water only just reaching her waist, wings raised slightly, shoulders squared yet still just barely trembling. Mal’s eyes are burning with knowledge Kaela doesn’t quite understand, but she gets the impression her request has far more meaning behind it than it does on the surface. A silent question masked beneath another.

It didn’t feel appropriate to answer with words, so Kaela answers by hoisting herself up onto the rock nearby, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap before giving a slow, quiet nod.

Mal drawls out a breath through her nose, as if trying to expel the last of her nerves, before she wades over to where the girl sits patiently. She turns around the moment she’s in reach and allows her braid to fall in place against her back, doing nothing more than being as still as a statue. Kaela takes a moment of her own before she reaches for the braid and carefully clicks open the metal clasp, setting it aside before getting to work.

The hair is unlike anything she’s felt before; heavy and coarse, a strange mix of being rough yet smooth enough to easily glide her fingers through as she undoes the braid. Closer to the scalp the hair feels slightly harder, almost like the quills of a strong feather, and Kaela gets the impression not a strand would come loose even with a strong tug. Mal tenses when neat nails scratch lightly over her scalp, but when Kaela combs through the tresses again with her fingers to feel for any tangles, she heaves a deep, rumbling sigh that the girl feels in the base of her own chest.

Kaela sets about washing Mal’s hair with shampoo next, massaging from scalp before combing outward to the ends in a repeated motion before she cups water to wash out the suds. She repeats with conditioner, and it’s only when she begins to carefully run a toothed comb through Mal’s hair that she notices the consistent growling noise the spirit’s making. She slows the motion of the comb as she glances up with her brows furrowed in confusion.

“Are you okay?” She asks, and all she gets from Mal is a quiet “hm?” in response. “You’re… I’m not hurting you, am I?”

The spirit shifts a little at her question but otherwise remains where she is, and it takes a moment for Kaela to realize she shook her head no. She blinks as she brings the comb back up to bear, having stopped momentarily.

“Then…?” She combs downward, digging only slightly at the base of Mal’s neck before moving the comb outward again, and she can’t help a startled laughing breath when the same rolling noise erupts from the spirit in a loud,
relaxed sigh.

“Ah. Are you purring?”

Mal shakes her head again, but the movement is only followed by another one of those “purrs”, and Kaela doesn’t stop the giggle that escapes her. “Sounds kinda like you are,” she teases lightly, but she drops it when Mal snorts and shrugs, and the two fall quiet again.

For the remainder of their stay at the pond it remains quiet, not a word passed between them, but Kaela could feel the change in the air. This one is far more comfortable, even more so than any of the quiet moments before, and as Mal leads the way back into the forest and toward the path back to town, she sees how different her posture is. Still as tall as ever, but her broad shoulders are sloped, wings lax and her freshly braided hair still falling against her back instead of over her shoulder as it usually is. Not an ounce of underlying wariness she carried since the beginning of the morning, since the first time she met her.

Kaela slows her walk down and stares at her feet for a long moment, gathering up her courage to break the silence. When she does with Mal’s name, and when the spirit stops to turn and look at her, she swallows the nerves that bundles in her throat and asks:

“Can we do this again sometime?”

The silence returns for a few quickening heartbeats as Mal studies her, searching her face like she always does. Before finally, right before Kaela runs out of breath to hold, one of her rare, careful smiles curls onto her lips.

There’s warmth in her voice when she drawls out “yes”.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHRIST ALMIGHTY THIS GOT LONG! I didn’t think I’d manage to write upwards to 3 pages of Mal and Kaela hangin’ out at a pond but uh. welp. Here we are. o3o

Based on the anon question I got here asking about how long Mal’s hair was, and that ended with me writing a short story and makin’ some art to answer it. ;w;

General context of the story itself is showcasing a moment Mal, albeit nervously, decides to fully trust Kaela. I wanted to show it off in somethin’ that could seem mundane to someone else, but to Mal, who holds great importance on her hair, asking Kaela to wash her hair is essentially her asking “can I trust you? Even when vulnerable?” and the way Kaela responds is essentially her saying “you are safe with me.”

I tried not to outright say that in the story so I hope it comes off that way! ;w;

ANYWAY some additional background stuff too if you’re curious:

-A little extra artwork showing off Mal's hair is here!

-When I say Mal's voice is "strange", it's because she, and every other Spirit, speaks with a flanging voice! It essentially means they have "two voices": Spirits speak as if they’re using two separate voices, one clear and the other quieter, almost “growly” or rumbling and echoeing behind the clear voice's words, sometimes not even fully forming the words in question; it’s often described as quiet thunder rolling. The flange carries into any language the Spirit speaks, so they sound strange even when speaking a human language.

- While I'm highly considering making hair and how it’s viewed by Spirits an important part of their culture, Mal herself highly values her hair in general. It’s more than something that just grows on her head, it’s an extension of herself, and in more ways than one; when she transforms, her entire body’s covered in a pelt that’s the same as her hair and wings, and it acts as a barrier of protection from harm and the like. For Mal, in addition to the possible cultural importance of hair, to her it’d also mean safety, protection, security; when she’s nervous or uneasy she often runs her fingers along her braid to calm herself down because it’d make her feel safer.

Kaela being allowed to touch her hair, let alone help care for it, is very telling of how trusting Mal is toward her, and second only to allowing her to touch her wings.

-Mal’s too big to fit in Kaela’s tiny bathtub and the first few weeks living with her was kinda troublesome when it came to bathing. ESPECIALLY for cleaning her wings. After a few awkward tries with the extendable shower faucet, Mal outright gave up trying to use the tiny little bathtub and just opted to use the springs deep in the woods.

Kaela dislikes the idea of Mal having to use a damn lake in the woods to bathe but until they find out about Spirit Bath Houses, it’s the best they come up with, so she would sometime accompany her. This particular instance is probably the first time Mal asks Kaela to come with her. o3o

Aaaand I think that’s all I have to say for now! If you’re curious about the characters and the world they live in, just visit the Feathers and Flowers tag, of which I’ll link below! In the meantime I hope you enjoy the writing and the artwork, and thank you for taking a looksie! ^.^

More from Feathers and Flowers:

Link to more FnF lore:
earthsong9405.tumblr.com/tagge…

Enjoy my art? Consider supporting me and my work by commissioning me or joining my Patreon!

Commission Prices    Patreon

Alternatively, you can follow me and find more of my headcanons, artwork, and content on my other social media linked below!

Tumblr    Picarto    My Youtube     Brother's Youtube     Twitter