Satyrs At Dusk ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maxwell flinched at the contact, a sting running through his face. He was sure a bruise would be there within the next hour. He scowled at Sarah, then pointed his gaze to the man she brought home with him.

His blemished face was screwed into a look of disbelief. The odor of sex radiated from him, making Maxwell grimace. Myra shoved past everyone and grabbed a fistful of the elder's burgundy overcoat, yanking him forward so they were nose to nose.

"I'm her daughter. Didn't know she had kids, huh?" Her voice was laced with venom as she curled her lip and spat in the man's face. "Get out, you wrinkly old fuck, before I get violent." She shoved him away, making the man crash against the wall.

He adjusted his coat in a hurry, eyes wide and movements jittery. He nodded reluctantly and ran for the door to throw it open and vanish into the streets of Portland. Penelope helped Saevel to his hooves, brushing off his matted fur as they all stood in a circle around Sarah.

"Mom, you're drunk." Maxwell said, watching as the woman nearly lost her balance. She leaned onto a cabinet nearby and shoved off the decorations so they clattered to the floor.

She glared hatefully towards Saevel, who quivered under her sharp gaze. "Ya filthy farm animal! Get out of my house!" she suddenly screeched, lurching forward to grab him when Penelope stepped in the way, pressing a hand against Sarah's chest. Penelope gave her a little push and she toppled to the floor, her heels clicking loudly as she crashed.

"Don't you dare insult him." Penelope hissed, looking down her nose at the fallen woman. Her chin was raised up threateningly. "I'm an assassin. It'd be best not to mess with me at a time like this."

"Yurr' a what..? The fuck's an elf doin' here? Shouldn't you be at Santa's workshop?"

Penelope scowled. "You bitch!" She dashed forward and dug a knee into Sarah's stomach, unsheathing her curved dagger and pressing it to the woman's neck. The elf leaned in close, wrath pumping through her veins and oozing from her skin. The power sent a shiver down everybody's spine, including Sarah.

Maxwell's eyes flicked between the two, his expression crumbling into a look of utter pain. He turned on his heel, slipped on his sandals and threw himself out of the door wordlessly. Saevel panicked, trying to follow after him but the door slammed in his face.

"Penelope, stop! That's my mom!" Myra exclaimed. She stepped forward and dragged the assassin off her mother, who was frozen with fear. "Mom, you need to sleep. Go upstairs and I'll get you some water-"

"That hairy lamb needs to leave. Walkin' around with those things-" A sudden burst of magic sprouted from Penelope's palms, thick dusty ribbons wrapping around the woman's body, squeezing and making her go still without any struggle. A thick, solid coating of ash materialized around the ribbons, solidifying around her body to form a cast.

"Penelope-"

"It's a shell. She's not dead, Myra. I only kill when absolutely necessary. She won't remember any of this when the spell wears off." The Arid elf explained. The magic residue lingered on her palms so she wiped her hands off on her shirt.

"I..." Saevel stammered, making the two look up to him, "I'm going after Max. I'll be back." He opened the front door and vanished into the night, leaving the two girls and Sarah's motionless body.

_

Saevel jogged through the streets, unable to care that his legs were visible to anyone, unable to care about the cold wind biting his bare chest and neck. He was set on finding the human, who had stormed off into a blanket of darkness.

He slowed and wiped his eyes with the heels of his palms, panting with a warm puff of air for each breath. "Max?" he called. Something inside him clicked, making him eye the secret path towards Draywaki Bay.

Could he be there?

Saevel followed the winding roads and ducked behind a layer of hanging moss, twisting and turning by some large rocks before he approached the usually empty beach.

Maxwell sat with his feet in the water, his back to Saevel. The moonlight created a luminescent rim around Maxwell's body, making him look almost heavenly. His hair gently shifted with the winds as the cold water licked at his ankles.

"Maxwell?" the satyr raised his voice a little, stepping forward. The soft sluicing of the tide filled his ears and the wind caressed his cheeks, running along his hips and curling around his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"She hurt you." the human blurted. He turned in the shallow water, making it splash onto the shore. "I want to kill her." His expression was so stoic, yet his eyes were powerful and vigorous.

Those eyes wanted revenge.

His voice was low and raspy. He sounded nothing like the Maxwell from this morning. Saevel could feel an aura pulsing from him; something robust. The satyr shook his head and approached until his hooves were just barely brushing the water, slicking the outer keratin.

Saevel grimaced at the feel of it, splashing up against the start of his fur. He raised a hoof and shook it weakly before plopping it back down onto the damp sand. "Don't. She's your mother for all the Gods' sakes."

"Yeah but that doesn't give her the right to hurt or touch you-"

"So you're not worried that she hit you? Her son? What kind of mother does that?"

"Mine."

Saevel searched the human's eyes for some kind of lie, he reached out to feel what Maxwell felt only to be pushed away by a hand. Something inside him shattered at that. "Max, I just.." His voice wobbled.

"Just leave me alone for a bit, okay? I do this whenever she comes home like that; violent and drunk. Those two don't mix well." Maxwell replied, nailing the other with a glare he was barely aware of making.

"But-"

"Save it-"

"I wanted to say that I never met my mother... And I'm sorry. I don't know what having a mother feels like, so I assumed they were all benevolent." Saevel trembled, and he pursed his lips to keep the sobs crawling up his throat at bay. Tears bulbed up at his eyes, slipping over.

"You what?" Maxwell's eyes widened at the statement and he rushed closer to wipe the tears from Saevel's face.

"...you never met your mom?"

Saevel shook his head.

"I thought the pain would be over with... I guess not." he sniffled. They were both aching.

__