Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 39 - The Visitor

"Gytha!" 

Ava didn't know what surprised her more, the appearance of their visitor or the fact that Raban seemed to know her.

Having descended the stairs behind her, where she had stood frozen for a moment, taking in their guest, the Fae had moved past her in a rush. He had closed the distance between the stairs and the tall female in front of the large window in front of the living area and hugged her tightly.

In front of the large glass wall stood the tallest woman Ava had ever seen. She was even taller than Trygve and Raban, albeit not by far, but she towered over Gainor and dwarfed Ava and Orla.

When Orla had announced a visitor, she had somehow pictured one of the Faeries that Raban had described before. However, the guest that now hugged Raban back couldn't deviate further from her anticipation.

Her black hair was tied back in an array of sophisticated braids that were woven together and fell along her back. Her skin had the colour of freshly ground cinnamon and stretched over her muscled arms which were covered in various tattoos.

While the lines on Raban's skin curved graciously and elegantly, the marks on the female's body were patterns of different geometrical forms, dots and circles that were aligned in numerous sequences. Only in some places, these marks were disrupted by diverse scars. Together with her muscular arms, they told the tale of a warrior's life.

However, neither her height nor her tattoos or even her scars for that matter were the most noteworthy part of her appearance. Where a regular woman's upper body would have ended with her hips and legs, this one's merged with the torso of a horse.

The coat of her body was only a few shades lighter than her skin and was gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Although it was just as muscled just as strongly as her upper body, her whole appearance did not come across as bulky.

No, Ava thought, there was a quite distinct air of elegance and grace to her that was reflected in her movements, the way she held herself. She was stunningly beautiful.

Ava still stared at her when Raban had let go of the stranger and started chatting quietly with her. The way she grinned and the female's mouth turned into a full-lipped smile, softening the sharp angles of her profile, made something inside Ava twist uncomfortably.

Just how well did they know each other?

And why exactly do you care? asked a tiny voice in the very far away and private corner of her mind.

"Be careful not to stare at her for too long. Centaurs are enormously proud creatures. They don't take offences well."

It was Trygve's voice that interrupted her brooding and speculating. Ava briefly glanced to where he stood with Gainor behind the sofa that Orla sat on, her usual cup of tea in hand.

A Centaur. Of course, why wouldn't there be a freaking Centaur in their living room, when they too were supposed to be extinct.

Ava looked over to her Dracaeni, trying to get a sense of the situation, before figuring out how to proceed.

Trygve's face was so swollen that it was hard for her to make out any expression. But his body language told her that he was tense, and the look on Gainor's face, let her know that the new arrival was probably just as dangerous as she was beautiful.

"Thanks for letting me know. Is there anything else I should be aware of? You two look concerned."

Although she responded to Trygve's warning, she included the others in their mental conversation as well.

"Centaurs are fiercely matriarchal," Orla explained, "it's probably better if you do the talking. Technically you're in charge of all of us anyway," she added.