Bowman grinned, glad to be home again and glad to hear the others so happy to see the giants with him. He spiraled downwards in lazy circles to greet the sprites waiting with Cerul, but one of them took flight on dainty, fluttering wings and rose through the air to intercept him.
“Birdie!” Bowman greeted, opening his arms to catch Rischa as she reached him. His wings, granted extra energy by the coffee, had no trouble compensating for her extra weight as he hovered there. Rischa merely sniffled and hid her face against his chest, hugging him tight. He drifted back down towards the balcony even as Jacob approached with a grin.
“Don’t worry, we know how to stay out of trouble … mostly,” Bowman said with a grin.
“I think he’s more worried about whether you will,” Jacob pointed out, getting a brief glare from Bowman’s bright green eyes. Jacob shrugged. “Just sayin.’ ”
She’d only noticed a shadow descending on her before something large and fast closed around her, trapping her body and her surprised, fluttering wings in a small space. The shape of the light that leaked in showed the silhouettes of fingers clamped tightly around her.
“Oh,” she breathed, her heart beating faster. The human’s feelings crashed around her in a startling clarity, and she was immediately certain that it wasn’t Jacob.
A giant she didn’t know had snatched her up, and no one even knew she was out there.
A light tap tap tap of little shoes preceded a young girl all but bursting out of the hall and into the main room of the bigger house, a smile lighting up her dark skinned face. Golden eyes peered up at Sam and she bounded towards him. Her dainty wings were folded behind her back, and her two braids and the colorful scarf tied at her waist swished with every jolly step.
“Good morning, Sam!” Rischa greeted. “Daddy already left, mama’s making mintbread, and Bowman just grumbled at me when I checked on him.”
Brothers Apart 