"Speaking of him, where are he and Aiko?" Siroos asked, effortlessly jumping down from the wooden platform he had climbed up to work on the roof of the house. His cape-like coat flew behind him as he landed on his feet without breaking a sweat.
Everyone just bunched up their lips, not knowing the whereabouts of the youngest couple.
While Cassandra was busy checking out her mate, Lotus and Razial took a look at the outer wall and roof of the house he was repairing. He had perfectly sealed all the broken falling-out planks with the new ones.
"Never took you for one with many skilled carpentry tricks," Lotus teased her brother-in-law while fluttering her lashes at him.
"I have many hidden talents, sister-in-law; maybe you will notice them when you stop considering me a crybaby," he threw her words back at her with his brow going up.
She giggled and clicked her tongue at him. He was learning to throw jibes back.
"I respect you more than you can imagine. But, I wouldn’t inflate your ego more than it already is. Your mate will do it in my place." Lotus flicked her long blonde hair back. Her pink coat was still flawlessly clean.
"And their rivalry will never end," Razial snorted, picking up the remaining planks so they could continue with repairs.
"Both act as babies and wouldn’t admit it. Remember the time she threw a tantrum because her dress was not pink enough on her 15th naming day," Cassandra crossed her arm with her mate and addressed Razial, knowing he would remember that perfectly since he was the one who was finally able to pacify her by bringing some rare kind of flowers from who knows where.
Razial paused and had to fight back a guffaw as he explained the distant memory.
"I can never forget. I actually sculpted them using pink water, turning them into thin ice sheets and then carving them. It was winter so I knew they wouldn’t melt that quickly."
Lotus, who was slightly sulking that both of them were bringing out her temper-throwing history, was touched. She had loved those flowers and had kept them until they melted. Her grateful eyes slowly slanted towards Razial who wore a smile that transcended right into her heart and made it skip a few beats.
Deep down, she knew he must have carved them, but he had denied them at that point.
These emotions in her eyes, he wished to decipher them.
Could she feel what he felt?
"Imagine throwing a tantrum over the colour of your gown; that is some next-level pampering only Lotus can achieve." Siroos pulled Cassandra into himself and teased back. Lotus had to snatch her gaze away from the commander and focus it on a smirking Siroos. She placed her hands on her hips as if that would emphasise her point.
"I was fifteen."
Siroos playfully replied to her. "I could hunt alone, fight multiple enemies and had manifested my powers at fifteen. Never cried over what colour my clothes were."
"I obtained my powers when I was five and mastered them by the age of thirteen. Graduated as the youngest mage from our Mage of All Ages University. It’s not about accomplishments, my dull brother-in-law. It’s about having the right dress. The one you have in mind. It’s about looking pretty. No wonder you have horrible choices when it comes to attire," she haughtily replied, not giving up or backing down.
Razial and Cassandra were openly laughing at this brawl now as they moved to the next house for repairs. Cassandra moved forward and took her sister’s arm.
"Of course! Only Lotus can throw a fuss over colours and call my clothes horrible." Siroos had to shake his head at his bratty tiny sister-in-law.
"We will go help the ladies with cooking dinner. So once you people are done it will be ready." Cassandra and Lotus took their leave and headed over towards Luca’s house. Halri had invited them over.
Once they were out of earshot, Razial confessed while passing a hammer to Siroos.
"Personally, I can’t even differentiate much between purple and pink. They are so similar."
Siroos had to pause and turn around to look at Razial before both of them burst out laughing.
Siroos finally said. "Women and their colours, but that’s what makes them unique from us. And personally I love to see them in different gaudy hues, especially my mate. It brightens the world."
"Yes, like her name, Lotus looks beautiful in pink," Razial wistfully answered, while removing a broken plank, taking extra care to not let splinters pierce his skin.
Siroos observed the lingering unsaid words in his voice and stated the obvious.
"You should tell her, Razial. Tell her before it’s too late."
Razial paused and glanced in the direction of his companion. Fear of rejection was very much visible there.
"I think every one of you knows how I feel about her, except her. And she has been the only woman I have ever wanted. I fear she won’t reciprocate my feelings."
Siroos paused and took a step towards Razial, seeing his shoulders drooped.
"Trust me when I say this, she likes you too. Women like to be chased, to be made to feel important and like to act oblivious to a man’s advances. Deep down she knows you like her. No one follows someone to the end of the world just for the heck of it. Make your move."
Siroos had to court his own mate for a while before she opened up to him and began the trust process. Lotus and Razial had known each other since childhood, she already trusted him.
"I am trying to gather the courage. She is scary, man. She would literally turn me into a lemon and squeeze me into her tea." Razial shook his head with the scary thought and remembered her words.
Siroos bent over and chortled until his eyes watered.
"That is so... Lotus."
"Yeah!"
They continued with their small talk until the work was done, and the girls came to fetch them for dinner.