#mirthian

"So....you and the Burrowing Dorcean."

Redimus looked up from his notebook, staring at Huxley who sat on the opposite side of the campfire

"Who? Terradora?" Redimus muttered unamused. "What about her?"

"Don't act shocked." Huxley started, a cheeky smile starting to appear on his face. "Ol' Huxie recognises the way you two look at each other"

If looks could kill, Huxley would've been dead by now with the way Redimus was staring at him. "Were. Just. Friends." He spoke slowly at the Mirthian

"Right." Huxley was now smiling widely. "Oh and by the way, you're a good artist"

Redimus looked down at his notebook, staring at the messy sketch of Terradora....next to the other 2 pages that were filled with old drawings of her. He heard Huxley giggle as he quickly closed the notebook, his cheeks blushing purple

"It's alright there," Huxley reassured him. "I remember I used to be like that when I was young."

Redimus looked up confused. He watched as Huxley pulled out from his pocket what looked like a charm. The charm was decorated with stones, shells and beads. A Mirthian tooth was dangling at the end of it

"A charm?" Redimus said deadpanned as he looked at the charm

"It's not JUST a charm." Huxley wagged his finger. "It's my lucky charm, made by my Mimi."

"Mimi?"

"My mate."

Redimus good eye went wide in surprise upon hearing him say that. "You....are married?"

Huxley nodded proudly. "Indeed I am! To the one and only Amelia the Ruthless." He pulled out of his pocket a small photo, showing it to the Dorcean. The photo had Huxley standing with another much larger Mirthian. In both of their arms, they held 2 Mirthian pups, both sharing a mix of their parents' features. All four of them had big smiles

"Those two little trouble makers are Hugo and Axel." Huxley pointed to the two pups. "They may look cute. But when they met Vampa, those two ran off with his leg."

"I see...." Redimus chuckled, looking at the picture. He couldn't help but be reminded of the trouble he and Besteel used to get in when they were younger. "So....how did you and her meet?"

"Oh, now that's a story." Huxley started. "Back when I had just joined old Queenie's Beamguide. My crew and I stopped to gather supplies. While waiting to meet up with them, I saw what looked like a group of people watching two guys fight. I decided to take a little peek, and there she was." He sighed dreamily, the memory flooding back to him. "The most beautiful Mirthian I had seen taking on a Dorcean hunter in a fight."

"Did she win?" Redimus asked, pulling out a Vox fruit from his bag and started to peel it

"Did she? Of course, she did. I've seen that woman square up to 5 Mirthian males at once and win!" Huxley laughed. "But anyway, to say that Ol' Huxie was smitten was an understatement. After the fight, while she was getting patched up, I started talking to her. That's when I learned that she was heading North where the crew and I were going."

"Did you offer her a ride?" Redimus asked, finishing peeling his fruit and offered some to Huxley

Huxley took some of the fruit as he continued. "I did. She joined me and my crew on the trip. You wouldn't think she was a complete stranger with how well she and the team got along. Our captain actually offered Amelia to join the Beamguide. And she accepted." Huxley took a handful of berries into his hand and popped them into his mouth. "For the next 3 years, we got to know each other better. I never met anyone like her, she was like that missing piece I was searching for. Eventually, we got married. Settled down in my village, and lived our lives together with our boys. And it couldn't be better"

Redimus cracked a little smile when Huxley finished. "You two really love each other huh?"

"Of course! That's what love can do to someone. It helps you become a better person and find that missing piece. I don't know where I would be without my Mimi." Huxley said

Redimus nodded, the berries in his mouth popping as he looked down at the ground. Huxley noticed his change in behaviour

"Even if Terradora has feelings for me....." Redimus started, his gaze still down. "I'm not really the most desirable by my species standards. What if people start mistreating her because she's with me? What if I make her life more difficult?"

Hearing Redimus think that made Huxley's smile drop. "You kidding? When you two started to get to know each other after the whole ravine debacle, you both changed for the better. I've never seen two Dorceans get excited when the other visits."

Redimus sighed, flipping his notebook open to stare at the sketches he had done of Terradora

"You know....." Huxley started again. "There was a good while where Ol' Huxie didn't feel like he was good enough for Amelia." He admitted, his tone serious. "I felt like I was holding her back or that I could do so much more for her. It didn't help that her family wasn't too fond of me. Always saying that I was too scrawny, that the other males in her tribes would've better provided for her. They always did it when they knew Mimi wasn't looking. I tried to brush it off, but after a while, it gets to you."

Redimus looked up, seeing Huxley looking down at his charm as he gently held it in his hands

"But then....the night she told her family we were gonna get married. They started making those comments again, but this time in front of Mimi. That was when she stood up for me." Huxley let out a soft chuckle, his fingers tracing the carved pattern on the tooth. "Turns out that she had overheard them talking badly about me over the last few visits. That might've been the angriest I've ever seen her"

"Eventually she realised she wasn't gonna get through to them, so she gave them an ultimatum. Either they accept that she was in love with me and we were gonna get married. Or don't bother being part of her new life. They chose the latter." Huxley admitted. "I felt so guilty after everything that happened. But Amelia told me that with me and the crew, she felt like they were her family more than her tribe. She wasn't just Amelia the Ruthless to us, she was Amelia. 'These 3 years with you have been the happiest years of my life. And I can't wait to share many more with you as mates.' Is what she told me." Huxley finally finished

Redimus stayed silent for a few seconds to process what he had heard. Soon he finally spoke

"Well..." Redimus started. "I don't think she could've met a better Mirthian to spend her life with."

Huxley looked up, his smile returning. "What can I say, Ol' Huxie got some moves." He joked

Redimus let out a quiet chuckle, looking back down at his notebook

"So you gonna tell Terradora how you feel next time you see her?" Huxley asked. "Or do I have to show her those drawings?"

"I'll.....I'll have to think about it," Redimus muttered