Feldspar stared, dumbfounded. Mal was pushing his way through the line of human passengers shuffling through the security screening line. If Mal hadn't looked so frantic, he would have laughed at the way he was following the line as it serpentined forward and back on itself rather than hopping the stanchions. Mal was breathing heavily and his wild black hair looked damp with sweat. He paid no mind to the offended squawks coming from the disgruntled passengers he elbowed out of his way as he pushed to the front of the line.
A hundred possible reasons for Mal to be in Paris ran across his mind, none of them good. The Wood could be under attack by humans or perhaps other faeries. Stars, something could have happened to Gneiss and Mal wanted to deliver the news in person. Or perhaps the European delegation had invited him for a diplomatic visit -- but then why would he look so desperate? For Mal to cross the world to find him, something truly horrible must have happened. What was so urgent it couldn't have waited for him to get home?
Mal reached the front of the line and walked brusquely past the human security agent checking boarding passes. The man began to berate him in French while reaching toward his belt. Mal paused long enough to level a haughty glare at him and hold up what appeared to be a passport. The man blanched and bowed, his face morphing from superior to terrified in a split second. Mal strode onward without so much as a backward glance.
As he moved beyond the human checkpoint, a faery in an airport security uniform stepped forward to direct Mal toward the fae-only security corridor. Mal gave him a withering look and handed him the same travel document.
"My lord," the faery said, bowing low. "We are humbled by your patronage. If I may, we do have security protocols to complete before your flight."
"You may not." Mal stared at him, every inch the lord and commander he was. He plucked his passport out of the faery's hands and strode past the other fae creatures waiting patiently for their turns to go through the checkpoint. None of them dared raise an objection. The power radiating off of Mal was palpable in the Wood, which had itself a thickly magical atmosphere. Here in the human realm power rolled off of him in such contrast to the mundanity of his surroundings that it was almost violent to experience. Faeries stepped back from him, eyes averted as they felt the rush of power sweeping ahead of him.
In seconds he was standing in front of Feldspar and Silver. "Feldspar," he said, panting slightly.
"Mal. What are you doing here?"
"Feldspar," Mal said, still trying to catch his breath. His hair was all out of place and Feldspar could see a faint sheen of sweat across his brow. "I came to -- " He sucked in a deep breath and looked at the ground. "I came to see you."
"You came... to see me?" Feldspar frowned in confusion. It didn't make sense. Mal looked wild and panicked. Then his stomach dropped. The last time he'd seen Mal looking so low was when Daniella had left him. Maybe she'd gotten fed up with him again and left him for good, and now he was crawling back to Feldspar. The thought put a bad taste in his mouth.
Silver slid his hand into Feldspar's and angled his shoulder just slightly in front of him, as if to shield him from Mal. "What do you mean you came to see him?"
"I -- " he looked between the two faeries. "I couldn't find you. I went to the place where you said you would be staying and that faun told me I'd already missed you, so..."
"You went to Silver's flat?" Nothing was making sense. "Why did you go to Silver's flat?"
"To see you," Mal said, now exasperated.
"But why?" Feldspar demanded. He didn't understand why Mal was being so oblique.
"Because, Feldspar! Curses, because I missed you and I let you leave on bad terms and I wanted to see you."
Feldspar's mouth dropped open. "What?"
"When you left I was so angry. I wanted you with me while the European delegation was visiting and you did not even ask permission to leave the Wood. Daniella became so irritated with me that she withheld her affections for a week. A week! Gneiss refused to train with me until I listened to them.
"All Daniella had to say was 'what if you had lost Feldspar, as Silver lost Brody.' It's horrifying, Feldspar. I cannot imagine losing you. It would kill me to face that. I cannot even hold the thought in my mind, it's unthinkable. You and Gneiss are my two dearest, oldest friends, who have been with me through everything that has ever mattered.
"They made it abundantly clear what an arsehole I was for not having sympathy for Silver and for expecting you to abandon him at his lowest. I have missed you terribly and though I know I hardly deserve it, I wanted you to know that I will do anything to make our friendship as it once was."
"You're here to... win me back? As a friend?"
"Precisely."
