OOC here.
Word Count → 535
Neela didn’t meet Jace in the eye, instead busying herself with looking at the chicks, simply catching a look at the other woman out of the corner of her eye as she entered. Despite her best efforts Neela flinched when she saw Jace's frowning face, a small yet violent motion that flowed from her shoulders down her body. Despite the fact that Neela was genuinely fond of Jace, counting the multi0hued woman among her friends, she was also intimidated by her; an unwelcome throwback to their less than friendly first meeting.
Grynn noticed the motion and ruffled her wings threateningly, head snapping around on her neck to face her, beady black eyes narrowing. Neela noticed this and frowned, not wanting to make things worse between her and Jace, " Calma Grynn, su argumento es conmigo, no te o los polluelos" Neela spoke soothingly, subconsciously adding a Spanish accent to her voice as the spoke the foreign words. Grynn, understanding both English and Spanish high speech, twitched at the words but relented, turning back to her children. "Come in Jace," Neela mumbled, still avoiding her eyes, "Grynn won’t attack you just for being here." She finished up, correctly interpreting Jace's glanced towards Grynn.
A small smile forced its way onto Neela's lips as Jace remarked uncertainly about the chicks, "I'm just as confused as you Jace." That smile dropped instantly as Jace carried on to the end of her sentence, Neela flinching once more. "No. I agreed to nothing, not that I would mind doing so, but I wouldn't even offer without consulting you first but well…"
Neela was cut off by a massive yawn that ripped itself free of her mouth, teeth glistening in the firelight as she exhaled. When Neela finished yawning she looking Jace in the eyes for the first time, revealing a pair of tired and sunken eyes, the usually lively amber tinged with red. Neela let out a tired sigh before she continued talking, "As you might guess sailing a boat single-handedly and sleep don’t go well together and even by boat its not a short distance from here to Halifax. I haven't slept in over 24 hours and, being her mother, I'm sure you know how fucking fast Dalgina talks when she's got an idea into her head and excites herself." The expletive had left Neela's mouth before she had even considered that it might not be appropriate here, a further sign of her tired state.
Neela spread her arms expressively as she finished talking, a tinge of humour entering her tone for the first time, "I didn’t stand a chance." Finished talking Neela returned to a neutral position and brought her eyes back to the nest box, a small popping sound as Neela's clenched fist crushed the small piece of charcoal she had been fiddling with the only sigh of the tension still racking her body.
Neela didn’t apologise. She had done nothing wrong here other than be misunderstood by an excited pup, which was exactly what this was; a misunderstanding. Not Neela being chased up for an actual wrong and as such she felt no need to offer an apology, certainly not within her own home.
