//------------------------------//
// S2 Episode 6: Major Cleff, Major Note 
// Story: The Mute Octave 
// by HenryAnthonyCourtler 
//------------------------------//

Episode 6: Major Cleff, Major Note

Henry’s phone began to vibrate, a loud chime playing along before he grasped it, unlocking the device and dismissing the alarm prompt. Henry sat up tiredly on his own bed, Octavia sleeping quietly next to his side. He groaned quietly to himself. ‘I fell asleep with her again?’ He thought absentmindedly. He got up and tucked her back under the warm blanket as he walked around in his shorts and tank top in the cold apartment.

        Walking into the bathroom, he yawned and stretched his arms out wide, feeling his taut muscles smooth out. He turned on the sink and cleansed his face before brushing his teeth. ‘It’s been a while since I fell asleep with her telling me stories of her homeland... She’s been doing that lately now that I think about it.’ His slate begun to vibrate, playing an 8-bit version of Happy Birthday as he washed his mouth out. Lazily, Henry pulled it out and stared at the notification and swiped it away. ‘Oh... it’s just Octavia’s birt—’ His eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpricks when he realized his mistake.

        Rushing out of the bathroom, he grabbed a blue t-shirt and a pair of white shorts before putting on his sandals and scurrying away to the living room where he got dressed. ‘Good God! How could I’ve been so dense!? She’s been telling me more about her life in Equestria because her birthday was coming up!’ He berated himself mentally, running into the kitchen and grabbing a poptart.

        Footsteps followed by yawning caught his ears as Octavia walked into the kitchen with a tired expression dressed in an oversized t-shirt of his and a pair of shorts. She went past him to grab some milk, cornflakes and a bowl. Setting it all down on the table, she opened one of the drawers and took a spoon, sitting down and preparing her breakfast. “Morning Henry...” She mumbled softly with a quiet yawn.

        Henry smiled at her and grasped her hand.

        She looked up and blinked her eyes to read the message on his slate. “Happy birthday, ‘Tavi!”

        Octavia gave him a tired smile and leaned across the table, resting her chin on his shoulder and sighing happily. “Thank you, Henry.” She whispered before leaning back and eating her cereal slowly.

        He finished off his set of Pop-Tarts and stood up.
        
“Heading off to do errands?”

        Henry nodded and tapped the screen of his slate.

        “Sure, we can “text” each other whenever you’re able to. Could you check and see if my phone is done charging before you leave?” Octavia queried.

        He walked into the living room and grabbed her phone and swiped his hand across the screen, gazing at the charging notification which read “charged”. Unplugging the phone from its charger, he headed back into the kitchen and set it down next to her.

        “Thank you. See you later today.” She called after him as he walked out the door.





        The door to Small Point Cafe chimed as Henry walked in with a small grin.

        “Hey there, Henry. How ya doing?” Mac called from a nearby booth.

        Henry walked over to him and bumped fists. “Pretty good, even though I almost forgot it was Octavia’s birthday today.”

        Mac laughed. “That’s almost as bad as when Ah’ forgot it was my anniversary with Tara. Look at the bright side though, ya still remembered.” He chided.

        Footsteps could be heard from behind Henry as a pair of arms enveloped him from behind. “It’s so nice to see you, Henry!” Tara greeted brightly. “Is today the day?”

        He nodded his head,  turning around as he held out his phone. The lock screen had animated confetti falling around the date. “Happy Birthday Octavia Cleff!” Was the message written underneath the digital clock.

Tara squealed excitedly. “This is gonna be awesome!” She cheered, grabbing Mac by the arm and dragging him into the kitchen. “We got the cake and food under control, right Mac~?” She cooed, a secret stern look hidden behind her bright smile..

Mac nodded along, giving Henry an almost pleading look for salvation. “W-we sure do!” He said as he chuckled nervously.

Henry merely smirked and shrugged at him. ‘Nothing I can do to help ya, bud.’ He thought to himself. He pulled out his phone and went into his text messaging app. ‘Why not text everyone else… see how they’re doing.’ The young man created a group chat and added Octavia, Nikki, and Rami before composing his message.

Henry [10:49:48 AM]: Hey guys, what you up to?

Tavi [10:50:00 AM]: Just waiting for Jackie to pick me up.

Nikki [10:50:58 AM]: Oh hai! Practicing on drumz! :D

Rami [10:51:10 AM]: Mastering one of my latest tracks.

Henry [10:51:19 AM]:That’s pretty sweet, Rami. Mind telling me some more about it?

Rami [10:51:35 AM]: Making some House/EDM. it’ll probably be up Soundcloud later today.

Nikki: Oooohh! EDM! You know how much I love it!

Tavi: -_- Nikki… you say that about every genre.

Nikki: So? I can’t help liking what I like you know :p

Henry: XD I actually had a question for all of you…

Rami: Sup?

Tavi: Yes?
        
Nikki: uhuh?

Henry was about to reply when he was interrupted. “Henry, mind lending a hand with setting up the snack tables with Nick?” Tara called from the kitchen.

The young man hopped to his feet, tapping the counter firmly twice before walking over to Nick.

Nick looked up at Henry, yawning quietly. “You should be lucky I’m good friends with all of you or I don’t know if I would have gotten out of bed today.” He grumbled.

        He shook his head at his friends banter. “Not my fault you chose to stay up all-night after our Saint’s Row 4 run through.” Henry wrote, smirking at him as he started arranging a wide of assortment of snacks Nikki had worked with Tara to make the day before.

        The brooding young man huffed somewhat irritatedly. “It’s not my fault you convinced me to buy the game. How was I supposed to know it would so damn addictive?” He queried.

        Henry merely shrugged as he set up the last of pastries on the main table, clearing  a large portion of space in the center for the cake. He held up his phone to Nick. “So… who's handling the drinks for the party?”

        Nick tapped his chin as he thought about it. “I… I think Mac said he would.” He turned to the kitchen. “Mac!?”

        “Yup?”

        “You said you’re doing the drinks for the party, right?” He bellowed back.

        The two waited several moments. “Shit!” Mac cussed, face palming.

        Henry and Nick looked at him with deadpan expression. “You seriously forgot to buy drinks for a party we’ve been planning for three months? Are you kidding me, Mac?” He chastised as he set down the tablecloth for said drink table.

        Mac bit his lip. “A’hm sorry… Ah got caught up with a lot of stuff.” He mumbled, trying his hardest not to glance at Tara.

        Nick waved his hand dismissively. “Whatever, it’s fine. Henry and I are gonna go make a run for everything we need. You still have the list?”

        Henry unlocked his phone and opened up Evernote, pulling up the list of supplies he had created for the party and tabbed over to the drink section. He simply nodded and pulled out his car keys, heading out with Nick.





        Octavia smiled at the current customer as she bagged her items and handed them their bags. “Thank you and have a great day!” She chirped, sighing as they left. The young woman sat down and rested her head against the cool metal of the register.

        Jackie walked past her, carrying several bags of bird feed. “You okay, ‘Tavi? You’ve been lookin’ a might bit tired today.” She commented, disappearing into the back room before sitting down next to her.

        “I guess today has just been feeling like one of those long days.” She mumbled. “I don’t really want to be here today, but there’s no way I’m going to call out when all we have is that brain dead idiot Michael around as call-in.” Octavia rolled her eyes at the thought of him, laughing quietly.

        The southern belle tucked back a lock of her blonde hair. “We all get those days every now and then. Look at the bright side, that brain dead idiot has to cover for us while we get to go on break.” She stood up and stretched her back, cooing as she felt her muscles unwind gently.

        Octavia got up as well, jogging into the backroom. “Michael! We’re going on break so head up front when you’re done here, alright?”

        “Yeah… su—Ow!” He yelled as parrot bit his finger hard.

        She sighed. “Michael, what has Yatch said about handling the birds?” Octavia queried with a stern gaze.

        Michael rolled his eyes. “Always wear gloves so that you don’t get your fingers bit off.”

        Octavia shook her head and walked back out. “We’re all set, Jackie.”

        Jackie fixed her with an unreadable expression. “He fucked up again, didn’t he?”

        She nodded her head. “I swear he’s going to seriously hurt himself if he keeps it up.”

        “Sometimes ya gotta let people learn the hard way, ya know?” Jackie said as they made their way to the food court.

        Octavia sighed. “I suppose, but darn it, I lost count of how many times we’ve all reminded him to just follow Mr. Yatch’s tips. They haven’t failed us yet.” She pointed out as she stopped walking and gazed about for a place to eat. “Hmm… What do you think about salad for lunch, Jackie?” She asked as she eye the short line.

        Jackie smacked her lips. “Why not? It’s been a while since Ah’ve had some salad mahself.”  The southern belle said in agreement as the two made their way into the line.





        Henry grunted as Nick and him finished unloading the last of the drinks on top of one of the booths by the door.

        Nick wiped the sweat from his face. “Mac! Get your ass out of the kitchen and start making some magic happen here!”

        Tara leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Go on, sweetie. After all, it is your problem to fix.”

        Mac sighed and joined his friend outside the kitchen. “Ah got this guys. Jus’ leave it to me.” He said as he begun to carry most of the drink supplies into the kitchen, thinking of mixes to prepared in time for the party.

        Henry took a seat across from Nick at the empty booth, pulling out his water bottle and taking a deep drink.

        “We’ve been making some good progress if you ask me, Henry.” Nick pointed out.

        The mute man nodded and checked his phone, glancing about the diner as he begun to check things off. ‘Snacks are ready, tables are dressed, and Mac is working on drinks…. all we need is Nikki to set up decorations, Tara to finish up the cake, and for Rami to ge—’ He was interrupted from his thoughts by a blaring horn.

        Henry looked outside the window and grinned at Rami’s truck lined up with the front door. He got up and tapped the table to get Nick’s attention as he went outside.

        Rami hopped out of the car and went up to Henry, clapping his back. “Sorry I’m late, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and grabbed someone on the way here.”

        “Hey there guys!” Nikki greeted eagerly as she hugged Henry and Nick.





        Octavia breathed through her nose and out her mouth as she steadily kept up with Jackie. The two had decided to go for a run after work to relax. In many ways, she felt thankful for the idea as it seemed to ease her nerves, little by little. ‘Today just feels like it’s too long… I just don’t know what’s been bugging me.’ She mulled over internally before moving out of the way for another runner. ‘Things have been great here; better than I could expect, but these past few weeks I’ve felt more homesick than before…  I know I miss everyone, especially Vin—’

        “Hey ‘Tavi, ya feelin’ alright, sug?” Jackie asked softly, pulling her aside to a nearby bench before sitting down.

        “I… I suppose so.” She said uncertainly as she sat down next to her, taking a deep drink of her water bottle. “Just have a lot on my mind is all.”

        Jackie chuckled. “Seems like it. Ya been all spacey today an’ it’s just so unlike you, ya know?”

        Octavia nodded, sighing softly. “I know… it’s just that I’ve been feeling down recently. Everything is going better than I could hope for given my situation, but I just find myself feeling down in the dumps, as it were.” She muttered as her bangs covered her face.

        “Ah definitely know how ya feel… it’s jus’ one of those things we all gotta deal with every now and then. What always helps me is thinkin’ about what makes me happy.” She offered supportively, patting the brunette’s back.

        She looked up at Jackie with a wry smirk. “Like when you think of Nick?” Octavia teased lightly.

        Jackie’s cheeks burned a deep crimson as  she swatted her arm playfully. “Y-yeah… if ya really want an example.” She murmured before blowing a lock of her hair out of her face. “Just gotta roll with what life gives ya an’ work from there.”

        Octavia pulled her phone out and checked her messages inbox. “What’s been up with everyone today? I’ve tried texting the guys, but it seems like they’re busy or ignoring everyone.”
        
“Maybe they’re jus’ busy? I’m sure they’ll be showing up at the diner like usual. Why don’t we head on over to your place, freshen up an’ see what’s up?” Jackie queried with a small grin.

The cellist gave a half-hearted shrug. “I suppose so. Couldn’t hurt to try, no?”





Octavia nearly faltered as she shakily walked ahead. “J-jackie, are you sure the blindfold is necessary?” She asked nervously as she allowed the southern belle to guide her.

Jackie laughed loudly. “Ya bet ya butt it is! Jus’ trust me, all in due time.”

“If you insist.” She sighed.

Reaching around blindly, Octavia’s hand wrapped around the door handle that she pulled open before slowly climbing over the step and setting foot into the dinner. “Okay Jackie… what the heck is going on?” She mumbled before the blindfold was pulled back, the lights turning on as people popped out of everywhere.

“Happy birthday, Octavia!” Everyone shouted at her cheerfully.

Octavia took a step back from surprise, bumping into someone. Looking behind her, she blushed deeply at the smirking man. “T-this was all your idea!?” She cried out in confusion.

He gave a silent laugh and pulled her into a hug as streamers fell all around them. She looked into his eyes as they misted up. “T-thank you… thank you so much…” Octavia whispered before kissing his cheek and holding onto him tightly.

Henry rocked her gently as they stood there hugging. He motioned Nikki with one of his hand pointing at the stereo before smooth jazz filled the diner.

The rest of their friends approached and hugged the two of them for several moments before the birthday girl pulled back. “You guys didn’t have to do this you know…” She mumbled shyly.

Tara smiled and patted her shoulder. “Then what kind of friends would that make us?”

“Pretty shitty ones if you ask me.” Nick commented.

Mac just chuckled and shook his head. “I’m with Nick on this one.”

Nikki popped up from behind Octavia with a wide smile. “We’d be the worst friends ever for just letting you have a party of one! Plus, we put so much work into this party that I was like so nervouscited if you would like it or not!” She gushed.

Jackie looked at her flatly. “Nikki.. ya do know that’s not real word, right?”

“Aaaannnnd? I love coming up with new words. It’s super fun.” Nikki bit back playfully.

Rami sighed and rolled his eyes. “You should see some of the words she tries to use in text conversations with me.”

Tara gave him a predatory grin. “Is that so~?” She said in a sing-song voice. “Anything, specific you’d like to share, Rami?” She queried.

The hispanic youth blushed a deep crimson as he looked about for a distraction. “Nice drink mixes you guys got here!” He commented as he walked away, eager to pour himself a drink.

The strawberry blonde laughed, leaning against Mac. “He’s just too easy to tease, ya know?”





        “Ah’ tell ya, Nick, that Michael is just one dumb son of a bitch!” Jackie hollered, laughing hard as she leaned against the booth.

        Nick merely shook his head. “I swear that no one here is gonna ever figure out why Mr. Yatch keeps him around. It’s like he finds fun in watching him fuck up all the time.”
        
        Jackie calmed down slightly, grasping his hand lightly as she smiled. “Not for long though. He’s been costing the store some serious money with his latest fuck ups. Jus’ today, he asked me if Ah’ knew anyone qualified to take his job.”

“So, is there a chance you could hook me up with a job then, Jackie?” He asked hopefully. “Don’t get me wrong, I love taking care of all those animals. But being a cashier at a pharmacy working third shift just isn’t paying me enough to take care of them or myself.”

She squeezed his hand and smiled. “For sure! There’s no way he wouldn’t trust my judgement an’ I know for a fact that you’re definitely fit for the job.”

Nick blushed as he accepted her supportive gesture. “T-thanks! It means a lot to me.”

Jackie brushed aside a lock of her hair, giggling softly. “Ah’ know ya do, sug. Trust me.”





Henry folded his hands as he leaned on his elbows, paying rapt attention to Rami’s explanation.

“Using the synth in conjunction with a piano in a studio environment is the easiest thing to do. Mostly because you have the ability to go back and fix any syncing problems since you would ideally play one instrument at a time. I on the other part, playing my piano and synth as if I was playing live.” Rami explained as he took another sip of his beer.

Octavia nodded as she tried to wrap her head around his playing style. “Out of curiosity, is there a reason why you choose to play your instruments as such?” She queried.

Rami chuckled softly. “My playing style is more or less like a “live” vibe. It’s harder to play a synth and piano in conjunction on stage because of all the timing and muscle memory it calls for. So if I can get really solid recordings for my studio take without recording them individually, then by extension I should do fine in a live setting, right?”

Nikki finished the last of her beer. “Definitely! I think it helps for building skill overall. Do you still record your MIDI’s separately even if you play them at the same time, or are both tracks mixed together?”

“They’re separate. It helps a lot with mixing.”

Henry held up his phone. “I do more piano and synth than anything else and I never honestly thought about it that way. I’m going to definitely play my piano and synth like that from now on.”

Octavia smiled. “You used to play the piano and synth more than anything. Until I came along.” She chastised playfully.
His cheeks burned a rosy hue as he tried to refute her point, only to sigh miserably. “Yup. It’s true… she got back me back into playing guitar, bass, drums and even the cello.” Henry admitted, knocking back a heavy gulp of his margarita.





Tara smiled as she leaned against Mac, snuggling against his strong frame. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to just… relax, you know?”

“Eeyup, sure has…” He whispered, grabbing her cup and taking a drink out of it.

Tara swiped it back with an angry glare that came off more as a pout. “That’s mine!”

He leaned down and chuckled. “What ya gonna do about it, Miss?” Mac teased as he took the cup out of her hand.

She swung her leg around straddled him effortlessly, leaning up and grabbing the cup with her teeth as she drunk the last of her beer. “Just that.” Tara answered with a smirk as Mac stared at her slack jawed.





Nick laughed as he polished off his cup. “Trouble always seemed to find you two.”

Jackie snorted, blowing a tuft of her hair away from her face. “Sure did, but when you have a knucklehead and a stubborn girl going around town, trouble never did have a hard time finding us.” She sighed wistfully, stretching out fully as she made herself comfortable.

“Do you miss the farm?” Nick queried softly.

“You bet your butt Ah’ do. There’s so many memories there… a lot of experiences that Ah’ll never forget... but always treasure, ya know?” Jackie murmured as she took a deep gulp of her drink.

Nick smiled and squeezed her hand back in return. “Look at the bright side, you have all of us.”

She giggled. “Yup. A bunch of goofs, but my goofs nonetheless.” Jackie teased, poking his shoulder lightly.





Henry held up his phone. “So you guys think we could work together as a band?”

Octavia took a drink as she mulled it over. “Well… we all get along very well.”

“I second that. We all got skills and talents that compliment each other in a way we wouldn’t have gaps in terms of overall skill.” Rami offered, blushing slightly as Nikki leaned a bit more against him.

Nikki giggled as she gulped down her margarita. “Just imagine, we practice for a few weeks and then bam! We’ll come out and do a show and wow everyone… before you know it we’ll build a name for ourselves and b-be on a record label like Octane or even Room 222 an—Oh! We’ll probably come out with a big single and before you even know it we’ll be doing tours all over the world like in Shanghai, Russia, Germany, Sweden…” Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking as stars seemed to shine in behind her blue eyes. “Our thirty year anniversary tour… we could be playing with Foster The People or BareNaked Ladies or even Maroo—” She was interrupted when Rami put his hand over her mouth.

“Nikki… one step at a time. Please.” Rami begged before slowly removing his hand.

She merely giggled loudly in excitement, her hair bouncing every which way with a twitch.

Henry shook his head at her antics, not noticing the somewhat longing look Octavia had fixed on him.

“H-henry… I’d really love to join a band with you and the others.” She murmured.

He looked back at her, beaming as his eyes closed from how wide his smile shone.

Octavia couldn’t help the blush that kissed her cheeks. She bit her lip, hugging him with one arm before pulling back and drinking the last of her beer.





Tara gasped and shuddered as she melted against the hold of her boyfriend. His hand were firmly squeezing her curvaceous bottom as he playfully nipped at her neck. “See Tara? Ya not the only one who can play the teasin’ game.” He whispered throatily, kissing the nape of her neck.

“M-mac… you tease~” She cooed as she gave up on trying to get out of his hold.

Mac smirked as he pulled her closer, kissing her on the lips chastly. “Ya’ll the one who chose to tease me first. We wouldn’t be in this mess now would we?”

Tara’s face flushed several shades of red. “I.. I didn’t think you’d fall for it though.” She panted lightly. “It’s Tavi’s birthday, Mackie… we shouldn’t…” She whispered.





Jackie stood up and walked around the table before sliding in next to Nick with a playful smile.

Nick merely blushed and moved aside. “W-what’s up?” He asked, feeling slightly intimidated by the sudden change in atmosphere.

Her smile became more coy as she rested her hand on his leg. “Nothing at all, Sug’.” Jackie giggled, her cheeks lightly flushing under the light.

“Then uh… why the need to be so close?” Nick queried, making no attempt to move away from her.

“Cuz’ you know we both want it.” She whispered sultrily, her long bangs framing her face as Nick gazed at her quietly.

Nikki stood up, wobbling slightly on her feet as she rambunctiously cheered. “C-come on everyone, I think it’s about time we cut the cake and really get this party up to eleven!” She cried out, unsteadily making her way towards the cake.

Jackie rested her arm on Nick’s shoulder as she fixed her with a knowing look. “Nikki… Ah’ think ya had a little… a little too much to drink, if you ask me.” She drawled.

Rami scoffed as he stood up somewhat shakily. “Relax, will ya, Jackie? We’re all just having a good time, right guys?!” He hollered eagerly.

The rest of the room cheered with him as they all slowly made their way to the back of the dinner where Octavia’s vanilla-chocolate carrot cake had been sitting.

Nikki carefully brought the lighter down on the two candles, the number twenty four glowing a soft purple as everyone began to sing together. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Tavi! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone held onto to the last note childishly as they tried to group hug her.

Octavia laughed happily, a wide smile on her face as tears dripped down her cheeks. “T-thank you so much everyone! It means a lot to me.” She said, sniffling slightly as she tried to keep herself from crying.

Rami squeezed her shoulder blade gently. “Like we said before, we’d be terrible friends if we didn’t care.”
“Eeyup!” Mac called out as he petted her head playfully.

Nikki made short work of cutting the cake, giving everyone a slice before setting a bunch of extra slices down on the side. She giggled as she watched Henry dip his finger in the frosting and smear it on Octavia’s nose.

Octavia giggled like a school girl as Henry leaned in and licked it off, a happy squeak escaping his lips as they all laughed. “H-hey guys! No hands!” She yelled as she put her arms behind her back..

Everyone turned to look at Nikki just in time to see her plaster her face against the remainder of the cake. She took a huge bite out of the cake and chewed away.. “Besht way to eat this… mmm… cake!” Nikki cried happily much to everyone’s amusement as she pulled back, her brown hair covered in frosting.





The group had been dancing fairly close to one another as they continued partying on into the night. Alcohol filled the air as many kept drinking while dancing. Nikki and Rami kept dancing, their bodies meshing together every now and then. Most of the frosting had been cleaned off her face by the young man though not without leaving his face covered in return.

Tara and Mac had spent a good portion of their time making out and caressing each other as they sloppily danced along with the beat. Nick and Jackie had occasionally brushed against one another, but they most focused on kissing each other at every chance they got as they danced closer and closer together.

Henry was dancing with Octavia, arms wrapped around her luscious hips as they moved to the beat. Occasionally their hips would grind, but neither seemed to mind as they enjoyed themselves.         

“Mmmm… Henry~” Octavia moaned out softly, grabbing one of his hands and placing it on her ass. “Touch me, please~” She whined, leaning in closer as she kissed his neck softly.

Henry shuddered and complied as he squeezed her sizeable, toned bottom. “Oh~!” She moaned airily in surprise, biting his neck lightly as she pressed their hips firmly together. Octavia arched her back, pressing her sizable breasts against his chest.

She slowly guided the mute man to a nearby booth, gently pushing him down as she fumbled to unbutton her blouse. He seemed to choke on air as he got a clear view of her bra-covered breasts. Nervously, Henry reached up as he tried to pull her blouse closed for her modesty, only to have his hands knocked aside gently.

“I-I want this… I need this, Henry.” She whispered sensually as she straddled him, pressing herself as close as she could to him while running her hands through his thick hair. She shuddered slightly as his hot breath caressed her bosom.

Henry panted lightly as he felt her hands begin to roam freely, grabbing the bottom of his shirt as she tugged it off effortlessly. She ran her smooth fingertips across his toned, trim torso. “You’ve been working out hard, haven’t you~?” Octavia purred seductively as she kissed his lips softly.

His eyes widened as he melted against her, kissing her back eagerly as the last of his defense crumbled around him.





        Octavia slept quietly on top of something warm and soft, sighing happily as she adjusted her arms around it. Her torso felt exposed, but the warm arms wrapped around her kept her from shivering. She nuzzled his bare chest as she subconsciously kissed his body.

        A soft groan came from underneath her as she cracked an eye open, immediately regretting it as her head begun to spin and pound. “G-gods… who left the lights on…” She grumbled irritatedly.

        Henry’s eye opened gently as he found himself gazing into the eyes of Octavia. He leaned up and kissed her lips softly.

        “Mmmmm…” Octavia hummed as she kissed him back before her eyes adjusted.