“She’s a bit older, so all of her feathers have had a chance to develop into their full color spectrum, which is why you see everything from the deep crimson to black, to even orange and bright yellow. The adolescents don’t have as much variance in color at first, typically just dull-orange feathers cover them. It's the easiest way to tell their age.”
That and sizing, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her with facts. Male adults could grow as large as six feet in height, but female adults were normally half that size. This phoenix’s three foot height fit the profile perfectly. I clipped her gold chain to an attachment at the base of the post, allowing for ample space for her to fly and move around, before moving toward Kieran. Niz quietly watched us, but I could feel through our bond that he was annoyed by Kieran’s attention on the phoenix. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his jealous antics.
I didn’t blame him—I was finding that I hated sharing her attention as well. My jaw tightened thinking about Ry and his veryfriendlydisposition toward her. I also hadn’t missed her saying no in response to his question about us dating, my ears picking up on it as I walked through the door. I mean, technically her answer was correct, but I still hated it.
“You said she’s shy?” Kieran asked as her eyes tracked the flight pattern of the phoenix.
“Yes, quiet but defensive. We found her nearly starved with a broken talon and stuck in a territory of the Western Forrest with much larger ground and air predators closing in on her. So she is still very on edge when it comes to most things,” I admitted, my heart squeezing at the memory of her condition when I first saw her.
Kieran’s eyes softened and her mouth parted before she looked at me. “So what should I do?”
“Try stepping forward and calling her over. She doesn’t have an assigned name yet, so do your best to search for a connection. If that doesn’t work, try to approach her and put out your arm as she may feel more comfortable going to you if you’re closer. Unlike many of the other creatures, phoenixes don’t require as much of a dominant hand. They’re a bit more fickle and it tends to work out better if they come to you.”
Kieran nodded and moved forward, tilting her head as if trying to figure out the best way to call her. After a long moment, she went with a soft whistle, and I smiled as pride surged within me. Normally, a whistle was used to signal a number of different actions—in the case with Niz, shifting into his larger form—and her action showed that she had been paying attention to that.
Unfortunately, the phoenix didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, it looked skyward, seeming to track something far above us.
“You’ve got this,” I encouraged Kieran. “Maybe try approaching now.”
“Okay.” She exhaled sharply, her shoulders moving with the motion. “You said she was defensive, though, right?”
“I did,” I agreed, “but I think you have the right temperament to approach her.”
Despite the truth in my words, I grew tense as she closed in on the phoenix. The bird’s black eyes narrowed on her as Niz let out a low rumble, drawing my attention momentarily. He was crouched low, his tail flicking back and forth, and I knew he was going to try to intervene if anything happened.
I was just hoping it wasn’t fucking needed.
“Hi, beautiful,” she whispered, offering a soft smile before extending a hand toward the creature. “Let's see if you and I can be friends—Oh, shit!”
All in the flash of a second, the phoenix let out a loud, defensive trill that echoed through the space as it lunged toward Kieran. The edge of her wings lit on fire in a move that was meant to both intimidate and cause harm. Kieran ducked as the bird collided over her head with Niz. He snapped at the creature’s wings, his action sending the phoenix flying straight up before circling through the air and refusing to land. I moved toward Kieran and gently helped her up as she let out afrustrated huff, pushing a few pieces of hair from her face that had fallen out of her braids and looking annoyed.
“Nevermind then, clearly wearen’tgoing to be friends,” she muttered, nearly making me smile at her tone as I shook my head at the phoenix. Already, I knew we weren’t going to get anywhere with her. Niz offered a warning growl to the phoenix who shifted her eyes back to Kieran.
“Okay, who’s next?” she asked with a chipper tone I didn’t expect as she brushed dirt from her pants.
That’s my girl.The endless determination Kieran possessed was something that both turned me the fuck on and worried me in equal parts. I knew how hard she pushed herself, and while I often encouraged that, I found myself wanting to take care of her when she went well past her limits. Right now, though, I knew that determination was tied to her confidence, so I didn’t hesitate.
“Be right back,” I promised before returning the phoenix back to her massive birdcage within the stable she’d been assigned to. I then walked to the second stable, which was slightly larger than the first. Immediately, I was greeted by pegasuses, the dominant grouping of creatures from our most recent intake, who began to trot and move around their stable anxiously, clearly anxious from my appearance. Moving toward the farthest stall, I found the adolescent male I was looking for.
Completely unbothered by my presence, he didn’t mind as I led him on a lead toward the training yard. While he was one of our newer intakes, he didn’t mind interacting with angels, nor did he mind being around others of his kind. The only real issue that he had was with anyone trying to mount him. No one had managed that successfully yet.
“I’ve never seen a pegasus with so many different colors,” Kieran called out as we approached. “He’s so unique.”
I offered him a skeptical look, deciding that she wasn’t wrong. Hewasinteresting to look at, but I could also sense that he had an arrogant fucking attitude that I wasn’t a huge fan of. It probably came from him being one of the largest of the young males we had collected, his periwinkle body coming up to my own shoulder and his sparkling lavender wings stretching out to each side in a massive wingspan. While his face was covered in white fur, he had a prominent blue horn that glittered under the sun. Using his lead to tie him to a mounting station, I stepped back as I wondered if I needed to add more mounting blocks for her.
“He seems friendly,” Kieran approached, standing next to me.
“He is, for the most part. He doesn’t mind interactions with angels, but he won’t let anyone mount him. I know you have ridden a tamed pegasus before, so this time I want you to try to mount him.”
Usually, he would just dart or move away from the mounting blocks far enough that the person attempting it wouldn’t be able to mount him, so I didn’t think there was a lot of danger she could face in this particular situation. I was still feeling cautious after the phoenix, though.
“Okay,” she said with a nod, putting her hands on her hips. “I’ve got this.”
“You do,” I agreed as she moved forward, my eyes running over her ass, unable to help myself. Unfortunately, it was currently covered by a jacket and I found myself wishing it was just slightly warmer this morning.
“So supportive,” she teased, rounding the mounting blocks. “Trying to soften the blow if I fail epically?”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” I responded seriously. I had always believed in Kieran, yet the look she offered meseemed filled with surprise. Had I not made that obvious? Even in training during school I’d believed in her.
