"Go. Find a healer and bring him to my dwelling," I say, issuing a dismissal and turning back to my little-light. Mavyx does not immediately move to carry out my orders, but it is fine. The shock of this discovery will take some time for the whole tribe to overcome.
Lifting my female into my arms jolts out a string of new nonsense words from her. "IfyoustartflyingagainImgonnapluckyoulikeaturkey!"
"Hush, my little-light," I tell her, carrying her the rest of the way to my dwelling. Mine is the largest hut in the tribe as is befitting my title of High Spear. As I walk, I cannot help but think how fragile females are now that I can see one with my very own eyes. She is small, and where a Protector's body is lean and hard with powerful muscle, hers is beautifully soft, luscious, and precious beyond measure. Perhaps that is what those soft mounds on her chest are for? Protection of some kind? It turns my stomach to think of how my ancestors would clip the wings of their Trixikka females. Perhaps that is why the Goddesses have gifted me with a flightless female; to remind us of our ancestor's sins so that we might do better. "You have roused my heart-stars," I tell her in a tone as soft as I can manage. "You are mine to protect and have nothing to fear from this day onward."
Once inside my dwelling, the female seems to calm. I let her down from my arms and she instantly begins to inspect the place. I allow her. None of my Protectors, nor the rest of my tribe would dare openly examine the dwelling of their High Spear, but she is female, and she inspires this odd yearning inside me to impress her. I, too, now look around my space, inherited to me by my father, who was High Spear before me. The hut is large and has everything a Protector would need. Does it have everything a female will need? I confess I do not know. I have been taught very little about females, only that they are precious beyond measure. Now that I can see one, touch her and scent her, I know these teachings to be true beyond all doubt.
I watch as the female approaches my nest. I have chosen the softest of frizikki hides and leaves from the Hizazzi plant to build it, as well as incorporated as many of my own feathers as possible of course. My scent is strongest there and I feel the oddest sense of trepidation as she inspects it. If she should reject this nest, if she should deem it not worthy, somehow, I know I will feel the blow of rejection keenly. My Goddess-given female turns back toward me and I find myself inhaling deeply, puffing up my chest and widening my wings as though I, too, am part of her scrutiny.
"Nicediggs," she says in her nonsense tongue. "Doyousleepinthishugeassnest?"
I do not know what she is saying. Something about her tone makes it sound like a question, but I cannot be sure and I do not know what it is she is asking. Why would the Goddesses give me a female I cannot understand? It makes no sense at all, and yet, who am I to question the will of the Goddesses?
"You will be happy here," I tell her, though she frowns in response. I find myself frowning too. "I... will learn what makes you happy... somehow."
She smiles, though there's no knowing behind it. She is just as clueless about my words as I am about hers. Her beautiful smile vanishes as quickly as a karrakarra flower traps its prey and she makes a perplexing'oooo'noise as she hurries past me over to my collection of life-stones. The wall she rushes to is lined with my trunks. Some house my weapons, some my hides, and one, encrusted with chips of life-stone too small to be considered for offerings, holds all items I have collected that are meant for the Goddesses of the Temple.
"Iveneverseenagemstonelikethis," my female says, running a dainty finger over the shards of multi-colored life-stone, awakening them with her touch. "Theyglow!" she gasps.
Goddess, I wish I knew what she was saying.
Crouching on my haunches beside her, I drape one wing around her back. She stiffens and looks over her shoulder at my offering of protection and comfort warily. My tail flicks behind me and I lift my wing slightly so as not to touch her. I must tread carefully with my little-light, it seems. She is almost as skittish as a frizikki. "Inside here," I say to her carefully, reaching to open up my trunk, "I keep everything I will need for offerings to the Temple." The lid opens and my female gives me another little gasp at what she sees. It is a noise I must confess affects me in unexpected ways. My chest constricts and my skin-stars race down my abdomen, leading to my awakening cock. "Life-stones, unused seed pots, and my most handsome feathers," I tell her to try and distract myself from the tightening at my groin. Her little hand goes to touch one of the larger life-stones before pausing in mid-air. She looks to me, asking for my permission. I happily grant it. All that I have is now hers.
My female seems to watch in awe as one by one, her fingers pass over each life-stone, awakening the light from within with her touch. When her hand reaches my stash of feathers, I cannot help but hold my breath, hoping beyond hope that she does not find them lacking. Holding up a large flight feather for her inspection she comments her nonsense tongue and then runs a finger up and down the side, right from the downy barbs up to the very tip. I swear I feel the sensation trickle down both my wings as I watch her do such a thing and cannot fight the shudder that travels down my spine. The feather's stars ignite at her touch and she makes that enticing gasping sound again. It makes me want to... I do not know what it makes me want to do... but it makes me want to do it so very much.
"My High Spear?" comes a voice from outside my hut - the healer I had asked Mavyx to fetch. Standing, I answer, permitting him to enter. My female stands too, staying close as the Elder healer enters. "Oh, my feathers!" he exclaims, seeing my little-light for the first time. "So, it is true then? A female has been brought to the tribe?"
I stand tall, breathing deeply to expand my chest, showing off my newly ignited heart-stars. The healer notices them, his eyes widening. "As you can see, Elder, I tell no untruths. The Goddesses have gifted the tribe with a female and you must heal her." I gesture to her feet.
The Elder looks wary. "My High Spear," he says, clutching his woven basket of healing utensils and salves as his skin-stars work manically at his temples. "She is... I have never healed a female before. I do not know if her body works the same as our tribe. And what's more, she is wingless and tailless. She has no stars from what I can tell. I do not know-"
"Enough," I bite out through gritted teeth. My female flinches beside me. I start wrapping my tail around her thigh for comfort but she soon brushes it away. I try to ignore the sting her refusal gives me and turn back to the healer. "You will heal her," I tell him. "There may be differences, but those are things you will have to learn, Elder. I will not have my female suffering."
"Yes, High Spear," he says, swallowing thickly before turning to my little-light and asking her to be seated on my nest.
Chapter 6
SERENA
The older bird-guy was talking to me but as usual, I had no idea what was being said. The younger, handsome idiot who had scared me half to death by flying me here responds, and then leaves, fetching a wooden bucket filled with water. Then, through a series of gestures and soft-sounding words that I can't understand, he urges me to sit on the huge ass nest thing and dip my feet into the water. The cool feeling on my cut-up feet is divine, making me close my eyes and sigh with relief. When I open my eyes again, both bird-men are staring, their bright, blinking eyes making a study of me. The handsome one's body lights are going crazy and there's a particularly bright trickle of lights zooming over the angular cut of his hip-bones and down his taut abdomen until they disappear beneath his loincloth.
Do notthink about following those lights with your tongue.Do notthink of following those lights with your tongue.God damn it, Serena!
I look away abruptly from both bird-men, but especially the one who seems to literally be having a disco in his pants. One of them - I assume the older one, who’s kneeling at my feet - reaches into the water and gently pulls one foot from the bucket. His movements pause and I hear a sniffing sort of sound. When I look back, both men look like confused bloodhounds scenting the air before their focus zeroes in on me. There's a murmured conversation between them and the old dude gets to work on my feet but the handsome one remains standing, staring intently at me with those turquoise eyes of his.
"Thank you," I offer the man who had patched up my feet with some form of tingly salve. He nods as he stands, saying something but we both know there's no understanding between us. Still, I hope he can sense that I'm grateful. The ointment he had rubbed into my skin had an oily texture but felt like it was helping and now, both feet were wrapped in thin material. In the time it had taken the old man to tend to my feet, day had turned to night and the noise of the surrounding jungle seems to get louder. The other girls are out there. In the dark. On a strange and dangerous planet. "You have to help my friends," I say to the handsome one who had saved me from that demon-chimp earlier today. "They're out there and... and they don't have anyone to help them."
He answers, but of course, it means nothing to me. How can I make him understand?
The older bird-man leaves after bowing his head in deference to the younger one. The gesture makes me think that perhaps the handsome bird-man is some sort of leader. The other alien - the huge one we had seen not long after landing here had acted the same way too.
I try to stand but that effort is quickly thwarted by my bird-man who gently urges me to remain seated with a warm hand on my shoulder, those lights zinging up his arm at the contact again. "Okay, I'll stay off my feet," I tell him as he crouches down in front of me, the apex of his tucked-in wings looming high above him, the feathers at the bottom now draped on the floor.
He says a word that sounds like 'reeeeen' as he lays his hand over his chest. "Reeeen.... reeeen."
I think he’s trying to tell me his name. "Reeeen?" I say, trying to mimic the word, prompting him to correct me, though it sounds exactly the same as I'm saying it, to be honest. "Reeen?... Rin?" It's close, I think but the way his alien tongue murmurs his name, drawing out the sounds makes it seem like there are hidden syllables in there somewhere. "R-Rahynn?... Rynn?" His smile is dazzling as he nods and pats his chest, repeating that word over and over. "Rynn? Your name is Rynn? Sounds the same to me, big guy, but if it makes you happy," I chuckle. Then he gestures to me. "Oh! Serena!" I tell him. "My name is Serena."
Rynn's brows draw together. "Mwy... nam-"
