"Thanks." I take the reed and push my sweaty hair off my face with the back of my hand. My hair is unruly in this humidity and it's probably a good thing the Trixikka aren't big on mirrors around here otherwise it would drive me crazy to know what I actually look like right now.
Some cute young Trixikka boys play nearby, jumping as high as they can, trying with all their might to flap those little feathery wings and take flight. There's quiet while Bea and I continue to weave with a small group of elders and males who seem to be more craftspeople than the warrior-type 'Protectors'. Well,Beaweaves. I just sort of shove the sticks this way and that, trying not to poke my eyeballs out in the process. Yesterday, I'd offered to help skin and prep the hunter's kills but that had turned my stomach, and after that I'd tried my hand at making something with the clay from the mudbanks. I'd turned my nose up at attempting a seedpot and thought a bowl might be more my speed. Well - the damn thing turned out so lumpy and lop-sided it was kind of embarrassing.
I just want tohelpin some way though.
I've never been good at doing nothing. Back on Earth I'd work myself into the ground for my clients - especially those who needed my law advice and services because of unscrupulous employers. To go from busting my ass working twelve-hour days to just sitting pretty while being waited on hand-and-foot by the bird-men is an adjustment to say the least. Hey, maybe I shouldn't question it - maybe I should sit back and relax.
But when I relax, that's when Iremember.
My period still hasn't come. I need to keep busy for my own sanity. I need apurpose.
"You ok?" Bea asks, pointedly looking at my frantically bouncing leg again.
I'm about to lie through my teeth and say something like 'sure, I'm alright,' or 'yeah, just tired,' or some other automatic bullshit reaction when there's a commotion overhead. The elder Trixikka around us stand, shielding their eyes and staring into the sky as they murmur to one another. Some gather the little boys who had been playing nearby and usher them into the nearest hut. When I try to see what all the fuss is about, all I see is other bird-men in the sky.
"Zarriko's warriors," one of the elders says as he urges Bea and I to take refuge in his hut too. "Come, we will let no harm come to you."
Bea's face is full of worry. But that's nothing new. Aren't these guys all meant to be best buddies now that they've got women to potentially share? I don't understand.
"Second Spear Mavyx is with them," an elder whispers in confusion.
Well that does it. I'm not hiding. I'm too curious. Distantly, I hear Bea call my name but my legs are already taking me to the edge of the village where it looks to be where the approaching group is headed. Chastity, Serena and Rynn are already there, staring into the sky surrounded by a large group of Mavyx's Protectors. "Do you know what's going on?" I ask.
"No."
The single word came from Rynn and he sounds as pissed as a wasp in a bottle. I glance his way and sure enough, there's thunder in his expression as he watches his second in command lead the oncoming group of Trixikkas.
"They have the girls with them!" Serena says excitedly.
The hostile tension around me dissipates somewhat, but it's definitely replaced with an undercurrent of anticipation.
The visiting Trixikka land gracefully in the small clearing between the west of the village and the jungle treeline. Rynn steps forward and puffs up his chest, his eyes burning a rageful hole into his Second Spear. For his part, Mav looks resigned to getting chewed out on...whatever the hell it is he's done. His gaze slips to me for the briefest of moments before it's locked back on his tribe leader, his jaw set and expression determined.
What the hell have you done, Mav?
Rynn's tail flicks dangerously and he opens his mouth to address the other tribe.
"Oh, my God, that never gets any better," Skye exclaims, pushing away from the huge Trixikka who had flown her here. On short, wobbly legs that look like they should be a lot more sturdy than they are currently, she kneels and pats the ground with one hand, the other clutching her chest. "Why do we have to fly everywhere, Zee? Can't we stay on terra firma for once?"
High Spear Zarriko huffs from his nose, his eyes still warily watching Rynn. "You would prefer to walk through the jungle for days than take to the wing, female?" he says, not turning to look at her.
"What's wrong with taking our time? Do some sight-seeing maybe?!"
Zarriko does turn to look at her then, his black feathers ruffling in the breeze. "The only 'sights'you would 'see'are dangers that my males would have to protect you from, human."
Skye rolls her eyes and stands up. She's still catching her breath as she dusts off the knees of her pink and red heart pajama pants. "Anyway," she flicks a hand in Zarriko's direction and plasters on a huge smile as she walks over to Chastity, Serena and I, ignoring every fixated Trixikka in the vicinity. "Let's do this girls day," she says, rubbing her hands together. "You guys got any more of that chocolate stash from the ship?"
***
"Wait, wait, wait," I say once we're all crammed into the girl's hut - Chastity, Serena, Bea and I, as well as all the girls from the other tribe. "What did he say?"
Gwen shrugs a shoulder and pops a piece of fruit into her mouth, chewing while she answers. "Matticks said-"
"Mavyx," I correct, not sure whythat'simportant at all.
"Mavyx, sorry, yeah. Well, he shows up at our village this morning and says it is not fair that we are kept apart for so long and that we should be allowed to meet more regularly - not just at those gathering things. He said that some of you guys might still be upset and that maybe having more girls to talk to would help."
Serena meets my eye and I can tell instantly what she's thinking. She thinks it's me that's upset. She's concerned. We've not broached the subject of my missing period for a while and I get the feeling she's leaving the ball firmly in my court as to whether I want to talk about it or not. Well, my instinct is to burn that ball and scatter the ashes to the wind. I avert my eyes from her and clear my throat, reaching for a piece of the meat seasoned with Zyntarr's delicious blend of spices. Before the morsal even reaches my lips the smell of it makes me balk. Has the meat gone bad? I put the piece back down on the stone platter and glance around. Some of the other girls are happily eating it. Maybe I picked a bad cut.
