"Whose words is it speaking?" Rynn asks as he flaps his wings with Serena in his arms.
"It sounds like Dove," Tessa says from another Trixikka's arms, Zyntaar having apparently offered her to someone else while keeping hold of Bea. "At least, I think it does. She was only at our village for a few days and then she disappeared."
"Ezzy, I'm scared,"the all-too-convincing woman's voice sobs down below us.
"Let's go down there and see what else it says," I suggest but as soon as the words leave my mouth, Mavyx's grip on me tightens still, and that low, rumbling growl returns to his chest.
"Absolutely not, Ah-Lanah."
I wriggle in his grasp. "But it could reveal something about where she is!"
"I don't care where she is. I only care where you are. And thatwhere you areis nowhere near a mimyckah!"
"Mav!"
"He is right," Zarriko says suddenly. I hadn't even noticed he'd flown closer to us with Skye in his arms. "No female should get close to any of these beasts. It may look injured and fragile, but it would still tear you limb from limb." He turns his head and nods at a small group of his men. Without a single word, Zarriko's males swoop down and surround the mimyckah.
The creature lets loose an eerily accurate woman's scream."Ezzy! Ezzy! There's another one! There's another one! Oh my God!"
Three Trixikka lunge forward at once. One yanks out the dagger from its eye, making black blood spray all over the strange white grass while another skewers it with his spear through the gut. The creature's words become garbled as it chokes and splitters, that ever-present grin still firmly in place as it says its final words, its lip movements not quite syncing properly with Dove's voice."Ezzy, I'm scared."
And then the clearing is quiet except for the beating of Trixikka wings until Bea's soft voice asks, "Who is Ezryk?"
It's Zarriko who answers, his face as hard as stone. "Someone who's dead."
CHAPTER 16: ALANA
It has been a few weeks since that terrifying creature had limped into our tribe gathering and repeated Dove's words over and over. I still can't stop thinking about it though. Zarriko was curt in his responses about who this 'Ezryk' person is... or was. The guy seemed pretty convinced that he should be dead. He'd told us that years ago there had been an attempt on his life by a small faction of his males who felt someone else was more deserving of his title of High Spear. It hadn't worked. Some had died - some were banished to the jungles to become Shadow-Wings. At least, that's what I'd gathered from what little answers Zarriko was willing to give. The older guy obviously wasn't keen on sharing details of his tribe's politics with Rynn and the other Trixikka. He'd flown off back to his village, taking his males and Skye, Gwen, and Chastity before we'd even gotten a clear picture of exactly what went down and where this 'Ezryk' had fit in.
These past few weeks Mavyx has been busy doubling down on training and finishing the hut he's building for me, which is really sweet - it would be even sweeter if he would stop calling it my... well, my 'word-I-can't-even-think-without-blushingtouching hut'. Seriously, who even taught the Trixikka that word? My mind automatically accuses Chastity and I can't help the smirk that appears on my lips. I kind of miss her crassness and the way she'd like to overshare and shock the clueless Trixikka. Not that I don't also enjoy having Tessa here. It's easy to see why she became a nurse. She's got that nurturing instinct in her right to the bone. I think she's the type of woman who would want to make sure everyone else was comfortable even on her own deathbed. And you can tell she loves it, too. She's in her element. She's useful.
She's not a bloated woman with aches in all kinds of places who tries very hard not to complain every hour of the day, but fails miserably.
"There's got to be something I can do," I grumble to Mavyx. He's inside my almost-completed hut, apparently making some finishing touches. He's adamant that I'm not allowed inside yet, but he prefers for me to stay close by anyway. I'm achy, irritated, and sticky from sweat. I don't want to be sat out here - even if Mav has arranged a soft little seating area for me while he works - complete with hides and feathers for me to rest on and a make-shift shade using a wooden frame and purple woven leaves. I do appreciate it, and it is sweet, but him fussing over me can make me feel useless sometimes - even more so than I did before.
"No," Mavyx grunts from inside the hut.
"Well, can't I go and see if the girls need any help?" I call out. "They're making stuff from clay."
Suddenly, Mavyx leans his head out from the doorway to glare at me. "You are not making seed pots for other males," he says gruffly.
I wasn't planning on making any of those weird baby-batter-bottles actually, but since I'm bored, I decide to mess with the idiot a little. "Oh, really? What if I made one for you?"
Mavyx narrows his eyes and I can practically see those cogs whirring in his head as the skin-stars at his temple blink and glitter rapidly. There's this constant push and pull between us now. He still irritates the hell out of me, and I'm sure I do the same for him, too. But we have an understanding. We are not mates. I'm just letting him feather his nest (literally) for me like his instincts are telling him to do. It's a practical solution - a win-win situation. He gets to appease some of his heart-twinkles' impulses, and I get some much-needed support.
The teasing is just an added bonus, to be honest. Perhaps it's mean of me to do it. Perhaps I should stick to firmer boundaries of our not-mates agreement, but I can't help it. Most of the time Mavyx acts like he's got a giant spear stuck up his ass - even more so now that he's gone into Protector Mode 5000 over me. Some days ruffling the big guy's feathers is the only entertainment I can get.
And I'mbored. I'm tired of not having a purpose every day - apart from sitting around and waiting to become a mom. Don't get me wrong - I've always wanted a family. And, I've just about come around to the idea of raising one surrounded by an alien jungle with no play parks, hospitals, schools, or daycare in sight. But this waiting period is really starting to suck. I'm used to engaging my brain every once in a while, doing something that I feel is making a difference to someone.
So maybe I'm teasing us both as a form of cruel entertainment. I've never claimed to be an angel and seeing those little body lights race down Mavyx's taut abdomen to disappear beneath his loincloth is far too much fun to pass up in my opinion.
Mav moves out from inside the hut he's building for me and stalks forward until his big frame is looming over my little seating spot. I squint up at him with a smirk on my face. He chooses not to acknowledge my offer of making him a cum-jar. "I am almost done," he grunts. "Stay. Here."
I lean back on my hands to look at him and stick my tongue out. Yeah, it's immature and bratty, but I think the combination of humidity and hormones is getting to me. "Say. Please," I say in the most condescending voice I can muster, mimicking the tone of his command. "You're so God-damn bossy all the time."
A low growl rumbles out of Mavyx. "You like when I am bossy, little female," he says, voice deep and penetrating as he juts his chin at me in challenge. "You forget that I can tell."
Then, the asshole makes a show of leaning forward and scenting the air above me.
