In the very, very distant future.
For now, I’m just hurt.
And anyway, I need to concentrate on my new home. This other tribe. And pray that it’s all a good enough distraction from what might be going on back at Aloryk’s hut now that I’m out of the way and he can have his proper mate.
The Trixikka male who had carried me in his arms as we flew was nice enough. I tried not to engage in too much conversation with him, though. One reason being that I didn’t want to feed that interested look in his eye, and another being that I simply do not feel like talking to any man at all right about now.
I really miss Niska.
I wish I could call her and she could roll up to my apartment with her arms laden with the most unhealthy snacks so we can watch reruns of our comfort shows while she tells me how we don’t need anyone but ourselves to be happy. Just like we used to before she moved across the country.
My gut twists doubly. I really felt like I couldn’t have that without Aloryk. I felt like he was ‘it’ for me. My happiness.
And it’s only now that I’m reminded what a dangerous thing that is to believe.
It feels like my dad choosing his other family over me and Mom all over again. But somehow ten times worse because I didn’t have a choice in loving my dad, but with Aloryk… well, I was stupid enough to let my guard down. It’s my own fault for believing in a dream, I guess.
“You are well, female?” the Trixikka who carries me asks. I wish I could remember his name but I just can’t recall what he’d said before he scooped me up and took off.
“I’m…”I’m heartbroken. “I’m fine,” I tell him, forcing an awkward smile to my face as we glide on his graceful wings over acres and acres of tangling forest below. “I guess I’m kind of hungry?”
Mr Whatever-his-name-is smiles wide and genuine. “There will be a feast in your honor this night. If you tell me now which are your favored foods, I will gather them for you once we land.”
I honestly couldn’t remember the names of the fruits, vegetables and meats that I’ve tried here and liked. Aloryk just took notice of that kind of thing and then before I knew it, he was only bringing me the ones that tasted good to me.
“I like it all,” I lie, my false smile hurting my cheeks.
It takes maybe a little more than half a day to fly to the other tribe and by the time we land, I’m ready to not be in someone’s arms. In fact, I don’t really want to be close to anyone.
I’m not granted that wish when we land, though. It feels like we’re practically mobbed as soon as my feet are put back on solid ground. There are lots of Trixikka men, but also one human woman who pushes and shoves her way through the crowd of giant winged males to reach me. “Oh, my God! A new girl!” she exclaims excitedly, her blond curls bouncing as she moves to grab my hand with both of hers. “I’m Skye,” she beams.
I’m about to give my own name when I’m suddenly made very aware of all the males crowding us. And all of them are staring very intently at me. I take them in. How close they all are. How tall. It’s like standing among those huge redwood trees or skyscraper buildings - it kind of feels claustrophobic. Some of them smile when I make eye contact. Some of them puff up their chests, or open their wings a little - trying to appear even larger in the confines of the crowd.
Skye seems to notice. “Jesus, guys!” she huffs. “Let her breathe!” She takes my hand and drags me through the crowd. I can feel all those Trixikka eyes on me as we go, the attention twisting my belly. Is this what it would’ve been like all the time back at the other tribe if Aloryk hadn’t ‘claimed me’?
It feels likea lot.
“Don’t worry about them,” Skye turns back to say. “You’re all shiny and new and they’re dying to get those special twinkly feelings for a woman of their own.”
“Thanks,” I say as we clear the crowd, Skye weaving us around every male, and now through huts, too. This village looks very much like the other, except maybe the stone used to make the huts is more sandy in color, the buildings topped with darker purple ferns. “My name’s Polly, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Polly,” she says, throwing a grin over her shoulder at me. “C’mon, it’s quieter in here.”
She pulls me into the biggest hut of them all, built at the center of the village where the ‘feasting area’ would have been back home-… back…atAloryk’s tribe.
I halt, standing still in the large, open doorway. This place is the biggest construction I’ve seen since waking up on this alien planet. It’s round and made of stone, but every now and again, the usual solid rock building-block is replaced by one of those glowing opals they have here, making the walls appear dotted with windows of magic. The woven roof has a sturdy looking wooden frame and a hole in the middle, presumably to let the smoke out from a central fire. There are those rocks that the Trixikka use as seats scattered around, as well as areas sectioned off with screens made from the stretched skins of animals.
“Apparently there was once some chief Trixikka who thought very highly of himself and demanded he have the biggest and best hut of them all,” Skye tells me, gesturing around at the roundhouse that honestly feels more like a communal areathan one man’s living space. She points to the items mounted on the walls that I hadn’t noticed before. Animal skulls, huge, odd-looking antlers with what looks like razor-sharp edges and a plethora of spears and daggers. “Manly Viking warrior vibes, right?” she asks before putting on a silly voice. “Me big, dangerous man, me conquer all creatures with my mighty spear!”
I smile at her and we end up rolling our eyes together.
“Anyway, Lord Over-Compensating-For-Something is long gone, and Big Zee gave this place to us girls.” she shrugs.
“If you’re trying to get a reaction out of him by calling him that, it’s not going to work,” a weak-sounding voice calls out from behind a screen, followed by a wheezing sound.
“You’re awake!” Skye grins. She grabs my hand and pulls me toward a sectioned off area.
“I’m awake,” the voice agrees before we round the hide screening. “But he’s not.”
