Sophia had started to talk for her mate -to explain- but she’d been interrupted by one of Zarriko’s males butting the bottom of his spear onto a wooden trunk as he stands there at the wall.
The thud of the spear on the wood is followed by an uncomfortable beat of silence.
Suddenly, Zarriko is on his feet, and in two strides he is in the other Trixikka’s face. He doesn’t speak at first, opting to stand there, inches from the other male’s tense expression, his shoulders and wings rising and falling with each breath. “You dare treat my mate so? Your own High Spearess?!” he spits in a low, menacing voice, tail flicking with agitation behind him.
Others have shifted their spear positions - ready in case the shit really hits the fan. From the corner of my eye, I spy the glint of a dagger already in Mavyx’s hand. Every mated male here has positioned themselves in front of their female, their wings half-flared and their tails twitching. It feels like no one dare even breathe.
“Sophia was talking,” Zarriko growls. “Youspeared her words.”
“W-we-”
“What?!” the High Spear snaps, his tail moving like a whip now. “Wewhat?!”
“We should not tell them of tribe matters, my High Spear. I meant no disrespect.”
Oh. Things are going swimmingly with trying to integrate the two tribes better, I see.
With a jerk of his head, Zarriko instructs two of his men to escort the interrupter outside. All eyes are on the High Spear as he returns to his seat on the floor next to Sophia. He grunts and picks up her hand again. “Please, speak, my mate.”
“Are you sure?”
The High Spear eyes everyone sitting in the circle. He tilts his head to the side, letting loose a clicking noise from his neck and then sighs. “High Spear Rynn and I have agreed that there can be no tensions between our two tribes. We cannot let these dangers grow. So, we must share tribe matters with each other. Speak, my mate,” he says, pressing another kiss to the back of her palm. “We would all hear your words.”
Sophia, with the lifestone’s glow reflecting in her dark hair and eyes wets her lips. “Well…unfortunately, there are tensions in our tribe. None apart from Zarriko have gotten their heart-stars-” a flicker of a smile crosses my mouth when I see Zarriko press the back of Sophia’s hand to his chest, his eyes staying fondly glued to her while she speaks, his heart-stars glowing brighter from her touch. It makes me think of how my Zyn’s heart had felt when I’d rested my head on his chest last night when we’d made love. There were no heart-stars to show, and only scars upon more scars. But that heart felt strong and wild beneath his ribs, like it was calling to me and only me. “Many of them are getting restless,” Sophia continues. She looks to her man, a silent question on her face. He closes his eyes, his nostrils flare but he nods his head for her to continue. “Just a few days ago, Zarriko had to banish two males for their disloyalty. They were overheard discussing how if they got rid of Zarriko, that maybe I could ignite a different male’s heart-stars once he is gone.”
My brows knit together. “They… want to bump him off and take you for themselves?”
Sophia nods, and I look to each of the other members here this morning. All their expressions are grave - murderous, even.
“Is that what used to happen with Trixikka women?” Delphi, one of the new girls asks.
Mavyx shifts his big body and, without much effort, reaches for Alana and sits her in his lap - like he couldn’t even talk about the subject without keeping her close. “From what we have observed on the Eerie Cave walls, yes, it has been known to happen. New heart-stars can ignite after one of the mated pair takes their last breath. But for many, their stars died with their mates.”
“You did well to banish those who would think such a thing,” Rynn says to Zarriko, tucking Serena into his side. “Let thejungle shadows take them. We have no room for disloyalties here. But this is another reason why we must spend more time with each other. So every male of both tribes can have the opportunity to spend time with all the females to see if-”
“What happens when all the women are taken?”
Feathers rustle. Someone shifts where they stand. I can hear the creak of tight grips on wooden spear shafts.
Everyone turns to look at who had talked. It had been quiet Gwen. Her eyes dart all around at the gathering, and I can see her cheeks turning rosy now that she’s the center of attention. I know exactly how that feels. “There are only so many of us. Once every one of us is paired up with one of you-” her eyes find the silent, scary-looking Jaryk beside her. “Then what?” she asks, her voice even smaller. “What about the males that are left without a mate.”
“Well that’s just tough,” Colette chirps in, but no one else chuckles with her. She looks around before adding, “seriously, you guys can’t all expect to get a woman. And what if the women don’t want to be paired up?”
“The Goddesses will provide more females once we prove we can properly care for the ones we have been given,” Rynn says, rubbing his big hand over Serena’s belly. “If we can give our females happy lives, the Goddesses will trust us with more.”
“You don’t know that,” Alana challenges. “That’s a dangerous thing to promise these males.” She gestures to Zarriko while still talking to Rynn. “You may think that we don’t have the same tensions here in this tribe, but I have your males coming to me day-in, day-out asking how they can make their heart-stars appear before others snap up the available girls-”
“What do you tell them?” I ask.
Alana turns to me, her expression softening. “I tell them to try and put all that aside. Get to know the women as friends and nothing more. I tell them to concentrate on alltheir connections whether male or female. You can’t hang your hat on one type of relationship as the be-all-and-end-all.” She pauses and looks around at the others. “What Mavyx and I have is special, but what I have with all of you is, too - including you,Mr BossyFeathers,” she says, grinning at Rynn before her smile slips again. “But, do the math. Y’all need to stop putting those twinkly heart-stars up above everything else, and enjoy the life and community we could build here - together. Both tribes. Or this situation is going to get ugly in the end.” Mavyx grips Alana’s hip possessively, his thumb working circles into her skin. His skin-stars pulse all around where she’s touching him, making her look like a queen on a living, breathing, sparkly throne made of muscle. “And I refuse to bring my baby girl up in a life where her only worth in other people’s eyes is to be someone’s mate.” The grunt of agreement from Mavyx is met with a peck on his cheek from his woman.
Alana’s mahogany eyes scan everyone here. And, above her head, Mavyx looms, his glare daring them to contradict a single word his woman just said.
There’s a beat of silence, some of us nodding. It’s broken when Colette clears her throat. “Yeah… plus… some of us might not…likemen that way anyway? Like, maybe we prefer women?”
Some of the Trixikka look a little confused, but several of the girls and I nod or say,‘exactly!’God, if one of the Trixikka got their heart-stars for Colette, they’d be sorely disappointed. Could that even happen if they weren’t meant to be? Would their biology just know that she can’t love them that way and keep the stars at bay?
I think about Zyntarr. The heart-stars thing had been such a big deal to me only just a few weeks back, and when I thought I’d seen a flash of them after my panic attack, I really thoughtwe just needed to wait it out for them to appear properly. Like I needed permission from the wider universe to love him.
