“Plant your feet on the ground, it will make you feel better.”
I peeled myself away and carefully placed my feet on the ground, still clutching him. It was then that I noticed we were at the finish line and vorpyr above were cheering. A flush touched my cheeks. Arrazyl saw and his lips tilted up in a half smirk. “Isaved youandwon. Thanks for making me look even better than usual.”
I grumbled under my breath.
“Come on, I’m sure the other two want to make sure you’re all right.”
“Who said I am?” I tried to pick them out from the crowd at the top of the cliffs, but it was impossible. “I’d rather not go back up there.”
“I’ll be holding onto you, no need to fear.” He snagged me around the waist before I could protest any further and I was once again sailing through the air. I was losing the amazement I had for elevated living.
My brother and Tatiana hugged me and Thyra said, “both Kyvar and I jumped after you, but Arrazyl got to you first.”
“What happened?” Jaron demanded.
“I just got bumped and then I was flying.”
Arrazyl snorted. “Let’s be clear, that was not flying, that was falling.”
We’d stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, so it was late when I woke. The rest of yesterday after the competition had passed in a blur.
Jaron had disappeared last night when we’d all stumbled to bed and I didn’t see him when I got up, but I figured he was fine. He’d had a drinking competition with Kyvar and obviously the vorpyr drank him under the table, but he’d sobered up in the hours after as early morning came around and new and interesting vorpyr games were played. If there was anything I’dlearned about vorpyr yesterday, it was that they had boundless energy and didn’t do anything halfway.
I’d started learning some of the language, and understood the syntax, which was like English’s typical subject-verb-object order, but unlike English it had head-final language components, where the verb was positioned at the end of a sentence and modifiers came before the modified noun, very much like Chinese and other Asian Earth languages. Even with that knowledge, I had learned so few words and their meanings and context that I couldn’t follow the flow of conversation around me. It had made me thirst for more, and I wished I could learn freely among this species and culture.
I sat at the table with a cup of vorpyr coffee after pushing open the windows, allowing in the bright sunlight and warm breeze. It really was a beautiful place. Once a person got used to the jungle heat and everything wanting to eat them. In that way it really wasn’t that much different from Australia. I smiled at the thought, then sobered. Would I ever get to visit Australia again? I knew the answer was no.
Closing my eyes, I took some calming breaths. I had Jaron and Tatiana here. That was more than I could ever hope for. As was how decently we were being treated. By most, at least.But will it last?The thought lingered like a bad smell.
The door to the bedroom slid open and Tatiana stepped out. She was clothed in a flowy dress that barely hit mid-thigh. She must have had it made, given that it wasn’t long enough to even cover the sensitive areas of the taller vorpyr females.
“That’s pretty.” Like many vorpyr garments, it was colorful, with various shades of teal and green, almost like a peacock. A few jewels lined the neckline.
“Thank you, Kyvar gave it to me.”
Kyvar? He was doing nothing to hide his interest, and I hoped he wasn’t just after her because she was new and exotic and hewanted to be the first to try what she had. I’d heard some things said about him that made me think he was a playboy. Still, she was an adult and while she wasn’t the most worldly, having come from a smaller town and working toward her PhD right away with little partying, if I understood correctly, she was smart and had good instincts.
She got herself some coffee and settled into a chair in the living room. “Do you ever miss home?” she asked softly.
“Yes.” I admitted. She nodded, lost in thought. “Are you homesick?” I studied her. She hadn’t mentioned home much since coming here. Her mom was alive, but they rarely spoke.
“I do, but I don’t think I’d give up this experience for anything. Think about it, we’re literally pioneers here. No other humans have been allowed to learn about the vorpyr, let alone live among them.”
Before I could comment, the door slid open, and we both looked over. Jaron walked in and joined us.
He sat down at the table across from me with a sigh.
“Where were you?” Tatiana yawned out the question, prompting me to hide a small yawn of my own.
Something flashed across Jaron’s face. Something I couldn’t read. It made me pay closer attention to him.
“Sleeping.” he said, more irritably than he needed to. “I’m the one who drank so much of their insane brew that I nearly died.”
He hadn’t drunkthatmuch. My brother wasn’t one for such dramatics, either. Something was definitely off.
When Tatiana wandered back into the bedroom, I brought Jaron a cup of the coffee like substance we’d been provided, watered down given that the caffeine was enough to kick like a mule if one drank it straight like the vorpyr did.
He took it but didn’t meet my eyes. “Thanks.”
