Chapter 29
Szhe’ka
The feeling of flight has yet to return to me, yet I feel as if I’m soaring among the clouds, singing of eternal happiness. I was taught the wonders of mating by the many boasting stories, but they cannot compare to this.
This is bad.
At this point, being separated from her will cause me endless agony. My body already considers her my mate. This heat radiating from her small body is enough to put mine at ease. However, the feeling of contentment is constantly being replaced by a fear of loss.
Although her body is covered in feathers like mine, we are not the same being.
She sings a different song and is constantly looking forward.
I know her wish to go home is as strong as mine.
I know her home is different from mine. No matter how much I want to protect her, I don’t want to hold her back.
Just thinking of her leaving me is enough for me to feel as if my wings have been cut again. I don’t know when we’ll find Ree but once she sees her own kind…
I can’t think about that just yet. We can stay like this for a bit longer.
Her long red threads splay around her, almost as long as her body.
Its vibrant colors feel mismatched in the forest, nothing matching its luster.
I often catch her mumbling things to herself about it as she painstakingly tries to straighten it every morning.
Although I cannot understand the meaning behind each change, it is amusing to watch.
Like she knows I’m thinking of her, she turns, making a small noise as she does. She burrows deeper into the crook of my arms, making a content sigh when she finds comfort. I reach out to stroke her head with one hand, getting my fingers stuck in the soft feathers in her hair when I do.
I keep repeating the motion as her breathing spaces out in that interesting way of her species.
***
I started awake. Her eyes widen instantly, her body tensing in response. She looks around, most likely searching for a threat but stops when she sees my face. She blinks, takes a few seconds to process before flopping back on my chest.
“Morning,” she chirps tiredly, her eyes still closed.
“Regret to wake you,” I respond, trying to lull her back to sleep.
“No regrets,” she waves me off, yawning as she rises.
Her long, threads fall to her back. She stretches, the curves of her body straightening into a long line before her body compresses once more. She picks at a few feathers covering her face, wincing as she manages to pull one out. I stop her from trying to pick out another.
“Do not pick. Will hurt.”
“They get in the way,” she responds, a twisted expression on her face.
She walks off and I follow her to the stream, barely conscious or aware.
I guide her a few times with my arm when she wanders off, her head bobbing flaccidly.
We finally reach the stream, and I lower her in with two hands, holding her carefully with the other two.
The water is enough to wake her up, it seems, and she starts scrubbing at her body.
I contemplate whether or not to leave her like that in search of some fruits and seeds, but she catches my gaze.
“Go,” she urges. “I will be fine.”
Being familiar with how irritable she can be with no food, I make the choice of leaving her to find us something to eat that’s more palatable than the hunter food.
There are a few trees in sight, bearing fruit and seeds.
I pick them and move on, making sure not to stray too far from the stream.
I pick a full arms worth and return to find her now done, washing her mouth vigorously with a branch.
She catches my gaze and tries to explain what she is doing but it’s hard to understand. I don’t question her oddities and return to our camp site with her in tow.
When I turn, there is something about her that reminds me of her old feathers… except less mean, and more intense.
“What you—” I start to sing, but then Ani steps into my space without warning.
I tense automatically, expecting a question, a challenge, another sharp remark meant to test me. Instead, she pulls me down toward her by my upper arms and presses her mouth to the side of my face.
It is brief. Warm. Soft. Her yellow lips touch the ridge just below my eye. Then she pulls back.
I remain completely still. The contact was not a strike. Not a dominance gesture. Not scent-marking. There was no bite, no pressure, no claim of territory… except, no, something about it does feel like a claim.
My pulse spikes as she watches me carefully. “That a kiss.”
I blink once. “You applied your mouth to my face.”
A corner of her mouth lifts. “Yes.”
“For what purpose?”
“It…” She hesitates, searching for the word. “Affection. It means I like you. Care about you.”
I study her expression for deception and find none. My skin still feels warm where she touched me. The sensation lingers in a way not even a strike from my brothers would.
“Could just say,” I point out.
“I did,” she says lightly. “But this better.”
It is.
There is a strange tightening in my chest, not unpleasant. Not painful. Something steady and expanding at the same time. My instincts do not categorize it as threat or submission. It is something else.
I do not understand the mechanism. But I know I want it repeated.
She takes a long breath. “Did you…”
Before she sings the end of her sentence, a large shadow crosses our heads.
We watch something akin to a large ball of mud and stone whiz across our head before landing on a tree, tearing it apart.
I shield Ani with my body, weathering the rest of the tree.
But that isn’t the end. We hear something and it drives me sharply to my feet, my drums straining to listen closely.
Something is approaching, very quickly and briskly.
The tremor on the ground is enough for us to both know it isn’t Azoeul so we quicken our steps. I abandon the bundle and the rest of the fruits, picking Ani up so we can run. If the hunters find us and take Ani again… I cannot even imagine what would happen then.
The tremors grow closer and soon enough, they will outmatch my pace. My eyes dart around, looking for something. Another projectile flies over our head, crashing into another tree. I fold Ani into my arms and shield my eyes with a free hand, so the flying debris won’t affect my vision.
“You need hide,” I whisper to her, still searching for the best place. Somewhere she can stay so we will not be found easily.
I can’t lose her again.
Hope is sometimes useless… but only if you give up.
When I lift my eyes, I find it. It’s a tree, thicker and sturdier than the others.
There’s a hollow in it, covered by surrounding trees.
If someone as small as Ani hides in it, she’ll be hard to find.
I dive for it, going the fastest I’ve ever gone on land.
When I reach the tree, I push her in and she tumbles in, complaining.
Before I can dart off again, she moves faster than I have ever seen her move, daring out her grip to the hand closest to her, tugging me back. “Do not leave.”
“I must,” I sing solemnly, pulling my hand away. Her grip is strong but I’m stronger, soon gaining the upper hand. I don’t have much time left to run so she can hide.
“Please stay. I return,” I promise her before I run out again, feeling the tremors growing closer.
The familiar squelching sound from the hunters reaches my drums before I see them. They’re faster on land than I am but they are much smaller. Another projectile flies over my head, hitting a tree.
They’re tracking just me. Good.
I maneuver my way through the trees, making sure to circle around some other trees to confuse them. However, that doesn’t last for long. Soon, I’m ducking through smaller projectiles, fired by their weapons. They pierce the trees and smaller branches, bringing them down.
I cannot continue running like this. I need to fight back.
Without thinking much, I reach for the smaller branches, listen for a bit and toss it through the trees. I don’t have much hope of it working but surprisingly, I hear a screech behind me.
There are more branches either fallen by their projectiles or by other predators. I pick them up with all four hands, throwing consecutively toward my attackers. They’re shot down by their weapons but the debris from it gives me more time to pick up others.
I was lucky with the first shot, I know that much.
But luck is not enough to keep us alive. I need something. Something bigger and better. It’ll be more logical to hide but finding something like that would take more time.
Grabbing on another sturdier branch, I swing up the tree, climbing it.
I scale up fast but one glance down reveals that they have caught up.
They crowd around the tree, probably trying to take it down.
More of them gather and it doesn’t seem like they know Ani isn’t with me. I am relieved they did not find her.
Living atop these trees is a horde of predatory birds. They will be protective of their eggs. There is a crowd of them gathering amongst the trees, drawn by the commotion, hoping to catch prey running from the hunters.
Unfortunately, on the tree I’ve climbed, there is no egg. But I don’t give up and glide to the next tree. My gliding has drawn the predatory birds to me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I finally locate a brooding spot and a few eggs. I swoop down and claim one, scrambling back down the tree.
Angry squawks accompany me to the ground as I hop toward the hunters with the egg cradled in one arm.
Every muscle in my body is protesting this intensive movement but if I stop, I will die.
The hunters spot me a second too late as I drop the egg on the one in the center.
I tumble to the ground, making a rough landing.
Every part of my body wills me to stay down, but I lumber to my feet, running back to Ani.
The birds catch up to the hunters at that exact moment, descending on them angrily.
They shoot their weapons and try to disperse, screaming as sharp claws rake against wet flesh.
I’m back wading through debris and uprooted ground, making a new set of tracks they can’t trace.
I spot a new path we have not traveled before and dive toward it.
There are more trees here and it’s harder for something big to travel through the thicket.
However, a chill runs down my back as I stare harder at this new cluster of trees.
There’s something dangerous in there, I can feel it in every single bone.
But if I can feel it, they can too. It’ll be safer to go in that direction.
I go back for Ani, quickly finding the hollow I hid her in. I do not find her immediately and my heart sinks. I turn around, desperately hoping they had not taken her away. Just before I can run back to the camp site, something tugs me back. Ani pokes her head out, her hand grabbing an arm.
I fight the urge to rest, holding my tiredness at bay. I can still feel the tremors from the rampaging hunters a distance away. They will soon catch up, so we need to leave. I cannot hope for them not to find her the second time.
Tucking her back into my arms, I start running again. My body is heavier, but my pace is unchanged, and my vision is focused. I find my way back to the denser part of the forest, running straight into it.
It is a tight fit but I make it through.
Running is impossible, but I make it a fair distance before the tremors approach.
We hide in a thicket and observe the approaching hunters.
Their gurgling carries over to where we’re hiding and I can clearly see that they are covered in scratch marks and guts, making them even more disgusting.
The biggest one barks orders at the rest, hands on its weapons. They disperse, probably in search of us. They stand directly in front of the thicker trees, but they do not go in. No sane creature will wade into the territory of a bigger monster.
We hide in that territory for what seems like the longest time before they disperse. We wait for many long, bated breaths before the tremors fade into the distance and I release the wind I did not know I was holding. Ani collapses into my body, letting herself breathe.
“That was amazing!” she chirps excitedly.
She seems to have forgotten that I abandoned her and was overwhelmed by our escape. For now, I am content to see her safe.
“How did you do that?” she asks, looking at me with wide eyes.
“I ran,” I respond simply.
My entire body is screaming in exhaustion and pain, but I cannot let Ani know that even carrying her feels like several trees have collapsed on my hands.
She seems to notice and climbs out of my arms, pushing me to sit. She leans against me, careful not to rest on my sore legs. We have to find a better place to hide before night approaches. But for now, I need to rest.
“Szhe’ka, you very smart,” she sings, leaning into my arms.
My chest swells and it brings with it a longing for more praise. I want to ask her if I can continue to hold her hand forever and run toward our freedom, a life for ourselves.
I want to give everything up for her. But it is a dangerous idea. What I want may not be what she wants. Then I decide it doesn’t matter. I will do anything she wants, as long as she’s here with me.
But can I keep her safe?
“Not strong,” I sang back, panicking again when I think of how close we came to being killed.