Chapter 17 - Aloryk

The pain had been with me for so long now, it had almost become a companion of sorts. But healer Yoryx is the most knowledgeable of all my tribesmales, and he is soon putting herbs and salves to work that dull the way my unwanted friend shoots down my wings and spine. He is careful to apply a paste with numbing properties before a more thorough examination of the damage can be undertaken. It is an odd sensation to feel the poking and prodding without truly feeling the poking and prodding.

Yoryx sucks in a breath over his teeth - a noise that makes me screw my eyes shut.

As if that would do anything to help.

I'd known what old Yoryx was going to tell me before I'd even stepped foot inside the old healing hut that smells strongly of all manner of musty herbs. The look in his assessing eyes had said it all as if he had declared it before Tribe and Temple.

"What can be done?" I ask, trying to move my now numb wing joints.

The pause Yoryx takes is entirely too long.

"The right wing will heal, given time, support and proper usage to build the muscle back up."

I wait for him to continue, all too aware of how the elder is weighing his words before he speaks them into existence.

"The left…" I can practically hear him shake his head, can see him in my mind's eye scrubbing at the lower half of his face as he stares at my broken wings. "The left might prove to be more difficult. I do not know if it will ever recover its strength to be able to hold your weight in the skies."

I stare ahead of me for a moment or two, eyes caught on the golden specks of dust floating in and out of the shaft of sunlight flooding through the hut's doorway. I am exhausted. I am both elated and broken. I have my female now - my mate - and she is everything, even better than in my dreams. But how could a broken male protect a precious creature such as Polly? I look down to my own chest and heave a deep sigh. No heart-stars. I know they are there. They are just like those golden specks of dust before me with how they are not seen when they are not in the light. My heart-stars need to find the light. I need to find the light. "I will fly again," I tell Yoryx. I will be a whole male for my female.

The healer pats my shoulder with a rough, calloused hand. "We will try, brother. We will try."

* * *

No amount of numbing salve could have saved me from the pain of having my wing joints physically yanked back into their proper place. Old Yoryx had given me a thick leather strap to bite down on and I almost chewed through the wretched thing.

Nevertheless, the Healer righted me as best he could this day. And here I lay on my stomach in my nest with my wing joints wrapped tightly to splints. My head is groggy from whatever disgusting pain concoction it was that Yoryx made me drink, even though I am grateful for it. But the worst thing is that my Polly is not here with me.

She is safe, this I know, and my heart is glad of it. She is with my good friend Chaz-Titi, and surrounded by the protection of the tribe.

Goddess, I hope she likes it here. I hope she is being made to feel welcome. And, I hope beyond anything that word has spread that she is mine .

Briefly, I contemplate getting up and going to find her. Yoryx had said that I need rest, and I do not dispute that, but it is uncomfortable for me to be without my mate. Even if she does not allow me to taste her cunt again this day, I should still like to have her with me regardless.

But, I hesitate too long. She is likely enjoying the company of Chaz-Titi and the other females. Is it wrong of me to want to drag her back to my nest and have her all to myself? The longer I deliberate, the thicker the sensation of sleep covers me. I think the disgusting drink that Yoryx gave me is doing more than dulling any pain. I think he means for me to sleep even if it is against my mind's will.

I give in and let the Healer's concoction pull me under, wrapping me in slumber like the friendly vine.

I do not enjoy this sleep. I do not dream of my Polly. I do not dream at all.

When I wake, I find I must have been lost in a dreamless sleep for quite some time. This day is cold with its own end, and it feels as though the twin suns have long been missing from the skies.

The groan I release as I make to sit up pierces the quiet of my little hut. Pain lances through my shoulders and wings, forcing me to sit there, gripping the edge of my finely-built nest and breathe through the discomfort. Strange how before we were rescued, I could convince my body to endure the pain, but now I am here, it is like all my limbs are taking their revenge on me.

My head is bowed when I hear it; laughter and merriment faint on the nighttime air. Despite the weariness and discomfort that has made its home deep in my body, I stand. I cannot be without my mate any longer. I just cannot.

"Here he is," an affable voice greets me once I make it to the doorway of my hut. I look out into the dark, squinting against the firelight from the nearby brazier.

"Brother, you rise!" another voice says. "It is good to see you return."

Once my bleary eyes adjust, I am greeted by a small grouping of my tribesmales - males who I consider my clutchmates since we were taught together as younglings. "It is good to be home," I tell them, trying to walk tall and unaffected by my pain. "And even better now that I have brought my mate home too. Tell me, where is my Polly?"

I do not miss the quick glances to my chest. I resist the urge to check for heart-stars myself. They will come. But I cannot deny that their absence is quickly becoming more than an annoyance.

"There is a gathering this night," my friend, Xadyn explains. "To welcome Pol- your mate to the tribe. Yoryx said you needed your rest and we were to keep watch over you while you heal."

My tail flicks violently behind me, betraying the tight smile I force upon my face. "Take me to this gathering."

Despite my demand for my tribesmales to take me to where a small feast is being held in my mate's honor, I find I end up leading myself there instead, the males still trail along behind me. Once I reach the small clearing in the center of the village, I feel them all halt at my back, just as I have halted, here in the shadows of the storing huts.

There she is.

My Polly .

She is sitting in the gathering area where two fires blaze, casting a dancing, golden light over her beautiful soft, round face. It seems as though many males have brought her offerings of nourishment as there are plenty of platters displayed where she sits with the other females and my High Spear. I feel compelled to remain in these shadows to just watch her. More food is laid before her and although she thanks them with a smile, she does not eat. Has she eaten since my resting?

"You are a lucky male, Aloryk," Xadyn comments from behind me. "I like the soft-looking ones. I hope the Goddesses will bless us with more."

"The Goddesses will not grant you a mate, soft-looking or not," someone behind me answers, "when was the last time you made an offering at Temple?"

Murmured bickering breaks out amongst the males but I pay it no mind. I am too lost at the sight of my female, caught up in viewing her without her knowledge. She seems comfortable with the other females and I hope she will be happy here. It will be my life's purpose to ensure that she is.

I am indeed very lucky to be given this purpose, to be blessed with this female.

My feet mindlessly take two steps before my eye catches on the others around the feast. Not the other females, but some of my fellow brothers and how they flare and flap their wings while grinning at my Polly.

They are… displaying for her.

It is a practice I remember learning about from some of the etchings on the Mother cave walls. Those Trixikka whose heart-stars did not choose their mate for them would need to show off their physique, their combat skills, their hunting skills, their means to provide for a female in order to attract one.

My own wings attempt to shift - attempt to flair - as if I were about to compete with these males for my Polly's attention. But all I feel is the tight wrap of the woven bandage, the stiffness of the splint, and the ache that comes with the movement for me right now.

I throw one glance over my shoulder as if I could assess myself how pitiful my wings look now, before setting my jaw and stepping into the clearing, my eyes now locked on the parading males as I stalk forward. Before my injuries, my wingspan could have rivaled all of these displays. I had as much pride in my feathers as any other male. Now, they are broken and bound, but I will not allow anyone to rival me for my mate.

The males notice me, and a few tuck their wings back instantly as if they were younglings being scolded for flying too high, too soon.

Good.

I glare at the others until they notice my approach and follow suit. Every male should know that Polly is mine, heart-stars or not.

"Aloryk, you wake!" my High Spear greets with a wide smile. He is seated at the head of the gathering, with my High Spearess sat in his lap. My eyes flit briefly over to Polly, wondering if she would like to be seated similarly with me, before quickly returning to Rynn.

"Yes, I am well rested now," I lie as I bow my head in deference to our leader. If my exhaustion was a spear, I have merely dulled the tip.

I am treated to a collective of greetings and well-wishes from the other females, but it is all background noise, like the sounds of the forest. My focus is on Polly and the soft smile she gives me as I draw near. I have not forgotten the way she took my hand and claimed me as her mate earlier.

I have also not forgotten the taste of her precious cunt.

I seat myself beside her and ignore the way my heart thunders in my chest when Polly leans into me. Her shoulder brushes with my arm as she gifts me with a soft, " hello ." And somehow, this little female can make one small word sound like more than a greeting. It felt warm, it felt familiar, and it felt intimate, despite the fact that we are now surrounded by my tribe.

" Hello ," I turn to her, trying with everything I have to reflect that warmth back to her. We stare at one another and I realize it is just the loveliest thing to be able to do. Yes, I am a lucky male indeed.

"Jesus, you guys, get a hut!" Chaz-Titi laughs on the other side of my female.

Polly's cheeks stain a pretty pink, but I do not mind the comment - I like to see that pink again. It is the same one she turns when she-

"You should eat," Polly says, clearing her throat and interrupting my thoughts of her pleasure on my tongue.

She pushes an untouched offering of fruits and frizikki meat. "Have you eaten?" I ask, pushing it back.

"Some."

I'm about to question her further when something makes a Goddess-awful, ear-splitting noise.

" Nova !" Ah-Lanah coos, and I look to see the female and her new youngling in her arms. The youngling in question is currently yanking on High Spear Rynn's feathers with a tiny little fist. "Nova, let go, baby."

Rynn smiles through gritted teeth, his Zahreenah giggling at him in his lap.

"I'm so sorry, Rynn, I think she's missing her daddy."

"I bet you're missing daddy Mavyx, too, huh Alana?" Chaz-Titi comments before shoving a handful of nectar berries into her mouth.

Ah-Lanah gives her a good-natured glare while she prizes the High Spear's feathers from her youngling's grip. "We are both missing him, and hope he gets back safe and sound very soon, don't we baby?" she says, making her voice go strangely high-pitched as she bounces the human youngling in front of her. I do not understand the bouncing, nor the strange singing-tone Ah-Lanah uses.

Nova squirms in her hold and Chaz-Titi reaches for the tiny youngling. "Here, let's give mama a break, huh? So she can eat something without having to fuss over you." Something strange happens to females when they speak to their young, because Chaz-Titi's voice goes high as she starts to babble nonsense-words to the youngling while rubbing their noses together. "Oh, I could just eat you up, I could! yes, I could! Nomnomnom!"

I freeze. Humans do not eat their own young, do they?!

Before I get a chance to ask, or possibly intervene, saving the youngling from the jaws of a hungry female, Chaz-Titi shoves the tiny human across Polly's lap and into my own hands. "Here," she tells the youngling, " time to meet Uncle Ricky !"

I hold the thing out in front of me, my hands dwarfing its tiny frame where they are hooked under its short, chubby arms. "Uh… hello ?" Nova does not answer. She begins to squirm. Looking to the others for aid, I find none. There are only grinning faces looking back at me. "Ah… Ah-Lanah, did your… did your youngling hatch too soon?" I ask. "She is very small, and is not answering me."

"Don't let your Second Spear hear you question his daughter, brother," Rynn says as he feeds his mate with his own hands. "Mavyx thinks little Nova here is a direct descendant from the Goddesses themselves and can do no wrong." He sucks a breath over his teeth as if I have just committed a great crime against Tribe and Temple. "If he hears you comment on her size…"

"I am not-… I just-"

Thankfully, Polly leans into me and pats my leg. "Human babies are meant to be that size. And they don't talk or walk for a good long while."

"Oh." They are completely dependent? That is… terrifying .

Nova begins to squirm with more vigor this time, her tiny human head searching for something even though her eyes remain closed. "Looks like my little star is hungry again," Ah-Lanah sighs. "Hand her back over."

As intriguing as the human youngling is, I am relieved to pass her back to her mother's arms.

"Watch this," Chaz-Titi tells Polly with a grin before announcing very loudly. "Alright, y'all, baby's gotta eat. Y'all know what that means!"

Very quickly, all the tribesmales around us, bar Rynn, stop what they're going and make haste in clearing the area. Some fly off to their duties, others gather their things and scurry away like busy berry-beetles. It is almost as if they move with fear nipping at their tails.

"Why are they leaving?" Polly asks, just as confused as I am.

"Because," Ah-Lanah says, lifting her coverings to reveal one of her full breasts in a movement so quick and without care, I almost think I am seeing things. "Understandably, there was a lot of interest in how women feed their babies and Mav did not like the staring, not one bit." There's some shuffling and positioning of the youngling while she talks and suddenly I am reminded of our lessons with the females and the role of their breasts when rearing young.

"Mm-hm," Chaz-Titi nods, handing Ah-Lanah a woven piece of cloth that she then drapes over her shoulder and the head of the youngling as she feeds. "You should have heard her man," she says, leaning into Polly as she continues, "now I've heard one or two threats of violence in my time, but let me tell you, Mavyx got creative with it. The things he said he would do to these poor guys if he caught them staring at his girl's taa-taas? It even made me wince to think about it!"

I can imagine it. I can understand it. The way I would want to shield and protect my Polly has my own gut twisting at thoughts of her beautiful body being gawked at like that.

Well… by anyone else but me. I am the only one allowed to ‘pervert' with my Polly.

The remainder of the evening passes by filled with pleasant idle talk and eating. We recount the differences between Trixikka and human young for my Polly's benefit, and Zahreenah takes great pleasure in explaining the hatching of our younglings from our Temple. ‘ So fucking weird ', I believe she described it as, although, I remember what we had been taught about how human young enter the world, and I do not think humans can speak on what is ‘weird' or not. Everyone takes turns in holding little Nova - well, everyone except for Bea. She seemed to want to leave the gathering for her nest as soon as she was offered the youngling to hold. And, even in my exhausted state, it was difficult to miss the way Zyntarr respectfully waits in the shadows to escort her back to the shared female's hut.

At one point, I find my body turned in to face my mate, my eyes intent on hers as she talks with the other humans about… well, human things, I suppose. It is not the words that have me taken, but the way the firelight kisses her cheeks - cheeks that are rounded with a smile. The shadows of her lashes, the way she looks to the skies when she's trying to remember a detail, like the stars themselves could reveal it.

I also love the way her soft stomach jerks when she laughs, and how round her thighs and rear are as she sits cross-legged beside me. She is so precious to me, and yet I have the urge to take her in my arms and squeeze her really tightly. I do not know why. I do not want to harm her in any way, she is just so…

I do not know the words for it.

She makes my mouth water, my heart race, and my cock swell. I also want to bite her, in so, so many places.

She turns to me as her conversation grows sparse. A gentle smile curving her lips as she finds me already staring. "What?" The word is almost whispered and trails off into an amused sound.

Our eyes make a map of each other's expression as the fires crackle and the others talk quietly around us. "You claimed me today."

Her teeth sink into her bottom lip and the shake of her head is so subtle, but it is there.

"You did," I insist through my grin as I lean closer to rumble low to Polly, and Polly alone, "if I had known that all it would have taken for you to accept me was a little bit of cunt licking, I would have sought out the stonecock pollen myself."

She gasps and slaps me on the arm. " Aloryk !" she laughs, and I know it is the best sound to have ever been heard in Trixikka lands or the others beyond it.

We grin at one another but she cannot seem to help averting her gaze away from mine to look at her lap, her cheeks turning rosy.

"Are you tired, my Polly?" I ask. "Should we retire to our nest?"

Blinking at me, my beautiful female tucks some of her hair behind her ear before nodding.