Chapter 27 - Polly

Maybe it had been cowardly on my part to avoid Delphi.

Everyone experiences moments like that in life. Where sometimes your go-to move is flat-out avoidance.

But, on top of the conversation I am bound to have with her at some point - hey, remember that girl who approached you when you were a teenager that you told to ‘fuck off' because you didn't believe what she was saying about your dad? Ta-daa! It's me! On top of all of that … I hadn't liked the way my stomach had swooped nauseously low when I'd seen her touching Aloryk.

So, I think I can forgive myself a little for wanting to retreat and get my head back on straight.

"What were you saying to Delphi?" I ask Aloryk while we sit here in our hut, cross-legged on the ground with the food between us. As much as I want to avoid Delphi, I can't seem to stop myself from asking about her.

His brow creases as he pushes a piece of purple fruit toward me to eat. "Who?"

I do not take the fruit.

"That woman you were talking to. The one who was touching your wing."

Aloryk clears his throat. "Daffy?" he says, swallowing. "What about her?"

"I-" I'm momentarily thrown off course. "I'm sorry, what did you call her?"

"Daffy. It is the female's name, no?"

He's looking at me with such open, earnest eyes that I start to wonder why it matters so much to me that I saw her touch him? Do I feel possessive? Sure. Do I actually think that Aloryk would step out on me like that?

No. No I don't.

But then again, my mom thought the same about Dad at some point.

I take the purple piece of fruit and pop it into my mouth. Swallowing, I tell him, "Delphi. Her name is Delphi, not Daffy."

"It sounds the same to me," he shrugs, and I let out a long breath as I watch him tearing some meat up for me into more manageable pieces. Aloryk is not like my dad. He's not like any human man. If I can't trust him and his dream about us being mates, then what is even the point in all this?

With my pointer finger, I write the two names in the sandy ground. "See, D-E-L-P-H-I and D-A-F-F-Y. They're different. And she might not appreciate you getting her name wrong."

Aloryk frowns at the words written in the dirt. His tail then comes along and swooshes the letters away. "Etch your name for me to see," he tells me. "Etch Polly ."

I do as he asks and we both spend longer staring at my name than is necessary. Aloryk reaches out and traces the letters with his big, thick finger, his skin-stars zooming up and down his digit as he follows the lines and curves of each letter carefully. I look at my name scrawled in the dirt with renewed eyes. He doesn't know any of the letters - or any alphabet of Earth origin for that matter. It must just look like scribble to him.

"Etch it on me," he asks.

"What?"

"Your name," he says, blinking at me. He reaches for the pots with the thick stain inside. "I should like to wear my mate's name on my skin."

I stare at the pot that looks dwarfed by Aloryk's big hand. These new ones have glowing chips of the opal-like stones in them, just like the others that we ended up smashing on the ground last night. They make the little crude clay vessel look almost magical, like its contents is the elixir of life or something.

My eyes hone in on Aloryk's tanned, veiny forearm, watching the skin-stars twinkle in a rainbow of colors as they race and whirl all around his limb. And it strikes me that he looks kind of magical, too.

Here he is, a huge, seven foot God of a man, with wings, a tail, skin that lights up and prophetic dreams that lead him to me.

I take a deep breath.

I will have to tell him about who Delphi is to me. I will have to remind her, too and I have no idea which way that conversation is going to go.

But just for now, I'd like to stay in this magical moment and not think about any of that.

I crawl toward him, my hands and knees scuffing up my name written in the dirt. Aloryk watches me and can't seem to stop his purr from starting up as I'm climbing into his lap. Taking the little pot of stain from his hand, I lift the small clay stopper and set it aside on the ground. Aloryk's tail wraps around my waist, the fluffy, tufted end slowly swishing back and forth against my thigh.

"Here," he says, reaching for his better wing and plucking out a flight feather. Taking a dagger he has sheathed at his hip, Aloryk then whittles the feather's quill into a sharper point. "Use this."

I take the feather and wet my lips. "You're sure? I know this won't last forever on your skin but it will last a long time and what if I mess it up?"

Aloryk's big, warm hand covers mine where I hold his feather. "However long your name lasts on my skin, it will not be long enough, my Polly." He tells me, his voice warm and smooth like melted butter sliding down hot toast. He releases my hand and juts his chin toward the little pot of stain. "And as for your mistakes," Aloryk points to his chest, over his heart. "Make them here. When they fade, you can make them again."

I stare at his violet eyes, unsure of what to say to that, but certain of something now; Aloryk is magical in his own way. The way he so easily makes me feel-… makes me feel…

I swallow, my gaze dropping to his chest where he wants me to brand him with my name, sitting possessively over his heart.

He makes me feel loved .

* * *

I think I must spend the best part of the morning perched in Aloryk's lap, adding a semi-permanent tattoo to his beautiful skin. I'd pondered long and hard about the design of the first one; my name written over his heart. Text work is not my specialty, and when I've dabbled before, it was by copying already well-loved fonts. Aloryk had insisted that I add a heart shape, just like mine, so I'd imagined the design with the heart framing my name.

It had been strange to go straight in without the transfer stencil paper as a guide - just straight up raw-dogging it right on his skin. But Aloryk didn't seem to care if I messed up, and that bolstered my confidence a fair bit.

What didn't help was feeling the intensity of his eyes on me the whole time I'd been trying to concentrate on writing the gothic-inspired letters on an upward diagonal inside the heart. Hell - I'm surprised I didn't misspell my own name.

Every time my hand took a break, I'd flick my eyes to Aloryk's face, only to find him already staring, his lips pulling into a smile whenever our gaze would connect. Couple that with the way his skin-stars all seemed to come and ‘hang out' in the area that I was working on. Honestly, it was like some of them were watching the design unfold as they danced and whirled their delight at my attention.

It was quite distracting.

After I'd finished the possessive brand of my name over his heart, I'd wanted to try out a new design on my own skin, and especially to cover up the ugly ‘proof of purchase' tattoo I'd been given in my sleep by my captors. I'd originally made a move to get out of Aloryk's lap, but he was having none of that, and pinned me in place. "Where do you think you are going, little female?" he had rumbled in my ear, his tail wrapping around me tightly.

In the end, I had shook my head and worked on my new design on the inside of my forearm right there with him holding onto me tightly, occasionally reaching to feed me morsels by hand while I'd added the strange stain to my skin.

"You will give this etching to me too," Aloryk had demanded when he'd seen my new design; a cuff of dark feathers to cover my unwanted purchase tattoo, and some new text in a cursive font.

"You don't even know what that says," I snort. "It could say ‘Aloryk is a pervert' for all you know."

Aloryk leans down to shove his face into my neck, nuzzling me in a way that makes me squirm and a thousand little lightning bolts shoot down my spine. "It would not be a falsehood though. Not when it comes to my mate." Good Lord, I don't want to smudge the stain while it's drying, but oh, my God, I want him so bad right now. "But it does not say this, does it?" I shake my head, gripping onto his huge bicep and he nips at my skin. "What do the symbols mean, little female? Tell me."

" Aloryk ! Aloryk !"

Aloryk tenses beneath me. His head snaps up and I don't even witness the movement, but before we even see the frame of the calling Trixikka in the doorway, Aloryk has a dagger in his hand, pointing toward the entrance.

" Quickly !" the younger male says, spear in hand, skin flustered with excitable stars. " Zarriko's males approach !"

* * *

I'd been told that there is another Trixikka village within the same territory, and that they consider themselves a completely separate tribe, with a different High Spear. I think it had been Tryk to tell me, way back in the jungle, right after he'd helped Aloryk and I to escape the scary caves with those terrifying chimp-monsters inside. He'd also said there is a certain amount of tension between the two tribes and looking at what I'm witnessing now, man, he wasn't kidding.

We're all stood in the clearing at the center of the village. It's the area where gatherings take place - where I'd been treated to a ‘welcome feast' of sorts when I got here.

There's no welcome feast for these new guys, though.

The eating area with the boulders people sit on, and where new bundles of wood and kindling are arranged, ready to be lit into fires, lies between what seems like the whole tribe and three huge, warrior-type Trixikka. They do not look happy. And with them is an elderly looking male and one fidgety-looking human woman.

I watch them, and everyone around us, trying to gauge what the fuck is with all the hostility, when Aloryk shoves me behind his broad frame. " Hey !" I whisper-hiss, getting a face-full of his feathers. I want to playfully whack the over-protective brute in the back, but I come face-to face with his drooping wing and quickly remember his injury. Instead, I reach under his better wing and pinch his side, but the guy is on such high-alert that he doesn't even flinch. "What is going on?" I ask in a hushed tone.

"Serena said these new guys wouldn't be happy that this tribe found us first."

I blink at the person who had sidled on up to me without me even noticing. Then I blink doubly hard and feel my whole face flush when I see that person is Delphi .

She's looking at me with a sort of grimace-like expression and my stupid brain's first conclusion is that she's figured out who we are to one another and she's wincing at the whole ridiculous awkwardness of it. But no, she's grimacing because of the tense atmosphere at this meeting, of course.

I shake myself and try to gain some kind of composure. Memories of how a teenage Delphi had practically hissed curse words at me like an alley cat that first time we'd met assault me, and I look forward again, trying to peer around Aloryk's hulking frame. From the corner of my eye, I see Delphi go up on her tip-toes to try and do the same, her hand blindly reaching forward as if to steady herself on my Aloryk's bad wing.

" Don't -"

There's a hot, uncomfortable feeling rising from my belly as I stare at her outstretched hand. It's not actually touching him. In fact, I think it was just a reflex of hers for balance, or to just let Aloryk know someone else was close behind him. But no matter how much I tell myself that, I can't stop that uncomfortable feeling from rising higher and higher up my body.

I don't think Delphi heard me. She's still trying to peer over my mate. I stare at her hand, suspended in the space between them like it's nothing at all. And yes, I don't want her touching his injured wing, but I also don't want her touching him at all.

A surprised squeak is forced out of me when I feel Aloryk's tail wrap possessively around my leg. He tugs me closer using that tail, but his outward focus is still on the newcomers. It reminds me of how protective he became when even his own people showed up to rescue us from that jungle, like there's no doubt in his mind at all that I'm all his.

There's always been no doubt for him.

That hot, uncomfortable feeling starts to ebb away, especially when I catch Delphi watching the way Aloryk's tail holds tightly onto me, right before she gives me what I think is a genuine smile.

"The females have only just been rescued these past few days. Zarriko cannot expect for them to be ready to move tribes so soon," High Spear Rynn says, his voice firm, but calm. I eye the way his tail flicks behind him like he's supremely annoyed by these guys crashing the party. "And in any case, the matter will be discussed at length between Zarriko and I when he deems it important enough to make the journey himself."

The biggest guy from the other tribe - the one who looks like he would like nothing better than for this to turn into an all-out fight from the way he's mean-mugging everyone - simply nods his head at the elderly guy.

"High Spear Zarriko is busy tending to his mate," the older Trixikka says, his voice firm and commanding. "We are here to confirm the rumors, and to take females back with us."

At that moment, it's as though I feel the whole crowd tense. Aloryk's big hand blindly reaches back and grabs my arm, keeping me tightly tucked against his back. The growl he erupts with is so deep, I can feel it in my own chest. And then, I realize, he's not the only one growling. Looking around, I see almost all the Trixikka males in defensive stances.

Oh shit, is this actually going to end up in a brawl? The other guys are overwhelmingly outnumbered, but that massive guy doesn't look bothered by all the hostility at all.

Just then, the human woman, a blonde with dark roots now showing steps forward, her hands up in a placating manner. " Whoa, whoa, whoa !" she urges. "That was phrased badly," she says, throwing a glare at the elder male before hissing, " don't put words into Jaryk's mouth !"

The older male looks irritated for a moment before he bows his head and takes a step back. The human woman then clears her throat and brushes at non-existent dirt on her pajamas. " Um ," she starts, addressing the crowd. She must spot someone, because she pauses to do an awkward little wave, and I see it's Alana and Serena she's grinning at. "What Jaryk would say if he could," she swallows and throws a glance over her shoulder at the mean-looking Trixikka. "-Is that we wanted to extend an invitation to any of the new arrivals to come with us. There's some other humans at Zarriko's tribe and we'd love to meet you. Even-" I watch as she begins fidgeting with the hem of her sleep-shirt, clearly uncomfortable with both the tension, and the size of the crowd she's addressing. She takes a step backward, her back connecting with the big male. He doesn't move. He stays right where he is, like a solid wall of muscle at her back while he reaches around to her front and pries her fidgeting fingers away from her top, leaving his hand there to cover hers. The woman takes a deep, fortifying breath and continues, plastering a bright smile onto her face. "Even if you guys just want to visit for a few nights? We can arrange for our guys to bring you right back if you don't want to stay."

"Like… a sleepover?" Chastity calls out. "I'm down for that."

Rynn pinches at the bridge of his nose and tells his men to ‘stand down'. I hadn't even realized there'd been a good number of Trixikka with their spears raised until they all went back to a neutral position, butting the bottom of their spears in the dirt practically at the same time. It was kind of eerie if I'm being honest. "I think it is time for my Second Spear and I to extend an invitation to our guests to feast and rest with us this night so that we may discuss this further," he says, but before he even finishes getting his words out, Serena is bounding forward, leaping over the feasting space and doing happy little claps as she grabs for the woman excitedly.

I watch as they squeal like old friends reuniting and give each other a hug. The scary one - Jaryk - looks reluctant to let his girl go and my gaze zooms in to notice that he doesn't have any heart-stars yet. The women part from their embrace and Serena grabs the other girl's hand, tugging her over to everyone else. The whole scene makes me ache for my best friend Niska, back on Earth. We'd drifted apart recently with both of us being busy. I hope she's ok.

I find myself glancing to my side, to see Delphi still peering over Aloryk. Could we become friends somehow? Once she knows the truth? We've both grown so much since that time I practically ambushed her with news she wasn't ready or willing to hear.

I wet my lips and take a breath to speak - to ask if maybe I could talk to her alone.

But Aloryk turns and takes my hand before I can utter a single word. " Come ," he grunts, "let us keep you out of sight before Zarriko's males get any ideas about taking you from me."

* * *

Aloryk looks weighed down in thought when he returns to our hut. He'd stayed with me for an hour or so before his pacing had whipped up a feeling of discomfort in me and I'd urged him to just go and find out what's going on.

"Zarriko's males are staying this night. At daybreak they return to their tribe with any females who wish to go with them."

"I don't think any of the new women will want to go just yet. They just got here," I say, frowning to myself.

Aloryk grunts and nods, saying, "they have been told the same and are not contesting the fact. They are not happy that our tribe went to retrieve the females from the mimyckah without their aid considering the large search party had been a combined force of both tribes."

I scoff, looking down at the semi-permanent tattoo I'd given myself only this morning. ‘Finders-Keepers' the text says next to a dark flight feather. This whole thing sounds like a big ol' game of ‘finders-keepers' to these guys. I guess I just got lucky that Aloryk was the one to find me.

Aloryk kneels down to my level where I'm sitting on the nest-bed. "You will stay here until they have gone. I do not want any of them to notice you."

I start to laugh at that - like any of these huge, handsome warriors could take one look at me , and be so taken, they have to steal me away. It's a ridiculous thought.

My laughter gets caught in my throat however, when Aloryk issues me with a stern look.

Ok, so that thought isn't so ridiculous to him. My cheeks feel warm as I avert my gaze from his burning look. I'll stay hidden away for the rest of the day if it makes him feel better.

But if he's so sure that those heart-stars of his are going to appear for me, then why does it matter?