Episode Forty-Five The First Leg of the Trip

N adira

It's been a long day. We rose at the first gray shards of dawn and flew away just as the sky was turning burnt orange. By the time it was rosy-pink, we were heading south and our village was far behind us.

Yesterday, when we left the clearing after deciding our strategy for this mission, Azael tasked Kaz and Orion to make a holster for two of the laser pistols we salvaged from the hover. Two others happily labored to make a saddle for the starflyer.

The leather contraption anchors over his shoulders like a backpack yet is big enough for me to slip my legs through to ride him almost like a horse. While he was engaged with the leatherworkers, my two mates and I loved each other in our furs.

Our mating was desperate, filled with unspoken fears I might not return. One or two more times they asked me not to go, but I remained firm. I want our attack on the Tower to succeed at least as much as they do, and we all know I'm the right person to go on this mission.

Perhaps it's because Thallose was always in the hut with us when we were making love, but without his presence, our intimacy was different, deeper, more filled with words of affection than it's ever been before.

As Thallose and I fly over the treetops, I clench my thighs against his flanks and think of how beautiful it was to love the two of them over and over before we said our goodbyes.

As Dhar lifted me onto the saddle this morning, Azael stepped close to Thallose and gave him a stern talking to. Dhar kept up a steady stream of endearments while giving me an inventory of what was in the saddlebags the males had packed for our trip.

He and Azael must have planned this to distract me so I wouldn't be able to hear the monk and Thallose's conversation. Too bad the orc didn't talk fast enough to keep me from hearing the gist of the other males' discussion. Azael's face was full of fury as he told Thallose he would kill him if he returned without me.

It's wonderful my two true mates love me enough to keep me safe, but I have enough compassion for the starflyer to wish they hadn't threatened him. Things were awkward enough between us already. We didn't need one more abusive conversation before this trip.

As the day progresses, we say little to each other. He can hear me fine, but since he faces ahead, most of his words are lost to the wind.

Our stop for lunch was long ago, and as the sun edges toward the horizon, I can't wait to touch down again. As tired as my bottom is from being astride the starflyer, the ride has been beautiful.

Women aren't allowed to go to school. It was lucky I figured out how to read from watching commercials on vids and practicing with those antique books in my father's study. His lax supervision as he was off during the day allowed me to sneak onto his computer and discover things, but I learned little about Down Below.

It's been a joy to see the different trees and bushes. Some have lost most of their leaves, but some appear to be ever green. We'd had several skifts of snow at the monk village, but the farther south we fly, we see no remnants of snow covering the green grass.

Before we took off this morning, Thallose gave me a fur stole he'd made me. He couldn't maintain eye contact when he gave it to me. He just stammered and told me my face might get cold on the flight. Instead of putting it around my neck and showing me how to keep my lower face covered with the soft fur, he modeled it on himself, then handed it to me.

The way his gaze flashed to the other two males told me everything I needed to know about the interaction. The present was obviously given to me at Azael and Dhar's direction. I'm not even sure who made the thing. As soft as it is, and as warm as it's kept my cheeks, I resent it because of its origins.

Thallose points and turns his head to shout. "That clearing looks like a perfect place to camp for the night. Well defended on the south and west by rocky outcroppings. Protected from the chill winds by evergreens."

Evergreens. And here I thought I'd made that name up.

Moments later, he glides to a stop. I feel a pang of sadness as we touch down. I've never felt as free as when I was flying through the air.

Now it's going to be just Thallose and me as we spend the night together.