Rigel
I land near the Firefly. Wind puffs up my feathers.
Kayla runs out of the ship and hugs Ava. Poor Ava, still wrapped in her safety harness, nearly falls. I undo all the straps, pulling her out and the two humans are back to embracing. Kayla's eyes look wet.
From behind the Firefly, Tarak emerges, growling at me.
Ava flinches. Stretching out my wings, I stand in front of Ava, blocking Tarak's view of her.
Tarak steps back, ceasing his menacing growls.
Kayla escorts Ava and the moment the two humans board the Firefly, Tarak rushes at me.
"How can you be so neglectful of your pet," Tarak hisses.
In my mind, I can still hear her laughter as we flipped and soared through the air. "I am not neglectful. She was happy," I say, puffing my feathers so that I appear larger. "Until you growled."
Tarak bangs his tail on the ground. "Why did you not communicate your delay? Kayla was worried."
All this belligerence is on behalf of Kayla? Maybe I am still euphoric from the mission, or maybe I recognize his anger might come from a place of caring and concern.
I let my wings drop and make an offer to placate an angry scourge. "Do we have any work I can help with?"
Tarak motions toward a large pile of equipment next to the Firefly.
Side by side we work on the arduous task of loading everything onto the Firefly, preparing for our impending departure.
When I go to collect the remaining supplies, mainly stuff from Tarak's work, I find Tarak and Kayla hissing and growling at each other. Basically, they are having another one of their domestic squabbles.
Only a short distance away from Tarak and Kayla comes a whimper. Ava! I race to her, catching her when she stumbles backward.
"Ava all right," I ask.
Ava blinks at me in confusion. I point at the ship and hold my hand out for her. Humans are much smaller than us, but for one so small, when she grabs my fingers, she squeezes them and... Oh, she is strong.
"Ava?"
Her lip quivers. "Stay?" She looks away when she asks like she is ashamed.
Yes, I will stand with her and open my arms for her. She launches herself at me, clinging to me. I embrace her.
Ava turns her attention back to Kayla and Tarak. I continue supporting Ava the only way I know how, by covering her with my wings.
If only I could communicate with you, Ava. You could ask for the stars and the moons, and I would find a way to give them to you.
***
Ava's dark eyes watch Kayla and Tarak.
Something in Tarak and Ava's spat must set Ava off because suddenly, she sounds like she's gasping for air.
"Ava?"
She doesn't answer me. Her eyes have a wild, haunted look.
I reach to brush her hair, and—
Like a wild, cornered animal, she comes at me with hooked fingers that rake my arms. Her fingertips are sharp, tearing into my skin.
It would be so easy for me to restrain her. I can't, not with the look of terror on her face. Instead, I let her run wild with her sharp claws. Everywhere she touches stings.
Desperately I try to call her back from whatever dark place she is. "Ava, Ava."
She stops clawing and blinks several times. Her brow furrows like she is confused. Her eyes sweep between my face and the red tracks along my arms, and then—
Ava's trembling worsens. Her breaths become short and ragged.
"Breathe, Ava," I say, proud that for once I remember a practical word.
Her wild, far-off expression is back. I doubt she hears me.
I need to do something. I need to—
I envelop her in my wings. She grips handfuls of my feathers and twists them, and I nearly cry out from the flash of pain.
Seeing this manifestation of her fear makes me aware of how much I have neglected her.
When we return to Hydra, I will come up with a plan and help her deal with this.
Is my attempt at soothing her working? Something—whether it be the weight of my wings, my presence, or her exhaustion—is starting to work; her trembling subsides.
I continue to stand with Ava, my wings tight around her. Her breathing normalizes and she returns to silently watching Kayla and Tarak.
I wish I could communicate with her. I would tell her that Tarak is not trying to injure Kayla. Rather, the two are enmeshed in a dance, a lover's quarrel. Even in the middle of Tarak thwacking his tail and roaring, he thrusts his chest out more to proudly show Kayla his soul mark. Kayla roars back her demand and similarly thrusts out her chest.
Tarak is the one who crumbles. He wraps around Kayla, sniffing her up and down.
I sigh in relief. Finally, their argument is coming to an end.
"You are an admirable foe, Kayla. You win."
"Tarak and I agree... Rigel will take Ava into the valley to collect plant samples," says Kayla with a big grin.
"They have four hours to complete the task," says Tarak.
Earlier, Tarak had been insistent with our instructions. Load the Firefly. Stay on schedule. Sometimes I disagree with Hydra's protocols, but even I recognize that they often protect us. So, to witness Tarak abandoning his plans and protocols feels wrong.
"I thought you said we would leave as soon as we loaded the ship. Why are we changing our plans now," I ask.
"Four hours, Rigel. That's all the time you and Ava have," says Kayla.
I don't like this idea, but if this is something Kayla and Tarak want to do, we are going to do it my way, which means I need to retrieve her safety harness.
"Rigel, where are you going? The cliff is the other way," says Kayla.
"She needs her safety harness," I say, wondering where it might be on the Firefly among the already packed away supplies.
"Ava already has the equipment," says Kayla, pointing at some ridiculous small box hanging around Ava's neck.
"That is not safety equipment," I say.
"Rigel, if Ava falls to the valley floor from this height, cushioning will not help her," says Kayla.
Anger flashes through me. Her mate might abandon protocols, but I will not. "It's not cushioning, it's a safety harness. Just give me time to find it."
"I will accompany you and Ava so I can collect more rock samples. Do not make me late, Rigel," says Tarak, strapping on a flying drone and firing it up.
The engine roars. I stare in disbelief as Tarak flies off. Wait, why is Tarak going with us? I don't like all these sudden changes to our protocols.
"No. Ava will not go on a ridiculous mission with poor planning," I say.
Now Ava and Kayla are speaking, saying words in their language. Kayla keeps glancing at me as if I am the one who isn't thinking clearly.
Ava grips my hand and presses it to her forehead. "Please, Rigel... I can do this. I know I can. Please?"
I recognize the word please, which Ava has said to me before. That word alone makes me want to drop to my knees and give Ava whatever it is her little heart desires. Without the translator, though, I do not know what she wants.
Kayla must see the confusion on my face and already, she is translating. "Ava says she can do it. Rigel, she's begging you to let her do this."
Ava keeps repeating the word please and when her dark eyes glisten and a tear rolls down her cheek, my heart nearly snaps. So, even though I do not want to go on an unplanned mission and want Ava to wear the special safety harness I made for her...
I pull Ava close against me and into her ear I whisper. "Ready."
A tiny smile comes from her. It is a small amount of progress, but I will take it. Together, we walk toward the cliff's edge. I position myself behind Ava, holding her tight in my arms. She leans back, hooking her feet around my legs.
This feels wrong. Dangerous. There is a part of me that loves this though. Something about the combination of the wind and the sensation of her wiggling warm body against me makes me feel so alive.
"Ready?" I ask.
She squirms, bumping and pressing her behind against me at just the right angle, and—
Oh, my stars. My body is reacting as if I'm an adolescent Archae Bennuidae. I'm relieved that I'm at her backside.
Her hair flies about and she is laughing. "Ready!"
In more ways than one I am. I leap.
Author's note: I've been updating per schedule A below, but I could easily do B. Let me know with a comment if you have a preference, and if I have more votes for Schedule B, I could flip to that (alternatively, we could leave it as is with Schedule A). Thank you!
Schedule A. Updates Friday & Saturday and alternate Wednesday (meaning updates are 2 X or 3 X a week).
Schedule B. Update Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday (meaning updates are 3X a week).