The wind pelted my skin as we flew through the forest. The cold morning was starting to lighten as sunrise teased itself in the distance. I had kept my head down as the thought of the ground rushing past us below left me nauseous. I hate heights, hate them. It's like I was surrounded by death on all sides. Two bats followed behind the one I rode, the leader with violet eyes. Tension was in the air as I clung to the bag fuzz with all my strength could bare.
"You are a bird beastmen yet can't stand flying, how ironic." Everyone flinched under how lighthearted his tone seemed, his followers taken aback the most.
"Yeah..so funny..." I had to fight the bile threatening to spill from my stomach. He let out a booming bone chilling laugh at my meek words that only made me scowl.
"Aw, what's wrong? You are shaking like a leaf."
'Sadistic mother fucker-'
"I'm fine, I just can't wait to reach the colony...." Cadavers eyes narrowed at those words.
'She's too complacent, aren't females supposed to have more fire to them? It's like something's wrong with her. Well she was abandoned in the forest, they only do that because something is wrong with them, but it's usually reproductive reasons.'
Yet here she is, in heat and has a thick cloud around her. This means she is more than healthy. And seeing as she was found by the wolves means she wasn't apart of their group. But there were no reports of any other groups coming by the boarder.
'Suspicious.'
"Well we are almost there, the cliff side is up ahead." His voice returned to its neutral state but the other two bats couldn't help but notice the warmth it had underneath.
'That females heat is strong enough to effect Cadaver, crazy.'
The two end up sharing the same thought as they inhaled her smell as well. The airy sweet smell of a misty summer morning met the males nose as it's intoxicating note left him feeling weak.
"Sir, maybe we should isolate her...she might pose a danger to others and herself if she is-"
"You're right, my thoughts exactly."
'The actual-what's wrong with him!?' The male couldn't help but wonder as he glanced up at the young female. She was so timid and frail looking, it was a miracle she didn't die to the elements.
'Ash should have brought her to the colony, even if he thought she couldn't reproduce. It's too cruel, too monstrous.'
Though the up side is he has a shot, maybe after his wounds heal. There hasn't been a new female born in a while and none in the forest have been fertile or...tame enough to take back. So this was pretty much the chance of a lifetime.
'Which god smiles upon you female?'
_______
"Welcome to your new nest."
The male hummed as we entered into a dark and dim cave. I could barely see the space right in front of me as my bare feet hesitantly stepped forward.
"So a cave...cool...and it's on the side of a cliff...amazing." I looked back at the entrance behind me. Low light leaked in as the sunrise came over the horizon allowing orange to paint the inside of the cave shyly.
"Why don't we escort you to a chamber now? We have plenty to spare seeing as everyone has returned to their kin trees." The violet eye having brute turned to one of his followers while nudging me along and made a few short clicks.
"..."
The tension in the air didn't settle as I walked further into the cave as someone left through the mouth of the cave. The floor was deathly cold under the soles of my feet as I began to shiver. Curiosity did prickled in the back of my mind as millions of questions formed the more I mulled over what those kin trees where and how the heck this scary guy can see in the dark. But my main concern was what was going to happen to me.
We settled in a spacious room, full of furs and mostly empty baskets as a crater for a fire sat in the center. The ceilings where still only seven feet high and made the bat before me crouch down uncomfortablely. It didn't take long for a swirl of purple to light the room warrily before being plunged into darkness. I couldn't see his figure very well until the fire was lit in the creater after wood was tossed in allowing me to see a naked young man in his mid twenties. Tears at his fluffy bat ears blended into the deep brown of his fur and hair. His nose was upturned while his face remained sharp. The fire reflected in his violet eyes while a stern frown tugged at his lips. He gestures for me to sit down on one of the old furs on the floor next to the fire while sitting down across from me. He stared at me and seemed to look through my soul to determine whether or not he's going to kill me.
"So little Avery, how old are you?"
"I'm sixteen...almost seventeen." I gulped as I bowed my head. This guy was just too intense. He paused for a moment before asking another question.
"What food do you typically eat?"
"Lots of things, I eat meat like birds and mammals but I also like fish. I eat eggs as well. I'm fine with fruit and plants, I just don't eat bugs." I was like a motor mouth answering too quickly to really come up with a solid thought.
Another pause before his sits up straighter. "Well good news is we have meat left over from the skins we where preparing for tanning. It should still be fresh. We also have dried out fruits saved for the winter months."
A shadow passed by the open frame that led to the tunnel, only blocked out by a hanging fur nailed into place.
"Cadaver, you asked for me?" A warm feminine voice called from the other side.
'Cadaver must be his name.'
I assumed as I looked back at the man in front of me. "Yes, now enter."
Not a moment sooner was the fur lifted by a chubby tan hand as a short round woman walked through. Her brown hair curled up to her shoulders as her tan skin was covered by a one piece fur dress. Her chocolate eyes met mine as surprise took her features. She looked no older than forty yet she still stood as tall as a child, reminding me a lot of my own mother I left behind.
"Brynn, this is Avery. The female that was abandoned a week ago. She will be apart of the colony now."
Brynn took a few steps forward before stopping a few paces in front of me. She looked me over again before placing her hand over her heart.
"Hello Avery I'm Brynn. Welcome to the colony." She gave an impossibly wide smile. "Does this mean I will be her acting guardian before she finds a mate?" She directed her question to Cadaver. He nodded pointly.
"Yes but it seems that she should remain here in your winter home. She is in heat at the moment and the effects of her smell is very potent."
Brynn turned to me almost astonished before widening her smile even more. "Then we must decorate this place if you are going to stay in here! Cadaver if you don't mind I would like to have my pups back for a very important project." Cadaver nodded once before standing up and walking out of the room. My face flushed as he wore nothing but a birthday suit while leaving. The hall illuminated with light fallowed by clicking before a man came walking in. Like Cadaver he was tall and broad as his skin was tan. But unlike Cadaver he had more aged scars and grey hair that peppered his mop top while a animal skin skirt hung around his waist. His ears where gruff and pointed, but at all inviting to touch. His face was unexpressive as he made his way to Brynn, whom looked at him with affection.
"Avery this is Cliff, my mate." He placed his hand over his chest while a small bow of his head. He didn't say anything just a nod and a hum. "He.. isn't much of a talker but he isn't scary, he's actually very caring."
I stood up and tried to copy what they did as a greeting. "H-Hi..I'm Avery, nice to meet you." My voice was shaky as I started to come to terms with the fact that I was alone, again. Starting over and having to rely on strangers to survive. But to my luck no one so far wanted to hurt me, well I mean...Liam is a bit of an exception.
"Oh aren't you prescious!" Brynn waisted no time running to me and pulling me into a tight hug. She only came up to my chest and smelled of earthy muds and elderberries. But she was warm and loving, something that made my heart ache. Awkwardly I hugged her back unsure of myself and of her.
"Now let us get you something to eat before any work gets done!" She hummed while Cliff sighed. He made a few clicks as he rested a hand on Bryan's shoulder. Quizzically I looked at the stern man who stood tall and proud and wore an annoyed expression on his face. Someone walked in through the flap charismatically after his last click as uttered.
A few whiny clicks flowed past his lips as his naked glory strolled through. He wore a proud smirk on his face as his dark caramel eyes met mine. He looked young as he was only a few years older than me, twenty at worst. He carried a sack over his shoulder as he made a few confident steps towards me. I looked away uncomfortably as he member swung around and I couldn't help but take a step back.
"Hi I'm really pretty and you are Brook, nice to meet you." I could feel the drop into awkward silence hit the floor hard.
Avery couldn't see it but Cliff was trying his best not to face palm while Brynn gave him an 'Its okay your doing great' look as they stood behind her. Brook wore a confident expression on the outside while on the inside he was sweating bullets as he went over what he had just said.
'Gods I did something stupid. I said "watch this dad" and absolutely blew a hole through my skull.'
His confidence was toned down after he carefully set the bag down. "I-uh have food for you. It's the meat we have left over after skinning the deer."
Then came another set of clicks from Cliff but he seemed to be saying something quickly right before being cut off by someone else barging in. A suppressed humf came from Cliff as he looked away from the second embarrassment.
"Hi I'm Flint, I brought some soft furs to lay on! Can I be your mate?" His hair was a gradient from deep-almost black-brown to a cool shade of auburn. His eyes where very dark and he too looked about my age, at least sixteen.
"Oh you're here too." He glared at Brook whom had reverted back to full confidence.
"Uh...hello Flint...pretty male..."
"I-Its Brook" Brook felt like his face was on fire. "Hello I'm Brook it's nice to meet you. What's your name?" His words came out smoothly as he placed a hand on his chest and did a little bow.
"I'm Avery. Nice to meet you." She smiled almost making his brain fog over again and throw him off his game.
"Your name is pretty, just like you." He smiled and watched as Avery's brain was trying to process how he pulled it off so smoothly after their first interaction.
"Boys! Enough of this nonsense now," Brynn was failing in keeping her voice from sounding teasing. "We need to make sure that Avery can live here temporarily. Start cleaning the room while I cook the meat."
"Yes ma'am."
The two sounded off as they quickly went to work tidying the room while Brynn pulled out a cooking pot from one of her storage containers. Avery slides in next to her and tried helping Brynn with preparing the meat.
"Do we have medicine like salt or mustard seeds? I use them when cooking."
"Why? Are you sick?"
"Uh no...but it helps keep me healthy. I add it to my meals to make taking medicine better and it makes the food really tasty."
Soon enough Avery was given a limited amount of spices and herbs to work with but she did her best creating a dry rub. Next she showed Brynn how she cut the meat and the importance of knowing where the grain was. After coating the meat in the dry rub and letting them sit for a while Avery was preparing the pan with animal fats, greasing it up before plopping the dry rubbed meat in.
The room filled with a delicious smell of flavors, well for the bats it was slightly off putting due to the animal smell it had. Brynn was the only one who ate with her as the males couldn't stand eating meat. Brynn didn't find it as off putting but it definitely not fruit and she knew she would be sick later. But she ate it anyways to make the girl feel more welcomed into her nest. After all she always wanted a daughter of her own and isn't going to throw it away over some strange food her daughter not only enjoys but made herself. After all that hard work in helping, really teaching, Brynn prepare the meal so nicely it made her almost cry.
She was so lucky that Avery was a sweet girl. She was afraid that she would be bratty like the females she has heard about that come from outside the colony. It was also the fact that they had more than one partner by Dionysus's decree that irked her about the outside. It was the whole point in why Bat Beastmen where pushed to near extinction, all because they disagreed with the decree. It was also the reason why the colony hated the outside world and isolated itself here in the forest where barely any traveled and many where banished to so they can die. No one came to bother them and no one seemed to even know they where there.
It was perfect.
Except well...Cadaver. If he wasn't crazy maybe you could really call this place heaven.