by Nina Burman
“So, that’s it, if you are half-blood you can’t mix with the pure bunch?”
“No., Oof course, over time things have changed and of course relationships grow between all kinds of differing Volucris, but Moria you come from my blood line and your mothers. They are both ancient, it would be such a waste to not see you develop fully and for your children not to develop fully.”
“Oh, for goodness sake, I AM A TEENAGER! I am not about to start a family now, I am nowhere near ready.”
“You may not be Moria ,but we are not in your old human world now, there is no form of contraception on Ety, abstinence is all you have.”
Mo blushed furiously, she could not believe she was having this conversation with her father. , Sshe had not even considered sex with Benji, nor did she think he had. Tthey had been perfectly happy the way things stood.
“This is ridiculous, you are treating me like someone who has no idea of consequences. I am perfectly capable of restraining myself., Mme and Benji have a loving relationship based on friendship and companionship, we are not interested in re-populating Volucris society, we are far too young young. Yyou should have some faith in me that I know what I am doing., Iif you have ever bothered to spend some time with me maybe you would realise that. I am not staying here while you all go off on some adventure, especially as I assume Ethan will be going with you. Hhe is my trainer, I am happy with him and do not want to stay here with someone half as good.”
Mo crossed her arms defiantly. Sshe had stood midway through her speech and was now towering over the still sitting Lordes.
He looked at her,r a smile creeping on his lips. “So be it.”
Mo was taken aback that he had agreed so quickly. Sshe was still bristling with anger and could not even bring herself to thank him so she just stormed out, keen to find Benji. She left Lordes staring in her wake, Phallon returned and sat in the chair Mo had vacated.
“You are right to let her go.” Phallon expressed.
Lordes grunted, “She makes a good argument, and I cannot explain myself fully without revealing the truth about her and that would be disastrous.”
“She is so young Lordes with so many years ahead of her, you worry too much about the smaller things., Benji may mean the world to her now, but we all know that as we grow our feelings change.”
“As it turns out it may not be such a bad match after all, now that it turns out Isabella is his mother.”
Phallon looked over to Lordes, surprised at first but then smiled. “You see, as I always tell you, things seem to work themselves out.”
Lordes rose and bent down kissing Phallon gently on the head, “As ever my love.”
Chapter 38
Mo had wanted to find Benji straight away, but as she left Lordes she remembered he was with his mother and she did not want to disturb their reunion. She wanted to fly, to try and clear her mind of all she had discussed with Lordes. She went to the main hall and grabbed her daily ration of blood before heading outside. She climbed one of the many peaks she and Ethan had trained on as a good jumping off point, once she had got to the top she found Ethan already there.
“I am glad to see you haven’t forgotten to train today.” Ethan pointed out.
“I need to fly.”
“Alone?”
Mo thought for a moment - did she want to be alone? No and she knew Ethan would not bother her with questions, he would just fly alongside her.
“No, please will you join me?”
Ethan nodded and they jumped off together beating their wings in time, lifting them onto a thermal, gathering speed into the sky. Mo loved it up here, being so close to the clouds, having the sun beat down on her wings, it was magical. Ethan was below her and she marvelled at his ability to move amongst the thermals, knowing instinctively where to fly.
They flew up and above Ety and once they both started to tire Ethan led them to the head of the island where it had the nice flat landing spot. Mo’s landing had much improved and she now glided seamlessly to the ground before gently dropping onto her feet.
They walked to the cliff edge and sat watching the ocean crash against the rocks below, as normal happy to remain silent in each other’s company.
After some minutes, Mo turned to her mentor and trainer, “Lordes is letting me come to the mainland.”
Ethan turned, a surprised look on his face. “Really, I would have thought he would want to keep you safe here.”
“He did but I convinced him I needed to keep up my training with you, and he should trust that I can look after myself.”
“All of which is true,” Ethan smiled. , Mo was happy that he had such faith in her without her having to convince him. “Benji too will be pleased, I am sure his mother will want him to go.”
“Yes, he will be, although Lordes is not overjoyed at our partnership.”
“No I would imagine he would not be happy.”
“Do you agree with him that we should not be together because of our heritage?”
“No Moria I do not agree with him, but you must remember Lordes was raised under very different circumstances. There really were very few Volucris when he was young. Wwe were a dying breed, not helped by us continually killing each other in clan wars. Lordes not only recognised this but also the potential of half breed Volucris, that if they were brought up with our values they would flourish and in turn, help the species survive.”
“But if he knows this why is he so against pure blood and half-blood mixing?”
“Because he was raised with that ideal., Tthe survival of our species is paramount and he, as do many others, believe that old clan lines must mate with one and other.”
“Mate? Yyou make us sound like animals.”
“Sorry, I know it sounds like that but some Volucris believe we should behave like animals, they think that we are more bird than human.”
“It is so backward; the human race has done away with such prejudice, here it’s like going back in time.”
“Remember Moria the Volucris are still evolving. Wwe still have wings for goodness sake where the rest of the human population do not, we are an old species stuck in the past., Lordes has made great steps forward to change things and there has been more change with him than ever before, but yes, he will still hold some of the old prejudice. For him it will be important that blood lines stay pure. It took him many years to find your mother and have you, they were very much in love which was a bonus and he loves Phallon too, though not in the same way.”
“You knew my mother?”
“A little. she She was here on Ety when I first arrived as a boy, she left soon after to follow Lordes, I think she may have just been pregnant with you then. I saw her again a few months later when she was very pregnant, when I joined the commune they were in on the mainland. She was very kind, beautiful.”
“But that was over 17 years ago, I thought you were only a little older than me.”
“I do not know my age Moria, most Volucris do not., I believe I may have been anything between 8 and 12 when I first came here.”
“But that would make you anything between 25 and 30! You do not look like you are nearly 30.”
“Volucris live a lot longer than humans Moria.”
“How much longer?”
“No one knows exactly as no-one really knows their own age.”
“But how is that possible, everyone knows how old they are?”
“What day is today Mo, what time of year is it?”
Mo thought for a moment. Iit was true she had no idea, she had stopped thinking about time as soon as she had left for Ety, there was no need for that type of structure here.
“I don’t know, I don’t even know how long I have been here.”
“Time is different for us because we live longer. Bbecause we do not live in a modern world it does not matter what the day of the week is., I would guess you have been here a year maybe, it is difficult to tell, there are no real seasons here.”
“A year, I can’t
believe it.”
And she couldn’t. Hhad it really been that long? Things had happened so fast but she also had slipped into an easy routine. She looked at Ethan. Sshe had thought he was about 20, maybe 21 not over 25., Sshe wondered how old Lordes was, he looked like he should be in his early 40’s, would that mean he was really in his 50’s or older?
“So, you do not know how old Lordes is?”
“No, but a lot older than both me and you.”
“You would have thought he would have had many more children if re-population was so important to him.”
“Partnership I think is also important to him, treating the person you love with respect. Hhe wanted to find the right person first and he did with your mother. Again, this is very forward thinking in the clan I was raised in, there was only one dominant male and lots of females for him to impregnate, it was no way to live.”
Mo was taken aback by this revelation, the harshness of it. “Like animals?”
“Yes, well that is how some Volucris see themselves as more animal than human. Lordes helped to change all that too.”
“Really?”
“You sound surprised, Lordes is a great Volucris, I certainly owe him my life as do many others.”
“Do you have many siblings then?.”
“I did have many, a whole colony, but when Lordes rescued us only 12 came off the island. Tristan is one, he is my younger brother; the others have gone on to join other clans far and wide.”
“I knew about Tristan, but he is so different from you, he is so personable.” Mo stopped herself, she did not want to be rude to Ethan.
“So not like me, even though we had the same start in life.” Ethan mused. “No, he is nothing like me, Tristan was just a baby when we left, he has no recollection of his time there so it does not affect him. , I know I can be cold, especially when I first meet someone, I have little trust, it was a very difficult upbringing.”
“What happened when Lordes came to your island?”
“That Moria is a tale for another day, one I do not tell to many and do not like to remember, but ask me again one day and I will tell you what happened.”
They fell into silence once more before Mo’s hunger got the better of her, she got up.
“Well, I am starving, I think I will head in., Tthanks Ethan, I came out to fly and clear my head and you have also helped me understand things a little better., Yyou know, when we first met I didn’t like you so much, but I can see now you have always acted in my best interests.”
Ethan’s face fell, “Did you not enjoy our time in the RV with Benji?” Mo felt bad for what she had said. Sshe had not meant to hurt his feelings, she had meant to give him a compliment. She thought back to that time, it seemed so long ago. , Sshe did remember it fondly, messing about with Benji, singing and making jokes, going out for runs., Sshe always thought Ethan had just put up with her and Benji misbehaving, but the more she found out about his past she realised maybe he just finds it hard to express himself. “Of courseOf course, I loved the time in the RV, I miss it sometime,ssometimes although when we have breakfast together it reminds me of when we used to do that listening to Benji snoring in his bed.” Ethan’s smile returned lighting up his whole face, “yes I have always enjoyed our mornings together.” This comment made Mo blush but she did not know why and she had little room in her mind to explore this feeling, so dismissed it. “I am glad that you and Benji are together, you make a lovely couple.” Ethan offered., Mo smiled back at Ethan then turned and left.
Chapter 39
Mo had just finished eating when Benji came up behind her, he too had a large plate of food and was hungry. , Mo could see he wanted to tell her all his news from his mother but she knew better than to get in the way of Benji and his food, so she gestured for him to eat first. Just as Benji was finishing Tristan joined them, bounding in full of energy, the complete opposite to Ethan Mo thought.
“Benji, we have much to prepare, Isabella informs me you are to join us to the mainland.”
Benji looked towards Mo, a grave look on his face.
“ItsIt’s ok, I am coming too, it took some persuading but Lordes is going to let me come.”
Benji beamed, “Well that’s fantastic, I can’t wait to get back and see what’s happened.” Mo too was keen to see the mainland but not eager in a good way, she feared what they were going to find., Sshe wanted to find Rebecca primarily and this, she could guess, would not be on Lordes’ agenda. Sshe would need to find time to discuss it with Benji so they could come up with a strategy. S heShe also needed to somehow get out of Ethan where Rebecca had gone, she was certain he knew but she did not want to let him know she was going to find her, even though they had become much closer she did not trust him fully not to tell Lordes of her plans.
Tristan interrupted Mo’s train of thought. “I just spoke with Lordes and Ethan, they both want to see you Mo,. uUp at the top of the mountain.”
Mo groaned, what now she thought? “It’s nothing to worry about, just a lot of things to prepare. Wwe will be leaving tomorrow. Tthings have been stepped up which means we all have a lot to do, come on Benji.”
Benji shrugged quickly, gave Mo a peck on the cheek and left, jogging after Tristan. Things were moving quickly, she would just have to wait to talk to Benji. Mo got up and went to meet Lordes and Ethan. Tristan had been right, it was nothing to worry about. Iit seemed that Lordes wanted to make sure Mo’s flying skills were actually up for the trip. Iit seems he needed to see rather than trust Ethan’s word. Mo flew fine, better than fine, Ethan proud of how much she had improved, Lordes as per usual showing no emotion.
The next few hours were a blur. Sso much had to be done, mainly to do with packing supplies which of course included a lot of blood, some of which was dried to help it last longer. Large packs were made up that would be carried under a number of Volucris. Mo was surprised how much they were preparing for, but as Ethan pointed out, they had no idea what they would find once they got there. They packed mainly food and water plus extra clothing and bedding. , Iin the end there were four large packs needing to be carried.
Mo did make sure she found some time to go and talk to the other student Volucris who were not being allowed to come, especially Lucy and Anabel., Sshe had felt guilty that they were being left behind, but after talking with them she felt much better. , Iit seems neither of them were particularly interested in going, they both loved their life on Ety and although they missed some of the old home comforts, they also knew there was no chance of ever returning to that life even if they had gone back to the mainland. They boys were more disappointed, especially Calumn, he really wanted to be part of the group. Hhe even went to talk to Lordes about it but Lordes made it clear that not all could go and he needed to leave some protection on Ety behind. Mo thought this probably made Calumn feel better that he was being relied on in some way, she also suspected that it was just a line Lordes fed him to placate him.
Before she knew it, Mo was standing on the edge of the cliff waiting to take off. There were 13 of them in total including Tristan, Thea and Isabelle’s guards Jean, Grace and Balthas. Ethan, of course, and some of the other younger Volucris, Lorenzo, Gregor and Mathias., Tthen Isabelle herself, Lordes, Benji and Mo.
They had all said their goodbyes and were standing waiting while those carrying packs were strapped in. Neither Mo nor Benji were carrying anything, this was left to the older Volucris as experience was needed flying when holding something as it affected how you would fly. Both Mo and Benji were raring to go, flapping their wings in anticipation. Lordes addressed them all. “The flight should be straightforward for you younger ones. Mmake sure you follow your trainer as they will guide you to the best thermals..” Benji piped up, “are you not worried about the storm?” Lordes looked up to the clear blue sky that stretched far in front of them. “What storm?” Lordes asked a little mockingly Mo thought. Benji too felt the slight jibe and shook his head not wanting to antagonise Lordes. “Let us take flight then.�
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Mo looked over to Benji, “You ok?” She asked. Benji smiled “Sure, it’s ok, I thought I could smell a storm that’s all, if our great leader deems it ok I am sure it is.”
“Smell a storm, what do you mean?”
But before he could answer they were all being rushed forward to take off. Lordes wanted them to leave together. Tthey all started running as one, the pack teams having to lift their heavy loads and start to flap wings at once which Mo thought looked exhausting. After a number of steps, they started to take to the air, Mo keenly watching Ethan, making sure she caught the same thermal as him and they were off up and away. Once on a thermal the pack teams lowered their loads beneath them and they all settled into a nice rhythm. Mo had only ever flown in a pair before but to fly in a pack was exciting., Tthey all moved into a V formation like birds, falling into each other’s slipstream, those at the back benefiting from the rest and one by one they would take over each other taking on the harder flight at the front. It was real teamwork and Mo found being at the front, although hard, she was determined to do her best and not let anyone down., Sshe knew they wouldn’t let her down either, it was a good feeling. They had been flying for a while and all were tiring. Tthe older Volucris now encouraging the younger ones, letting them know it was not much further, to keep pushing. Tristan was best at pushing people along as was Thea., Eeven Ethan and Lordes would put in a few good words which surprised Mo, but it really helped. , Sshe was tiring fast now, she could see Benji too, his wing beats less frequent, trying to rely on the thermals to carry them. Tristan shouted out to look in the distance and sure enough, a huge landmass was coming into view over the horizon. Hhowever, hovering above it was a very large black cloud full of lightening and from what Mo could tell it was heading straight for them.