LUC

     I don't like to think of myself as instinctual.

     It was dangerous for me to be. I was weaker than most of my kind — smaller, unable to win in a situation that called for it. Thinking about mating wasn't productive. It would be a miracle to be chosen in the first place, and an added miracle to father a clutch of eggs on my own and be able to protect it and my mate.

     It was a fool's errand, so why was I...

     My eyes flickered down to the creature in my arms. Its soft hair ran through my fingers, and its small body cradled in mine. I've never felt huge — big enough to protect anything, but I felt it now. I couldn't tell what triggered the underlying feeling of protectiveness. This thing was a male, not a female.

     It was so small, so weak, and yet neither was it a child.

     It wasn't a pet... it was a person that could talk and use tools. Tools that seemed even grander than Helli could make. It had a name, and it had said mine back.

     Its voice had taken me aback — deep and rich, yet carrying an unexpected softness. It seemed to lack the vocal range to say words in full, but that didn't matter to me as long as we could communicate. It had made a noise I'd never heard before while looking at me with the softest smile that touched its eyes. It looked happy to see me, and grateful that I was there.

     No one had ever looked at me like that.

     I stroked the creature's fur faster, letting the light feeling in my stomach settle. I had been useful. I had protected something, and I had provided for it. It was alive because of me, and it knew that, and maybe that was why—

     My body shuddered as I felt light fingers graze the feathers in my neck, softly preening them, one at a time.

     It made that sound from before again and said something in a teasing tone as it continued to touch the feathers on my neck. I stared down at the soft fur on its head, wondering if I could call that boundary crossing when I was probably doing the equivalent.

     I couldn't help it, though.

     The fur was uncharacteristically soft.

     I moved closer to the nest, peeling the creature off me before sitting it down on the pile of stitched-together fur. Despite the fabric it had on, I saw it shiver a bit. It might need more to nest with — I wasn't sure. I always noticed huge hoards of fabric in settlements. Maybe that was its use?

     Jessie looked around. It seemed confused, but then it looked up at me, then smiled. A warmth bloomed in my chest at the sight. I wanted to pick him up again — still not sure if it counted as male or not. It smelled like one, but I was still not sure. These creatures were new. They fell from the sky in their metal egg and spread through the land. I had still been with my flock when it happened. We watched the fire in the sky. We listened to the sound of metal bending against the impact with rock, and like insects in a secured egg sac, they'd busted out of the rubble in their thousands.

     The consensus had been they weren't worth bothering about. They couldn't fly — they could never reach us — but now I had one in my nest, smiling at me in a way that made my mind fog with confusion.

     Did I want to mate it?

     Why?

     I shuddered, pushing the thought away before joining the creature in the nest. I sat next to it, reaching out to touch its face. It had very few scars. It looked like it lived a soft life. I couldn't say the same. I took my hand away, deciding to lie beside it. It looked down at me, cocking its head in a questioning look as it reached down to touch my neck.

     My stomach flipped. I didn't understand the words it was saying, but it wasn't like I was paying attention. The occasional 'Luc' did get my eyes to narrow in on its mouth.

      It was still a very strange mouth. Soft, with small teeth and a very wet tongue. The thing seemed to grow tired, settling beside me before closing its eyes. It looked healthy, albeit a bit cold. I wondered if it needed food. All it'd had was my crop milk last night. If it was an infant, it would need to eat multiple times a day. The bags I had picked up had some provisions, despite how strange they looked to me — they seemed to be what it was used to eating.

       I'm not sure when my eyes closed, but when they opened again, it was because of the sound of crunching. I looked up at Jessie, who was sitting down and biting into what looked like a soft yellow stone. He smiled down at me when he noticed I was away, shifting a bit, to give me space when I anchored myself on my arm and sat up.

     Jessie said a series of words to me as his eyes shone. The words were hard to distinguish because of the lack of pitch — it all seemed to slur together. I felt bad — I'm sure whatever he had to say was as pleasant as his voice.

     I frowned when a piece of the soft yellow stone was nudged into my hand. Our fingers brushed with the contact, and I stared down at the flaking stone as Jessie went back to nibbling on his piece. I brought it to my mouth, tasting it.

     It tasted like the sweetness in fruit, but dry — very dry.

     Jessie made that weird noise again, and I looked at him, and he was smiling. He was done with the stones, but the flakes they gave off were smeared on his face and fingers.

     He needs cleaning. I thought, and without even thinking twice, I had reached to grasp his hand. Jessie looked confused, but he let me lick the crumbs off one hand. I grabbed the other when I was done, repeating the motion. I could sense the heightened nervousness when I grasped his chin, inspecting his face before carefully licking around his mouth and jaw. His jaw was more prickly now — it seemed like the hairs there were getting longer. I licked over the edge of his lips, and they parted for me. An explosion of pheromones I didn't know how to read overwhelmed me.

     I sunk my tongue into his mouth, lapping up the taste of the stone and the taste of him. A hand rested on my chest, but it didn't push me away. There was a small gasp as his wet tongue touched mine. I shook as he sucked on it absently, running the hand on my chest up and down. My eyes grew heavy as I pulled Jessie closer, feeling the head of my sex press against my slit as I let Jessie do what he wanted.

     It took a while for me to comprehend what was even happening, but when I did, it was like my ears finally tuned into the sounds coming from Jessie and me. The slurps and sudden gasps from him, and me purring — it was so loud — louder than it had ever been. Taken aback, I pulled my mouth away, staring down at Jessie's lips and very red face. He had a small frown on his face, but his eyes were cloudy and focused on my mouth.

     He reached for my face, pulling it downwards. His pointy nose bumped against my flat one before he cocked his head to the side to press his lips against mine.

     Maybe he's hungry? I wondered, opening my mouth for him, and forcing food from my crop to be shared. Jessie seemed surprised but sucked on the content from my tongue before pulling away to rest his head on my chest. He seemed content.

     We stayed like that for a bit before I peeled him off of me and stood up. He blinked up at me, watching me walk over to the edge of the cliff.

     "I'll be back," I said, even though he couldn't understand me.

     I needed to eat too, if Jessie needed more crop milk. I had neglected the whole reason I had gone down to the surface in the first place. My diving trip for the eel had turned into a rescue mission of some sort.

     I took one last look at Jessie before taking off. I flew downwards, bending and turning to avoid hitting the rocks in the narrow valleys created by close-together mountains. Flying even lower, I started to see the start of the vegetation canopies. Plants and trees survived by rooting openly at the edge of cliffs and mountains, growing tall enough to compete with other plants for sunlight and a water-rich atmosphere. It reminded me of the small mangroves on creeks but on a much wider scale.

     Soon, I had ditched curving through mountain creeks to curving through thick branches and gaping holes in the tangled roots. I was able to swiftly catch gliding creatures that jumped into the air from creeks and mangrove pockets and stuffed them into the pouch swoon to my belt. I flew lower, knowing the bigger prey — eels in sinkholes would be further down. When I reached the surface of the planet, it was head first, breaking into one of the shallower sinkholes and catching an eel the length of my arm. I bit down as quickly as possible to keep the flaying down and proceeded to eat. My stomach was getting uncomfortably full, but I'd never grown out of being the runt. There was always someone around to steal your food — nick it off you.

     As the adrenaline from the catch wore off, I noticed a camp off to the side, hidden in the darkness. No one was there, but there was a nest — about the size of Jessie. I cocked my head to the side, edging closer when I noticed the thick fabric sitting on the roll of even thicker material. I dropped the eel in my hands, and edged towards the nest, picking up the thick yellow material.

     Jessie will need it. I declared to myself. I had been so lost in my thoughts I hadn't heard the sound of wings, or someone dropping down into the cave a few meters from me.

     "Luc?" the voice sounded almost confused. The blood in my ran cold as I recognized it.

     Kao.

     I turned, still gripping the blanket.

     "This is mine now," the male said, using the claws of his left foot to press against my kill.

     A part of me was frustrated, but I nodded. He was much bigger than me — Taller. Wider. His wings didn't graze the floor. He wasn't a clutch mate, but he had been part of the flock I left 2-3 years ago. He took everything from me — food, space, tools I crafted and even the concept of mates.

     "I want your bag too, and whatever that is," he mumbled, gesturing at the blanket with one of his wings. His features were green — dark and light, blending in the way my shades of brown did on my body.

     I shook my head. "You have my kill already."

     He raised a brow, chuffing in amusement. "So?"

     I stared at Kao, and then at the cave entrance above that slopped at a curved angle. I could take advantage of the bottleneck and get as far away as possible...

     If Kao caught me, I would lose everything and be injured, but I needed to eat to feed Jessie. His teeth were so small... I don't think there would be anything he could eat on his own except fleshy fruit. And. I blinked, considering my plan. I wanted him to have the fabric. I didn't want him to be cold.

     So...

I took the chance, jetting upwards as quickly as I could before Kao could comprehend what was happening. I was out of the cage and flying upwards. I had bought myself time, but I could hear Kao behind me. My eyes frantically looked for a hiding spot, and then I found it. Big enough for me, but too small for Kao. I flew in, cramping in pain as my wings scrapped the cave's walls with the motion of pulling them toward myself.

     Kao let out a frustrated squawk, landing just outside like a fallen rock.

     "What is your fascination with these creatures? You seem more protective of the piece of fabric than the meat in your bag," Kao said, chuffing. I could hear him pacing around. The size of him was enough to scatter gravel at the entrance of the cave. I sucked on my bottom lip, refusing to give him anything — even my words.

     Eventually, Kao gave up, and I let out a sigh of relief when I heard the sound of his wings taking him away. I stayed in the small cave for some more time, hoping to wait him out if he was trying to ambush me. When I eventually came out of the cave, my wings were cramped, and my legs were sore from crouching uncomfortably for hours on end. I held on tightly to the blanket I had in one hand. The blood from the prey I'd quickly tucked into the bag on my waist belt was leaking blood. I ignored the discomfort before taking off, flying as quickly as I could, to get back to Jessie.

     When the pads of my toes made contact with the cliff's floor, Jessie's face turned to look at me. A part of me retreated into myself as I thought about how my catch had been stolen from me. Could he tell I had been hiding in a hole all day, cowering at the size of another Helli?

     All the anxiety and worry in me faded as the corners of his lips lifted into a smile that was brighter than anything I had ever seen.