AERIE: Book 01 Part 01

In those studies, we learned that avian aren't like chickens. They only lay seasonally, every three to four months. They more closely resemble in biology our earthly Monotremes; the now extinct egg laying mammals. When they come into season, if they are mated and fertilised, they lay eggs and the males take them and guard them in a nest. These days, incubators serve the purpose. If they are mated and do not wish their eggs fertilised, they have medicines which prevent the same, just like humans have the pill.

A usual hatching consists of two or three young who suckle from the six avian breasts. This fact and the fact that avian are incredibly symmetrical and aesthetically fascinating, was responsible for their popularity in private menageries and the many brothel stations. They appealed to a lot of miners and military who only saw beautiful tiny women with six breasts and not slaves who were pining lost mates.

The reformation put an end to slavery and avian, and other sentient alien races we had encountered as part of the Arkhaven project were recognised under federation law as having the same rights as humans. None of this, however, helps me understand why this particular egg calls to me on a deeply protective level.

When I arrive at the Vogel's, there is a strange car out the front and a another in the drive. Gingerly, I take my egg from the passenger seat where I had it belted in and lock Mum's little car up. Absolute silence greets me when I knock on the door and the Vogels greet me.

Mrs Vogel is the person foremost and she smiles and pats my cheek with the back of her feathered hand like always and then simply gestures through to the lounge. Erry is looking flighty like she does when she's really nervous and smiles bashfully, glancing at my egg. The one she gave me. The one she laid.

When I'm seated in a three-seater lounge alongside an avian woman I don't recognise and a man who I know is Mr Vogel's boss at the mining company, I wonder at the gravity of the situation. Eris's brother from the same hatching, Ernst, is present and scowls at me in a way he never has before.

"Todd. This is Teela's friend Sarika and you remember Mr Wallace. Sarika has a few quick questions for you before dinner. Please don't be afraid. She is a lovely family friend."

Sarika smiled at me. Her eyes were dark and soulful like Erry's. The little pin feathers at her eyes were white with age and her long hair silver gold. There was something immediately calming in her presence, and she nodded.

"Yes child. Go. I will mind your charge. Greet her." She reached for the box with the egg in it and nodded toward Eris. To tell the truth I had thought of nothing else since arriving. Ordinarily I'm swarmed with Eris's arms and a big friendly cuddle, and without it the evening feels awkward and weird. She seems relieved as I approach as well.

"I'm so sorry for all of this." She smiles and wraps her arms around my waist. My hand finds its usual spot on her neck at the base of her skull and draws her head into my chest where she does her customary rub against me.

When I'm released and turn to walk back to my seat, Sarika is smiling knowingly. "Then she has fully imprinted. How long ago did this happen."

"I don't understand." I tell her, supposing the question is for me.

Teela laughs and says, "She has been like that with him since she was six."

Eris blushes deeply and smirks at me. My hands heat with need to take the box containing the egg back. "Shh boy. You can have it back in a short moment. And she is not interested in any Avian suitors?"

Eris wrinkles her nose in disgust. Mr Vogel says, "She is polite but distant. Disinterested and unimpressed. It has been a little embarrassing."

"Todd." Sarika says sternly. "Hold out your hands please."

She gently takes the egg from the box, and I reach protectively to take it from her. She places it cradled into my hands and then puts her hands around mine. For some reason I try to pull it to me; away from her hands and clutch it tightly, but she resists by insisting with her talons. They bite harshly into my skin and when she squeezes down, like she will crush this egg I brace my hands against her and feel them bite deeper still.

Then as quickly as it had started it is done. She releases my hands and places a hand on my chest over my heart. "It is more than done."

She wipes the blood from my hands and makes some symbol on the egg with it. "I must be off."

Sarika stands and holds my cheek as Teela does on occasion, then leans forward to bow her forehead onto minbe. "May the mother give you wings." It's a customary parting blessing, "You will need them." Her cackles follow her from the house. Everyone seems to take that as some cue and leaves the room. Eris and I remain. She looks nervous and a little sad.

Her eyes find mine and a little smile plays at her lips. Her long black hair is loose and swishes as she quickly comes to sit with me. "I have to talk with you. There is a lot you need to hear. I am sorry for how things are, but you need to understand and make your choices. Mum and Dad are going to leave us alone until I am finished. If you want to leave, no one will stop you. But please listen."

I nod. "Are you okay, Birdy?"

That earns me one of those trademark head rubs. "I am better than I was, but nervous, emotional and confused. The fledging is upon me early, we think. I am safe now. I know you won't let anything happen to me. You never have."

My arm around her insists she is correct with a gentle assuring squeeze.

"My egg. You kept it safe."

I nod. "I wasn't sure what to do, but I..."

"You are confused. Humans don't deal well with instincts. But your instincts tell you to protect it. That's why we are in a bit of trouble now."

"Trouble?"

"When I gave it to you, you were sad. I wanted to give you something very special that let you know that I would always be there to protect your heart, the same way you protect me. It was silly and I didn't understand why I did it, but it was suddenly extremely important to me to gift you an egg. I had no idea why and was dreadfully embarrassed, but I went to the bathroom at your work. You remember the rest."

I nod.

"There is so much I don't really know about myself that I would if I had grown up at home. It turns out that giving a boy an egg is a formal offer of mating."

"Oh dear." I fully understand her deep blush and hidden eyes.

"I didn't know. It was just really important to me. I had to do it. My whole body insisted. I have loved you forever. Since that first day of school. Do you remember me rubbing my head on you and offering you my neck?"

"Our cuddle thing?"

"Well, apparently that is called supplication. It's an instinctual response to a member of your flock with whom you've imprinted. I didn't know that either but it all sort of makes sense. This is all so terribly much to dump on you. I feel like I've trapped you into a situation where you are forced to follow your gut instinct to protect me over the wishes of your heart. I don't even know if you see me like that. I know you love me. But..."

"Holy shit."

"Yes. Holy shit. So, we have a lot to speak about. You and I, you and my parents. I've spoken with your Mum and you're staying the weekend. You need a lot of information so that you can make decisions for yourself. I'm really sorry about all of this."

"So... First things first. You love me?"

"Always have, stupid. Why do you think I hated that April bitch so much?"

"And this imprinting. How much is your heart and how much is your instinct?"

"They are the same for us. I just love you. You are my thing. If you reject me then I might find someone else. That's what they say. But if... It's so hard. I have these fantastic drives... I want you. Even right now... But if we do that then it gets even bigger. So big that if you changed your mind later, it could kill me. So, think hard. Feel hard. That's not just an egg. It's my life."

"Woah."

"Yup. Me too. It's all overwhelming." She nods.

"So, I don't really know much about any of this, but I want you to know something that I do know. You remember that first day?"

"Ahuh." She smiles.

"When you did that cuddle thing with your head."

"Yup."

"I felt it too. I don't know how that works but... But I was really mad at those kids and when you did that, I calmed all the way back down. You settled me and all that was important was that you were safe and close to me. Even when I was with April. You were so much more important. I never felt like that with her. She was... We did... She was not ah... not my... not my home. It pissed her off. But it was a thing. Inside me. I..."

"You're trying to understand with a human brain. Don't. Just trust your heart. And come on. Dinners probably ready." She pulls my hand to get my standing and giggles. "Oh shit. Scratch. Quick. Itchy please."

She's reaching for her shoulder, and I scratch the general area identifying a small lump she's been bothering. As I scratch at it something gives beneath my fingers and then kind of unfurls.

"Todd?"

"Yeah."

"No homo, but look." She lifts her t-shirt to clear the spot and I catch a generous display of sideboobs. But what blows my mind is a feather. A feather the same colour as her dark hair that dries and straightens as I watch. It's fascinating and strange at the same time.

"They've started... All over... It's... weird."

"Very cool."

"You mightn't think so if you saw some of the others. Let's just say I won't be wearing a bikini again anytime soon."

"You haven't worn anything less than a wet suit since-" There was a horrible afternoon where I had to beat up three older guys for commenting on her breasts. She wore a rashy, but they always poked through.

"Shut up. Come on."

Dinner is the usual fare; a grain and protein dish that fills the centre of the table and from which you help yourself. There are bugs and fungus. There's small flowers and other things through the generous platter that we fill our plates from. I was nine when I came for dinner first and didn't learn until I was ten that the nice crunchy things were grasshoppers. There are spices; gentle things that taste like autumn breezes and pepper.

And there is a cadence of family that I settle into like it is an old place in my soul. Sometimes I wonder how I don't feel this comfortable at home with Mum and Dad. This is dinner.

At home we would be squabbling over television channels and who was going to do dishes and talking about our lives in a frantic reconnection after busy days at work and school, but here everyone just settles into a moment. She holds my hand as Mr Vogel leads us in their form of thanks prior to a meal.

"Thank you, Mother, for your providence. Bless our flock and friends. Keep us safe till we join you again, where all our journey's end."

I don't notice until I catch Teela smiling at it. Erry's talons drag playfully along my skin, drawing goosebumps up my arm until I laugh and pat her hand away.

"Lots of talking after dinner." Teela tells me.

"Okay. I'm..."

"Sideswiped, I think is the human word for it." Mr Vogel says. "You should probably get used to that feeling. Avian women need... Hmm... A little help controlling themselves sometimes."

It draws a curt laugh from Teela and Mr Wallace.

Mr Wallace offers, "Good luck with that." And laughs break the heavy moment.

We finish dinner and Eris and I wash dishes. It's a simple thing that we have become very efficient at. I rinse and she stacks. She washes and I dry. I know where everything belongs and when we are done, we turn to find all three of them watching us snidely. Erry and I have always communicated silently in brief gestures and nods.

"Yes." Mr Wallace says, "They'll be on the next portal. You will accompany them. I'm afraid, but hopeful. They could really mess up the science."

"What?" Eris asks angrily. "What are you not telling me now. This whole thing is really fucking big and scary and you're all so..."

She makes a screeching noise that I've never heard but sounds like she wants to tear someone's pieces from their other pieces with the talons that are pricking into my palms as she holds my hand far too tightly.

"That's my girl." Says her mother. Her father laughs far too much, and Mr Wallace politely pokes his food about his plate.

"Todd." She snuggles into my chest.

"Yes Erry?"

"Kiss me."

Holy Shit...

She looks up at me from her position in my chest and her eyes show me fear and trust. Her lips are parted slightly and her eyes close as I lower myself to her invitation. Her lips are warm and slippery against mine. Her breath is sweet and warm, and she tastes like her skin smells. The world vanishes around me and all I know is the pounding of my heart and her rough little tongue teasing at mine.

"So that's what all the fuss is about." She smiles at me when we part. "I wondered why humans do that. It's very nice. We'll have to do it some more."

A giggle from Mrs Vogel reminds me that we have an audience. "Don't get any ideas, Orsta. Touching mouths is strictly for humans."

"And apparently little Eris." Mr Vogel replies.

"Not so little Eris these days." Mrs Vogel smiles warmly. "Make up the spare room for our guest while we speak briefly with Todd, please darling."

"Nope." She shakes her head at her mother who returns a startled look at her usually compliant daughter. "He's mine."

"Todd?" Mrs Vogel asks strangely.

"Yes?"

"Are you comfortable sharing a bed with Eris?"

"He doesn't get a choice Mum." Eris laughs. "It's not like... Well... You know..."

"Hmm. She's probably right, Teela. Welcome to the flock, son." Mr Vogel pats his wife's shoulder. "Come lad, we have a bit of a science lesson for you. An important one. You need to understand a hell of a lot in a little bit of time. I spoke with your folks earlier and we leave first thing in the morning."

"Leave?"

"Yes. The change is coming quickly for Eris. We can't risk staying a moment longer. There is a portal available tomorrow. The lounge please." I follow him and Mr Wallace through and look back to find Teela and Eris chatting excitedly in the kitchen.

Once seated, Mr Wallace starts speaking, "Now boy. I've been to Arkhaven Twelve on a few exploratory missions so I can give you a human perspective of the Arcadian experience. You have a very steep learning curve in front of you."

He accepts a small glass of honey coloured liquid from Mr Vogel who offers one to me as well. When I sip it, I find it light on the tongue and not as syrupy as it looked. It has a strange floral taste.

"Distilled flower essence. Very strong. Sip." He tells me.

"The first thing you will notice is the gravity. I've always been a large man and it was quite strange to step and find myself flung forward quite a way. You will acclimatise to that quickly. Then probably the atmosphere. You'll have a nasal breathing device that takes some time to get used to. The air is a little higher in oxygen than our and has much higher levels of helium, nitrogen and nitrous oxide. There's another gas in it too that we're still studying. It doesn't exist on our planet. The air won't kill you, but it can be... intoxicating. More than a few minutes without a breathing device and you'll pass out cold. Happened to me once or twice."

"Ha... That was more likely the gallon of this that you'd imbibed." Mr Vogel toasts him.

"Yes well... Er lodgings. You'll find that a bit of a challenge along with the dress code."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, most Avian houses are very open plan. The climate is idyllic in the lowlands. It can get chilly in the hills, but their houses are quite breezy. No sense of privacy you see."

"Todd. It will be strange for Eris to start with as well. She is quite used to wearing human clothes. On our home world, we simply don't. Apart from women's breasts, we have no visible sex organs so there's really no point."

"Will I... um have to be naked too?"

"No, it's not required, but won't be unwelcome. My people find all those wagging penises and pouty vaginas quite hilarious so it's usually best for humans to wear at least something on their lower parts."

"You said you spoke with Mum and Dad?" This must all be quite a shock for them. Their son is to be married off to an Avian girl at twenty-one. Talk about things happening quickly.

"Yes. Your mother was quite excited. Your father had a lot of serious questions. They will be seeing us off so you will get a chance to speak with them in person. Your mother said to tell you, 'Took you bloody long enough'."

"Haha." I laugh nervously.

"Oh yes. Wing suits. Tell him about the wings, Terry." Mr Vogel prompts his boss.

"Yes of course. Todd, it's simply splendid. Have you ever dreamed of flying?"

"I guess I've thought about it."

"Well, it's just so strange over there. If you drop something it seems to fall in slow motion. That and the thick atmosphere... Yes well, they've developed these wing things you can wear and with a bit of practice you can glide about and... it's a lot of fun."

"Avian can fly?"

"Not on earth we can't." Mr Vogel says. "Too heavy here even with wings. I can make the roof with a bit of a jump and some serious flapping but that's about it."

"Over there, though Todd. They're flitting about all over the place. Feel like taking a fly swat to them some days." Grumps Mr Wallace.

"So, we have more to tell you about the changes happening to Eris. We weren't expecting them so soon. Girls are rarely fully fledged at home until they are nearly thirty. Something about Earth ages us more quickly though. So, it's been thrust on us a little early. Neither she, nor we are quite as prepared as we should be."

"She's said earlier that she was frightened by it all." I admit.

"She is right to be. When an Avian comes of age, the changes leave them quite feral. Rogue, we call them. The hormones that prepare them for flight and for mating leave them operating on a purely instinctual level. Their personality and reason are clouded by the passions that rage in them. It is perhaps a little easier for males. It is not quite so complete for us. We fight and dance and if we are lucky, we are already imprinted with a female who returns our feelings. I cannot tell you what it is like for females. They seem to lose themselves entirely."

"That would probably be a good place for me to butt in." Smiles Teela. "You two go and stink up the den with those tobacco things you like."

"Good idea, Teela. Orsta can help me with some cultural sensitivities that are troubling me with the newest mining application. Damn environmental studies were no trouble at all, but I just can't navigate the politics."

Eris is smiling at me from beside her mother as Mr Vogel and Mr Wallace excuse themselves. As soon as they are gone, she curls up in my lap where she usually sits. Mrs Vogel smiles and sits across from us smiling.

"So... Haven't frightened you off yet?"

"No, Mrs Vogel."

"Teela. Mrs Vogel is Orsta's mother. Eris is very frightened Todd, and she has every reason to be. The change is coming on her very quickly. Her body is changing rapidly, she is growing feathers and her mind and body are being bombarded chemically. Over the next few weeks, she will slowly lose herself. I remember what it was like for me. One day I was complaining to my mother about my tail itching and the next moment I was eating raw fish on a clifftop."

One of my eyebrows rose nervously at that and drew a quite laugh from Mrs Vogel.

"I came to my senses one day and Orsta was sleeping beside me on a nest of grass. I didn't recognise myself. I had no idea how long I had been living up there in the wild. Orsta told me he had had visited for a few weeks, plying me with gifts of food and dancing for me. It was only when we were mated that my mind calmed and I was myself again."