Enter the Shaker Pt. 02

They finished the first carcass, and Grave brought the other one closer. He tore another potion of the flesh and laid it beside Joa, who made no move to continue eating.

"Please feed." said Grave, pulsing to view his female.

"Not hungry" She shrank into his warm embrace as he surrounded her.

"Not hungry." He repeated. A hand moved to her middle. "You need more than that to feed our young" Grave purred.

"You have no young here, nest not safe" Joa admonished.

Grave replied by flicking a pebble at the Flyer's head, pinging it's sound in the den's farther wall. "The nest is safe for our young. I will kill the Flyers." He rested his chin on Joa's head and purred, rubbing her, nudging her toward the meat.

"No" Joa growled low in her chest, tears sprung in her eyes. She clung to his heated body, and breathed heavily. The thought of being in this territory any longer twisted her insides.

Grave bowed his head to the clearly distressed female. "You reject my nest." He said quieter. "It is not good enough". Clicking Grave surveyed the scales surrounding them. His pride severely hurt, tens of thousands of scales were shed in its creation, but more than that, it was an intimate gift for them both. He reached out and clawed the patterned wall. The action sobered Joa, Shakers never damaged their nests.

She hissed at him, swiping at the offensive hand. "My nest is strong for you." he rumbled, noting the stability of the scales. Grave lifted them and moved her to the most densely padded area of their nest. His wings flexed to allow the female to feel the bedding. "Soft, for young" He grumbled. "Is it not soft enough? You need something softer?" He was pleading now.

"Grave" Joa cupped the side of his agitated face. "No more Shakers here," she said, "just us. Flyers here, not safe" she hugged her male "Beautiful nest, strong nest, soft nest" She nuzzled him, "No young, not here. Please, bring us to your colony" She pleaded.

The male grumbled. "I am the last in my colony," he said. "You want a colony near for the young." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes"

Grave thought for a while, the first time clearly since the urgency of finding a mate. "I should have considered. My young will need a mate too." Grave spoke, disappointed. "We will find another colony when I have new scales for a nest"

Joa sighed in relief. Pushing backwards, she instinctively got Grave to burrow them in the soft grass lining the nest. Grave was shook by the intimacy of holding his mate in their den. It would be some time before his scales regrew, and he indulged in finishing the second carcass by himself, bones and all.

Grave shot the flyer's head far from his nest, a warning to other Flyers who were scanning from the skies. The action was not unnoticed, and Grave could hear the cries of over twenty different individuals from the safety of the earth, many were striking where the male had ejected the thing. Grave listened to the numbers, the ferocity, and thought maybe he'd underestimated Joa's worry. This would be a challenging place to raise their young, especially now that the Flyers knew he was a threat.