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I must do what is right for my tribe. For the Laediriians here on Laedirissae. Which means finding out why these strange aliens have crashed on our planet. Until I know what the aliens intend here and if they mean us harm, I must keep my distance from them. From her.
But it is a task that is much harder than it should be. I clench my jaw against the urge to leave my hiding place and seek the enchanting female out.
I watch as the female and the kitling approach a small flock of psittas who have once again settled among the churned-up soil and vegetation in search of choice morsels of food. The alien female bends down to the kitling’s height and points towards the creatures. Her softly spoken words reach my ears, and frustratingly, I still cannot understand them.
“Zohh-ii, luuk iits thuh buhrds! Cahn yoo fynd Piitehrr?”
The kitling responds, “Ai sii hehm! Hiis soh fuh-nii.”
They seem fascinated by the antics of the psittas, and I wonder if there are no feathered creatures on their planet. The alien and the kitling smile and talk in low tones, pointing every so often at one of the smaller psittas as it hops around after insectoids.
I watch them for a while before another alien steps from the interior of the crumpled ship. It is another alien female. Goddesses, there are three grown females and a kitling on Laedirissae!
This female has skin the color of a dicro’s pelt and even darker hair on her head. She is a little taller than the pale female and her hair is shorter, but otherwise, she looks so similar that they must be the same species.
”Hell-lii!” She calls out. The female I feel drawn to turns her head in acknowledgement with a wide smile stretched across her face.
Is that my female’s name? My mouth soundlessly moves. Hell-lii. It is a beautiful name. One that suits the small, delicate being in front of me.
The new alien approaches the other two and they have a conversation with each other, but the noises that emerge from their mouths make no sense to me.
I wish I could understand them. If I knew what they discussed, then I could find out why the females have come here. And maybe I could also deduce why my heart pounds every time I see the female named Hell-lii.
An idea suddenly forms in my mind.
Vrenner, the tech for the Anuriix tribe, is constantly tinkering with the gadgets and the advanced technology the Ancestors left us. I am sure he will be able to assist me. I must journey back to my village and seek him out.
Chapter 10
Haley
That heavy feeling in my chest, the one that makes my pulse pound and a trail of warmth spread over my skin, suddenly recedes.
I don’t know what’s causing it. Maybe it’s anxiety from everything that has happened, but somehow it feels like more than that. It feels important. Like the heavy static in the air just before a big storm is about to break. I glance up at the clear sky and shake my head.
So far, that weird feeling has only happened twice – yesterday and again today. But it’s gone now. It disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared. Left behind in its wake is an almost empty feeling, as if something is missing. A part of me. It’s crazy, but then my life has been nothing but crazy lately.
As promised, Zoe and I have ventured outside today to see the rainbow-colored birds. She’s enjoying her new pet’s antics, and I’m just happy to see a smile on her face.
After a few minutes, Aria joins us, and I watch as she takes in her first view of the dense tangle of vibrant foliage that surrounds us, the brightly colored sky stretching as far as the eye can see, and the colorful flock of birds busily searching for food. Her mouth drops in awe as she slowly spins in a circle, and I chuckle to myself as I realize this is probably the first time I’ve seen her speechless. Not even the abduction or the crash could keep her quiet for long.
“Wow. This place is unreal. It’s, like, really a jungle, isn’t it?” Aria’s voice is breathless as she studies our surroundings.
It really is a breathtaking scene. Today, there are large butterfly-like insects with iridescent wings fluttering among flowers that bloom around the edges of the clearing. Trees that are so tall and big they would put redwoods to shame stretch high into the sky around us, and a light breeze brings an exotic scent that I can’t identify. It’s all so big and vibrant and bright and so. . . so much.
Aria turns to me with a frown and in a voice soft enough that Zoe can’t hear, she whispers, “Do you think it’s safe out here?”
“Um. . . I hope so.” I decide not to remind her of the roar we heard yesterday that we all agreed was just the wind.
It was probably the wind. Hopefully. Please, let it have been the wind. So far, we haven’t heard anymore strange roars or see anything odder than the tall trees and the birds.
“So far, the only alien lifeforms we’ve seen are the parrot-flamingos, and they only seem to be dangerous to bugs.” I gesture to one of the colorful birds that really do look like someone crossed a flamingo and a parrot.
“You know, I was in my first year of vet school before the um. . . the abduction.” She frowns and clears her throat before moving closer to where Zoe is kneeling on the ground. Her eyes are distractedly fixed on the flock of birds and the not-butterflies fluttering among the flowers. “I wonder how similar they are to Earth birds. Maybe they’re like flamingos and metabolize the pigment in their diet.” Aria carefully eases herself down with a grimace to sit cross-legged next to Zoe.
Zoe glances up with an easy, open smile, “Do you know what Miss Morgan. . . I mean, Rose, told me a group of flamingos is called?” At Aria’s shake of her head, the little girl answers, “A ‘boyance. Wait, no, I said that wrong. . . it’s a flamboyance.”
Aria chuckles in response, her shoulder-length curls shaking with mirth. “A flamboyance of flamingos. I like that.” They exchange grins and return their attention to the birds.
