Tau Ceti (an Ell Donsaii story #6) Read Online Free Page B

himr call you “dyatso” as h i e left you here alone , but for me? Dex’s eyes narrowed. If Syrdian really couldn’t fly with the holes in hies wings sutured shut hie probably was dyatso. The heat of summer would be upon them soon. Migration to the sou th would begin tomorrow . Life here in the heat of summer would be impossible. Dex had sometimes wondered if it would be possible to live in this area if you moved higher on the mountain. Everyone knew it was cooler as you went up . Harder to fly because the air was thinner but doable. But to get higher on the mountain without flying? Syrdian would have to walk through a lot of forest. Despite the fact that Qes had hid den from the talor in the forest, the forest wasn’t safe. There were many large wingless predators in there. Thinking of that, Dex looked carefully over the verge to make sure one of those large forest predators wasn’t sizing them up from just inside the trees. H i e didn’t see any large infrared objects, only the expected smaller animals. He puffed his lips, tasting the air, “Syrdian? We should move farther from the verge, ” h i e said. “Who knows what might be lurking there.”
    Syrdian’s head rose , turning violently to allow himr to study the verge himrself, “Why? Do you see something?”
    “No, but by the time we see it, it might be too late.”
    Syrdian got to hies feet and said, “OK, let’s move.” Hie looked at hies wing, “Hey the hole is gone!”
    “I tied back the sutures Qes cut out.”
    Syrdian looked at Dex, then at hies wing, then back at Dex, “You really did sew my wing up like you do your leatherwork?”
    Dex nodded, turning to walk back to the talor. Flying back when Syrdian couldn’t seemed rude.
    When they reached the talor, Syrdi an said, “Look at all that meat! I’m hungry!”
    Dex said, “Shall we cook some?”
    “Do you know how?”
    Dex shrugged, “S ur e. Not like they do it at the cave, but well enough to eat. ”
    “OK,” Syrdian said, crouching an d looking expectantly at Dex.
     
    ***
     
    Qes stared d isconsolately into the distance, h ow could this have happened to me? This morning he’d been on top of the world, highly ranked in the tribe, nearly mated to the beautiful Syrdian. Syrdian, likely the highest ranked among the tribe’s youth. They’d been pseudo mating for days now and this morning Syrdian had suggested that they sneak away to their favorite meadow to do it again.
    Now, with the beautiful Syrdian mutilated, Qes would have to find another potential mate. A difficult task with many of the higher ranked youth already committed to others.
    Briefly Qes wondered if there was any way that Syrdian could survive? A shiver ran over hies wings, obviously not . Even if Syrdian somehow made it back to the cave through the forest , the migration would be tomorrow and there would be no way for Syrdian to fly south, nor to survive the summer heat if hie stayed here. And… if Syrdian somehow survived… Qes didn’t want to be mated to a mutilated, low status, Syrdian.
    Qes dreaded hies return to the cave. When Syrdian didn’t return dalins would ask Qes if hie’d seen himr. Especially Syrdian’s parents. Qes ’d have to deny seeing Syrdian or they’d want himr to lead them to the meadow. Hie shrugged hies wings, crueler really , to take them to Syrdian and have them find himr with a mutilated wing. Then they’d all have to come to grips with Syrdian’s eventual death. No, better and kinder not to tell them what had happened. Let them think Syrdian had died immediately at the hands of a talor… or something else. Better by far than seeing himr alive and having to leave himr to hies death. Qes didn’t have to even admit to being with Syrdian when it happened.
    Hie shouldn’t return until nearly dark to eliminate the chance that they’d go out searching and find Syrdian by some unlucky chance. A flightless Syrdian couldn’t possibly be able to survive the night, thus sparing hies