“I’ve waited a thousand years. He can wait an hour or two.”
Epilogue
Tas
Three Years Later
The wind swept away the last of the clouds, leaving behind a brilliant violet sky. Winter still held the mountain in its grip, but Tas did not feel the cold, nor did the youngling in his arms.
Keisel grabbed Tas’ ear and pulled himself over his father’s shoulder, determined to get to his wings. Tas waved his tail, catching the youngling’s attention.
“Are you sure about this?” HisHondassawore a thick wrap trimmed with soft white fur. She still felt the cold but not as keenly as she would without the benefit of hisdassa. Her hair caught in the breeze, the ends stained a berry blush that matched the rising pink in her cheeks.
Keisel grabbed his father’s tail, clutching it tightly in his grip. Happily, he shoved the tail tip and his fist into his mouth, slobbering over everything.
Tas did not mind the discomfort. He had dreamed about this moment, presenting his child to the skies for his first flight, that he would endure Keisel’s milk teeth chewing on his tail.
“We’ve been too long without flying,” Tas said. He had impatiently waited during the long winter’s unrelenting storms for a clear day. “My son and I need to stretch our wings.”
His son. Some days he expected to wake and find himself back in a Rose Syndicate cell, bitterly knowing that every moment from the last three years to be nothing more than a fevered dream. He did not understand how fortune favored such an unworthy male.
“Keisel doesn’t even have wings yet,” Juniper said.
“ThankLarfor that.” Khargal young were born with their tails. Horns sprouted in the first year and the wings grew in slowly, allowing for the musculature to develop. He could not imagine he chaos if infant and toddlers could fly.
Juniper leaned against him and brushed her hand over Keisel’s brows, no doubt feeling the bumps of his budding horns. His slate gray skin rippled into a beige where Juniper touched him, gurgling and cooing at his dame. Tas puffed up with pride that his son, only half a year old, could already utilize his camouflage ability. Keisel would be a powerful warrior when he was grown.
“It doesn’t bother you that I can’t join you?”
“Not at all,” he answered.
Everything about hisHondassa, his pebble was a gift. His fears about rejection from his family and Juniper’s ability to adapt to life on Duras had been baseless. His parents, Yilan and Aris, greeted Juniper with more enthusiasm than they expressed for the return of their missing son. Aris clasped his son on the shoulder, a nod of recognition, as if trying to maintain his dignity. Then his restraint broke and he gave his lost son a crushing hug. Yilan and Aris immediately swooped Juniper into an embrace, cooing at the gift of a daughter.
Not to say that his parents had given him a cold reception. The conditions surrounding their reunion were odd. Tas was now physically older than his parents and his siblings were still adolescents. Arin and Kala were closer to Chloe’s age than Tas’, and everyone accepted her as a younger sibling.
Chloe thrived on Duras. She attended a school that had many off-world students and excelled in her studies. She spent many hours in virtual games with Anic, often shouting and swearing at the tops of their lungs. Both adolescents assured the concerned adults that they were having ablast. The human tendency to equate explosions with enjoyment unnerved Tas, but he said nothing.
Tas retired from the military and received a generous pension for his trouble. Living in relative seclusion in his ancestral aerie suited him perfectly. He tried his best to avoid the media and any government official that wanted to parade him and the other survivors as war heroes.
He did not know what happened to Rhododendron. The last he heard, she had an adverse reaction to Khargal medication, was kept in an induced coma, and sent to a hospital. Where she was now, or even if she remained alive, he could not say and did not care to know.
“Don’t stay out too long. It’s cold,” Juniper said, wrapping the blanket around Keisel. He would work himself free in a moment and the blanket would be lost mid-flight, just as the others had been lost.
“Khargals do not mind the cold.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and let her fuss to her heart’s content.
“Just come back before the snow returns.”
“Understood.” Snow dusted the balcony. The break in the weather would not last long. “Kiss your dame farewell,” he said, holding out Keisel to Juniper.
Keisel dropped Tas’ tail and gave Juniper a slobbery kiss on the cheek.
Adjusting the squirming babe in his arms, Tas dove off the edge of the balcony. He fell for two heartbeats, one for him and one for his son, before his wings snapped opened and caught an updraft of warm air. Keisel cooed in delight and immediately stilled. He loved to fly as much as his father. One day, before Tas’ heart would be ready, Keisel would fly on his own. Until then, he’d take every opportunity possible to enjoy the peace of a perfect violet sky with the wonder of his fledgling.
In the dark years on Earth, he couldn’t imagine life beyond the bars of his cage. He dared not to hope, for anything, let alone finding acceptance and love with hisHondassaand building a family together.
His wings beat against the sky in powerful strokes, gaining altitude. He knew that no matter how high he flew, he’d always return to his pebble.
THE END
