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His brow furrowed as he returned his attention to the communication and media pad in his hand. The news broadcast from Rhapsody City ran on repeat showing headlining articles—and among those advertising for fertilizer or entertainment while at Mercurium Port, there were a number of headlining articles regarding demonstrations and protests over Earth’s announcement regarding their new trade relationship with the Geminidae. Although it was with Geminos specifically, it included their colony resources and a relationship with their representatives on Ganymede as well. Within minutes, the humans became aware that they were now competing with the lucrative Geminidae product grown and reared on Ganymede.
From there, word had apparently spread fast and caused an explosion of opinion among farmers and those in Rhapsody who believed that Earth services and goods would now be bypassed from the human colonies in favor of the Geminidae settlement. Panic, as it so often did, was catching like wildfire as financial corporations stationed at Mercurium Port reported dismal prospects that were to come and chain reaction of human business collapse in response all over Ganymede. Another article showed a delegate from Earth commending how exceptionally suited Geminidae were to developing Ganymede. A click of his claw on the image opened the article and the delegate continued to say how, in his opinion, it was better to leave Ganymede to them and trade directly with a more profitable exchange with Geminidae who didn’t require so many subsidies and specialized in order to survive the harsh climate.
Brydis made a tiny sound of disbelief in the back of his throat. It was unbelievable. It was just as Jill had feared. He had possessed a few doubts when he communicated her concern to Zherist along with their thoughts on how to curb the potential issue, but now he was seeing what she predicted in action, and it sent a prickle of concern up his neck. Everything was now snowballing out of control. To add to his frustration, he still had not received any word from Zherist since they first spoke. He hoped it was because he was expending his time and attention on trying to resolve this matter since he had possessed some forewarning of the likelihood and not because the male was thinking of the best way to take his rookery by surprise so to isolate and examine Jill without their agreement.
He didn’t want to believe that Zherist would approve something so foul as he had always believed the male to be fair despite how stern his mannerism was. It was more likely he was working at orchestrating something that would settle the issue with the humans in a way that wouldn’t alarm their people and, in fact, give them hope. Still, a Geminidos’ natural suspicion was a difficult thing to ignore. It was that instinct that drove Brydis to curl his tail protectively around his mate and his tail feathers fanned out into a barrier as he allowed himself the small comfort of minimally shielding his mate. He didn’t entirely trust that no one would make any attempt on them at all, which was why he was entirely comfortable in following Zherist’s sole order to keep Jill safely within their rookery until all potential concerns were addressed and resolved.
As he did not enjoy any thought in which their mate was in any potential danger, he was in full agreement with Zherist’s orders though he knew that Jill chafed against their refusal to take her to any of the farms and settlements when they were required to do so. What normally would have been a good opportunity for an avrhastal to get out of their home was instead done mostly by Brydis due to his more even patience with negotiations while Agor remained home on guard. They would all be relieved when this was finished.
Jill glanced over at his tail from where she was reclined and then up at him, her brow furrowing. “Is something wrong? Have you received news from the High Rookery?”
He shook his head but drew a breath in preparation of doing something he really didn’t want to do. “No, but I think you need to see this.”
Giving him a curious look as she took the pad he handed over to her, Jill’s eyes dropped to its surface and widened as she skimmed her fingers over it.
“How? How did this happen already?” she murmured aghast.
He shrugged his wings, at a loss of how he could possibly even begin making it right for her.
“Earth made the announcement just this morning,” he pointed out quietly. “Apparently that was exactly the fuel that was needed to trigger a frenzy among the human population here.” He sighed, tipping his head toward the screen. “People are terrified. That appears to be the central theme of what’s happening.”
“Of course they would be,” she agreed, her fingers tightening on the pad until color bleached from her knuckles. “We were all sold the dream of the great opportunity that we would have in coming here. And how it was worth the long term effects of the lesser gravity here upon our bodies. Every one of us who came here understood this to be our one and only opportunity… our last chance to do more than barely survive. This,” she waved a hand where the clip of the delegate smiled smugly and raised his hand in greeting, “would be devastating for everyone who came here. Even the people who work in the city who depend on the income of the corporations and farmers unions to keep trade going between us and Earth through Mercurium Port. This is seen as a travesty.”
He made a quiet sound of distress at his mate’s unhappiness and stared at the next clip with her that ran an image of a protest at the ship docks. His people were going to have to realize that isolating themselves would not help now. Despite how good they were at taking care of themselves, they still often went into the port to deliver goods to the marketer, and many sought out entertainment there as well.
“What’s a travesty?” Agor interrupted as he entered and violently beat a bit of mountain spring snow from his wings with a few furious slaps.
Jill’s face lit up at the sight of his twin as she handed the pad back to Brydis. “Agor! You’re back! How did it go? Did everyone show all the proper appreciation for Waylo?”
“They did!” he agreed, his smile widening with his obvious joy. “I took Zira with me as well and they did so well that I have an order for a pair of pups once they are fully trained. It’s almost a shame that I didn’t have Duke there with me so they could see what a human touch could do.”
Approaching the side of the nest, a grin split his face at the sight of the pup rolling along the cushions and bedding. “By the way, great job with the kennels, talia. The pups are looking great. We may have another litter in a few cycles with the way Waylo has taken advantage of your superior kennel-keeping and has begun courting Bidani as she nears her breeding time. Kennel keeping is an art to get grifalc to breed and you seem to have a knack for it,” he added.
That was very high praise indeed considering his twin’s picky standards. Brydis smiled at their mate with pride. He had little doubt that she would have just as much of a reputation when it came to their kennels as Agor within time.
Brydis cleared his throat meaningfully, drawing his twin’s attention to him. Despite how much he wished to relish their success, the unfolding events could not wait. “This is the travesty. Take a look,” he instructed as he gently took the pad from Jill and handed it to Agor.
Leaning down to run his claws lightly over Duke’s belly, Agor glanced at it with a raised eyebrow as he accepted it. His expression of curiosity quickly tightened to anger as he peered down at the running articles.
“That explains the wariness with which they treated me when I mentioned that we have a human mate.” He shook his head in disgust. “We will both continue trying to raise Zherist through the communication system. In the meantime, Jill will continue to remain here, safely apart from most other Geminidae. With humans behaving this way, our people will only be more mistrustful of humans. This must end.”
“Agreed,” Brydis agreed, his own ferocity rising to meet Agor’s.
Although he was certain they could trust their division due to their interdependence on each other, he refused to trust any other Geminidae within the vicinity of their territory. He would not see her harmed. He would tear down any obstacle or threat to her from his people. His love for her did that. It could easily turn him into a monster for the sake of keeping her safe and at his side.
He drew in a shuddering breath in recognition of the feeling within him. Love. Somewhere and somehow, he’d fallen in love with her. He’d suspected Agor to have been in love with her for some time, but Brydis was slower to give his hearts to anyone, all too aware of how easily one could destroy them through it. Seeing how adaptable and giving Jill was and the loving care with which she dealt with the grifalc and showered on them as well… all that had slowly worked upon his hearts.
Their taliazon swelled with his love, becoming bigger as it curled around them, linking them together all the more profoundly. At the same time, it flickered and snapped with their mingling aggression, the flames fanning higher with their mingling passion.
If Zherist didn’t do something soon, he would personally wing his way to the High Rookery and knock down whatever barriers he had to in order to get a meeting with Zherist to settle things once and for all. He would tolerate no potential threat to his mate.
Chapter31
It didn’t feel much warmer to Jill but the subtle shift in the season since the heavier spring rains and its impact on their lives made itself known as she watched Agor prepare to leave the rookery and their mountainside for the first time since her arrival. They’d fallen into a comfortable rhythm over the last several weeks. There seemed to be an idyllic quality to their days together but she couldn’t help but worry that it would be cut short and stolen away from her. Brydis, sensitive to her worry, stood behind her and enclosed her in his wings—working around Duke as he wrestled around their feet with a knotted scrap toy that she made for him—as her gaze helplessly followed Agor while he prepared for departure.
“Are you sure that you need to go?” she asked.
His gaze shifted to her and softened as he drew closer for a moment to brush his knuckles along her jaw. “Yes. Those rookeries that share the same division of territory always help each other with the sheering of the valkeli. Even when we lived on Gawallen and had our extended families available, we still depended on our neighbors within our division for aid in this, among other things, including protecting each other. The mountain is large, and we are each other’s support system. And with sheering, it’s just too much work for just a few hands. With our decreased numbers in our extended families upon coming to Ganymede, this has become even more important.”
