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“We can watch entertainment programs,” Brydis suggested as the edge of one wing buffed her cheek.
Her brow furrowed slightly. In the middle of the day? “Don’t you usually have a list of things to get done?”
His wings unfurled around her and shrugged. “It can wait. Right now, I believe we need each other. The rookery will not fall down around our ears in a matter of a day or two. We can afford to take some time to find comfort.” He drew in a shaky breath and shook his head. “Truthfully, I had always downplayed this part of mating and the effects of a separated avrhastal. We were warned of the strain and discomforting feeling of loss, but I had assumed it to be an exaggeration until we were separated from you. That was bad enough, but with our mating, the repercussions feel even worse. It would do us good to take comfort in each other and feed the bond that way and hope that Agor receives some of it through the taliazon despite his distance away that he might take comfort from it too as he assists the neighbors.”
She shivered, unable to imagine how much harder it was for Agor as he left them behind. He rarely left their territory, keeping within comfortable reach of the taliazon, and when Brydis went to the human farms, it was always a short trip with the knowledge that he would be returning soon. Agor was leaving with the knowledge that he was flying to different parts of their mountain that they shared with the rest of their territory divisions and had no one to draw comfort from. Her heart hurt for him.
“Come on,” Brydis whispered, drawing her away from the door. “Worrying about it won’t do him any good. Let me help distract you.”
Nodding, she allowed him to pull her away despite the distance of her thoughts that remained with Agor as he flew farther and farther away.
Chapter32
Brydis held their mate in his arms, his wings closed carefully around her. Jill slept fitfully without Agor in the nest with them, and he had to admit that he slept no better. Although Agor commed at the end of each day to give them a status report, his absence was keenly felt by both of them. It didn’t help that his twin was looking thin and tired, the separation wearing hard on him, although he never lost his smile whenever he commed them.
Jill sighed and snuggled closer into him. “You’re awake early. Did you sleep at all?”
“Some,” he whispered. “Enough.”
She opened a bleary eye and glared up at him. “Liar,” she huffed as she stretched against him, her body rubbing against his in all the right ways. “Have you spoken to him this morning?”
He shook his head. Last night, Agor had told him that he was finishing at the final farm and would be returning with no less than ten males accompanying him to the mountain, but he hadn’t indicated when he would be returning or how far away he was.
“I don’t think he will be comming if he intends to return today,” he replied as he gently stroked her back and savored the way she leaned into his touch. “He will likely just wish to surprise us.”
“In that case, I’ve decided that I hate surprises,” she grumbled, and he chuckled in agreement.
“Then again, it could just be because he was departing at a very early hour and didn’t want to disturb us,” Brydis suggested, his eyes following his mate and looking his fill as she wiggled out of his embrace and crawled out of the nest.
“That’s true,” she murmured in acknowledgment. “I wonder if he’s flying back ahead or if they will all be traveling in a flyer.”
“In the flyer, I suspect. It is the easiest way for everyone to travel comfortably together.”
Her round ass pointed in his direction as she climbed out, enticing him to follow her as his cock twitched with interest. He didn’t, of course. He got too much enjoyment from watching her climb out of the nest and walk around their room with her lovely tits and ass swaying with every step. The way his cock reacted to it was an enjoyable bonus, though the consistent presence of lust lurking just below the surface while in Jill’s presence had taken some getting used to. Recognizing that it didn’t always have to be acted on but was a pleasant tingle that reminded him of their bond without raging with the constant need to be fulfilled actually made it comforting and enjoyable all at once. Perhaps not as enjoyable as rutting, but it hummed beneath his skin like a soft fizzle of recognition between mates.
That fizzle, however, muted when he noticed that she was pulling on her heavy clothes. He sat up in bed, his gaze following her alertly.
“What are you doing?”
She raised her eyebrow as she tugged on her wool pants. “I’m just going to go out and take a peek.”
“What?” He shot up, his wings snapping wide and flapping as he struggled out of the blanket wrapped around him and to his feet as she continued to obliviously get dressed. “Wait, you can’t go out there by yourself.”
Her brows furrowed as she gave him a confused smile. “What are you talking about? I’ve gone out there plenty on my own. I’m not even leaving the rookery. Just a quick peek before I start breakfast and then on to the kennels.”
He shook his head uneasily. “I know this logically, but I don’t like the idea of you being exposed without Agor here. Although I’m of the warrior class too, and would gladly defend you, I am not as comfortable as Agor with your wandering alone and I have much that I need to see to that prevents me from accompanying you around today. If an opportunistic male saw you while I was unaware…” his voice dropped off, not wanting to voice the sort of speculations that were floating around regarding Geminidae taking humans. “In any case, it might not be a good idea for you to be out there when the flyer comes into view. Just to be safe.”
She peered at him and shrugged. “All right. If it makes you that uncomfortable, perhaps we can just step out there.” She gestured to the doors leading outside to the perch attached to their private quarters.
He reluctantly nodded. If Agor were to arrive suddenly, Brydis had no doubt that his twin would arrive from there in his eagerness to be with their mate. Their personal perch was more secluded than most of the others in the rookery. It should be safe enough, and he could step out with her briefly so that they could satisfy their curiosity.
“Wait for me,” he instructed as he stepped from the nest and grabbed his clothing.
Jill shifted her weight from foot to foot anxiously but didn’t move from where she stood as he quickly dressed. Instead, when her gaze wasn’t focused on him, she was glancing distractedly toward the doors leading out to the perch. He secured his clothing at his hip, tucking the end of the fabric in place before securing it with a belt. Strapping on a light, intricately embroidered vest across his chest, one a shade of red that Jill had admired and told him complemented his feathers so perfectly that he always wanted to wear it for her, he offered his hand and smiled when she took it.
Together, they walked out through the doors and onto the perch. As it was a ledge several feet wide, Brydis kept a wing curled around her just in case since there was nothing to keep her from falling if she got too close to the edge. Jill gasped at the view, and he smiled at the wonder in that sound. Faint sunlight was visible encroaching from the opposite end of the sky but much of their view was shrouded in darkness, brightened only by the glimmer of endless stars and the dark swoop of the mountain shadows that were growing increasingly more visible as the sun rose.
“Why haven’t we ever come out here before? The view is incredible.”
