T. A. Chase

On Love’s Wings

(I did it…lol)

On Love’s Wings copyright c. 2016 T.A. Chase

Part Twenty-Four-

“And you are?” Samles inquired, his tone suspicious.

Ari bristled and he wanted to say something about it not being the man’s business who Miataga was. But Miataga touched his back again and Ari took a deep breath.

“I’m Miataga. Ari and I are friends. We met in Sendler.” Miataga smiled at the elder. “It’s nice to meet Ari’s family and see the village he grew up in. He’s told me a lot about all the fun he used to have when he was younger.”

Ari coughed to cover up his chuckle. Miataga was good at lying, that was sure. There hadn’t been any stories about games he’d played with his siblings or friends. Not that Ari didn’t have fond memories of growing up. He’d enjoyed living in the village and playing amongst the trees in the forest. He’d had friends, though they’d grown apart since he left for the capitol.

Unfortunately, any good will he might have felt towards his parents had been eroded over the years. Ari cared about them still. He didn’t want to see them dead or ill. He simply didn’t want to spend any time with them.

Samles relaxed as though he believed Miataga and the tension in Ari’s shoulders eased. He wasn’t interested in arguing about why he didn’t come home more often. It wasn’t any of their business.

“What are the laws and how do we ensure we don’t get in trouble with the government because we haven’t been following them?” Caristal asked. “My daughter has mentioned having vivid dreams. They only started a few days ago.”

Ari motioned for them to sit. “Please, all of you find a place to sit and I’ll explain.”

His father huffed in annoyance, but took a chair close to the entrance. Ari wondered if it was so he could leave quickly in case someone got angry with him. Once they were all settled, Ari glanced over at Miataga. His lover smiled as he took a seat close to where Ari stood.

“All right.” Ari rubbed his hand over his head while he organized his thoughts. “When I first started having visions, I didn’t know what they were. I was frightened and worried. My parents told me to ignore them. That they would go away soon enough. I believed them, but the visions didn’t go away. They got stronger and it felt as though I was going to go crazy.”

He remembered those days when he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his brain. The visions of a giant bird wreathed in fire scared him. Then he kept getting scenes of a large city, which drove him to believe he needed to go to the capitol.

“I kept being drawn to Sendler and the bond birds I knew were kept there. Finally, I didn’t give them a choice. I told my parents I was going to the city to seek my destiny. Little did I know what was waiting for me there.” He smiled as he thought back on the first time he laid eyes on Vikex. “A flame colored bird with fire in his feathers. Our connection was so strong, it brought me from one side of the country and Vikex from the other.”

The elders nodded and he continued.

“If any of your children come and tell you that they have been having visions like mine, don’t ignore them. There are reasons why the dreams are plaguing them. Also, if they aren’t allowed to follow them, they could go insane. I’ve seen the results of such folly and it isn’t pretty.” He gestured to where Barke stood, plastered against the back wall as though he hoped no one would notice him and send him away.

“Barke has informed me he has had such visions and he’ll be returning to Sendler with me.” Ari met Caristal’s gaze. “If your daughter is experiencing the same thing, you’ll need to make sure she reaches the capitol. Or when I return, I can tell one of the officials in charge of gathering the new recruits about her and someone will come to retrieve her.”

Caristal didn’t look happy, but she nodded. “I’ll discuss it with my husband and my daughter. We’ll see what we can do to help her get there.”

Ari was pleased by her acceptance, even if it was reluctant.

“I’m glad you’re going to do that because it’s law that you have to send the people who have the dreams to the government. If not, you’ll be fined. The officials might decide to punish you further, considering you already had one child leave the village to bond with one of the birds. They could assume you should know better than to keep them hidden away.”

“But,” Samles started to protest.

Ari held up his hand to stop any more words. “I know now that you didn’t have any idea about this. My parents are to blame about keeping all the information away from you. How you deal with them is up to you. I want you to know though, if you send your children, you will be compensated. You’ll get money to cover whatever expense you have to pay out. If you have to hire farm hands to help plant—or harvest—the crops.”

The elders turned to eye his father who squirmed on his chair. Ari couldn’t help feeling a little happy at the thought his parents might get their comeuppance. They deserved it after treating their former friends and their own children as they had.

“Your children will be able to return for visits as soon as their training is over and they are granted leave. You aren’t going to lose them. Hell, by giving them their wings, you might discover how important you are to your children.” He paused then went on. “Just don’t treat their birds like you treat mine. Those birds will be bonded to them and it’s vital that they are together at all times.”

“What about you? Whenever you come, your bird goes off into the forest. Isn’t it bad for you to be apart?” One of the other elders spoke up.

Ari shook his head. “No. Our bond is strong enough, we don’t have to be close to communicate. Besides, unlike the regular bond birds, Vikex prefers solitude to being around a lot of people.”

Just like me.

Monday, April 11th, 2016, by and is filed under "Free story, On Love's Wings ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.