Page 52 of Serpents of the Night

Lori was jealous. Although Sara and her mate, Yuneril, had graciously given her the use of their old home since they had moved into a space that suited their needs better, she still spent much of our time around the couple. And the abundance of affection that they had for each other. Just being around them was a constant reminder of how much she was missing every day. Her mates were not as mild or gently spoken as the big hunter, possessing a sharp edge of males reared in the caverns, but they were good to her. And more importantly, they were hers alone. It tore into her heart being separated from them, and yet she felt as if being around Sara’s family was just carving the wounds deeper as she watched them lean into each other with affection and play with their two offspring.

If she had any sense of self-preservation, she would have kept to herself rather than be around them. Apparently, she was a glutton for pain.

Sighing inwardly, she forced a smile to her lips as she watched a youngling roughly six revolutions crawl eagerly up his father, his gavo raised and flicking excitedly as his younger sister by two revolutions followed after him, her chin jutting out with determination. Both offspring were as green as their father—there was no denying the parentage there, with slightly more human features to their faces and possessing shades of green that varied from Yuneril’s deep forest green hue.

The female, Sheeri, was a brilliant shade of light green and Lori sincerely hoped that neither parent had much hope for her being able to creep among the forests of the mountain with the same skill as her father. Meanwhile her brother was a sort of murky pea green that Yuneril confidently stated would darken up as little Veer matured.

Assuming that his sister did not murder him. Lori bit back a chuckle as Sheeri hissed threateningly at her brother when the tip of his tail accidentally poked and then slapped her face as he attempted to gain new leverage on their father to hoist himself into the big male’s wings. Her amusement quickly shifted and faded to be replaced by a stabbing pain in her chest when Yuneril suddenly laughed and dragged both nestlings into his broad arms, hugging them tightly against his chest despite the way they squirmed.

Hashal was like that often with his fathers, though it was often Daskh’s large arms that pinned him when he was squealing in a fit of discontent when he did not wish to sleep.

Sheeri scowled as she struggled out of her father’s arms, her more human brows knitting together with displeasure as she hissed at her laughing father and leapt away to glide the short distance to Lori’s lap. Sara shook her head at her daughter with amusement as she moved around the room. They had both given up on keeping the nestlings off her, but Lori didn’t mind. She happily picked up the warm little body, enjoying the silky heat of the webbed wings brushing against her as she hugged the nestling to her. Sheeri’s little hum of contentment vibrated through her, making her eyes prick with tears but she kept her smile firmly in place and blinked back the tears as the tip of Sheeri’s tail curled affectionately around her wrist.

She needed to get ahold of herself. She didn’t want anyone to feel bad. Yuneril was in a difficult position of wanting to help but also had little direct authority within the nara. And Sara had made her position abundantly clear. She couldn’t help Lori for the sake of their budding friendship without regard to the Seshanamitesh, with whom she now made her home. The more she pushed for their help to find her mates, the more she knew she was going to alienate them. So she remained silent while working hard every day to earn the trust of the people in Zirnara.

Sara smirked as she passed, a large bowl in her hand. “Look at you. You are already an old hand at this, and your nestling isn’t even born yet.”

“Hashal is only a bit bigger than them,” she admitted.

Sara’s head cocked, a curious expression flitting across her face. “Hashal? I thought that this was your first pregnancy.”

“Hashal was abandoned,” Lori clarified quietly. “My mates and I adopted him and have cared for him ever since. I’m sure he is with them now while they look for me.” A faint smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “They hate being separated from him too. None of us even considered leaving him at the colony when we were summoned to the shinara.”

Sara grimaced. “Several of the naras have taken in abandoned orphans that were found dying out on the sands by hunters. I think that they fly for the mountains hoping that they can find shelter among the rocks when they have no choice but to flee the cave systems. There are at least three major shinaras within different directions of Zir Mountain—the Aglatha being one—and it seems that every few years there are orphans in need of homes.”

“The shinaras have an inherently faulty system,” Yuneril supplied as lifted Veer by his tail and hung him upside down. The small male’s wings stretched and flapped, his little body jumping with his giggles as he twisted and swung in the air. “They may see the isolation of the hunters as necessary as their aggression increased when Seshana’s resources suddenly dwindled, but hunters, when not cared for by their people, can suffer short lifespans. If they are injured to where they cannot care for their nestlings, they may drive them out so that they have a better chance of survival.”

“And if they die, there is no one there to care for them at all,” Sara added grimly. “Your Hashal is more fortunate than most that he found you. It gave him a real chance at survival. You have no idea how many nestlings I’ve lost that simply were too far gone to save once we found them.”

“The desert is merciless,” Yuneril agreed. “I think the loss of the nestlings bears especially hard on Therxian as he was in a similar situation, though he was an older juvenile.” He sighed at length. “I have mentioned to Therxian that we need to raid the upper caverns and simply take any nestlings that we find, but he refuses to hear me.”

“And for good reason,” a familiar voice interrupted—a voice that she heard only once when she first surfaced from the fog after nearly dying.

Her head whipped around toward the doorway as a male of nearly the same indigo blue as Slengral entered. Were they somehow related? There was an uncanny similarity between them that she couldn’t dismiss, yet there was also enough difference to tell them apart in the structure of their faces and Therxian’s somewhat broader build. They both had the same razor-sharp facial features that were a bit more prominent than many other males she’d seen, and piercing eyes. At the moment, said eyes were directed at Yuneril so that the other male’s gavo twitched in embarrassment.

His gaze slowly shifted to settle on Lori and softened minutely. “I will not steal the nestlings of males who have done no wrong to deserve it while saying that it is for the better. If I did so I would be no better than the matriarchs who demand male nestlings be given up from their maternal nests for the haga.” He regarded her somberly. “You have seen the shinara and the upper caverns from what I understand. You should understand my point.”

Lori’s brows rose and she looked over at Sara, widening her eyes in a silent question. The other woman’s lips apologetically.

“I have been keeping Therxian updated,” she explained. “When you said that you were betrayed by those in the Aglatha, it was not something that I could keep from him. He is the head of the hunters,” she added in an offering of explanation.

“I don’t know what that means,” Lori replied stiffly and Therxian chuckled in response.

“You are not a female easily impressed. Good,” he rumbled, his wings fanning out in a manner that was far too flirtatious for Lori’s comfort.

“I have no need to be impressed,” she retorted. “I have found everything I need within my mates. And when they find me, they will not look kindly on anyone trying such tactics.”

She might have been a little too blunt judging by Sara’s quiet gasp, and even Yuneril was watching the exchange with wide eyes as he righted Veer and set him within his coils. Therxian, however, seemed to take no insult as he inclined his head politely, recognizing her rebuff for what it was and respecting it.

“You are accustomed to the shinara, the hidden naras as they are called, so it is natural that you do not understand the terms of the Vehal and the way our society is organized here. You might have noticed that the naras of the Vehal were quite different than the shinaras within the cave systems.”

Lori frowned but inclined her head in agreement which he seemed to understand without the hand gestures to mime the gavo since his gavo snapped in turn, apparently pleased that she had noticed the difference.

“It appears,” she said slowly, “that rather than singular large cities ruled by matriarchs with a queen matriarch established at their head, the naras are smaller like what humans would consider to be the size of small towns or villages, and more... self-sustained by their members dwelling within it.”

“Good. Yes, that is correct. You are familiar with the court of the noble matriarchs and the queen matriarch ruling over everything within the shinara... and yet their hunters are cast aside with the expectation to provide for their welfare without the protection, stability, or even basic comforts of living within the shinara. The only males within the shinara are mated males and nestlings, whereas the juveniles are confined to the haga for training are form most of the serving and laboring when needed—which you may have also seen.”

Images of juveniles winging across the shinara with dishana blooms immediately rose to Lori’s mind. “Yes,” she agreed. “I witnessed it during The Blooming.”

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