Page 31 of Scarred

“Understood.”

The two walked in silence for a while. Even Mike and Sam were calm and quiet in their perches. Eventually, Amma spoke up. “Can you point out the vegetation we can eat? More plants like the spicy leaf?”

“Most vegetation is safe to eat if harvested in the right way. If we come across any that are dangerous to harvest, I will show you how to safely eat them.”

“Now, that’s interesting.”

“What?” Suni glanced over to see she was staring at the path they walked.

“This path. If I had just walked a little further, I would have found it. I wouldn’t have sat around in that cave for over a week.” She was cute when she was frustrated.

“This is a hunters’ path. It has been in use since before I was calved. It curves back around to my village, which means we will be leaving it soon to forge our own.”

“No rush. I’m not looking forward to carving out a new path. I did enough running through the forest to last a lifetime.”

“I will be the one carving out the path. You will not have to strain yourself.” Suni ducked under a low hanging branch.

“You know, I take back that wish that I had found this trail earlier. I would have never met you, and that wouldn’t have been a good thing.”

Suni felt a little more of his heart slip into her small hands. His brother had talked about how he had fallen for Mia the second he saw her, and now Suni understood. There was something about the small human woman that made his protective instincts kick into high gear. He wanted to turn around, go back to his home where she would be safe. Maybe he could convince her to allow him to search for her family without putting herself into danger. He quickly threw that idea away. He was the eldest brother and understood the responsibility of taking care of siblings. He couldn’t ask her to do something he wouldn’t do.

“Hold.” Suni held his arm out to stop Amma from interrupting one of the most beautiful events on the planet. “Kneel and hold still.”

“What is it?” Amma whispered.

Suni smiled. “You will see. Just look up.” He watched her face and knew the exact moment the lunkers started to emerge from their cocoons. They were large larvae that spun cocoons and emerged with beautiful, colorful wings that glowed in the dark. They only lived a few months but, in that time, they helped pollinate the forest. Back in his village, his family and others would be waiting for them to emerge, and a celebration would follow. They were a sign the forest would continue to be plentiful. The mated couples would retire to their homes to celebrate in a more intimate manner and a solar later the welcoming cries of calves would fill the air.

“Oh, they are beautiful,” Amma breathed. “I saw one of them before and he was gorgeous. I never thought he would emerge to be breathtaking.”

“They are called lunkers. The males have the brighter, more vivid colors and the females, while muted, are just as pretty,” Suni whispered. “Watch them. This is when they find their mate. Once together, they will leave to live, mate, and die.”

“They mate for life?” Amma asked.

“For their short life, yes.” Suni answered. While Amma watched the lunkers, he watched her. He found beauty in the way that she was so open with her emotions. He couldn’t wait to show her more of his world. Hopefully she would fall in love with him along the way.

Chapter 12

Amma

She couldn’t take her eyes off the emerging alien butterflies. They were much larger than those on Earth, almost the size of a crow, and they had the faces of bats, but they were beautiful. They were joyous in their freedom, and many tiny minds beat at hers as they fluttered around. She smiled as the males started singing a chorus to entice the females while flying in patterns that showed off their markings.

“The songs are so soulful, they make me want to cry,” Amma whispered, afraid to startle the creatures. “So beautiful.”

“When we get to my home, you will see a dance we call mukula. It is patterned after the dance lurker males perform for their mates,” Suni whispered back. “It is one we do before a big battle to strengthen our connection to each other and to ask for the blessings of the gods. We also perform it when a new warrior is welcomed into our ranks.”

“Gar and Rown are going to be welcomed next, right?” she asked without taking her eyes off the events unfolding in front of her.

“Yes they will. They will wait until we return, since I am one of the more senior warriors.”

“I know it will be just as spectacular as this.” Amma smiled when one of the females landed on the back of a much larger male. “Look, I think she found her mate. He’s a pretty choice.”

“No, he just passed the first test,” Suni said. “Now the male has to prove he can feed and protect the female. For the next few hours, he will have to fight any male who tries to win her from him, while making sure she is not hurt. After that, he will feed her until she is ready to mate. Then they will find a place to nest.”

“Wow. At first, they reminded me of an animal from my world we call butterfly, but now not so much. “Can you hear their singing?”

“Yes. If you listen closely, you can hear a deep bass. It is the sound of the heart as it keeps the body moving. It’s a signal to all who can hear it that the forest is safe.”

“I love this.” Amma couldn’t remember the last time she had seen something so monumental. It was the cycle of life, and she was looking at the starting point. One of the lunkers broke away from the group and landed on her outstretched hand. His wings were a vibrant blue with red veins converging into a body of shimmering gold. It was sad to think that if these beautiful creatures lived on Earth, they would be hunted to extinction within years of being found. She looked down at the lunker. “You’re beautiful.”

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