Page 18 of The Wish

Thirteen

Gehj dropped from the sky, landing in front of the large storage building some distance outside the village walls. Although the building itself was nearly a ruin, the true purpose of his presence rested just before him, barely visible between the doors hanging at odd angles from their hinges. He pushed between them, a trill of excitement vibrating within him. This was exactly what they needed! A massive box frame with four wheels… it was perfect! He circled around it, examining it for any damage. Luckily, it seemed to have escaped the sort of damage from the woods that was overcoming the storage building itself. It was clearly made to be pulled by some manner of beast, but that was unimportant. He could pull it easily with Agrel’s help.

His ears pricked, and his crests rose slightly at the sound of impact just outside the door. Footsteps followed and Gehj’s mouth parted instinctively to draw in the scent of the person outside the door. Naturally, he knew who it was as there was only his ahaku and himself scouting outside the village. And who else would just casually drop from the sky?

“Gehj, are you in here?” his ahaku called, as if summoned by his thoughts. “I could have sworn that I saw you land near here.”

“Yes, I am here,” Gehj replied as he circled back around the box to greet him. “I thought I saw something of interest when we initially passed this way and so came back to investigate.” He gestured toward the wheeled box. “It seems that it was fruitful.”

Agrel stepped closer, his head cocking one way and then the other as he studied it curiously. “It does not look like anything an Atlavan would have… but then it is not well suited for moving within the mountains.”

“It just needs to get our females and all of their belongings over land,” Gehj reminded him. “For that, at least, it is well suited. We could even fit one of the mattresses across the back to provide a place to sleep for us.”

His ahaku nodded. “There will not be any shade from the sun, though. With the way Delilah and Lily are covered, I believe they must burn far easier in the sun.”

That was true. Gehj studied it thoughtfully. “We can cut and bend some branches and lash them to the sides, and tie down a couple large hides to it. It may get a little hot, though,” He scratched his neck. “I do not believe we should have any problem pulling it. What do you think?”

“Let us find out!” Agrel grinned with excitement, his wings flicking and tail bobbing and fanning almost playfully as he approached the box.

Tucking one of the long poles beneath his arm, he waited patiently, his crests and tailfeathers dancing ridiculously until Gehj had the other one.

Adjusting his grip on his own pole, Gehj studied his ahaku and shook his head. “You just cannot help yourself. We are no longer juveniles.”

“We are not elders either,” Agrel replied. “There is no reason not to make things fun. Lily at least appreciates that.”

“Lily has only seen ten summers,” Gehj reminded him flatly as he made an effort to control his urge to smile at his ahaku’s silliness.

“But she still possesses great discernment. Besides, Delilah likes it, too.”

“Of course, she is accustomed to bestowing affection on fledglings,” he teased, but Agrel did not puff up with insult as he so often did in the past. Instead, he smirked, completely unruffled by the comment.

“She was not giving me the affection she would give a fledgling when I was making her scream last night!” A taunting smile crossed Agrel’s face, but Gehj just shook his head, the corners of his mouth curling with amusement.

“Of course not. We were both there, and I was leading.”

An amused snort of disgust escaped the other male, his eyes glittering with laughter as he rocked back on his heels to regard him. “Are you saying that I am lacking when it comes to pleasing our mate?”

“Not at all,” Gehj replied. “I am just saying that you need me.”

Agrel grinned back, not the least bit ruffled. “Fair. But then you need me as well. We balance each other well. We both know this. I keep you from just retreating into the shadows of a life fixated on duty, whereas, for me, knowing that you are sensible enough for both of us allows me to enjoy amusing myself.”

Gehj snorted and rolled his eyes with silent laughter. That was a fair assessment. He likely would easily become an obscure and half-forgotten member of their clan, with nothing in his life except the next duty handed to him if it weren’t for Agrel. In retrospect, he could not imagine any other as his ahaku. The male managed to repeatedly drag him out into the world since they became ahaku, and he could not thank him enough for it. Certainly not now, and the male would not likely let him forgetit. He might have never even met Delilah if he had insisted that they stay on route when Agrel got the foolish notion of exploring the woods a bit for supplies. That “inadvisable” impulse was their greatest blessing.

“Come on. Help me pull this into the village,” he replied around his quiet laughter. “Delilah should be pleased to see it if it does not come apart in the process.”

Agrel grinned good-naturedly as they adjusted their respective grips on the poles and pulled. At first the wagon resisted, perhaps due to it sitting for so long, but eventually the wheels began to turn, and the box rolled with them. It moved in a jarring fashion, but it was at least something. Gehj just had to ignore the terrible smell rising from the wood as well. Such things were expected, even if it was unpleasant.

Working together, they pulled the box through the village’s gates and down the road. It was not difficult beyond the tedium of striking a synchronized pace with Agrel. As they had often flown together in tight formation in their youth, it came back to them quickly enough and Gehj felt his spirits lift the closer they came to their destination. He could not wait to see the expression on her face—the happiness that would come with knowing that she would be able to travel with some comforts. The moment Delilah’s dwelling came into view; however, he suffered a momentary pang of doubt. The box was rickety. Even with the two of them pulling together, it did not roll smoothly. The wood was rough and unpleasant… and then there was the smell. He drew in a breath of the air and immediately gagged. The smell wafting up from the wagon was intolerable and seemed to be getting worse, drawing his attention more acutely to it. He gagged and wretched, drawing his ahaku’s curious gaze.

“What are you doing?” Agrel whispered.

Gehj shook his head, his crests flaring and flattening in distress as he tried not to hurl. She was going to be disgustedwith it, and with them for even thinking about showing up with it at her door, much less expecting her to travel in something that smelled so foul.

“Do you not smell that?” he hissed at the other male and immediately gagged again.

Agrel sniffed the air and shook his head, his crests lifting very slightly as his expression grew more curious. “It smells the same as it did before. Why is it bothering you now?”

“Impossible,” Gehj countered with shock. He came to a complete stop and dropped his pole, forcing his ahaku to lower his as well. “We have to turn back and rethink this.”