In the Skies Above Us

Chapter Four

            I laughed, the sound beautiful and rare in my own ears. The human girls I was sitting with covered their giggles with their hands, falling over each other. Andi, a pretty brunette with little wisps of hair falling out of her intricate bun, squealed, sitting up and flapping her hands erratically, as if to take flight. This started another round of laughter, overlapping the last, until she gestured excitedly behind me. "He's coming over!"
           The other girls twisted around to see. We were all five crowded around on the three small, red couches that were arranged in a circle around a round, mahogany table. I smiled at the girls, who were blushing and giggling.
           I turned for the first time to look at the guy they had been watching. My amber gaze was met by the cinnamon eyes of a young man. He strode toward us with easy confidence. His skin was a deep mahogany, smooth and flawless under toned muscles. He wore deep blue denim pants, and a plain, casual t-shirt.
           I shivered, an instinct I didn't quite understand, and continued to stare steadily into his eyes until the reason for my fear became clear. Crowned Eagle.
           My immediate instinct was to spread wing and take flight. I felt my skin prickle as  feathers began to spread over my body, but I resisted it. I couldn't shift here. Besides, I would never out-fly this powerful bird. He reached us, his eyes sweeping over the other girls with a flirtatious smile, before landing deliberately on me.
           He smiled at me and extended a hand. "Come sit with me?" He asked with a thick accent. I glanced over at the others, who were fighting excited giggles. "Sure," I answered nonchalantly. I stood without taking his hand and shot the girls a fleeting look as we moved away from them. "I'm Ava," i told him.
           "That's a beautiful name," he complimented. "I am Ahren," he said. Then, wryly, he added "it means Eagle."
           I laughed once without humor. The Crowned Eagles thrived on war. They killed mercilessly. They were powerful, intimidating, and meticulous hunters. Even more than that, they had an insatiable thirst for blood.
           The Crown Skies expanded over most of Africa, a large territory they kept easily with no threat of competition. On a continent constantly ravaged with war and disease, it was hard to imagine a Crowned Eagle with any less than a violent mindset.
           I sat across from him carefully. "To what does my Murder owe this honor?" I asked. He laughed bitterly.  "Do not pretend you do not know." I stared at him steadily until he sighed. "You are trying to end your war with the Ravens?" He clarified. I nodded. "Yes. That is what we intend to do. We want peace."
           Ahren tilted his head down in a very bird-like manner, his fingernails clutching the arms of the chair he was sitting in, as if his habit was to perch. "Hapana!" He spat in Swahili. I started. "You have no authority to deny us peace." I said tensely. "No?" He asked curtly, raising an eyebrow incredulously. "No," I answered.
          "You'll tell your Crows to halt the peace talks, or we will be forced to declare our own war on your Murder," he threatened. My eyes widened. "What will you do?" I asked, disbelieving. "Fly the Crowned Eagles across the ocean? The humans will undoubtedly take notice."
           "Humans are ignorant. They rarely look up. We will be nothing more than a brief thought to them." He said.
             I laughed at him. "You are ignorant! Humans notice more than you know. When have you last looked down on them? Because i assure you, if you ever did, you would find some of them glaring up against the sun to see you."
           I leaned forward, suddenly very irritated. "You leave the world living in fear,"  I began. He smirked, but i wasn't finished. "And for what? I'm not sure even you know. You're ignorant, pompous, filthy murderers. If you think I am going back to my Murder with your ultimatums, you're entirely mistaken."
            It was rare to escape an encounter with a Crowned Eagle alive, and insulting one only lessened your chances. Ahren's eyes flashed with anger, while my own flitted across the room, where others were clustered up in groups, talking and dancing. His gaze followed mine, observing the same thing.
            Hoping this would deter him from attempting to harm me, I stood, intending to leave him there. Ahren's hand clamped around my arm, tightly enough to bruise, and threw me back, roughly. I gasped as my back hit the wall, and braced myself, feeling my skin prickle in preparation to shift form for the second time in only minutes.
            "Insolent child!" he spat at me. His hands wrapped around my throat, strangling me. I whimpered, unsure how to defend myself in this body. Before I was forced to learn, Ahren was dragged back, releasing my throat and leaving me gasping for breath.
           The human boy was still holding Ahren by the collar of his shirt when he spoke, his voice intense. "What am I interrupting here?" He asked. Ahren shook himself free of the boy's grip. With a scathing glance at me, he spoke, his voice like ice.  "Nothing that can't wait," he said coolly. Then he backed away a few steps, turned, and  walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
           "Are you alright?" He asked. "Yes," I lied. "Thank you." He nodded and began to turn away, but abruptly turned back. "Would you mind if I accompany you tonight? I have a feeling we're not completely out of the woods yet." I smiled reluctantly and nodded in acquiescence.
            These were actually my woods to get out of, but fear kept me from refusing. "I'm Riley. What about you?" He asked. "Ava," I told him. He smiled. "Ava? Doesn't that mean bird?" He asked. I grinned and danced around him in a flitting manner. "Of course," I answered. "And before you ask, yes, I can fly." He grinned, thinking it a joke. With a mischievous smile, he caught my hand, spinning me in a circle.
            "I believe you," he said teasingly. "But can you dance?"