The Roselands

Chapter 4

   The shock of having this said to me made me almost lose balance. Thyte laughed and caught me with his wing, heaving me upright. "Come on then. It's been over eighteen years since I saw the inside of your house."

   Mother smiled and blushed at the same time, looking away from Thyte as he winked at her. I shuddered, understanding what he meant. Mother led the way back and I brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for people who might see Thyte. For a man so large and with such large bird wings, he never snagged on branches or got caught on bushes. He kept his wings bent at a certain angle so that the tips didn't brush the ground and the tops didn't hit the trees. If he passed a tree or bush too close to his wing, it would move back and once they were past the obstacle, it would set itself in the right place. I understood that it was like a normal person with arms, but it just seemed strange.

   We soon arrived back at the house and Thyte slipped into the door as if he'd been doing it all his life. Both his wings pulled back so they were straight in line with his back, then he tilted them towards his head, keeping the tops down and tips off the floor. He gave them a hearty shake before going inside so he wouldn't drip on the floor. He turned and laughed as I came in, dripping all the water he'd shook off. "Sorry, son. Didn't mean it."

   It was special to hear him call me the word son. Like I meant something to him. Fay went over to the kitchen and brought over the rest of the roast beef. "This is all that's left. Zeek adopted your appetite."

   Thyte nodded and then glanced at me. "Zeek. A fine name. I see you were listening when I was discussing names."

   Fay giggled and looked away. "You seemed very fond of it."

   "Yes. It was the name of my great grandfather. I always wanted to name my son that, but I never got the chance."

   It sounded like a very tender family moment, but a thought flew into my head so hard it almost started hurting again. "Wait. If all Zytreys are men, how do you have kids?"

   Thyte gave a deep chuckle and shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Never take note of stories that come from the mouths of cowardly fools. Zytrey females are rare to see and that's because they don't travel. Human females start a menstrual cycle, but Zytrey females are different. They do the same thing, but around that time, they begin to prefer staying in the nest more often, fixing deformities in the walls and improving the quality. The muscles in their wings begin to shrink and eventually, they can't fly anymore. Even in a life or death situation."

   I glanced at him and shrugged. "So Zytrey women are drudges?"

   "Zeek!" My mother snapped at me, but Thyte held up a hand as he tried to stop laughing.

   "No. They enjoy staying still. A Zytrey female may never leave her marriage nest, but be totally happy. Speaking of which, most Zytreys get married by the time they're fifteen. Then they move into a marriage nest, or the nest a male builds for the female and their children. I was twenty one when I met your mother and she was seventeen. I had never married because my father had been born with a defect which caused his wings to be lame. He couldn't fly and so I hunted and got food for the family. He recently passed away a couple years ago and now my younger brother hunts for the family still in the nest."

   We went into the living room and sat down and, once again, Thyte amazed me with the control he had over his wings. When he sat down, he made sure to sit in a chair so his wings could be placed over the arms and dangle on the floor. He settled back and gave a pleased hum in his throat. "Ahh. Comfy as always. I was always fond of this chair."

   "So, Zytreys live in nests? Like bird nests?"

   He shook his head. "Not exactly. They're more like bird houses that people stick in their yards. We build a main structure and then line the insides with materials we find comfortable and soft. Why? Do you do something similar?"

   I nodded and stood, leading him upstairs to my room where my nest was. It covered ninety percent of the floor. Mother had sold my bed when I started doing this and now I simply slept on the floor. I went over and sat cross legged in the center. He nodded and studied how I had bowled out the center so I was surrounded by walls of blankets and quilts. "Very good. If you were pure Zytrey, a female would probably pick you because of your nest building habits. This is almost perfect."

   Fay stood off to the side and smiled at us. "I'm gonna go and fix some more food for you, Thyte. You're probably very hungry."

   He nodded at her politely. "Thank you darling. I'll just be telling Zeek about Zytrey way of life."

   A pleased smile crossed her face and she leaned against the door jamb. "You know, I love this. I've always wanted you two to meet each other, but it was my never ending paranoia that kept you apart. It makes me feel good to see my two favorite boys having fun."

   With that, she walked downstairs, leaving us alone. Thyte smiled at me and sat down in the nest beside me. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

   "Whew! Where do I begin? Okay, I'll start with…do Zytreys live in a village or in individual homes scattered around the Roselands?"

   "We live in large villages scattered across the Roselands and we live predominately in the tree tops, but one village is on the ground." Thyte fluffed his wings out behind him like a blanket and then suddenly he winced and grabbed the top of one, nursing it as though he'd gotten a cramp.

   I paused and looked around, not sure what I should do. "Umm…what's wrong?"

   He shook his head and stretched out the wing, touching the wall behind him when it was fully extended. "It's just an old complaint that acts up every now and then. Now, next question."

   I was about to ask him my next burning question when we both heard mother scream from downstairs.