Umber stood close to the door of Jade Mountain. His sister, Sora, was next to him. "Should I tell them?" Sora fretted, her talons scratching nervously along the ground. "He told us to go." Umber replied, and Sora gave him a curious look, but he didn't see it.
Umber had never been familiar with crushes. He knew Pheasant had loved someone once, but that wasn't the way MudWings were supposed to live. Pheasant said it was stupid, to be over the moons about someone who had a 1 in 100 chance of liking you back, and then tearing yourself up because they weren't the one. "He's so STUPIDLY cute." He remembered her saying. "He hates me, and I wish I could just hate HIM too."
Umber didn't like girls. He didn't know why he was this way, as his siblings were straight as rulers, but he didn't hate this. Maybe it was because he knew he would have to mate with females to repopulate the tribe, and the idea had always repulsed him. Maybe it was because when Pheasant had a crush, she talked nonstop about him, that he was this way.
And for whatever reason, he had set his sights on Qibli.
It was common knowledge that Qibli liked Moon. When they first walked into the cave to meet the winglet, it was obvious. The way he stared at her like she was all that mattered.
Was it bad that Umber wanted Qibli to look at him that way?
His flood of emotions was cut off as the sun hit the horizon, and a wave of oranges and blues and purples and pinks. It was amazing. Just like–
Umber proceeded to slap himself in the face. Shut up Umber. Sora brushed her wings with Umber's. "Come on. We still need to get home."
Umber sighed. Home. He missed his siblings, but his winglet was so nice. He'd found a sibling in Turtle, a friend in Moon and Kinkajou, and a crush on Qibli. He had friends, and he had Clay, Sora, and poor Marsh, who they'd left alone at school. He must be nervous out of his mind. Umber had a sudden longing to go back to the school, where he had many reasons to stay.
But Sora had it the worse, with their beloved sister's killer sleeping in the same cave as her. Qibli was funny, kind, smart, and caring, but he would never be Sora. He would never be as important in Umber's mind as his sister's happiness and safety.
I'll come back later, Turtle. I'll come back later, Qibli.
