Sunrays and Moonbeams

Understanding

I know the murmuration was worried, their emotions causing theirwings to flutter and flinch. Their eyes were all shifting andglancing back. But they kept quiet as I carried my family with me.She was the first of this planet that any had seen up close so thatwould be part of why they kept looking.

But I knew that it was more me then her that they were looking at. Atleast for now. It was a long time since one of us had become what Iam. I remember stories of this before, a mate being rejected beforeThe Old One had come and set us with each of us having one mate. Thatwas a time before time though...

It was believed that there was no time that the mate system did notexist but I knew there was. Especially with the stories of the timebefore, many many generations ago. Enough generations that if we didnot have it written we would not know of it. A time when the flock ofone of us must approve the mate of ours. Like we could control whoour mate was, and our mate was who we were meant to be with.

Many of my kind's Beast took over then. Many deaths happened againand again and again. The Beast infused warriors-because despite whatthey did before all Beast were warriors-would kill many. Any thatpushed particularly hard to reject the mate, any possible othersuitors, sometimes even their own mate once or twice followed bythemselves.

None before had their mate outright reject them.

But I felt no anger towards her, no hatred. I was holding her in myarms right now safe and whole. I did not want to do anything to harmher. I knew that there was different mating traditions here, that shemight not even recognize me as her mate. She didn't meant to do asshe did and soon enough she would understand.

Despite all that it hurt to have her shaking and whimpering in myarms. Theodore, may the Matre bless him, was cooing to her and thatkept her focused on him. She stroked his hair keeping away from hiswings and I could understand that. None of the earthlings had wingsand so it would be strange for her.

Everyone was curious about her and I knew they were. She had noconstellations decorating her body or forehead, her skin was not thepitch black but the welcoming (skin tone). Her eyes were so differentwith the rings of black, (eye color) and white each one gettingbigger and bigger. Her hair was (hair color) and not any wispyglowing. She stuck out among us like a sore thumb.

And she was scared. So scared.

I never in all of my life thought she would be scared when being heldin my arms. She was still shaking and so I held her a bit closerallowing her and Theodore to be held more securely.

"James-"

"Konrad." I corrected Elenore and she nodded her sharp eyeslighting on my mate as she flinched from my speaking. I held her abit tighter and looked over to Elenore, daring her to say somethingabout my beloved mate.

"Okay, Konrad, that will take time to get used to." She lookedfrom me to either Theodore or my mate, it was hard to tell, and Igrowled slightly which made my mate jump slightly and cling toTheodore more whispering to him.

"Careful what you say Elenore. Friend or not I-"

"Retract your razors James-er, Konrad." She corrects herself, Iam no longer James and so Konrad is who I am. I'm different then Iam, a combination-a fusion-of James and my Beast making me Konrad. "Ilost my mate, all I want is to make sure that I can save however manyfrom my fate as I can." She pointed out and my shoulders relax fromhow tense they were before.

"I mean nothing wrong, and you are a good man so I know your matewould be to." The compliment to my darling went a long way tocalming me fully. "You must realize that she more then likely hasnever seen any like us, that she can almost definitely can notunderstand what we are saying and we can't understand what she issaying, and could even be cold." She added and hearing that had meholding her tighter and whispering and cooing to her trying to keepher warm.

"Just be gentle with her Konrad, she is new to this and is muchmore delicate then we, they can not survive in space, even in manyplaces of their own planet." Elenore flew off a little bit awayfrom me, leaving me alone with my mate and son.

"Don't worry my darling, I have you." I whispered to her insteadof worrying about the words I instead pushed the emotions I wanted tosend to her more. She held Theodore a bit more but did look up intomy eyes before looking back down to Theodore cooing to him.

I moved her to tuck her head under my chin. I hummed a bit, relyingon nonverbal communication instead of speaking and she seemed torelax some almost burrowing herself into me holding our son close toher chest carefully.

After so long traveling we were all strong and ready. Since we had solong to rest, for us a week long was a very long time. We would beable to fly to the forest of large red trees and there was excitedtitling to be where we belonged near something that was more true.Even if it was not exactly like what we had grown up with but wasclose. It wasn't the white and black color of our homes but it wasthe closest we had seen.

We'd be able to get there somewhere between half a day and a fullday. I was confident I was strong enough to carry twice as muchprecious cargo as when I carried Theodore to our new home. I knew itwouldn't be easy, mates are true but not easy, and she might be oneof the hardest mates my kind had ever faced. But I didn't care. Iwould do this a million times over just to have this moment of her inmy arms while she held our hatchling in her arms.

I am enjoying getting to see Konrad, to make it easier tounderstand Konrad is still James, it is just something so lifechanging has happened to him so he feels he is different.