DEWICKIES, ALWAYS SILENT UNTIL sunset, pierced the late morning calm with their chirping like an unexpected slap to the face. Hearts pounding, claws extended I jumped to my knees in alarm, eyes scanning around me, hands framing the ground ready to take off if needed. The tiny opportunistic cannibal flies, would descend on their prey in a swarm devouring even the largest life forms in minutes. They usually hunt at night targeting the leavings of much fiercer prey. Only the smell of copious blood could wake them during the sun's dominion.
Dewicki whooshing drowns out the subtle clicking of the blue trees yellow foliage as it sways in the wind. It also blocks the gentle hum of the awa that I had let settle around me. I couldn't tell from which direction the danger approached nor could I smell the blood.
I should have moved upon awakening and finding myself nude and in a strange place, but the awa reminded me so much of home. They could only exist in areas of balance and peace. They were common on my world, but I had not come across any in my travels since. Only the dewicki presence told me I lay deep in a jungle rather than a forest or copse of trees. Tensing, my plumage ruffled and displaced the awa, as I awaited another signal from the life around me.
Mother would tell me to follow KAWA's plan and wait for the source of the disturbance to find me. But that had led to my abduction three times over and absence from home for at least a solar if not more. I had no way to know whether this was a test of the Salwi Prince or the result of another abduction.
The trumpeted mating roar of Zalan Warbelos filled the air.
Daiya Nosh Salwi Prince.
I ran in the opposite direction of the prince, cataloguing his strengths as I went, my plumage automatically blending into the scenery as I moved, my nudity suddenly a blessing from KAWA. A tree slams down into the ground, it's crown landing to my left. I look up gauging the height of the trees as I run. This is the head start I have on the prince.
I leap over fallen trees and dodge lurking vines as the verdant freshness with a hint of Salwi male musk and blood forces its way into my nose. At the sound of his roar, I knew he would either kill me or mate me. The lust infused in his scent gives me his purpose. The blood on the air his good luck charm. I should have known. The dewicki flock to Salwi like awa flock to the Lethorn.
My senses attune to any land around me. With this skill, I run through the jungle as though it is my home, avoiding all pitfalls as though the land changes its form to accommodate me. I can sense and smell the other life and I know at least a dozen other animals my size are running in the same vicinity. My plumage, colorful and feather light adjusts to my surroundings at will. With this, I can evade the Prince's superior sight. My claws and light build will let me climb and with effort, I can fling myself from tree to tree avoiding the ground if needed.
I can gift this prince the hunt of a lifetime, but he will only love me for it. With each moment, the scent of his lust intensifies until it feels like the air itself. I can tell immediately, he knows the gift I offer and he anticipates it like the sweetest foreplay. Of all the animals running from him, I am the only one he woud lust for.
He is the ultimate predator possessing a duality. With his strength, he could topple any tree, perhaps even move a small mountain. Were I to land in his grip, I could not escape. Even a moderate squeeze from him and my fragile hollow bones would break. The Salwi princes have superior eyesight. They can see as clear at moon zenith as at the sunrise and with minute detail from leagues away. He can also move breathtakingly fast in both of his forms. As a bipedal in the wi form, he is at his most vicious and calculating. It is the wi form that has figured out how to conquer more than 10 galaxies. In this form, he can will himself from location to location in the span of a heartsbeat by attuning to his surroundings. The Sal form, ruled by base instinct, visualizes sound and cannot be reasoned with.
I sense his nearness and veer to the left into the oncoming path of a similar sized creature, a crava. I keep pace with the crava slowing down and inhaling its fear stench for one stride and adjusting my plumage to match its colors; in two strides I match its breath, gait and energy; in three strides I brush against it in a gentle full body hug so that we seem like one form and then halt with my back to a tree, blending in as the crava continues forward. The Salwi's roar of triumph precedes him by a moment as he tackles the crava to the loam.
I do not stay to witness the Salwi's anger at downing the wrong prey, but I hear it as it tears out the throat of the crava. Instead, I climb my tree until the branches merge with the others, making it easy to walk from tree to tree. I imagine the Salwi's jaws and claws coated in orange blood as it moves on to track me. The single whoosh of the diweckies leaves no question of the meal they have made of the crava.
The trees grow so close together, their blue branches and yellow leaves block my view of the ground. I have only moments before the prince redirects and comes back for me. I must decide. Movement helps me think, so I move in tune with the trees rhythms to avoid creating sound to draw the Salwi.
The mating hunt is a game to the Zalan Warbelos, the Salwi royal family. Theirs is the only mating hunt with unwilling maids. This place will have an unbreakable perimeter, it will be a cage from which I cannot exit until claimed. I can run fast, the prince can run faster. I can climb high, but the prince can knock down my trees. I can outwit him, but if this is a cage, I only buy myself time. Shall I jack up this prince's lust and give him a hunt he will never forget, while weakening myself in the process?
"Wife." Birds fly off branches at the sound of his roar. Their movement covers my own as I search for the perimeter. The word echoes through me to my core, a claim I try very hard to throw off. The prince's voice has power. I add this to his list of skills. "You prove your worth to me already. I cannot wait to claim you." I ignore his words, but cannot ignore the increase in his lust and excitement nor his control while in the sal form. His scent is heavy in this space. I almost pause to guage his distance but continue onward. Willing maids must take pride in comments like that. But I already know my worth. KAWA knows any mate of mine must prove his worth to me.
THE PERIMETER. IT FOUND ME IN LESS than 20 paces. I didn't sense it and bounced against it causing a discordant ripple. By the time, I regained my balance, the prince had found me.
Thwump. Thwump. Thwump.
