LUC

When the morning came, I flew to the location I had left Jessie at, stopping just outside the parameter. I stared at the cave, seeing only two humans along with the small alien quadrupedal animals that sniffed and licked the floor as their tails moved in the air. I felt a little upset, not seeing Jessie. He had told me to show up in the morning, but I was unsure if he meant every day or sometimes — he'd given me the impression that whatever he was doing would take a while, but he couldn't communicate or didn't just know how long.

I decided to stay around for a while, deciding that I would leave in the afternoon if I didn't see any signs of him. I pranced about the parameter, occasionally looking towards the entrance for any sign of my human. I observed the humans I could see — their stances were stiff, and their expressions were hidden under head covers that they pulled low to cover the upper halves of their faces. They wore brown fabric — the same color as the surrounding sand rock around us. They would occasionally talk to each other, their grips on their weapons tightening as they glanced at me from time to time.

I raised my face, chirping when I recognized a head of dark hair. My wings fluttered behind me, and my fingers twitched as I fought back the urge to fly towards the entrance to scope Jessie up. He wasn't wearing the same clothes as yesterday — he had on some dark- blue fabric that covered all of him, and even though his hair was recognizable it looked different somehow — groomed and shorter. He had longer feet coverings on. They were black and glimmered like rubber under the sun, stretching as far up as just under his knees. The fabric he was wearing disappeared into it, looking puffy where the feet coverings met the clothing.

My head cocked to the side as I observed him talk to someone — A male, taller and wider than the average human, who was wearing the same brown fabric as the humans with weapons, but had no head covering. Instead of a weapon he held at all times, the human had one of the smaller ones strapped around his waist. He occasionally touched it, as if trying to make sure he still had it. His hair was a faded yellow color. There was a smaller female standing beside him, wearing a similarly fashioned blue fabric. Her skin was dark, her hair texture different, and styled in an unfamiliar way.

I shifted in my spot, wondering what was taking that long. Jessie was smiling, but the sight didn't particularly please me. The gesture was aimed and the taller human man who was also smiling back at me. I swallowed down a growl, fidgeting with my fingers as I willed myself to calm down.

The humans stayed by the cave entrance for what seemed like an eternity, until Jessie turned his head, narrowing his eyes at me before beaming that full smile that showed off his teeth. I purred, stepping out of the foliage. He began to make his way towards me, and the two humans that showed up with him followed. He was barely halfway through to me when I dashed across between us, grabbing him when he was within my arm's length before I pulled him flush against my chest. He made an exasperated sound as he crashed into my chest, making that strange human sound of amusement as he wrapped his hands around me. I purred, feeling his fingers sink into the plumage of my feathers. My heart was still beating fast from the excitement of the reunion. Jessie mumbled something in his language as his hands ran up and down the small of my back. It felt nice — his soft hands always did.

"Luc..."

His voice made me purr even louder. I used one of my hands to pet his hair, purring as I pressed my face to his forehead. It felt slicker than normal — like he'd pressed it down with animal fat. It felt strange instinctively beginning to groom him, licking the fur on his head with my tongue. He smelled like himself — but slightly different. The smell of his pheromones was diminished, and the smell of myself and my nest that usually clung to him was completely gone. In their place was a strong flowery scent that I wasn't sure what to make of. He smelled a bit like after he bathed in the hot springs, but more pungent and overwhelming.

I didn't like it.

Someone said Jessie's name, and it was only then I took notice of the humans in front of us. They were speaking in their language— the bigger one seemed to grow louder with every single word it said. My eyes darted to the female, and then to the male. I tightened my grip on Jessie, growling under my breath when I was met with a deep frown paired with a defensive stance.

"Luc. No."

Jessie's voice made me stop. I loosed my grip on him, looking down at his face. "Jessie, okay?" I asked, and Jessie smiled, nodding his head. There was a gasp from the female in front of us. She looked at me with wide dark eyes before looking over at the man beside her who seemed to be equally perplexed.

"Down," Jessie said. "Please?"

I undid my grip around him, and gently dropped him on the ground. He backed away a bit before taking the human backpack he was carrying off his shoulders. I watched as Jessie pulled out a human book from his bag before reaching it out to me. I looked at it in confusion, but reached out, taking the thing from his small hands. I brought it to my line of sight before opening it like I usually saw Jessie do. The markings inside made little sense to me except the drawing. They were drawings of Helli — not very good ones, but still. I kept flipping the pages, pausing at one that caught my interest because I could read it. Small Helli markings that showed the basis of our writing system. I peered over the book, looking down at the humans in front of me. I was unsure what Jessi wanted, so I churred, a little distressed.

He smiled softly at me before reaching into his bag again. This time he took out a writing device I had seen him use often. He dropped his bag on the ground beside him, still holding onto the stylus as he looked up at me.

"Write," he said, reaching out for the book I had given him. I handed it back to him and observed him, watching him scribble in the human tongue. He turned the book back towards me, with the stylus sitting at the center of the leaflets. There were markings next to a drawing of a human.

"Human," Jessie repeated and I realized he was giving me a visual representation of what the markings mean. "Write," he repeated, pretending to draw markings on the page with the tip of his finger.

I see. It finally clicked, picking up the small stylus. I felt it might break under my hold, but it didn't. I was clumsy with it but managed to draw a few strokes on the page. It was a smile word — flower. I drew one of the native plants next to it, leaving the stylus between the leaflets when I was done. He turned it back to himself, observing it. A smile played on his lips, and the female beside him moved closer to him, peering over his shoulder at the drawing.

She said something, and he said something back, before looking up at me with warm eyes.

The male moved closer to him, and I couldn't stop myself from growling a bit. The female looked startled, and Jessie mouthed 'no' under his breath. I churred, pulling my wings back as I lowered my head to apologize. His smile swiftly returned and he went back to discussing with the female human. The male stood a distance away eying me intently.

We continued the exercise of him having me draw and write down the words. I wondered what this was for, but a part of me didn't quite care. What I was doing was drawing almost childish excitement out of Jessie. His smile was so wide his eyes formed creases. It eventually came to a stop with Jessie ripping out the leaflets I had drawn and written on before pressing the book and stylus back into my hands.

"Write more," he said rubbing my knuckles with the soft base of his fingers. I purred, enjoying the feeling. I nodded, as he took his hand away.

"Here," Jessie said, then raised three fingers. "Morning. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow."

I cocked my head to the side, thinking about what he was trying to communicate to me. He wanted me here in the morning, but not tomorrow exactly. The tomorrow, after the tomorrow, after the tomorrow?

"T-three..." I muttered, saying the human word for the number. "Three days."

His eyes widened and then he smiled, letting out a puff of air. "Yes!"

"Show Jessie in three days," he said, gesturing at the book in my hands.

I churred, happy that he was pleased with me. After a while he stepped back, looking a bit hesitant I edged closer to him, wondering what was wrong.

Maybe it was already time to leave?

We didn't get enough time together — I didn't even get to hold him. I felt myself grow angry. I reached out to take his hand, and he didn't stop me. The two humans watched our interaction, and the male's hand drifted to his belted weapon. I growled a little, barring my teeth, and he stepped back — so did the female. Jessie blinked up at me and turned to face the others before looking at me again.

"Jessie must go," he said, squeezing my hand. I squeezed his hand back, not wanting to let him go. "A while," he added, and my anxious churring returned. I wished whatever was going on — whatever it was he was doing with the other humans would conclude itself before I lost my restraint. They were monopolizing my mate when he should be in my nest, safe with his needs met.

Jessie tried to pull his hand away again, but I didn't let go. He looked up at me, confused until a knowing look engulfed his features as I leaned in. I hunched down, hovering my face over his. I could feel the heat of his breathing. It felt like the last time I was this close to him was forever and not just yesterday. Our noses touched and then our lips. Jessie moved his mouth, parting his lips for me. I purred, happy with the contact as I thrust my tongue into his mouth. The kiss was less heated in front of strangers, and more practical, I pushed the crop milk into his mouth, and he swallowed, coaxing my tongue with his in a sucking motion. When there was nothing left to give I pulled away, finally letting go of his hand.

I wasn't sure what the expressions were on the humans in front of us, but I suspected they were the human equivalent of how Kao had looked at me. I barred my teeth a bit, a low snarl building up in my abdomen, and then Jessie touched me, making it all melt away as I focused on the hand on my hand now.

"Three days," he repeated, letting his hand fall to his side. He said something, and then my name before stepping back.

A goodbye, maybe?

I watched him pick his backpack off the floor before pulling the straps over his shoulders. He stood still, watching me — waiting for me to be the first one to leave. I crouched until the back of my feet hit the ground before lunging upwards as my wings spread and propelled me into the sky. I watched him from above, watching him wave his hand in the air. I took one last look at him, before turning and leaving for the time being.

Three days. I reminded myself, feeling the could of gloom that engulfed me as I inched away from the settlement with every passing second.

I hoped that meant things would be over by then.