“Feed,” he encouraged, “you’ll be walking in no time. You are cranky because you are hungry and


    tired.”


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Kennedy didn’t often scream and cry, but when she did it was hard to miss. Now she threw a little


    tantrum in my arms. Stayne’s family stood and backed into the wall. Basin’s family looked wary and sat


    quietly. They weren’t sure what to do and Kennedy would not stop.


    Damien shook his head and stroked Kennedy’s head and back soothingly. Christof talked softly to her


    and Kein literally milked my breast to tempt her to eat. It worked, not surprisingly. Kennedy took the


    rich, warm fluid on her tongue and cried as she clung to me.


    “She’s exhausted,” Christof said motioning Stayne’s family to sit. “We can’t let her go so Long without


    food and rest. She needs to sleep some in the day.”


    Choking sobs were intermixed with sucking sounds as Kennedy slowly settled down in my arms.


    “You distract us well, Hannah,” Damien joked standing to pat Hannah’s shoulder. “This female offspring


    is not Like you. You would not miss a meal for anything.”


    My family Laughed remembering Hannah’s unstoppable appetite. Ra told them a few stories from their


    more recent escapades regarding Hannah’s need to feed. My family Laughed and the other men just


    Looked confused.


    I sat and nursed Kennedy and realized the other men had noparison for Damien’s rtionship with


    Hannah or Kennedy. Unlike the other women here, Hannah and Ra viewed the men as equals. They


    respected their intelligence and questions. It was the opposite of what the men were used to.


    Kennedy calmed and quieted in my arms. As she rxed Christof passed a hand over her back and


    stroked her wings. The little spans of flesh twittered and then settled under his touch. He moved the


    right wing to fold it morefortably on her back before putting a nket over her.


    “Touching of the wings is considered a very personal act,” Ramented. “A woman allows her Sisters


    to touch them. Men should touch them with the reverence you have shown. It is good you interact with


    the young one this way. She will fit in well…with us and our friends.”


    Basin spoke then. He had touched women’s wings to bind them. Many times he’d suffered the sharp


    barbs at the tips. No one had ever encouraged him to revere a woman’s wings.


    “We have Learned the true history,” Ra told him sadly.


    Ang’s Library


    “In the past you would have been family with women, as well as, your Brothers. You would have


    respected them and they would have respected you.


    “Those rtionships now are built on pain and fear. The women believe they are superior because they


    are stronger. You have talents and so you are an asset. But, you and your Brothers have the right to


    grow and flourish without dread. All sentient creatures should have that right.”


    The girls let the statement hang and didn’t push the issue further. Damien passed a hand down my arm


    and smiled at me.


    “We have found great happiness that way,” he said simply.


    “Freedom makes the family strong.”


    Basin and Stayne didn’t Like this conversation. It upset their way of looking at the world. Basin


    brusquely asked Hannah to continue to exin about animals that flew in the air. He was obviously


    changing the subject. The girls respected the request and obliged with information.


    On the sixth day the men were sent back to their jobs. Tosu had quietly told Damien the escaped men


    were not found. She congratted him on training me to be strong in the face of Nu-reeh’s wrath. He


    had politely thanked her, but found the interaction odd.


    Hannah and Ra had spent the five days cooped up in our little area. They were getting restless.


    “We Love you, Mama,” Hannah told me softly, “but we need to fly. This space is too contained.”


    “There are also things we need to check out,” Ra said softly.