Survival

“Toby, let me train with you!” I whined as I watched Toby sharpen his knife.

“I have already told you no,” he replied curtly before setting down the sharpener. He then placed the knife under my chin, forcing me to look him in his eyes instead of watching his weapons. “And don’t call me Toby. Just because you called me that in our childhood doesn’t mean you can today.” Tobias moved his knife away, glaring before turning around. His wings hid the rest of him from me as he walked away.

“You never give me a reason!” I called out. “You know I’m strong and you know you need help with the war!” I heard him snarl before he hesitated and looked over his shoulder.

“Marion, you’re a female, which means you’re needed for keeping our species alive. If you get killed in a battle, that could be the end of us all. Please, respect that.” I gritted my teeth as Tobias’ grand light brown and white wings began to flap. With a quick run forwards, he took off and flew away from the island we lived on and went to a much smaller one just a minute’s flight away to train with the other males. Frustrated, I went back to the spaceship and did chores with other females, keeping to myself as I always did. Once it was time for a meal, I volunteered to fly out to the other island to get the males. They all eagerly left, unable to wait to fill their empty stomachs. I grinned as I watched Toby fly away with them, leaving me alone on the island with some of their weapons.

“Alright, let’s see if I’ve improved…” I muttered as I picked up a knife. I moved it around, stabbing the air in practice combat. Even though I thought I was doing not too bad, I knew it would be nothing compared to what Tobias and his males could do. With a small cry, I lunged forward and threw the knife. It hit the trunk of the tree I was aiming for, but it wasn’t centred at all. I picked up the bow and arrow next and aimed at the small target. My aim was much better with this weapon. I knew that the males didn’t like using it as much, but to me it was the only thing I could fire with decent aim. After a few more practice shots, I set the weapon down and retrieved the arrows.

I practiced with a few of the other small weapons that had been left lying around before I heard them coming. The males were returning, and at no cost could they catch me here on their island using their weapons. I ran into the dense trees, going as fast as I could without catching my wings on anything. Once I was a decent distance away from them, but still in earshot and still having a visual on them, I sat down and folded my wings behind me the best I could. Not too long afterwards, Tobias and the males landed and resumed their training. Some used the bows on trees and others practised with blades with each other. I remained there for about an hour, just watching Toby teach a younger male the basics of the knife. When he gave him pointers on how to aim better when throwing one, I listened more intently and applied his advice to my own throwing skill. Eventually, my stomach was starting to turn and be noisy, indicating I was well past mealtime. Hurriedly, I ran to the other side of the island and grabbed some berries off a small shrub. They momentarily satisfied my hunger and gave me the extra bit of energy I needed to fly back to where my meal awaited me. I took off and flew above the waves, and a minute later I had landed by the spaceship and was greeted by my partner in crime, Brienne.

“You almost got caught again,” she hissed as she ushered me inside. She was only twelve years old, but very intelligent and pleasant. That made it no surprise to me that I had ended up best friends with a girl seven years younger than me. “Toby asked where you were; said he wanted to talk to you.”

“And what did you say?” I asked her as we walked entered the dining room. She bounded over to get my plate of food from where she had stored it and soon I had a delicious looking meal sitting in front of me. I dug in quickly, knowing I needed a huge amount of food to keep myself alive.

“I said you were having girl problems and couldn’t be disturbed. He believed me, even though he had just seen you,” Brienne giggled before leaning over my plate. “Can I please have your berries?” I nodded and she smiled, taking a huge handful of the red and purple fruit. After thirty minutes I had finally finished the meal, so Brienne went back to working in the kitchen and I joined other females in sewing clothes. The males only wore pants, and us females wore pants with a top half that went over our shoulders to tie behind our necks, and beneath our wings to securely cover our chests. It always puzzled me why a female’s body was considered sacred, but a male’s was a sign of a good health and had tattoos on it that told stories of war. If anything, I wanted those scars to prove I was a strong Kasien.

I was sitting on the beach, half watching Brienne play with other children in the warm waves and half focusing on my sewing when the males finished their day’s training. The orange sky suddenly obtained large shadows flying towards us, and the children gazed up at them in wonder. The younger ones always had to wait a long time for their wings to develop properly before they could fly. Once you could fly for ten minutes without any aid, you were an adult. I watched as most of the males returned to their families, picking up a child in their arms and kissing their wife. It was good to see that so many of them appreciated that their lives may be cut soon because they were fighting for us all.

“Toby! Toby!” children called out as they raced out of the water and onto the soft sand, heading towards their hero as he ran to a stop. “Come and play with us!”

“In a moment,” Tobias replied cheerfully with a smile at them. He then walked up the beach and came to a stop in front of me, his wings spread and blocking out the view of the sunset. “Marion.”

“Yes?” I asked as I set down the needle and looked up at his handsome features. He was a striking male, had one of the largest wingspans I had ever seen, a stunning torso that was skinny but well built, and had war tattoos all down his left arm. Tobias was what every female dreamed of, and for good reasons too. He would be what I desired as well, if he would only let me train with him so I could defend myself and help save our race.

“I hope your female issues are no longer troubling you,” Tobias said kindly and I nodded slightly. “I just wanted to inform you that we are going out tomorrow to hunt the humans.”

“Well, good luck…” I replied quietly, knowing that I might never see him again.

“I shouldn’t have to say this, but don’t follow us tomorrow. I don’t care if you simply want to watch from the side lines like last time, or any other excuse you can think of. Stay away,” Tobias ordered in a strict tone. I nodded again. “If I don’t come back, then this is our last goodbye.” I met his eyes and saw the sadness. Yes, we bickered, but at the end of the day, that childhood bond was still there. We had entertained each other during the last horrid years on our home planet, and then in the spaceship. We were still friends. I set aside the clothing I was working on and stood. Toby wrapped his arms around me, one across my shoulder and the other around my waist to avoid my wings, and I did the same. We stood there for a few seconds before he pulled away, both of us kissing each other’s cheek to show we cared for each other.

“Goodbye, Toby,” I whispered, causing him to grimace ever so slightly at his pet name.

“Goodbye, Marion,” he said quietly before walking down to the beach to play with the happy children. I glanced over at the families that were also bidding farewell to their loved males, and I knew how heartbroken every single one of us would be if we lost anyone tomorrow, especially if it was our leader Tobias. I had to help. Somehow, I knew I could. Tomorrow, I was following the males, and I was going to fight.