Volucris_Emmergence Read online

“You have electricity?” Mo asked even though she knew the answer, she wanted to try and make some conversation.

  “Yes, we have solar panels on top of the mountain, it doesn’t provide a huge amount, not to really heat anything but enough for some light, and it’s warm enough anyway.”

  Phallon ducked into a doorway and Mo followed, she turned on some of the small lights in her room, and lit some lamps also. , Iit was beautiful, full of tapestries and pots filled with plants, there were herbs drying on the ceiling which gave off a wonderful spicy scent. A modest bed in the corner and a larger bench covered in animal hide in the centre.

  “Well this is my treatment room Mo, I am what I suppose you would call a doctor, although as my medicine is not conventional, I prefer to be called a healer. The gift I have is always passed from Mother to daughter over many ages, my family haves always been healers and I will pass my gift to my daughter.”

  Mo had been listening with interest and delight at first until she mentioned her daughter, Mo’s face fell once again.

  “I have a sister too?”

  Yes, you actually have 3 sisters and one brother who you have already met. Your father and I have four children altogether, the oldest is 12, the youngest 4.

  Four siblings, Mo had always craved for a brother and sister and now she had more than she could ever have wished for. And the oldest 12 that was only 5 years younger than herself, had it only taken her father a few years to mourn her mother?

  Seeing her troubled face Phallon took Mo’s hand and led her to the bench, “there is a lot to talk about Mo, but now is not the time, we can meet your extended family when you are ready. First things first, let’s sort out those wings, hop up.”

  Mo did as she was told and hopped up onto the bench. “You will need to take all your tops off, ok?”

  Mo felt very shy, “Erm.” Phallon handed her a soft blanket. “Here use this, I’ll turn around, don’t worry, people know not to come in while I have a patient.”

  Phallon duly turned her back on Mo as she tentatively took off her tops, the material was sticking to her wings and it stung as she pulled it away. , Sshe then took the blanket which seemed like wool, but was the softest wool she had ever known, and held it too her breast. “This wool is so soft, what is it?” Mo asked. Phallon turned back to Mo and started to inspect her wings. “It’s Alpaca, lovely isn’t it, we have a large herd here.”

  Phallon gently examined Mo’s wings, pressing slightly around them to see where it hurt, she then rummaged around some of her cupboards and started mixing various herbs and leaves in a pestle and mortar.

  “It does not seem to be as bad as all had feared, there is no infection just swelling which will go down with an ointment. They will need to stay uncovered and in the air, don’t worry I will find you something to wear.”

  Once mixed, Phallon spread her ointment on Mo’s angry red wings. Aas, usual the feeling was a great relief. , Sshe then found a top for Mo, it was just a plain brown hide top that had ties at the top and bottom so her back would be exposed. As Phallon tied her top for her Mo had a thousand questions to ask, but she did not know where to start., Aas if reading her thoughts Phallon said, “There is plenty of time for questions, let’s get you settled in first.” Mo was relieved, she needed to process what she had learnt so far before learning about anything else.

  Phallon left the room and returned a moment later with Thea who smiled at Mo. Thea was beautiful, tall and dark with her bright turquoise wings. , Sshe had changed from her animal hide into a similar long robe, Mo wondered if this was what they dressed down in and did they travel in the more practical animal hide.

  “I have to go and speak with your father but Thea will show you around and where you are to sleep.” Phallon explained. She then nodded to them both and left.

  Mo felt like a little girl with her hands behind her back., Aas kind as Thea looked she was still very tall and just as intimidating as most of the Volucris Mo had already met. Thea sensing Mo’s unease tried to make her feel better.

  “So, you want to grab some food first?” Mo nodded enthusiastically and Thea smiled back. They walked back through the side corridor to the main meeting area. Thea led Mo across the other side of the hall to the source of a delicious barbeque smell. As they arrived Mo found a large fire that had a pig roasting on top of it. The fire was surrounded by tables, many already occupied, Mo could see, by the very Volucris who had bought them here. Mo and Thea walked up to the main cook and Thea grabbed them two bowls heaped with roast pork served with a rich potato stew that was bubbling on the corner of the fire. They found a table and sat down,down; Mo smiled politely at the other Volucris around her but also scanned the crowd for Benji.

  “I think Tristan has taken him to the male quarters.” Thea explained to Mo, guessing correctly who she was looking for.

  “Male quarters?” Mo asked.

  “Yes, the mountain is home to mainly young Volucris who are still in training. While your wings grow, and for about 3 years after, you will be trained here, first how to fly and then in your speciality. It’s a bit like a big dorm, hence male and female quarters. Of course, the lead family lives here so Lordes, Phallon and their kids and the Volucris who help run it, so the trainers, the cooks, the healers etc. etc.” She waved her hand in the hair and her wings followed suit as she explained.

  As was the Volucris custom, they both stopped talking while they ate. Once both had finished Mo continued with her questions.

  “What do you mean by speciality and where do the rest of the Volucris live?” Mo asked.

  “A lot of the families live in and around the mountain, some in little villages, some more isolated. In our society, you will find you have a speciality and that is what you will do. So, we have cooks, farmers who, of course, live out in the fields with their crops and animals. , Tthere are the fishers who fish and generally live closer to the water. We have healers as you know, having met Phallon, she happens to be the top healer., Tthere are weavers who make all the clothes, and then there are the guards.”

  “Guards?”

  “Yeah that’s what I do with the other Volucris who picked you up, I guess we are kind of like Police but we don’t enforce any laws, we help keep the peace if there are arguments, we keep our kind safe from humans, so recently we have been really busy., Wwe will scout out other Volucris clans and send messages to them;, got to keep the peace where that is concerned.”

  “Keep the peace, you mean it’s not always been peaceful?”

  “No way.” Thea responded as though this was obvious. “Over the years there have been many clan wars between Volucris, it’s only since Lordes brought us all together that it’s been more peaceful. . He made everyone see that by hurting each other we were only hurting ourselves, he brought peace to the Volucris, it’s why he is given so much respect.”

  Mo thought this explained a lot, why there seemed to be so much reverence around Lordes, why he was so aloof.

  “When did this happen.” Mo asked.

  “Oh years and years ago, way before your time, even my time.” Thea laughed. Mo wondered how old Thea was, she looked about mid 20’s but when she spoke Mo thought she seemed older. When they had finished, Thea took them to the clean-up area, there was a bowl of soapy water. Aapparently, according to Thea, there was a plant on the island that created the soap bubbles. , Tthey washed, dried and put away their dishes, Mo realising living communally meant doing your bit and not leaving any mess. Thea walked Mo over to another small cave where a number of different animals were being penned in, there was a goat, an alpaca and a small pony. A male Volucris with deep red wings and dark hair was holding a pot up to the neck of the alpaca. , Aas he pulled the pot away Mo could see a dribble of blood. Hhe quickly used his other hand to pinch it and looked to see Mo and Thea watching him.

  Thea explained. “This is how we get the animal blood, we blood - let different animals , Ddon’t worry, they get changed regularly, these animals seem to mind the least., Yyou should
see Red try and get blood from a pig.”

  The man bloodletting the alpaca let out a chuckle and Mo guessed this must be Red. Once he had stopped the bleed he stood up wiping his hands and offered his hand in greeting to Mo. He was huge, much larger than any of the other Volucris she had encountered and old, his face looked like it had seen a thousand winters.

  “So, you’re the eldest of our leader’s offspring?” Red asked his deep voice seeming to boom around the cave.

  Mo looked down slightly embarrassed, she was Lordes’ daughter but she wasn’t anything to write home about, skinny and small compared to the rest of the Volucris.

  “Yeah I guess.” Mo responded.

  “Need to get those wings big and strong, huh, well you have come to the right place, don’t have your diet from the big man yet but I think this will do for starters.” Red handed Mo a skin bag, she unstopped the top and the familiar smell of blood wafted up to her, it was warm, clearly straight from the animal, she could feel all eyes on her as though this was some kind of test. Mo had no qualms and happily took a long sip of the fortifying liquid. , Iit was bitter as usual and warm, she felt it slide all the way down her throat and through her body. Red and Thea smiled at her, as she handed back the bag. “You keep that, you’ll need one anyway, just remember to come back to me for a top up every day.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Mo and Thea walked off together, Mo already starting to feel the effects of the blood, giving her a spring in her step.

  “He seems nice.” Mo offered.

  “Yeah, Red is cool, the oldest Volucris here, can’t you tell. He never leaves now his wings are not strong enough to carry him.”

  Before Mo could ask more about how old Red was she saw Benji bounding towards them with a huge grin on his face. Mo was delighted to see him.

  “Have you seen where you are sleeping yet, this place is amazing. , Tristan has already showed me half of it, I’m off to see the other half!”

  And before Mo could even respond he was off again. , Benji had already changed into Volucris clothes, clearly delighting in discarding his old jeans and jumper. Mo smiled after him, he was so happy and full of life it was infectious. She followed Thea who was heading down another side tunnel.

  They were climbing up now, the tunnel gently sloping upwards.

  “The male quarters are on the other side of the mountain, us girls live on this side, the families that are here tend to live on this side too, the men can be pretty noisy sometimes!”

  After walking for about 10 minutes passing various open doorways, it seems most of the doors just had some material over them, there were no shutting doors. Mo peered into each room, some were empty, others with girls in, chatting, some had wings, others did not.

  “How many girls my age are there here?” Mo tentatively asked.

  “Erm, not many. Wwe struggled over the last few weeks finding many survivors. Tthose who are here were born here and for some reason your class group is quite small, I think there are only about 10 of you all together and including you, only 2 others came from the mainland. Don’t worry, I think they were just as shell shocked as you when they arrived, but they have all been here for over a month now, you were the last.”

  So few Mo thought, all of those people and surely Volucris that were now left to fend for themselves on the mainland.

  “Will there be no more trips to find any more.”

  “Not now, that was the last for a while on Lordes’ instruction. , Wwe almost lost a couple of Volucris on the last mission and Lordes does not want to risk any more. I think he is going to wait a while before going back again, wait till it all calms down a little.”

  Mo nodded in response., Thea then stopped outside what must be one of the highest rooms in the mountain, she drew back the curtain and beckoned Mo to follow. Inside was a modest room, there was a simple bed in the corner with clothes already laid out on it and a wash basin in the corner that had a jug next to it filled with water.

  “Do I not share?” Mo asked.

  “No, you’re lucky, all on your own.”

  Mo did not seem to think this sounded so lucky. The room was lit by a small electric lamp and Mo could see candles in one corner. There were no windows so it was very dark in there. Mo moved over to the bed to inspect the clothes. One set was the animal hide trousers and a backless top, and the other was a long robe, again with no back made out of Alpaca wool.

  “Are these the only clothes I get?” Mo asked.

  “Yes, why, did you own more than that on the mainland?”

  Mo had never owned many clothes, she was not what you would call a big shopper spending hours in malls and with a huge shoe collection in her closet, but yes, she had owned more than two outfits and even more than one pair of shoes. There were no shoes at all that she could see.

  “Erm, yeah, I guess things are a bit different here.”

  “Sure are, I grew up on Ety and every time I visited the mainland it amazed me how much stuff would get thrown away, why do humans need so much?”

  Mo could not disagree with her, she tried to think of some excuse but none came to mind.

  “Would you like to get changed then I’ll show you where we wash.”

  “Ok.”

  “You know the animal hide clothes are our travelling and working gear and the alpaca wool clothes are what we wear if just relaxing.” Thea instructed Mo who nodded in response.

  “I’m just round to the left 2 rooms down. Come and find me when you are ready.”

  “Ok” Mo responded.

  Thea parted with a smile and Mo was left on her own, she made sure the curtain covering her doorway was closed with no gaps then went back to the bed. She took off the top Phallon had given her, now feeling pretty sure she was to wear the robe for relaxing; she didn’t think they would be working today. It was not cold in her room she realised, the island was of course tropical, but Mo wondered why it was still warm in the mountain . Tthere was no sunlight to warm it up and the walls were, well, mountain walls, maybe the volcano is still active she thought nervously.

  As she took off her top she looked at the necklace her grandmother had given her, she rolled it round in her hand letting the candle light glint off it, she smiled fondly at it. She took off the rest of her clothes then stepped into her robe. , Iit took her a couple of attempts to work out where the different straps went but she soon worked it out, it felt lovely and soft against her skin. , Phallon had already discarded Mo’s bra and Mo was pretty sure no-one wore any underwear but she was going to hold on to her pants for just one more day she thought. There was no mirror of course, which did not overly bother Mo, she guessed she now looked like everyone else which was a relief in itself. Sshe had not relished everyone instantly being able to pick her out because of her clothes. She tucked away her necklace and went in search of Thea.

  Mo stood outside what she guessed was Thea’s room, what should she do, she couldn’t knock there was no door and she didn’t want to just burst in, she was just about to call out when Thea opened the curtain.

  “That looks better,” Thea commented as Mo shyly looked down.

  “You just need some wings now and you will be just like the rest of us.”

  Mo smiled in agreement, while admiring Thea’s beautiful turquoise wings that glistened in the glow of the small lamps.

  “Ok let’s show you the boring stuff.”

  They once again headed down the mountain. Passing other female Volucris on the way who again all nodded at Mo and Thea, but now Mo had changed they were less curious about her.

  “So, the jug of water in your room, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of bringing it with you when you visit the baths, get it filled up, it’s a real pain when you want to wash and you have to walk all the way down here. Oh, and make sure you go to the toilet before you go up, if you know what I mean!”

  It was a long walk down to what Thea described as the baths., Tthey walked right to the heart of the mountain, they ducked under s
ome rock and came out in a steamy underground cave., Aat one side was a deep blue lake that was slightly steaming, water was streaming in from a small waterfall at the edge of the lake. There were many female Volucris, some in the lake others collecting water from the waterfall.

  “So, the water coming in is rain water and the old Volcano heats the water in the lake. Perfect huh!” Thea smiled enthusiastically while explaining how it all worked. “If you need drinking water you need to collect it from the waterfall or the river is just as good further down the island. You see at the other end of the lake, the water flows out which eventually turns into the river. It’s the perfect place don’t you think?”

  And it really was a perfect design for all their needs., Thea walked Mo over to where she could find the soap that was made out of some kind of tree bark, it smelled lovely and filled the whole area with its pungent scent. A lot of the female Volucris were clearly naked, some more brash than others, some did not care who looked on them others drew their wings around them to cover themselves. Mo felt unsure of how she would cover herself the first time she came down here, a thought unwelcome to her and she wondered how long she could go without a bath. Thea then walked down another long passage to where the toilets were, they were just basic holes in the rock that if you looked down went straight into the sea. Mo and Benji had already got used to outdoor living and not having a supply of running water so she was not too concerned with these arrangements.

  “Would you like to bath now?” Thea asked.

  Mo’s face was full ofat horror atof the thought of stripping off in front of these strangers. Thea guessed her reluctance and showed her how it could be done without revealing all. She gave Mo a piece of cloth and took one for herself, she pulled it under her robe, tied it round herself then took off her robe.

  “It’s easier when your wings grow but this is what I used to do, works pretty good.” Thea explained with a smile.

  Mo nodded with relief and followed Thea’s lead. Once covered they grabbed some tree bark soap then slipped into the water, they placed the cloth on the side now that the water covered them. It felt wonderfully warm and cleansing. As her sore wings went in she felt a stab of pain but that soon left and she thought the water would probably do her little stubs of wings no end of good. The floor gradually gave way and Mo pushed herself out and dived under the silky water. She turned back to Thea who was just washing at the shore line.