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  It was difficult to reach the open water if not in a boat, but there was a more sheltered cove towards the north of the island. Mo had to scramble over the rocks to get to it, and it was a good scramble down too;, she was already exhausted even without the swimming. Ethan had flown to the same spot and was now perched on a very narrow rock above the cove., Mo found his ability to land on such a narrow piece impressive. Ethan encouraged her to swim a lot as he knew that Mo would not be able to continue to swim when her wings were fully grown.

  To Mo’s surprise and joy her wings had a huge growth spurt. By the end of the week they were almost touching her waist, she could start to flex them., Sshe was so relieved that the damage she thought she had caused them on the trek to Ety had not materialised, although Mo knew this was mainly down to the constant attention Phallon had given them, dressing her wound twice daily.

  After six days of constant training Mo was exhausted. , Ethan had pushed her hard. , Tthey had started eating breakfast together once more, sitting in silence. Tthey had taken to eating outside in the jungle. Ethan had first suggested it as it was easier to get straight on to running, but Mo was glad of the suggestion, she had missed the quiet times they had spent together in the mornings on their trip here. Even though they said very little, she enjoyed spending the time with him, it made her feel closer to the island and in some way closer to the jungle, understanding its sounds and the creatures and plants that lived there. Ethan was very knowledgeable about the island and would teach her about the flora and fauna. Mo had seen very little of the others during the week, mainly at the evening meals, but they were all so exhausted they would shovel food into their mouths and then head to bed. Mo had started to get used to the darkness too. Nnow she kept matches and a candle next to her bed she felt more confident that if she needed to see, she could.

  The seventh day on the island had arrived and Mo and the others trainees had been given a day off. After bathing Mo went down to breakfast. , Sshe half thought about seeking out Ethan in the jungle but what she really wanted was to see Benji. Iit had been almost a week and she was keen to hear his take on it all. She grabbed some food and found Benji with the others, he patted the space next to him.

  “Saved you a place, nice to see you this morning.” He beamed at her.

  She plonked herself down wondering if Benji was referring to the breakfast she had been sharing with Ethan. , Sshe had a need to explain that it was nothing, just tutor and pupil, that it was just more convenient for training, but before she could say anything silence descended and they all started to tuck into their breakfast of pancakes and hunks of grilled pork. As she ate Mo looked over at Benji, his wings were really progressing, only a little bigger than hers, but still bigger. , Hhis body had started to change too, much more muscular and toned with a tan from the constant outside training. None of the men or boys wore tops, it was only the girls and Mo had noticed not all of the women wore tops either, their clothing was more tribal she supposed, it just didn’t matter what you wore.

  “Enjoying the view” Benji quipped.

  Mo wasn’t embarrassed at all. “Jjust checking out the improvements” she smiled back.

  “I’m not the only one with new improvements” Benji responded, looking Mo up and down and then looking at her wings. , “Yyou have nearly caught me up on the size of wings, I can’t be having that, I will instruct Tristan to improve on my training this instant!”

  They both laughed at Benjis joke as did the rest of the group. Once finished they cleared away their dishes and Benji came up behind Mo and whispered in her ear so the others would not hear. “I have got something I want to show you, you game?” Mo nodded enthusiastically and they both slipped away unnoticed by the rest of the group.

  Benji led Mo down through the mountain past the entrances to the men’s quarters and further down through winding tunnels. They had been walking for about 10 minutes when she could hear water crashing and the tunnel started to fill with spray., Sshe could see a soft daylight as the tunnel opened up to a wide-open cave. Mo looked over the edge of the path, the rock face gave way to the sea as it crashed in and out over the top of the path. The daylight was streaming through the mouth of the cave and Mo could see at one edge some small boats tied up.

  “I thought you could only get here by flight?” Mo asked.

  “You can. Tthey are the fishing boats., Tthey are in at the moment as the tide is too high, as the tide goes out the Volucris fisher men and women go and collect the nets. , I take it Ethan hasn’t shown you all the different Volucris roles yet.”

  “No, we have just been training.”

  “No wonder you are looking so buff,” Benji teased.

  “But surely if boats can get in then we could help some of the people from the mainland get here too?”

  “They are just rowing boats, no chance of getting them anywhere near the mainland.”

  “No, I get that but couldn’t they have sailed a boat here?, I have run all over the island and there is still plenty of space?” Mo looked up at Benji and he just shrugged, “I guess, I don’t know, you will have to ask your Dad.” An unsettling feeling spread through Mo’s bones, yes, she would have to speak with her father, but before she could explore this feeling more Benji tugged the back of her wing. ,I itIt was such a shock to be touched on her wing, like a bolt of lightning sparking all the way through her body, she let out a little cry. “Sorry, this isn’t what I wanted to show you, it’s something else and I didn’t want you getting caught up in more family stuff.” Benji’s smile was so genuine and she could see he was really itching to show her whatever it was, so she forgave him instantly and carried on after him through the tunnel as it now began to rise once more.

  After a long 10-minute half run through many tunnels, some so low Mo had to almost crawl on her hands and knees through pitch black as there were no lights down here, she could see daylight filling the edges of the tunnel and she could smell the salt and breeze of the ocean. They both emerged to a beautiful site, a cave with many boulders scattered through it., Iits mouth looked out over the sea just where the sun was rising, it was beautiful and stopped both Mo and Benji in their tracks. Benji took Mo’s hand and led her round some of the many large boulders until they came to a space just before the cliff edge, Mo looked down and marvelled at the crashing waves beneath her., Aas she looked back she could see Benji sitting within one of the boulders, the sea at some point had carved out a perfect and natural curved seat. Benji patted next to him and Mo happily joined him looking out over the ocean.

  “It’s breath takingbreath taking.” Mo exclaimed.

  “I thought you would like it. , I haven’t been sleeping too well in the dark and all so I took to having a look round instead, I found this place a couple of nights ago.”

  “Why don’t you sleep? Are you not exhausted from training?”

  Benji looked down, he did not want to spoil the moment but also did not want to hide anything from her. “Nightmares, from when I was in the city with the gang after Dad died, it was tough, I saw some pretty awful stuff and here, when it’s pitch black, even when I wake up I find it hard to get the images out of my head.”

  Mo placed her hand in Benji’s and leant her head on his shoulder, she knew there was nothing she could say, she could not make better what he had seen or make it go away, all she could do was show him she cared and that was all Benji needed. , Tthey sat like that in silence for a while. Benji then reached behind him and produced an old iIPod, Mo looked up at him with surprise.

  “So you snuck something on here then, does it work?”

  “Yeah and I managed to get one of those hand chargers on here too so at least I can listen to some music., Iit’s not my full catalogue but most are my favourites. He held out an earbud for Mo while placing the other in his ear. Mo placed the earbud in her own ear as Benji scrolled through his many tracks and put something on Mo had never heard before but instantly liked., Sshe placed her hand back in his and leant her head on his should
er once more as they sat and listened and watched the sea roll in and out and the sun climb higher into the sky.

  Chapter 30

  Over the next few weeks Mo fell into an easy routine, although there was nothing easy about the training. In the week, she would spend each morning eating breakfast with Ethan and then physical training. Then in the afternoon, as her wings were growing as was her body so well, Ethan had started to show her the rest of the island and its inhabitants, teaching her about the different roles the Volucris took. They spent a whole week in each discipline, looking after the many different animals, learning best ways to manage and breed them to get the best out of them. Mo had worried at first, she may get attached to the animals and not want to eat them., Hhowever, after Ethan explained that without their meat she would never fly she quickly dismissed this sentimental feeling. She was slowly ridding herself of her previous way of life, of relying on food out of a box, or using energy by just flicking a switch. Instead of having to plug into a device or holo, she was discovering conversation, or listening to people play instruments. The Volucris loved to tell stories and would often gather of an evening for such a purpose. Mo realised how much more she was learning through Ethan’s help and the help of the wider Volucris. She also spent one week learning about the crops grown on the island and one week fishing.

  The first time she went out on a boat she could not believe how brave the Volucris were to fish in these seas. They were rough, nothing like the sheltered cove she had been swimming in, and as mature Volucris could not swim it was up to the younger ones to dive down and pull in the many nets. To Mo’s delight she found that Aria and Mia, her half-sisters, were keen fisher women., Tthey were so strong and adept in the water that Mo could only sit in the boat and marvel at them. She was glad of the opportunity to meet them both without the influence of Lordes., Tthey were such happy and confident girls, something she found she lacked somewhat., Sshe always seemed to be looking at the ground when spoken to, especially by Lordes ,but these two girls had no such confidence issues and loved telling her all about their life on the island. Of course, they too were curious about her upbringing and what it was like on the mainland and as they wrinkled their noses at the thought of being cooped up indoors all day watching images on a screen, Mo realised the only thing she really missed from the mainland was her Grandmother.

  Her routine also included her weekly meetings with Benji in their secret cave; she started to look forward to them as soon as she left him the week before. He always brought his iIPod;, the only thing he was missing from the mainland was music. Sometimes he would put on something really upbeat and they would dance around or if they were tired, something softer and calmer, just watching the sea, enjoying each other’s company. They would talk about their past life, Benji about his beloved father and his wonder at his absent mother, and Mo would talk of her fears for her grandmother, and the feeling of expectation her father had of her.

  “Why do you think, he thinks I am so special?” Mo asked Benji after a long day of talking and listening to music.

  Benji shrugged, “don’t all fathers want the best for their daughters?”

  “I don’t see him like that with his other children, seems to me they barely see him.”

  Mo had been over again to share dinner with her new family, usually a couple of times a week. The first dinner’s walking out situation had been brushed under the carpet, and Mo had tried to keep her cool. She had wanted to ask Lordes again about why a boat could not have brought others from the mainland here, but when she was surrounded by Lordes’ young children and Phallon, who as ever provided such lovely food, she did not want to spoil it with an argument. She hoped to find him alone but apart from these dinners she never really saw him.m, Hhe spent the meal asking about her training and testing her on what she should have learnt from Ethan. Mo found she enjoyed being tested when she got the answers right, but when she didn’t she felt the disappointment in her father’s eyes to the core of her being. She did not understand her feelings, why should she care so much what this man thought of her, he may be her father but she barely knew him.

  “Maybe it’s because your wings are coming through and it’s critical at the moment., I am sure he will be just a dictatorial with the rest of the Lordes clan,.” Benji suggested when they talked about it.

  Benji’s humour once again washed away Mo’s fears,fears; he reached down for the iIPod. “Now for some classic rock?” He passed her the ear bud and started head banging to Metallica.

  As the weeks went by Mo found her energy levels had increased immeasurably along with her new more muscular and strong body. , Hher wings were just as large as Benji’s now and almost towards their full length, stretching all the way down her body and above her head. Ethan had started to train her wings directly, getting her to flex them and bat them. He told her, once she could beat her wings and her feet left the ground she would be ready for her first flight. Mo couldn’t wait and would even practice this movement alone in her room. She guessed correctly that all of the young in-training Volucris would be doing the same and there was some competition between them as to who would be the first to fly. Mo also had the feeling that this would make Lordes very proud of her which spurred her on to be the first to take to the skies.

  Mo was less tired in the evenings now and if she wasn’t with Benji she would spend it in Lucy and Anabel’s room. Anabel was still quite cold with Mo but had thawed a little and the girls enjoyed chatting away, they were all from the mainland so would often talk of the things they missed the most!

  “Definitely Oreos, oh what I would give for a whole pack of Oreos,.” eExclaimed Lucy. Both Mo and Anabel nodded in agreement.

  “For me it would definitely have to be Tampax,.” Mo said decisively., Sshe had already experienced a number of periods on Ety and was now in the middle of one. During her first, Phallon had kindly explained the best thing to use which was basically moss wrapped in cloth along with a few pairs of lama wool underpants, very attractive Mo thought when she first put them on. Phallon also gave Mo some remedy for her cramps. The girls both nodded and looked at her sympathetically. “There are some things the Volucris could do with being bought into the 21st century!” Lucy agreed.

  “How about you Anabel, what do you miss?” Mo asked.

  “The usual I guess, same as you guys, I miss my holo and being able to chat and flirt with boys.”

  Anabel was a pretty girl, dark skin and long dark hair. , Mo could see why she would be interested in the attention of boys, mainly because she got the attention, something Mo never had.

  “There are lots of boys here.” Lucy stated.

  “For you maybe. Wwe all see how Calumn moons over you,.” Anabel quipped, tickling Lucy at the same time.

  “You really think he moons over me, come on?”

  Both Mo and Anabel rolled their eyes. Tthey had witnessed how close Lucy and Calumn had become and Lucy knew it too as a shy smile crept across her lips.

  “Then Mo has Benji and who have I got?.”

  “Hold on a minute what do you mean I have Benji, we are just friends.”

  “Come on Mo, we have seen you two sneak off together, where do you go?”

  “Just in the mountain exploring, nothing special.” Mo did not want to reveal what actually had become a very special place for both her and Benji.

  “And as soon as you come into a room Benji’s whole face lights up.” Anabel explained.

  “His face is always like that, not just because I’m around.”

  “Err, no it’s not Mo, come on you must have noticed, he adores you.”

  But Mo had never noticed that Benji treated her any differently, she thought he was like that with everyone, and hearing those words he adores you, something lit up in her stomach. She had always loved being with Benji, loved their time together before Ety and their time listening to music in their cave, but she had never explored her feelings beyond that. Never let herself think that maybe Benji had singled her out, an
d now Mo was smiling, she couldn’t help it, she felt a wave of happiness and delight spread through her at the thought that Benji may like her more than just as a friend.

  “And then of course you get to spend your days with the gorgeous Ethan.” Anabel scoffed.

  Mo’s mood suddenly nosedived., Sshe may have just discovered that she had feelings for Benji, but Ethan definitely not, she had put up with his mood swings, and had forgiven his behaviour on the trip to Ety. She even enjoyed her training sessions with him and sharing breakfast in the quiet of the island. He may be beautiful but completely different to Benji, she always saw him as a bit soulless.

  “Well if you like him Anabel you are welcome to him, certainly not my type.”

  “I wish I could spend some time with him but he is such a recluse, he never comes and listens to people play music or tell stories.” Anabel pouted in disappointment.

  “Calumn says he grew up on an island a bit like Ety but on the other side of the world and the clan he was part of lived more like animals than humans or Volucris, no clothes, no baths, no candles, no music or stories, he couldn’t even talk when Lordes found him.”

  “Lordes found him?” Mo asked.

  “Yeah apparently, but Calumn doesn’t know what the circumstances were, just that Lordes found him and a few others of the same clan and bought them here when they were kids, you know, before their wings grew.”

  Mo wondered what it must be like to grow up without any language or culture of any kind. Sshe began to think maybe there was a reason for Ethan not showing much soul.

  Chapter 31

  It was another quiet morning eating breakfast with Ethan., tThey had been training hard over the last few weeks and Mo’s body and wings were evidence of that. She was nearly as large as some of the fully grown female Volucris and her wings were practically fully grown. Ethan had not only helped bulk her out, but also given her confidence in her body, how to move and use her strength. They had started training up high, standing on uneven rocks so Mo could experience wind strength and adjusting her balance to counter being knocked off. Benji too was now just as large and his wings almost fully grown. Iit really now was a race to see who would fly first out of the mainlanders. Of course, all of the student Volucris born were flying, obviously taking advantage of their upbringing within a flying society. They would swoop down and taunt the others which only made those left even more frustrated. Mo was continually practising batting her wings but as yet nothing.