Luana 1

My sister in law slammed her fist onto the table causing it to shake. "How could you do this Luana? You are the Eckson of our Tribe!" Tillie was a strong woman and a great fit for my youngest brother, Quinn. He looked on with disapproval clear on his face. I felt my crest flare in warning. His gaze drifted away. He should know better.

"The new generation has begun to fly, Tillie. A new Eckson will ride. I never wanted this."

"You did once Ana. You trained harder than all of us. You and Ted both," Quinn reminded me. Ted was the oldest sibling of us four. He had been Eckson before me. Funny since Ted had trained me in my early years.

"I was wrong Quinn. I was too busy trying to prove Mother wrong to realize there was a better fit for me."

"Without you Avery will have no one to take her for her Siku," Ryder pointed out.

"I am sure I can request to visit home. The girl has promise. I believe she can fly," I said. "I'll see to it she gets her chance."

"Ted hasn't told Becky that the girl is taking the test," Drea said. Her hand rubbed at her belly. This was her third pregnancy since marrying into the family. The duty to grow our line fell on Ryder now that Ted had proven incapable. Or more likely his wife. By all accounts it should have been me. There were more than enough males vying for my attention. Ecksons were typically male. While Almas were normally female. I was both. Since I had stepped back from hunting over the last two years I had become a sort of second mother for many of the younger village children. Some of the younger mothers as well. Now I mostly oversaw training when I was was not patching up young idiots who were trying to show off only to fail.

None of my people approved of the fact I had begun to pursue a life as an artist. Admittedly it had been slow going. They were fine with it when I had just been making maps or as a hobby. Afterall many females picked up hobbies that could be used to entertain themselves while heavily pregnant or recently after birth. Art was also apart of our culture. It took a skilled hand to design the heavy beaded and intricate designs we did with our hair during ceremonies. Or just to show off our victories. I had taken to leaving my hair down. It was common enough. Ryder even decided to keep his head bald. Sadly for him that meant a red head every spring, summer, and fall. So he typically left some hair for protection. Still not nearly enough to show off. Like me he had taken to wearing his most impressive kills on his clothes. Drea had proven to be a competent weaver. If a submissive wife.

Hard to believe she survived Ryder most days. How she had managed to mount a Makilu I would never know. Then again I had a Makilu and a Tuksa. The Tuksa had been what named me Eckson. It was also the reason a new one had not been named even after I stepped down. Old tales said that only those who could ride the great nine could be labeled as true Eckson. Tuksa, Juko, Munsi, Kimala, Welu, Ounnce, Hinfu, Cybif, and Riun. The nine great creatures of Trident. Since I still lived and was the only member of the village who had a life bond with one of the greats there would likely never be another Eckson named. The fact I actually had a bond with three of them had only further pressed to many that I was the only one fit for the job. Funny since many of the people who were pressing me to stay a Hunter of the tribe were the same people who had hoped for my death during the Siku. Some had taken it a step further. They had tried to kill me themselves.

I set down my cup and stood. "I am heading off now. I want to get there early so there will be less wait." I smiled at my family. One of our members was missing. Becky was not my biggest fan. Ted tended to keep his distance from me to appease his wife when possible. I would stop by and visit him before I went off world. After I was matched to someone. If I was matched to someone. My war brothers looked displeased still but nodded after me. "Hey girl," I called as I went outside. My Makilu sat on a branch waiting for me. She hissed a low greeting as I ran my hand over her purple feathers. The Makilu had clawed back feet and six wings. I had named her Tempest. Her purple, blue, and white feathers had reminded me of the tale of Earth tempests. She did not fight me as I climbed into the saddle. As a bonded Makilu the saddle was a sign to others that she was claimed and should not be harmed... so it never came off. Thankfully we had designed saddles long ago that did not bother them. As soon as I was settled she fell sideways. My stomach no longer dropped at the feel.

Nor did my breakfast lurch when her wings snapped open. I would miss this. Her feathers spread to create space as they snapped open. It was a well practiced move for us at this point. I would miss soring in the sky. I doubted my future husband would grant me such a thing. Very few races out there bonded with lifeforms the way human races did.

Soon enough I saw my destination. The Floating City. It was where we went when we wanted to get something from off Trident. It was also where off world people arrived if they had buisness on Trident. That was above my pay grade so to speak. I was here to sign up for something instead. It was the only place on the planet with match makers that sought off world partners. More than a few visiting off worlders looked my way as I landed with Tempest. She took off as soon as I slipped off her back.

It was clear from the looks I was getting that Makilu were a rare sight in these parts. Good thing I did not ride my Tuksa. I would hate to see how that would go over. I sighed and started looking for the building. I ended up walking past it a couple times before finally stopping to ask for directions. To my surprise I had missed it because it was a mere three story tall building. It was boxed in by bigger buildings. Apparently they were not a fan of standing out. I appreciated that. Tempest was one of the few planets where smaller animals were just as dangerous as the big ones. There were some exceptions to that rule.

They had gone with an open door concept which was quite popular on Trident with its mostly tropical climate. Inside the walls were a soft green that I found an odd choice. They had went with a forest color palate it seemed. The chairs were dark brown with dark green legs and blue tables. Such colors were common on Tridents trees. Perhaps it was meant to put us at ease. Even so it was clear many females were not excited to be here. The reception desk was black which caught my eye. Black was a pretty uncommon color on Trident. At least above the water. Even so it was normally seen on predators. Why would they make the reception desk the color of predators? I walked up to the desk to ask just that.

Behind the desk sat a small female. Her hair was a striking blue with white. Pointed ear tips peaked from her hair and sliver eyes glanced up at me. Much like her hair, her skin was blue. Although a much lighter shade. "Hello," she said brightly.

"Hello," I smiled back at her. "I would like to apply. Also I am not sure you are aware but the desk is very off putting for natives here. Black is a common color for large predators here." Her already big eyes widened further.

"I will make note of it at once! I do not believe that knowleadge was in our files. Thank you for informing us! Let me grab you a tablet to fill out with some basic information first," she said. I nodded my head. For being so small her movements were oddly slow. Then again it was my understanding that most races treasured their females more than Humans. I had made up for my small stature by being quick. She likely had never had to fight or protect herself it seemed. She smiled brightly at me as she handed me a tablet. We did not use such things often among the Tribes but I was familiar enough to work it. To my surprise as soon as I turned on the screen it pulled up the form for Prime Brides.

It read in bold print, Prime Brides where soulmates are connect across the Universe. Well there was a bold claim if there ever was one. I found the idea of soulmates hard to believe. I understood that all of my brothers had married. Likewise they all seemed happy enough. Yet, I still knew Becky and Ted would likely divorce once the kids had grown. I had known a few to claim to have found their soulmate and likewise end up alone within the year. Even so I had always been tempted by the idea of an off world male. The males around me had never made my heart race the way pictures of alien males had.