The Dawning of Fate

“She said she would like some more,” I hear the familiar voice of my brother say.

“Seriously?! You better not be fucking with me Amondis,” Echo warns half-heartedly and he laughs.

“I wouldn’t dare,” is his response. My lips curve up at their easy banter as I skin the fleror I’d hunted earlier. It’s an aerial species animal with long wings and round bodies. Oddly, they are faster on land. Footsteps alert me to their arrival in the cookery and slim arms wrap around my waist.

“Amondis’ girlfriend wants some more of my perfume babe. She has some friends who liked it too,” Echo informs me as her tiny fingers trail along my abdomen. The simple gesture is enough to stir my arousal and I inwardly chastise my wanton state.

“What is this “babe”?”

Echo removes herself and I hold back my growl. “It’s a term of endearment like baby, sweetheart, love, etcetera,” she answers him while poking at the animal hide before grimacing.

“Your Terran words are very unusual,” he responds. Echo laughs and settles into a seat beside me.

“Tell me about some Tumerian traditions.”

“What would you like to know?” I ask before pressing my lips to the side of her head. She smiles and shrugs. Ever since the bond activated, I’ve not been able to resist touching her. It’s like a dire need to be in close proximity and feel her. It goes further than mating her, it’s a craving to feel her skin connect with mine. A knowing that she’s here, that she’s real.

“Every male is expected to complete the coming of age ceremony eighteen lunars after their birth,” Amondis tells her as he bites into the fruit on the counter. I glare at him because if memory serves, I don't recall giving him permission to eat my food.

“What’s that?”

“On Tumeria, our studies not only consisted of academics but also rigorous physical training. The coming of age ceremony is a series of tests to prove our strength and endurance,” I explain whilst washing the meat.

“Okay, so what if you don’t pass?”

“You’d likely be disowned by your parents and shunned by the village,” Amondis answers.

“What? You’re serious?”

“Yes,” we reply in unison.

“Well, that’s...harsh.”

“It is the way of things. The ceremony is a transition between being a fetchling to becoming a man. If you do not pass, you are not fit to raise a family of your own,” I explain.

“If you say so,” she replies offhandedly.

“You disagree?” Amondis asks.

“I don’t want to sound like a colonist but I just- Maybe I’m biased but sometimes people have more to offer than just brute strength. I’m just saying I’d never renounce a child of mine,” she shrugs.

I’ve never considered it that way. I didn’t have to. Amondis and I had no problems with training and we passed the trials successfully. Not that I’d go change traditions but maybe she has a point. There was a time when I would have brushed her statement off as plights of the weak. Meeting Echo has opened my eyes and changed my perspective on many different situations.

Once I’ve finished portioning off the meat, I cook a few pieces for Echo along with some vegetables and set out a plate for her. She thanks me with her lips on my cheek. My brother and I season our food to our liking and sit with her to eat. Thunder trots into the kitchen and sits beside me. I glance down at the beast then back to Echo.

“He wants you to feed him,” she supplies, chomping away at her food.

“Is that what you want, beast?” He barks in response and I shake my head, giving him the leftover fleror. Amondis and Echo snicker childishly.

The next sun Echo is up earlier than usual, doing her exercises. I’ll never understand the purpose of flailing your arms up and down whilst jumping. It looks utterly ridiculous. Though the push-ups seem useful in building her arm strength. I tried them once. I didn’t tell her that though.

“Why are you awake at this hour?” My lips capture hers as soon as I’m within reach. Her soft whimpers are like raindrops in a desert and I swallow them up eagerly. When I finally release her lips, she gasps for air and looks at me through hooded eyes. Arousal permeates my senses and my lips turn into a smirk at the effect I have on her.

“I just had a few things on my mind is all,” she replies softly, snaking her arms around me with her head against my chest.

And by things I know she means the fertility ritual today. I think she’s more nervous about this than getting stuck in the spirit world, which is a real possibility. The ritual stands as a stimulant for reproduction and I believe Echo has had this idea that because we are two different species, we cannot procreate. I do not know if this is true, but she would only become pregnant if I locked my mating head with her during intercourse.

I stroke her back softly because I understand. After the trust ritual, I felt exposed and powerless. Raw. I’d never experienced anything like that in my life. My past haunts me like a dark cloud and having to reveal that shook me to my core. How was I supposed to cope with the fact that Echo wouldn’t look at me with the same affection in her eyes once she found out?

But that didn’t happen, no, Echo accepted it all. She accepted me; she embraced me. So this sun, I will embrace her.

My womb mate exits the house sometime later as Echo and I are sparring. Her technique has improved greatly with all of the sessions we’ve committed to.

“So this is what you two do when I’m not here? Brother, I’m ashamed of you,” he teases. Echo snorts but doesn’t take her eyes off me.

“If that is what you truly believe then I am ashamed to call you my brother,” I respond as I dodge a hit from her.

“I seem to recall last time we sparred like this, some interesting things took place afterward,” Echo insinuates with a mischievous grin. I return her grin with one of my own before lunging towards her. She laughs and spins around, landing a hit on my shoulder. Amondis shakes his head.

“Have you decided where you will go for the ritual today?” he asks once Echo and I are done.

“I have a spot in mind. There’s a meadow a few clicks South beyond the market and homes.”

Once we’ve refreshed ourselves on the ritual oath, Echo and I bathe while my brother gathers the things necessary for our journey. I finished before she, so I sat on the roof and waited. Amondis joins me.

“They’d be proud of you, you know,” he whispers suddenly. Our parents. “I remember how they’d always wish for you to court one of the village girls,” he chuckles.

“Yes, it was quite annoying,” I respond with laughter. Our parents wanted my brother and me to wed at an early age. Amondis couldn’t settle down and I simply wasn’t interested. In all my lunars, I’ve never kept a female more than a cycle. But Echo, I knew I wanted more with her even before our bond was activated. She’s kind, free-spirited, caring, and understanding. As terrible as it sounds, I’m glad her ship crashed here.

“Wow,” I hear his voice say from beside me. Following his eyes, I spot Echo walking out of the house wearing something entirely different from her usual trousers and shirt. The white material stops just above her knees and cinches around her tiny waist. The layered hem flows in the wind and the neckline rests below her collar bones. Bare feet pad across the earth before they stop and smiling eyes look up at me. My chest rumbles loudly.

Mate

The voice is not my own but I will not dwell on that now. Swiftly, I fly down and stand before her. Her cheeks tints with a blush as I study her through intense eyes.

“You look enchanting,” I rasp, not resisting the urge to pull her to me. The peaks on her mounds solidify against my chest. Dipping my head, I growl lowly in her ear before nipping it with my teeth. She shudders in my arms causing me to smirk.

“Thank you,” she breathes barely above a whisper as she stares into my eyes. So much emotion is shining in those depths and I’d spend an eternity getting to know each one.

“It’s taking everything in me not to take you back to my chambers, little Terran,” I whisper-growl to her and she giggles softly before stepping back.

“Later,” she promises with a seductive grin. My chest rumbles more. A hand appears on my shoulder and I look to see Amondis with a silly grin on his face as he eyes the two of us.

“Now that my brother is done eye-mating you, you two can be in your way. I’ve got all the things you need packed and ready to go,” he informs us. “Thunder and I will await your return.” As if summoned by his name, the dog comes running towards my mate.

“Thunder, no!” she scolds before he can jump on her. His dirty paws would have surely ruined her gown. Amondis slips into the house to get the heavy bag of crystal stones while Echo bends down to scratch Thunder’s head. The movement gives me a tantalizing view of her luscious legs beneath the flowy material. I groan in approval. She looks up at me and smiles. My haju is going to be painfully enlarged before we even leave the house.

When Amondis returns, I take the bag and we finally depart for the meadow. Echo has gotten a lot better with flying with me. She still holds on like I’m going to drop her but she opens her eyes here and there now instead of keeping them sealed tight. I land in the middle of the meadow and plant her on her feet. A giddy smile alights her features as she gazes around.

The meadow is wide with sprouting flowers and grassy fields as far as the eye can see. Reds and oranges sway in the wind alongside lilacs and fuchsia. Her white dress flows as she prances around in the field, happily. Echo, the sunshine in my dark clouds. My heart beats only for her. I’d do anything to keep that smile on her face. Anything.

“Zan, this is so beautiful,” she exclaims, returning to me. I lift her in my arms and my hands grip her thighs. Soft lips press against my own before pulling away. “We should christen this meadow after our ritual,” she suggests. I chuckle in response.

“I’m inclined to agree with you, little Terran. But if we don’t start now, it may never get done.” She laughs and motions for me to put her down. When I do, she reaches into the bag and carefully removes the container with the seeds in it.

“You know what’s so cool about these?” She asks, eyeing the soil with wonder.

“What’s that?”

“They are already germinated which means all they need is to be planted. I don’t know how that works here but on Earth, the process is painstaking, if you do it naturally that’s two whole seasons you have to wait. Sometimes you could fake it with the refrigerator method but that’ll still take about 90 days.” I smile and follow behind her as she rambles on about Earth’s environment and how the planet’s surface is heating at an alarming rate. It amazes me how much she cares about nature. Many people overlook the divinity of such a creation.

“I became an environmental scientist because I wanted to make a change, you know? Earth is literally one generation from becoming uninhabitable and humans don’t even care,” she sighs before squatting and placing the container on the ground. “Anyway, I think we should plant the tree here and construct the Seed of Life around it.” I nod in agreement and we get to work.

“So does your government have a plan for if that happens?” I ask her as we take the stones and start with the first circle.

“I’m not exactly sure,” she calls from a bit further away. “There’s this guy, Elon Musk, he has a plan to go to Mars but the chances of that are slim since the first people to land there will likely die.” I laugh at that.

“What do you think they should do?” I’m genuinely curious. If Terrans were to acclimate to space, the Counsel would have a lot on their hands. Not to mention the physical struggles they’d endure. Terrans may be advanced in some ways but they are inadequately equipped to traverse outside of their planet without proper guidance.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Of course, I always wanted to come to space but not everyone had that dream. Even if Elon’s plan works, what would be the point?” She continues before I could ask her to explain. “Humans would be leaving Earth because it was uninhabitable just to go to another planet and repeat the same things. They wouldn’t have learned anything, just ran away from their problems.”

Well, that’s a fair point. “You said “they”. Are you not human anymore, little Terran?” I ask teasingly and she laughs.

“I’m still human. I’m just not a resident of Earth anymore, so my pronoun stands,” she replies haughtily causing me to chuckle.

We continue to craft the circles for the symbol. Seven circles must be completed and intersected. We laugh and talk while we build. The light that sparkles in her eyes, the sweet melody of her laughter, the beauty in her smile. My heart has never been more full. Never has another being made me feel joy this deep and pure. Amondis stopped by to drop off food before quickly leaving. I regale her with stories of my travels while we eat and she listens intently.

The sky was painted with orange streaks and the moons were cresting the horizon when we finally finished the symbol. When we meet back in the center, I place a kiss on her forehead before we both settle across from each other on the ground. Echo carves a medium-sized hole into the earth and gently places the seeds and soil into it before covering up the hole.

She crawls over to me and sits on her haunches with her back facing me. One arm curves around her waist while my lips connect to her neck. My other hand pulls the strings loose at her back. Soft cotton slides down her arms, chased by my hands. Echo leans into me and extends her head to one side, giving me further access. She helps remove the rest of the material. My fingers trail along her skin as I slowly laid her onto the earth, her body on full display for me.

The round curves and dips in her waist beg for my fingers to touch. She’s a vision of perfection. We both rest our hands on her stomach. My eyes find hers.

“Matu, Mother hear our plea, a blessing of fertility,” she begins softly.

“Fill our lives with delight and laughter, a precious sapling to look after,” I continue. Her eyes hold me, never wavering. The resonance in my chest is at a constant rhythm.

“We accept our bond and honor Thee, please breathe a life inside of me.” Liquid starts to brim her eyes but the smile on her face is ever-present.

“Earth, Water, Spirit, and Blood, we ask you for our heart’s desire.”

“So grant us this, a girl or a boy.”

“Matu, Fati, fulfill our need.”

“Show us your love and plant the seed.”

“So Mote it Be,” we finish in unison. Silence settles over us before Echo sniffs and we laugh softly.

“I believe you said something about christening this land?”

“Oh yes, of course. We wouldn’t want to leave without ceremony,” she replies with mirth. I smile and crawl on top of her.

“Of course,” I respond before claiming her mouth as mine. My hands roam the generous curves of her body and she moans in approval. Echo pushes at the waistband of my trousers until they’re low enough for my haju to spring free. Eager fingers wrap around the hardened flesh and begin gentle strokes. I groan and dip my head. My tongue grazes the column of her neck and she shivers in anticipation. She squeezes my haju and I growl before shifting just out of her reach. Sitting up, I take in the view of her naked frame beneath me.

Ravishing.

One finger slides between her slick folds before delving inside. Moans of ecstasy fill my ears. When I add a second finger, they grow louder. My fingers pump in and out of her while my lips latch onto the swollen bundle of nerves. Her head tilts backward as an audible sound of pleasure escapes her lips. The taste of her juices on my mouth causes the rumbling in my chest to expand wildly. My whole body trembles with the need to mate her. With two fingers inside, I use a third to rub the little nub while I suck the hardened peaks on her squishy mounds. Head thrashing from side to side and body writhing in pleasure, Echo cries out her release with her nails digging into the earth.

The taste of her release on my fingers creates a chain reaction. A guttural sound comes from somewhere deep inside of me and suddenly I’m flipping Echo over. Her shriek of surprise quickly turns into sensual moans and gasps as I bury myself inside her. My wings flare out behind me and my claws extend to grip her decadent bottom.

This time, I surrender control to the deepest parts of myself. It’s as if I’m a passenger in my own body but I see and feel everything that he does. Yet, he is me. This unknown entity drives into Echo’s sheath without mercy or forgiveness. He takes her pleasure for himself. Savage screams and growls gather in the wind. Together we drown ourselves in her body with only the moons as our witness. An unforgiving orgasm causing her body to spasm uncontrollably. I lift her so that her back is flush against my chest. My hands grope her fleshy mounds as I pound her.

“Azandum,” she whimpers while gripping my horns for support. Tremors of delicious pleasure flood my veins and I empty myself within her.

The air is knocked from my lungs when I feel the weight of our bond settle between us. Echo’s grip on my horns tightened letting me know that she felt it too. Like being hit by a strong wave. Halfway through the rituals now, visually, the tether is pulled taught and the rope is thicker, stronger. I can feel Echo here with me. Not physically, no, I can feel her presence. I know she’s with me. My knowledge of her presence is stronger as if I can find her without knowing where she physically is.

She slides off my haju and turns around to face me. When our eyes find each other, I inhale.

Mate

Yes, mate. She is mine and mine alone. The nexus, the core, the is all and be all of my existence. I could feel her. Not just her body in my hands or her presence, I could feel her desire, adoration, fondness. Her love. I feel all of it as if it were my own. So when the tear slips from her eyes, I know that she is experiencing all that I am as well.