Page 17 of Ruby
Ree goes silent for only a moment before singing again, her song a little lower.
“Will help my sisters?”
Thivoll, who had begun to relax, tenses up once more.
“They taken?” I ask, a new anger beating inside my damaged body.
What are these beasts? Where do they come from? What gives them the mandate to go ripping apart families regardless ofspecies? Have they never felt the joy of brotherhood or do they only celebrate killing and conquering?
“Yes. Changed and caged.”
I was caged too.
My fingers tighten as my anger rises, not for myself but for the sisters of this small and helpless being. I suppose it was where Thivoll saved her from.
She continues to sing, slow, disheartened and long.
“Broken if found. Forced and touched. Need help.”
My sympathy for Ree and her sisters is growing as she reveals more about their situation. I have heard of trespassers who sell stolen creatures like they are some kind of prize and I can see that it is what Ree and her sisters have experienced.
“Look like you?” I ask, eager to keep the small creatures safe.
As far as I can see, there is no way for them to protect themselves, with only one pair of arms and legs on them and no other appendages. They are like hatchlings, needing to be taken care of or else they fall from the edge of the aerie.
Except these ones have been forcefully removed.
“Yes, but different colors,” she says and immediately the black skin on her head pulls away to reveal purple threads cascading from her where feathers should be; her skin is smooth andfeatureless where mine and Thivoll’s are roughly textured, with fur and feathers providing armor.
Her hands and the rest of her body are still covered in the black skin but her fingers pull forward the threads so that I can see all of it, as well as her face with its delicate features and uniquely striking eyes.
Her threads contrast with the orange and green of Thivoll’s mane and lighter purple on him and I cannot help but think of how their colors complement each other.
“Bright, long threads,” she continues. “In silver cages. Fell from sky.”
I remember the one I had seen land in the tree and I move my body straighter.
“I saw cage. Land in tree,” I inform her, grateful that it is one less hunter to look out for but unhappy that her sister is helpless and alone because I did not investigate.
Ree makes a sound that expresses her glee and her mouth spreads in a movement that should be threatening but makes her look brighter.
“Which color threads?”
“Not see. I go get and bring. Keep sister safe. Monsters will not break. Not force or touch,” I promise her, feeling renewed hope and purpose for my journey.
My song is not low and tainted with the thoughts of giving up and Ree is matching it.
“Must keep in cage,” Ree says and I hack at her in disbelief.
Why would she want her sister to remain in the cage that the beasts forced her into?
“Thought it was monster’s weapon. Hopped away. Ashamed I left sister. Will not keep in cage. No,” I sing threateningly; my song is long and angry.
Ree’s face falls back to confusion and I can see that there are some issues with our communication. She cannot find the songs for the words she wants to speak, and I can understand that but I cannot agree with leaving her sister in a cage.
I will not allow it.
She begins to speak to Thivoll in his language and I note the vast difference between it and mine.
