Lillia's Tale, pt II

She spent many days in mourning flying down to the valley and sunning on the tall, cool grass. Every night, at moonbreak, she would soar to the top of the cliff and sing the mourning songs. Her screeches and bellows echoed off of the valley, surrounding her with the cacophony of her pain. On the tenth day, she realized she was not alone.

Her head spun around and she scanned the landscape looking for this invader. catching sight of a winged creature perched in a tree in the distance she wondered, "Could it be..." Of course not, it was so far away; but it was so big. If it were merely a bird she would not be able to see it from where she perched. If this was one from her mother's clan they would have to approach her. She was the daughter of an outcast even though she committed no sin.

Her mother had drilled into her head that the first approach was always to be made by a full clan member. She had dreamed of the day when a clan member would approach both her and her mother and reinstate them into the clutch. They would accept her as family, and teach her their history, their ways. They would show her things her mother could not.

Lillia's scattered thoughts came back to the present as she realized that the far away vision was definately flying closer. It most assuredly was no bird. It had to be one of the clan.

She continued staring directly at the approaching figure with a look of wonder on her face. The figure's details grew as it's proximity grew closer. The look of wonder on Lillia's face turned into a look of awe. Lillia was not being approached by just any Cathmari. This Cathmari had the royal plumage.

The figure hovered above her like an ethereal being. Blue and green/golden feathers ruffled in the breeze as they glowed with an other-worldly brilliance. He slowly lowered himself onto the ground, wings beating, talons brushing his hips.

"Are you the child of Zhalim?"

Lillia began nodding slowly, not sure how to answer the most royal of her mother's clan. Lillia's clan.

"We have heard your cries. Your mother's death is a great sadness to us." In one painfully sweeping glance he looked her over, his eyes showed no displeasure, but she could almost sense a strange tension. "You are alone now?"

Lillia nodded again, daring not to speak in case she offend.

"Your mother's sins are not yours. You are allowed back into the clan. Her death releases you from the binds of her shame. You shall exist among us as a relished part of the clutch. Gather your possessions and fly to this cliff's edge. One of you sisters shall meet you here at dawn and lead you to the clutch." He glanced at her wings curiously, his voice lowered and he spoke with the same curiosity which was apparent in his eyes, "You CAN fly can you not?"

Again Lillia nodded. He returned her nod and outstretched his wings in one fluid motion. As he began flapping them Lillia timidly spoke for the first time, "Good flight to you. And thank you." Her words were lost in the soft fluttering of his wings. He seemed to understand her meaning anyway, and nodded again majestically before taking off.

Lillia watched after him until he had crossed the valley. She breathed deeply she flew back to the cave which had been her home for so many years.

She had been waiting on the edge of the cliff for quite a long time after dawn. So long that Lillia was beginning to have thoughts. Horrible thoughts of betrayal and lost faith wafted through her head - What if he was only joking with me? After giving false hopes, he is now back with them telling about the monstrosity he saw today and how she is probably waiting in the same spot they had met, anxiously awaiting the open arms of the clutch. Oh how they would laugh. Laugh at the daughter of Zhalim for her pathetic hopes of joining their clutch.

Just as she was about to give up all hope and go back to the cave, secure in the knowledge she would be forever alone, she saw a figure growing ever closer.

-How dare I have such thoughts. Mother said that they are fair. She said that they would not look upon me as a freak, an abomination. That I am a mystical creature to them and that I would be treated with respect if ever given the opportunity to be brought into the clutch. I should never have harbored such thoughts.

The person drew closer and closer. Lillia stared at the figure, transfixed by the sight which gave her so much hope.

Lillia's Tale, pt I

"Tell me the story of how you met my father again."

Her mother smiled and looked up at her tenderly, "You have heard this story hundreds of times, my love. I am so tired." Her frail hand slowly trailed up to rub at her temple. "Perhaps a little later. After I have rested."

Lillia remembered this day vividly - she probably would for the rest of her life - it was the last day she saw her mother alive. The memories burned inside of her skull painful as a fresh brand. The searing heat brought tears to her eyes as she carried another stone into the cave.

-I will not cry- she thought, for the thousandth time that day.

As she lay the last stone atop the cairn, which housed her mother's body, she gave out a mournful sigh. Her future looked dim for she had no idea of what to do now, or whom to contact. As far as she knew she was completely and most utterly alone. Sitting down beside the cairn she finally collapsed from pure exhaustion. As she lay there with her eyes closed she visualized the last time her mother told her the tale of her father.

"I saw him at the edge of the beach. Apparently, he had just drifted ashore from some faraway place. He was so unlike us, daughter. He was what is called human. When I found him I thought he was a strange aberration and had been cast out from his clan. Left to float at sea to his death for some horrible crime known only to a select few. He was unconscious and barely breathing so I brought him back to this very cave, our cave. It took so long for me to carry him back, child. So long because he was so very heavy and our people are not meant for hard labor. I brought him food and water while each day I patiently waited to see if he would live or die.

"After many moons he finally arose looking like death itself - with pale face and wild, frightened eyes. When he saw me in the darkness he smiled. I smiled back and walked towards him. But when he saw me by the light of the fire, a most dreadful sound escaped his lips, he scrambled backwards, desperately clawing at the cave wall, and continued making the sound louder, and louder. I was afraid for my life, so I backed away quickly myself. Never did I come into the cave when I knew he was awake after that day. Every
night, I brought him food and water while he lay sleeping. It made me feel like a reature of the night, Lillia. I would watch over him as he slept, making sure to bring wood for the fire. I patched his garments, and brought little things to make him more comfortable.

"One day, as I crept in to do my nightly chores, I realized he was not asleep. He was looking at me. He did not have that look of rabid fear he once had, instead it was a look of curiousity, inquisitiveness. He, in fact seemed thankful for my company. On this night he began speaking. His tongue was otherworldly, I had never heard before. We continued this "chatting" for many phases of the moon. He taught me his words, and I taught him mine. After a long time, it seemed as if we could understand each other. And not long after this, we actually were able to communicate. It was so amazing. He told me about his world, and I told him of mine. I offered to find a way to return him to his land but he chose to stay with me. In this very cave we lived together during the night when I could sneak away from the clan. Not much long afterwards, you were born my love."

At this point she asked, "And what happened to my father. Why do I not remember him?"

Her mother sighed heavily and said, "He died soon after you were born. It was a wasting disease he got from some poisonous fruit. It was safe for me to eat, but not for a human. It was a horrible thing. To bring a child into this world that would never know her father."

"And is this why I am different than you, mother? Because I am part human?"

"Yes, Lillia. This is why you are different than both he and I. You contain the best aspects of us both, I think. And for this you should be proud. You are the very first of your kind in many generations. Even our history only alludes to the ones such as you. Mythical as it may seem, you are almost what your father would call an angel: A magical human with wings."

Lillia sobbed at the remembrance of her mother's tale. What difference did it make if she were Human or Cathmari? She would be accepted by neither. Her mother had long ago been outcast by the clutch for bearing a half-breed. Why would they accept her if she returned on her own after her mother's death? Perhaps they would say the sin was her
mother's and she was not the one to repay it. Well, no matter, she did not even know where this fabled clutch was. Her mother's clan was an enigma to her; this clutch was nothing more than a mythical creation. For the only Cathmari Lillia had ever seen was her mother.