The Phoenix Colony

He smiled.

"We don't have to walk. Just climb up on her back and Tatee'll do the rest. I haven't just been feeding her all those times I went out alone."

He grabbed hold of the scruff of Tatee's neck, which made her stop moving and stand placidly, waiting for what would come next. He climbed up on top of her back, just behind the shoulders of the first pair of legs.

"Are you coming?"

 

Reva grinned delightedly.

"You sneak!" She said, scrambling up behind him, "what a great idea. She's not going to mind two?"

Tatee snorted almost as if in derision of the thought and moved off with a strange gait that Reva might have termed a 'scuttle'. Still it was comfortable and the sense of freedom as the Tribe fell behind them and the moons sailed silently overhead made Reva sigh with contentment.

She wrapped her arms around Allen's waist and gave herself over to enjoying the moment.

 

They moved quickly down the canyon, flowing over rocks and breaks in the trail with ease. Tatee was like a living bridge, her body shape perfectly adapted for moving smoothly over rough terrain. She slid on her belly, while grabbing hold of whatever she needed with her legs, sometimes slithering along, sometimes bouncing as she stood up and lifted herself over some rocks in her way.

Before long they were at the fork of the two canyons. He grabbed a bunch of fur on the left of her scruff and gently guided her to turn left and go up the other canyon.

"Hold on, the ground gets rougher up ahead."

There was no trail, and she had to scramble over a bunch of fallen boulders in order get up to the caves near the top of the wall.

 

Reva had only ridden a horse a couple of times and this was nothing like that. Tatee's fur was soft and beneath it her muscles flexed like a snake's. The leg musculature was something for Reva to tuck her feet into and it didn't seem to bother Tatee who plunged on, a true all-terrain vehicle.

"Hold on, it gets rougher up ahead."

Reva took a fresh grip with hands and knees.

"If only the others could see this." She said.

Reva had been one to wonder what use Tatee could be. She still didn't know what the future Tatee might be like but this seemed to be a good sign.

 

Finally they came to a halt where the rockslide met the shear wall of the canyon. There was a small system of shallow caves there that had formed when the rockslide happened, and been deepened over time by the wind and weather.

Allen slid down off of Tatee's back and helped Reva down. He looked out across the moonlit landscape, both walls stretching off into the distance with the floor a maze of light and shadow.

"Here we are."

 

It was a rugged, wild place. The moonlight lit the rocks with the pink-white glow specific to this planet. It was also would have been a little spooky without the reassuring warmth of Allen on one side of her and Tatee on the other.

She petted Tatee, feeling a little sad. But a four-story Beast would be a difficult pet to keep when Tatee was full grown.

"Has she a preference for any one of the caves?"

 

Nathan heard the bustle around him, but he was in another world....


Nathan sat in the cave listening to his children play, and wanting to laugh, every one of the children that approached Chrys had to tell his or her name. She had selective amnesia during her first pregnancy, but every thing came back afterwards. It was kind of hard having your mate forget you and hate you while carrying your children.

He often wondered what the world looked like now, he had gone completely blind many years ago. He only knows his children by their physical and speach patterns, but Chrys always remembers to help him out.

As he worked at weaving a blanket, a skil CHrys had taught him through many sessions of burnt grass, he heard Britney scream, "Harold's on fiah." Her voice like a beaacon, he ran in it's direction, having learned the intracacies of the terrain a couple of years back. He used the water bladder he always had on his hip to extinguish his son. As the little boy fizzled out, Nathan heard Chrys amble up behind him. He turned around and scratched under Chrys' chin, "Hon, I hear their hearts."

 

(last post, unless something compelling makes me continue)

"How about we just let her figure that out herself."

Allen just stood there holding Reva in his arms.

"I never would have thought I would end up here.......Thank you."

So this was how his life was going to start, in the wilderness under the light of two moons with the woman he loved by his side. In a couple of months there would be another person with them, and already he could almost feel it's presence. He stared into her face, drinking in every detail of it the same way he took in his surroundings. There was nothing that he didn't take note of, but no matter how much he studied her face, there was always one thing that caught him by suprise.

She had green eyes.

 

(last post for Raylene....I'm sad now!)

Raylene woke when Reva touched her shoulder. "Allen and I are taking Tatee elsewhere. We'll be back soon." She nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"Be careful Reva."

She lay in the near darkness of the cave. The fire had burned down to embers, but she didn't see the point in stoking it or adding more wood. They had their very own fire starter, in the form of Nathan. He'd at least be good for something if he stopped annoying the Kat.

She placed her hand on her tummy and yearned to feel it squirm inside her. That was her favorite part of pregnancy. Although, the last five, she could never hear her baby singing while inside of her. She already felt a deep connection with this new life, this little song bird growing inside her. The baby began to sing. "La la laaaa!"

Raylene woke Chad. Listen, she's singing again. She's singing her Aria.

 

(My last post for Fox. )

Fox was out hunting when she sense the movement of a ceader nearby, and there was also a person. Fox slowly crept up to where the movement was coming from, to see a man leaning against a tree, with a ceader closing in on him. Just as the ceader was about to attack, Fox runs out a stabs it in the neck. She looks down at the man that was cowering from the creature. He has long blond hair and bright blue eyes. Probably around six feet tall with a slim build. Fox gives a little laugh. The man asks "What's so funny?" Fox says "Its just that you make for a cute damsell in distress. My name is Fox by the way." "I'm Titus." says the man.

Titus came back to the tribe with Fox. In time they became their own pair. After a few months, Raylene told Fox that she could hear three little hums coming from her. "What should we name them." says Titus. "We?! I'm naming them, unless ofcourse you want to carry them for nine months and give birth to them." says Fox. Titus quickly caved like he normally did. "Raylene thinks they will be girls, by the sound of their hum. So we'll go with the names Morgan, Eris, and Rayne." says Fox.

 

((Perfect ending for Allen and Reva, CD, thank you))

Of the 140 plus people who had survived first one then a second crash on Phoenix, natural events, murder, animals, and negative mutations killed more. A few simply could not adapt to their new life.

We hadn’t realized how lucky our tribe had been. Perhaps using the healing water made with the plant spike juice had protected us in some way. Other survivors in scattered tiny tribes told us disturbing tales of people who could not adapt.

We are called The Tribe as though there is no other.

We honor our dead by recounting their stories around the fire and this is the beginning of our history. Pasha and Viva’s sacrifices, Chad’s heroism will doubtless pass into legend. Likewise Juliano, Bardon, Harold, Juan, Owen, and Britney will not be forgotten.

I will not let Ben be forgotten. He did the best he could and taught me to take a chance.

Cevin had been thought dead before he staggered into camp unexpectedly. He was gaunt, his hair and beard long. He had neglected himself and we tended to his needs. He appears to be on the mend and has brought written accounts of all of his experiences. He continues to write everything down.

Our children will bear our names; commingled to show what bloodline they are from. Beyond this generation they will most likely revert to the paternal surnames except for Fox’s children. She rules Titus with an iron fist and will likely breed a warrior race.

Frank has taken to calling Charysse ‘The Warden’ which troubles her not at all. She uses endearments such as ‘Pain in the A**’. Raylene probed his mind somewhat cautiously and he no longer sings Queen in his thoughts though she thinks she may have heard Sinatra. I think Frank might be too busy keeping a lookout for Charysse to cause much trouble and yet he seems gruffly content.

Derek and Chad seem to have buried their differences and spend a lot of time fishing. Aryne and Raylene have struck up a friendship and Raylene waddles when she walks, tremendous with yet another child with Chad. She smiles a lot.

Allen, Chad and Bull have been working on designs for housing. They seem to be in favor of building geodesic domes as the best shape to disperse the ADC blasts in storm season. The difficulty will be in figuring out how to build them.

I will be glad when we no longer have to be cave people.

Tatee and her kin may turn out to be either a great ally or a great threat. Only time will tell if we have fostered harnessed power or unpredictable terror in the nearby canyon. As of yet she is still affectionate and occasionally we can see her shape on the ridge that overlooks the camp. She is impossible to see unless she moves around against the right background or opens her eyes and unfortunately finds her invisibility a great game.

As a courtesy we never point her out to Chad.

Speaking of animals, Joey’s offspring are a popular addition to every household. So popular that the phrase ‘A roo at the hearth’ has come to be shorthand for safe and plentiful food. They love the attention lavished upon them and the food even more.

Chrys and Nathan have never properly moved into the caves, instead choosing to live outside in the trees. Of all the mutations theirs are some of the most fascinating and most extreme. There is a special cave we’ve set aside for them to come in when the storms blow in. We can keep nothing burnable in there.

Cull has slipped easily into the role of the Tribe doctor and is transparently proud of Cody and their children. She is expecting again.

Allen is no longer restless for Earth. I’ve come to realize that my mate will always quest for something. His intellect and energy demand that. And so he works with Tatee, plays with our children, and struggles with the knotty problem of housing. I asked Frank to craft a backgammon board and pieces. They will be my Landing Day present for Allen…shhh he has no idea.

There is no love lost between Allen and Fox and I worry about the animosity between them everytime I see or feel my lover’s scarred midsection. I hope that they will let bygones be and live for the future instead of the past.

As for me I am content. I will not let them vote me in again at the next Landing Day Meeting. I want to focus on my children and the constant call of duty to the Tribe has been mine for long enough.

Earth discarded us as useless dreck to be worked until we died. We have not accepted that destiny, instead crafting the new one that fate has handed us. We will make the most of this planet and perhaps Earth will hear from us again.

After all, we are their children. We are their judges.

We are Phoenix.