The fabric I am wearing is incredibly soft. It is a blend of colors; muted shades of greens and browns. It is fitted across my breasts but then drops to my ankles in loose folds. Venya and Jedzia have taken the time to weave wild flowers in my ebony, shoulder length curls. The looking glass that has been brought before me shows me a woman I am still becoming used to. My sisters assure me that I am beautiful. It makes me wonder if Riddick finds me beautiful as well. It is possible he does not. I know he desires me, and he says he loves me. Does he feel this way because of this face or this body? Things I have very little control over.

Night has fallen and it has been four days since the challenge. I have spoken to Vaako once. He had only wanted to take the time to assure me of his loyalty. I found myself wondering if he felt pain at the loss of his wife. Tonight is the tying ceremony where Riddick and I will be bound in the way of the Pard.

"Are you okay Evya?" Venya murmurs from behind me.

I turn and try to reassure her with a smile. "It is all still so new to me. All of these memories. Sometimes they overwhelm me. They fight with the space that has been filled with new memories, new rituals and rules of life."

"It must have been so difficult for you." Venya tells me and I see the pain in her eyes. "Having to teach yourself as only a child. Not having any memories, or sense of self."

"I survived." I tell her. "It is what we do."

"And you met your Riddick as a child?" Jedzia sighed. "How romantic!"

I smiled at her youth. "It was not so romantic at the time Zia. Then we were both predators sharing the same space. We helped each other to survive. He freed me from that prison because he felt it fair."

"But you recognized him." she pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose I did." I agreed. "I was a child, and while he was mature, he was not that far past his own youth. It's funny to realize that." My grin widened. "I've always seen him as this omnipotent entity. But even then I knew he was something…special. And it seemed as if our paths were always intertwining."

The flap to the hut rustled and one of the village elders, a woman by the name of Maja entered. "I've been sent to escort you to the ceremony." she told me with a smile. My sisters embraced me and left the hut. It is a custom that in a tying ceremony my mother would escort me to the circle. With my mother being dead I suppose they have chosen Maja to act in her stead.

Once Maja had been one of the most beautiful of our people. Now she'd aged and it was easy to see how sadness had marked her for life. She approached me slowly with a soft smile on her face. "You look so like your mother." she said softly.

"My memories of her are quite vague." I did remember she and Maja had been almost as close as sisters.

"She was beautiful, and so full of laughter as each of you, her precious children, were born. She adored you all."

"I am glad to know this."

"Your father tells me you're starting to remember your past?" She'd bent down and was straightening the rug covering the floor.

"Yes." This conversation was making me curious.

"This is good."

"I am glad they are coming back. It caused pain to my family when I had no recognition of them."

"Losing a loved one can be painful." she murmured. She stepped forward and I heard something crack beneath her feet. "I too have lost those I loved. I was in love once. My mate was human much as your Furyan is."

"I did not know."

"Oh yes. Handsome and intelligent." A wistful smile made its way across her face.

I was beginning to feel slightly queasy. Nerves I suppose. Excitement as well. Soon I would be tied to Riddick for all time. I enjoyed listening to Maja, never had I been able to know her this well…"Wait." I said as something fluttered at the edges of my mind. "I remember…." I was becoming confused. I couldn't grasp the memory. I couldn't hold onto it. Images of Maja and a man. Laughing, cuddling closely.

"What do you remember child?" she murmured.

"Your mate…" I tried to hold onto it. "A doctor. I should know this…"

"Yes, Alexander came to our planet for research."

"Alexander? As in Alexander…"

"Colby." she told me as I sat heavily on the bed. The room was starting to spin. "Yes. When we began sending the children away Alexander knew he must go as well. We made love, and he told me he was going. He told me he did not know when we would see each other again. He told me if he had but one of us he could complete his research and return more quickly. He whispered to me his plans. Just one child. Your parents had many children. I did not think it would hurt so badly when there were already so many."

"You.. You…" My mouth was becoming dry. "What have you done Maja?"

"I told him where you were. I told him of the family you had gone to. I gave you up so that he would return to me. I betrayed our people so I would have my mate. But he never did return." Her voice was bleak. "I know you killed him. I even understand why. I didn't know he would do such horrible things to you. Not to a mere child. But I knew eventually you would remember that I was Alexander's love. I would be banished from our people if they knew. I could not survive that. I am sorry Evya, but for me to survive, you must disappear."

I slid from the bed, but only faintly felt the ground as I landed. "What…"

The last thing I remember hearing was "It is Craska root…you will sleep deeply while I figure out what will become of you."

&

Strange visions continue to fill my head. A part of me knows I'm not conscious, but there is another part of me that is. I fly through the sky, ducking under clouds, and I see everything below me. I do not know if this is dream or real. I circle lower and land upon a branch in a small clearing. There is a circle prepared for something, but for the moment I do not know what it is for. I can't remember that. Several individuals are in this special place. An older man, with graying hair, a younger man who is obviously related to the first, a large, muscled man with dark brown hair that fall down his back, and a dark skinned man with closely cut dark hair. The last man in the circle is impressive. More so than the others. He is tall, muscled, bronzed skin, and his eyes are hidden by dark eye gear of some sort. These men wait for something, but I do not know what. There is something about the man with goggles that interests me.

Two women come running into the clearing, and I see tears falling down their cheeks. Something has upset them very badly. They are crying and yelling. None of the men can make out what they are saying. One of them finally calms down and the goggled man grabs her by the shoulders none too gently. "Where is she?" he growls at her.

"She is gone. We do not know where."

"She ran." the goggled man says in a low voice. I do believe that's pain entering his voice.

I let out a piercing call, and the old man looks at me. For a moment I feel fear, what if this predator means to capture and eat me. One of the girls, the younger one begins to speak again. "Nay, she didn't run. She was ready to come here. Maja came and said she was to lead her. They are both gone."

Maja, Maja, that name rings familiar to me. The older girl holds out her hand, and in it is a broken vial. "We found this father." she said softly. Almost too softly for my keen ears to hear.

The old man took the vial and then handed it to the younger man who was his image. "Tybal, hold this."

"What is it?" the goggled man asked.

Yes, yes, tell us what it is old man. I wish to know as well. The old man looks at me again, and then lets out a piercing whistle. Without knowing why I fly down to his outstretched hand. "It is Craska root." he announces. That does nothing for my knowledge. "It is a powerful drug which renders its victim unconscious. Some say that while unconscious, if the person who uses the root is strong enough, or powerful, they can call the spirit of an animal and spirit walk with that creature." The old man ran a hand down my feathered head and it pleased me. It all sounded like rubbish to me. I would like a nice mouse, perhaps when I am done here I will hunt. But wait, why was I here again? Maja, Maja.

Wait, something there, at the edges. An elderly woman. She tricked the girl, Eve. I am Eve, but I am not Eve. No, that makes no sense. I look into the old man's eyes hoping to find something to give me explanation.

"Did Maja poison Eve with this drug?" the younger girl is close to crying again. Fear not little one, the one you speak of yet still lives.

"I'm afraid it is probable."

"She's the one who gave up Eve to Colby." the goggled man muttered. Rid…Rid…Riddick. Yes, that's his name, but…how did I know that?

"Maja had a love affair with a human many years ago." the old man sighed and stroked my head once more.

"Is there hope she's still alive?" the man, Riddick, asked.

"Yes. This bird that rests here tells me she is still alive."

Me? How am I proof that this woman lives? Now Riddick is staring at me. He is handsome. What? What was that? When have I ever thought Humans were handsome? They have no feathers, it's impossible for them to be handsome with no feathers!

A whisper in my mind, or is it her mind. I see. No, now I understand. We are the same, she and I. Two creatures sharing one body. Or, at least two souls sharing one body. Her body lies unconscious atop a hill to the far East. So is it me thinking, or is it her? She doesn't know either and the whole situation is far too confusing for either of us.

We close our eyes and look. The old woman, she is returning but she is slow. We believe she means to kill us. We don't know why she hasn't yet. We let out a screech of anger and the old man seems to understand. "Follow the Hawk." the old man cries, and they all begin to follow as we fly. We know we must stay slower than our normal speed, otherwise they will be lost, and then she will be lost.

Riddick moves quickly, and we know, we remember, Riddick is mate. We have chosen a fine mate. Our Hawk mate is no longer alive. Sorrow fills us, and it is good to share this pain with someone else. We share the mind, and we share the memories. We have many sad memories between us. If we were human tears would fall from our eyes.

We fly closer to the old woman, and that is when we see the dagger in her hands. Yes, she is coming to finish the job. She is coming to kill us. To kill our young. Anger surges through us and we screech with the rage. She is afraid, and we can taste it on the air. Riddick moves ever closer, and all we can do is hope he gets there before she can touch that cold metal to our body. We are terrified. There is nothing we can do. We can not go into our own body, we have tried, and cannot. She is climbing the hill now, and her strides are slower. She is panting. A woman, part of a fierce and noble race, can no longer run as the panther does. Yes, no longer is she a long tooth, not like us. Our body is young and spry. Our body is in excellent condition, and if we were awake, this would not be an issue. She tricked us, and now lay as if frozen in sleep forever.

So many of the humans are now racing through the lush areas trying to get to our body before she does. Old magic is swirling in the air and we see snakes slithering up, out of the ground. They are circling our body, and at first we are scared, but now we realize they do not mean us harm, they are protecting us. Old magic indeed.

The names of our rescuers are whispered in our head. Toal, Vaako, Damiel, Tybal, Venya, Jedzia, and surprise enters us to name Cerzad among our rescuers. Yet he is the one who called the old magic. The serpent's song.

Riddick is moving towards our humanoid body, while the Pard are tracking Maja. We land on the branch above our prone body and watch as he takes the hill and stops moving. We look at ourselves. We are extremely pale. The fabric of the gown we wear is dark against the white skin, and the edges are ripped and ragged from being moved and brought to this place. Our body is sprawled on the ground with one arm flung outward. We weren't even laid down nicely, we were just dropped. We screech to him. We want him to know we are not dead. It is important he know this.

Damiel, the old man, our father, makes his way up the hill. "She is not dead Riddick. She just sleeps. We must get the antidote into her system so she may return to her own body."

"What do you mean, her own body?" Riddick's confusion is understandable.

"She is the Hawk my son. The Hawk that led us here."

Riddick turns to look at us and lifts his arm hesitantly. After much discussion we agree to go to him. We land on his arm as gently as possible and we look into his blackened goggles. We screech softly as he rubs a hand over our feathers gently.