The 15 Explanation
Iato woke up the next morning to a bed full of black and white feathers. She burst into laughter at the mess, their wing feathers were all across the room. She woke Atem up who opened his eyes to a pile of feathers that was Iato.
"Iato… where are you?" Atem asked he heard her laugh and reached into the feathers felt her wings, attached to her wings he knew was her back but it seemed to him that she was just taken over by her wings. She turned over to see him then remembered the temple.
"It must be fore noon isn't it?" She asked.
"Just about." Atem said.
"Hell… I was supposed to be at the temple this morning." Iato said. She felt his hands on her upper arms.
"It's alright, we're leaving tomorrow aren't we?" He asked and she nodded.
"C'mon we need to talk to Trey." She said getting up. She pulled on her skirt and top, not bothering with her wraps. She picked them up and tossed them to the side and strapped her swords and medicine bag around her hips and picked up her staff.
"Moving fast aren't we?" Atem as standing up and looking around for his dresser. He walked over and pulled out a new outfit which was close to the same as the other only this one's sash was scarlet. He slipped on the Nehkbet and cloak. She smiled as he coughed up feathers.
"Oh just wait till we get to Areastos." Iato said and flew out the window down to Trey's house followed by Atem.
"Trey?" Iato hit the ground running, her wings still outspread.
"Iato, you weren't at the temple this morning." Trey said as Atem landed just behind her.
"Mr. Trey I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." Iato sighed.
"It's alright… I heard you two last night… and this morning… three times." He said, Trey was 19 and only a little older than Atem but Atem was better looking than him and all the good looking girls went to him. He swallowed his bruised pride, he had owned this girl but now she had hooked up with this feathered freak. Now the Pharaoh owned her… he had claimed her. She smiled and opened her mouth so say something but closed it as she saw the look that was going between the Pharaoh and Trey.
"Trey, I-we're going to Areastos, the city of the Areos. I have things to do there. I'll be back in a month or so." Iato said and Trey once again swallowed his beaten ego.
"Okay." He sighed and Iato ran into the other room. She ran into her cage which was still as beautiful as usual. She picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder then picked up the book. She slipped it into her medicine bag and Atem noticed that she latched the scarab around her neck that he had given her. He smiled and pulled the feather out from his hip. He always kept it at his hip under his sash.
"C'mon we have to get you ready to go." She said and dragged him up to the palace. They opened the door to his room and they both laughed at the feathers. A pile of white and black feathers with red feathers sticking out flapped over, landing on Iato's arm.
"Talrim… silly bird… where have you been all night?" Iato asked.
'Listening to you fuck the Pharaoh.' The grumpy falcon replied, snapping her beak at her.
"Talrim… that wasn't very nice…" Iato told the falcon.
'I just had to sleep under a pile of feathers that smelled like Areos semen. Not my favorite thing to do.' Talrim snapped.
"Well sorry, not my fault you followed me here… silly falcon… and besides you have WINGS why didn't you just fly away?" Iato asked her while Atem looked in on this odd conversation.
'I don't know… I think I actually enjoyed listening to you two. Is he good?' The falcon clicked and Atem raised his eyebrow as he understood her.
"Why would I tell you that?" She asked.
'So he wasn't?' Talrim cooed teasingly.
"I don't know what do you think bird?" Iato asked it, she was pissed with the bird of prey.
'Well judging from the smell of Areos semen, the amount of feathers, the soreness of your hips, the amount of noise you two made and your numbed lips… I'd say he's a pretty good one… he's a keeper… but just warn me before you decide to fuck the Pharaoh again.' The bird of prey, if it would have had a long enough one, would have stuck its tongue out as it flapped just out of reach of the grounded Areo. Iato jumped up trying to get the bird and strangle it.
"Come here you dumb ass bird… here and I'll teach you to shoot off your beak." Iato jumped and Atem caught her.
'He CAN understand me you KNOW that right?' Talrim cawed from a lamp across the room.
"I can… and I don't think I wanted to because your bird is very graphic… and where she learned her language from is beyond me." Atem smiled at the dumb founded bird woman.
"Dumb ass bird… not my freakin' fault you followed me… shut your freakin' beak." Iato growled across the room at the falcon.
"It's okay she's right thought… it does smell in here." Atem laughed setting Iato down. 'And she's right, my hips do hurt and I can't feel my lips.' Iato thought sinking down into a pile of feathers.
"I doesn't smell that bad… just make sure you don't go in Mira's place when we get to Areastos… now that place smells, she's the biggest slut I know… because we Areos can't get pregnant unless it's with our literally our soul mate we can just kinda screw anyone but… I don't and what Talrim meant by smell is that Areos release a certain scent when their wings release feathers. It's not what you think it is but that smell is there too. Human smell horrible though, their males smell horrible. And just to let you know, their aren't many of us females left, you'll see mostly males when you get there. Most of us have died in captivity because they don't realize that the males sound just as good. But a duet can't be beat." She smiled as he kissed her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist.
'If you two don't stop you're going to have an heir on your hands…' Talrim clicked.
"Cool it Tally, you know the 15 time limit before I can get pregnant. We're safe." Iato told the bird.
'Yeah but what happens when you loose those 15?' Talrim snapped at the two of them. 'At the rate you're going you're going to be expecting one within the next 10 months. You only have 11 left.' The bird cawed again.
"You great bloody chicken be quiet." Iato waved her hand at it.
"What 11… what are you two talking about?" Atem asked them and Iato frowned and pulled away from him. She began to sweep feathers off into the wind off the balcony with her wings.
"It's nothing Atem don't worry about it." She told him and his face sunk.
"No… it's something." Atem said to her.
"Alright, each Areo is given 15 times to have sex before they can become pregnant. I've used four, three with you and one with… you're going to be so grossed out but a princess has to loose her virginity to her brother… it's this thing that Nut and Gehb arranged. But I have 11 more to go then on the 16th I may or may not become pregnant… depends on if you're my soul mate or not. Because if you're not then I can't get pregnant by you but if you really are then we only have 11 more. We are different, Areos react differently to their soul mate because they are more sensitive to them, they can sense the other's emotions and almost like ecstasy the other's body escalates their senses making them more in tune with the other. That smell Talrim was talking about really well it's… uhhhh… Areos, when they're with their soul mate, their semen changes." Atem gave her a half disgusted half curious look. "No it's not like you have some kind of disease that no one else has. It just means that it changes to make you react faster. It's thicker and gives off a peculiar smell… almost like… like the smell of alcohol. That's close but not quite… but that's the smell our friend over there is complaining about." Iato swept the last bit of feathers into the wind and stood out on the balcony, her hair blowing to the side. She felt his arms wrap around her.
"You have a beautiful voice you know that?" Atem asked resting his chin on the top of her head.
"You still won't give up. Why?" She asked him as he kissed her neck.
"Because I don't want to, got a problem with me?" He asked as she turned her head to kiss his lips, sliding her hands onto his. They kissed passionately for the longest time, whether it was hours or minutes they didn't know, they were lost in each other, their passion for each other was swallowing them up. Talrim clicked her beak and shook her head then jumped as the couple landed on the bed together.
Hours later they were sitting together on the bed. She lazily fell back onto the soft pillow, her arm beneath it.
"What's wrong Atem?" She asked him softly running her hand down his back between his wings.
"Nothing's wrong… I… about that question you asked me last night…" He said turning around.
"Yeah?" She searched his face for his thoughts. He arranged himself next to her, turning towards her.
"I think… I think I…" Atem stopped as she put her fingers to his lips.
"Hush… I know… I'm not that stupid, I'll just wait until you can say it without stuttering." She smiled at him. He sighed, she knew him too well. She was so perfect. He thought.
"So where is this Areastos place anyways?" Atem asked her as she moved closer to him.
"In the clouds… above Mount Olympus." Iato told him pointing out over the lands. "There is the most peaceful place ever but we've been in mass chaos lately, our females are being caught. There's a large bounty on my head. Me or my traveling companions. That's why at first I didn't want you to come… I still don't because you may be the Pharaoh but in Greece they don't respect you like the Egyptians."
"But why do they want you?" Atem asked putting his hand under her chin.
"Because I am the Guardian Iato, the first Areo, their leader… they say that I and my daughters and now my granddaughter were the most beautiful Areos. But the other reason is because of my voice. I was given a gift that the others do not and you have witnessed that first hand. I can sing, the songs that are in other's heart. Both of them from my throat. I can sing someone else's duet to see if they are going to stay. I have the strongest voice of my people because some day I will have to lead them into a war that may destroy my people but we will be free. I sing with all the voices of my people and the more that are born the stronger my voice gets but now, I think I've found the point where it's the strongest… when I'm with you." She said softly as he lowered himself down on top of her.
"Really? Well then may I hear your voice again?" He asked, lovingly biting the tender flesh of her neck then sucking to dull the pain.
"No, I'm totally gone…" She whispered to him then a cry of ecstasy tore from her lips as his hands began to rub her hips as he ran his mouth on her breasts.
"Oh you are… are you?" He asked as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
'10 to go.' Talrim clicked at them. Iato ignored her as once again she was drawn into his warmth, the heat of their bodies drowning them in pleasure as her mouth opened their song rang over the Areos again. '9.' Talrim cawed as she flew out.