Lord Atem's Lesson

Iato led Atem to her arie later than night and he breathed in the sweet scent of the soft hay. But as he landed in it he realized it wasn't hay, it was some kind of sweet reed. She landed gracefully, folding her wings. She walked over to a large pile of feathers. Atem noticed that they were white and deep chocolate brown.

"Who was he?" Atem asked folding his wings and walking over to her as she knelt by the pile. Tears came to her eyes as he knelt next to her.

"He, he was my first love, Zar, his death was why I left this place." She cried softly into his shoulder. He gently wrapped his good arm around her, stroking her hair softly.

"You really loved him didn't you?" Atem asked but some how instead of feeling jealousy of him Atem felt sorrow for Iato.

"I loved him, I did but he died. My heart died with him and I fell into a deep sleep known as recreation to us. I was reborn a year after you in the mortal world and my parents turned me out onto the streets because I was born with wings. You know the rest." Iato said softly to him. The sun was sinking behind the forest and suddenly the whole place was alight with the light of the enchanted main halls. Atem affectionately kissed her lips and she rose up with his mouth as his shoulder hurt. They kissed fervently for the longest time, hidden in the back of the huge arie. He lay back in the soft reeds, her body on top of his. He slid his left hand down her back. She kissed his lips again and this time she didn't pull away. Instead she gave into him as they rose up, their senses heightened, each could feel the other's body against theirs. Iato felt his warm blood coming from his shoulder and stopped, pulling away.

"What?" Atem asked then she pushed very gently on his shoulder and he flinched. She smiled at him and wrapped his shoulder back up again.

"It doesn't mean that you don't get anything but it does mean that you don't get what you want. I promise that as soon as you're better." Iato told him softly then walked over to the pile of feathers and picked them up. She smiled at him and threw the pile into the wind, grabbing one and carrying it back with her, a chocolate feather was now in her hair besides instead of the white one. She put the white feather on her staff.

"You really are beautiful you know that?" Atem asked her as she lay back down on top of him. She kissed his lips.

"How many times have you told me that?" She asked him softly. He smiled a mysterious smile.

"Are you sure that it's 15 times?" He asked and she shook her head.

"It may not be we don't know because so far it's been true." She replied.

Some hours late, deep into the night and reaching the wee hours of the morning Iato and Atem were snuggled up together under Atem's cloak in the furthest point in the back of the arie. There was a deep dent in the reeds there and they were hidden there. Talrim and Raptor flew in. Talrim was clicking her beak excitedly about something.

'Iato… Iato!' Raptor called into the arie.

'IATO!' He and Talrim screeched together and Iato sleepily raised her hand and the two falcons flew over to her.

'Get up NOW!' Talrim cawed, her talon sinking into her master's glove.

"Talrim, what's wrong?" Iato asked, her mouth wasn't quite working yet and her eyes were still shut. Atem was sound asleep next to her.

'One's coming and she's having trouble. Hurry Trina is in a flurry and is too confused to do anything.' Raptor cawed. Iato's eyes opened and she sat up. The falcons nodded as she repeated it. She stood up, leaving Atem there and walked over to her cloak, she picked it up and her medicine bag. She yawned and flew over to where the falcons led her.

"Mother, help she's having trouble and the contractions have started but her water hasn't broken." Trina said to her.

"I understand Raptor and Talrim told me." Iato sighed and pulled a feather from her daughter's wing.

"OW… mom?" Trina asked her. Iato knelt by the girl's side.

"How long has it been?" Iato asked her and she shook her head.

"I don't know m'lady. All I know is that it hurts." The girl said then cried out as a pounding contraction slammed through her body. Iato sighed and shook her head from side to side.

"Pain in the ass…" Iato sighed then much too every one's surprise she popped the girl's water sac with the sharp end of the feather. She threw it to the side then walked up behind the girl, being careful of her outspread wings. She kneeled and lifted the girl's back up to her body and wrapped her arms around her, just above her stomach. As the girl's next contraction hit Iato pushed down with the girl. Three contractions later the Guardian sighed and smiled as the baby's head crowned.

"Almost there." Iato whispered in the girl's ear. Then she recognized her, it was Daria she recognized the humming bird wings. "Daria… you can do it." Iato whispered.

Two hours later Iato brought the baby girl back to her mother.

"Daria it's a girl." Iato smiled as she handed the tired woman her child.

"Iato, I was wondering when you were going to get here. Flare and I were so worried."

"I always knew you two were going to get together." Iato laughed. A tall red headed man walked in. His wings were a brilliant blue with black designs.

"Iato." He smiled as she stood and hugged him.

"Hello my friend care to see your baby girl?" Iato asked him and his eyes lit up.

"She's beautiful." He said kneeling by his mate's side.

"If you don't need me any more I'll be going back to bed." Iato yawned and turned to leave.

"Iato…" Her friend said.

"Yes?" She asked as she picked p her medicine bag.

"We're naming her Diare." Daria smiled and Iato nodded. Diare meant beautiful one in their language.

Iato lifted off and flew back to her arie and landed there, almost falling over she was so tired. The sun was just starting to peak over the edge. She walked over and hung up her cloak and bag. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Where have you been?" Atem asked her, looking her up and down.

"I have been helping to deliver my best friend's daughter." Iato smiled at him as their lips met.

"Really? Wow… you've been busy." He laughed and she nodded and yawned.

"I'm so tired, I think I could sleep forever." She laughed as they made their way back to the corner. They snuggled up together under his cloak as people began to fly from arie to arie then to the main hall to wait for the announcement about when the celebration was going to be.

A few weeks later Atem was standing in the front of Iato's arie, he had talked to the Dark Mage. He had agreed to take Atem's place while he was in Areastos so the country didn't collapse into chaos. He also said that he would shape shift to look like him and use thought link if he had any questions.

"Lord Atem!" He heard a male voice say and he looked over as a young man flew up to where he was. Atem's shoulder had healed and he was going to help with the preening. Iato was off somewhere with all the other women and they were all crowding around Diare. Diare looked around curiously at all the attention. She was growing fast like all Areos.

"Yes Rio?" Atem yawned. He and Atem had become friends over the few weeks. Rio landed by Atem and Atem folded his arms. "What's going on, you look too happy for it to be something that has to do with this day." Atem smiled.

"I'm getting a new sibling." Rio smiled and Atem stopped smiling, and Rio laughed. "My parents not Lady Iato… don't worry I'd think you would be the first to know if SHE was pregnant." Rio smiled again and Atem breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost time for them to pull off all the old hay and throw it into the middle. Atem drifted back into his thoughts about Iato and Rio looked over at him.

"1 to go." Rio said shocking Atem out of his thoughts.

"How… do?" Atem asked the boy.

"I know all." Rio laughed, then he shook his head, "No we've heard the song the past few nights. No one in this entire place can miss it either because it's Lady Iato's true song."

"I guess I can't have sex in this city without everyone in the entire place knowing." Atem frowned.

"Unless you can figure out a way to keep Lady Iato's mouth closed… no." Rio said and if this were a cartoon a light bulb would have popped up over his head.

"But there is a way." He smiled. Rio looked over at him.

"You do know that it makes the females un happy if they can't sing… think about that." Rio said and opened his wings and Atem followed him and nodded.

"I know… I was just joking." Atem smiled and he was, he loved hearing her voice and his rising over the city. He smiled again as Iato flew up to them.

"Boy are you all smiles today, if his smile got any wider his face would break." Iato laughed and kissed his lips.

"Iato look down there." Rio pointed to a small bird, it was darting amongst the Areos looking for someone it saw Atem and flitted over.

'Lord Atem.' It tweeted. Atem nodded. 'This is an official announcement to you that your mate Lady Iato is to be officially crowned tonight.' The bird tweeted and laughed.

"Trevor you stupid robin it's been a long time… I've already been crowned." Iato said catching the laughing bird.

'I know I wanted to see what he would do.' The bird twittered then flew off.

"Ignore the birds, they like to spread rumors." Rio laughed. Atem raised an eyebrow then nodded as Rio flew off.

"Time for you to get throwing." Iato laughed and kissed him once more then flew down to the rest of the girls and a whistle came from some of the men and Iato and Atem laughed.

"That was so cute." Daria said to Iato as the old hay rained around them. 'You think that was cute you should have been there last night.' Iato thought.

"Yeah, he is cute isn't he?" Iato smiled Trina flew over to Iato as the men finished the roofs and started to put the new ones on. When they finished every one of them shot towards their mates, ramming into the hay. Even Atem and Iato fell into it. But she didn't fight him. She just smiled, pushed him off and flew into the sky, weaving between the trees. Others got the same idea and they all gather together behind a tree as the men were looking.

"Come on, lets go to my arie, they'll never think of looking there, besides its warmer in there." Iato whispered and they flew back to her arie. She sat down in the back corner as the rest flew in, all of the huddled under their mate's cloaks and the new baby girl there with them; the older children were playing by the river. They all crowded into the back Daria asked Iato what it was like, outside of Areastos.

"It's beautiful, it's not scary at all but at first the human despised me because I was different but not any more because I helped so many of their kind." She replied and another girl, with bright ruby red wings rose up.

"How did you meet the Lord m'lady?" She asked and they all leaned in, listening closely.

"Well I was traveling on the road in front of his convoy and I destroyed a rock and it got in their way. Talrim and I were hiding behind this boulder that I didn't notice until later and Talrim flew out and distracted them then flew into the ravine and I dove in after her. Later that night he was sitting on the boulder and Talrim landed on his shoulder and I flew up, looking for her of course. He asked me my name and I didn't answer. So I left with Talrim back down to this ledge and early the next morning Talrim flew over and told me that he had fallen. I went over and carried him across. He had broken his ribs so I went to leave a note at his tent and I saw this book so I took it. When I got back he was slightly awake and I looked through the book. Inside he had drawn the most beautiful pictures I had ever seen, even one of me and Talrim." She opened the book for them to see the picture. "Then I left him. A few weeks later I was about to enter Thebes and I was shot down by men. They took me to this man's house and I met my granddaughter. They had a nest thing not much unlike this arie. It was small and cramped though. And he came in… I was trying to drink but the water was stale. He asked me to sing for him and I closed my eyes to listen for a song but what I heard was the other half of mine. I sang and he joined me… and well as they say… the rest is history." Iato said and the girls sighed. She smiled as she saw Atem fly by; all the men were back in the village. Atem turned and saw her eyes shining in the back of the arie. He landed and walked forward, all the girls giggled as he jauntily walked forward completely ignoring Iato. He turned and walked through the crowd.

"Well now, you girls wouldn't have seen my lady around here any where would you?" Atem asked nonchalantly.

"She's not here." One laughed.

"Oh really well then where could she be?" Atem asked and made a part through the girls, moving a bit closer to Iato.

"She's not here." Another said.

"Hmm… I wonder…" Atem made a beeline for Iato and walked up behind her, sliding his hand over her shoulder. "Where could she be?" He asked as she stood up and moved away.

"She's not here." Daria said as he smiled and stopped in front of her.

"Am I playing Blind Man's Bluff here?" Atem asked softly and turned around, Iato was standing in the middle of the girls. Atem walked over a ways towards her then stopped and zigzagged his way around her, sliding his hand across her rounded buttocks.

"Maybe…" Iato replied as he stopped a little ways away from her.

"Oh… I heard a voice… now where could that be coming from?" Atem asked and leaned in close to Iato. "I win." He whispered in her ear. Kissing the tender spot behind her ear. She shook her head dropping his cloak.

"Not yet." She whispered back and running to the front she opened her wings and took off, flying into the forest. He ran out and followed her, they darted around tress, she pushed off the bark backwards, spinning off into another part of the woods. The girls all flew out to watch their leaders play. They all met up with their mates.