He looked at his mistress as she smiled down on him.
"My lady, what shall we do? The girl does not know of her fate, does not know what will happen, how her life will change. She is aware of a change, but not how the change will occur." he hissed. "She doesn't know about The Ritual!"
"And it is not her place to know!" the woman screeched.
"But Kiara, she will not be ready!" a shaky female stood and spoke. "She must-"
"Silence! Do not use my human name here, understand, oh insolent one?" Kiara sneered at her subjects. "The girl WILL be ready. It is summer. She WILL fall for the boy. I will introduce The Chosen soon. The Ritual WILL take place. Do not be fooled."
The assembly nodded. They knew from experience that they should trust their leader. She would protect them, ensure the continuance of their race. She had done so for years, how could she possibly fail now?
A lone figure in the back raised his voice. "You may be right, but who can you trust with this girl? She's strong willed, not ready to give in as easily as others would. She may rebel, and we need a strong male to tame her." He pointed to a buff male in the first row. "Not like him. Someone strong of heart, not strong of body. She WILL rebel against the strength of his arms. She's not impressed by him, and you all know it. She will not change her mind in one short summer."
The assembly was silent. One by one they turned their heads to veiw the speaker, realizing that they had never seen him before. He was a stranger to them.
They began whispering. A stranger? In their midst? And telling them how to treat their daughter? They hissed as one, a menacing, greedy sound.
"Preposterous!" came a call from the front, calling the attention away from the darkened stranger. Every head turned as they watched their daughter's brother. He growled menacingly. "She will become one with the assembly. It is meant to be."
The stranger shrugged, signaling the end of the minor battle with three last words. "As you say." he spoke, looking defiant.
The assembly returned their gaze to their leader. She had been watching with an amused look in her eye. "She will. No matter what." She sighed heavily and looked at the moon. "Now, we must be going, the moon grows dark. Off with you, all!"
As everyone took off into the night, the dark stranger shook his head, muttering.
"She will not follow them. It is not in the moon rays. No matter what they all say. It is not meant to be. SHE is not meant to be. We," he shrugged, sighing. "We are not meant to be here."
As he spread his wings, he closed his eyes for a time. "But I MUST do my best to change that."