Edit: I have included three realms in this story, but most of the events are going to be happening in the human realm, since it looks like that's where the Garuda Suras made their home (I mean, the Sura realm can't possibly be that beautiful in Ch. 74).

Disclaimer: There are many things in this world that do not belong to me. Kubera is one of them.

S-C-N-D

Courtship of a Phoenix

…

Humans truly had too short of a lifespan. Tears trickled down Vinata's face as she stood before a bloody mess of limbs. In death, his face was still. His green eyes were open and his mouth was agape, as if in the middle of calling out for her. For one last time, she stared into those lifeless eyes, before burying him with a swift sweep of one feathered arm. In her other, she nestled an infant Half to her chest.

I'll keep you safe, she thought, carrying the child into starry skies. I won't let anyone hurt you.

…

Chapter Five: Winged Half
N0 - approx. 790000 years

…

"So, uh, Garuda, I hear there's quite a scandal going on in your clan there revolving around a child bearing lieutenant."

"Are you kidding?" Gandharva snapped, completely pushing aside Shuri's remark. "You let a Half enter your nest and live amongst the Suras? Have you gone mad!"

Garuda stood rigidly erect at the edge of a cliff, crossing his arms rather firmly. To any onlookers it would have looked like he was refuting their statement with the regality of a king. However, to his friends, he was nothing but a petulant, sulking bird.

"You know as well as I do that I can't leave Vinata unsupervised, and she insists on staying with her child."

"She's staying in female form for him!" scowled his blue friend with a slam of his canteen against the floor. "That is the very first clue you should be taking that Vinata is not in her right state of mind."

"Gandharva," Garuda sighed, "think about it from my perspective for a change. Vinata's been constantly waging war on me for the past two billion years. If having a Half in my territory is all it takes for a few decades of peace, then I can live with that."

"Oh, Garuda," Shuri laughed, "are you sure you're not developing some kind of soft spot for her?"

Visnu said nothing but smiled teasingly.

Garuda rolled his eyes. "Have you gone mad, Shuri?"

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"How are the other Suras in your clan treating him?" Visnu interjected curiously.

Garuda pushed a thoughtful fist against his cheek. "Well, the inferior Suras don't dare to touch on him because they don't want to answer to Vinata, Kalavinka, and Cepphus. The Superior Suras don't seem to care much either; he has no problem mixing with the Rakshasa children. Sometimes she lets him out of her sight, and even then they don't seem to bear much ill will toward a Half with wings."

"Wow! Wings!" Shuri exclaimed.

Visnu's smile widened. "That's Vinata for you."

Even Gandharva was genuinely surprised.

Garuda walked to the edge of the cliff. He looked into the clouds, a smile grazing his lips as he recalled the past month when Vinata had all but threatened to push her son off a similar edge. "A while ago," he mumbled softly, almost to himself, "she was teaching him how to fly."

"Oh my!" Shuri gasped, putting a sleeve to her mouth.

"What a mother indeed," Visnu remarked.

Gandharva grumbled something under his breath.

Garuda barely even noticed his three good friends. His mind was still lost somewhere in the clouds, where a mirage of Vinata soured with her son and two brilliant sets of red-orange wings adorned the sky.

S-C-N-D

N0 - approx. 790000 years

S-C-N-D

"Vinata," he asked her one day as she was sitting on a rock that overlooked most of the Garuda Clan's territory and some of the bordering Ananta Clan's, "why did you keep him with you? You know that it's unorthodox for Suras to keep Half children by their side. Haven't you been ridiculed enough by the other Nastikas of the clan?"

Vinata, who was swinging her dangling legs back and forth, stopped the motion and replied, "Garuda, tell me, how much is four hundred years to you?"

He closed his eyes. "A very short time."

"Exactly, so what does it matter that I spend four hundred years with my child and raise him in the way of the Suras, keep him close by my side and away from danger? It would be rather disappointing if I failed as a mother for a mere four hundred years, don't you think? If I can't handle such a trivial task, how will I ever raise any Rakshasas?"

A blur of orange suddenly shot out of the clouds straight into Garuda's chest. On instinct his two arms flew up, catching the small child under his armpits while his wings were still flapping. For a transient moment, the half's green eyes were alight with more excitement than every single Garuda Sura combined.

"Mom, mom! I did it! I—" And then he realized that the figure in front of him had not, in fact, been his mom. "Ah, Garuda-nim, I'm so sorry."

Vinata hopped to her talons and was by their side in a moment. "Hey, hey," she said with a foxy smile. "No need to apologize to Garuda. He can deal with it."

"Here." Garuda held out his arms to present the Half to Vinata, who stared at him as if he had just asked her to eat a raw cucumber.

"You look like you're offering my child for sacrifice," she sniffled, snatching the Half away from Garuda's arms and promptly tossing him into the rocky chasm. "Off you go now! Make mom proud!"

The child appeared completely unfazed that his mother had just attempted to feed him to whatever monster prowling below. In midair, he spread his wings and did a twirl before steadying himself, yipping and cheering as he soared higher to do figure eights in the clouds.

Garuda placed a hand just above his eyes and squinted. "Is that how you really taught him to fly?"

"Hm? Well, yeah, some variation of that," she replied, yawning and stretching, loose red feathers drifting everywhere. "It's not a big deal. I just threw him off a couple of cliffs when his wings were still developing and caught him afterwards when he fell. By the time he was able to fly, he wasn't even remotely scared of heights anymore. Or falling."

What a brutal childhood… Garuda thought, almost shuddering. "Is that how you plan to mother all your kids?"

"Well… yeah. Man, Garuda. You really are getting soft, aren't you? Some things in this world you have to let the young ones learn for themselves. No Garuda Nastika is going to go out of their way to hunt Ananta Suras for their children every time they're hungry. Besides," she added, staring at the half fondly, "I'll rather miss doing this when he grows up in a few years."

"Right… I almost forgot…" he stated rather sadly. "When he dies, you'll be assuming your male form again."

"Yeah," Vinata said, clenching and unclenching her fist several times as if to test her strength. "Soon, I'll be back, plotting your unfortunate retirement. Until then, don't miss me too much, Garuda."

Garuda didn't think that was going to be much of a problem. If anything, he thought that he would miss her female side a little bit more. Vinata as a male was ruthless, powerful, wild, everything that a second in command should be. But Vinata as a female… she was caring and motherly and unafraid. She smiled when she wanted to smile and she yelled when she wanted to yell. She wasn't scared of touching Garuda—a gentler touch, unlike the rough manhandling he had to endure at the masculine Vinata's hands—and she wasn't afraid of speaking to him. Actually speaking to him about herself and her values and dreams, not about when he was going to forgo the throne or what was the new strategy to kill Ananta or when was Chandra going to revive again so he could entertain himself some more.

For once, it felt… rather nice.

S-C-N-D

I think the entire thing is about twenty chapters long. It'll be the story of Garuda and Vinata from 1250000 years prior to the current time in the story all the way until N0 when Vinata dies.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!

-SCND