To visit the one with feathers

I was getting to the age where I was expected to contribute a book to the main library so I sat down with my ink and paper and started writing some kind of silly draft.

“Hello, visitor. I guess I should tell you a little more about who I am and what this place is. Years ago, or so I am told and as I have read, a race called the humans from a planet named earth came to my home planet. My ancestors were more bird then ape but the humans set up labs where they mixed the DNA like my world was some kind of science project. That’s where my family line comes from. They were taught how to speak their language and my line, almost completely human but with slightly more bird like legs and large angelic wings, were chosen as the best mixture and were bread heavily until a modest population started to find homes in these very trees. Years in, more humans came briefly and took the original group away in chains and destroyed their ships. After generations of reading their books and exploring what was left of their belongings we have come to assume the originals as we call them did not have the authority to do what they did and we have not seen a human in almost one hundred years. As curious and prying as they were are surprised they did not come back sooner and…” “Oh that’s not very good.” I said to myself.

“The rain!” I got up and walked out of my home in the tree.

I pushed the vine door open and looked down on the jungle from my home. I stepped out and took my hair down to let the rain wash through it. I felt the feathers on my wings start to get heavy. The rain was hard today. I washed the dirt off my face and naked body with my hands. It hadn’t rained like this in days but it never lasts long. I heard the leaves moving behind me. I was sure it was some large animal so I ducked back into my home and dried off with some old cotton fabric. The hunters of the forest would not make that much noise and I could say the same about the pray. It had to be a large animal who’s breed choose strength over grace or speed and I couldn’t think of any that were unlike me and would be around here. I wondered if it was a visitor. I got my bow and arrow to attach to my back and draped my woven grass wrap over my body.

I looked down on the forest expecting to see one of my own looking for a place to dry their wings or at best a lost gettera. (An animal similar to an earth bear.) What I saw I had only seen in drawings. It was a human man, my dream subject. I stepped back as I watched him stumble through the brush not even looking up. I watched him for a while as he sat and took a drink from his bottle. He was alone, I was sure of it. I flew down and landed before him. He looked up at me in shock and fear. He didn’t say a word.

I broke the dead air. “Your shorter then I expected.”

He looked even more shocked.

I get closer. “I guess you didn’t leave us with a good way to measure ourselves and compare it to your measurements.” I poked at his boot. “Can I see your toes?” No reply. “I hear you have five like short stubby fingers.” He was a handsome little man, he had no hair on his head but plenty on his face, he had long brown pants and a matching button up shirt with a vest that looked almost like it was woven out of fine black grass fibers. He looked down at my feet, long flexible and with three long leathery toes. More bird like than human. I sat down and just watched him. He seemed to enjoy when I shook the water off my wings. He was afraid but still had a kind face. Nothing like the humans who were once here. Eventually I got tired of this game and it had stopped raining. My wings were dry and the day started to become warm.

“Okay listen up. Your not going to wake up from a dream and I’m not going to hurt you, the others might so you best come with me.