Three Seeking Stars by Avi Silver

Author:Avi Silver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: queer, hopepunk, found family, coming of age, ecofiction, fantasy, asexual, aromantic, dinosaurs, lizards, secondary world, Two Dark Moons, polyamorous, Avi Silver, The Shale Project, neurodivergent, female protagonist, transgender, nonbinary, non binary, non-binary, jungle, rainforest, adventure
Publisher: Molewhale Press
Published: 2021-07-12T16:00:00+00:00

“Up!”

The hatchlings popped up onto their hind legs, little fore-claws raised to the sky. One of them wobbled, squeaking.

“Up!” Ahn repeated firmly. He held his palm above them, slivers of meat tucked between his fingers. The creatures balanced, holding their pose, and he lowered his hand once more. “At rest.”

They dropped down, chirping at him hopefully until he passed over the treats. After many attempts and no small amount of unhappy gumming, the hatchlings were finally beginning to catch on to his training methods.

“Well done,” he murmured, stroking their heads one by one. “Very clever.”

The idea had come to him after his conversation with Sohmeng. She was stressed, trying to satisfy so many people at once, and none of them seemed to appreciate the work she was putting in.

Considering how much of this balancing act was on Ahn’s behalf, he owed it to her to ease the burden. There wasn’t much he could do about the Grand Ones’ refusal to help Ateng, and his word that Sohmeng wasn’t a Qiao Sidhur spy would probably be the opposite of helpful, but keeping the sãoni in line—oddly enough, that was something he could help with.

Being raised in the royal family, part of his early education in the Fertility path had included raising animals. Despite the fact that the sãoni were gigantic reptilian predators, they seemed receptive to the same training as hunting dogs or raptor mounts. It helped that the hatchlings were still small, and quite attached to him. His relationship with Lilin had been built much the same way. If he could get the sãoni to respond to some basic commands, Sohmeng could prove to the Grand Ones that she and Hei had them under control.

“Up!” he called again, firmly enough that some of the other sãoni paid attention. Luckily, none of them seemed troubled by his actions, simply curious.

The hatchlings moved more smoothly with each run of the obedience exercise. Even though it made him feel a little silly, he tried to imitate one of their happy sounds to show his pride in them. It mostly seemed to confuse them—maybe Hei or Sohmeng would show him how to do it later.

He smiled to himself, feeling hope rise within him for the first time in a while. Despite the unease that had lingered in his gut since talking to Lita Soon, the other guards seemed to be getting less prickly around him. After all of his tasks were completed, he was allowed out with the sãoni; the scouts in the trees were omnipresent, but they weren’t dropping melons on him anymore, and that was a marked improvement on his experience.

“Up!” he called again to the hatchlings. They were quicker this time, sharper-eyed. He would have to give them a break soon, so they would be at their best when he showed this new trick to Sohmeng. He wanted to prove to her that he was worth the time she was putting in for him, that he was capable of more than just destroying things.

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