The deer was right below me. I waited, my bow ready, for the perfect shot. The deer lifted her head, and I saw it. It went down without a sound. Grinning, I leaped down from the branch I was perched on and picked up the deer, slinging it over my back. Carefully, trying to avoid the blood, I opened my huge black wings, for which I had gotten my name. Blackfeather, a gift, given to me by the nymph, Antares. Glancing up at the sun, I realized that I would never make it in time to get dinner ready for her visit, unless I flew.

Without hesitating, I jumped into the air, pumping my wings, up down, up down. Within a few seconds, i was above the trees, the sun shining through the clouds. I grinned, lost in the blissfulness of flying, the trees passing below me, and the wind in my face. My blood sang in joy.

In about two minutes, I saw the clearing where my camp was. banking to the left, i landed gently in the center. Setting the deer down, I quickly started a fire, grabbed my skinning supplies, and in an hour I had deer steaks roasting over the fire. I sat back and waited, knowing that Antares would come when she was ready, and not when i was. About ten minutes later she appeared suddenly across the fire.

"Hello, Blackfeather." She said. her voice was soft and whispery, like the wind. The nymphs were the only creatures who I ever saw, and each one looked like the element she lived in. Antares was tall and beautiful, with tan skin and mottled brown and black hair. Her eyes were a dark, leafy green, which changed color with the seasons. They stared at me intensely.

"Hello Antares." I said politely. The other nymphs had told me that Antares could rip up trees in her fury if she was not treated with respect, so i was always polite, at least until I knew what kind of mood she was in.

"What have you prepared?" Antares asked.

"Venison." I said. "Something simple."

"Very good." Antares sat down across from me and began to eat. She talked little, only telling me of the recent happenings among the nymphs and forest beings. I listened intently, but nothing of particular interest to me was happening, so I said nothing. After finishing her meal, Antares left, saying good bye. She was there, and then suddenly she was gone. I hated it when she did that, but I would have to live with it.

I cleaned up my meal, hiding it carefully in a rotting trunk to hide it from bears and wolves. I was going to go to bed, but then i heard something. It was distant, but it sounded like the ripping of trees. Curious, I jumped up into the air and flew towards the sound, the growing dark covering my approach.

Through the trees ahead of me, I could see the dim light of fire, and soon i could hear harsh voices and shouts, and a high-pitched laughter. Landing in a tree, I quickly jumped between the branches, my light bones enabling me to jump from branch to branch as easily as a squirrel. I stopped on the edge of a clearing similar to where mine was set up. peering through the leaves, i stifled a gasp.

The clearing was filled with humans. There must have been at least a hundred of them, and most of them were busy setting up large skins, while others were tending to animals Antares had once called horses, although I had never seen one before in my life. A small group of them were sitting on cushioned chairs around a fire, dressed in fine clothes and fine jewelry. They were eating some very large pieces of meat. And they were talking and laughing. I felt a sudden longing to be with them.

After watching them for a few minutes, I started. What was I doing? Humans were dangerous-they killed people like me, and nymphs were savage monsters to them. If they saw me, i would be dead in seconds. I jumped into the air and fled back to my clearing as soon as possible.

But there was a small part of me that longed to go back. I would do so tomorrow.

I quickly figured out that the people who had been sitting around the fire on the cushions were the people in charge. While the other humans worked on various things, they lay around and ordered others about. I watched for two hours with fascination from the safety of a tree about two hundred yards away. Most of the humans in the group where adults, but there were five younger ones.

They looked to be about my age, but I wasn't' sure how old they were because i didn't know how fast humans aged. Four of them stayed together constantly, three males and a female. But the fifth stayed a little away from the rest of them. I wondered why. When he left, following a trail that I knew lead to a spring, I followed him, curious to see what humans were like up close. Passing from branch to branch easily, i kept a safe distance away from him. When he got to the spring, i inched closer eagerly.

He was tall, well built, with a muscular torso and wiry arms. His hair was light blond and his skin was light too. He moved very quickly and gracefully, as if he was used to his body, and I suspected he was a good fighter. But he also seemed to have a unusual gentleness. As if he was good at fighting, but he didn't want to fight.

I watched as he sat down next to the pool and stared up through the trees. I inched closer, my instincts telling me to fly, my curiosity telling me to go forward. In the end, i moved forward. With my eyes on the human, I wasn't paying attention to where i was stepping. A branch cracked beneath me, and his head snapped up. For a second, he was staring straight at me. Then I ducked behind a tree trunk. Peeking out from the other side, I saw him. He was standing, looking at the spot where I had disappeared.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Show yourself." His voice was a deep baritone. I didn't move, watching him carefully. When I didn't answer, he shrugged. Bending over, he placed something on the rock he had been sitting on and left.

When I was sure that he was gone, I glided down to the spring. On the rock was a small dagger. I stared at it, surprised by the gift.

Feeling like I needed to leave something in return, I reached into the small pouch hanging from my belt. I pulled out a large bear tooth, which i had drilled a hole into and passed a long leather string through it, making a pendent. I set it on the rock, and turned a jumped into the air.

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The next day my bear claw had been replaced by a stone, carved into the shape of a moon. It was a dark, blood red, hung on a delicate silver chain. I took it gently, looking at it wonder. I had carved bones into knives and a comb, and sometimes in the shape of animals, but this was different. This was done purely for design, not for need or out of boredness. I put it in my pouch and laid a bundle of blackberries on the stone.

This time I jumped into the trees and waited for him to come. After two hours of waiting, he finally appeared between the trees. He approached the pool slowly, looking around. When he saw the berries, he sat down and carefully bit into one. His eyes widened, and he quickly popped another one into his mouth. I grinned. It seemed he liked my gift as much as I liked his. I watched him eat.

And then suddenly I was aware of another sound. A heavy, padded sound, and wet, snuffling sounds. there was a low growl from the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. The human jumped up and pulled out a long knife. Before long, a bear appeared between the trunks, his fur matted and his eyes wild. I realized immeadeatly that it was ill, for a sane bear would never come this close to a human camp.

The bear charged, and without thinking I pulled out my large boned knife and jumped out of the tree. The bear stopped short at my appearance, but only hesitated a second. Standing, he lashed out with his paw, swiping at my head. agilely, I jumped into the air and onto his back, using my wings to clear his head. Wrapping one arm around the bear's thick neck, i grasped my knife with the other and stabbed down into the back of his neck. He roared in pain and anger and thrashed around. I jumped clear of his death throes, landing on a rock. Within a few seconds he finally collapsed, and lay still.

I stood for a few seconds, breathing heavily, and then I realized that the human was still standing behind me. Scared, I jumped into a nearby tree, hiding in the leaves.

"Wait!" The human yelled. His voice was the only thing that kept me from flying away. "Wait, come back! I want to talk to you."

Hesitating, I jumped down from the trees, and stood on the edge of the clearing. He watched me, eyes wide and amazed.

"I won't hurt you." He said gently. I didn't move. "You're the one who's been watching me, aren't you?" I nodded. "And now you've saved my life. Thank you." I still didn't say anything.

He remained quiet for a while, and then said, "can you understand anything I'm saying?"

"Yes." I said.

"My name is Rhys." He said, holding out his hand. I stared at it, unsure of what to do. He dropped it when I didn't move.

"I am called Blackfeather." I said. I suddenly felt very shy. I could see myself through his eyes: wild black hair, bright green eyes, tan skin and huge black wings. It was summer, so I was wearing a short leggings, not even coming to my knees, and a shirt that only covered my chest. I felt half ***** compared to him, a completely alien feeling to me.

"Do you live out here?" Rhys asked. I nodded. "Where's your family? Is there a village out here?"

"I live alone." I said stiffly. "My family abandoned me."

"Oh, i'm truly sorry." He sounded it. I felt myself relaxing. I inched closer.

"Trust me, I won't hurt you." Rhys smiled gently, and i relaxed even further. I stopped within three feet of him. He stared at my wings.

"I've never seen someone like you before." He said.

"I've never seen a human before." I answered.

"Really?" Rhys said. "Who takes care of you?"

I bit my lip as I suddenly remembered Antares, and her warning about humans. I stepped back, my uneasiness returning. What if this was a trap? I could be dead if I wasn't careful. I took another step back. Rhys picked up on the change.

"Sorry." He said. "Forget I said anything. you're not hurt, are you?"

"No." I said. "I must go." I fled into the trees.

"Wait!" Rhys yelled. "Wait. Will you be back tomorrow?"

I stopped. It was too dangerous. I was being stupid by putting myself in so much danger.

"Yes." I found myself saying. "I will." I took off.