“Daddy!” said Littlespark.

Aidan scooped her up and twirled her around. “Hello Spark. Enjoying your story?”

“Yes! Spin more!”

“Okay,” he said, “but you’re going to get dizzy.”

“Spin more, spin more!” Aidan laughed and obediently spun his daughter around. They whirled until he started to get dizzy himself and dropped onto the low pile of cushions that sat in front of the fire. They were both laughing, as was Flame Song.

“I need to go out tonight,” said Aidan when he’d recovered from the laughing fit.

“Want some company?” asked Flame.

“No. I’m just going to get some dinner.”

“All right. See you when you get back.”

Aidan gave her a kiss and headed out the door. He went up the sloping entrance tunnel that lay outside their front door. He reached the top and looked out on a cool summer evening. The sky was still light, and the night wouldn’t be long, but there was time enough for him to do what needed to be done. He spread his wings and launched himself into the air. He reveled in the flight. Flying was one of his greatest joys. He loved the feel of the wind rushing past, the way he felt completely free of the cares of the world. Just for fun he did a couple of barrel rolls and a mid-air somersault before settling into a pattern of regular wing beats that carried him swiftly across the sky.

It didn’t take him long to reach his destination. Below him the green of the summer tundra was covered in little brown shapes, like a bag of rice spilled out over a green tablecloth. As he swooped lower the shapes resolved themselves into a huge herd of northern deer. Somewhat similar to the caribou of earth, the deer provided Aidan his primary food supply. He’d been tracking this herd for weeks. They would be around for a month or two more before the turning season sent them migrating south. During the deep winter hunting was more difficult, but now it was almost too easy. Aidan selected his animal, choosing a doe that had wandered a little ways away from the rest of the herd. With practiced precision he dropped from the sky and landed with a flip of his wings right next to the doe. Before the startled animal even had time to move he’d gotten a firm grip around its neck and an instant later his sharp eyeteeth had cut through its skin. The doe froze, unable to move while Aidan was feeding.

He drank deeply, taking his fill of the hot red blood. It revitalized him, filling him with a rush of energy more intense than anything he’d known in his old life. When he’d had his fill he released the frightened animal. It staggered away, stunned and slightly weakened, but not permanently harmed. That was the reason he preferred the big northern deer to any other game, the fact that he didn’t have to kill to get what he needed. As a monster hell-bent on causing death and destruction, he was a total failure. He was far too softhearted. He wiped a faint trace of blood off of his lips with a handkerchief. Then, tucking it back into a pocket, he spread his wings again and took off into the still night.

It hadn’t really taken that much time, but with the short summer nights by the time he got back to his home the sky was just beginning to lighten again. He sighed as he looked out over the tundra. Sometimes it was downright frustrating, spending so much of his time out cold. He wished winter would hurry up, though the long winter nights could be lonely, with everyone else asleep. But he much preferred the solitude to this continual sleepiness. Well, nothing I can do about it, he thought to himself and turned and went inside.

“Hi,” said Flame Song, who was sprawled in front of the fire in firecat form.

“Where’s Littlespark?” asked Aidan, sitting down next to her and running his fingers through her thick fur.

“She didn’t go down for her nap today, so she fell asleep early and I just put her to bed.” Aidan continued to run his fingers through her fur, scratching gently along her sides.

“Mmmmm… keep doing that, that’s very nice.” Her eyes closed halfway in an expression of utter feline bliss and she started purring. Aidan leaned against her side, feeling her purr rumble through him. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant. Once he’d given her a thorough scratching her purr gradually faded and she sat up. There was a kind of shimmering blur that surrounded her, and when it cleared she had returned to human form.

He puller her close and kissed her deeply. Her arms went around him and she returned his kiss. When she came up for air, she smiled at him and ran her hands along his soft-feathered wings. He stroked her cheek, marveling again at her beauty. All of the sudden a strange thought hit him out of the blue. “Flame Song, do you ever wonder what it would be like if you were mated to one of your own species?”

“Well… to be honest, I have wondered. Humans do go about things differently, but I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. You’re pretty amazing, you know.”

He blushed, and Flame Song laughed. “Guess I’ve got a reputation to live up to,” he said. He pulled her in and kissed her again. Then he broke off and began to work his kisses downward, lingering teasingly, tantalizingly, over the pulse at the base of her neck. He could hear her heart racing, could smell the sweet scent of her rushing blood beneath her skin. Her hand came up to the back of his head, her fingers threading through his hair, and she urged him on with gentle pressure.

He responded to her urging and broke through the soft skin at her throat with his sharp eyeteeth as gently as he could. The feelings that filled him as he slowly took her blood into him were completely different than the sensations of his earlier feeding. That had been the mere attaining of sustenance, but this was something far deeper. The blood shared between them created an emotional bond, and as he drank he could feel what she felt. The bond ran both ways and even is he touched her mind, she touched his, their hearts coming together in a transcendental union of pure love that was more profound that any simple physical joining.

Afterward they lay side by side in front of the fire in a drowsy contentment. Outside the sun was rising and as it came above the horizon Aidan dropped into a deep sleep. Flame simply lay next to him and enjoyed his closeness. After a while she stirred herself and got up. She considered Aidan, who lay perfectly still on the cushions in front of the fire. He would probably appreciate waking up in bed, and besides, if she left him out here Littlespark would want to use him as a jungle gym when she awoke. She knelt down and picked him up, giving a slight “oof” at the weight. He wasn’t all that heavy with his short height and slight build, but she was no weight lifter.

She set him down on the bed and lay down next to him. A moment later she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep.