Three Fates Tied

The sounds of gunfire and energy bolts echoed the forest for miles. Nearby campers fled, thinking of the worst. Surrounding wildlife dashed through thickets and brambles in efforts to continue their survival. In the mountain areas of California, such noises were very rare to hear, if not unheard of. There would no doubt be an investigation after the battle. If the evidence was not destroyed by the Yaut`ja first.

Weyland-Yutani operatives hid behind the cover of rock and tree as the Yaut`ja hunting party continued their onslaught. Their employers had ordered the team of mercenaries to track down the hunters—the Yaut`ja had been tracked down to this area for their hunting—with the task to capture at least one of them for future, in depth study. Yet, despite their equipment, the Yaut`ja were greatly underestimated and the tables turned for the operatives. A small audible step on a branch from one of the men immediately alerted the Yaut`ja of their presence. Seconds later, the conflict had begun.

The commanding operative of their team shouted orders left and right as he would periodically poke out of cover and shoot blindly at his cloaked quarry. He used to have a headset that would allow him to see past their cloaking but it was damaged in the initial firefight. Now he was merely delivering cover fire while the operatives with functional headsets continued their onslaught upon any visible targets. Every now and then, a man would be struck by the blue bolts of energy or executed with a melee weapon. And in turn, the humans would injure one of them. Of the seven recorded Yaut`ja present, they only managed to kill one and injury two. Meanwhile, nine of their twenty men have already died at the hands of the hunters. The mercenary in charge had no way of truly knowing how many were injured, aside from himself.

And he didn't bother to think to include the large camping party that had been unfortunately drawn into the initial crossfire.

As the battle continued, a red and black figure dashed right in the middle of the crossfire, surprising both sides and causing a ceasefire. Before anyone could even get a proper read of what it was, the figure took off again, bounding into the woods and past the foliage. The crossfire resumed shortly after, members from both sides firing upon the enemies before them. All but one. The largest of the hunters withdrew quietly from the fight and took off in the same direction as the red figure. It had caught the hunter's attention from the boring standoff between man and hunter. She wanted something new, something exciting. Not boring conflict such as this with the humans. After all, she came here to hunt, not to engage in a petty fight.

As the red and black figure dashed through the forest, edging further and further away from the conflict it had temporarily ceased, the female Yaut`ja continued to pursuit. The red figure took a brief pause of breath, looking around to decide on where to run next. It was at that moment that a spear had lodged itself into the tree close by. The red figure jumped back and half-faced the arriving female hunter, hissing lowly under its breath. As it was no longer in motion, the female Yaut`ja was able to get a better look at her quarry. She didn't like what she saw.

Serpent Chimeras were a rare thing to see amongst the members of her clan, as they were a rare breed to even encounter on hunts. But they were not unknown. The one before her was colored primarily red with edges of black along the fore part of its limbs, tail, and the four protrusions from its cheeks and forehead, making it seem like a hot rod fire design to his body. There were salmon pink striation segments on its arms, legs, and back of head with similar colored scale like plates on its shoulders and neck. One eye had black sclera with a yellow bead for a pupil while the other eye had white sclera, a black iris, and a yellow pupil. On its face was a mix of fear, determination and defiance. It was holding something...

The female Yaut`ja in question was a fern-brown color, with subtle distinct stripes to her body. The mask she wore was a generic one but her attire differed greatly from other male hunters, with angular armor that gave her a villainous look. Dark green dreads draped over her back, held back loosely by a thick cord of leather. She was a powerful female, by the way she held herself. And her current posture revealed barely a fraction of the anger she felt at the presence of this creature. This… abomination.

The red Chimera gave a loud, warning hiss before taking off again, running off to the left. The female wasted no time in pursuing it, grabbing her spear as she ran. By the way the Chimera ran through the forest, weaving through the foliage and ducking behind trees, it was apparent that he was experienced with this terrain. That satisfied and angered the female. This would be a good hunt indeed, with his familiarity; it angered her that this creature has been here this long. But chasing was not her style. She preferred more of a direct fight.

The red and black Chimera gave a cry as something pierced through his right calf, causing him to fall. At the last second, he whipped himself around to land on his back, saving his cargo from the brunt of the fall. Embedded in the back of his leg was a small knife. The female Yaut`ja gave a low purr as she grew close, extending her dual wrist blades. Anticipation filled her blood, along with the taste of adrenaline. She knew the fight would be a good one. The serpents were always so unpredictable and dangerous. If this Chimera was half as good as them, this would be a good fight indeed. But as she grew closer, the female found herself pausing. While the Chimera looked up at her in defiance, the small human boy in it's arms was beginning to sniffle and whine.

The first thought that ran through her mind was that this creature had kidnapped the child, likely for food. But the longer she stared at them, the more she realized how wrong she was. Small burns ran along the child's body, his clothes tattered and dirtied. He was gripping onto the Chimera for dear life and looked around frantically for their attackers, as his eyes no longer held any function. His injuries did not come from the Chimera.

They came from the battle between her people and the human operatives.

At seeing her hesitance, the Chimera scrambled backwards and jumped to it's feet, protectively holding the child, shielding him away from her. The female warrior snarled, entering an attacking position. But no attack came from the Chimera. At least, not a physical one. As it stared at her with anger, it spoke with deep, accented voice.

"His injuries are from your conflict," It snarled. "He can no longer see because he was too close to one of your blasts. The light blinded him and killed one of his people. A woman." To make things worse for the now guilty female, the Chimera added, "If you kill me now, you will kill him as well. And prove you are nothing more than a ruthless, cutthroat monster."

At this, the female bellowed, taking a large step forward. Immediately as this happened, the child gave a shriek and clung tighter to the Chimera. The female paused. Something came over her then. While she felt rage at the Chimera insulting her, there was also sympathy and regret towards the child it carried. Something about it made her feel... She wasn't sure what it was.

"Just do it. End our lives, since that is all you know how to do."

The Chimera didn't know how deep his words cut her. The female was sterile and without being to produce offspring, she turned to the ways of the hunt. It always hurt her to see other females with their children and loving mates, their happiness with a family. To know that males would never look at her the same for she proved no use to the survival of their race. She could never have a family to call her own. Maybe that is why she felt sympathetic towards the child. To adopt him as he had no family of his own anymore.

The female Yaut`ja took a step forward but the Chimera stepped back. She gave low rumble at this and sheathed her blades. Why would a serpent Chimera want to protect a child? It was a food source for them. And she doubted there was a queen but something about the way it held to the child struck the female as odd. She stepped back and stood up straight, coming to her full height. The red Chimera's eyes went wide and he tilted his head to the side in confusion. The female Yaut`ja took another step back and bowed her head, causing the Chimera to drop it's guard. Just as she mentally steeled herself to attack at any moment, it's words shook her.

"Thank you."

The female felt herself go still. All she could do was watch as the red and black Chimera set the child down and look over his wounds. It was interesting to watch the Chimera baffle her and act so unlike the serpent she painted it for. The red Chimera lifted the child's arm to further inspect a small gash. After making a disapproving noise, he ripped off a part of the boy's shirt and wrapped it around the gash, shielding it from the open air.

"I realize this is asking a lot," The Chimera began. "But I cannot do anything more without proper medicine. I need to return to my den to help his wounds and, if you're still set on killing me, you can do that tomorrow at noon. But right now, this child needs someone."

It's tone... It sounded like it genuinely cared.