Helloooo peoples! so here it is! my newest story "For the love of a hunter"! Hope u enjoy!
And a BIG thank you to Rain of Mystery for her awesome drawing of Mar'tokk and also her upcoming pic of the lovely Lex'xia! You are the best!
Chapter 1-Running
Alex ran, though she could still feel them. Their presence was immensely overwhelming. She had thought that running from those poachers was bad. No, these, whatever they were, happened to be far worse. A loud crack and Alex was down. The last thing she saw was a dark being, at least seven and half feet tall. Words were spoken in some incomprehensible language and then Alex lost consciousness.
Alex woke, not knowing how long she had been out. She found herself in a dark place. A door opened and two dark figures stood. They began to talk in their foreign language.
"The ooman is awake." Said the first one
"I'm not blind, idoka" The other said. A third brought food and a small lamp. then they all left.
Alex took the lamp and scanned the small cell. A thin mattress, which she was sitting on, a toilet, and a wash basin. That was it. She picked at the food. It was cold, but it didn't taste terrible. Every day for what she thought was about three weeks it was the same thing. They would check up on her and bring her food then leave.
Finally one day, one of them came in and tied her hands together then led her out of the cell. They walked into a large docking bay. The tallest of the group, about 8 feet, whom she also assumed was the leader, came and put a small bracelet on her left wrist. Alex looked at it.
"I wonder what this is?" She asked herself.
"It is a tracking device." The leader said. Alex looked up shocked.
"Hey! I can understand you! What happened to that funky language you were speaking?" Alex asked. The one who had brought her from the cell snorted.
"Well obviously its also a translator. I wouldn't be caught dead speaking that kwei language of you oomans!" She spat. Yes, she.
-wow, thats a girl? geeze you can't even tell with all that bulky armor she has on. She looks like a guy!- She thought.
"Well you don't have to be such a snot about it! how the hell was i supposed to know what it was?" Alex snapped at her. The other male spoke.
"What are you called ooman?" He asked
"My name is Alex." Alex replied. The female laughed.
"Al'lex? That is a males name!" She blurted out as she bust out laughing. Alex scowled at her.
"Better to have a males name than to look and sound like one!" She hissed.
The female lunged at her, a small blade raised. Alex put up her bound hands, the blade cut them free. Alex jumped to the floor lashing out a kick that put the female flat on her back. Alex stood. The female screeched and lunged for her again. Alex went into a defensive stance, but the leader stepped in between them.
"Ur'sai! That is enough! Go back to your cabin," He roared. The female wen to argue, "GO!." He roared again.
She hissed and walked out of the bay. The leader turned to Alex.
"I believe a new name is needed for you. What do you think?" Leader asked the younger male.
"She is strong for an ooman. And by ooman standards she is attractive. What about lex'xia?" He suggested. Leader looked at Alex in thought.
"Hmmm...yes, i think Lex'xia will do. Make sure to put that in her registry." He said. The younger male left the bay through a small door on the right.
"Lex'xia? That sounds like my old name. What does it mean?" Alex...er Lex'xia asked. Leader looked back at her.
"It means strong and willful beauty." He said.
"Strong and willful beauty? I think i like that." Lex'xia said.
"Not like you have a choice. You are now property of the Sou'ta Trader Company. We will do what we please with you." Leader said. Sou'ta Trader Company? Great, I'm market meat. My life sucks big time.
The bay doors opened. A frenzy of sights, sounds, and smells met them on the other side. Lex'xia was amazed. There were hundreds of these strange people. Some had shops set up, some had pens full of weird creatures, and many more were milling through each place buying or trading. The atmosphere was amazingly good and welcoming, regardless of the fact that she was merchandise to be bartered for. This thought made her smile. Being an orphan, all her life she felt out of place, as though she didn't belong. And here in a place like this, full of strange beings, a place she most definitely did no belong, she was comfortable. They found the other male waiting by a pen. Lex'xia couldn't't understand how she had recognized him, but then she saw it. A small cluster of spots above his right eye, they reminded her of a misshapen star. She then realized that that was how they could tell each other apart. As she looked around she could see that every one of them had a unique pattern of stripes, spots, or a combination of the two.
They made their way over to the pen. Lex'xia noticed that there were four other girls in the pen. When leader opened the pen door walked in. The four girls in the corner whimpered and shrunk back as far as they could.
"What's wrong with them?" Lex'xia asked. Leader smiled.
"They are not from your home world. They were born on a trader ship. people from your native planet and our oomans are completely different. They are not nearly as smart. I suppose you could compare them to well trained animals. They are taught specific household skills, nothing else. That is all they know. They don't even speak." He said.
-Well there goes any company i thought i might have had.- Lex'xia thought to herself, trying to make light of her situation. She was trying her best to think of this as one big adventure, a learning experience. Her old life was so boring, here was her chance at some excitement. Yay for dramatically life altering situations! Lex'xia looked at the for girls still huddled in the corner. -ugh, i hope i don't become like them.- She thought. She looked back at Leader.
"So, um , how long do you think before someone picks me up?" She asked him. The question caught him off guard, but he regained himself quickly.
"What makes you ask that?" Leader asked her.
"If you only company were for girls, who could only be described as a huddling mass of scared witless, highly trained animals, would you want to stick around for long?" She quipped. Leaser laughed.
"No, I suppose not. But I can't truly tell you how long it will be. Oman's form your native planet are not very much sought after. We only picked you up because we were low on stock." He said to her. Lex'xia smiled back.
"Well it's nice to know I'm needed for something. Granted that something happens to be sale stock, but beggers can't be choosers i guess." She laughed. Lex'xia went to the opposite corner of the girls and sat on a bench. Leader walked over to Starface and told him something Lex'xia couldn't overhear and walked away.
Lex'xia looked over the pen wall. What she saw made her jump away and squeal. Starface turned and looked at her glaringly.
"Quiet ooman, you are scaring the others." He said gesturing to the four girls still huddled in the corner. Lex'xia went and leaned against the wall next to Starface.
"What are those things? They look like deformed hermit crabs." She said.
"They are tekhuts, a giant crustacean from my home world." Starface said.
"What do you use them for?" Lex'xia asked. Starface sighed.
"Food." was all he said. -sheesh, crabby- Thought Lex'xia. -HA! crabby! Damn I need something to do, I'm unconsciously coming up with bad puns- She looked over at the girls, they were staring at her intently. Lex'xia clicked her tongue and called to one like you would a dog. The smallest one, she couldn't't have been older than 10, cautiously monkey hopped towards her. Lex'xia held out her hand, the girl recoiled a bit, but then continued forward. She sniffed at Lex'xia's hand. The action nearly made Lex'xia sick to her stomach. Leader wasn't kidding, they were nothing but highly trained animals. While the little girl toyed with Lex'xia's bracelet, Lex'xia used her other hand to pet the girl's head. The girl squeaked and ran back to the huddle corner. Lex'xia shook her head and went back to where Starface was.
"So, do they sell males here too?" She asked him.
"Yes, but on the other side of the compound. The males are extremely aggressive." Starface told her. -Figures- She thought.
"So what do they call you?" She asked.
"My name is Rus'ka." He said. Lex'xia smiled.
"I like it. What does it mean?" She asked. Rus'ka grinned slightly. -This ooman isn't so bad- He thought.
"It means star born." He told her. Lex'xia looked away in thought, then back at Rus'ka.
"Star born? Yes, that fits you good." She said. She went back to looking around. Rus'ka could tell she was nervous.
"Be patient ooman, sit. W're going to be here for a while. It's a slow time for the sale of oomans." He told her. Lex'xia heaved a great sigh.
"Just perfect." She said. -So much for my excitement- She thought. She decided to lay across the bench and take a nap. she knew she wasn't going anywhere today.
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i would also like to thank Rain of Mystery for her helpful ideas!