Sleep, it's supposed to be restful, peaceful even, and yet both of those managed to escape me as the sound of voices filled my dreams.
Sarin…The call was gentle but persistent, and it was slowly but surely tugging me towards the edges of consciousness.
"Five more minutes," I mumbled, trying hard to sink back into the black abyss of sleep.
Sarin darling, wake up.
"Why…" I wined; consciousness having taken a firm grasp of my sleep addled mind. But that didn't mean I had to accept it willingly. No, instead I snuggled down deeper into my covers with the hopes of maybe dozing back off. But it seemed my mother had other plans.
"Sarin if you do not get your lazy ass outta this bed I'm going to have your brothers pull you out by your ankles!" Her voice was shrill and sharp, and I found myself getting suspicious of her mood. This was normal for me at such an hour. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out why she seemed so upset.
"Alright mother I'm awake...what do you want" I growled, managing to pull myself into an upright position. I was more than up for the challenge of matching her pissy mood with my own. I managed to catch a glimpse of the clock and my eyes narrowed. Four thirty in the morning was way to damn early to be dealing with anyone on a civil manner family or not.
"You have five minutes to get into the courtyard." she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She turned swiftly on her heel and left my room, her annoyance coming off her in waves.
"What crawled up her ass?" I mumbled, stiffening when I heard her voice float to my ears.
"I heard that!"
With a sigh I pulled myself out of bed, the allure of sleep still strong my bed inviting.
'Five minutes eh?' I thought with a snort, stretching until my back popped.
"I've always loved a challenge." I said, sprinting into my bathroom.
My mother's deadlines were not things to be taken for granted. I admit, I can be a smart ass, but even I knew better than to truly challenge my mother. She did have a few thousand years on me after all. Besides I knew the consequences if her orders were disobeyed, there would be severe punishments. I didn't linger in the shower like I had wanted to. And my hair was still dripping wet when I reached the courtyard, were my three brothers and my mother were waiting.
"Took you long enough Sarin."
"Shut it Nate." I growled, in no mood for his jokes at the moment. My main concern was finding out why in the seven hells I was pulled out of bed at such an ungodly hour. The sun hadn't even come up yet, and the I could see the steam from my breath as I breathed.
"Why have you brought us out here mother?" I asked, not hiding the malice and annoyance in my tone.
"Patience Sarin, things will be revealed all in due time."
"I must agree with Sarin on this one mother, it is not like you to keep us in the dark like this." Talos, the eldest of my brothers stated, his pretty green eyes narrowed at the woman whom had given birth to us all.
"Soon you all shall see."
With that she looked towards the sky, her eyes focusing on something distant. All of the warning bells in my mind started going off at that moment, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. A cold gust air rushed around us as something materialized in mid air. And it was a big something at that. A big BIG something.
"What the hell?"
It had been at least three hundred years since R'azaroc had last seen the female. Still considered young among her kind; which was still mind boggling to him, she had fascinated him. Originally, she was supposed to be a trophy, for he had seen her in battle. But he couldn't do it. It seemed like such a waste to kill such a being. Instead he chose to speak with her, and was surprised that she understood him, that was until she explained her lineage. He chuckled at the memory. And while three hundred years wasn't really that long for him, he hadn't really kept in contact with her like he used to. But now the elders were more interested in his findings and had sent him to perhaps...strengthen relations with beings seemingly as powerful as his own kind. He wasn't all that sure if it were wise to bring the four young ones he brought with him, not that he really had a choice in the matter. He was just thankful that the female had agreed to house them for the time that they would be staying. A time frame that even he wasn't sure of. But there was no turning back. They had already started their decent to the ground. It would only be a matter of moments before their landing was complete. He looked back at the young ones and sighed.
"Maybe it isn't too late to turn back." he mumbled, second-guessing himself for the first time in his life.
I felt my heart jump into my throat. What the hell had our mother gotten us into? Talos, the most level headed of us all looked ready to bolt and had started to back himself into a corner, his eyes narrowing at the materializing ship in the air. Nate and Davin had placed themselves on either side of me. I could practically feel their hearts pounding in their chests.
However, my mother just stood there like nothing was happening, what seemed to be a pleased smile on her face. The gusts of wind eventually died down and the air settled about us. But there was a tension and a staleness in the air that could have been cut. The "door" started to open, streams of light escaping through the small cracks.
"Mother…" I called, my voice cracking with the nervousness I felt.
But my call was ignored as the door finished opening to reveal five silhouetted figures. Davin wrapped a clawed hand around my arm and attempted to pull me behind him. However, I planted my feet and stood tall, not budging in spite of his efforts.
"Sarin, what's going on?" the question was rhetorical, and even if it wasn't, I didn't think I had the mental capacity at the moment to answer.
The constant drone from the ship started to fade, as did the lights, eventually leaving us in total darkness. My eyes focused on five very large and very tall masked and muscled figures. And boy did I wish I was still in bed at the moment. The largest of the five stepped forward, causing my breath to catch in my throat, and my urge to go back inside rose to a new level. What the hell were these things?
"What do you see Sarin?" Davin asked, having yet to relinquish his grasp on my arm. And while I could appreciate his protective nature, I found myself growing annoyed.
"You want me to lie or do you want the truth?"
"With and answer like that … neither."
"Good, now let go of my fucking arm." I growled, snatching my arm from his grip.
Random growls and clicks filled the air stopping our petty argument before it could even begin and turning our attention to our mother and the largest of the creatures. But what nearly had us fall on our asses was the fact that she laughed and answered back with clicks and growls of her own.
"Nate, please hit me."
"As much as it would please me to do so, why?"
"Cause I wanna know whether or not I'm dreaming. Cause this has to be the most fucked up dream I've had so far."
"Then we must be all dreamin' Sarin."
"Couldn't you have just humored me?"
"Sarin!" I felt my back stiffening almost painfully.
"Oh shit… I DIDN'T DO IT DAMN IT!" I don't know why I felt as though I needed to defend myself. My mother seemed very much so calm and in control, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right.
"Come here Sarin."
I looked to her to the creatures beside her and then back to her, a brow arched my expression surely flabbergasted.
"Sarin."
"Mother." I could play the game for as long as she'd let me, but by the darkening of her expression I knew it wasn't going to last long.
"Sarin." This time her tone was low, laced with a growl that had me cringing.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
With a sigh I walked forward, trying to come up with a plan to get me out of the situation my mother had dragged me into. No, I wasn't afraid of them. If my mother could stand before them and laugh, so could I. I wasn't going to run away like some scared dog with her tail in between her legs, hells no. No, my main concern were the four standing behind their "leader". They looked as if they were itching for a fight, and I would be damned before I allowed myself to be caught off guard. Damned,ha, I had been damned the moment I walked out the door. The thought almost made me snort aloud.
"Are you sure this is wise?" I asked Tanna, eyeing her daughter as she approached us. I had to hand it to her, even though she was reluctant, she carried herself with the same confident air that her mother did. And while my scan showed that her heart beat wildly within her breast, her scent gave away nothing.
"She's going to be out numbered in this situation. And while her brothers will most likely go along with it for my sake, Sarin has been known to lash out if she feels threatened. Don't let her sarcasm deceive you, she's a force to be reckoned with if you push her."
"All the more reason to perhaps let her stay somewhere else. These young ones are newly blooded, and while I know your sons are capable, I'm not even sure how they will react to your daughter." Her laugh caught me off guard. That was never a good thing.
"This is her home, she will not leave it unless she wishes it. Don't worry, she can handle herself."I could only agree with her...we would after all be at their mercy.
My mother and the creature continued their conversation for quite some time after I took my place beside my mother. They made me feel so small. I mean come on, these guys were huge. They towered Talos by three feet, and he was six feet tall. And the leader had to be at least twelve. After a quick glance at me, my mother and the leader went back to their "conversation", so I took the opportunity to look the other four over. They each had traits specifically their own and I found myself mildly captivated. Some men would kill to have bodies like theirs and I found myself appraising each of them. The one closest to the leader growled at me, causing my eyebrows to shoot to my hairline. 'What the hell did I do to you?'I simply ignored him and snorted, rather put off at his attitude. I wasn't in the mood for snotty attitudes, I had my own to contend with. By that time my mother and the leader had stopped "talking" and were staring at me, as if to gauge my reaction.
"What?"
"Sarin?" Realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. I wasn't awake enough to deal with this shit. I was sure that somewhere the gods were laughing at me.
"Look, I can play nice as long as they play nice," I started, giving a pointed look at the one that had growled at me. "And while this is fun and everything, I would much rather go back to bed. No offense, but I would prefer to get more than three hours sleep." I said, giving off a growl of my own and turning to leave.
"Sarin." my mother called, her voice annoyed. I stopped and looked at her, trying hard not to sigh. I hated when she went formal on me. Why the hell did I have to be dismissed in my own home.
"Can I go? Or is there something else you want from me?" I asked, not caring that I had a snarky tone. I had shit that I had to do in the morning, the last thing I wanted to be was late to practice. I would never hear the end of it if I was.
"Rooms need to be prepared, unless you wish to share," she warned causing my eyes to narrow.
"Rooms? Geeze mom, anything else you wish tell me? Do I need to scrub the floors with a toothbrush while I'm at it?" I could tell that she was getting tired of my cheek, but I found myself caring less.
"Get the rooms prepared and then you are free,"her dismissal obvious. I found myself mildly dejected, before turning and leaving.
I wanted to hit Rejar for his comment and thanked the stars that the girl didn't understand his words.
"I apologize for her behavior, she's normally more..."
"It's fine, I don't expect her to agree to this willingly."
"She's rather rude,"came another comment from Rejar.
"So were you," I pointed out, rolling my eyes at his huff.
The only reason why you don't like her Rejar is because she didn't run in fear from you," Tajj said, ignoring the growl his friend sent his way.
"She's way more agreeable than yajuta females," commented Chaos, quickly loosing interest in the conversation. I looked to Glyph, whom simply shrugged his shoulders. But I knew how he felt. I only hope the girl was prepared. I heard Tanna sigh, as she motioned her sons over. They seemed less weary of us than their sister, but they still approached with caution.
"My sons, Talos, Nathaniel, and Davin," she introduced, switching to English, I assumed for her boys. I inclined my head to them, but they seem preoccupied.
"Go help you sister will you?" The boys nodded and just like that vanished before our eyes. I found myself rather startled.
"That's new."
"No, the four of them have that ability, as do I, however, it takes more energy for me to be able to do so. They, on the other hand are not effected by the drain."
"Perhaps then training will not be as bad as I originally thought."
"Like I said, they can handle themselves, specially Sarin."
I mumbled angrily as I made the beds in the guest rooms. Was it too much to be asked not to be singled out every time my mother decided to "add a little spice" to our training sessions. I get it, I'm the only girl, but damn it all, I can take the news like everyone else. Why the hell did I have to be singled out?Part of me did appreciate what she was trying to do, really I did. But I wasn't going to let some over-sized lizards rule me in my own home. Surely she knew that.
"Would you like some help?" Talos asked, spooking me a bit at his sudden appearance.
"Yea sure," I said after a moment, letting a sigh escape my lips. "I've already gotten two rooms knocked out." With a wave of a hand, the once stale air freshened up a bit. Talos gave me a small smile before disappearing again. Stifling a yawn, I called it quits. I had been having trouble sleeping, and I was looking forward to getting a few more hours of shut eye. I could hear the conversation going on downstairs between my mother and the leader of those muscled goliaths, but had no clue as to what was being said. Sighing once more I made my way to my bedroom, this time locking the door behind me.
I don't remember dozing off, hell I didn't even remember changing back into my sleep clothes. But banging on my bedroom door had a snarl tearing from out of my throat.
"WHAT?" I snapped, still wishing to be left alone.
"Don't get snappy with me young lady. I want you downstairs in the next five minutes, you hear me?"
"The fuck ever! What could you possibly want out of me now?"
"I'm not asking you Sarin, I'm telling you. Downstairs. Now." I bit back the retort that was bubbling forth with a sigh.
"I'll be down in five." The sound of her retreating footsteps was my only reply. Snarling, I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank, tossing my hair up into a haphazard bun. With one last mental shove, I made my way downstairs into the living room where the creatures had seated themselves. My brothers were soon lined up next to me, looking about as thrilled about the situation as I was.
"I'm going hunting after this, you want to come with?" Talos asked, looking at me curiously.
"I could use a hunt, probably should invite Dezi too, I know she's been itching to get out for a while."I suggested, pleased with the nods of agreement.
"She wont be pleased that you are skipping another practice," Davin snorted, managing to gain the attention of everyone in the room.
"She can deal. I have a hell of a head ache, and truth be told I just want to kill something and call it a day. I have work tomorrow and it wont pay to have me scaring off the customers." At this the four of us laughed out loud, causing my mother to roll her eyes and the others, I'm sure, to be confused.
"I'm sure you are wondering what is going on," my mother started causing Nate to snort aloud. He stopped short are her glare and straightened, giving her a rather cheeky grin.
"You see, the yajuta have been coming to this planet for as many years as I have been alive. When I first met R'azaroc, I was still living in Rome at the time. But that is neither here nor there. The yajuta are a hunter race that pride themselves on honor and power. And while back then our friendship was nothing to really worry about, it appears that is has become something a bit more important. As of today, we will be strengthening the relations between our kind and the yajuta. They are here to learn from us and us from them. And while I understand this may pose problems in some aspects, I see no reason for this not to work. So, who would like to introduced themselves first?" I was rubbing my temples before I could even stop myself.
"For the love that is all great and good, fucking shoot me now,"I mumbled earning a glare from my mother. She hated it when we spoke in languages she didn't know. And those were very few. Davin elbowed me in the ribs causing me to growl at the contact.
"Bring it on jerkwad, tired or not I can still kick your ass."
"Sarin," my mother warned causing me to roll my eyes. I was getting tired of people calling my name.
"Fine, sorry," I snorted, stepping forward. "I'm Sarin, forgive my earlier attitude, I'm not much of a morning person," I said with a small incline of my head. I was ready for formalities to be over with, I just wanted to stretch my legs.
My brothers went about introducing themselves one by one, but I could tell they were uncomfortable about the whole situation. It was then the yajuta's turn and aside from the obvious elder of the group, they appeared to be just as unhappy about the situation as we were.
"Was there anything else you wanted from us?" I asked, the tell tale signs of my change itching my skin.
"Where are you four about to take off to?" Our mother asked causing us all to curse aloud. Her eyes narrowed instantly.
"Sarin was going to call Dezi and we all were going to go out for a bit. Just to stretch our legs ya know?" Nate offered. Her eyes simply narrowed further at his words.
"You're staying on property?" The four of us nodded vigorously.
"Fine, though perhaps you can take them with you. I'm sure they would enjoy a good hunt after a long trip."
"Son of a fucking bitch!" Davin snarled earning an arched brow from our mother. We all knew that look. There was no getting out of it now.
"I'm going to text Dez, I'll meet you guys out back," I said escaping up to my room.
Me: You want to go hunting with us? I didn't have to wait long for her reply
Dezi: You realize that this is the third practice that you've missed this week?
Me: Are you coming or not Dezero, I'm not in the mood for your shit right now.
"What the fuck crawled up your ass," she asked materializing before me.
"You'll see when we get outside," I said leading her to the back where the guys were waiting. She stopped short when she caught sight of the yajuta, her curiosity tangible. I simply shook my head at her look and took my place beside my brothers.
"Long time no see Dez, bout time you emerged from that bedroom of yours," Talos teased, earning a good natured grin from the female.
"What can I say, fantasies of you keep me rather busy."
"Eww, guys, not here please. I'd rather not be turned off my food before I can even catch it."
"Someone should tell them how far back our property goes before we take off," Nate suggested, before looking pointedly at me. There wasn't even a point in arguing, the sooner they knew the sooner we could get going.
I made my way over to them, trying hard not to fidget under their masked gazes.
"Our land stretches about five hundred acres straight back and two hundred on either side. There are plenty of thing that you can hunt out here. We are heading straight back in hopes to keep out of your way."
"I doubt you will affect us," Tajj answered. I found myself snorting at his words.
"Oh, you'd be surprised by how much we'd affect you, but no matter. Happy hunting," I said catching back up with my brothers and Dezi who had begun heading back.
"Are they watching?" Talos asked, a grin splitting his face.
"Most definitely,"I grinned, his mischievousness contagious.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" And with that we let the change take over, the five of us sprinting off on four legs instead of two.
"Would anyone else like to explain to me what I just saw?" Tajj asked, though none of us really had an answer for him.
"What in the name of the gods are they supposed to be? Obviously not ooman."
"Obviously, R'azaroc is slipping on his duties."
"Oh come off it Glyph, he did warn us that they were different," Chaos supplied surprising the other two with his insight.
"You mean you knew?" Rejar questioned, seemingly put out by his words. But he didn't answer and instead activated his cloaking device going off into the same direction the others had ran off too. I too cloaked leaving Rejar and Tajj to figure it out for themselves.
"Curious too?" Chaos asked, as I landed beside him in a tree. The creatures had stopped, appearing to be conversing among themselves.
"I want to know why R'azaroc speaks so highly of them. The look like nothing more than a mix of several of this planets carnivorous wildlife. Though some parts appear to be from their animals or lore."
"If counsel feels as though we must strengthen relations with this being then they must be strong," Chaos pointed out, quieting down when the group began to move.
'Perhaps'
Hello lovelies, I have to apologize for my absence, but I just moved and have finally gotten everything in order at last. I will be updating this story along with my others slowly but surely. Thanks so much for your patience. It is my hope that my chapters will have a better flow to them and make more sense. It is also my goal to give all of my characters a personality of their own. I'm actually quite happy as to how this chapter worked out, and I am working on chapter two as we speak. Happy reading!