One

The universe is boring to the Elder. When he was young it was full of adventure and action but now that ship has sailed and it can't be anything but boring.

And he knows it was the same for his arbitrator.

He has known Cynbel since he was an infant. His father would always bring him for a visit and the Elder would never forget the pure curiosity in his eyes. He knew the child would be destined for great things, and he was completely accurate. Cynbel became a blooded Laur-ke member of the clan when he was only thirty years old, even though the average age is fifty.

He became a marked warrior ten years after, and by the end of that century he was on the path of becoming an Honored warrior. He was so full of life then, always needing to hunt, jumping at the first sign of action. He was so ferocious and powerful, an unstoppable juggernaut. He met Boudicca the year after his inauguration to wield the title Honored. Though the yautja species is mainly polygamous, sometimes pair-bonds would form between two who acknowledged each other as life partners.

And Cynbel was crazy for Boudicca, yet the literal crazy one was Boudicca. The Elder never seen a male so infatuated and bounded to a female; she could tell him to stab himself and he would consider it. They did nearly everything together. They had few pups and they are all grown now.

It was a shock to the whole clan when Boudicca died. He'd never seen a creature so utterly devastated and helpless. And since that dreadful day he never hunted again. During his decades of mourning he remained a reliable leader, though he refused to fornicate with other females. The Elder let him be, understanding his perspective.

He was pair-bonded, though she died peacefully and Boudicca died brutally. But the feeling was the same, as if someone had ripped out half of what you are. He remained patient with Cynbel, hoping his mourning process would end eventually. But never, did he imagine Cynbel would claim an ooman.

He'd seen oomans worthy of their clan's praise, but a yautja claiming an ooman was forbidden. And Cynbel knew that. But what's just as mind boggling than Cynbel marking the ooman is his reasoning. It's been two days since the Honored Ones' mission and, fortunately, no kainde amedha survived the explosion-though the pyramid was sacrificed.

Cynbel insisted the ooman be given medical attention, and the Elder allowed it. Later on, in the same day the Honored Ones were collected off of Earth, Cynbel explained why he marked the ooman as his. She is like a physical reminiscence of his previous lover. Now the Elder wonders if he should have his arbitrator psychologically evaluated.

There is a massive difference between sadness and insanity.

Xochipilli has run the test ten times and the results remain the same. His mandibles produce astonished clicks as his yellow moonstone eyes look over the words displayed on the screen. When he took a blood sample from the ooman he expected it to be just like the rest.

Everything about her should be solely ooman.

But it isn't.

Though her appearance is entirely ooman she contains ninety two point forty eight of yautja blood; and not just any yautja blood. The ooman's genome is illogically similar to the dead female warrior Boudicca. Xochipilli remembers she was Cynbel's mate. He traced her lineage, needing to know why her features are not like his species, even though she's over ninety percent of it.

Her father was a hundred percent ooman, yet her mother was ninety five point twenty three percent yautja. Her grandfather was ninety five point eighty six percent. Her great grandmother was ninety six point sixty eight percent. And the percentage continues to rise, going five hundred years into the past, until Xochipilli finally found his answer.

Upon seeing the creature pop up on his screen, the doctor's eyes widen in anger and shock. He was the former Honored One, Gwandaya, who'd been banished from the Laur-ke clan.

He was also Boudicca's older brother.

But this doesn't explain how the ooman's genetic coding is so close to Boudicca's; their coding is so close, in fact, that they can be sisters. Xochipilli had continued to look into Boudicca's ancestry, knowing the female derives from the Qiyāmah clan, an ancient tribe that had dispersed thousands of years before he was born; and he is quite old.

He knew very little of the clan, other than the name. The Elder said that the ooman would be returning to Earth once her health has been restored, but she isn't completely ooman. He knows Cynbel wants her to stay; he'd seen the life in the Honored One's eyes when the warrior spoke of her.

Xochipilli would support whatever decision the Elder has, but if the ooman's stay would revive Cynbel to his former self than the doctor would do everything in his power to make it happen. And now that her true heritage has been revealed her chances of remaining on the clanship is much higher.

"The Elder needs to know this." He mumbles to himself. And after downloading the ooman's information into a device no bigger than a quarter, he heads toward the Elder's throne.