He was ready to kill his father after 2 weeks. He had never been treated so poorly in his life. It was as if he was some mutt that wandered onto the hive and was begging for food. He could not stand for such lowly treatment, and he was ready to challenge his father, but in the pit of his stomach he felt sick. He would lose the battle, he knew it. All he had was pride and talk, no skills. But, that sweet pride would let him die just to get his irritation off his chest. Though he could not quite communicate through his mind, the wraith on board could sense his feelings, and right now, they were avoiding the high tempered half breed. Bursting into the control center, they already knew he was coming. Slowly turning around the commander looked at him with a sly grin, his second standing at attention behind him and two soldiers in the corner, watching the scene. Stopping just by the door Val had his fists clenched, eyes narrowed, chest heaving, as he stared his father down.
"I am sick of being sent on errands your stupid slaves do for you!" He growled, the second in command chuckled slightly and turned away, going back to his duties, sensing no danger here. The raspy dark voice only his father could hold, laughed at him as he tilted his head back slightly. That hurt Val's pride even more. Before he could say anything though the commander had stopped laughing and approached slowly, with long powerful strides.
"Our slaves are nothing more than humans, if I remember right, you wanted to be human?" He spoke smooth and slow, always degrading though. Valimor clenched his teeth and growled. Surprised by the ferocity of the sound the second looked over his shoulder, but the commander was unaffected. Crossing his arms he dared Val to do something.
"I am part human, enough to know the way you treat them is wrong. But don't forget father I'm your son to, and I won't stand to be treated like trash." He spoke, thinking there was no flaw in his argument. Feeling rather satisfied he straightened up, his shoulders back and he held eye contact, something the second in command could not believe. All hope was deflated when his father only grinned.
"Very well, I could agree that was your point of view, only one problem, you just reefed to those humans you care so much about as stupid slaves. Valimor, you are a wraith. Those human traits are only complicating an easy decision. But until you make it, you will remain with those stupid slaves." His grin had vanished, his voice low and monotone, no emotion, and it was an order. Val was deflated; his shoulders slumped as he couldn't help but walk away from the dismissal. How had his mother ever stood up to him?
He did have a point. He struggled to be human, but when ever his guard was down, he found himself sneering at them, degrading them, thinking them lesser. And that desire, the overwhelming desire to take the strong life force that ran through their veins. Something he lacked, it was there but so faint, it needed to be replenished, but he couldn't. Heading back to the slave holdings he tried to hold himself high, but the humans were laughing at him.
"Look, it's the king's beloved son, rejected yet again and sent to live with the humble slaves." One man retorted, Val quickly turned on him and had the man pinned to the wall by the throat, chocking the life from him. The man had been on the hive a long time and had expected death for quite some time. Now he only choked out a laugh. "You're a disgrace…" He rasped "What an easy way to go, strangled…" He was struggling now "At least… I'm… not being fed on." That was it, Val's anger had taken over and he kept the man there until that life faded. It felt like a waste, letting a human die and not using their precious energy. Suddenly rational thought returned. Backing away from the body he shook his head, shocked.
"I can't be one of them…" He gasped to himself. A young woman rushed to the dead man's body then looked up disgusted at Val.
"News flash, you are! Only they won't even accept you! But you're not welcome here either, so get out!" She screamed at him. The rest of the humans joined and forced him from the commons area. Walking down one of the halls Val didn't know what to think, but by the end of his walk he had built up enough anger against both human and wraith. He didn't belong anywhere, he was his own race, and he was ok with being alone. Carefully masking his thoughts he made his way to his father's quarters. Having the same DNA he opened the door and strode it. Finding a nice seat, he settled down and waited.
Night had come and gone, and his resolve had begun to fade. It wasn't until the afternoon the next day the commander entered the room, instantly sensing the other presence. Turning his yellow green eyes to the corner he caught sight of the faded shadow of his son, the white hair gleaming short, those blue eyes glowing like neon lights, watching him as a cat would prey. For the first time the commander felt a pang of fear spark in his mind, but it was quickly put out, hidden from view. Upon seeing his father, he took a deep breath, and pushed himself to continue with the plan.
"I want you to teach me, I want to leave all humanity behind." He spoke low and slow, standing from his hiding spot and emerging into the light. The commander grinned and moved up to him. Quickly he grabbed his son's wrist and turned his hand over. His palm facing up. Tracing the thin scar slowly, his hand tingled. He wanted to jerk his hand away, but forced himself to stand there, expressionless.
"First things first." He whispered slightly. The next thing that happened, Val could not keep the wraith reserve. A dagger was pulled from his father's side and quickly the tip of it cut through his skin and ran along the scar, tearing the skin open. Only a little blood trickled through though, instead it revealed an opening through his hand. He had the ability to feed this whole time. Staring in astonishment he couldn't believe it had been that easy. Releasing his hand the commander disappeared into another room.
"Wait!" Val called but he was gone. Holding his hand carefully, he examined it. Suddenly the urge to feed came surging back in and he staggered a bit, gripping a table for support. Just then his father emerged again, carrying something dark in his arms. Tossing it on the table he began walking for the door.
"Dress, then we shall take you culling." He simply said, as if it were an everyday thing. Carefully lifting the fabrics he examined each one. The first was a tight thin white shirt, second were soft leather black pants. Under that a longer black leather shirt, it looked a lot like armor. Lastly was a pair of black boots and a beautifully crafted dagger tucked into one. It wasn't long before he was dressed. The sleeves of the armor shirt reached down past his wrists in a painted shape to his knuckles. This was not the same for his feeding hand. The pointed end was only on top. He adjusted the clothes, lifting the collar to his own style. Ruffling his short white hair he rolled his shoulders and left the room. Looking almost identical to his fathers, few wraith dared to chuckle at him, his new clothes gained him a new respect.
Upon reaching the main deck, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Culling? Now? Surely he would simply give him one of the humans on board. In his weak starving state, with no training at all he was going on one of their precious gathering missions? The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he began to feel. He stood on the deck, looking out a large window revealing the vast space before them. Looking over his shoulder he caught his father's eye. Opening his mouth to ask, something cut him off.
The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a grassy clearing, surrounded by tall trees. The leaves made soft ruffling noises as the wind danced around them. He was alone; something he was sure wraith never did while culling. The soft sound of footsteps hit his ears and his eyes flashed in that direction. Nothing. This was a trap, or a test. Possibly even an execution. Turning around slowly he took a tentative step forward, the sound of footsteps continued.
"Show yourself!" He growled desperately grabbing the dagger tucked into his boot. After a short moment of silence someone did emerge from the surrounding forestry, but not what he expected. May appeared, shaking and wide eyed. May was Meleni's sister. Looking curiously at the girl, he wondered if they had dropped him off on the planet he had been living on. A test then? Suddenly a wraith appeared behind the girl, and instantly she started crying. Grabbing the girl by the hair the wraith jerked her head back, making her whimper, but stop crying.
"Come, little prince, and feed." The wraith hissed, grinning cruelly. Then it hit him. His father didn't kill any of those villagers because he wanted to use them. And this girl, she was the only one to pull him from his knees. The perfect candidate for a test of loyalty. Gripping the dagger he slowly approached the girl, who, looking at her, was a lot older then he had thought she was. Forcing his eyes from her pleading ones he glared the wraith down.
"I don't need you to hold a little girl for me." He snarled. The other wraith released the girl, putting his hands up he backed away in a mock bow, that cruel grin still plastered to his face. Grabbing May's arm she cried out and fell to her knees.
"Please! Please don't kill me! You are a good man, that's what Meleni always said!" She cried, tears poured down her face. That gut wrenching feeling came back as his hands trembled, but he could feel the other wraith's eyes on him. He had to do it if his father was ever to accept him. Lifting his hand he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"Sorry." He whispered.