As Lilith started looking around the room for the first time since she'd been brought back to Gwen's house, she saw her boots still in the other chair. She squirmed out of Gwen's lap and ran over to the chair. She grabbed her boots, and held them close as she went back over to the couch where Gwen and Old Bruce were sitting. Neither of them had said a word as she climbed back on the couch and started to get back in Gwen's lap.
Lilith froze and stared at the left side of Gwen's face because the bottom mandible on that side was already swollen. 'I did that! She wasn't even doing anything to me, and I did that for no reason.' She thought in shame as she looked down guiltily. She got back in to Gwen's lap as tears welled in her blue eyes again.
When the pup had moved to get down from her lap, Guan did nothing to stop her. She saw that the ooman was simply retrieving the boots that had been left in the chair before returning to reclaim her seat, and Guan couldn't resist smiling lightly. It was apparent that the pup was pleased with the coverings. Then she saw how the pup froze while staring at her face, before getting back in her lap. Guan began purring softly to show the pup that she didn't intend to hold any animosity over the attack. She would be the first to admit that she was still a bit angry about the attack, but then there was the pup's behavior to consider. The first time the pup had assaulted her had been deliberate, and the pup had pointedly ignored her afterwards. But this time, Guan could clearly see that the ooman was acting as if she had dishonored herself, and most likely felt that her actions had been wrong. The subdued behavior of the pup helped to cool Guan's anger as she resumed stroking the pup's arms.
"I'm not sure if you are hungry or not Little One, but it won't be long before I begin fixing the evening meal, so it won't be too much longer. Our sons should return by then, and we can all eat. After that, we'll all relax in front of a nice warm fire, and have a peaceful evening for a while before we sleep." Guan said soothingly as she observed the ooman sitting in her lap.
Kwei remained silent as he watched his lifemate and the ooman pup. He saw a great deal of difference in the way the ooman had acted aboard the ship, the way the pup had acted upon entering with Guan, and the way the pup was acting now. It was obvious to see that even without being corrected that the ooman regretted what she had done. Even without moving, the ooman was sitting with every muscle tensed as if just waiting for some type of retaliation that was fully expected. A retaliation that Kwei knew would never happen. He'd spent two hundred years with Guan as his lifemate, and in that time he'd come to know her very well. He knew that she had decided to accept the ooman pup as theirs, or she would never have referred to the pup as 'our' Little One.
Kwei had hoped that his lifemate would accept the ooman pup, but now he realized that the ooman would need to choose to accept them as well. It was a strange predicament that he found himself in, and he suddenly realized that he'd once succeeded at something very similar once before. His mandibles flexed in a grin as he recalled how he'd pursued and eventually won the heart of the Honored Warrior Guan-kv'var-de so that she would become his lifemate. Winning… no…earning the trust, respect and maybe one day even the love from this ooman pup was going to be a challenge much like that one had been… and Kwei-vor'mekta knew that he was up to that challenge!
Guan purred constantly as she watched the ooman pup in her lap. The pup sat quietly, and occasionally ran her fingers through the thick fur cuff of her new boots. She had no idea what was going through the pups mind, but she was sure that it had to do with the incident earlier, because the little ooman still hadn't returned to her lively, but willful self.
"Put your boots back on Little One. You can give me your companionship in the kitchen while I prepare the evening meal." Guan said softly.
Guan watched silently as the pup pulled on the boots and got down to stand on the floor, while never meeting her eyes. She placed her hand lightly on the pup's shoulder and guided the ooman into the kitchen, where she began removing things from the cold storage unit. Several large slabs of meat were set out, along with more than a dozen different kinds of fruit.
Slicing the meat was a matter of seconds, but dicing the fruit took a while longer. The little ooman stood beside her observing without a sound. Seeing that the counter was slightly higher than the pup's head, Guan lifted her up and sat the ooman pup on an unused section of the counter so she could see. She washed most of the fruit, but decided not to use the fresh naxa in the s'pke, because she intended that for something else.
Lilith couldn't take her eyes off the red thing that Gwen laid on the counter. Shaped sort of like a watermelon, it was about as big around as a cantaloupe. She had no idea what it was, but it sort of seemed familiar, and that was weird. 'Why would I think some kind of alien plant was something I recognize?' She wondered curiously.
Seeing that the pup was examining the naxa fruit close enough that she even smelled it, Guan decided to give her a piece of it to see if it was something the pup might like. The claw on her right thump easily penetrated the thick peel of the fruit to start the process of removing the rind.
As soon as Gwen started peeling the weird looking thing, Lilith knew the smell that hit her was really familiar! She couldn't help it when she not only started salivating heavily, but growling in her stomach.
Guan nearly laughed at the pup's reaction to the scent of the naxa fruit, but then she recalled how the pup had been deliberately starved for a long period of time, and realized that it wasn't funny at all. She quickly carved several large pieces of the fruit, before she reached out to hand one of them to the pup.
"Don't give her that! She'll choke on raw fruit!" Hulij-bpe shouted from the entrance to the kitchen.
"No she won't! And you're not going to take it away from her either! Oomans have different types of teeth that allow them to eat both raw plant matter, and meats as well. She won't have any trouble eating that, but unlike us… she can't bite into a bone for the marrow." Guan told her son as she stepped in front of him to make sure that he didn't try to interfere.
"Go ahead and eat your naxa fruit Little One, no one will take it from you, but save some room in your stomach for the evening meal, because we'll be eating shortly." Guan said as she dropped a slice of the fruit in the pup's hand.
As soon as Lilith saw the slice of yellow fruit in her hand and smelled the scent that rose from it, she knew what it was. 'Where did they get a mango here? And where did they get onethisbig?' She wondered as she bit into the piece she had.
Rich, bursting with flavor, and dripping everywhere! This was the best piece of mango Lilith had ever tasted. She knew that mango had always been her favorite, but she'd never even heard of one like this before. Nothing at the stores she used to go to had ever been so big, or such a bright red, and certainly none of them were this sweet and juicy! This was pure bliss, and Lilith was leaning over to make sure that she didn't drip any of the sweet sticky juice on her clothes, because she knew that would make Gwen mad.
Guan smiled to herself as the ooman actually slowed down to enjoy the fruit, after nearly devouring the first slice whole. It was much different from the way the pup had eaten earlier, and she was glad to see the difference. "Why don't you go back into the main room and wait while I finish preparing the evening meal?" She asked as she lifted the pup, and placed her feet on the floor.
Lilith watched Gwen for a few minutes, before she turned to go into what she thought of as the living room. The second she walked in, she froze and he eyes shot wide as she stared at the… thing… that was in there! A mix of brown and tan, it was sort of like the color of dirt, but this thing was huge! Her mouth fell open as she stared in shock at the creature. It stood on four legs and was as big as a horse because the top of her head only reached its back. It had red eyes and lots of long sharp teeth, but that wasn't what had caught her immediate attention. What had her focus were nearly a dozen long sharp spikes sticking up out of the things back that made it as tall as Celtic who was standing near it.
"Come Little Sister! I want you to meet Bakuub! (Spear) She's the Yaut Hound we raised from a pup." Celtic called out to her proudly as she stood gaping at the huge beast.
Lilith couldn't take her eyes off the thing as she edged over to where Celtic was standing. Razor sharp and fang shaped teeth that were as long as her entire hand filled that mouth of the beast that Celtic wanted her to meet. 'What? Am I supposed to be dinner for that thing? As big as that sucker is, I might make a snack pack or something, but I'm not big enough to be a full lunch for it!' Lilith thought as she got next to the large Predator who had called her over.
Hulij-bpe squatted down as the ooman pup got next to him, and slapped his thigh a few times to lure the family pet a little closer. Although he was a little slow of mind at times, he wasn't a total idiot, and he planned to make sure that Bakuub wasn't going to try to hurt the newest member of his family. He pulled the ooman pup close to his side as Bakuub stalked up to him and began sniffing intently. He made sure that his hand was right next to the muzzle of the deadly Yaut Hound as the big female sniffed at the little ooman. Then, before he could react, the Yaut Hound was rubbing the side of its head against the pup's chest.
Lilith's eyes got even wider as the thing started rubbing its head against her like some oversized house cat. She tentatively reached up and began lightly stroking that head of the thing, and was surprised when it started making a purring noise that was sort of like Gwen's but a lot deeper in pitch. The more she rubbed, the more the creature seemed to like it, and it would rub back against her in return. When she reached up and started scratching the beast near the base of one of those huge spikes, it started writhing, and wiggling in a way that told her she was making it feel good.
Suddenly Lilith's face was covered in warm, wet drool after the huge beast licked her in apparent thanks. Lilith was sputtering and wiping at the drool with a disgusted look on her face, while the creature purred happily. 'I know what I'm calling this thing now!' Lilith thought as she kept trying to get the drool off her face.'From now on, your name is Slobber! I would call you Spike, but I think that's a boy's name… even though it fits.'
Not wanting to wipe the drool on her clothes, Lilith smirked as she started wiping her hands on the beast in front of her. 'Payback is fun!' Lilith thought with a smirk firmly on her face as she finished wiping the drool on the beast it came from.
Guan placed that last of the food on the table, and went to tell everyone so they could eat. "The food is ready. So come sit down and eat. Where's the pup? She needs to eat too."
"She went into the crèche. Father says we aren't allowed to go in there for any reason, but he won't say why." Hulij-bpe complained.
"He's telling you exactly as I told him. She's the only one allowed in there. If I want to enter, I will ask her permission first. I am not going to explain my reasons on this, but I think it's best for her." Guan said as she turned towards the door to the pup's room.
In a show of respect for the pup's privacy, Guan knocked on the door before it slid open automatically. Then she made a mental note to alter the settings so that it wouldn't open automatically for a male, and expose the female pup when she was changing or otherwise unclothed. Looking into the room, she saw the pup sitting in the center of the nest with Bakuub curled around her. The tiny pup was nearly lost next to the large bulk of the Yaut Hound. "Come Little One. It's time for our evening meal."
Lilith looked up when she heard the door slide open, and looked over to see Gwen standing at the door. She got up and let out a quick two tone whistle, and instantly, Slobber was by her side as she left the room.
Guan tilted her head to the side in curiosity when the pup made that strange noise. She was pleased that the pup seemed to be adjusting to her new home, and was glad that Bakuub also seemed to have taken a liking to the little ooman. That was good; because it meant that maybe she could gain enough of the ooman's trust for her to start speaking to them.
Lilith frowned when she was placed in another booster chair. She didn't like being treated like a baby, but she had to admit that her feet weren't even close to the floor, and the top of the table was still as high as the middle of her chest.
As she prepared a plate for the pup sitting to her left, Guan couldn't help but notice the way the pup was focusing on every bit of food that was taken by the others. She could tell by the scent that the pup was stressed over something, and the obvious hunger in the pup's face made it clear to Guan what that something was. She quickly finished fixing the plate and set it in front of the pup, who immediately began tearing into it.
Lilith shoved the food in her mouth as fast as she could chew and swallow. It wasn't that she was particularly hungry right then, but more because she had learned the hard way that something to eat wouldn't always be available. Focused on her food, she didn't realize what was happening until her plate was pulled away from her. She looked up with a mouth full of meat as Scar pointedly slid her plate next to his across the table from her.
"You need to slow down so you don't choke. This isn't a contest to see who can eat the fastest, or the most. So slow down and enjoy the food!" Setg'in instructed firmly as he held on to the ooman's plate.
Lilith leaned forward, grabbed hold of the plate, and tried to pull it back to her. It wasn't any use because Scar was a lot stronger that she was, and he had a better grip too. Letting go of the plate with her right hand, she snatched up her spoon and hurled it at Scar. When the Predator merely dodged the thrown spoon, Lilith sat back and looked around for something else to throw at him.
Guan was reaching out to return the pup's plate to her when the ooman pup suddenly leaned forward and her left hand flashed out in a strike while holding a long bladed dagger that she'd apparently grabbed from Hulij-bpe's belt. Setg'in quickly pulled his hand out of the way, but it was too late for him to retain possession of the pup's plate. What was really disturbing about what she saw was that not only had the pup acted with the speed of a trained warrior, but there was also the intense smell of anger rising from the little ooman. No more than an instant had passed and the pup was sitting there with her right hand shoving more food into her mouth while her left was cocked to stab again. Then, Hulij-bpe retrieved his dagger, and Setg'in moved as if to grab the pup's plate again.
"That's enough!" Guan bellowed as she grabbed Setg'in's hand before he could finish reaching across the table.
"She'll choke…" Setg'in started to protest.
"Silence!" Guan growled angrily.
Looking around the table, Guan saw that she had everyone's attention, and she turned her focus to her middle son sitting to the ooman's left. "Thank you for getting that away from her." She said with a nod, before looking at the pup. "You, eat slower. It will not be taken away from you again!"
Guan then turned an angry glare at her youngest son. "Do not take her food from her again! She has been starved for a very long period of time, and her instincts, or need for survival will not change over the course of a single night. She will eventually begin to eat properly, but that will take time for her to learn."
She could see that her son wasn't happy about being scolded like that, but he also wasn't making any further protests, so Guan turned her attention back to the ooman pup who hadn't paused the process of shoving food in her mouth since regaining her plate.
"Listen to me Little One." Guan said as she waited until the ooman looked up at her. "I want you to eat slower. If you want more of something, then you can point to it. What Setg'in did was wrong, because we never deny food to a pup. However, what you did was also wrong! I know that Setg'in only took your plate away because he is concerned that you might choke from eating too fast, and he's right. None of us wants that to happen. Now, what you did wrong Little One, was to take and use Hulij-bpe's weapon without first getting his permission! I don't care what happens, that is something you never do! You may throw eating spoons, bowls, plates, or anything else that you feel you need to throw in order to deal with a hostile situation, but you do not take a weapon that belongs to someone else and use it without their permission. Now… I want you to at least slow down enough so that you can taste the food." She finished wryly.
Lilith was so surprised at what she'd just been told that she actually stopped chewing while she glared at Gwen warily.
"Well… now that I have your full attention Little One, let me clarify something for you. We are not ooman like you; we are Yautja. I realize that there are many things we will need to learn about each other. Some of those things are going to be extremely important, and I will try to teach them to you before you end up getting seriously hurt. One vital thing you must always remember is that you are never, never to touch the weapons or armor of a Yautja! I do not handle Kwei's weapons or armor without his permission. I do not even handle the weapons or armor that belong to my sons without obtaining their prior permission! I think that oomans like yourself, may feel that way about your under clothing, but I need to make this perfectly understandable to you. I can wear Setg'in's underclothing without asking him, as long as I can give some type of reason for needing to do so afterwards, and he would understand… but to use his knife? No! That is something he would not be likely to forgive." Guan said in a firm tone as she tried to avoid lecturing the pup.
"Another thing you must learn, is that it doesn't matter how angry you get, or for what reason, there is to be absolutely no fighting at any table for meals!" Guan said insistently.
Lilith cast a surreptitious glance at Celtic, and saw that he was cleaning the handle of the knife where she'd grabbed it, and she didn't think he looked too happy about it either. Then she shot a look at Scar who was acting as if he wasn't paying attention to the butt chewing she was getting. 'He started it, and now I'm getting chewed out for taking Celtic's knife.' Lilith thought sourly.
When the pup pointed angrily at Setg'in before gesturing at the plate in front of her, Guan knew exactly what the ooman meant, because it didn't take an Honored Ancient to figure that one out. "Yes he did take your plate, and I have already spoken to him about that, so he will not do it again. You on the other hand, need to learn not to fight at the table, and that you are not to take another's weapons. Is that understood, Little One?"
Lilith stared at Gwen sourly for a moment before she realized something strange. 'She's not saying anything about me throwing something at Scar, she's just telling me not to do t at the table. That's like that other time when I racked him… no one got mad at me for doing that… Celtic even congratulated me for it… so did Old Bruce! So why was that different?' She wondered before it hit her. 'I wasn't at the table! Is she really telling me that I'm allowed to fight as long as I don't do it at the table? This doesn't make any sense!'
Lilith nodded her head to show that she understood the rule about not fighting at the table. She went back to eating, while watching Scar carefully. She knew that she was eating faster than he wanted her to, but when he growled at her, Lilith moved quickly to shove a large piece of meat into her mouth, and grabbed her plate protectively. Suddenly, her attention was pulled to her left when she felt a large hand on her shoulder.
When the pup looked over at him, he leaned in closer before speaking quietly. "If you stop eating so fast, then he won't want to take your food away to make you slow down. I won't let anyone take it from you, so you don't have to eat that fast. Eat slowly; enjoy it. Food is more than just fuel for the muscles; even I know that! Hulij-bpe told her in a whisper. "And don't ever take my knife again!" He finished in a low growl.
Lilith hunched protectively over her plate until the big Predator went back to eating his own food. She did slow down slightly, but apparently not enough to satisfy Scar, because he still kept watching her closely. Lilith was sure that he was just looking for another chance to snatch her food away from her.
After dinner everyone gathered in the living room, and Lilith watched as the sat around in front of a large fire while they polished armor and sharpened different blades and knives. She was petting Slobber, and looking at her new clothes when Gwen put one of those weird mask things in front of her.
"You will need to learn how to tend to your own armor before you receive it, so you can start by practicing on this. This is my old training mask. The last time it was cleaned and polished was many years ago when Setg'in was learning the process. Each of my three sons has learned how to polish and clean a set of awu'asa by practicing on my training armor. Now, it is your turn to learn. I doubt that you will ever earn the privilege of receiving actual hunting armor, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared in case you do." Guan said as she placed the cleaning materials next to the mask.
Lilith looked down at the stuff in front of her. She was a little leery of the mask because of the last time she'd had an experience with one, but then she figured that it should be fine since she wasn't going to put it on. She picked up some of the cleaning cloths and looked them over curiously. None of the different cloths had a smooth texture, but some were rougher than others. Knowing that she was supposed to polish the mask, she reached for the roughest cloth, when she remembered a show on Samurai swords that she'd seen on an educational channel. They had only used fine grain materials to polish and sharpen the blades of those swords. Sorting through the different cloths, Lilith found the smoothest one that was still rough, and started scrubbing.
From the way he was acting while watching the ooman pup, Guan could tell that Setg'in wanted to explain the proper way to clean armor. "Don't say anything to her! She must learn from experience, just as you and your brothers learned. It's how your father learned, and how I learned. Now she must learn the same way. If she does it wrong, then she will have to keep trying until she does it right. There are many methods used to polish armor, and she will have to find the method that works for her. The only wrong methods are those that fail to get the armor clean." She instructed calmly.
Setg'in huffed in annoyance, and noticed that Hulij-bpe simply glowered at the pup. He knew that his brother was still angry over having one of his weapons taken and used by the pup.
"I should make her hone the tip of this blade back into a proper point, since she's the one who dulled it by stabbing the table!" Hulij-bpe muttered angrily as he examined the knife the pup had used against his brother.
Hulij-bpe knew the instant it happened that the pup had only been trying to recover her food, and he couldn't help but recall the tense furtive glances that had been cast at him when she'd been fed on the ship. It didn't take a genius to know that the pup only wanted to eat what had been given to her. He did have to admit that he was surprised that a mere pup as small as she was, would be so quick to fight over something as simple as food. Then after thinking about it, he thought that if he'd been forced to go hungry for a long time, and someone had taken his food away, that he would have fought them as well. That was when he realized that the ooman pup hadn't even tried to make any further attacks after she had regained possession of her food. It was the kind of thing that made him wonder if he too might have taken the weapon of another if he had been in the pup's place.
Lilith stared at the mask she'd been working on with a critical eye. Both of her arms were tired and sore from scrubbing on the metal, but she saw the result in front of her. She had scrubbed and polished the dull grey surface until it had almost a mirror shine to it. As she held it up, she turned it in a couple of different directions to see if she had missed any spots. She had to admit that it looked a lot better than it had when she'd started. Then, something in the flat part of the lower face of the mask caught her eye, and she looked closer at it. It was a dull reflection that showed her… and five shapes behind her!
Dropping the mask Lilith scrambled away from it before she turned and saw that all five of the Predators were still staring at the mask, before they each looked over at her. She watched apprehensively as Gwen reached down and retrieved the discarded mask.
"It looks like new!" Setg'in said softly as he gazed at the mask in his mother's hands.
"Indeed it does, Setg'in. I haven't seen it look this good since I first used it in training!" Guan replied just as softly before looking over at the ooman who had shied away from them.
"Very well done, Little One! Very well done! You seem to have mastered the art of polishing armor on your first attempt, you should be proud of yourself for that. It usually takes many moons of practice to get it right, but you've done it correctly the very first time." Guan said as she stepped over and knelt down in front of the ooman pup.
"Tomorrow night I will give you another piece to work on. If you do as well on that one as you did with this, then I will be certain that you know the task well enough to not need the training. I did not expect such great skill in something like this. Thank you." Guan said as she pulled the pup to her and embraced the little female.
"She spent as much time on that mask as the rest of us used to clean an entire set of awu'asa, but the result looks… looks new!" Al-Nihkou'te murmured in appreciation. "I certainly wouldn't mind if she got my armor looking that good!"
"Elders first, Youngblood!" Kwei said with a light chuckle as he grabbed the shoulder of his eldest son and gave it a firm shake. "Elders first."
