Also, I'll be adding in indicators of who's perspective it is after each line-break. It'll be necessary.

Chapter 9: "… Solves Everything".

Ryus

Ryus would have spent some more time thinking on what just happened. You know- what with him tearing that Marines' head off of his torso like his neck was made of tissue paper. What was there not to think about, after that? Example: the fact that Ryus had just gone out of his own way, and spent two hours of perfectly useful time, to go and kill a guy for the sake of avenging a person whom he didn't even know that well could be a sign that all of his struggles - past or present - were now paying off in the manner he had wished. Oh!- Or! Or. Conversely, the fact that he now felt zero remorse whatsoever for killing that Private (was his name "Gort"?) could possibly mean hat none of his endeavors had resulted in any desired effect. In a more practical perspective, there was the possibility of retaliation from those Humans to consider- how Ryus would deal with a squad of angry Colonial Marine soldiers.

So, yes, Ryus could have spent a good long while sitting around and contemplating all of this, following him slipping away from the still-disoriented squad of marines… if he hadn't realized something as he was jogging away down the corridor…

Ryus had spent the last two hours away from Samantha… after he had, pretty much, abandoned her… while she was recovering from a bullet wound… in an apartment that - while out of the way - was not at all discrete or hidden enough to stop members of the Hive from finding her… plus she's comatose… with no protection whatsoever…

Thus: it did not come as a surprise when Ryus's thought on this matter was: "… well, goddamn- that was an idiotic decision".

So, he immediately went sprinting back to where he thought the apartment was… until he got lost and had to backtrack… multiple times…

Samantha, forty-five minutes later

It had been 45 minutes after fully waking up from her debilitated stupor- sitting up and tossing the blanket that covered her off to the side of the bed. The first thing Samantha noticed was the fact that she was shirtless, with no clothing above the waist, except for a modest black bra. She was wondering what happened to it, until she sat up and noticed the shreds of white fabric all over the floor near the bed she was seated on. Her thoughts on the matter? "Eh. The thing was old and covered in blood, anyway. I just hope there's some spare clothing still in this apartment".

The next thing to come to her attention was the itching sensation on her right arm- the reason for the shirt being torn to shreds. An oblong splotch of gray/black/beige material that could only be identified as Hive Resin. The stuff smelled of nothing and the naked, tanned skin surrounding the resin was red- irritated. Her upper-arm was, nearly, completely numb- save for the incessant itching sensation that permeated in and around the covered wound.

If Samantha had to guess, she'd say that she was having a minor allergic reaction to the Hive Resin. Before now, she thought that Hive Resin served no purpose other than a radical method of redecoration. But now, it seemed as though Xenomorphs use it as a painkiller and disinfectant. She seriously considered satisfying the ever-growing urge to scratch at the stuff- maybe peel it off and see how her wound was doing. But… she didn't know if doing so could end up being detrimental. More often than not, when it came to Xenomorphs, (or Weyland-Yutani, or the United Americas Allied Command [UAAC])… there was always much more to every little thing- no matter how seemingly negligible. It made her wonder where that particular Xeno went… the one who had, apparently, patched her up. Looking down to her right on the green carpet, she spotted the three, golden-colored bullets that were clawed out of her flesh, one at a time.

She had to wonder, one more time, why the Xenomorph with the amber hide had gone to such lengths, just to keep her safe. Or contained. It had to have fought off those Marines that had been about to take her in, dragged her, at least, a kilometer back to the apartments, and took care of her wound. She still wasn't 100% certain what to think of the creature, but she was sure of one thing. The "Amber Demon" would return, at some point. Exactly "when" was hard to say. But it would. Samantha could feel it. And when it did come back to this apartment… well… she would at least… try to be "civil"? If that could even be considered a viability.

Speaking of apartments, the one she was in now, seemed to be… lower in quality, than the last one she'd woken up in. Not that she was in any position to complain. She could tell immediately just from where she sat on the bed that it was a "Class B: Utilitarian Domicile"… so, "second class", if it were an apartment on a freighter. It was only a single room with a bed, and a bathroom and closet on either side. That being said, it definitely wasn't a hovel, by any description. Quite the opposite- it's walls and ceiling still retained the same golden "glow" and paint that one would expect from anywhere in the Apartments. Even if the bed was only medium-sized (barely enough for two people), it was still as comfortable as the day its sheets were made. It was the kind of thing that one would stay in for less than a week - a pitstop, maybe - due to the lack of any kitchen or cooking utensils.

Looking down at her left leg, the one that had been bruised and swollen, she could see that, while the flesh was still enflamed and slightly puffed up, it's condition had improved regardless. It still retained it's persistent shade of saturated purple, but the previously red areas had turned back to the normal shade of tanned skin.

Samantha believed it high time that she search the apartment. There wasn't usually much worth taking in these Class B apartments, and if there was, those that had lived here had probably already taken it with them during the evacuation of New Scena. But, for the sake of possibly finding a spare shirt, Samantha was willing to try and look.

Now, mind you, she didn't think that the sight of her somewhat generous cleavage (she had, after all, managed to keep herself fairly well-fed throughout the Infestation- thank you very much) would cause… "negotiations" with the Amber Demon to… "deteriorate"- but she didn't want to risk it. She'd seen/heard of people getting torn apart by (seemingly docile) Xenos for weirder reasons (don't ask). Plus, the apartment wasn't really heated, and it was surprisingly chilly. So, yeah.

She scooted forward and sat at the foot of the bed. Keeping her hand on the bed to steady herself, Samantha slowly stood up, testing the stability of her leg. With only a slight wobble, at first, and a minor ache within the bone of her left shin, she became confident that she could walk at least somewhat competently.

Immediately locating a wood-paneled door on the right side of the room, Sam walked toward the closet with a slight limp. She grabbed the small handle and yanked the door open. She was already expecting to find the storage space empty. However, in a fortunate turn of events, she was pleasantly surprised to see that her preconceptions were proven wrong. While the closet was mostly empty, Samantha found her eyes immediately gravitating to the one item on the single, chest-high shelf. A microwave-sized, clear, plastic, vacuum-sealed package containing what looked to be clothing… or, some variety of cloth.

It was hard to tell which, but Samantha didn't care- she'd already uttered the word "jackpot", with a grin, and quickly snatched up the package, bringing it back over to the bed. Since the word "airtight" didn't even begin to describe just how tightly sealed the container was, it took Samantha a while (and a few chipped nails) to fully open the Goddamn plastic zipper which kept her from her prize. When the dusty packaging finally yielded to her will, she reached inside and yanked out the contents. Once she did… she became instantaneously ecstatic. A solid, jet-black tank top and… a scarf. Odd combination, but she wouldn't complain.

Standing up, Samantha held the top up to her chest to judge if it was around her size. The fabric felt similar to cotton and had a slight stretch to it- and, thanks to the package it was stored in, it was still as flexible and clean as the day it was stored away in the closet. Shrugging, she pulled it over her head to try it on, and it fit like a glove. An ever-so-slightly tight glove which exposed about an inch of her midriff- but it fit and it looked good, so she was keeping it! Sitting back down, Samantha picked up the scarf that was held in a tight ball by a rubber band.

Having no crucial need for the thing, she did the first thing to come to mind and unraveled it. She then began meticulously wrapping the jet-black scarf around the wound on her arm- like a pseudo-bandage. Samantha made sure to completely conceal the entire splotch of Hive Resin. Once done, she used the rubber band to overlap the "bandage" and keep it from going undone. This way, the itching sensation was mostly mitigated by being blocked from the open air.

Then… she waited. She sat, cross-legged on the bed and waited. The thought of leaving the apartment and running off on her own never crossed her mind. She was simply too curious about the Amber Demon to run away. She knew it would return- felt it, even. Samantha couldn't explain it, but she was certain that when it came back… well- she had no idea. Precognition is impossible, after all. But… despite the growing anxiety that built up in her throat, Samantha had the odd feeling that she would have nothing to fear, in the end. Call it a womans' intuition. And a womans' intuition was always reliable.

The sound of staccato foot-falls just outside the door and a nearly silent, alien pant reached her ears…

…and almost immediately, her esophagus felt like a vibrating rubber band- trepidation becoming king within her thoughts.

Yeah, scratch that- "womans' intuition" my ass…, Samantha gulped nervously.

Ryus

Ryus's breathing came in quick, ineffectual pants. He'd sprinted the entire way back to the apartment he'd left the girl in- backtracking and all. And now that he had arrived, lying down on his side in front of the door to said domicile, he was… intrigued to see that he now had some good news and bad news. The good news was that the Human hadn't moved from her resting place, and he could detect no signs of any Hive-mates- not within the surrounding 60 feet, at least. None above or below him, either. The bad news? The female was awake and, seemed to be sitting on the bed. The shining blue light that was her heartbeat pulsated at a rate that indicated severe anxiety- she must have heard his approach.

Oh… well, shit. That's a, uh… that's a complication, he thought, impassively- remarking that his initial plan was to be present by the time she woke up and…

Wait… why hasn't she run, yet?

While Samantha was anxious and somewhat afraid… he could feel a growing sense of determination building within her mind. While there was no definitive descriptor for the emotions and thoughts that swirled like a vortex in the females' brain, she was gathering a certain amount of gumption.. If Ryus were to simplify all of it into a sentence that hardly did the "vortex" justice… he'd say that, while scared of the possible outcome, Samantha was determined to "confront" Ryus.

It seemed that she was now the one "testing the boundaries" between them. And it would depend on Ryus's' behavior how wide or thin these boundaries were.

It dawned on Ryus how severe this development was. He would have to draw on all of his past experience with Humans- he'd have to make every effort to ensure that he made a good impression with Samantha. If this would be the start of formalities between them, he would have to come across as benevolent as possible. Ryus had been thinking of how best to go about this inevitable situation. He'd considered almost everything, but still had details to iron out. He knew that he should attempt to act as submissive as possible, for one thing- Humans liked feeling as though they were in control. He stood up and took a long, deep breath. It was time to begin diplomacy.

It was time to say "hello".

Ryus rose up on his hind legs, his four-digited hand reaching toward the doorknob…

Samantha

Samantha heard the doorknob turn. The door was pushed inward 'till it hang ajar. Barely an inch of opening.

Well, it was definitely the Amber Demon. If it were any other Xeno, she'd probably be bleeding out by now.

Despite her efforts in keeping her breathing even, it still came hot and heavy with anticipation. Her mind raced as fast as her heartbeat. Should she… straighten up? Sit forward a bit? Perhaps check or adjust her clothing? Or would that be seen as a hostile action? Wait- what is she even thinking about?! It's a Xenomorph, it doesn't!- uh… well… how should she approach this situation? Would it be better to stay as she is, or should she be prepared to move in case all this faffery with the Xeno went sideways? Would doing so be a sign of weakness? Or would that be exactly what would work out- could acting weak appease the creature?

Plus, would it be prudent to adopt a specific kind of posture? Could Xenomorphs pick up on or understand facial expressions? So many things to consider in so little time…

A small thump outside the door prompted her to hurry the Hell up, and before she knew it, she'd scooted forward to let her boots touch the carpet- hands on her knees.

Hopefully, it's just as nervous as me…, she thought- face set in stone.

The door inched open slightly…

Ryus

Ha! "Nervous"? You have no idea…

Ryus was making sure to pay special attention to the constant broadcasts from Samanthas' mind- that way, if he made a misstep, he'd know almost immediately. Hopefully, he'd be able to correct himself before it became a problem.

He dropped back down to all fours. Taking a small step, he nudged open the door with his "snout". Ryus's lips were tightly sealed over his teeth- the gaps in the "straps" of muscle that made up his "cheeks" were enough to breath through, for now. He also made sure that his tail stayed plastered to the carpet, and not flailing about in every which direction. He didn't want to look like he was about to kill someone… ironic as that may seem..

The front-half of his head poked through the gap in the door, as his left arm did the same. Immediately he felt her eyes focus directly on his face, which Ryus found… uncomfortable.

He walked forward, shouldering the door, opening it further- about halfway. As he brought himself into the room, and oriented his head in Samanthas' direction, he could hear her heartbeat increase. Which only grew further as his body turned to face her fully. In a subconscious fit of habit, his tail quickly pushed the door closed, behind him. He stood (with a somewhat "regal" posture) only seven feet from where she sat on the bed. If he wanted it, he could (literally) tear out the entirety of her esophagus faster than she could blink.

It was probably only due to the Ancestrals' recent apathy toward the human, that Ryus was able to think on the fact and not feel the urge to do so.

Okay… so far, so good…, he thought, cautiously. The Unknown was pushing for him to greet her with a child-like enthusiasm. The Ancestral was only just starting to become agitated by the humans' presence.

Ryus's' mind was… empty. He honestly wasn't expecting that to be the case, but it was. He wasn't worried. His thoughts weren't racing. He just felt… concise. Can one feel "concise"? Can that even be called an emotion? Or… would the more accurate way of describing it be… focused. Mentally clear. Calm. He knew what he had to do, and he knew what would happen if he didn't make it work. There was nothing else to really think about- all there was for him to do is… it. Just do it.

With nothing to stop him, Ryus took two slow, deliberate steps forward, ignoring the brief spike of fear that pulsed from the Humans' mind, until there was only a two foot space between Samanthas' knee(s) and his head. Remembering what he had planned, his head bowed, neck bending downward- his chin was barely an inch above the floor. His left arm lowered 'till his elbow rested on the carpet, palm face down, while his right arm extended forward, but stayed upright. He hoped that doing this would convey a benevolent or… perhaps submissive message…

… it was a posture he'd only ever shown in the presence of his Queen…

Here's hoping I'm not making a fool out of myself.

Samantha

This was… surreal, to say the least!

Samantha's heart may have been beating at a rate that would have made it feel as though her ribcage was being vibrated to pieces- but she barely noticed it. She felt as though she was… she… it was like every fiber of her being had been sucked into her skull, and was supremely fixated on what her eyes were telling her. It felt like her organs were weightless, and it felt like there was a cold sheen of sweat layered over her entire body. Neither was actually true. In reality, all of the blood in her body was being diverted to her muscles, but, even then, to her it felt like it was all flowing to her head.

And… there was a… not a ringing, per se- not a pulsing or pain, but a… silence in her head. It was like no outer sensation was being registered by her brain- every neuron and impulse was focused entirely on her vision. She felt deaf, yet hyper-aware at the same time.

And, all of it, naturally, could be attributed to the fact that THERE'S A FUCKING XENOMORPH STANDING TWO FEET IN FRONT OF HER!

Not only that, but the creature was… bowing to her! This- this is… this is just plain Goddamn incredible! The sheer absurdity of the current situation was utterly laughable! If she told this story to anyone that didn't trust and know her explicitly, she'd be sent to a fucking insane asylum! Maybe not even then- they'd probably send her to the looney bin, regardless of who they were!

Samantha wasn't sure how much time had passed, after the Amber Demon had, seemingly, "bowed" to her like she was royalty (her mind wasn't cognitively situated to track the passage of time). But, eventually, the gears of her brain began to slowly turn once more, and the very first thing that came to her… was the urge to reach out.

Before she could stop herself… her left hand loosened its grip on her knee and idled forward…

Ryus

Ryus knew what she was thinking. And, frankly, he couldn't think of a better ice-breaker.

He waited for just the right moment… and stood up, taking half-step forward.

Samanthas' open palm connected and flattened against what could be called Ryus's' "upper-forehead". With the constant electric flow through the bones of her hand and wrist, it essentially created a "hand-shaped" blind-spot in Ryus's vision. It was… odd…

Samantha

… to touch the creatures' head.

Samnatha released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. Just like that, with a simple touch, it was as though this… pressure within her skull "popped", as she felt blood flow return to the rest of the body. A rush of warmth and slight euphoria. She couldn't help the tiny laugh that escaped along with that same pressure.

Huh… so that's how it is…, she mused.

For a few seconds she simply remained frozen, waiting to see if the Amber Demon did anything else. It didn't. It simply stood there with its head pressed into her palm. Like a dog. Consequentially, the sudden thought of a Xenomorph playing catch and rolling over, asking for a belly rub, made Samantha audibly chuckle and grin. She took a deep breath, gaining more composure and realized that her hand had been absent-mindedly… well, "petting" the creature's domed-skull, rubbing back and forth in a slow, simple pattern. Almost as if by instinct.

To her surprise… the creatures' skull seemed to vibrate in a way that one could only equate to a cats' purr.

So that's how it is…, Samantha thought, again, with a small smile as she came to the realization that… everything was "fine" between them! As she'd suspected, the Xenomorph held no ill-will against her, and a bit of effort on her part had payed off! But, what to do now?…

Ryus

When the females' hand began… "petting" Ryus's' head, he, initially, didn't really know what to do about it. The contact wasn't really unpleasant or uncomfortable, despite the Ancestral becoming decidedly squeamish, but he wouldn't say that it was… well, he was indifferent, he guessed.

Since he had no other ideas, and the Unknown was throwing an ecstatic fit of joy, he did the only thing that really came to mind. The only thing that seemed to be a logical response.

Until right about now, he'd never had an actual word for it. "Purring". It was something that all Newborns of his kind would do as they bonded with their Queen. It would be surprising to outsiders that Queens show affection to their children, but… they do. In fact, for the entirety of the first five days of any Newborns' life, they'd spend day-in-day-out "snuggling" with mother. Ryus wouldn't have had any real explanation as to why a species of vicious, virulent, vociferous monsters would posses the instincts necessary for that sort of behavior. It just sort of… happened. It simply felt like a… logical thing to do, at the time. Then again, Ryus barely remembered very much of his first week of conscious existence…

In any case, after about… oh, say… thirty seconds of prolonged "petting", Ryus broke off the contact, sitting on his haunches. Despite not needing to, he made sure his skull was pointing vaguely at her face- it was for her benefit, since humans tend to get nervous when they don't have any clue as to a persons' (or, more accurately, an "animals'") intentions/inclinations. From what he could hear… Samantha was reasonably pleased with how well this interaction had turned out, so far! It appears that she'd had the same intention as him, going into this.

And he shared the same sentiment. Had he possessed a human face, he would have returned her current smile. Instead he would have to settle for letting out a small "chuff", at her… not sure if that would send the same message… She barely seemed to even mentally register it.

His on-going echolocation pulses were bringing near-constant "updates" as to the females' body language and facial expressions. If Ryus was reading both that, and her thoughts, correctly… her mood had shifted to something akin to fascination. Head titled to one side, eyes slightly narrowed. She was, understandably, curious about him.

Needless to say, the Ancestral was doing the psychological equivalent of anxiously fidgeting…

Now… why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?…

It came to him as Samantha leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. Her wound.

It was wrapped in some variety of cloth… he couldn't smell blood, at least. And there was no scent of rotting flesh, so it wasn't infected. He should still check on it though… how to go about that?…

Samantha

The creature was sitting in front of her now, in a posture that was akin to a regal cat. Its tail had coiled into a tight spiral, next to the Demon's right leg. It reminded Sam of old nature documentaries about Komodo dragons that would coil their tails in a similar manner, as a warning. If said warning wasn't heeded, their tails would already be poised for use as a whip. She supposed that Xenomorphs use their tails for (sort of) the same reason. Except, less whipping, and more impaling.

The thought of "what happens now?" or "what's the plan?" hadn't yet occurred to Samantha- at the moment, she was perfectly content with studying the creature before her. She'd never been this close to a Xenomorph before- at least… she'd never been this close, and wasn't running away. And she was the kind of person who watched nature documentaries for fun as a kid, as one could probably tell, so this wasn't an opportunity she was about to miss out on.

It wasn't until the creatures' gaze (if you could call it that) shifted, and its arm lifted to… point at… something… huh…

Ryus

Ryus decided to try something that would… probably work? He wasn't sure if his physiology would get in the way, but it was his only real option for the moment. At least until he could find ways to safely communicate.

So, doing what he thought would convey the clearest message, he oriented his head toward Samanthas' injured arm. He then lifted his left arm to point at the "bandage", and leaned on his right. His hand, which consisted of two fingers and two thumbs (each thumb on either side of his palm), attempted to mold itself into a "pointing" gesture. It looked a bit… odd, but it should get the point across.

The female frowned, tracked his finger, looked down at her bound-up wound, and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. Her mind raced for a few seconds as she tried to figure out what he wanted. Ryus waited patiently, as he made "eye-contact" with her. Her left hand lightly grasped at the cloth coiled around her right arm, as she gave him a sideways look.

"… uuuhhh…", she said (if a noise can be considered a sentence), in confusion.

Ryus moved his pointing arm, and grabbed his upper right arm with his left hand. His hand made a motion akin to pulling something off of the limb it had grabbed. The claws of the same hand then tapped against the flesh of the arm, which produced a dull noise that sounded something like tapping a tree with a knife.

Samantha watched the demonstration keenly…

When Ryus let both of his arms drop to the floor, her injured arm raised up a bit as she leaned forward.

"You… want to look at my injury?", she said in slow, careful voice. She probably wasn't trying to sound condescending, but he did just demonstrate that he could mimc human behavior and was thus intelligent… unless animal mimicry isn't all that impressive in humanitys' experience.

Nevertheless, he made a non-verbal acknowledgment of nodding and chuffing simultaneously.

She seemed surprised, but nonetheless began slowly unwrapping the makeshift bandage, keeping an eye on him. Standing by, Ryus hoped that she hadn't scratched off the Hive Resin, and thus sent out a few echoes to check the room for any discarded shards…

The strap of cloth (which the human's mind revealed to be a "scarf") came away and was dropped off to the left side of the bed. Samantha leaned forward, carefully extending her right arm, cautious to the point of paranoia while showing him the wound. Ryus was glad to see that the Hive Resin was still there, and had fully solidified into a brittle substance. The six-inch long, two inch wide splotch of… well, mucus (basically) had done its job and the wound was healed.

Ah… well that's that, then, he thought. Ryus oriented his head to "look" to his right, feigning a loss in interest.

...

Ryus… had never felt "awkward" before. But right now? He, uh… he was starting to get it. The thing was… Samantha was staring at him. Hard. Even as she absent-mindedly began re-wrapping her wound with the scarf, her eyes never averted from… raking all across his form. The sensation of being studied- being evaluated… it really didn't sit well with him. He didn't know if this feeling of awkwardness was normal under the circumstances, or if it was a result of his self-awareness, but either way… the Human female not four feet from him was boring holes into his skin with her eyes, and he didn't know how to disengage the "interaction"!

He was about to literally start fidgeting, when a saving grace made itself known. Samanthas' stomach rumbled, reminding him that she still hadn't eaten for the past two days.

Oh, look! An excuse!, he thought, immediately standing up and padding his way over to the door. Barring the need to escape Samanthas' scrutiny, he did actually need to find some food for her.

He was about to stand upright and open the door, when the thought of the female following him crossed his mind. He could sense that she hadn't tried to get up. Ryus turned halfway to "look" at her, and raised a hand in a "wait" gesture. He didn't need her running around at the moment- he couldn't risk the possibility of being found by the Hive or losing track of her position.

Samantha… registered his signal and… did nothing. Her thoughts were, more or less, blank, but she seemed content to do as he "said". Ryus decided to take that as an "okay".

He turned away once more and stood on his hind legs, grabbing the door-handle and pulling the door open. He stepped out and fluidly shut the door behind him. Seem. He began trotting down the hallway, hoping that the direction he was going in would lead him to food. Additionally, Ryus then decided to look for some variety of medical supplies, as well- maybe some actual bandages or disinfectant. He still didn't know if the Hive Resin in Samanthas' wound could end up being detrimental to her health, or not… best not chance it.

As he scanned his surroundings… Ryus couldn't help but feel relieved. Not just that he'd managed to escape that uncomfortable scrutiny… but that the air had essentially been… "cleared" between him and the human.

If anyone's confused, a Xenomorphs' hand would be like… well, imagine that you didn't have a middle finger, then imagine that your pinky finger was moved to be next to your wrist, and thus was opposite of your original thumb. It's basically like the Sangheili from Halo. Or Glacius from the newest Killer Instinct.

The point is, Xenomorph hands are tetradactyl in nature. Two thumbs, two fingers. Despite any evidence that you may have seen to the contrary- looking at you, Alien: Isolation. I believe any deviations from tetradactyl to be the result of mutations. Yes, even Xenomorphs can be subject to genetic mutation- when you have an organism that splices its DNA with that of its host, there's bound to be occasional complications. I believe mutation to also be responsible for a lot unique Xenomorph traits. The Raven from Colonial Marines, the Lurker from Alien: Isolation, the appearance of a human skull in some Drones and Lurkers, the fact that some Xenos are smarter than others- a bunch of stuff.

If you know anything about genetics and the process of meiosis, DNA replication, and mitosis, you'll probably agree that random genetic mutation is responsible for these types of things.