A/N: We'll deal with the Chiva details in the continuation of the Paya series. I've been releasing chapters very quickly (as if you hadn't noticed), just doing a great deal of writing before I start my new job in a few days when I won't have as much time. Plus it's been rainy which is wonderful. Yea, I suspect I won't get as many reviews this way, but that's ok. Those of you who do review always tell me what you think! And thanks for that, btw. And speaking of btw – no one has said anything about the art work I worked so hard to piece together for this fic. :::Sobs into second glass of wine:::Hey! What are the green swirls doing in there?:::Oh…c'jit!:::

Chapter 10: Favored

Theron waited patiently while the lengthy time/space connection to the primitive communication device on Earth was made. He heard a sort of ringing and then the voice of Mr. Montgomery saying, "Hello?"

"It is Theron. I request to speak with Mel-an-ee." The matter of fact message didn't faze the mellow human. He now knew the Hunter Theron. Theron was making a phone call and wanted to speak with Mel. Good. Nothing unusual about a guy calling a girl in Mr. Montgomery's flexible mind.

"Oh sure, Theron. Good to hear your voice. Let me get her for you." The next sounds were of the human male's footsteps tottering off and then his voice now fainter in the distance, "Mel, Theron's on the horn for ya!" Then the sound of smaller, lighter footsteps could be heard running through the house.

"Theron?"

"Yes, it is I. Signý completed her Chiva successfully. She is safely on Yaut."

"Oh, thank God! And thank you for calling me. I've been anxious to hear from you."

"The Chiva ship made it back to Yaut just after I did. The females are all safely back and have earned their mark. So now, things are rather…disrupted around here."

"Disrupted?"

"The females are ready to be mated now. There seems to be some disagreement on the High Council. I do not know the details – only that they have been in session with the Matriarch for some time now."

"Well, I'm sure they'll sort everything out. When will I see you?"

"Not soon. Many things are in disorder because of this High Council meeting. In fact, all ships are grounded right now, which I find extremely odd. As soon as I can leave, I will."

"Will you bring Signý? I'd love to hear all her adventures."

"I do not know." He stalled, uncomfortable with the thought of being around the Huntress. "She will undoubtedly be pregnant and I do not know if she will be permitted to travel. Are you pregnant yet?" He redirected Mel on to the next logical topic.

"Nope. I've been through several fertile periods now, but still no positive pregnancy test." She lowered her voice, "I love Mr. Montgomery for what he's doing – but I'm not sure how, uh, fertile he is at his age."

"Is it possible for you to obtain another donor?"

"I don't want to carry some stranger's baby, Theron."

"I understand. You need to know the honor of the Sire. Most understandable."

"Uh, yea, I would need to know that."

"I anticipate being with you again very eagerly, Mel."

"I look forward to being with you too. So…I'll just see you when you get here."

"Yes." The line went dead.

"What's the news, Mel?" asked Mr. Montgomery.

"Well, all the girls made it through their Chiva and are home safe – thank God! I wish I'd somehow been able to welcome Signý home, but I'm here trying to get pregnant! There's some kind of disagreement or something going on. The High Council and Sally have been meeting over it. Theron says it has actually disrupted space travel! I bet those horny old geezers are fighting over who gets which female – even though they said they had it all sorted out."

Mr. Montgomery snorted, "Horny old geezers? Careful there, Mel – that's hitting, shall we say, below the belt."

"HA!" she snapped back. "He also wanted to know if I was pregnant yet, and of course I'm not – but we can keep trying."

"Mel, I know that getting pregnant can be a hit or miss thing, but I'm wondering if I should get a sperm count done. It may be that all of mine are going around on crutches. It never took my wife long to get pregnant, but I was much younger then."

"Well, maybe it's not your fault. Maybe it's me. I mean, true I've had one child but I really don't know how fertile I am."

"Well, good lord, don't go get one of those fertility shots that makes you have eight babies!"

"Can you imagine have eight mini-you kids running around? But that makes me wonder if the Yautja have anything that might help us. If I'm not pregnant by Theron's visit, I'll ask him to ask Myn-dill."

The gray Hunter was anxious. He had planned to be off the home rock and on the way to Melanie before Myn'dill broke the news to Signý, and plainly, he wasn't. He had been in the great crowd, perhaps the largest ever gathered, to welcome home the victorious females. They had marched off the ship carrying a bevy of excellent trophies. The Kainde Amedha hatch had been a large one for this significantly sized Chiva and much to everyone's satisfaction it had been entirely wiped out. Several of the females carried Hunt scars which they showed off to the admiring crowd as they disembarked. Each one also bore a newly graven forehead scar signifying their Clan - the Clan of their Sire. Theron examined the two that now sported the mark of the Dor'an. Strong and worthy, although not as tall as the rest of the females with the exception of Signý, the pair walked down the ramp way holding hard meat skulls and tail points.

At the bottom of the ramp, each female was escorted away by a cluster of black armored Arbitrators, Aldúlfr's own, to safety. Scores of bellowing fights broke out along their way as the sudden wave of feminine musk paved a path of competitiveness through the hordes of suddenly frustrated males. The Arbitrators did not stop to settle any of the disputes. Yautja males competing for a female was normal and self-limiting. Their mission was to see the females safely to the well-guarded quarters where the High Elders or other carefully chosen males were waiting for them. The first mating season in over one-hundred long cycles had begun!

Signý waited her turn to come down the ramp with the others. Her hands were damp with excitement and her stomach quivered with every beat of her heart. Everyone was chittering in excited tones. They were true Huntresses now and full adults within their respective Clans. If she was now magically an adult, why did she have the stomach flutters of a pup? She fingered the still sore scar on her head. It was not Dor'an, but she hoped that Theron would still find her pleasing. She had managed to come through the ordeal without revealing or compromising her pregnancy and should be feeling extremely self-confident. Instead, she felt tentative, unsure of something…but what? The roars of approval and welcome began as soon as the airlock opened.

She followed Ulfrde and Arndís in the only group of three bearing the same Clan symbol. She thought to herself that perhaps the idea of separate Clans was a quaint and worn thing, best left behind with the rise of this new generation of Matriarchs who had been raised together as sisters. We see no Clan divisions between us, only the honest differences of size, temperament and skill. I wonder how all the different marks could be combined to make a single mark. She nearly made an audible chuff as she visualized a Yautja taking the time out on the Hunt to carve such a complex glyph onto his or her forehead. Perhaps everyone should simply sear a large dished out area of their cranial skin!

Gripping her trophies, she tried to search the crowd for Theron but there were simply too many Hunters, mostly taller than she, for her to find him. Perhaps he would seek her out later to congratulate her on her achievement and check on the well-being of his unborn pup. She was cut off from her Hunt Sisters as the group of Arbitrators closed around her like a tight shell and quickly bore her away. She heard the growls and roars coming from all sides as the hefty law-keepers pushed on and made a path for her. Vicious challenges and smacking hits could be heard through the din and she was suddenly grateful for the suffocating shelter around her.

At last they reached what were to be her quarters and the door was opened. She walked inside and looked around to find them quite empty. Theron will be by as soon as he is able, she told herself and proceeded to the trophy wall to select the correct placements for her prizes. She wanted the light to shine off the skulls and beckon the viewer over to examine them more closely. Hanging them in the best position that the current room light offered, she stepped back to admire, and then walked into the room from the door to see if they created the desired effect. Signý congratulated herself on her room décor savvy as the glint from the skulls caught the corner of her eye and made her head turn. Just then, the com signaled a visitor. She nearly ran to answer it, "Theron?"

"H'ko, Signý, it is Myn'dill. May I enter?"

"Sei! I appreciate you stopping by to check on me. Most thoughtful, Honorable Healer." She unset the lock to allow him entrance and resumed her check of the trophy positioning.

"That is most attractive," he observed, her talent in placing skulls not lost on the Healer. "It caught my eye as soon as I entered. But I am not here to speak of trophies. May we be seated?" The Healer seemed almost grim to Signý. She offered him a seat at the large table when a chill came over her. Had something happened to Theron, or her mother?

"Is something wrong with my Bearer, or Theron?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"With Mel? Theron? No. They are well. But I must speak to you." He adjusted himself in his seat and wished for a glass of c'ntlip. "Signý, as you know, you entered your season before you should have. It was not a normal situation if you recall."

"Yes, I recall."

"I had to arrive at a plan that would keep everyone's honor intact. Your dishonor, had anyone known that you became pregnant before proving yourself, would have been something that none of us would have wished to see happen. You are an honorable and skillful Huntress, and I welcome you to our Clan!"

She answered with as much dignity as she could muster, "I am honored by your welcome, Myn'dill. And also by your arrival at a solution for my early maturation. I have told no one, and no one suspects."

"That is good, Signý. Because you are not pregnant."

She set there staring at him, his words taking some time for her to comprehend. Then slowly, she spoke, protesting, "But I am! Your test confirmed it! I remember!"

"If you recall my words, my test confirmed that everything was alright, not that you were pregnant. Theron never bred you. It was all a ruse, created by me, to help you attend and succeed at your Chiva. I gave you the hormones to simulate a pregnancy, Signý. You are not pregnant!"

Her jaws opened in wonder, and then in anger. She waved her mandibles in confusion, "But how did you trick me? I remember Theron and I together! I remember his ardor as well as his scent!"

"Signý, what you remember is indeed the musk and interest of Theron, but he was tricked as well. Do you recall, before you were with Theron, how you went into desperate need of the rut? Do you recall how I had the Elder appointed to you brought into the room and how you attacked him?"

She thought for many long moments, tapping her tusks and scrunching her brow. "I…I remember the need. I have never felt anything so strongly. I remember the huge Hunter you brought to me – that was one of the High Elders?"

"Sei, he was the High Elder of our Clan. You nearly tore his mandibles off!" Myn'dill chortled. "The only way I was able to rescue him was by promising you what you kept screaming that you wanted."

"I don't remember that part, my memory seems to be in disconnected pieces."

"You were calling for Theron, Signý." Her face began to turn that embarrassing shade of green.

"I don't remember that. But, it is true that I have always been attracted to him."

"I talked him into being with you. I explained that it was your only option to Chiva. And out of his great concern for you and his great affection for your Bearer – he risked his honor and went to you. He did not suspect that at the last moment I would interrupt his efforts. When I did, I sedated you and implanted you with the hormones to mimic pregnancy. When you awakened, you perhaps thought that you had merely fainted?"

Signý sat listening, her head bowed. "I don't remember just what I thought. But I am ashamed that I have caused everyone so much trouble!"

"It was not your fault. You were exposed to male musk at too young an age. It happens."

"From Theron?"

"Yes, I am certain of it."

"He told me it was his fault." She looked off into the distance, remembering their post-coital conversation. "This isn't right, Myn'dill, not right at all. But…I remember that I gave you little choice."

"I don't know if the Elder who was your chosen mate will even be able to rut again after the solid pounding you gave him," the Healer joked.

"Chosen? Did you say - chosen? I had no voice in the matter," her voice stayed dangerously calm. "The High Elders got together and made the choice for me. Listen to me now Healer. I still reject their choice. Just who is the female here? I will make my own choosing, and then if another wishes to challenge him – so be it. It is our way. Tell THAT to the High Council! You may leave Healer."

"Signý, the hormones that are making you think you are pregnant are declining rapidly now. You will feel the full force of the rut come upon you, perhaps very quickly. If you truly wish to exercise a choice, make it soon! Your mind will not function well when the need to breed takes over."

"You know Healer, I would choose Theron again if I were not now too embarrassed to face him. He is completely honorable, skilled and strong."

"He is indeed. I will leave now, please inform me of your choice and I will do what I can to help you. I do not know if the High Council will honor this, Signý."

"Then I will go before them. I must speak with the Matriarch. I will consult with you later Healer, and…Myn'dill, I know that I am upset now and will be calmer later. I trust that I will eventually appreciate what you have done on my behalf." He bowed to her and left, even as she was signaling Sally on the com.

After going through several Aseigan, she finally heard the familiar ooman voice on the other end, "Signý? What is it dear?"

"You have always been like my second mother, and right now, I need you! I need to talk with you. Please…may I come over?" Signý could not help the sobbing that now came.

"I'll be right there."

Sally came on the wind, her entourage of guards bowling over a few pairs of Hunters still grabbling over the long-gone scent of fertile females. Leaving them all outside the room, she used her master code to enter. There in a chair sat the forelorn Huntress, looking very disheveled and crying her eyes out. The Matriarch rushed to her side, "Signý, what is wrong? Please tell me."

Comforted by the scent and presence of the female she'd known almost since birth, Signý spilled out all that had happened. Sally said nothing except to encourage her to continue. After the female had told her tale, she hiccupped softly a few times. Grabbing a clean cleansing cloth that had been handed to her, she wiped her eyes and face dry, and then raised her very red eyes to the Matriarch who began speaking, "You know, I have been so focused on raising you pups, getting you trained and off to Chiva, and then pregnant. I never stopped to think about things from your angle. Here you've been raised your entire life to believe that females are the leaders of this society and then we expect you to calmly mate with whomever we've preselected for you with no input on your part. You're right, Signý. Things are most definitely, 'not right' with this! Let me go to the Council on your behalf. They do listen to me on many things. Let me see what I can do for you, and for all my girls. I wonder if any of the others are feeling like you?"

Sally soon found out that while a few of her daughters had accepted the mate waiting in their quarters for them, most had successfully fought their suitors until they fled. Those High Council Elders who found themselves rejected were soon at a meeting attended by the Matriarch who had also suddenly called for all space traffic to be halted, in order to keep any males grounded that her daughters might want.

This was the first and perhaps only time, that the Matriarch would completely rule a High Council meeting. The call of rut and subsequent rejection and beatings had both crazed and demoralized the Elders to some extent. They growled and argued with each other and with Sally. Several times she screamed back at them. Eventually an agreement was reached. The Council disbanded the meeting and Sally went home seemingly pleased with the outcome. She contacted Signý and confirmed – she would be able to mate whomever she chose. However, he would be subject to the normal risk of challenge for the right to mate her.

In her room, a more cheerful Signý had been thinking and researching the pedigree and credentials of many Hunters. Some she knew, many she didn't as they had been presented to her by the 'matchmaker' app of the computer which was a little slow to load having not been called upon in so many cycles. Many on the High Council indeed had distinguished credentials, but none of them appealed to her heart. A few of them had even gotten a bit fat, she thought, from spending too much time in their council seats. Who was to say that some of the younger Hunters would not produce a pup as fine as they would? The age of the Sire was not a factor in her mind, Yautja remained fertile and functional their entire lives and females had always sought out the older, proven Hunters. Bloodline and trophies were important to Signý, but also important to her was the way she felt around a male. Unknown to her, it was a small betrayal of her human heritage. Unable to name it herself, what she desired was to mate someone she felt comfortable around - someone who honored her and respected her individuality. She had grown cold sitting at the console and interrupted her research to grab a fur from the bed.

She read on, examining the portraits of each candidate and noting good features and then, pulling up his lists of trophies and successful missions, as well as any judgments against him.. In times past, it had been the custom to actually call on a Hunter and ask to see his trophies. In light of the near riots set off by the returning Huntresses, and the fact that the Council had already appointed mates to them, the custom had been suspended.

Finally, deciding to follow not just her study but also her heart, she put in the requested call to Myn'dill. He was not available, so she left him a message, "Honorable Myn'dill, with the blessing of our Matriarch and the High Council, I have made a decision. As you requested, I am calling to let you know. Also, I am suddenly not feeling well. Please attend me." Then she went to take a soak, perhaps the warm waters would sooth her shivers and attack of dizziness. She eased into the blessing of the bath and sat where the water could just reach over her shoulders. Resting her head against the side she tried to clear her mind of everything except the Hunter she had just settled on. Honorable? Most certainly! Strong and skilled? She had admired his skill for a long time and had heard stories of his strength. How embarrassed would she be to show her interest in him? "Not at all," she murmured to the water, "In fact, I have always felt comfortable in his presence." The rightness of her choice settled in her soul and she rested, confident that her body would begin to desire him as the hormones continued to wear off.

In the meantime, Theron was pleased to see that the spaceport was allowing departures again. He requested and received a list of items from Sally and was off to prepare the ship, happy to be going to see Mel again. He remembered that was going to pick her up first before going for fruit because she wanted to go with him. Happily, he saw that pineapples were on the list again, as well as fruit from Michigan. It was probably getting somewhat cold at the base of that hand-shaped place he noted. The environmental mesh would keep him comfortable, but he'd have to ask Melanie to bring warm clothing. It would be a good trip and if his mate was not yet pregnant? It would be an excellent trip!

Myn'dill was rushing to Signý's apartment. The usually calm Healer fussed at the hovercraft to go faster and cursed those in his way. He wished for an onboard canon to dispatch the other vehicles in front of him that were going slowly for NO GOOD REASON! Flexing his mandibles and clicking in anger, he finally parked near her place, and then dashed the rest of the way, his medical pack smacking into his thigh. Signý was not feeling well, her message had stated. Had she contracted something during the Hunt? How could it have escaped his careful examination upon her return? He had gone onto the Hunt ship and carefully screened each female for any disease before they got off the ship. Had he missed something?

He waved past the guards outside her door and sprang into the room as quickly as the door opened. Signý greeted him with a nod, still damp from her bath. She had hurried through the dryer and only had a fur wrapped around her middle for modesty. Not that he was worried about that. He was a Healer and he had seen everything. "What seems to be the trouble? How do you feel?"

"I feel very strange, Myn'dill. I was studying, as you suggested and made my selection when this…this sensation came over me! In fact, I thought for a moment that I might become unconscious!"

His face displayed the utmost concern as he approached her. Scenting her musk which had begun to spice the air around him, he fumbled in his kit for the scanner. Had she reacted badly to the sudden hormone withdrawl? He began running the scanner over her, testing from head lock to toe talon. Her core temperature appeared considerably warmer, but that was expected in a female going into heat, plus she had apparently just come from the bath. He was nearly knocked over when she abruptly stood, leaving her fur behind and gave him a hearty whack right in the middle of his chest. He stood in confusion for a moment, perfunctorily still running the scan which he now paid no attention to, but instead looked down into the lovely wide brown eyes. "Catch me if you can!" she chirped in initiation of a mating game and was off. Her naked backside was a lovely spotted flash before she disappeared into the next room.

She chose me to Sire her first pup! I did not see that coming. Certainly, she is extremely attractive. What will the High Council say about this? Theron? None of them are here to challenge me…pauk them! Dropping his bag and his cloth, he momentarily puffed up, and then raced after her.