Sparring no longer helped ease the turmoil in Kh'laz's mind. The Young Bloods were now avoiding him. Young Bloods usually sought out Blooded males with experience in order to further their own training before leaving for their first hunt. Once they brought back a worthy trophy, Young Bloods were officially considered Blooded in their society.
Kh'laz was not going easy on them. He had already sent three off favoring wounds, and headed in the opposite direction as him to the medic.
Kh'laz couldn't blame the Young Bloods for avoiding him. He only wished Sci'zi hadn't disappeared moments after declaring Ih'gar's escape. Sci'zi was more than capable of challenging him.
Unlike Sci'zi, Kh'laz was bound to his planet until further notice. His personal mission still required resolution. As much as he wanted to hunt Ih'gar, for once in his life, the hunt was not at the forefront of his mind.
He wanted his female. He wanted to claim her.
He needed to claim her. It was a physical ache.
However, he had been forced to wait. The Elders wanted to wait for the injured Elder to heal properly, in body and in spirit, before resuming his duties.
It had been nine days and eight nights.
There was so much pent up energy and heat inside of him that sparring was the only activity that even came remotely close to easing it. In spite of that, the energy never fully went away. It was always there, ready to swallow him whole in its intensity.
It took all of his years of training and self-control not to storm up to the Elders and demand his due process.
For the thousandth time, Kh'laz gazed upon his Sat-com. And for the thousandth time, her signal was not there. It wouldn't be. He knew this, of course. There were several galaxies between his planet and hers.
Even with their phenomenal technology, the signal frequency would not be picked up with this distance between them.
After wandering aimlessly around his house, with no direction or purpose, Kh'laz let out an irritated growl. Yautja always had purpose. They were disciplined. They were prepared.
With sudden inspiration, Kh'laz headed to the market. He would prepare. There were items to purchase and questions to inquire on. After all, Kh'laz did have a female to care for. Soon enough, she would be sharing living spaces with him. Kh'laz did not take that responsibility lightly.
After completing all of his purchases, Kh'laz hired a Servant Yautja to carry everything back to his dwelling. Servant Yautja were considered freer, as in they could wander among the rest of society, and above the Outcast Yautja. Only just. The Servant Yautja Kh'laz hired was a sterile female. The Yautja society considered them useless. Many were given merciful killings. Unfortunately, sterile females were becoming more and more common.
Which is why it was considered a great honor to be chosen by a female Yautja in estrus.
Something Kh'laz never imagined himself turning away from. Until this day.
He was walking along the market, strolling while deep in thought, when he was suddenly jostled roughly by another Yautja walking past him. He turned around, a growl set in his throat, when he noticed the female. She was staring at him, which meant she was waiting for him to express his interest.
Looking around, Kh'laz could see that many of the male Yautja's had noticed the female and were eyeing him warily. They assumed he would initiate the mating signal, that he was interested.
Kh'laz gazed somberly into the eyes of the female Yautja. He recognized her. Draya. She wasn't one of the most formidable females around, but she had a certain reputation a quick temper. He had to proceed with the utmost care in this situation.
Normally, he would be honored to receive such interest. It didn't always result in a mating, but merely initiated the wooing beforehand. Kh'laz had mated on few times after a successful wooing, but none had resulted in offspring. That was the risk.
Draya was one of the darkest shades of Yautja. She was still watching him, waiting for his response. Kh'laz knew it would illicit surprise amongst the gawking Yautja. Surprise and shock.
But he felt absolutely no instinct or desire to engage with this female. As a result, he nodded his head once in her direction, as a gesture of respect, and declined her invitation by swiftly turning his back to her and walking off.
As he briskly paced away, he heard a few rapid clicks of agitation from several sources in all directions.
Apparently he had caused quite a stir at the market. Well, he had quite another shock for them in the coming future.
And Kh'laz was avidly looking forward to it.
. . .
Amy was settling nicely in Alaska. It was a bit colder than she typically liked, but all the people were like a breath of fresh air. So inviting and helpful! There weren't really a lot of people in the little town of Lorula, so there weren't a lot of available houses to rent. The one Bed and Breakfast wasn't equipped for long term stays either, plus Amy had wanted to give John Wilke and his wife Lorraine, some space.
She had only been here a little over a month, and once the townspeople learned she needed a place to stay, they all came together and fixed up a nice little one bedroom house on the outskirts of town. All for her.
Talk about a wonderful welcome gift!
It wasn't the nicest of houses, but it was more than sufficient for her needs. She had never been the type of person to acquire clutter and space savers. She could handle small. She could handle a little fixer upper.
It was quiet and peaceful, just like back home. What more could she ask for?
She had moved into the little blue house a couple days ago. Without much to unpack, she was free most of her spare time. And she quickly realized that John's offer for her to come up and work was more of an offer to come up and take it easy. His business was mainly located in Anchorage, yet he had a small office in his hometown so he could stay home with his wife most of the time. Mainly during the winter months when air travel was nearly impossible. Amy definitely had a lot of free time.
And so, she socialized. One of the only places in town to hang out at was a family restaurant that doubled as a bar. They just kept the tables for eating on one side for families, and the bar with the drinks on the other side. Since Amy didn't have a family and entered and left alone, she always sat at the bar.
Which is where she was currently seated. On a nice plushy red bar stool sipping at a stout beer from the Anchorage Brewing Company. It was stronger than she was used to so she sipped at it slowly. Amy didn't want to spend all her time drinking and socializing. She wanted to go exploring, and the easiest way to do that in Alaska was to go hunting.
First, she needed to find a hunting buddy.
Luckily, she had made fast friends with several people near her age group. The two she was closest with was Meredith, whose family had lived in this small town for at least four generations. She was younger than Amy, shorter than Amy, but her zest for life was a mile high. She was great to hang around with. Meredith was a real social butterfly, but she was starved for companionship. Most of the people their ages left Alaska, and if they didn't leave Alaska, they at least left for the bigger towns. Meredith, however, was a true Lorulian.
Then there was Dakota. He was nearing thirty, average height, average looks, but he was a true sweetheart. If he had lived anywhere else, Amy would've seen him happily settled down with a couple kids.
At first, Amy had assumed Meredith and Dakota were an item, but they were quick to correct her. They were third cousins, which wasn't unusual in such a small town. Another reason why many left for college and never came back.
Diversity and variety were too tempting.
As per the usual night, Meredith sat on Amy's left and Dakota sat on her right shortly after five in the evening. Meredith ordered her usual extra sweet tea because she knew she was a lightweight and respected that. Dakota had whatever was on tap that week.
Meredith hated silence, so she quickly jump started a conversation. "Hey Amy, I was talking to my cousin from Anchorage, and she doesn't believe me about your eyes. Can I take a picture and send her? Please?"
Amy was used to comments and stares and outbursts of disbelief surrounding her very rare eye condition. Usually it annoyed her. It was hard to tame down a lifetime of learned sarcastic responses, but looking into Meredith's overly bright, excited green eyes calmed her down considerably. Sighing in obvious exasperation, Amy grudgingly agreed, "Sure Meri. Also tell her it's called Heterochromia iridium. You know, there actually is a name for it." Amy rolled her eyes good naturedly as she took another sip of her drink.
Meredith gave her a droll stare and scoffed, "Like I can spell that. Puh-lease! Look at me. Hold still." After the camera click, Meredith said, "Thanks doll! She's going to be amazed! Although, you could have smiled. It won't kill you!"
While she rapidly texted her cousin, Dakota bumped his elbow against her side to get her attention as he leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, "Don't mind her. That's just Meri. She means no insult. But for the record, I don't think there's anything freaky about your eyes. They're just unique, like you."
A little surprised, Amy looked into Dakota's warm brown eyes and suddenly had an epiphany.
Dakota was crushing on her.
Meredith had joked about it the previous week, but Amy had just thrown it off as if it were simply a joke. Now she could see that there had been more to it all along. Honestly she didn't know what to think about it.
Heart racing, Amy responded with a nervous chuckle and a quick thank you.
Amy was traversing through her thoughts when Meredith suddenly groaned in pain and sheepishly explained, "Amy, Dakota, I'm so sorry to do this to you guys, but I need to go home. I've had a headache all day, and suddenly with all this noise and smell of beer, it is one killer headache." Face full of contrition, she gazed at each of them in turn, and implored, "You don't mind do you?" The question was technically directed at both of them, yet Meredith settled her gaze in Amy's direction.
Without hesitation, Amy answered, "It's not a problem at all Meri. You shouldn't even concern yourself. Just go home, rest, and get better."
"Oh thanks guys! I'll see you tomorrow! Don't have too much fun without me!"
Watching Meredith easily glide through people and tables toward the door, Amy suspiciously thought back to her recent epiphany. She had a feeling that Meredith's headache was code for other ulterior motives. Motives that included Dakota.
Glancing over at Dakota, Amy realized he had been watching her rather than Meredith's retreating form.
It could be worse. Dakota was very nice. He was good looking. He had a job. Yes, he was a little on the quiet side, and as far as Amy had heard, he had never been in a serious relationship. Which Amy felt was odd for a good looking guy hitting thirty soon. But then again, he had lived in Alaska most of his life.
She shouldn't be too hard on him.
Trying to quell the sudden rising thought of a very specific large alien male, Amy tried to focus on the man sitting next to her. The very human, normal male.
There was absolutely no reason why she shouldn't give dating a chance. And maybe Dakota was the one to entice her.
Amy tried to motivate her feelings to follow her sudden logical reasoning. Even though her feelings refused to budge or stir next to Dakota. She just didn't feel anything.
No interest. No chemistry. No desire.
All she needed was time. Time could change anything. At least, that's what she kept telling herself even as her thoughts and dreams always strayed to her masked savior.
. . .
Finally, after a few more agonizing days, the Elders agreed to hear Kh'laz's petition. The Elders were curious. Kh'laz never so actively sought out the Elders for any matter. He was content with his life.
They were all seated on their high-backed metal chairs arranged in a crescent directly opposite Kh'laz, who stood, as was the custom.
Elder Barruk motioned his hand in a quick gesture signaling Kh'laz to begin.
Kh'laz had had many days to consider the wording of his petition. "Elders, I come before you this day to petition my right to lay claim to a mate."
Elder Barruk stirred and reminded Kh'laz with a deep, gravelly voice, "Kh'laz, as long as the female is willing to tie herself to you, there is no need to petition before us." Although the Elder issued this as a statement, there was an obvious question at the end.
Knowing this was where difficulties could supervene, Kh'laz bowed his head respectfully, "You are correct, Elder, and I would not waste your time for such a request. The nature of my petition is unique. Unusual. And I ask that I be heard out completely. I know there are questions that have been raised in regards to the death of the Badblood. It was not I who ended his life. It was a human female."
This declaration caused a slight stir among the Elders as Elder Barruk demanded, "Did you take care of this ooman problem? Did you ensure there were no traces of knowledge left behind?"
Elder Nan'he narrowed his eyes in Kh'laz's direction and laid his claws on Barruk's forearm. They communicated for a moment until Elder Barruk calmed down.
"You may explain the nature of your petition."
"I wish to mate with the human female who helped me in my mission."
There was an immediate uproar. All the Elders talked and argued amongst themselves to the point none could be understood. Elder Barruk simply glared at Kh'laz while Elder Nan'he whispered feverishly to the others.
Elder Nan'he broke protocol by addressing Kh'laz instead of Barruk. "Kh'laz, we know that you are a fine warrior Yautja, so please explain your reasoning to us so that we may understand your desires."
"My instincts tell me that this female is my jehdin zazin lou-dte kale."
And with that statement, all the Elders hushed. Not a sound could be heard. After all, to find that one centered female to a Yautja male's existence, was extremely rare. There were only several such claimed permanent matings because of the Yautja longevity.
As far as any of them could deduce, there had never been such a claim for a human.
Elder Nan'he gently inquired, "Are you sure?"
Kh'laz was prompted to reveal the very moment he discovered this for himself. "When I was first exposed to the female, her scent was similar to a female in estrus. It was curious. I assumed any Yautja would react the same as I had. However, when the Badblood was exposed to her scent without his mask, he made no reaction. His instinct urged him to hunt her, then kill her. When he attacked her, I became aware that her scent was meant solely for me."
Gazing into the eyes of each Elder in turn, he ended his tale by saying, "That is the very moment I knew that by the grace of Paya, I was meant to claim this female. My instincts are urging me more strongly than the compulsion of the hunt. I no longer am affected by a female in our own society."
Elder Barruk gravely looked upon Kh'laz, one of their finest warriors, and responded, "Kh'laz, this clan has high hopes for you. You are third in line to the throne of the Hishian empire. If you are denounced, are you willing to accept that?"
With no hesitancy at all, Kh'laz answered, "I am more than willing to accept the consequences. Also, I am willing to continue my role within society. My skills will forever be at your disposal."
Elder Barruk's countenance was thoughtful while Elder Nan'he appeared amused.
Finally, Elder Nan'he broke the silence. He leaned forward to rest on his remaining arm and addressed the anxious warrior, "Kh'laz, I have much to thank you for. The entire clan has benefited from your services. I personally feel it would be a great waste and shame to allow one such as you to go rogue. There is much we do not know. We do not know a great deal about those who call to us specifically. We do not know why our females produce offspring less and less." Gazing slowly at each Elder in turn, he addressed them all, "We cannot let our bias and opinions of the human race to cloud what is right here. If Kh'laz wants to claim the female that calls to him, then we should not stop him."
Elder Barruk finally stood up and strode directly in front of Kh'laz. Standing a good two feet taller than Kh'laz, Barruk placed his much heavier arm on Kh'laz's shoulder in a gesture of acceptance, "Kh'laz, do what you must. You have the Clan's blessing. Peace be with you in your journey."
Bowing his head down in gratitude, Kh'laz expeditiously exited the building and headed for his ship.
Soon, Kh'laz thought eagerly to himself. Soon.
Author's Note: jehdin zazin lou-dte kale basically means soul mate. The Yautja refer to it as something else. When a Yautja can find that ONE being who can center them, that is the one they are meant to stay with. Some people think I'm nuts for taking a Predator and creating so much gooey romance, but that's me! I love romance, even with the "so-called" monsters.