The crowd applauded Sardon as he and the yautja circled each other inside the dome. It was clear that the yautja were feared, and not liked at all in general.

"Mar'cte what the actual fuck is happening?!" Jasmine yelled angrily. Mar'cte was front and center, cheering on this madness.

"He must do it. That Sardon supposedly has killed lots of yautja and they brought out skulls of our kind to prove it. I couldn't have stopped him if I wanted to, and I didn't want to," Mar'cte explained, turning his attention back to the fight.

Every instinct inside Jasmine was clamoring for her to stop the fight, but she knew who she'd married. Kujhade thrived on this kind of thing. Hell all of them did. Even Lijia was encouraging Kujhade to tear this thing's spine from its back. Jasmine simply stood dumbfounded that she could do nothing but watch. With Mar'cte's muscle she pushed forward to the very front row to see exactly what was happening.

Kujhade was armed only with his bladed whip. He had his wrist blades as well technically, but swore not to use them. Sardon on the other hand had chosen to use no weapon at all. The two fighters circled each other, Kujhade eyeing his opponent to search for an opening to attack. Sardon was just as tall and twice as wide as Kujhade. He vaguely resembled a grizzly, but with a broader flatter head. He only had three fingers per hand and each was tipped in a long serrated claw.

Uncoiling his whip, Kujhade snapped it at Sardon's head several times which earned him a fierce growl and a charge. It was the opening Kujhade was looking for. Showing him those yautja skulls had been the wrong thing to do. As far as he and so many other hunters were concerned, no one had a right to hunt them. They were the hunters. They were the apex predator, and no one else. One on one battles were fine, but no yautja took kindly to seeing the skulls of their kind paraded around as trophies.

Sardon just missed cracking his head on the side of the cage, as Kujhade moved out of the way just in time. He cracked his whip again this time around one of Sardon's ankles, managing to trip him. Kujhade didn't make any move. He had never fought whatever Sardon was, so he wanted to see how moved; what kind of reflexes and speed he had. Sardon was fast, but not quite fast enough, and not particularly smart either. Sardon fell for the same trick twice, and this time Kujhade made his move. Sardon was a huge brute, but he would not kill another yautja. Tripping him with the whip again, Kujhade pounced while Sardon was trying to get up. Kujhade was on his back, delivering heavy blows to the side of his head and neck. Both were solid places, and the punches weren't as effective as Kujhade would have liked them to be. He was thrown from Sardon's back, landing on his own across the makeshift ring. Kujhade shook his head only to see Sardon charging him again like some kind of wild bull. Getting to his feet with lightning speed, Kujhade got around back of the beast and wrapped his whip around his neck. Sardon flailed his arms in an effort to stop the choking, but it was no use. Kujhade was too strong and the keen edges of the whip dug deeply into his throat.

Kujhade kicked out the back of Sardon's knees and when he fell, Kujhade placed his large booted foot square into Sardon's back, and then pulled the whip tighter. The bear looking alien fell onto his face, the crowd aghast at the sight unfolding before them as they went silent. In a last ditch effort to save himself, Sardon released a quick acting toxin which he hoped would make Kujhade loosen his death grip. Kujhade noticed a slick substance secreting from the sparse tufts of hair along Sardon's spine. It had no color or scent that Kujhade could detect but suddenly he felt extremely nauseous. His grip faltered as he leaned over to lift his mask and wretch onto the floor. This was the opening Sardon was hoping for. Managing to shake the big yautja from his back, Sardon was trying to catch his breath.

Kujhade was doubled over throwing up violently, the pain in his stomach debilitating. Now he understood how a yautja might fall to Sardon. His eyes watered as he caught a brief moment of clarity before Sardon was upon him, pummeling him mercilessly along his side and back. Projectile vomit or no, Kujhade couldn't let this thing kill him. Cutting through the roar of the crowd was Jasmine's distressed voice. He had to win this fight, and when he did he would present Jasmine the trophy. Replacing his mask, Kujhade managed to rise to his feet under the onslaught. His whip was still in his hand and he'd need to use it to kill this thing once and for all.

Kujhade got punched in the face and rolled with the punch, spinning around to face the gated dome. He leaped onto it, his stomach lurching and threatening to spill even more of its contents. Sardon smiled, thinking the yautja was trying to run away.

"Look, the coward is running from the might of Sardon!" He yelled in his own language, which Kujhade's mask roughly translated. Kujhade scoffed at the idea of running from any fight.

He crawled along the dome, just high enough to leap off with a flying dropkick right into his opponent's face. He dropped like a sack of potatoes to the floor, trying to shake the cobwebs from his head. Kujhade took the opportunity to quickly remove his boots. He then leaped onto the gate above his enemy. Once he got right above Sardon, Kujhade noticed an interesting thing. The big brute didn't seem to be able to lift his gaze upwards. He had a very thick, short neck and apparently it didn't allow certain ranges of motion.

"Now you will die," Kujhade said to no one in particular.

First though, his stomach wanted to make a last stand. Unlatching his mask again, Kujhade had to vomit again and most of it landed right on Sardon's head. Kujhade couldn't help a chuckle even in the midst of his protesting stomach. Letting go of the dome with his hands, and gripping it only with his feet, Kujhade snapped the whip downwards just as Sardon passed underneath him. It took two tries to get it to wrap around the alien's thick neck. Kujhade wasted no time leaping down and behind Sardon, careful this time not to actually get on his back anymore.

Sardon tried to turn around, but Kujhade stayed behind him, driving him into the side of the fighting cage repeatedly. Again Kujhade kicked his knees out, then pressed his foot to the back of Sardon's head. It pushed his face into the cage as Kujhade pulled back on the whip, but he wasn't dying fast enough for Kujhade's taste. In fact Sardon was struggling to get up when Kujhade decided to end it once and for all. Kujhade held both ends of the whip in one hand, and with the other reached into Sardon's back. He gave a mighty howl as Kujhade reached a clawed hand deeper into his back, piercing the thick flesh as warm blood gushed over his hand and arm. Sardon tried in vain to turn around, as he had a pretty good idea what was coming, but he was losing consciousness from lack of air, loss of blood, and mind altering pain. Underneath his mask Kujhade smiled, a ruthless humorless smile, as his hand found its mark. He wrapped it around Sardon's spine and yanked.

The whole area went silent except for the sound of Sardon gurgling in death, and the sick sound of rending flesh and breaking bones. Kujhade released his whip as he finished ripping the spine from the beast in one motion. When it was finally free of its body, Kujhade let loose a deafening roar of triumph. Mar'cte, Lijia, and a few other present yautja roared also in response to the death of one who was deemed a yautja killer. The other aliens present seemed to shrink back from them, as if they were afraid they would be next on the list. Three small worm-like aliens shuffled into the fighting pit. Two were tasked with hauling Sardon's dead husk away, and the other with washing the blood from the pit floor. Kujhade confiscated the water hose and turned it on himself to wash away the vomit, sweat, and blood.

After putting his boots back on, he then made his way out of the pit. His nausea had subsided, and it seemed as though the effect of whatever toxin Sardon was secreting was only temporary. He took a length of cord and tied the gruesome trophy to his back, ignoring the MC as he was announced the winner of the death match. Kujhade cut a line straight to Jasmine who was standing wide eyed, her heart pounding. She'd seen him hunt, but so far she had not witnessed him kill anything sentient since they'd left the clan ship.

He stopped short of touching her, not knowing how to read her expression or the scent she was giving off, which was a mixture of fear, anxiety, and weirdly some relief? She was looking at him, her eyes constantly drawn to the trophy on his back, which was dripping a pool of inky black blood on the floor behind him. Jasmine's mouth worked, but ultimately she was speechless. Mar'cte and Lijia congratulated him on his victory, not taking note of Jasmine's lack of real reaction in their excitement. Even the twins were making their best attempt at a roar, and reaching out for their sire. Kujhade reached out to cup Jasmine's chin, but she shied away just a little and cast her eyes downward. He didn't like that. Was she displeased for some reason? Did the sight of blood bother her? Surely that couldn't be the case considering she'd watched him kill before, and had made her own kills as well. Instead of going into it, he reached down and picked up Marcus who responded by closing his eyes tightly and trying to roar as loudly as possible. It came out as little more than a squeaky purring sound, which for whatever reason was hilarious. He laughed at himself and made the sound again, then watched to see if his father would also roar. Kujhade obliged, making Marcus crack up in his arms. His laughter sounded nearly identical to human baby laughing, and was the very first time either of the boys had done it.

Silently Jasmine gathered all the things she'd bought with Lijia carrying the most awkward packages. Kujhade stopped and handed Mar'cte and Lijia the twins. She placed them into the strollers and gave Kujhade a puzzled look.

"We still have not gathered everything we need. Would you look after them for a short time Lijia?" Kujhade asked, and she complied immediately.

Kujhade gathered all of the items and nodded for Jasmine to follow. They walked back to their ship in silence, with Jasmine casting little glances his way. Finally, they crossed the obscenely large hangar to the ship, going inside and putting all the things in a corner. Kujhade quickly placed the spine and skull in his trophy room for later cleaning, and went to freshen himself back up. Jasmine finished arranging the items to get them out of the way, then turned to go back to the door when Kujhade stepped into her path, blocking her from leaving.

"What is it?" He asked in a serious tone. She glanced up at him and crossed her arms in front of herself.

What was she supposed to say? She didn't really know how she was feeling. She knew who Kujhade was, what he was, what he did, and what he enjoyed doing. She'd seen him hunt and kill and come back bloodied, but as far as she knew the things he had killed so far hadn't been sentient beings. She didn't even really know what difference it truly made, but watching him rip the spine out of something still alive was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She kept her eyes down, and her arms crossed, and used one foot to kick around dirt that wasn't there.

"What is it?" He asked again, cupping her chin and this time she did not flinch away. Instead she smacked his chest.

"Why would you…? I mean, you could have died! I mean, I know every time you hunt you could die, but this wasn't even necessary! I mean I know you hunt because that's just what you do, but this was a death duel for sport Kujhade! DEATH DUEL FOR SPORT!" Jasmine said in a frustrated tone.

"There are some things you do not understand, and you may never come to understand my mate. I will never place myself in a position to lose my life in such a way when I have you and our sucklings to protect," Kujhade rumbled softly while caressing the side of her face.

"But that's just what you did 'Jhade. I don't know. Maybe I'm just overreacting or whatever. It's just that when you were in that cage, and he made you sick I thought… I thought he was gonna kill you," Jasmine said as she leaned against the wall, sulking.

"I survived, like I always do. I killed him, and I got the trophy for you. Do not be angry with me," he said, coming closer until he was pressed against her. He purred a little, and she couldn't help a little smile as she looked up at him.

"I'm not mad at you. I just couldn't take it if something happened to you Jhade," Jasmine said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Did you like the fight? Did you see how I had him against the cage? He was dead after that and he knew it," Kujhade gloated, as she rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth a little.

"It was alright I guess," she teased. He opened his mandibles in shock.

"Alright? It was more than alright and I have the skull to prove it," he said puffing his chest out.

"Okay okay. I guess there was a little something sexy about you fighting….and winning. Just a little tiny bit," she said again, holding her fingers together just millimeters apart.

"Did you want me to survive so that I could do this?" Kujhade asked, his tone low. He reached down and grabbed a handful of right breast and squeezed.

"Jhadeeee, we gotta get back to the kids," Jasmine complained, squirming underneath his grip as he pressed even closer, his heat and mating musk overwhelming her senses.

"They are fine, well protected. Now, tell me if this is what you wanted?" He asked her again, squeezing her breast and moving his warm hand between her legs. She pressed them together, trapping his hand. She was both trying to enjoy and trying to get away from him. He grabbed both of her hands quickly into one of his, and pinned them above her head against the wall, and held them there. Her feet barely touched the floor at all.

"Now you can't act like you don't want me to do this," he rumbled, his purring vibrating through her body.

Jasmine closed her eyes and moaned. He pressed in, his tongue snaking to the crook of her neck as he nuzzled her. There was no need to take any clothing off, as her skirt was short enough for him to reach under it, or flip it up if he wanted. She was warm and beginning to become wet, the scent of her arousal intoxicating. He roughly undid the clasps of the leather top she wore, causing her breasts to spill out. He placed a large muscled thigh between her legs forcing them open, and then ground against her.

"Mmm, Jhade…" she exhaled breathlessly.

The sounds of the busy hangar and the bazaar filtered in through the ship's hull. She couldn't concentrate on it. Right now there was only her and Kujhade. It was just his thighs between her legs, his hand on her breast, and his warm breath on her throat. He had her pinned, helpless, and she loved every moment of it. She heard the dull clank of his metal codpiece falling to the floor, then the hot press of him against her. He rumbled, she shuddered against him. Kujhade took one leg, lifted it and entered her roughly. She sucked in a breath as she had to wrap her legs around him to have any balance at all. There was nothing but the sound of frenzied, desperate sex, his rough deep grunts and her lighter higher pitched ones, filling the air.

She was so incredibly tight all the time. Her walls clenched around him as she looked him directly in his eyes. Her breasts bounced wildly and he couldn't help bending to lick one of her nipples.

"Yes! Jhade!" She screamed. "Harder…. harder"

He growled and slammed himself inside of her. He reached down and found her clit, and flicked over it with the pad of his thumb. She clenched so hard her toes curled in her sneakers. She tossed her head back and forth as she screamed and came over and over.

"Fuck!" He screamed in his guttural voice, and released inside of her.

They were both breathing hard, the aftershocks of their orgasm working through them. Suddenly Jasmine laughed. Kujhade gave her a questioning look, then broke out into a smile himself.

"Nothing like fucking my brains out to celebrate a victory huh?" She laughed, still a little breathless. She still had her legs wrapped around him, and her arms wrapped around his neck. She started playing with his hair, and he grunted in response.

"I do not know that we have time to mate again, but later you will have to finish what you're starting," he said, nuzzling her again before pulling himself from her.

Smiling, she went to the bathing area to wash herself quickly before going back out again. When she noticed he didn't follow, she turned to beckon him.

"Not gonna join me?" She asked. Kujhade shook his head, and placed his codpiece back on.

"The other yautja males were watching you. They appeared to be confused on whether or not you were with me or Mar'cte. This will clear the confusion," he explained, then waited patiently by the ship's door for her.

"Oookay. I'm gonna just let you handle that however you want, and I'll be right out," she said, amused and slightly disgusted that he refused to wash himself after that.


In less than ten minutes, they were out of the ship and heading back to Mar'cte and Lijia. Leave it to Mar'cte to have immediately picked up on Jasmine's scent. He looked back and forth between the two. His mask was expressionless, but Jasmine knew he was making that shocked face he always made, followed by the sly look he gave every female he may have even been remotely interested in. When his gaze settled upon her, Jasmine swatted at him and blushed. Laughing at her, Mar'cte handed her Mili. She placed him back in his stroller as they continued gathering all the supplies they needed.

Behind them was a single yautja male who was keeping an eye on the albino who was now apparently ranked as Arbitrator. He'd come to settle an old score. It had taken him long enough to find this outcast male, but now that he was in sight he would never escape. The young yautja male was certain it was the albino he was looking for. Not only was Kujhade distinct, he was also with an ooman lou-dte kale just as the rumors said. The male shook his head in disgust, and continued to follow.

The shoulder to shoulder crowd parted as much as they physically could at Kujhade's coming. Jasmine watched the few yautja males as they passed. She wasn't sure if they'd been watching her before, but now they refused to look her way at all. It was loud, but she could distinctly hear low growls coming from Kujhade if they passed any male. She couldn't explain it, but somehow it gave her a very satisfied feeling. He was claiming her publicly to all and sundry, and it made her feel more secure in their relationship.

"So what are these sister?" Mar'cte asked, looking at the strollers curiously. Jasmine had also given them both rattles, something she would regret in the middle of the night.

"Strollers. We always put our babies in these back home when we go out, and we're gonna be gone all day. We do the slings too, but sometimes that's awkward when we're shopping or carrying something else," Jasmine said, as Mar'cte nodded his understanding.

The twins were baby talking to each other, as they carefully examined the toys in their hands. Mili was eating his and reporting his findings to his brother. Marcus was glaring at his intently as he turned it about in his little hands. Finally, he decided that he liked it after giving it a shake and finding that it made noise.

The young male following the small group made his way closer. It was risky, but he was tired of hanging back. The time was now or never. He shouldered his way through the crowd to the protest of many until he was right in front of Kujhade himself. Immediately Kujhade squared his shoulders, and took a huge arm and moved Jasmine behind him. She took the boys and stood back a few paces. Before them stood a strong young yautja male, dark brown and black mottling with only a very small streak of light or creamy coloring down his middle and around his thighs. He stood eye-to-eye with Kujhade and also had a similar build.

Mar'cte hung to the side, growling and clicking but otherwise content to let Kujhade fight his own battles. Kujhade and the young male both had their masks on, but it seemed that both held their collective breath. At last, the young intruder spoke.

"It has been a long time, but finally I found you," the male said. Kujhade simply regarded him a long time without saying anything at all.

"Why?" Kujhade asked, still not relaxing his stance at all. In fact, he had his hand near the handle of his whip.

"To restore my honor. I have had successful hunts, and have gathered worthy trophies, but yet I have earned nothing but suspicion and distrust."

"What have you done to gain distrust, and what does that have to do with me?" Kujhade asked gruffly. The young male grunted in frustration.

"I have done nothing! I am not trusted because of you, and I can only secure my honor and place if I kill you," he said, as he pulled his spear and lengthened it. He hit a fighting stance and stood ready.

Everyone around their immediate area stopped to watch what was shaping up to be another yautja fight to the death. Jasmine's heart started pounding again. If this is what it meant to be around a group of people, then she was glad they spent most of their time hurdling through space with the just the four of them. It seemed like there was literally a challenge going every few hours. She hoped like hell that somewhere in Kujhade's code of honor, it was allowed to decline or something. She just wanted to shop and hang out in peace.

"You earn your honor by observing the hunt as you should, taking mates, and siring pups to carry your bloodline. Killing me does none of those things for you. It only makes you a bad blood," Kujhade said, his voice calm and it was almost as if he were trying to appeal to the young male's sense of honor.

"There is only one way. I tried to leave you in my past, but I can't. Until you are dead I will not have any honor among my own clan," he said and stepped just a tiny bit closer.

"K'var, my son, you will not gain honor this way. There is only death this way," Kujhade said to the complete shock of Mar'cte, Lijia, and Jasmine.

Jasmine couldn't believe it. This was Kujhade's son, his oldest boy, and he was apparently here to kill his own father.

"Do not call me your son! You are no sire of mine! I will not be despised because of you, so today you will meet the black hunter!" K'var exclaimed.

Jasmine could almost see the imperceptible slump of Kujhade's shoulders, despite the fact that he had grabbed his whip. She took a deep breath, and strode forward before anyone could stop her. She got right in the middle of the two behemoths and stood looking from one to the other.

"Jasmine, get behind me. I will not have you getting hurt," Kujhade said. Mar'cte came to grab her but she slid out of the way. He would have grabbed her, but Kujhade shook his head.

"So, this is your son Jhade?" Jasmine asked sweetly, as if this were a family reunion and not a potential death match. K'var scoffed.

"Is this your mate, outcast?" K'var asked Kujhade with obvious disdain. Kujhade turned his head to regard Jasmine.

"This is my first pup, K'var. Now, get out of the way," he said, agitated that this was the second time now, and she still wasn't listening.

"You two don't need to be fighting, you just need to talk to each other. I bet you didn't know you had brothers," Jasmine said to the new male. She rushed over and got Marcus and brought him forward, ignoring Lijia's heavy protest.

"See? He's kind of colored like you too, now that I see it," Jasmine said. She knew this was stupid and dangerous, but she had to try to distract them from trying to fight. She didn't know that a fight could not now be avoided considering that K'var had already drawn and brandished his weapon.

He cast his gaze upon her and the suckling she was holding. For a moment she thought her little plan might have been working. That is until K'var barked a humorless laugh.

"Get out of my face you worthless lou-dte kale, and take that ridiculous, abominable half-breed with you. He is no brother of mine, and my "sire" is pathetic to have bedded his own prey. You are worthy of nothing except my spear in your back, and your skull on my wall," K'var growled out.

For a brief moment, Jasmine was speechless. Did she just get cursed out yautja style? Yes, as a matter of fact that's exactly what just happened. She was processing a slew of emotions, one after the other, not sure which one she felt more strongly. Was it embarrassment or anger? Her pride was hurt, as well as her feelings, but most of all she felt violent. She wanted to rip this one in half for talking about her family like that, but before she could process those thoughts within these few seconds, Kujhade had reached over to smack the mask off of K'var's face.

Just like that the fight was on, and she got out of the way as quickly as possible. For whatever reason K'var hadn't expected Kujhade to be on him so quickly, and he couldn't bring his weapon up fast enough. Kujhade had tackled the younger male to the floor, and began to deliver punch after punch to his face. He had not yet drawn his blades, for which K'var should have been thankful. Tired of being punched, K'var finally managed to get from underneath Kujhade, but it wasn't any better standing toe-to-toe. K'var extended his blades and Kujhade readied his whip, and they began to circle each other.

Jasmine began to cry silently as she watched them. Mar'cte gave her a reassuring nod, but she wasn't reassured at all. This was the second fight just today, and K'var was no Sardon. He roared at his father, who only watched him in return. Suddenly the very tip of the whip kissed the sides of K'var's face and two thin green lines appeared at the spot. It looked harmless and shallow until they all noticed that K'var could no longer move his lower left mandible properly. It hung loosely as if it were broken, and blood began to pour from the cut. He reached up absently to touch it, and finding it in less than perfect condition, seemed to fuel his fire. Roaring, he charged Kujhade who slid to the side and had K'var in a chokehold. It wasn't easy to hold him there. K'var was as large as his father, and also possessed Kujhade's indomitable will. He didn't want to be bested, and he had almost gotten out of the hold by using his weight to get Kujhade off balance. Youth was on K'var's side, but experience was on the side of the father. Kujhade began to bend his knees behind K'var while holding him in a headlock. K'var struggled mightily, but before long Kujhade tightened his grip and K'var was slipping into unconsciousness. When it was over, Kujhade took a moment to look over his son. He didn't bother to roar in victory. In this, there was little honor. The only thing good about any of it, was that he had defending the honor of his mate and children.

Carefully, Kujhade gathered K'var into his arms and lifted him over his shoulder. Without being told, Mar'cte picked up K'var's mask and spear as they all headed back to the ship. Jasmine was more than relieved. Kujhade was physically fine, and she didn't have to watch a spine be ripped from its moorings.

Mar'cte told Lijia and Jasmine to get the rest of the supplies they needed, and they went about making the necessary purchases and arrangements on their own. Mar'cte used K'var's gauntlet to locate his ship, and at Kujhade's behest, tethered it remotely to their own ship and set it on auto-pilot.

Mar'cte opened the ship and went inside. He took it upon himself to check all systems and start the engines. Once that was done he went to see about the new visitor, and found Kujhade placing K'var on the metal slab. Mar'cte quietly stood next to him.

"Do you think Setg'in sent him for you?" Mar'cte asked, knowing it was a long shot to even ask. Kujhade shook his head, never taking his eyes off of his oldest son.

"He hates Setg'in almost as much as he hates me," Kujhade answered, sighing deeply. Mar'cte grunted in acknowledgement of the fact. He had actually never laid eyes on Kujhade's son, and Kujhade never spoke much about him, only to say that he had a pup who disowned him.

Mar'cte stood a moment or two longer before making his exit. About twenty minutes later Jasmine and Lijia came back in with a major haul. The babies were fussing because they were hungry, they had all manner of food items, even more clothing for Jasmine and the babies, and things that Lijia understood the males to need specifically.

It took quite a while to settle in. Jasmine took time to feed the babies, managing to quiet them down. By that time they had all taken off and left the trading ship behind, starting the first leg of their long journey to Kujhade's home planet. The twins weren't sleep, but they were content now. Jasmine set up the bouncy seats for each child, provided them their rattles, and went to see about her husband.

Jasmine didn't like the vibe. It was somber as if K'var had been killed although she knew that was not so. It was all coming from Kujhade. He hadn't wanted to fight him at all, and it was obvious. He was still in the medical bay, standing over K'var and looking worried. Quietly Jasmine walked next to Kujhade and just rubbed his arm soothingly.

"It'll be alright baby, he'll come around," she said, meaning more than him coming back to consciousness. Kujhade cast her a worried glance, sighed, and placed a hand on K'var's arm.