Chapter 11: Transformations
As soon as they made it back to the ship, Night Blood immediately checked in with the doctor. He gave a list of everything that he had found at the scene of the crime and made sure to tell him that he needed four vials of the formula that would change them into humans. Of course, the doctor gave Night Blood a very odd look. Night Blood quickly explained that they were going to have dinner with a King and Queen and they did not want to scare them off with their appearances.
After checking in with the doctor, Night Blood made immediate introductions to the rest of the crew to Jasmine and introduced her to the crew. They seemed pleased with her ability to be able to handle the situation that was placed in front of them. She was able to handle Night Blood's thorough examination of Yeyinde's body with very little difficulty and she was not afraid of his crewmembers.
Jasmine was very thankful that Magic stayed where she left him at. When they returned back to the ship, Magic was still munching away at the dark green grass. He seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. He did not even seem fazed by all the action that was taking place around.
As soon as they entered the medical lab, Night Blood introduced Jasmine to their doctor. She volunteered to stay with them throughout the entire procedure and even asked if she could help out in any way. Night Blood jokingly told her that there was one thing that she could help him out with and then he winked at her, which caused Jasmine to blush a delicate shade of pink. She knew exactly what he was talking about and, if she was totally honest with herself, she wanted that too.
The medical lab was as large as Jasmine's bedroom but lacked windows. The room was entirely made out of metal and had only one door, which led out into the hallway. Inside the room were six metal chairs that each had a device with buttons attached to it. There was also a massive metal cabinet that was locked up. Night Blood explained that the cabinet held a lot of different kinds of drugs in it and it was locked up for the protection of the crew as well as his ship. Beside each chair was a small table, which was actually attached to the chair, which raised and lowered with each particular need, like a dentists' chair. Other than that, the room was bare.
There were a couple of air vents above them and below them, which circulated the right amount of air into every room on board the ship. Jasmine could not believe how warm and humid the ship was compared to the outside, which was a lot cooler and dry. Night Blood told her that the ship's temperature is very close to their home planet's, except that their planet had lot of tropical trees, which was they built their homes. They built their homes up in the trees for safety and security. There were only a few places that did not have trees, the City of Light which was where their government and spiritual intervention was at and the massive desert known as
The doctor offered Jasmine a seat next to Night Blood while he prepared the four syringes for Night Blood and three of the crewmembers. She immediately took on the mother role of holding onto Night Blood's hand and talking to him. He seemed to be totally at ease with the conversation and did not feel it when the doctor injected him, but Jasmine saw it and went dead white. She had never seen anything like it before in her entire life and yet, was fascinated by the fact that Night Blood seemed to be very tolerant of it.
The doctor pressed a couple of buttons which caused the chair to lean back and turn into a bed. Night Blood explained that sometimes the transformation was very uncomfortable and laying back helped ease the discomfort. He still had trouble believing that she chose to stay with him while he did this. He could still feel her hand in his. He closed his amber eyes and listened to the sound of her voice as she spoke about tonight.
He tried to will himself to remain calm but the thought of being with Jasmine made him feel as randy as a young male who had just discovered the difference between males and females. Just being around Jasmine made him feel as though his life was finally complete.
As he lay on the metal table, he told Jasmine about what his crew had done to his ship and he heard her laugh so hard that she was almost crying. Even he had to laugh about it because, the joke was about him. He always thought that the best jokes were the ones that you did to yourself.
He translated to his crew what he just told Jasmine about and they laughed with her. Now they realized that Night blood had a humorous side to him but it just took being around the right person to let it show. They all saw that Jasmine was the right person for Night Blood to be around and accepted it for what it was. It was obvious that Jasmine and Night Blood were meant to meet each other even if they were of different species but who was to argue with fate. They each had their own fate and none of them dared to tempt it or try to change it.
Jasmine continued to talk about all the different things they would see. She could feel that the other three crewmembers were listening intently as Night Blood translated her words into theirs. She could see that he was holding back the pain that he was feeling. On occasion, Jasmine saw him wince in pain as his skin started to change colors and his face became human. She continued tospeek of all the different things that they would see and the people that they would meet. She even spoke of how to handle all the silverware that would be placed before them. She told that easiest way to handle the silverware was to start on the outside and work your way in. She explained about the different glasses and plates that would be in front of them. She also told them that if they got a little lost, just to follow her example. She also explained to them that they needed to keep their elbows off of the table and that if they need to rest their arms, just to place their forearms onto the table or onto the chair.
Jasmine chatted away until the entire transformation was complete, which took about an hour. When Night Blood finally stood up, she could not believe how handsome he looked. His hair and eyes were still the same, but the rest of him was human. She thought he looked very much like an Italian, except his waist length hair was still twisted with the silver bands and his eyes were still that same amber color. His features were sharp, almost very hawk-like in appearance. He did have multiple scars on his chest and back. He quickly explained that those scars came from all the different hunts he had been on. Even the rest of the crew looked very much alike, except their sizes were different.
Bakuub, Night Blood's second in command, reminded Jasmine of a pirate. He had a scar that ran along the side of his face, from his temple down along his jaw and underneath his chin. He had one other scar on the other side of his neck that spanned half way around. Other than those small imperfections, he looked good. His hair also stayed the same, except he had gold bands wrapped around each thick twisted piece of hair. His hair came down to being in the middle of his back. His eyes were a pale lime green color that looked as though they were spark with mischief. He only stood about a head shorter than Night Blood but he was almost as broad him.
The other two crewmembers were brothers and they even looked exactly alike. Both sported shoulder length hair that was also twisted and banded, one with gold and the other with silver. Their eyes were also an amber color and their skin was a deep golden bronze color with some freckles sprinkled all over the place. They stood only a few inches taller than Jasmine and were leaner than Bakuub. Other than their different color hair bands, Jasmine could not tell them apart.
"Well, what do you think?" Night Blood asked as he turned around for her inspection.
"I think ye have got to be the handsomest man I have ever laid eyes on" Jasmine admitted with enthusiasm.
"Even with all these scars?" Night Blood jokingly questioned.
"Scars and all," Jasmine stated with a laugh and then jumped into Night Blood's arms.
"That is very good. I was beginning to think that these would scare you off. If these did not, then I know nothing would" Night Blood said as he wrapped his arms around Jasmine and pulled her closer to him.
"Hey, I can actually see in color" Bakuub excitedly stated as he placed his hands in front of his face and then took them away. He was trying to see whether or not he was hallucinating. As soon as he found a mirror, he realized he was very much sober and awake. The other two joined him and laughed at how much they had changed.
"Now you know how I feel on an everyday basis" Night Blood laughed as he placed Jasmine to his side and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her side closer to his.
"Wait a minute! Ye mean to tell me that your crew can not see in color?" Jasmine questioned as she arched an eyebrow in his direction and then looked back at the crew.
"You see, Jassy, they can only see body heat when in their normal form. But in this form, they can actually see the way I see. My eyesight is actually a mutation that has been passed down through the generations. However, when I have my mask on, I can see like they do" Night Blood explained as he walked over to the rest of his crew and realized that they were going to need to dress like humans instead of heathens.
"I be thinkin' that ye four are goin' to need some clothes" Jasmine laughed as she watched Night Blood look down at his loin cloth and then back at her.
"I think so too" Night Blood agreed as he looked over at the crew. He then noticed that the doctor and the five other crewmembers were in the room, laughing at their appearance. They were lucky that Night Blood was not a vindictive type of Yautja or else they would have to face his way of getting even with them.
"Though, I must be admitin', you four do make quite a handsome group and the ladies would be fallin' head over heals for each ye" Jasmine chuckled.
"Very funny, Jassy. Just you wait, I will have to find a way to get even with you" Night Blood softly stated as he two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up.
"Aye, to be sure, I be knowin' that and I do be expectin' ye to fulfill that promise" Jasmine innocently stated as she looked into Night Blood's golden eyes.
"I always do, Jassy" Night Blood stated as he dipped his head down and lightly brushed his lips over hers, which ignited a flame between them. His first human kiss was something that he was going to remember for the rest of his life. It was not just mandibles and teeth, it was skin touching skin which he was not adjusted to feeling but he enjoyed it. Now he understood why humans enjoyed doing it.
"Night" Jasmine sighed as soon as she felt his lips brush against her own. He was her first for a lot of things and she planned on enjoying every new thing that she could with Night Blood before she was to be married in three months.
"I need to stop" Night Blood stated as he pulled away from Jasmine. He knew what he was doing went against everything that his training had taught him. He also hated the fact that he knew that he was unintentionally arousing Jasmine as well as himself and there was not a thing that he could do about it.
"Aye, I know" Jasmine stated as she looked away from Night Blood and back at the rest of the crew.
"Awe, why did you stop?" one of the two brothers asked, in English. Along with the physical changes, they also had verbal changes. They could speak their own language as well as the human language without any problems. They also understood everything that was spoken.
"Because, Jasmine is to be married to another and I will not taint her innocence any further than what I have" Night Blood quickly explained as he placed some distance between Jasmine and himself.
"Oh, so you keep arousing her and then leaving her hanging. That is not a good thing either" the other brother stated.
"Put a piece of hard meat in it" Night Blood roared as best as he could but, now that he was a human, he did not have strong enough vocal cords to do so and the rest of the crew laughed even harder at as his attempt.
"Alright you five unbloods, knock it off or else. When I get back to my normal self, all five of you are going to pay dearly" Night Blood stated in his own language, which got their attention and they quickly quieted down.
"Doctor, you are in charge until either Bakuub or I return this evening. Make sure that these five do not decide to give the ship an overhaul of any kind. That includes making sure that they do not touch anything. If need be, confine them to their rooms or in the holding cells at the bottom of the ship" Night Blood ordered and the doctor readily accepted the temporary position of being in charge.
"Oh" the rest of the crew whined because they wanted to be able to go.
"Do not give me that crap. I will not tolerate it" Night Blood knew that his crew was getting restless. None of them had any luck with finding a worthy human opponent to go up against and now they had befriended Jasmine, a human Princess.
He knew that he was going to have to tell Jasmine the total truth about the real reason they were here, which was to hunt her own kind. He was not to sure how well she would take to it but she obviously respected his beliefs and accepted his customs without any hesitation. He just hoped that she would accept the fact that they were going to have to hunt some of her own kind before they left her planet. He also knew that none of his crew would raise a hand towards Jasmine because, she had proven herself capable of handling many things, and she just did not know a thing about fighting which made her an unacceptable target to hunt. She was also a female and capable of bearing children, which would be the future of her kind. He just somehow knew that she would refuse to bear any offspring to the King of France, unless forced to.
"Well, I believe it is time to head back to the palace. Ready to go?" Night Blood questioned.
"Aye, but we still have a wee problem. You are not properly attired. Dinnae worry, we be stoppin' at the tailor and buyin' ye some clothes," Jasmine stated as she commented on their clothing or lack there of.
"Then let us be off to get dressed and make introductions" Night Blood stated as he walked towards the medical lab door and then opened it.
Well, what does everyone think so far? I hope I am not going to far off the beaten path. Please let me know if there is anything that you see missing.
