We all sat in astonishment. Leave our home? I was stunned that Ale'con would suggest that.
"We don't have a home anymore." said Six. I bared my teeth.
"We have a territory. We have food, we can hunt." I said. Ale'con shook his head.
"No, there is too much risk from the humans. We cant risk anyone else. We need to leave." he replied. I sighed. Sharphand and Jaken nodded sadly. I felt like my world was crumbling down around me. This morning I had woken up in my den, happy and with a home. Now, that home was destroyed, my family was dead, and we were leaving. I shook my head and turned away, lashing my tail. Everything was going wrong. I looked at Ale'con.
"Well, where the hell are we supposed to go? To space?" I asked cheekily. Ale'con bared his teeth. He turned away, pacing the clearing.
"I remember Mother told me that to the north, there was a lush forest, full of prey and no humans. We will head there." he told us. I curled my lip.
"Oh, so we're going to a little fairy tale place, that perfect and happy and warm and no problems? Are we going to find a new Hive, and Mother?" I sneered. Ale'con stiffened growling. He lashed his tail, and abruptly, I froze. I had forgotten who I was talking to. This predalien was the highest ranking Xenomorph in the Hive. He was treated with respect by all. I whimpered and crouched down, lowering my pudding.(Best friend had me write this.) lolololol supposed to b tail.
"Forgive me Ale'con. This runner spoke out of turn. I let my anger get the better of me." I hissed. Ale'con lowered his tail and relaxed slightly.
"It's been a long day, we should get some sleep." said Jaken, trying to distract from the argument. I nodded and turned away, heading over to a low spreading bush among tree roots. Ale'con curled up over by a pile of boulders. Jaken and Sharphand headed into the higher branches of a tree and Six surled up by the roots of a dead tree. Quickly, everyone fell asleep. Except me, who was unable to sleep. I tossed and turned, growling softly. At last, I couldn't take it and clambered out of the hollow. I slipped out of the clearing, taking care to press my feet down hard so the others knew where I had gone. I headed through the forest I had once called home. It seemed so unfamiliar and unwelcoming now. I emerged by the flattened Hive, and sat on a pile of rubble. I stared down at the rubble. That pile consisted of my brothers and sisters, Mother and all those who I loved dearly. I felt bile rise in my throat, but forced it back down. I couldn't stay here. Turning tail I ran, trying to outrun the carnage, the pain, the home, the ones who I loved. The memories rose and slapped me in the dome as I ran past certain landmarks; my first kill, first battle, first patrol, first everything. The first prey I caught, all the fun patrols and hunts I had been on. Gone, just like that, with one big boom. Eventually, my legs crumpled under me, and my shoulders heaved, silently crying in my mind. Xenomorphs cant physically cry since we don't have eyes, but we can clearly express our grief. I was broken, done, defeated like a piece of prey. A hand fell on my shoulder, vaguely in the back of my mind, I heard someone call my name, but I was too wrapped in grief to care who or what it was, friend or foe, Xenomorph or Yautjia, I just didn't care and let myself be swept away in grief.
The next morning, I found myself back in my nest in the roots of the tree. I awoke, heart racing. Fresh grief welled inside me, but that was passed. I had to be strong now, for my few fellow Xenomorphs I had left. I stiffly clambered out of the roots and stretched, feeling the sun warm my cold limbs.
"Morning." said Jaken. I nodded and padded over to him.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, seeing that the entire clearing was empty.
"Ale'con and Sharphand went to see if they could salvage anything from the wreckage, and Six went hunting. I stayed to watch over you." he answered. I nodded and leaned against him weaily. He purred and nudged me comfortingly. I sighed and looked around. There was a small stream at one end. Padding over, I bent my head and drank the cool refreshing liquid. I then proceded to dunk my head and gasped and leaped up at the chilling shock. Jaken snickered.
"Awake now?" he questioned. I growled and shook myself, making sure he could feel the spray. Jaken purred and leaped away.
"Thanks for the bath." Jaken chuckled. I hissed and cuffed his shoulder. He leaped on me and we tussled like newborns. Eventually I ended up on top, tail blade to his chin and pinning his tail with my feet.
"Looks like we found a couple of newborn Xenomorphs." came an amused growl from behind us. We leapt up to see Ale'con and Sharphand emerge from the trees. I lashed my tail and Jaken shuffled the leaves. Ale'con dropped a pile of ragged pelts on the ground and a small pile of exoskeleton. I cringed away from the exoskeleton. It was made of our family. The pelts however, were a different story. Already I noticed a seemingly familiar pattern on one of the deer pelts. Dragging it out, I yelped with happiness and buried my muzzle into my bedding. It was mine, my home scent. I grabbed it and tossed it over my shoulder. Ale'con and Sharphand nosed around in the pile looking for anything that was familiar. Six padded into the clearing dragging a deer.
"Ok, so we're going to leave later this week." announced Ale'con. I paused baring my teeth.
"Today?" I hissed in shock. He nodded and then walked over to the deer, tearing off a haunch and tossing it to Sharphand. He pulled a leg off and threw it to me, then Six got another leg, and Ale'con got the rest. That was how it worked. Predaliens were the next highest ranking to Mother and they got the most food. Besides, they were larger than us and required more food in order to sustain their massive bulk. I tore into the leg with gusto. I was starving. After we had finished, we sat and traded stories for a while till the sun went down. We then turned our attention to leaving.
"We should move around the human settlement and then turn north." said Ale'con. I flicked my tail.
"Wouldn't it be quicker to cut through the settlement and then just go right to the north?" I asked. Six and Jaken shook their heads.
"Do you want us to take an unnesessary risk?" asked Ale'con. I paused, then shook my head. I would have just jumped on the roof and then jumped from building to building and then run to the forest, like Six had on his legendary escape to the Hive. Six snorted as he heard my puzzling.
"Yeah and I barley made it out alive." he said dryly. I flicked my tail. Six continued eating and then tossed the bones into the bushes. Ale'con stood up and stretched. He looked at us.
"We leave today." he said. I sighed and looked over at the others. Sharphand nodded reluctantly and Jaken sighed. Six looked down at the ground. Ale'con turned and headed over to the pile of pelts which he threw over his shoulder. He walked out and padded out of the clearing. We stood and walked out. I found it hard to place one foot in front of the other. We crossed the territory, very clearly going around the ruins of our home. I leaped over a small log and climbed up a tree to see if we were still going in the right direction. We were, so I leaped back down and bounded up to Ale'con's side. He touched my shoulder with his tail, reassuring me. I sighed and continued on. We walked all day, silent and ingrossed in our own thoughts. We quickly reached the human settlement. Here we turned and headed deeper into the forest so that we couldn't be seen by mistake. We made sure, however, to keep the biuldings in our sights. I was nervous, claws unsheathed and tail lashing. The others were just as nervous. Ale'con picked up the pace, so that we were out of the forest by nightfall. We reached a river. Ale'con started to wade across, the water going up to his knees, his waist, his chest, and his shoulders, then his neck. Ale'con finally dove forward and began to swim. Xenomorphs are good swimmers, and Ale'con was making good headway. His tail swung back and forth, and he eventually reached the other side. He beckoned us over. Six and Sharphand dove in right away and rapidly swam across. Me and Jaken lingered at the edge, reluctant to go in. Runners can swim, but we aren't as good as normal Xenomorphs. I carefully stepped in, the cool water flowing around my legs. I felt my tail being dragged by the current, and dug my claws into the silt. I cautiously began to swim, feeling the current beginning to drag me right away. I paddled with my tail and legs, Jaken puffing behind me. Ale'con and the others watched as we made our way across. Eventually, I felt the riverbed under my feet, and pulled myself forward. Jaken hauled himself after me. Ale'con nodded and turned and began to walk away. I moaned, and forced my aching legs after him. Jaken groaned and paced after us. Six and Sharphand purred and padded after us. We walked through the evening as the colors began to fade and the sun set, bathing the world in pink, orange, red and purple. Ale'con paused as we crested a hill, staring out over a flat field of gently swaying grass, watching the sun set. I sat down, panting. It had been a long day. Sharphand looked around, and spotted a small clearing down in the field.
"That looks like a good place for base." he announced. Ale'con nodded and followed him down the slope. I bared my teeth. They stood out like a diamond in dirt. Our black exoskeletons were no good in this light colored field. We were better suited for the dark shadows of the forest and caves. I sighed and slid into the sea of grass after them. The grass whipped my face as I pushed through, Six managing better than me as he pushed the grass aside. Behind him, I heard several hisses of annoyance as the grass slapped back into Jakens face. I snorted and emerged into the small clearing. It was circular and covered with a small layer of moss and ferns, ringed by the tall grasses. I padded around, sniffing for any signs of other creatures. A small mouse ran from under a fern and instinctively pounced, crushing the tiny morsel in my claws. I looked at the others, holding it up.
"Anyone?" I asked. They all shook their heads, so I tossed the mouse back and swallowed it whole, crushing the bones in my jaws. I wiped my muzzle and stretched, then curled up. Around me, the other Xenomorphs curled up as well, yet were unable to fall asleep. Jaken kept rearing up, looking over the grasses, Ale'con spinning around at every slight noise. I was on edge. The grasses obscured our vision, and left us vulnerable. Arching my back, I curled my lip and tried to settle down. Hissing, Ale'con finally stood.
"Come on, we're leaving, I cant stay here." For some reason, Ale'con's voice held a hint of panic. I looked at my compainoins, but shrugged and once again hauled myself onto my feet. I yawned and then snarled as I tripped over an unseen root. Grunting, I continued and kept my gaze carefully on the ground and in front of me. Suddenly Ale'con stopped.
"Dammit!" he spat furoisuly. I peeked around him and growled. A bunch of humans were in front of us, sitting around a fire, talking. They had these large flapping pelts behind them. As I watched, a human came crawling out of it and sat down with the rest of them. Six hissed softly.
"Well now what?" he asked. Ale'con looked around then twitched his tail one way, then the other. I knew what he wanted us to do. Spilt up. It was a classic hunting technique. One group circles the prey while the other stalks them. But it was also good for evading an enemy. Six and Jaken peeled off in one direction, Sharphand, Ale'con and me went the other. I kept a wary eye on the humans. They seemed unaware of our movemnts. I could see Six and Jaken catiuosly stalking through the trees on the other side.
"Get back, I can see you!" I hissed to them. They paused and then melted back into the shadows. I nodded and continued. We luckily made it around the camp when a twig cracked. Instantly we froze. Sharphand slowly looked down, dismay filling his mind. I looked down as well. Under his feet, was a small twig. Sharphand looked up, a twinge of panic in his mind.
"Sorry!" he squeaked. Ale'con looked toward the camp. The humans took no notice. Ale'con turned and picked up the pace and we quickly left the camp behind. Six and Sharphand quickly followed and we continued our epic journey.
SOOO DATS CHAPTER 12 so review people i am like dying here! Gasps from review loss