Chapter 14 The emperor, the sun and the moon
At some point Susan had drifted into a weary sleep against her better judgement. She had wanted to watch the creatures all, well whatever time of day it was if Space had a time of day that is. It always seemed to be some melancholic form of night. Whatever the logistics, Susan was mildly peeved and sore when she awoke and this made her anxiety bare teeth of the grumpy kind. She had never been a morning person, whenever morning was; it certainly felt like a morning hangover.
Idly scratching her head she flipped over until lying prostrate on her back. The bedding was certainly comfortable if not a little unsupportive of the back but the whole laying on road kill thing made her cringe inwardly. It was like being stuck on some never ending tour of the American wild where big capped, chequered shirted hill billies paraded around with over compensating hunting rifles and forced their sons to endure relative murder of fluffy bunnies. Susan had never really been a big fan of the my little pony club for rabbits but that didn't mean she found the idea of shooting them for no other reason than to 'woot' and crack open a beer or two... acceptable. There were far more important reasons to make stupid noises and drink luscious amounts of alcohol. Like getting drunk and attracting a onetime mate one would never look at twice if not intoxicated. The art of alcoholism was a doubled edged sword.
Looking at the ceiling for a moment, shaking off strange dreams of monsters and gratuitous pain, the young woman grimaced as her body ached from tip to toe. She felt as if she'd just taken to many rounds at boxing and faced Mike Tyson, though she was sure her ear was still attached. As the dull throbbing began to subside a little an odd itching sensation came to mind, native to particular areas of skin all over. Scratching at her thigh absentmindedly, Susan pushed herself to sit noticing a light on in the other room.
A burst of golden hues splattered down upon the floor where the wall opened up to reveal an archway into what appeared to be a living room. It was almost painful to look into the stark brightness of the next room comparatively to her dark one but something had caught her attention like a greyhound teased with fake hares. A scattering of cushions and furs of all pattern and colour adorned the centre of the space, more of that cabin fever style of decor ravaged the walls with dead things. Sitting on the floor comfortably a large alien had his back to her, apparently fascinated with something on his lap. As she continued to stare daggers at the black on green mottled skin the monster suddenly stiffened, the muscles in his back contracted in a shiver of instinctual awareness.
Turning his head to look over his shoulder the hunter sought out her eyes and penetrated them like knives. Susan felt a flush touch her cheeks, she looked away before frowning at her own submission and glaring back in the art of blink war. She refused to lose, it could mean the difference between him eating her and thinking twice about it.
After several, eye watering minutes, the creature got up onto his feet snapping a book shut in his hands and disappearing from view. When his form re-emerged he was lacking in paperback and strolled confidently towards her, eyes glued to her defensive gaze. He didn't turn the light on when he entered the bedroom, rather keeping them both in the dark about what she didn't know but all too suddenly a new knowledge drifted into her precognitive drives. She was wearing her birthday suit. As all but the most exhibitionist of her species would, Susan wrapped an embarrassed arm around her bosom and moved her spare limb to cover the other vulnerable part of her anatomy that threatened her dignity. The movement did not go unforeseen neither.
"I would never have desire towards you." Wy'strn tried his best at diplomatic relations.
"W-Why not?!" Susan was instantly incensed. "I'm certainly better looking than you! And how are you speaking English?"
Wy'strn tilted his head in perplexed curiosity. He hadn't expected that she'd want him to find her somehow attractive but the female had long since proved herself to be of a somewhat deluded state of mind.
"I have spent a great many years hunting your species. Your language is primitive, simple. Why would I not be capable of its use?" He watched as she squirmed under his scrutiny desperate to hide her body from view. "You are ugly, small, nothing like my magnificent females."
"Your females?" She instantly disliked him. "What are you some sort of play boy? God, I knew you were a freakin' pervtard. Where are my fucking clothes?!"
Wincing as her voice grew in decibels the warrior groaned knowing the argument wasn't worth it. Instead he turned to a compartment in the wall and pulled it open rummaging inside. He hadn't thought about clothing the animal before, mostly because it didn't seem necessary. The atmosphere was warm enough and nobody would take any notice of a naked human wandering around. Apart from Rat'ein perhaps, the gullible male was getting a hard on for anything that moved it seemed.
Pulling a poorly stitched loincloth from its pile he tested its shape. One of his first solo created items from many years past. He'd been almost half his current size back then, short, lanky and unappealing to the females. It would probably fit the human and had no use to him. He tossed it to the woman, hitting her in the face with it and continued to search through another draw.
Susan grabbed at the material with eager fingers and turned it multiple ways before figuring out the correct shape and pulling it on. The material was strangely cool and textured like velvet in a chocolate colour she wasn't best pleased with.
"What is this made from?" She asked, curious.
"Not ooman." Was her only response.
Still, the reply was dually welcomed as she contemplated what poor creature had been sacrificed in order to become her hand-me-down knee length skirt. Slipping onto the floor, her bare feet padded wetly against the cold tiles, sending an uninvited shiver through her body as the sheer gap between hot humid atmosphere that half boiled her was stricken deathly cold. Arms laced through one another, hands tight beneath her armpits, Susan continued to hide her ample chest as she watched the alien pulling out lengths of material one after another before replacing them with a shake of his head. Daring to move closer the small human wandered up besides his much larger form and peeked into the compartment he was currently making a mess of. He had a great deal of garments, many fascinating patterns, though the colours were difficult to grasp in the dimly lit room.
Susan reached a hand in and tugged at a particularly ornate looking outfit only to be growled at in warning. She ignored him and continued to pull the item loose only to discover it as some form of embroided scarf. She gave the material a quizzical look and darted back with quick reflexes as the hunter made to grab it from her.
"I like this one." Susan, pulled the scarf around her chest, testing its reach.
"That is not for you." Wys'trn shook a scolding finger as if he were speaking down to a small child. "That is part of a ceremonial toga."
"You have plenty of them." Susan flailed a disregarding hand and continued wrapping the material around her breasts until tight enough to give them some support. "And you did steal my clothes."
"I stole nothing!" Wy'strn made to grab her again, as she was distracted tying the scarf off into a knot against her spine, but missing as she let herself drop flat on the bed. "I am warning you ooman! I could rip your limbs from your body without a second thought!"
"Look, mister big tough, played to many hands of poker and lost at the gentlemen's club, cavaliering immigrant from the distant stars," she grinned up at the fuming creature barely able to keep his fury under control. "This is how I see this bullshit. I'm stuck on some fucktard space ship cruising the storyline of Star Trek so either I'm dreaming all this crap or I've been dragged here for a reason. Now, I don't remember coming here and the last thing I do is some Amazonian bitch looking for a golden shower in my hotel room so I'm going to go with the 'brought here for a reason' choice. If that is so, then whatever reason you got must have been important enough for you to either a, not kill me or b, be horrible enough for me not to care whether or not you de-limb me for a scarf.
Comprehende dick face?"
Wy'strn clicked idly as he drank in her words, ignoring the stranger sounding ones that were obviously insults. Her logic was... stupid, he decided but shook his head and submitted nonetheless. She was right about one thing at least; he did have more ceremonial ware but not the patients to argue with an animal below his station. She could have it, he didn't care enough to argue, and it was old anyway.
Grinning victoriously Susan stood from the bed and continued to reposition the material until it covered half way down to her belly button. The material was much too long and ended up leaving two drifts to dangle down her back from the knot between her shoulder blades. But then again the atmosphere was like the sun had gone on holiday to the rainforest and she'd accidentally set up camp next door. Anymore of the fabric covering her pores and she might die from inability to sweat. Didn't mean she enjoyed her flab on display either but maybe she'd finally manage to sweat a few pounds off; that was at least a welcome thought.
However, all such pleasant thinking was instantly ramified when the hunter turned the lights on. She squinted at the abrupt sensory overload and blinked through the pain of light, her hand thrown carelessly over her forehead to shield her down cast eyes. As image and detail regained recognition she sucked in a stunned gargle of air letting her hand fall from her head and drop lifelessly to her side. She trailed the bare flesh on show, unable to move, and winced at every end and beginning of scar tissue. It wasn't just the lattice of silvery flesh that made her lungs refuse to process oxygen but instead the patches of skin. Patches she had only dreamed were taken from her.
A memory of agony, a blade peeling her hide, surfaced and she whimpered pathetically at the onslaught. It was fragmented, a splash of blood, a grinding sound of tiny metal teeth slicing through screaming flesh and an almost flat-chested ogre revelling over her torture. It was real, that nightmare was real. The marred body she looked down upon mirrored every remembrance of blade stroke.
Worse still, the missing pieces had been replaced or re-grown she couldn't tell which but they were not... right. They were... strange, wrong, alien. Sheds of skin discarded by the monster of recollection were now a translucent green, blushed with pink the shade of faded blood and covered in a sun kissed mottle not unlike the creatures in front of hers own patterning.
She began to cry and hyperventilate at the same time petrified to touch her own skin. Wy'strn was restrained to watch as she came to understand her situation, looking on dispassionately at the over emotional display of weakness. He had figured some act of this kind was brewing and using foresight had determined to keep the animal in darkness for as long as possible, least she began chewing her own limbs off. He could believe the small human capable of anything, even self-harm.
"What have you done to me..." Her voice was hoarse, breathless.
"I saved your life."