I stared up at the Queen, crouched slightly, hissing nervously. She moved her massive head down to mine.
Killian, come here." she called. I tilted my head. I didn't know any Killian. A rustle of movement behind me made me turn and when I did, I reared up with a scree of shock. The Praetorian that I had fought was behind me. He bared his teeth and hissed at me. I snarled, but the Queens voice rang through our heads.
"I called you here to discuss your attidues with each other. You haven't even been in the chamber together for 15 seconds and already want to tear each others heads off. That "training" was not training, that was fighting. I do NOT want to see Hivemates fighting like that again. It should not happen, if you were in a battle you would not be able to work together. Is that understood?" the Queen said. I bowed my head and nodded, feeling like newborn caught with its hand in the prey jar. (couldn't resist XD). The Praetorian, Killian, dropped to one knee head bowed. I snorted under my breath.
"Like a good little yautja." I thought.
"I'm sorry Mother, I let my anger and pride get the better of me from losing to Ale'con." the Praetorian said. I curled my claws.
"Apologize to each other." ordered the Queen. I stiffened. We turned to each other, Killian towering over me. In unison, we knelt, and extended one hand to each other, fingers crossing slightly.
"Killian, I am sorry that I treated you so poorly." I said. (Not necessarily meaning it.) Killian nodded his crowned head and replied,
"No Fastclaw, it is I who should apologize. I treated you with disrespect and was being a sore loser." he said. I nodded and fell down to all fours again. Killian straitened and turned to the Queen.
"I need to go, my patrol is waiting." he said and walked away, dispaering into one of the larger vents. I turned to the Queen. She nodded to dismiss me, so I turned and bounded back to the central chamber. Six, Shaftin and Ale'con were all waiting.
"What happened?" burst out Six. I snorted and walked past them before settling down in a corner.
"She made Killian and I apologize to each other for fighting." I said.
"And?" inquired Ale'con. I looked up at the Predalien. His manidbles were twitching. I curled my lip. Was Ale'con laughing at me? I hissed lightly at him.
"And if you keep laughing im going to rip your mandibles off." I sniffed and got up to have a drink. Ale'con burst into full blown laughter, a high scree mixed with a low rumble. Six and Shaftin snorted with amusement.
"I mean it Ale'con!" I called. That just made him laugh harder. I sighed and padded back over. We settled down for an afternoon of laughter and relaxation. And it felt nice not to be worrying about humans, or Yautja, or annoying Praetorians. It was simply nice to be with friends.
THE NEXT DAY
I woke with a yawn in my den. Stretching, I curled my tail over my head and sat up. Crawling out of my vent, I met up with a few warriors and we headed out for a border patrol. As we were leaving however, another runner came skidding around the corner and nearly slammed into me; I leaped onto the wall to avoid it. The runner turned and I realized it was Shaftin. Ok maybe some things about her still hadn't changed, I thought with a small purr. She was panting.
"The Queen wanted me to join you." she explained. I tilted my head. Leaping down beside her, we scurried out of the Hive into the warm sun outside. Sliding between a few bushes, I fell in beside Shaftin.
"Hi Fastclaw." she greeted me. I returned her greeting.
"Why did the Queen want you to join us?" I asked. Shaftin shrugged. A purr rumbled in her throat as she replied.
"I don't know." she said. I nodded and when we reached the border, I froze. There was a strange scent in the air. Sniffing, I smelled a slightly musky scent, mixed with a heavier, darker layer of, steel? I froze. Shaftin looked at me.
"What is-" I interrupted her with a desperate screech.
"GET BACK TO THE HIVE NOW GOGOGOGOGOGO!" I screamed. The warriors, tasting the air one more time, realized what it was and raced away. Shaftin looked at me and we shared a despairing glance. We pelted into the woods, back to the Hive. We soon overtook the warriors, the forest flying past me. The scent?
Yautja.