[Trigger Warning: Gore and Torture]

Ahhve had learned long ago that screaming never did much good. The sounds of pain and terror did nothing but give pleasure and satisfaction to their tormentors. Praying didn't do much either. When Ahhve was first enslaved by the white hunter they had prayed and prayed for their god to save them. Begged and pleaded until their voice was gone and they fell unconscious from exhaustion. Help eventually came. But mercy, it seemed, always arrived a bit too late. And always at a price.

The swamp colored yautja, who Ahhve had learned was called Dawns-Teeth, still sat on top of their back. Dawns-Teeth was laughing with the others as they watched Baal howl and scream in agony as fresh acid blood drenched the side of her face.

Ahhve couldn't have looked away, even if they wanted to. Dawns-Teeth had his claws firmly dug into the pitted quill matrix on their head and had their neck twisted to face the projected screen. The floor their cheek pressed against was slick with blood and now mingled with thick tears.

They had come to terms with Baals growing frailty. Bone cell degeneration was just what happened to Saisoa, just as humans cells slowed down, and just as they themselves grew harder with each shedding of their boney exoskeleton. Age was the natural pattern of life. That was how Baal was supposed to die. Lying comfortable and warm in a bed, in their arms, her fur bleached grey and white. They were supposed to say goodbye. Not watch her die like this.

A small mercy. Anything. Please.

Something started beeping.

Something was beeping urgently.

Out of the corner of their eye Ahhve saw Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes move toward a panel. The young yautja paid no attention, laughing and jeering as they were at the screen. Only Dawns-Teeth kept himself to an amused rumble, occasionally giving Ahhve's scalp a painful yank.

The clatter and click of yautjan claws tapping metal keys slowly filled Ahhve's sense of hearing as they strained to listen. Their breathing evened out and their pain went ignored as they focused their entire being on that sound.

A small mercy… just one small mercy…

A sharp ice pick of pain pierced through their thoughts and Ahhve let out a surprised yelp. Their stomach sunk as they saw another bloody quill flicked over onto the pile.

"Pay attention, pretty one…" Dawns-Teeths hissed.

Ahhve's irritation went from a simmer to a rolling boil in an instant. "Difficult to watch and ignore your stink at the same time-"

Ahhve felt a blow, and a dull ache, but it had struck the middle of their lower spine, one of the hardest parts of their exoskeleton. Ahhve heard bones snap and a wave of grim satisfaction washed over them. The young yautja who had made the mistake screeched in surprise, but the sound was silenced by Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes irritated hiss.

Dawn-Teeth smacked his sibling on the head, "fool! I told you not to strike her!"

Her.

Ahhve felt another flash of anger ripple down their spine. Most of the time it didn't matter, the sphere was a big place with thousands of different species and cultures, it wasn't a big deal when it happened. But Dawns-Teeth was misgendering them on purpose, it was an immature and petty way to poke at Ahhve, and it had gotten old.

From behind them Ahhve could hear Shale breath, chilling in it's calm, and that scared them more than the pain. Underneath it all the metallic clatter of keys suddenly paused.

"Get up." Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes growled curtly.

The weight of Dawns-Teeth on their chest vanished and Ahhve gasped when they could fully inhale again. The digging claws left their scalp and they twisted their head to see behind them, the dark yautja was standing still with his full attention on his father.

"The arena is being raided." Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes clicked, his yellow eyes were narrowed in a smug expression, "throw this trash in cold storage and ready the ship to swim." The yautjan euphemism for space travel purred off of his jagged tongue.

Before they had time to blink Ahhve was grabbed and pulled off of the floor, held fast by the two youngest in the room. Ahhve's eyes took in Shale, suspended by hooks on the opposite wall. They glanced at the projector screen, and a gasp took hold and squeezed their heart at the sight of Dag being plucked from the ground by the massive queen. But before they could see her fate they were dragged out of the room.

Ahhve struggled to get back in, they had to see, they had to know Dag's fate. But a clammy yautjan hand shot out and sank curved black claws into the ruined skin of their scalp. Ahhve screamed then, more from frustration rather than pain, though the latter was intense and blinding.

"You're coming with us…" one of the youths hissed. The pair took hold of Ahhve's restraints and began to pull them down the corridor.

"Are we to take this one too?" Ahhve heard Dawns-Teeth ask.

"No. I want him to watch. Get the ship ready."

And with that Ahhve was pulled around a corner and out of ear-shot. Down, down, down, deep in the bowels of the ship. The low vibration of the engines soon became a loud hum the further they went. Their heart raw and aching in anticipation of what may come. Weakened from blood loss and the shock of losing so many quills, all Ahhve could do was drag their heels and try to hold onto consciousness.

…

If Shale had been younger, rasher, less experienced, he might have tried to rip himself off of the hooks that held him fast. But he'd been restrained in a similar way before, and he knew that doing so would risk death. One wrong move and the jagged metal that skewered his thighs could knick an artery, and that would be a sad way to die.

Still. It was tempting. If only to reach out and be able to grab Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes by his neck.

"Too cowardly to bare witness are we?"

Shale blinked at Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes calmly, whatever anguish he felt was being crushed down in a cold dark place to be dealt with later.

"I wouldn't purposefully torment those most precious to you for sport." Shale spoke in a voice so cold time itself seemed to slow. "Even now I would not. What will my watchin' accomplish? Will it add to your honor? Seein' the grief in my eyes?"

The cool silence boiled over and Shale watched Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes mandible twitch. He made a snort of dismissal and turned to look at the screen, when Shale saw his yellow eyes grow wide with shock. Without thinking Shale followed his line of sight to watch what was so astonishing.

The queen was doubled over, in some sort of distress. Shale saw Dag limping away towards a still black smudge near the top of the screen. The queen turned, her mouth snarling and her tail lashed across Dag's back and he closed his eyes, grateful that Ahhve was not here to see.

"Why do you turn from this? It is a glorious death, far better than they deserve!" Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes hissed angrily.

"This ain't their way." Shale clicked quietly, "they wouldn't want me to see them die like this."

"They are weak, and so are you." Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes venomous hissing lashed out.

Shale opened his eyes to give the younger yautja a look, his mismatched gaze needle sharp, "How can you place such judgements on them? Who among us bestowed upon you such a power?"

That seemed to hit a nerve, for Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes flinched hearing his own sentiments repeated back to him.

"The way of the hunt ain't to cast judgements." Shale continued, "Nature don't act like that. Lookin' down on prey ain't natural, makes you no better than a murderer. You've indulged your vanity. Denyin' your own place in the universe, putin' yourself above those whom you will join in death one day-"

"Shut up." Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes growled. "No one here cares to hear of such weakness."

Shale turned away then, his disinterested expression only adding to the rage burning in Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes gut. The bad blood watched in confusion as the queen he'd smuggled from a crumbling ruin of a ship died. While Stalks-at-Dusk had been distracting him with his pitiful jabber he had not seen whatever it was that was done to kill her so quickly. He hadn't intended for the human to survive. Even now as she lay on the dirt floor, a pool of blood staining the ground beneath her, he saw that she breathed. How unfair it was that she still lived while his pup did not.

Still. He had the myilliean, and the infamous Stalks-at-Dusk. As much as Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes would love to kill him he knew there were other seperatist clans that would pay anything for such a notorious arbitrator.

There of course would be the matter of proving it was him, doubtless many would question if the skinny one-armed bastard was anything more than a filthy nomad.

If that were the case than he would gladly take his skull instead.

Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes shut off the screen projector and cut the link the recording equipment had to his ship. The distraction had worked. Once the law in the sphere found out it had been a ruse he and his clan would be long gone in the void of space.

A wet noise sounded behind him and Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes turned to see Stalks-at-Dusk scraping his claws along the metal walls. His body was shivering, and a fresh gout of blood dripped onto the tiled floor. Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes tasted the air with his forked tongue and growled in a satisfied way at the piercing hatred that glared at him.

"There's no need to hurry. I promise you will die last." He clicked smugly.

Shale couldn't smother the hiss that crawled out of him against his will. He'd said something similar to someone else a long time ago. Ages it seemed, when he was young and thrived on blood and adrenaline and the scent of fear. When gleaming human skulls lined the walls of his trophy room like a string of ghastly pearls.

This is Dag! Shale! All of these people are Dag!

This was his punishment. For his arrogance, his pride. All those years thinking himself above his prey. Leering down on them and gloating as their gaze became unfocused and unknowing. Prey taken dishonorably, without respect, demanded penance.

Shale thought it was kinder than he deserved.

Even as Shale glared malice at the bad blood, Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes kept his back to him. An insult. Shale could hear his mocking trill as he laughed.

You could have been my brother…

Physical pain did not compare to the throbbing sick feeling that filled him up to the brim. With only the strength of his arm Shale pulled himself up on the hooks. Blood trickled down his chest, back, and thighs, as he pulled and pulled. His twin hearts cried out, the emotion that was welling up inside of him forced his instincts of self preservation out of the way.

I could have been you…

Mocking. Irreverent. Blind. Unable to understand that hunter and prey were one and the same in the loving embrace of death.

Shale lifted himself high enough to unhook the metal that was sunk into the meat of his legs. If he wasn't careful he'd bleed himself dry. With one final push he yanked himself free of the wall and landed on the blood soaked floor.

Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes turned then, his amusement melted into a growl. From his gauntlet twin blades sang into existence, silver and flashing like a predators eyes in the night. Pain, hot and throbbing, made Shale's legs feel stiff and awkward. He shook himself and braced his stance, his single hand extended it's claws, ready to rip and tear.

But the bad blood didn't immediately charge him, his mandibles stretched out in an irritated scowl, "You are a tough old bastard… I will give you that."

Shale said nothing, a memory of Baal flickered to life in his mind's eye.

She'd been slashed and bleeding, beaten to an inch of her life for the crime of hiding him from the law of the sphere. Cycles ago when he had two children to care for and nowhere else to go.

'My love makes me strong.'

The Saisoa's words had baffled him. No language on his world had a word for love, so she'd used her native tongue instead. In time he understood. It was her love that kept her alive in prison. It was her love that made it her let him into her home in the first place.

It was love that gave Shale the strength to drag his flesh through the jagged hooks, it was love that numbed the pain and it was love that kept his mind clear. Not love for himself, but for the aliens that he'd come to think of when he thought of home.

Fast. Faster than the crack of thunder. Shale rushed forward and crowded Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes, too close for the bad bloods blades to be of any use. Savage snarls exploded in the room as the two yautja exchanged blows, both skillful fighters, and experienced. But the one-armed yautja had an advantage, a savage desperation that burned with the heat of a star in his blind and amber eyes.

With a quickness born of luck and deeply ingrained muscle memory, Shale deftly pulled a thin slip of a dagger from the hidden band on the inside of his loincloth. The bright metal disappeared into the green flesh of his opponent, sinking in up to Shale's thin fingers.

Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes gasped in shock, he jerked away, planning to pull back his blades to attack, but Stalks-at-Dusk moved with him. The dagger was pulled up, slicing apart muscle hardened meat until it hit bone. Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes didn't really pain, it only occurred to him he was seriously injured when hot liquid began to pour onto his feet.

Shale rammed the blade up into Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes chest cavity, the wet squelch was followed by a gasp of shock. Shale shoved the other yautja away with his shoulder and the room was filled by the wet sound of organs hitting the floor.

Growling, Shale fisted his blade and watched, with no small amount of satisfaction, as Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes stared down at his exposed bowls in confusion. He stumbled back, looking at Shale in disbelief, only to see the scrawny one-armed arbitrator display a wicked little blade and wave it at him.

"You-!" Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes coughed, he could barely speak, only now realizing that blood was flooding his lungs. He fell to his knees as his twin hearts began to falter, the blade had punctured one of them and his blood was leaving him in a torrent. The dying yautja cursed at Shale, growled and hissed until his breath ran out and the life faded from him. Shale considered the disgraced bad blood before him, the one who was both a reflection of his past, and a reminder of his shame.

It was only when Shale was sure he was dead that he went to steal his medical pack.

It felt wrong to take from the dead like this. But Shale was desperate. He needed to stop this clan from leaving. He needed to salvage what was left of his family.

Ahhve.

The thought of them kept Shale moving. He lit the combuster and threw whatever loose junk he could find around the room to melt. The blue gel burned and he hissed as it thickened and cooled over his wounds. Shales missing arm twitched and throbbed in pain. He readied the needle and plunged it down into his thigh, the boost of energy focused his mind before the agony burst.

What would have made most yautja howl only came out of Shale as a gravelly hiss. He'd done it so many times, the throb of the stimulant was like the embrace of an old friend.

Shale looked over Blood-in-the-Stars-Eyes for any weapons he might plunder, deciding with a twinge of disgust to take the bladed disks strapped to his thighs. For a moment Shale considered taking a tusk as a trophy. But the idea of holding onto any part of this bad blood was repugnant to him.

So he slipped from the room like a ghost, his tongue flicking out and scenting the air before he took off in the direction of Ahhve's scent.

….

Dawns-Teeth punched in the familiar codes to get the ship ready to launch. A thick static crackled over the com system and a voice rasped through the air waves.

"Rude not to say goodbye."

Dawns-Teeth flinched in surprise, pausing only long enough to collect his wits to answer back. "Didn't think we were that familiar." His clicks were rougher than he'd intended, the voice however took it in stride.

"I'd call meetin' outside of work familiar. Lucky for you I just got on shift, though I woulda loved ta' hear you cuss our newest out."

Dawns-Teeth stared at the com speaker, for the first time a feeling of dread swelling up inside his chest.

"Kel. I'm not coming back."

There was an uncharacteristic silence from the space-traffic controller. Dawns-Teeth thought that he could even hear her breathe.

"Well." She finally spoke and the pit in his stomach grew deeper. "That's a damn shame."

Was it? Dawns-Teeth blinked thickly as he recognized the feeling of regret that was spinning in his stomach.

'We should leave.'

Their clans only female, Dancing-Star, had said to him not but a few days ago.

Leave?

It was a foolish idea. Unthinkable.

'This is unsustainable. We are going to get caught.'

Dancing-Star told him she was going to leave the clan, make her way somewhere else. Maybe they could go together, make a life here in the sphere. No more running, or hiding, or loss or grief.

Just being alive with his arm around Kel. That was all he wanted.

"Dawn, I need your flight code."

Kel's voice startled Dawns-Teeth from his world shattering realization. He sat dumb for a moment, then fumbled with the computer keys to send the space-traffic controller the code.

"Sorry." He apologized, a rare thing. Ever rarer that he meant it.

"Yeah. I'm sorry too." Kel's gruff voice had never sounded so bitter, "thought I changed your mind, that we aren't so different after all."

"We aren't." Dawns-Teeth heard himself click, a weak trill followed his voice, the sound itself like the tinkling of breaking glass.

"Then why can't you stay?"

On his hands the myilliean's blood had dried black. His brother was dead. Dancing-Star was dead. Her wistful plans had been shattered by a lucky blow through a single eye socket, and all of Dawns-Teeth's budding hopes had died with her.

"I don't deserve to." Dawns-Teeth said coldly, "goodbye Kel." And with that he flicked off the com speaker. He made the decision not to wait for flight clearance to start the ships engines and break orbit. They were running on borrowed time anyway, anyone willing to chase them was welcome to get blasted once the ship collapsed the stretch of space and warped.

I don't deserve to.

Dawns-Teeth plunged the shift down into position and plugged in the codes needed to warp. The arm that had been damaged by the searing poison of the myilliean's quill throbbed and ached. He was deaf to his own agitated clicking as he struggled to keep focus. His hands were stark against the illuminated screens, black with dried blood, blood from someone who had shown unshakable bravery and will. Someone worthy of respect.

Dawns-Teeth shook himself.

I've been here for too long, I've become weak. Mingling with these aliens- my rightful prey- poisoning my own mind. I never should have encouraged her conversation. I never should have become familiar. I should have kept walking that day and left her to her fate…

Inch by inch he'd grown roots and put them in the soil of this place, knowing full well he'd wither here. His kind were cursed the day they first swam in the stars. It would have been better if they'd never left their native home, it would have been wiser to be content with the prey their own world had to offer. Better to have never met any aliens at all.

The screen in front of him blinked with an incoming message, it was Kel. Of course she'd try to get ahold of him. She always had to have the last word.

"Are you going to answer that?"

Dawns-Teeth froze, surprise ran it's sickly fingers down his spine, chased after by a sick feeling as he recognized the voice that was behind him. He moved to unsheath his blades but a strong, thin hands grabbed him by his locs and yanked his head back.

"If you value your life you will not move." the myilliean growled, they were covered in luminescent blood and the last of their quills was gone. Dawns-Teeth could guess the very last was a heart-beat away from his neck. A death blow, if the venom touched his blood.

A moment passed with the two of them staring at each other. Dawns-Teeth heard the computer ask for the last code it needed to take off.

"Are they dead?" Dawns-Teeth clicked.

The myilliean narrowed their dark eyes, their jaw and mandibles flexed and the green blood seemed to glow brighter. "What do you think?" Their hand fisted his gills and Dawns-Teeth growled.

"It's my turn then?" Dawns-Teeth sneered, his whole body tense as he readied to lash out, not caring if it was death itself that was pointed at his neck. He would not die sitting down.

"No. Not yet." the myilliean hissed, "Pretty one."

And Dawns-Teeth felt a shiver of pain ripple through his body, emanating from the center of his chest. The hand that was gripping his locs let go just as he looked down to see a single translucent quill sprouting from his skin.

(I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for reading and all of the lovely comments this story has received. I'm grateful and humbled by the kind things that have been said. I've recently been put back on night shift at my work -big heck yEAH!- so I'm hoping to get more chapters out faster. I did put a comment on this story about my art tumblr, and I thought I'd reiterate here that my drawings and sketches of these disaster children can be found on my art blog, Teeth-and-Other-Drugs. Make sure to type put #Shale or #Dag in the search bar to skip to the stuff that relates to this story. I hope you all have a great fucking day! )