Hunting provided an outlet for his energy and aggression, yet also a way to practice his impulse control. Similar to human endorphins, exercise lifted his mood. What she noticed most was the more tired Uh'luka was, the gentler he became. Several days passed the same way. Uh'luka went hunting and Asha stayed at home.

She looked to her wrist device for the time, then continued picking at her nails. She knew better than to worry about him. He was a yautja. Besides, he didn't have a ship. He couldn't have gone far.

Asha pushed herself off the couch. She couldn't sit around waiting for him. A distraction would do her good. She laced up her armor and slipped on some boots. Then she set out to feed the hounds.

Like every time, they swarmed around her. Asha stumbled forward when one leaned against her legs. Another stepped on her foot. She waded through the bony spines to get to the door. They were hungry. One hound reared up on the door, stopping it from sliding.

As she struggled to inch the door back, another hound forced its head between her legs. It took deep breaths of the fresh air and then tried to force its way under her. She ground her teeth and planted her legs, but it was no use. Once the first hound was free, the others followed. They trampled her.

Asha lifted her head off the floor to watch them romp. The lure hadn't been baited, so they ran in circles sniffing. One licked the spike where the meat was supposed to go. She rolled her eyes.

With a groan, she lifted herself off the ground in the weighted armor then went to the cooling unit against the house. As soon as she lifted the lid, each of the hounds lifted their heads and came running. One slid to a stop too late and plowed into the side of the fridge. She was surprised it didn't make a dent.

Before she could close the lid, a hound reared up and peered inside the unit, "Don't you dare!"

The hound grabbed a small chunk of meat and ran away with it. It was quickly ambushed by the rest of the pack and the meat was devoured in seconds. Asha grabbed out another hunk and lifted it above her head as she moved towards the spike in the yard. She fought to keep her balance as they rose to their hind legs. It was no use. She put the meat back in the freezer before they stole it.

"Ok, I've had enough of this!"

Asha went inside the male's house to the large cooling unit and found a portion of meat. She cut it up into tiny cubes and returned to the hounds. With it, she was able to lure them back inside their enclosure. They reared up and paced in the enclosed patio, but Asha waited until she saw the behavior she wanted.

When one of them sat, she tossed it a cube of meat. The hound immediately stood up in excitement, but Asha was patient. It sat again, and she rewarded it. The others gradually calmed as well and she continued tossing them treats. One cube of meat landed on the hound's snout and it snapped its jaws trying to reach it.

Asha giggled.

They were so much more enjoyable when well-behaved. She repeated the drill several times, having them wait before running outside and then coming back in when called. They weren't the sharpest animals, but a lack of stubbornness made them easy to train. They had boundless energy too. She wanted to see how they took to lure coursing.

With them in their enclosure, it was much easier to bait the spike. Then she could release the Yaut hounds into the yard and flip the switch. The lure shot off and the hounds ran after it at full speed. Their lipless mouths tore into the bait as they chased it.

The lure lasted several minutes and never slowed down though. Two hounds barely got one bite. One hound sat out in the yard and watched it zig-zag. When the lure got close enough, that hound grabbed an easy bite. Asha ceased to be impressed.

She put a hand over her face, "What am I going to do with you guys? You're supposed to be hunting tools. Instead, your ill-behaved and disorganized!"

One of them laid down and began to lick its privates. All Asha could do was shake her head. The owner of the house had told her not to change the controls, but he'd also said he was conditioning them to be faster. There was no harm in messing with the buttons when one hound wouldn't even chase the lure to begin with.

While she couldn't change the pattern the lure followed, there was a forward/backward button and the speed controls. She didn't want to overfeed them, so a rag soaked in animal blood served as a new lure. Even the lazy hound chased now that the game had changed.

She taunted them, flipping the lure in reverse and back again. The hounds seemed to love it. They ran faster, turned sharper—and there wasn't even any food involved. She was so engrossed in the game that she lost track of time. There was no doubt Uh'luka would be back from his hunt. She got the hounds back in their enclosure and hurried home.

Asha found Uh'luka's armor and scythe on top of his storage containers, with cleaner and polish still laying out beside them. However, she didn't see Uh'luka. She strolled through the apartment, glancing around for him. When she slid open the bathroom door, she heard the water running.

Her mind didn't register it in time though. Her light brown eyes settled on the expanse of his muscular back. As Uh'luka opened the shower door to step in, those muscles rippled. Her eyes moved up to his thick shoulders and biceps. A heat crawled into her belly.

"Asha."

She bashfully took a step back but noticed the blood in the water. Some of it was green, "You're hurt?"

As she approached him, she could see the lines in his skin. There were two sets of scratches on his back like he'd been mauled by a bear. They weren't the source of blood though. As he turned, her eyes scanned for green blood. She found it in his hair.

"That had to have hurt."

Uh'luka chuffed, "I've endured worse."

She shifted her weight, "Well, I was just making sure you were ok. Sorry to have barged in."

"Join me."

"That's probably not a good idea."

"It's just a shower."

Asha glanced down at herself, at the mud and slobber on her from the hounds, "Ok. But no touchy."

Before she undressed, she pointed a finger at him to make sure she got her point across. Uh'luka huffed and turned away. Asha tossed her clothes down the chute to be washed and stepped into the spacious shower. Like the rest of the house, it was carved out of the red stone. Water bubbled up from beneath her feet. The whole ceiling was the showerhead, but there were jets along the sides that could be turned on as well.

At first, she faced the wall. However, she got an increasing feeling that she was being watched. Asha flipped on one wall of jets, then turned her back to them with her eyes closed so it would look innocent. Facing the rest of the shower now, she could peek under her eyelashes at Uh'luka.

Seeing him naked wasn't anything new. Uh'luka had been nude the entire time he was in the cage with her. It hadn't been sexual. It had become so normal eventually she hadn't thought about his body. She didn't know why she was thinking about it now...Then again, his body did look different.

He had a regal and authoritative look about him now that he wasn't hunched like a caveman. The red and black mottling of his skin was more apparent without burn scars running through it, and he'd definitely bulked up. Still, Asha couldn't help but feel that his eyes had changed the most. Covered in a milky haze, his eyes had always looked sorrowful and distant. As she looked up at them now, they were intense and focused.

Asha swept her hair behind her ear as she turned away. She knew getting in the shower with him was a bad idea. It put a strain on his self-control as well as hers. Uh'luka stepped closer. Without the homeostasis netting on, she could feel the heat from Uh'luka's skin like a blazing bonfire. She held her breath, anticipating the moment his skin touched hers.

It didn't happen. She'd asked not to be touched, and he was actually listening. This time it was Asha's control that slipped. She steadily leaned back, closing her eyes the moment their skin met. Her body melted against his warmth and her knees went weak.

She felt his abs tighten. His biceps twitched. He fought to keep his breathing even. However, Uh'luka didn't grope or grab her. He didn't wrap his arms around her to try to make her stay.