Keeping her eyes shut, Asha nuzzled her pillow. It was as hard as a rock. Her neck ached. She stretched her arm up, feeling the boulder she was against. It was firm, warm, and scaly. Her eyes fluttered open in surprise, realizing she was tucked against Uh'luka's side.

Her eyes scanned, finding that they were in her bedroom. Uh'luka must have carried her there after she fell asleep on the roof. The automatic lights we're off, but she knew it was probably morning. Asha looked back at Uh'luka, not surprised that his eyes were on her. She rested her cheek back on his chest.

"You didn't have to stay all night."

"No, but I wanted to."

She brushed her thumb back and forth over his scales.

After a few moments of silence, Uh'luka slid his claws through her hair, "Asha?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't fall in love with me."

Her fingers tightened on him, "Why not?"

"Love is for oomans. There is no yautja equivalent."

She looked into his eyes like the moon and the stars--with awe and longing. "I don't know if I believe that."

Asha stretched up to kiss the underside of his jaw. His deep hum made her heart gallop. She stayed snuggled against him until she caught sight of the time. It was much later in the morning than she'd thought.

"You must be restless with the number of hours I sleep!"

"I didn't want to disturb you."

She tilted her head at him with a smile.

As Asha tugged on a pair of pants, Uh'luka pressed his mandibles to her forehead, "I'm going hunting. I'll be gone most of the day."

"Ok. I will probably eat, go for a jog, then feed the hounds. I'll see you tonight."

Asha couldn't wait too long before going to feed the hounds. She spent most of her day with them anymore. The hounds were shaping up quickly. Asha leaned against the house, proud to see them running in a group. She pushed the lure to full speed and the lazy one still kept up.

She turned towards the sound of the door. The owner of the house strode out into the yard with a Yaut pup under his arm. A smile jumped to her face at seeing the bald, wrinkly puppy. That smile dropped when she saw the male's splayed mandibles and burning eyes. He stomped towards her.

"I specifically told you not to change the controls! Don't bother denying it! The cameras caught you! I should have known better than to trust an ooman!"

Asha gulped.

"I gave you such a simple task!"

She nodded.

"You're an ooman. Your species isn't nearly as old as ours and with your mental capacity, you couldn't possibly know better than me! I know what is best for those hounds!"

"I just—"

He wouldn't let her talk, "Their purpose is specific. You've probably ruined their training! I planned on taking them on a hunt when I returned! Now, I doubt they'll be fast enough!"

As she listened to everything he had to say, her head dropped. She stared at the ground, being silent, submissive. The unquestionable authority was familiar. So was the outrage in his voice. She'd had it directed at her plenty of times during her stay on Yaut.

She'd spent her first years on Yaut with the alien female that had taken her from Earth. Sah'sh told her she'd support and teach her for no more than two cycles, four years by human standards. After that, she was on her own. Sah'sh was a wonderful teacher during that time. Problem was, Asha hadn't been a good student.

When she'd trained, she wore a mask that projected a virtual reality in front of her. With a blunt weapon, she struck at the creatures that popped up. The padded wall in front of her contained pressure plates that graded how powerful her strikes were. The bodysuit she had on could tell how fast she moved. The thrill of it being like a video game diminished quickly.

When the creature in the virtual reality bit into her forearm, the bodysuit delivered a painful shock that jolted up her arm. She swung the weapon but lacked the strength after hours of training. The creature's tail whipped at her chest and she received another painful bolt of electricity. Asha stumbled back with a cry and tore off the mask. Panting, she undid the bodysuit and slammed it to the floor.

As soon as she turned into the hallway, she faced a towering female yautja, "Self-defense is imperative for a female."

"My arms are aching! I can barely lift them!"

"I suggest you go study then."

"My head is already pounding."

"You wanted to come to this planet, to see and to learn, yet you act like a helpless child! You don't know how to fight! You don't know the language! You are almost out of time! Don't you understand that?"

"I know."

"I will not continue to care for you. You have one season left, then you're on your own."

"I know. I'm trying."

"Try harder."

"This isn't like moving to another country and having a difficult time with their culture or currency! This is a whole new planet, filled with a whole different species that uses a completely different mouth construction to pronounce words! And you don't get why I can't speak the language yet?"

The female leaned down with a growl, "Control your tone with me ooman."

"Can't I just have a translator implanted?"

"I have learned to speak your native tongue. You will speak mine—without cheating."

Asha whirled away and stormed to her bedroom. Before she got there, she faced a set of mottled abdominal muscles. They tightened as a growl pierced the silence. She jerked her eyes up to face a male yautja she'd never seen before. His mandibles were splayed with aggression and she realized she still had a weapon in her hand.

She dropped it to the floor and held her arms up like it was a police raid, "I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't know Sah'sh had company over."

"El ser'hava eb Sah'sh erder oji-amedha ouu xen're."

Asha's brows lifted. The only word she understood was amedha and that meant meat. She responded carefully, pronouncing the foreign words as best she could, "El'l...f'uet-ta amedha."

Sah'sh said something from behind her and the male deflated. He turned for the living room and Asha tried to slink towards her bedroom. Sah'sh spoke again, "Join us. It will be a good way for you to practice the language."

She had no choice but to take a seat with them. They both talked too quick for Asha to comprehend all of it, so she rested her head in her hand with a sigh. When their eyes went back and forth from each other to Asha, she knew they were talking about her. She shifted in her seat.

Growling and loud shouts came from one of the rooms suddenly and Sah'sh stood up with a snarl. From the sound of it, her two daughters were at each other's throats again. Asha snorted. Even though she had her head turned towards the commotion, Asha didn't miss the male inching closer. He leaned forward on the edge of his seat, looking at her.

"Ou ji ell-esde'e nur'sej?" Your age.

"I'll be twenty-two soon…" she wracked her brain for the right words, "Sef'seh-het."

The male leaned back, still observing her. He said something too quick and quiet for her to pick out any words from. But then he said something about, "like" and "pet". Her mind immediately went to her german shepherd Mac.

"Sei-i." Yes.

He said something else then got up from his seat and left.

Sah'sh was standing in the hallway, "Asha did you understand what he just asked?"

"No...not really. Did I offend him?"

"He asked if you'd like to be his pet, and you agreed."

"What?!" Both her hands went to her hair.

"I will tell him you were mistaken."

Sah'sh was almost to the door when Asha shot up from her seat, "No...It's ok."

Sah'sh tilted her head.

"Like you said, I'm out of time...I suck at everything I do. Every time I think I know how to use a faucet, a door, or some cookware I come across a different design and I'm confused all over again."

"To be a pet is to be property."

"You know him, right? He's honorable?"

"He is."

"Then I'll be fine."

Asha's things were packed in a matter of minutes. Yautjas didn't believe in materialistic things, so she didn't have much besides clothes. She lugged the bag into his ship and joined Rakaa in front of the observation window. Automatically, she climbed into the seat beside him. It was her first mistake.

A growl bubbled up from his throat as he said something in yautja. She didn't comprehend until he pointed to the floor.

She was a pet now. There were different expectations. Asha slipped off the seat and sat on the floor at his feet with her legs tucked under her. The spacecraft hummed as it lifted off. It all but drowned out the soft apology that slipped from her lips.

"I'm sorry, Master."

The male that owned the hounds grunted as he jerked his head back.

Her mind caught up with her words. The male chewing her out for touching the lure controls wasn't her master. She'd suffered through hell to earn her title as blooded. Killing Rayce was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she no longer regretted it.

Her eyes slowly lifted. She wasn't the same teenager that had been taken from Earth. She wasn't a pet. She wasn't prey. She was an ooman strong enough to stand among these towering aliens. She was a yautjas mate.

"You wanted them faster; I did my best! If you had culled your slowest hound, you'd have lost your smartest! Using your tactics, eventually the hounds would only run when they were hungry! And if you starved them, they'd lose muscle and stamina! I'm glad you skipped the breeding season—you wouldn't have got a mate with that attitude!"

Asha ground her teeth, knowing she'd gone too far with that last part. Realizing that the hounds were still chasing the lure even though no food was left, she touched the controls again. She slowed the lure for a cool-down. She had nothing else to say, so she turned to leave.

"Ooman!"

She whirled around, her hand on her weapon hilt, "What?"

"My words were harsh. I am obliged." He extended the Yaut pup to her.

"…Thank you."

Asha blinked, still in surprise, but took her hand off the handle of the dagger. She stepped forward and grabbed the Yaut pup around his middle. Wrinkles formed where her hands held him, as well as on his neck and forehead. Dogs from Earth grew into their ears and paws. Yaut hounds had to grow into their skin. She hugged him to her chest to stop his wiggling.

~Yautja Translations:

"El ser'hava eb Sah'sh erder Oji amedha ouu xen're." - "I didn't know Sah'sh liked her meat this fresh."

"El'l F'uet-ta amedha." - "I'm not meat."

"Ou ji Ell-esde'e Nur'sej." - "What is your age?"

Sef'seh-het - Twenty-two

Sei-i - Yes