Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

Again, they swirled around the city of tents towards the back of the cavern. But on the way, Kaail was aware of the eyes watching him. But at least he had the distraction of looking at his new surroundings and understand how it worked.

Each tent was different from the neighboring one. They had a standard of a bed and a few storage bins but the occupants and the decorations inside were different. One had a male who was as ancient as everyone else, tinkering with pieces of metal. He concluded he was some forger with all the knives and other weapons filling his space. Another had a female who nursed a newborn pup in her arms, purring to keep it calm. Over and over, Kaail saw it was a secret society built under the Amengi's nose . . . and was unique in ways he didn't think he realized.

"See something you like?" A'stea asked.

"It's . . . not what I expected."

She giggled. "You thought we were cave people hiding in the dark?"

Kaail shook his head.

"We're smarter than you give credit for."

"Is that what everyone has been thinking about us?" Bu'at interrupted, much to Kaail's annoyance. "Geez, Kaail."

He stopped when Kaail growled, moving back a little to make sure he didn't get swiped. It was amusing to A'stea and even Fi'ka who's back was turned but her body trembled up and down, suppressing a chuckle. However, she still didn't quite know how Bu'at knew of their hideout. A'stea felt he looked familiar but couldn't quite pin it. Regardless, he was here and it didn't matter.

"A'stea!"

A high pitched bark caught their attention. Right in front of them, a female Hish was leading a horde of pups, about ten or more that were small, only reaching to the female's knees. One of them pulled away from the group and started running towards them. Kaail didn't know what to make of this and tensed, ready to protect A'stea. The pup jumped at the last second, reaching for her with his clawed hands. He was about to stop it until A'stea welcomed the pup with open arms, smiling.

"Dakha!"

She nuzzled her face into his cheek and he did the same in return, happy and excited. The other pups ran towards her, surrounding her in a frenzy of happy clicks and chirps. Kaail watched from a distance as the pups grabbed onto her loincloth and anything else they could get. He tilted his head curiously, seeing the excitement on their faces.

"Where have you've been!?" Dakha pouted. "You promised you'd come to see us! Especially me!"

"I'm sorry, Dakha." She stroked his small dreadlocks that were no more than pricking tubes. "I was busy."

"You always say that."

"Yeah!"

"Come on!"

The pups began to fuss, clawing at A'stea's legs. It stung a bit but she enjoyed their company. Small happiness grew in her, at least seeing the pups were doing well in such a messed up world. Kaail saw the change in her. Wonder grew in him. Watching the pups with her . . . it seemed like she was a natural. But then again, she was also a female.

But happy . . .

"Come on now." The female Hish cut through the pups and began to gather them. "We need to get going to bed."

The pups whined but they obeyed anyway. They gathered behind the female and let A'stea get some air. "Thanks, Gu'ata."

"You're welcome, A'stea."

When the female reached for Dakha, the pup clung harder to A'stea. "Come on, little one. You can't stay with her forever."

"But she's mine!" Dakha let out a tiny roar. Kaail's eyes widened in surprise.

"Dakha."

A'stea spoke forcibly. She gave one look that caused him to lower his head in submission. He whined but she put him down on the ground. Dakha didn't move but stood next to her, whining still. She smiled and patted his head, letting him know that it was alright. But just as he was turning around, Dakha looked past her and towards Kaail. "Who is he?"

Everyone turned to him.

"Dakha." She kneeled next to him. "This is Kaail. A guest of mine I wanted to introduce to everyone. Be nice."

The pup zipped his head back and forth, staring at Kaail, then A'stea and repeated. A minute later and the pup suddenly charged at him. Kaail would normally go into a fighting stance but it was a pup and not a full-grown Hish he was dealing with. The pup stopped only a few feet away, crouching low to the ground. His tiny mandibles with barely noticeable tusks extended in anger. A different reaction from an unexpected source.

"Why are you with A'stea?" He demanded.

Kaail pulled his head back, not answering. It enraged the pup and he stomped forward. "Are you with her?"

He blinked his eyes at the small being. What is he going on about?

"You can't have her."

What? He looked to A'stea, seeing her just as baffled as he was.

"She's my future mate! I won't let you have her!"

In an instant, Kaail's mandibles hanged in shock and awe. The pup before him was declaring a fight with him with his stance and speaking verbally about his claim. It was surprising though normal between Hish if a lone male tries to breed with a female outside the facility. Not common but not unheard of. But this pup, barely only a few seasons old, was already claiming A'stea as his own. Inside, he was boiling with rage.

He stepped forward and crouched enough to give him a warning growl. Much to his dismay, the pup refused to back down, even being driven to fight. Kaail opened his mandibles slowly and reached slowly towards the pup.

"Okay. That's enough."

A'stea reached for Dakha, literally throwing him to the female Hish waiting. Kaail froze, not knowing what to do as he watched. Dakha scrambled to get freed but A'stea glared right at him. Faces only inches away.

"You're going to get yourself killed. Go with Gu'ata and behave yourself." She pressed a finger right at his face.

The pup instantly went quiet. The anger inside was gone. When it was quiet for a few seconds, the female pulled away, carrying the pup in her arms until they were gone. But not before he gave one last glare at Kaail.

A'stea sighed, pressing her hand on her forehead. She was tired.

"What was that?"

Kaail walked up to her side but checked if she was alright. She smiles at him. "It's just Dakha being himself. He should have known better."

"He claimed you as a future mate."

A'stea shook her head. "He's been obsessed with me since we first met. But he's a pup and naive at his age. He'll get over it in time."

"But do you feel the same?"

Her brows scrunching close between her eyes. "What do you mean?" She paused. "Are you jealous?"

Kaail opened his mouth but then stopped. It was dumb to ask such a thing. She was right that the pup might have been acting on impulse and A'stea might have thought of it as a funny thing. Still, a gut-wrenching feeling ran through him, sparking something he couldn't comprehend. Is this jealousy? He didn't like it one bit.

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

A'stea tilted her head. Why is he acting like this? She couldn't decide what it was. But it wasn't the right time. They already had enough to deal with here.

"Well, we should get going." Fi'ka decided to get them moving and A'stea agreed. The group moved on from a situation that was becoming too awkward for them, especially A'stea and Kaail. He stood there, watching them wander off a bit. Bu'at comes to his side but doesn't say anything, merely smirks and moves on.

Nice, pauking idiot. He shook his head and caught up with the others.

It wasn't long before they reached the back of the cavern where more tents stood but bigger and even reinforced . . . with guards. Kaail counted a few Hish with armor similar to the ones who saved them. From the corner of his eye, he can see the same guards that attacked them earlier being taken into another tent, bound in rope. He was curious about what might happen to them.

Moving on, they entered a large tent that was set up like a meeting room inside. A few Hish waited for them, standing around a table with several documents stacked up with one of two guards watching them while they discussed. Nu'kha was at the far end, being grumpy as usual towards Kaail. They lifted their heads to see A'stea, Kaail, Fi'ka, and Bu'at entering.

"So you came?" One male with red spots called.

"Before you all decided to sneak behind my back, M'aut." A'stea grumbled. Her voice lined with frustration.

The males lowered their heads to the floor, submissive. When they lifted their heads back, another male looked behind her. "Is this the Great White Warrior? The one you told us would come next week?"

A'stea looked back to see Kaail. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that, Shi'en?"

Immediately, Kaail can sense some dissension between these Hish and A'stea. He can see the males were somewhat leaders, being as they acted like they operate this 'hideout' but seem not to want to piss off A'stea. Is she their Leader as well?

"Bu'at." The last male bowed his head to him. "You showed up."

Bu'at smiled. "Well . . . I couldn't stay in the shadows forever, G'uag. Plus, it's a good opportunity to give you more updates."

Kaail glanced at Bu'at. What else are you hiding?

"We'll talk about it later," G'uag grunted, turning to A'stea. "We didn't mean to go behind your back. We were told that you were injured and knowing what your opinion will be—"

"It doesn't matter." A'stea slapped a hand on the table. "I have the same right to know like everyone else. The last time I checked, you gave me a few more months to figure things out."

"Things have changed," M'aut spoke. A'stea sighed deeply, waiting for him to keep going. "The Amengi are starting to kill off servants and sending more patrols out now."

A'stea stiffened. "Starting to kill off?"

Shi'en answered. "We just got word of it. Only rumors in the beginning but got confirmation that the masters are killing those who are suspected of defecting away from the public eyes. Your stunt of gathering more allies and the raid is coming back to bite you."

"That's because you refuse to see my views. Running away from our problems won't solve anything."

"We're only thinking about what's best for our people. We have very little warriors on our side and we don't know who we can trust. And now you brought the Great White Warrior here without our permission."

Everyone turned to Kaail. He stood there unmoving but felt uncomfortable. It seems they don't like me here. He saw a speck of worry in A'stea's eyes when he made contact with her. He held his chest high and stood straight. "I won't tell anyone."

The males flinched back as if they got slapped, probably never expected him to answer. But they went back to the discussion and A'stea smiled at him for it. Again, that warm feeling filled his chest.

M'uat spoke. "Straight to the point, we already gave you months to recruit more fighters, let you bring the plasma container you stole to build your 'inventions' . . . and yet, you brought more problems to us. It's only a matter of time before the masters find us."

"They'll find us regardless of what we do." A'stea raised his hands and walked around in front of them. "That's why we need to stand and fight!" Her voice rising in volume.

The males looked at each other for a moment.

"Everyone is scared," M'uat explained. "Leaving this planet is the safest way for our people. The Amengi don't bother with tracking unwanted servants. We were even talking about stealing a ship and—"

"Are you pauking crazy!?"

A'stea slammed her fists into the table despite the pain in her body, startling everyone. Even Kaail was stunned to see the sudden change of attitude in her. The males flinched back and looked as if they regretted it.

"I risked my life and freedom to bring the weapons needed for the cause when you were against it! Now I hear that you want to steal an entire ship!?" She ground her teeth, holding the anger threatening to burst out. "Who's the idiot now?!"

It went silent in the room. The small moment gave her time to calm herself. This isn't going to help you or anyone. Relax. She took a few breaths, closing her eyes for a few seconds before speaking. "Just . . . give me more time. I can find the resources needed to fight back but hold off any plans until the tournament is over. The Amengi will be focused on that for a few months. Please . . ."

She waited as M'uat, Shi'en, and G'uag conversed with one another. It was the most painful moment she had to endure and it wasn't going to be the last.

Kaail started to understand why A'stea seemed nervous as they got closer to the tent. It didn't seem like the first time she had to do this. But it was still confusing for him. She wants to fight . . . but they want to flee? His head began to hurt trying to understand so he'll have to wait until A'stea explains . . . the only person who trusted him.

After an agonizing minute, the males turned to A'stea with an answer.

"Fine," M'uat said. "We'll hold it off but we're still sticking with our plan. If you don't come up with what you need, we'll have no choice. The meeting is over." He turned to Bu'at. "Can you come with us and tell us the new updates?"

Bu'at looked around before nodding. "Of course."

With that, the three males, Bu'at and the guards left, leaving A'stea, Kaail, Fi'ka, and Nu'kha in the tent. A'stea began to hyperventilate and after a few seconds, she slammed her fists into the chair and screamed.

"Pauk! This is c'jit!"

She slammed her fists again into the table and lowered her forehead on it too. Why? Why? Why?

Kaail was stunned to see her like that. Her frustration was felt throughout the entire room. Even Fi'ka was tense like a tight ball. He couldn't bear to see A'stea like that, defeated in some way or another. He was about to go for her when the male Nu'kha came walking towards her. Despite the temptation to growl, he stood there and listened.

"We'll figure something out. But they do have a point." He moved his hands to her shoulders. "I think it's best to consider—"

A'stea swiped his hands off, pulling away roughly. "Don't even go there, Nu'kha." She shook her head. "I made a promise to free our people from the Amengi and I'll do that. So don't think I'll be swayed so easily."

Nu'kha raised his hand to her once more but pulled back. For some reason or another, Kaail noticed something between them. He didn't like it one bit.

"Well . . . there's nothing we can do for now." Fi'ka approached A'stea slowly, patting her shoulder. "For now, you need some rest. The pain medication will wear out soon and it's late. We'll talk about our plans tomorrow."

A'stea closed her eyes. "Yeah. I guess."

She walked over to Kaail. The exhaustion on her face was clear. "Sorry for you to witness that."

"It's no big deal." He clicked his mandibles. "I agree with Fi'ka. Lets get you some rest."

She nodded in agreement and they began to walk out of the tent, feeling exhausted. Another day was gone but for A'stea . . . it wasn't the end of her struggles.

Hi everyone!

Interesting and stressful meeting. But some cute parts with the pups and maybe some jealously? Is Kaail trying to compete for her? Ooooh, la la. :D

We now know that there's a division amongst themselves of how to be freed of their masters. Of course, many want to take the easiest route and leave but A'stea wants to fight. Both sides have pros and cons to them but with everything around them trying to enslave or kill them, what choice is the best one?

Does anyone even know?

At least Kaail got to be part of it in some way. But what does he think? Will he help them or A'stea?

So many questions to answer for all of us. A struggle to make the right decision for all.

Find out when Chapter 33 comes tomorrow! ;)

Thank you for the reviews (Anonymous-E (for previous chapters as well :)), NeverNeverLady, guest (for chapter 6), and lil ang3I)! They are very important for me and I hope I see more readers posting as well. All opinions are welcomed. I hope you keep on reading! ;)

Happy Hunting! :))))