Hey, everybody!
Hope you're enjoying the new chapters! Remember to leave a review if you like what you read!
Thanks!
Disclaimer – I don't own Alien(s), Predator, AVP, or any other trademarked or copyrighted material. All I own are my original characters and story ideas.
Chapter 24
Three years later…
Grey ran through the streets of the village, hoping to get back home before the deadly creatures behind her could catch up. She'd been out picking some herbs, when the rustling of some nearby bushes had drawn her attention, and she slowly reached for the dagger she always kept in a sheath on her thigh.
Suddenly, the creatures exploded from the underbrush, and Grey, seeing that she was vastly outnumbered, quickly grabbed her basket and began running for the safety of Ijane's house, with her foes in hot pursuit.
They were too fast for her, though, and just as she neared the front gates, one of them took a flying leap and grabbed her around the waist, tackling her to the ground, while the others rapidly caught up with the first…
"HUNT THE OOMAN! HUNT THE OOMAN! HUNT THE OOMAN!" the little pups cried, as they all piled on their older human playmate, who burst into laughter. Their older siblings and their friends had taught them this game, and they, like those before them, took every opportunity to "Hunt" her when they thought she was preoccupied with something else. Ijane had taught her to always be aware of her surroundings, though, and they never managed to really surprise her. She did let them "capture" her, though, and gave them the illusion that their little ambushes worked.
They always loved it when she let out a last, overly-dramatic dying scream, collapsing to the ground as she did so, and playing dead, so they could dance and jump around her in triumph at taking down such worthy "prey". She did this now, and the little naked Yautja let out squeaky little victory roars to celebrate their "kill".
"Luar-ke? What's happening out…oh, I see…" Ijane said, having come to the door upon hearing her charge's dying screams. Smiling to herself, she folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching the pups do their warrior's dance in celebration of their victory.
After a few minutes of this, Grey rose to her feet and dusted herself off, before turning to face her little attackers.
"You guys are getting better at that all the time. You're going to be great warriors one day." she said, crouching down and fondly rubbing the head of the nearest one, who purred in appreciation of the affection and praise.
"Which one of them brought you down this time?" Ijane called, her tusks clicking with amusement.
"Who else?" she replied, looking at the pup she'd been petting and smiling at him.
"Ah, Dami… Of course…" the former Huntress said, nodding.
The little brown Yautja pup had grown from a mewling suckling in a sling across his mother's back into a chubby hunter of small rodents and zabin bugs…but he was not above letting Grey show him affection whenever she wished it.
"You guys better be getting back to your bearers; it's almost dinnertime, and I expect they'll be waiting on you." Grey said, standing back up and surveying the little warriors, who were already as tall as her waist.
The pups growled and clicked in disappointment at their dismissal, but as if on cue, several of their names could be heard being called across the village, and they scurried off to their own homes.
"You too, Dami." she said, reaching out to rub his head again, and he basked in the attention for a moment, before hurrying as fast as his chubby little legs would carry him across the wide street to his house, where Nuini stood outside waiting. Grey waved to her, which she returned, before picking up her youngest child and going back inside.
"I hope that being killed by a group of highly-skilled Yautja warriors doesn't mean you didn't get the herbs I sent you for?" Ijane said, from the doorway.
"No. Despite having my head and spine removed from my body, and hung upside down without my skin, I managed to bring you back your herbs, o great Huntress." Grey replied, stifling a laugh and picking up her basket, before going back inside with her caretaker.
It had been three years since she'd stood with the rest of the village and watched Nanku, V'kha and the others board the transport vessel and disappear into the sky, and since then, Grey had witnessed another group of the village's Unblooded males, who'd been too young to undergo the plaiting ritual before, do the same.
She'd been worried about them, having considered them all to be her friends and training partners; and the word that two of them had perished during their chiva had reduced her to tears as soon as she'd heard it. Luckily, neither of these unfortunate Young Bloods (Yautja who'd undergone basic training under a Blooded Hunter, but who hadn't yet been Blooded themselves) had been Nanku, so there was a tiny bit of solace for her.
Since then, she'd heard from Mjadi that Nanku and V'kha were doing well; though since most of them had gone to different Clans, she couldn't really say how the others were faring. She, like the whole village, hoped for their safety and success, and hoped that she'd meet up with them again, once she'd undergone her own chiva.
Her training with Ijane had continued, and intensified to the point that she was now fairly proficient with basic sword techniques, and she was now being regularly taken on Ijane's hunts for game in the dense forest surrounding the village. Much of the time, Ijane would hang back and let Grey use her tracking skills to lead her to the intended prey and, as of late, would let her take it down herself, if the Yautja didn't think it was beyond her level of skill.
She'd become very adept at this, and by now could slip through the trees and undergrowth almost as silently as her teacher, keeping upwind of her prey and waiting for the right moment to throw a shuriken or dagger, or spring a trap or an ambush. She could keep to the dark forest shadows, and use mud and moss to blend in and hide her scent, so that sometimes the beasts she tracked would wander right past her, without even knowing she was there, until she sprang out and quickly ended them.
Ijane was fiercely proud of her ooman student, and Grey had overheard her on more than one occasion praising her progress and skill to Kantra over the communicator, though Grey would never let her know she'd heard these things. This praise, though, only intensified Grey's determination to do even better, and make Ijane even more proud of her.
Though she didn't say so aloud, Grey wondered if these feelings were what having a mother felt like.
Ijane certainly behaved in almost every sense like a mother to Grey, teaching her and helping her, and giving her advice…whether she asked for it or not. She gently admonished her when she'd said or done something wrong or incorrectly, and always looked out for her best interests and safety…and Grey still remembered the times when the Yautja had comforted her when she was distressed…
It was these memories that Grey cherished above the others, and she'd long ago decided to enjoy whatever attention and affection Ijane was willing to bestow upon her…for there would be no coddling once she left the village for her training; and precious little comfort and support once she joined her Hunting Clan.
For now, though, Grey helped Ijane prepare dinner, which both females really enjoyed. Grey had become an excellent cook since arriving here, and all the females in the village praised her skills in the kitchen, as much as Ijane did her skills in the kehrite. It was another way to bond with her caregiver, and Grey took full advantage of every opportunity she was given to work alongside her in the kitchen.
Ijane, for her part, had come to care deeply for the little ooman, despite her strange quirks and habits, most of which she let slide, deciding that they were simply a part of her being of another species and culture. The child (though according to Luar-ke, she was now around twenty ooman years old, and thus no longer a child) had become almost as a daughter to the former Huntress, and Ijane enjoyed the time they spent together.
She was just thinking these thoughts when the communicator began to buzz, alerting them of an incoming transmission. Quickly washing and drying her hands, she went into the living room and found that it was, unsurprisingly, Kantra.
"Hello, Mother." he said, nodding, and upon seeing Grey entering the room, continued:
"Ah, it is good that I can speak to the both of you at once. I have received a message from Vi'ren. He says that the time has come to begin the infusions."
Upon hearing this, Grey's heart gave a hard thump in her chest, and a sense of anxiety settled over her.
"A-already?" she managed to squeak out. This had been in the back of her mind, always, since the idea had first been introduced, and she'd been nervously awaiting the day when her Yautja doctor would decide that the time had finally come.
"You are, as Mother has informed me, twenty seasons old…in ooman terms, at least. This is the age we agreed upon, and now you have reached that age. Vi'ren has, as you know, continued with your regular examinations, and has decided that this would be the optimal age to begin the process. You are young, healthy, strong, intelligent, and skilled enough, he believes, to handle the infusions with minimal side effects." Kantra said.
"So, when is Vi'ren arriving?" Ijane asked, a touch of apprehension in her voice.
"He is not. The Clan Healer does not have the proper equipment, nor the knowledge, to perform the procedure, nor to properly monitor you afterwards. No; you, Mother, must take Grey to the city of B'shet, and to Vi'ren's personal compound, where he will perform the proceedure and monitor Grey himself."
"What?!" both females said in unison, looking at each other, then at the Arbitrator on the screen.
"When? Where would we stay? How will we get around?" Grey asked, completely floored by this revelation.
"Luar-ke has not set foot beyond the village gates since that fiasco at the Great Temple four years ago; and you wish me to take her to a city full of strangers?" Ijane asked, her voice incredulous.
"I do, Mother, yes. It is the only way this can be accomplished successfully. In any case, Grey cannot remain sheltered in the village forever. It would be good for her to see for herself how we Yautja live outside the Clans." Kantra said.
"But many of them have likely never even seen a living ooman before!" Ijane protested.
"Except when they were Hunting them…" Grey muttered.
"Exactly!" Ijane agreed.
"Grey is, as you know, under my protection, Mother; and even if she were not, she is still a young female, and therefore no honorable Yautja would attempt to do harm."
"Wrong! I've been taught the same Honor Code as you have, Kantra, remember? I've had it repeated to me, backwards and forwards, inside and out, since I started training with Ijane, and I can probably tell you all the laws and loopholes as well as you could tell them to me!" Grey said.
"Our Honor Code has no loopholes, ooman!" Kantra said, sounding personally affronted by the very idea.
"Hell yeah, it does; it this case, at least. The Honor Code says that no honorable Yautja can kill me; which leaves it wide open for any Bad Bloods who happen to be in the city to take my head as a souvenir of their trip. It also says that no honorable Yautja can Hunt and kill me, and make a trophy out of me; but it doesn't say they can't beat the living c'jit out of me and leave me almost dead or permanently incapacitated! They were making those same kinds of threats when I dared to go the Great temple for a few hours; what will they do if I go to one of their cities for a few days? Everyone in the city will line up to kick my ooman ass!" Grey said.
"She has a point, Kantra." Ijane said gravely.
"I will ensure that your…ooman ass…is safe, Grey; I swear an oath to you that you will not be harmed. As far as I am concerned, this is part of your vow to become a Huntress…a vow which you swore to me in front of Elder Yeyinde, if you will remember…"
"I remember…" Grey said.
"Then the matter is settled. You will be going to the city tomorrow." Kantra said, with a definite tone of finality.
"Tomorrow?! I have to ask again: where will we stay, Kantra? You've left me no time to make arrangements for either travel or accommodations!" Ijane said, completely taken aback by the suddenness of the news.
"I have made all the arrangements, Mother. A private automated transport vessel will arrive to collect you tomorrow morning, and it will take you to your temporary apartments. Vi'ren does not know how long you will need to remain in the city, so I paid for an extended stay at very fine and reputable establishment near his dwelling." Kantra explained.
Not seeing any other cause for argument, or perhaps deciding that it was pointless to argue with her son in the first place, Ijane sighed in defeat, and sat back on a cushion.
"I suppose we'll leave tomorrow morning, then?" Grey asked, looking from the Arbitrator on the screen to his mother and back again.