Garnet is also known for its utilization of creative energy. It grounds spirit forces within the body and helps in the ability to work lovingly on the physical plane. Yet Garnet is a sensual stone. It represents primordial fire, the creation of the world out of chaos, purification and love. It is a stone of strong, intense feelings.

(Crystal Encyclopedia)

Chaper Six: Garnet

After slowing her breath down to a controlled and even rhythm, Vayuh'ta wiped the sweat from her brow before stretching her body out. When she felt relaxed enough, she began to unwrap the protective cloth from her hands and feet, her mind focused as she carried out each task meticulously.

She intended on doing her absolute best in the pre-trial the following morning so her father would see her training with him paid off immensely. She wanted him to watch her closely as she bested the others she had been training alongside with as they all prepared to become blooded warriors. Her eyes strayed to her partners and studied them intently as they sparred with one another.

Hu'sta and Tan'kah were essentially her childhood friends; despite their differences, they got along quite well to the surprise of the other Yautja in their little makeshift community. She didn't remember how their oddball friendship came to be, but it was much welcomed as she learned a good portion of Yautja values from them.

While others in their community felt she was a lost cause, Hu'sta and Tan'kah pushed her to become better, believing she possessed potential. Just like her father did when raising her. With them, she was never treated simply as a human, but as an equal.

Vayuh'ta often wondered how much fortune smiled down upon her for her life to be this way.

As Hu'sta pinned Tan'kah down, Vayuh'ta wandered over to the pair.

"Do you submit brother?" Hu'sta asked cockily as he put more pressure into Tan'kah's shoulder blade, earning a frustrated roar from the other.

"I submit," he ground out, pride wounded slightly as Hu'sta released him. "I need my arm functioning for tomorrow..."

"You are still swinging a little too wide Tan'kah," Vayuh'ta noted as she replayed the fight in her head, analyzing all the movements made. "You need to keep your footing firm, I noticed you keep lifting your hips in an effort to put more power into your punch."

"Silence Vayuh'ta," he growled in irritation, rotating his shoulder to stretch it out. Hu'sta put an arm around her cheerfully as they watched Tan'kah get to his feet.

"You should take advice from younger sister here, she may be onto something," he said while shaking her shoulder in a brotherly gesture. Brushing him off with a laugh, Vayuh'ta went to Tan'kah and lightly punched his arm as if to cheer him up.

"You are a good warrior Tan'kah, however your carelessness will potentially cost us on the chiva. We must succeed as failure is not an option," she said as determination washed over her. The two brothers shared a knowing look and proceeded to stretch out completely, their sparring session ending for the day.

"Vayuh'ta, you must be very eager to become a blooded warrior," Hu'sta said carefully, intrigued at the passion burning in her eyes. "You have always taken training seriously, but today is different. A fire burns within you and fuels your every action. What has gotten you so riled?"

Casting a smile in his direction, the youth stretched her arms in front of her,"We are so close, brothers. I will show them all just what I made of… That I am not some weak lou-dte kale like the others see me as," she trailed off, clenching her fists before lowering them to her sides. "I will show them that Father made a wise decision to train me and raise me as his own."

Both males felt a shiver run down their spines as the darkness in her tone deepened at the mention of their brethren looking down on her. She was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Without another word to them, Vayuh'ta walked away and left them to their thoughts.

Lilia had been fiddling with her violin when she heard Vayuh'ta loudly enter from the side door. Twisting the tuning pegs while lightly picking at each string to ensure they were in key, she frowned upon discovering that one string was giving her problems. "Hey Vayuh'ta, you're back early. There's stew on the fire if you are hungry."

Listening to the other female shuffle about before sitting across from her, the smell of meat assaulted her nostrils, confirming she had taken her offer.

"While training more would have been benefactory, it is also important to rest instead of wearing the body out the day before," Vayuh'ta responded simply before taking a spoonful of stew into her mouth.

"It's 'beneficial' Vayuh'ta," Lilia corrected with a small smile,"I suppose you are right. Do you feel ready?"

"I have been ready for a long time now," the brown haired girl said with a mouth full of food,"How did you manage to make this anyways? It is not great, but not bad either."

"I honestly struggled to put it together, but I suppose I had a little help as everything was laid out for me. It wasn't easy but! Baby steps I guess," she began before setting the violin down on the table, having given up on tuning the last string as it was difficult to converse and listen for the right key at the same time. Out of nowhere, the need to satisfy her curiosity surfaced as the question sat heavily in her mouth. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly blurted it out.

"Do you remember your human family Vayuh'ta?"

When Lilia thought about it, Vayuh'ta never really spoke much about her past other than the culture she was raised in. She was never one to pry, but she felt that their relationship was becoming more open.

Vayuh'ta paused and Lilia could sense the unease from her question.

"You know what? Never mind, I'm sorry for pry-"

"I was really young… I believe I was what the oomans call a toddler, so my memory was not fully developed yet. I was very fortunate that Father found me when he did. Supposedly I was the last survivor in my family after a strange and new type of kiande amedha tore through the town I was born in," she said before finishing her food off noisily. Furrowing her brow, Lilia mulled over the words as she heard this term mentioned before.

"I have a vague understanding of what this… kiande amedha is. But I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet…"

"The kiande amedha are fierce prey…" Vayuh'ta explained in detail every aspect of what she knew about the vicious creatures and Lilia listened closely, absorbing all the knowledge the other had to offer. She began to paint a picture in her head about what the creature looked like based on the explanation and she felt her heart skip a beat. Why was the image coming to mind so terrifying?

"In any case, I will be the first to become blooded, just you wait! The kiande amedha are no match for me!" Vayuh'ta exclaimed heatedly, and Lilia was momentarily pulled away from her dark thoughts.

"I'll be rooting for you then Vayuh'ta!" Lilia cheered, offering whatever support she could muster while trying to bury the disturbing image that came to mind.

"I wish that you could somehow witness my rise to glory as well Lilia… This world is nothing like the world you grew up in. Everything here is so different… I feel as if you would thrive if given the chance. I hope your eyesight returns to you soon. In some ways though that might not be a good thing! Then you would see how truly splendid Father is, but it is not as if you could compete with me," she rambled on, catching Lilia's attention at the mention of A'thael.

"What does your father look like Vayuh'ta? My imagination cannot begin to even make out what he looks like…" she trailed off thoughtfully, attempting to piece together some sort of image from what she picked up from the brief moments of contact.

"Ah… That is a secret! If you really want to know that bad, get your eyesight back as soon as possible 'kay?" Vayuh'ta giggled and reached over to ruffle Lilia's hair. At the action, the smell of sweat and dirt invaded her nose, immediately making her recoil.

"Vayuh'ta you stink! You need a bath badly," she said, pinching her nose shut in an exaggerated motion to annoy her companion.

"You do not smell pleasant yourself you know!" the other girl cheekily responded."Shall we go bathe?"

Feeling the steam caress her exposed flesh before gingerly stepping into the water, she held onto one of the nearby rocks as she secured her footing. From what she was told, it was better to stay around the edges as the center was deep for her height, so she moved a few rocks over until she found a spot she was comfortable with.

Submerging herself shoulder deep into the hot water, Lilia released a content sigh. Nothing felt quite as soothing as a hot bath after a long day. Though cooking was by no means difficult for most people, it was a struggle for her as she painstakingly carried out each task so as not to lose a finger or two.

Hearing Vayuh'ta slip into the water as well, she leaned back against the rocks of the little outdoor hot spring that was behind the house. She learned from Vayuh'ta that A'thael specifically chose this location due to the presence of it; after all, it was rare to find a natural heated water pool among the various habitable planets that didn't scald the skin. Nonetheless, she was grateful in that moment as she felt the warmth seep into her muscles and bones.

"Tell me more about your life on Earth," Vayuh'ta suddenly asked as she languidly swam around the center of the spring. Taken aback by the sudden question, Lilia sank into the water until it touched her chin. She supposed this stemmed from her own question earlier and felt obligated to respond.

"As I've told you before, it was nothing special… Aside from my childhood, my years spent with my foster parents were absolutely miserable… I'd rather not really recall to be honest."

"Why? Were they terrible?"

"Aside from the various beatings, verbal abuse, and intellectual suppression, they used me for the sole purpose of playing my violin. It was initially an outlet you know? Kind of how you view training as a form of release… But once they discovered how 'gifted' I supposedly was, they began to profit from it," she mused with a frown. "It's kind of annoying, but in some ways I can't really bring myself to hate them completely."

"If I were in your shoes, I would have put them in their place. I absolutely hate others like that…" Vayuh'ta grumbled and Lilia could tell that she was frustrated by her tone. She couldn't help but smile at the display of irritation as she had such a vibrant personality.

"I know you wouldn't have… But the rules are different on Earth. You can't just go around physically fighting everyone you disagree with. Anyways... I'm kinda grateful y'know? Despite that they treated me so horribly, they still put a roof over my head, put food in my belly, and kept me alive when I surely wouldn't have been able to survive on my own. I don't know why they chose me, but I was 'lucky' if that makes sense."

She could tell Vayuh'ta didn't understand her completely, but knew well enough what she was getting at. It was the gift of life provided to them both under different circumstances. Having fallen silent, Lilia wondered if she was talking too much and was about to say something before Vayuh'ta suddenly spoke up once more.

"Answer me honestly… Do you ever think you will be able to see again?"

It was a fair question, something Lilia began thinking about quite often after their run in with the shaman.

"I have thought about it a lot… Believe me, at this point I do wish to regain my eyesight. It's just a matter of when and how… I don't really know what to do. We've talked about the potential underlying reason, but talking about it didn't really seem to help. So I don't know…" Pushing herself upright once more to cool herself down a little, she listened to Vayuh'ta stop near her as she took a seat on one of the rocks.

As the conversation died, Lilia heard the water being disturbed across from them and suddenly realized that A'thael had joined them, causing her to tense in apprehension. Alien species or not, he was still male and that was more than enough to make her feel vulnerable.

"Father!" Vayuh'ta happily chirped and swam towards him as he walked through the water with ease.

"Pup. Ooman," he said curtly, moving the water around him with moderate force as it sounded like he submerged himself fully before resurfacing with a series of pleased trills. Shrinking into the water so as to make herself seem small and less visible, Lilia ran various scenarios in her head on how to get out of the situation as soon as possible.

It was humiliating enough that he had seen her naked once when she was auctioned off, but a second, possibly third time? The more she thought about it, the antsier she felt. Vayuh'ta and him began to converse when she decided to start slowly inching herself to the nearest edge to exit.

From where she was, she could feel a pile of rocks and dirt raised behind her, just her luck. The cloth she used as a towel was somewhere nearby, it was just a matter of how far she set it away from the water.

"Lilia? Where are you going? Are you done already?" Vayuh'ta questioned and Lilia cursed her inability to be stealthy. Trying to play it cool, she put a hand to her head and laughed nervously,"Ah, I'm just moving around a little bit..."

It was hard to gather her bearings in the water as she tried to navigate her way out, but the motion in the hot spring told her he somewhere near her based on the small strong waves he made when moving.

"Are you overheating ooman? You look rather flushed," he said as she ended up bumping into him, causing her to turn a deeper shade of red as she pressed her hands against her chest. He was examining her, she could feel practically feel his eyes scanning her.

Without warning, a strange but pleasant smell faintly wafted around her; it was soft, a little spicy, yet musky all together. It reminded her of sandalwood, and it was odd that she found herself attracted to it as she was never really fond of the scent. It was even almost arousing as it washed over her senses, completely drowning out the mild scent of the hot spring itself.

Realizing it was emitting from A'thael, she pushed herself away from him with vigor. As she began to pull herself out of the water, she felt him move behind her, causing her anxiety to soar. Perhaps the heat was getting to her after all.

"Y-Yes! I think I am overheating, I'm getting out no-" feeling her foot slide on the wet surface of the stone, she tried to regain her balance but to no avail. Falling to her side with a soft thud, she groaned in pain as she took a moment to collect herself.

"Lilia! Are you okay?!" she heard Vayuh'ta cry out as she sat up slowly, her calves still slightly submerged in the water. Suddenly a stinging sensation emitted from her inner side of her left calf and she realized she must have cut it when slipping. Before she could bring herself to her feet once more, she froze when she felt a large hand wrap around her leg.

"You need to be more careful, ooman. You keep hurting yourself faster than we can fix you," A'thael mused as he pulled her closer to the edge to get a better look at the wound. Unexpectedly, she felt him go rigid which caused another bout of self consciousness at the close proximity they shared. Feeling his breath fan across her leg before something wet and warm grazed across her cut, she shivered as she noted the texture of his tongue.

Something about this action was very strange and wrong, but for some reason she felt a spark inside that she never felt before. Vaguely hearing the obscenities shouted by Vayuh'ta in the background, she broke out of her trance when she felt A'thael roughly jerk her body closer to him. As he frantically flipped her onto her stomach, the musky smell from earlier intensified and to her horror, discovered that the male was aroused when something rock hard hit her thigh.

Oh God… What do I do? she thought as she found herself drowning in his scent. This was happening too fast and her mind was reeling from the sensory overload. Before she could dwell on the matter further, Vayuh'ta came to her rescue by attacking A'thael. Feeling the pressure of his hands on her hips and back disappear followed by a series of roars as well as battle cries, she scrambled out of the water once more. It did not sound like a good fight and as soon as it started, the tussle came to an abrupt end.

"Father, what the pauk! What do you think you are doing?! You are acting like a Young Blood who hasn't had a good pauking in a long time! She's my living trophy, not yours!" the girl shrieked fiercely at the male. "How could you do this to me?!"

"Vayuh'ta it's my fault, I-"

"Shut up Lilia!"

Wincing at her sharpness in her command, the raven-haired girl lowered her head in defeat. She was too angry to be reasoned with right now and for some reason, she detected hurt in her tone. Lilia had her suspicions, but was beginning to understand the other girl's fierce loyalty to the male. She wasn't entirely sure if she was right, but it was becoming more apparent that Vayuh'ta craved something more than just a parent-child relationship.

"Ugh! Pauk this. I'm going to bed," and with that, the other female stomped away furiously.

Hearing A'thael collect himself with a growl, she covered her ears as she heard him roar once more. "Who does that pauking pup think she is!"

It sounded like he punched something near him based on the loud noise she heard. To her relief he ended up storming away and as his footsteps faded, she suddenly found herself alone.

She felt very lost and confused, yet the heat emitting from her very core bothered her to no end as her body begged for release. Having been sexually repressed since she was a child, she had absolutely no idea of what was happening and what to actually do about it. She understood reproduction, but beyond the basics the very concept of pleasure was foreign. Wrapping her arms around herself, she began to shake violently as tears streamed down her cheeks.

What do I do now…?

Note: This was stupid hard to write for some reason… Pardon this set up chapter and writer's block for the past month, but better things are to come. Thank you for the reviews and support as always. Please continue to let me know what you think!

Until next time…

Terms Utilized

If any mistakes are made with any of the terms, please don't hesitate to correct me.

Kiande amedha: hard meat (Xenomorphs)

Pauk(ing): fuck(ing)