The yaut hound reared up on its hind legs and it's powerful jaws locked onto Keta-ki's arm. The animal could have torn a limb off, but it was not yet fully grown. Keta-ki released her throat with a hiss of pain, and turned on the hound. He beat his fists down on the animal. Zuri tried to get in between them.
"Stop stop, you're hurting him!" She was more concerned with the hound then Keta-ki's bleeding arm.
When Keta-ki stomped down on the hounds front paw, the animal yelped and finally let him go. The hound stood its ground, ready to launch, and growled at Keta-ki. Zuri tried to shield the animal. When Keta-ki moved forward though, the animal attacked, clipping Zuri while trying to get to the yautja. She screeched in pain as the hound knocked her to the ground, its claws digging into her belly.
Keta-ki chased the hound into the basement, grabbed a katana, and then went to go finish the animal off. The hound was too big, and too aggressive. He should never have let her keep one. They were breed for hunting, not companions. Zuri held her wounded midsection and ran down after him. Again, she got in the middle of their fight.
But this time, she gave the hound a command, "Lay down."
The hound instantly obeyed, but Keta-ki raised his weapon, "He hurt you. I will have his hairless pelt on my bed!"
Zuri blocked him, "It was an accident; he was protecting me."
The hound snarled at Keta-ki but made no move to get up. He had given the Hound to her as a gift, and even though he had the authority to take it away, he hesitantly lowered his blade. She was right, the hound was only protecting her. He would feel dishonorable if he took away her gift. He need to destroy something though. Keta-ki's rage was returning full blast.
He grabbed her arm to haul her away from the dangerous hound and stomped upstairs. He shut the basement door, trapping the hound for now. Zuri frowned at him. Keta-ki began to pace. With a final decision, he grabbed the tablet that held the unfinished hologram project, and crushed it in his hands.
He scattered the pieces at her feet, "I won't help you Zuri. I can't. It's against everything I know."
Zuri gaped at the broken pieces, then screamed, "I hate you! I will get to earth on my own! I don't need your help!"
"You have my heart, Zuri. And to that child, you are his whole world, and he will need you. More time is needed for you to move on from Uri, but this was his world, and you can be a part of it." He turned away from her but added, "I won't stop you though. You are free to leave if that is what you truly want."
She seemed indecisive, on the verge of tears but also anger. Keta-ki hoped for the best, but then she swiveled away from him. Zuri flung open the basement door and the hound quickly emerged to take her side. It huffed and grunted at Keta-ki. Then, with the beast at her heels, she headed for the front door.
Kata-ki panicked, "Where are you going?"
"You said I was free to go, so I'm going. Don't wait up."
She slid open the door and walked out. Keta-ki's anger faltered into worry. He stopped the door from sliding closed and watched her walk away. She still had gashes in her stomach that hadn't been healed. She was going to her herself in trouble, and Keta-ki had the urge to follow her, but turned back inside instead. The hound would protect her.
Keta-ki packed her clothes and shoved them in the corner of the bedroom. Hours passed and she still didn't return. He tore up her bed and discarded the pieces. It was midday, when she usually took a nap since yautja days were longer then earths. Still, she didn't come back.
He had expected her to take a walk, cool down, then come right back. When she didn't, he figured that she was searching for that merchant, that smuggler. Still, hours had passed. Zuri should have found him early enough, made a deal, then come home. Finally, he decided to check his account.
Zuri had access to his funds. All she had to do was scan her hand and she could buy whatever she wanted. He found that she had bought food, short-distance travel, and rented out a room. The place she was staying at was still within the city, relatively safe, and allowed pets. Zuri was out on her own, and she was doing just fine without him.
Feeling spiteful, Keta-ki packed her other belongings. Then, he had the jewelry, clothes, and other miscellaneous items delivered to her hotel room. He disposed of the ooman body in his ship. Then, he tried to erase any trace of her from his house. Keta-ki even threw away all the chocolate in his cabinets.
When it grew dark out and the house lights dimmed, he went to bed. Finally, he had all of his soft, valuable furs back to himself. However, he found that they smelled like Zuri. He couldn't sleep. The smell made him ache in ways he'd never felt before.
Keta-ki tried his best to keep track of Zuri without leaving the house. He watched the city's surveillance videos, listened for word of any ooman activity, and checked his account often. He made sure that she couldn't go far by temporarily putting a spending limit on his account. Several days passed. Then, Keta-ki heard the hound scratching at the door.
He paced Meketre back in his crib and sprinted to the door, eager to see Zuri again. He slid open the door to find the young hound sitting in front of him. It hoped up and pushed itself past Keta-ki's legs to get inside. He looked around outside, but Zuri wasn't there. He was more worried about her without the protective hound at her side.
Keta-ki dressed and grabbed his mask, determined to go find her, and make sure she was ok. The hound flopped down in the middle of the room though, seeming relaxed. If Zuri had been attacked the hound would have fought. And if her attacker had gotten away, the hound would have came home and been anxious. Zuri had sent the animal away on purpose.
Keta-ki checked his account, hoping for any clues, but found none. He locked the nursery and commanded the hound to guard the house. Then, Keta-ki set out to the room she'd rented. He asked everyone there about her movements and if shed said anything. When that got him no where, he went to the market.
He asked around, and several vendors said they had seen her. He tracked her down to a vendor with many ooman objects for sale. It had to be the smuggler she'd spoken to. Most of the objects were junk. Keta-ki came up to the table, and eyed the young female.
"Did an ooman female stop to buy anything from you?"
"Identification please." The female chirped.
"I'm not an arbitrator. The ooman was supposed to be in my care." He flashed a hologram ID in front of her, "I need to know where she is."
"Take off your bio mask please." When he complied, she said, "She spoke of you, told me to relay a message."
"Where is she? What did she say?"
"She said: Goodbye Keta-ki. Under better circumstances I would have liked us to be together, as mates. But if you can find me, if you can visit and bring Meketre, I'd like that. I'm sorry."
Keta-ki grabbed the females throat and walked around the table to shove her into the tent with him. "That ooman is important to me. She has a pup. She had family on Earth. If you've set her up, or out her in any danger-"
The female cut him off, remaining calm but clearly agitated, "That was the plan, for her to pay us, then turn her in. She was naive enough to fall for it too, but your account was frozen. She made a different deal, one we intend to honor."
"What deal?"
"Release my throat." She said tensely.
Keta-ki let her go.
"She pointed out the low value of our earthly goods, explaining that some items were mere trash. So we agreed to bring her to Earth if she could procure high quality goods. She agreed, and she is on her earth right now."
Keta-ki let out a fierce roar, but the female did not look effected whatsoever. "Once the clan knows she is missing, they will find her! What goods can she possibly get before then?"
"She is under our protection now. Technology will mask her DNA trace and smell. Jamming technology will prevent any face-recognition scans from matching. No one will find her."
Keta-ki stumbled out of the tent, feeling drowned in mixed emotions. She was safe, and on Earth like she'd wanted. He had wanted her to be happy, so he should have been proud of her. However, he hadn't been the one to help her and, their last hour together hadn't been pleasant. That very fact weighed down his heart.