Translations:

Sain'ja: warrior

Sei-i: yes

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A knock awoke her and with a grumble, Lex turned around to go back to her dreamless sleep but the beeping continued. Then, it grew silent.

With a happy sigh, she returned to her sleep. But all too soon a continuous and annoying banging rattled her eardrums. Lex growled lowly in her throat and got off her bed to stomp over to the door.

"Finally! I thought the little sain'ja would never get out of bed! Hurry or else we'll miss the ship." Scar crossed his arms and grinned. "How do you say it..." He was thoughtful for a moment before grinning once again," yes! I believe you are having a bad hair day."

Chuckling, he stepped out of the room to give her privacy.

Red from fury and embarrassment, Lex hopped in the shower before dressing and grabbing her bag. Lex cooled down before stepping out, composed and calm per usual.

"Let's just go." Before he could open his mouth, Lex beat him to it, "not another word before I change my mind and ditch you to go back to bed."

That officially shut him up and they walked to the ship in silence. Once aboard, Scar maneuvered them out of the hanger. This shop was much bigger than the small pod she had once been on.

"This is Elder K'ash's ship. Once he heard of our plans, he insisted on me taking the ship for us."

"That's very nice of him. He didn't have to do that."

Scar clicked in slight amusement, "he considers you like a daughter and refused to have you hunt in one of those, as he put it, 'so sinful Paya would cry pods'."

"His exact words?"

"Sei-i." Lex laughed at that and settled into her seat.

"So, where are we going?"

"Well, we have to stay close by and we agreed to a one to two-day trip, so I thought we'd go back to the planet with the Gra'lin-chi. Same region too." Lex relaxed at that.

Somewhere much more familiar seemed nice. They even had mountains in the region so she may get a chance to go climbing again.

"So, what will be hunting or are we just winging it?"

"I thought we'd hunt what we like. They have some Lemanachi which could be described as a large lemur." Lex listened in complete fascination as he described the creatures they could hunt.

All the while, Scar kept his focus on navigating the ship into the atmosphere and kept a lookout for a nice cove where they could settle.

"Will we stay with the ship or head off to find a camp elsewhere like last time?"

"Preferably stay near the ship. Since we have it, we might as well use it." The ship hovered above the large rapids before it slipped gently into the large enclosed cove. "These ships are really expensive as well as advanced so they can land or even go underwater. It seems good enough to camp out here, does it not?"

"Yeah, it seems tactical." Lex nodded in approval.

The cove would provide shelter and a defense against animals that might get too curious about the new camp.

They settled down and began to prepare for a trip to the nearby mountains. The mountains were strange because on one side they had jungles that began to slowly climb in elevation however, on the other side the mountain appeared cut in half. It dropped right into a desert.

Thick jungle vines blocked their path and made it difficult for the duo to slice their way on through. They had landed late in the afternoon and the evening chill was creeping upon them at a very fast rate.

"Hey, Scar?"

"Sei-i?"

"How do I turn up the temperature for my netting? I didn't need to before so I haven't messed with the controls..." Scar clicked in slight amusement.

Coming behind her, he leaned over her shoulder so they both could look at her gauntlet. He pointed out the buttons and their meaning and turned the temperature up. Usually, the netting kept the person's body temperature it's normal rate, however, one could always change the netting to put out a certain degree of heat.

"Better?"

"Sei-i. Thank you." Scar nodded before taking the lead again to chop away the vines. Lex stayed a few steps behind, slightly flustered.

Something's up. He seems very... Touchy lately...

Shaking her thoughts away, Lex kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything suspicious. Once night fell, she equipped her mask and changed the setting to thermal to see better. Other than a few animals moving about, nothing seemed dangerous to them.

"Lex," Scar purred softly into the night.

Looking ahead, she noticed they had finally arrived. Scar stood waiting at the base of the mountain where they'd climb to a greater altitude.

She nodded before beginning their ascent. Night fell over them as they reached the cave. They had to belly crawl to get in but once inside the ceiling opened up and the whole area expanded into a nice living space.

"Rest and we'll hunt tomorrow." They settled on opposite sides of the cave for the night.

Lex woke to the sun barely slithering in from the entrance. Stretching, she got up to go to the back of the cave. Scar had explained yesterday that there was a small passageway to a private spring. The heat radiated through the corridor and with welcoming arms welcomed Lex into their warm waters. Soaking in peaceful silence, Lex took the time to let her thoughts wander.

Miana... What have you been up to? Are you angry with me? Are doing okay? Have you ever tried to contact me once? Or are you still hi-

"Lex? We must hurry, with dawn approaching the Lemanachi will be awakening and moving around."

"I know. I'm coming." Getting up and getting dressed, Lex hurriedly squeezed herself back through the passageway and to the main room.

Following Scar up the mountain, they waited on a steep cliff. Birds chirped before flying off and smaller animals pranced around the jungle grounds.

Lex laid comfortably in between some rocks while Scar kept a diligent eye. They had been waiting for a good few hours. They switched every now and then for one to rest their eyes while the other searched.

"Lex!" His hush whisper startled her.

Without hesitation, Lex crouched beside him. Scar almost purred at her quickness.

The birds had stopped chirping and the small animals had grown silent.

A snap alerted the duo that something large moved just below them. With their masks equipped and thermal scans on, they found the Lemanachi slowly moving along the floor. It was stealthily sneaking about while looking for prey. Little did it know, it had its own predators watching it.

Signaling Lex to stay above, Scar carefully made his way down the rocky path. A few times he stopped when rocks slid down with him, possibly drawing attention. However, the Lemanachi didn't seem to care or notice as it continued to sweep along the floor. Finally, Scar landed on the ground and had moved to hide near some bushes. Nodding in her general direction, Scar cloaked himself and Lex did as well.

Crawling over the rocks, Lex laid flat on her belly, ready to launch herself into the action below. Scar approached with caution. She tensed in anticipation.

It all happened so fast. One minute Scar pounced and the next she was rolling down the hill.

Pain exploded in her left side as she hit the jagged wall before landing in a heap on the ground. Darkness crept on her vision but she quickly shook it away and stood on unsteady legs.

A mixture of roars occurred and a shadowy figure towered over her. A second Lemanachi stood on its hind legs as its front paws came forward to slash at her skin. Jumping back in shock, Lex tripped and rolled off to the side.

Once on her feet again, Lex looked over to see Scar fighting his own battle with another Lemanachi, not the one they had spotted earlier. His left arm gushed neon green that splattered sickening patterns on the ground.

Growling lowly, Lex's gaze settled upon the new arrival. Silently chastising herself for being so foolish and so focused on the target in front of her she didn't keep in check with her surroundings, she pulled out her ki'cti-pa. The blades extended with a click as she slightly dragged herself forward and into a crouch.

Her left leg wobbled under the pressure and her left arm shook with the effort it took to hold up her weapon.

The Lemanachi growled before running up and going in for the kill. It's razor-sharp canines aimed for her jugular. Gripping the spear tightly, Lex braced herself as she barely missed the deadly sharp fangs and embedded her spear deep in the furry side of the creature.

Pulling it out, Lex ducked a swipe towards her head and jumped a few feet back. Scar's roar of victory echoed through the clearing but then it went silent.

A second roar followed. Another Lemanachi, or perhaps the one they had been hunting finally returned.

Fear pumped in her veins as she ignored the urge to check on him. Determined to end the fight much more quickly, Lex took a risk and charged forward.

The Lemanachi sprang into action, ready for a meal.