Translations:

Pauk-fuck

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"Can I at least get up to pee?" He had constantly growled at her to remain in bed and rest for the past week.

Elder K'ash kindly visited when he could. He often berated Scar for his hovering, teasing him of being an early mother.

Rolling her eyes as he growled a 'no', she gently moved her feet over the bed and let her feet skim across the metal floor before jumping fully down. Scar's head snapped up and he turned to growl at her. Shrugging, she slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. Once she was finished, Lex peeked back out to find Scar packing.

"So, what's going to go on when we get there?"

"There the New Blooded will be welcomed home. A ceremony will take place later in that week along with another to honor our fallen brothers and sisters on this trip. You'll need to pack your room and you can stay at my place. I will change the atmosphere for you so it's more comfortable. Our planet is very hot and much more nitrogen-rich than that of your planet. We still have a good amount of oxygen so you should be able to breathe okay but if-"

"Okay, hold on there," Lex laid a hand on his shoulder. His muscles were tense and his back completely straight. "Let's calm down. Why are you so tense Scar? What are you not telling me?"

"Lots Lex. I'm not telling you a lot of things." He fiddled with a piece of cloth before he packed it neatly into a box.

"Then why can't you tell me? I'm here to help you, not hurt you." Scar's dreadlocks shook and rattled as he bowed his head down in thought.

Finally, he stood and began to compile the furs and skulls into bags and boxes to be taken to his home. After returning to the planet, most hunters would empty out their rooms or at least leave minimum supplies inside but Scar preferred to take everything he earned back to his home and start anew on the next hunt.

"Let's go get your things now." Scar moved towards the door and waited for her to follow.

Lex huffed before following him out. They walked in silence to her room where they packed her things. They had unblooded helpers who would, for a small price, come and help move the things from the ship to wherever they needed to go. Scar already ordered three others to help both him and her.

It was only a couple hours later that they landed. A large group was awaiting them when they docked. New Blooded were welcomed home. Those who were lifemates were also welcomed home.

"Come. The unblooded are here," waving them onward, Scar and Lex showed them where their rooms were and what they needed to grab.

Lex left a few furs in her room to keep her load as light as possible while Scar stripped his bare. Moving out, they decided to meet by the left bay doors if they lost each other in the crowd.

"You know what this reminds me of?" All four looked towards her as she continued, "a really bad college move-in, move-out day." Confused, they shrugged off her comment and left the room.

"What is college?" Scar asked suddenly.

"Consider it the years before you get blooded. You go and train or in this case, learn then you get blooded or, again, in this case, get a diploma or whatever." They nodded, understanding a bit more what she had been referring to.

"Did you go to college?"

"Yeah. I studied things like astronomy, geology, and things just dealing with the Earth in general."

"That's why you hike and do expeditions? You like things dealing with nature?" Scar seemed interested in the topic. Lex smiled at that. Just as everything about them fascinated her, everything about her world fascinated them.

"Yeah. I love mountain climbing. What kind of things are here on your planet?"

Scar clicked, seemingly proud about whatever he was about to say.

"We have lots of mountain ranges here but I'm afraid they're not as cold as your planet is."

"You're gonna have to have show me while we're here, okay?" Lex grinned up at him while he eagerly nodded.

Once they had reached the left bay doors, they made sure they had everyone and everything before Scar led the way to his home.

They had paved roads made of white stone while their houses and stores were made of mostly dark metal. According to Scar, this metal helped heat the houses in the winter but kept them cool in the summer, well in their definition of heat and cool. There were lots of trees and vines lining the side of the roads and attached to houses which provided shade along the walkways to keep them cool and not burn their feet. However, Lex still had to wear the leather sandals she had been given by Elder K'ash.

Continuing down the street, one building that never faded out of view was that of a city building. Their Citadel. It was where the high council was to meet with a representative from every clan and conduct trials. Also, things like libraries and archives were found there.

The docking bays were nearby the Citadel but Scar's home was further south in his clan's district. While one could live anywhere, most lived near their clan members since they had to pay tribute through their representative elder in the Citadel.

These elders were different from ship elders. You had the motherships which were conducted by an elder of the clan while the smaller hunting ships conducted by another elder of the same clan. They did this voluntary but they could still go out on a hunt and such but their responsibility lied with running the ship.

The elder could choose to either command the hunting ships or mothership, just stay back at home, or go on a private hunt if they have a private ship like Elder K'ash. Lex didn't quite comprehend all the details but she was sure she'd get used to them over time. Almost four miles from the docking area, they arrived on the street of Scar's home.

"It's small yes but I didn't expect another living resident so soon," Scar explained as he opened the door for them. Once their stuff was in, the unblooded were paid and then they left for whatever.

"That's fine, I guess I should have my own place anyway." Lex walked around looking at the kitchen and living area before seeing the bedrooms.

There was only two and then one bathroom but Lex didn't mind, after all, they had shared a room for quite a few months before she had gotten her own.

"Please stay." Scar stood right behind her, his face buried slightly in her hair as he breathed her in. "Stay. Stay with me."

"Scar, I'm not dependent on you and I shouldn't be. If I'm going to be here, I need to be able to live on my own." She patted his cheek lightly before turning in his arms to move away. He followed her down the hall, determined to convince her.

"Please Lex."

"Scar, we're not even mated. We had one night together. I knew it was temporary… and great but-"

"I do not want pups, Lex. I just want you," she froze in her haste at the familiar words.

Almost the same words he had said the very first night he took her into his room and they showed each other exactly what they felt. They bared their souls to each other and even afterward Lex wasn't sure if he felt the same even when he appeared overprotective or very touchy.

"What if we do take that step? What would that mean for you? Your honor? Your pride? Your rank? We had one night together. It was just one. What would they think now if you made it a more permanent thing?"

Anger tore through him. This wasn't about public opinion and as far as he was concerned, they could stuff their snobby opinions up their asses. But, a feeling of gratefulness conquered the rage, if Lex felt the need to keep his reputation safe, to keep his honor safe, then he was sure he wanted no other by his side.

"Why do you care about their opinion?"

"I don't care. I'm human, their Yuatja. I honestly don't give a pauk about them but I do care if it affects you. I know you've worked hard since I've last seen you. Look at these trophies, Scar," she moved back a curtain of beads to show the room specifically set aside to house his trophies. He had the walls, shelves, and even special cases lined up with many skulls he had collected. "I can't just take that away for selfish reasons. That's not fair."

Scar purred in delight at her words. Naturally, a female checking out their collection sent a surge of pride and hormones racing through their body. A compliment only added to it, but the fact Lex wanted to protect what he had...

"I needed over a thousand gold pounds to get on that ship just to have a ride back to Earth. Unless your unblooded going for a chiva, and this still applies to them, there are selected planets and systems, in general, an inexperienced New Blood like myself can go. Night is very experienced and labeled as Blooded. I believe in a few months that he might become an Honored Blooded, and then have the chance to become an Elder or an Arbitrator." Lex nodded along, taking in the information.

"Jag, Molten and I are still considered New Bloods though we are close enough to be called Young Bloods. New Bloods are after the chiva and that title will last a few years before becoming Young Bloods but we took every hunt and at one point stripped our houses almost bare to get the money to go to Earth." His arms braced each side of her as he pushed her against the wall.

His breath was ragged from his long speech and for a moment she just stared in shock.

"You stripped your house bare to just go to Earth for me?"

"Almost bare, I said almost," clicking in amusement, he snuggled his face into her neck as she laughed.

"Wouldn't they still not allow you on?" Lex happily played with his dreadlocks, more content in knowing it wasn't some freak accident they stumbled across each other again.

"They knew our purpose and Night agreed to supervise us in case we did something stupid which we didn't might I add."

"Except for kidnapping me."

"I don't think that was stupid," he pulled back from her, slightly pouting at her choice of words.

"Sure, sure. Help me unpack my stuff now," waving him forward they headed back to their boxes and bags to settle in.

Once their stuff had been properly put away, Scar led her to his room where he pulled her in for cuddling. Then he began to explain.

While Lex knew a lot about the mating season itself and temporary mates, she knew little on lifemates. When they got into bed together, most of the time it would be a sign of temporary mating, but it could also end up being a life mating. Many took many temporary mates, but for life mating, it would have to be just the two of them and no other mates involved. Life mating usually occurred before or after the mating season. Very rarely during.

Like most things in their culture, there are rituals to be done.

"What kind of ritual? Like what do we have to do?"

"We first have to do some government things such as papers and stuff that let them know my stuff is yours and yours mine, in case one of us die. Just because it's in my name and we are mated doesn't mean it won't go to you if I pass on or vice versa."

"So its an insurance type thing."

He wasn't quite familiar with the term but nodded.

"My kind also live longer than yours, much longer, and there are a few things we can do to ensure you do as well. Then finally, the actual ritual is much like just mating but it requires a few things." Scar looked away for a moment, mandibles clicking in his discomfort. "A new marking just like…" He struggled, but Lex smiled his way.

"I think I get the gist of it. Life mating requires some paperwork and like gaining a new rank, you gain a new marking."

"Close," Scar purred her way, always proud of her understanding of his culture. "When you gain a new rank, they add to your previous mark rather give you a new one, but with life mating, you get an entirely new mark. Usually on the arm or shoulder."

"Hmmm. I get it." Lex peeked over her shoulder. "We should probably figure something out about our stuff rather than shove it where it can fit."

"Perhaps finding a bigger home. We may have enough between both of us." Scar still held most of the money, but Lex had begun to accumulate a nice pouch on her journey over.

"So I can have my own trophy room?" Scar purred at the thought.

"Sei-i. That way I can admire them." She grinned at the thought before sliding from the bed.

"Well, since you're all set, why don't I take a proper look inside?" Lex cheekily slipped past the beads and into his trophy rooms. Scar just a fraction of a second behind her.

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If I missed anything that you'd like translated please PM me and I'll fix that ASAP.