Translations:
Kv'var - Hunt
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Lex moved, unseen, through the suburb just outside of town. The typical white fences with a few kids playing in the street were just what Miana's aunt would like. She had been traditional or as Miana liked to put it, 'traditionally mean'. She despised Lex's influence on the younger girl about thriller adventures via mountain climbing or cave diving.
Scar stayed close, easily tense by the strange surroundings. She knew he had never seen such a community before and despite similar things on his planet, this was just more chaotic. Usually, supervisors kept children in playful but meaningful activities. Such things as 'hide and seek' or 'tag' did not appeal to him.
"I am… to say the least… confused." And he sounded like it too.
"These aren't the types of games you'd find back home but these games can be just as meaningful you know." Lex led him to a yard so they could quietly watch a game of 'capture the flag'. "When you're young, you don't quite understand how these games can help, much like not realizing the morals to a story yet, you still subconsciously take it all in."
"Tell me the rules to this game." The kids broke off from their individual huddles. They had been strategizing, obviously competitive over the game.
"It's simple. You have two or more teams, though it's usually just two. Each team will hide their flag and they must guard it from the other team while trying to capture the other team's flag. Whoever manages to grab the flag and bring it back to their base wins. I know several versions of this game, all different but similar. Some will require teamwork like here but in other versions, each player must rely on him or herself." They watched a bit more before Lex moved further down the street, deeper into the neighborhood.
"What is the point of dress up?" Scar pulled Lex to a stop to examine several girls having a tea party.
They looked to be very young, six years of age, their parents watching closely while having their own conversation. Suddenly, a young boy came running out, barely four years old, from the house. The girls pulled up a chair and gave him a plate with two cookies on it. He ate them happily while the 'princesses' of the party talked in 'polite manner'.
"Creativity and imagination. They dress the part as best as they can and try to pretend to be princesses. Your culture is all about hunting and innovation. Here, we take pride in a multitude of things, tea parties would be one of them." Lex took his hand in hers, leading him further away. He let her, still appalled but highly curious about such things.
They passed many houses, some busy and others looking silent. Finally, a light blue painted house appeared on the corner on one of the many streets. A red SUV sat in front but no familiar black truck.
Circling, the television could be seen playing by one of the back windows. Miana's aunt sat there, invested in some HGTV. A normal occurrence but the missing truck wasn't. While it still was plausible Miana had just left for a while, Lex sensed she hadn't been home for a long time.
Scaling the back wall, they snuck into an unlocked window. The study had been recently dusted and the books left untouched on the bookshelf by the way they sagged. Lex passed through the entryway to the hallway. No one was on the upper floor, so they headed to Miana's room at the end.
Scar stood to watch outside, leaving his mate to investigate. The room had collected loads of dust like no one had even bothered to at least open the door. Her only window was locked tight and curtains were drawn, leaving the inside to rot.
"Miana hasn't been here in a while," Lex's voice dropped low, small despair closing in on her heart.
But, Scar rested a hand on her head, comforting Lex in the only way he knew how. Touch. He brought her close to his chest for a small hug before releasing her and leading her out of the house.
They camped in a large oak tree a few houses away. The sun kept high in the sky and children were heard playing and laughing in a few places. Most had gone inside, tired and hungry from their play.
"I know another place. Let's go." Lex stood suddenly, jumping out of the tree and running ahead. Scar took his time, easily catching up and keeping pace. The suburb was left far behind the two as they headed towards town, met by bustling people.
They took to the roofs, moving fast under the sun yet completely hidden from the public eye. After some time, they came across what first looked to be a nature reserve in the middle of a concrete wilderness. Upon closer inspection, a little Japanese style house sat in the middle but Lex corrected Scar's thinking.
"It's a dojo. I mean, it's his house too but he teaches martial arts to kids and stuff. Miana learned her sword fighting from him." Lex pointed to a few students leaving the dojo, regular clothes on while their proper uniforms were packed away in their bags.
"Should we wait?" He surveyed the area, eyeing pedestrians everywhere.
"I need regular clothes. I can't talk to him dressed like this." Scar nodded his agreement and they left for a nearby store. Once the sun went down, the snuck in and stole some clothes for her to wear.
Lex dressed quickly in an alleyway, Scar shielding her. Luckily, no one noticed them or wandered toward them. Once dressed, Lex walked casually towards the closing dojo, opening the sliding door with caution.
Scar stayed close, his heat radiating on her back. As much as she preferred him to be hiding away, Lex needed comfort.
"Are you a friend or foe?" His back, hunched as he bent down, was turned to them.
"So long as Miana calls you friend, then so shall I." When he turned, mostly in shock, Lex bowed in respect.
"We believed you to be dead. They came for her and with no contact, we both assumed the worst." The man sat down on the steps to the upper platform. His cane laid next to him, one hand on the excellently crafted tiger head.
"They came? Like they chased her out of her home?!" He nodded, confirming her worst fears.
"I am glad to see you okay. Miana hasn't been here in over six months. Knowing you two are so alike, I am sure you will find her in the places only you know. She had Beanie with her too." The man stood then, gripping his cane as he hobbled down the steps.
"What did they do?" Lex stepped forward to stand closer to the man, Scar followed her movement. His heat continued to radiate on her back and if the older man noticed, he did not say.
"I'm not sure. However," he led her to sit beside him on the bottom steps. "She came running here. I hid her under my floorboards, made up a little story about how she left her dog here with me. They searched for her but did not come close to finding her. After a few weeks, she took Beanie and the bags she had and left. No contact. Nothing."
"Thank you, Master." Lex bowed her head before standing.
Scar followed but stopped to examine an unrolled scroll on the wall. A female warrior stood, posed for battle in simple, traditional Japanese garments. Small children stood hidden behind her, looking dirty and frightened but some looked up at the woman in awe. Lex also noticed his sudden interest and stopped as well.
"I had that commissioned. A protector of children. The youth are important, it is why I do what I do. They are the new generation filled with inspiration and plans of a better world. However, the world is treacherous and so they must learn to fight and protect not only themselves but the ones they hold dear." The master of the dojo smiled kindly, a strange look in his eye.
Lex felt Scar shift, something the elder spoke of resonated with him. He shifted closer, laying a hand on her shoulder, communicating silently. Lex couldn't understand, so she returned her focus to the elder.
"It looks like Miana."
"Blunt as always, Lex. Yes, I made sure it did. She always liked the little ones and enjoyed teaching them the things I taught her. Like you, she is a fighter, a brave warrior in modern society. Survivors of an unspoken horror, risen from the grief to conquer and save the weak." He came to stand next to her, admiring the ancient-looking painting. "I was tough on her, as you know, but I do love her and hope she is safe."
Lex couldn't say anything to that, so she led Scar outside without a goodbye. They walked back to the ship, Lex not bothering to change her clothes or camouflage.
Scar filled the others in while Lex showered and changed. When she joined them for dinner, Night and Scar were in a quirky debate about how 'hide and seek' were important for children.
"It's just a game, you two. It's like that game where the children are chasing one child. Not sure what you call it but it's like just opposite." She picked some fruit, munching as she filled her plate. Jag rolled his eyes, finding the entire conversation stupid.
"Kv'var. The children do something similar to… pulling sticks and as you would, the person with the shortest one must be the prey. The other hunters." Molten spoke up, idly eating his food while picking fruits off of Jag's. It enraged the green predator but before he could retort, Celtic spoke.
"How is this 'hide and seek' the same as our game back home?" Celtic stayed quiet on most of the trip, preferring solitude.
However, in the few exchanges Lex has had with him, he had been polite but apologetic for the situation. Well, more like ashamed. Yet, no one here on the ship had anything negative towards him.
"It's the opposite really. One child must find the rest. Those who hide well enough and can last without being caught by the seeker will win but those who are caught first will be the seeker next. It's all about how good you can hide or stay uncaptured, really. It's…" She thought a moment, joining them at the table.
Everyone waited for her analogy that would either explain everything or nothing at all.
"It's like one predator finding multiple prey versus a hunting group tracking one prey. Same goes for 'tag', one person must be able to chase down, either by being faster or cornering, those who need to run." She bit into her cooked meat, chewing and watching their expressions.
"Interesting." Night leaned back in his chair, thinking. Nothing more had been said on the matter.
Lex left for her bedroom, joined by Scar shortly after nesting down. He joined her on the furs, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close. She let him, welcoming his embrace.
"We will find her. I assure you." His words mumbled out into her hair.
"Oh, I believe that. I'm just not sure whether she'll kick my ass when we find her. Hell, she'll probably kick all our asses." Scar chuckled, that strange clicking sound filling the room.
Lex found it weird but humorous at first. Now, she found it kind of cute but saying that to his face would just poke at his ego. Instead, she remained quiet, letting him laugh for a good bit before he settled for sleep.
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8/2/19: I love you all and your patience. I'm working my ass off to edit what I have and write the rest, then begin posting again. I'm fucking excited here!
For reference, I began this… when? 2016? I was in high school at the time I was writing this and Substitute Queen and I'm about to graduate college! I do plan to create more predator and alien stuff.
I'm sure I talked about it but I'm going to tell you it all over again.
Predator Stuff (a lot came from dreams XD):
"My Princess" - one of the ideas from a dream where another alien species invades Earth and some preds are just chilling in the middle of it all…
"Enslavement" - another weird-ass dream that focuses more on how the clans with slaves work and their view (sort of) of… wait, that's a spoiler for upcoming chapters, but you'll see!
"Life Mates" - I believe I titled it My Ooman, but basically a pred crashes on Earth and gets help from a human and they fall in love and obviously there's lots of sex and lovey-dovey shit that makes me happy and… something else. You honestly can't be a part of this fandom without gleefully accepting interspecies sex, okay? Okay.
"This is…" - I've talked about this one before about the Yautja hybrid and stuff. I'll prob do this one next since I'm about 1/3 - 1/2 way through with it.
Alien Stuff:
The Prompt based one - this is the one with the xeno bonding with its host that survived and talks more about the xenos and Yautja relationship - lots of child PTSD here and as a Neuroscience major, I'm gonna love writing it. Love psychology in my writing. I go nuts with it.