Miana sat among the masses in the Citadel. She perched herself on the base of a column, not even trying to pay attention. At first, she had perked up at the words she knew, but they were far and few in between the ones she didn't and the fast speech.
Lex and Scar had not shown, most likely not invited because of their low ranking compared to the elders and arbitrators that filled the space.
A sudden cheer of roars echoed around her. The masses parted, letting through the newly ranked elders and arbitrators.
Miana caught Abba's armor, distinct by the silver, black and gold design. Overall, the black contrasted against his pale skin tones while the silver and gold stood out at the edges of mixing swirls. This had been ceremonious armor, newly made for the occasion. She doubted she would see it again after this.
It had been a week, Earth time, of being on this strange planet. Beanie sat by her side, well behaved so far. He kept close, wary and growling at all the people but settled down after some time. No one paid her any attention the entire time.
Of course, her incognito state shattered as Abba broke from the group. The people in front of her parted, unblocking the view. Beanie wagged his tail, coming up just below his knee to greet him.
"Come." He patted the dog's head quickly as he waited for Miana to stand.
She followed behind him, a hand gripping her dog's collar to keep him close. Her gut knotted, hands trembling.
Many sneered at her, some growling, but no one stepped forward or objected. The group of other newly ranked waited. They too growled, but no one objected.
Va'rak watched in curiosity but continued forward as the group trailed behind.
Abba retook his spot in the middle, Miana and Beanie close by.
They headed out into the open air where another crowd cheered at the newly ranked. The arbitrators stepped forward, kneeling to receive the addings to their marks separating them from the others. A simple line had been added with an arrow.
Miana took this time to take a step or two back, dragging Beanie with her. Instead of in the center, she positioned herself behind them, hidden. She was sure Lex and Scar would be among the crowd.
With Beanie trailing, she shimmied along the wall until she finally reached the double doors on the other side. The two guards stationed didn't move for a moment but one finally reached out to creak open the door. No one heard or paid attention as she slipped away.
After several occasions of getting lost, Miana made her way out to the crowd and began her search. No Lex or Scar to be seen but Molten, a friend of Lex's, found her. They wandered out of the crowd and down to the market where he needed food and even bought her some apple looking fruits.
"Thank you." She took a bite, finding its skin to be a little tough but once through, the juices inside were far better than any apple she ever had.
"Sure." Molten patted her head, his mandibles twitching slightly.
She immediately swatted his hand away, shaking her fist at him. Molten easily laughed her off by her smaller size, even daring to ruffle her hair. This only angered her.
Beanie jumped up then, trying to nip at his arm. He laughed and petted the dog's head, which immediately made the dog a lot happier. Her dog never failed to want attention.
By the time, they had finished their walkabout, the ceremony ended. Abba waited for her back at the house, sitting calmly in the living room.
"What the heck?!" She must have startled him from a doze as he slightly jumped.
Abba faced her, trilling in his strange laughter.
"I am pleasantly surprised."
"With what?" Attitude cocked and ready to fire.
"Your abilities."
His response threw her off guard. The pent up anger she had been holding onto settled into the pit of her stomach. It only further made her ill.
Miana had thought over everything she could say, everything she could do. Her hands balled into fists only to release the tension on her fingers and tug on the bottom of her shirt. The fingernail indentions could still be seen on her palms.
"Abilities?" He trilled again, gesturing for her to sit across from him. Miana accepted, sitting cross-legged on the cushion.
"You manage to surprise Elder Va'rak. You snuck away undetected during our public inauguration. Elder Va'rak had been keeping a keen eye on you when suddenly he couldn't find you anymore." His words were light hearted. Clearly, he thought the entire thing funny.
"He was busy with you guys…" Miana tried to pass it off with her lame excuse, not quite believing it was anything to be impressed by.
"You greatly underestimate our species. We, trained as we are, may get distracted in our hunts but by a crowd? A ceremony? Where anything at one time could go wrong? These things are not so easily missed." The humor died to be replaced with seriousness.
"He could have naturally written me off as a non-threat and no longer focused on me."
"Ah," his rough accent rumbled the sound. "Everyone and everything is a threat. Always remember that."
Miana narrowed her eyes, a bad feeling going through her. She most certainly was a Locke and not a Hobbes. People were always born with a good inside them. Animals are often predictable, only wanting to survive for the next hour, day, week, month, or year. Everyone wants to survive.
"Everything and everyone is a resource you must use wisely and not ever take for granted. They are not things to be abused but cherished because one day, there isn't going to be enough of them." Abba didn't respond.
He was sure she would agree and leave the conversation. Instead, he found himself agreeing with her.
Resources were everywhere if one only knew how to use them.
"We will be leaving tomorrow. Elder K'ash has a ship prepared for hunting which we will join within a week or two's time." Abba stood, ready to leave the home for some last-minute preparations.
"Why?"
"War is coming."
Miana looked at him in slight disbelief. He looked over at her, face softening. Abba came back to her side and crouched down. His overly, large hand engulfed her head but he slightly scratched her scalp with his talons, making it feel more comforting than sinister.
"Get ready, yoźa'az. It may be a rough journey ahead, but you are not alone."
The unfamiliar word left her dazed as she filtered through her vocabulary. Abba left her there, needing to attend his final duties.
By the time he returned, Miana curled in her bed, fast asleep, with Beanie sprawled out on the floor. A bundle of furs surrounded her like a nest for baby birds or perhaps more a cocoon for the changing caterpillar.
Abba purred gently, shaking her shoulder. Miana woke with a start on the first shake, eyes popping open. As soon as she focused on him, she relaxed, propping herself up on her elbows.
She knew it was time to go.
Grabbing what she came with and furs, Miana led Beanie out to the Citadel. Lex and Scar were nowhere to be seen, much to her disappointment.
Instead, Abba quickly escorted her onto the ship and to her room. She didn't see anyone as she headed in and only Abba would be with her on the ship.
It felt… isolated.
Beanie ran around, adjusting to the new area. Abba left her to settle, but she really didn't bother to unpack, just threw her stuff onto the bed. He had headed to the control room to get them off the planet as fast as possible.
With war always came a sudden increase in migration away from the planet. Main battles would happen there and in the space surrounding it. That made their goal to get as far away as possible and not get too suspicious to get killed.
Abba had explained briefly that slavery existed in a few cornered parts of their world. For the longest time, it had been peacefully discussed to end slavery. The peace ended abruptly and those not suited for war, or not taking part, such as their clan, were inclined to leave lest they get dragged into the fight.
Especially those non-Yautja, either companions or citizens of a clan, were urged to leave in case they got captured. No one wanted to end up a slave.
Miana headed to the control room, sitting in the co-pilot chair. Symbols, familiar and foreign, passed by on multiple screens and glowed on multiple buttons. She didn't bother to ask, just sat back to observe his actions.
Abba noticed, he always did, but refused to comment on it or her mood. Beanie lastly joined them before they took off. Unlike her leaving of Earth, this was fast and a lot more nauseating. Immediately on warp-speed, their ship blasted off into space and lights blurred around them as the stars mixed.
"We're stopping at the trade station for a short moment before we continue on." Still nauseated, Miana nodded, not trusting her mouth to spew vomit instead of words.
As ordered, she stayed on the ship, curiously peering out the windows at the inhabitants. A few ventured close to the ship but upon seeing her, walked the other way.
Beanie would also bark when they were too close. A sort of alarm to stay away.
"Let's go." Abba returned quickly, a mandible looking bruised and blood crusted onto his armor.
"What the hell happened to you?" Miana trailed behind him, her question ignored. "Abba?!"
"What?!" Mixed between a roar and a growl, Beanie whined for a moment, backing away from him. Her dog stuck close, hairs raised while tail tucked under his hind legs.
Silence followed, Miana biting her lip. Fear seeped from her, most definitely noticeable in how she took a step back and her hand reached for Beanie. Abba's shoulders were tense, mandibles spread out in anger.
"What happened?" She stayed where she was, not stupid enough to come forward but stupid enough to speak past the lump in her throat.
"I do not have to answer to you."
"But, you can choose to." He snorted at that.
However, his shoulder dropped as the tension left his body. Miana didn't know if Yautja had a proper way to physically express their guilt or regret, but he looked apologetic.
Beanie approached slowly, still unsure whether Abba would attack. The Yautja warrior bent down to scratch behind his ears, making his tail thump loudly against the metal flooring.
"It is nothing for you to worry about." Softer now, he backed away from the two and touched his bruise, wincing at the pain he caused.
Miana puffed her cheeks out, not letting go of his vagueness.
"I think I should know since you did-"
"Drop it." Patting Beanie's head, Abba left her and her dog standing in the corridor.
.
.
.
8/2/19: Just know that when two fractions or clans go to war, other clans often encourage a majority of their hunters/warriors to leave so that they can say they can't join the fight. They do have certain members remain behind, especially Arbitrators and Elders. which is why Elder K'ash is the only mothership heading out and only with three elders (including himself) rather than the ten when Lex had joined.
They take a Switzerland stance this way and are generally left alone. However, it's never wise to attack neutral clans as their hunters and warriors never go too far from home and will return for battle. It also often leads other neutral clans to take sides usually against the aggressor.
In this case, the battle should happen a little ways from where their clan's territory is, so it's highly unlikely for any damage to occur to them.
Also… I forgot what "yoźa'az" was supposed to mean but think of it as an endearment one uses for a child.