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Thar'n-da s' yin'tekai, mei-jadhi - strength and honor
N'dhi-ja, mei'hswei - goodbye, brother
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"Elder K'ash wishes to speak with you." Abba stood just outside her door as Miana slid her gauntlet into place on her arm.
"Ki'sei." Miana grabbed her mask and followed him to the control room.
Elder K'ash sat at what she assumed to be his desk.
"Miana, hunting ships have already gone out. It would be best for you to meet with one of those ships and wait for a moment to be sent down and join with the others."
"Can I be with Lex?" Abba had warned her that hunters would be assigned groups by the elders.
Elder K'ash nodded, explaining, "I have left an available spot among their group for you."
"Thank you." Miana bowed her head low before she turned to Abba. "Just drop me off. I won't need to wait on the hunting ship if you can do it."
Elder K'ash chuckled a bit at her enthusiasm.
"Miana, I appreciate your readiness, but you are human. There is no need to rush into this." He waved her down.
"Only in appearance, Elder K'ash." He adjusted himself in his seat, a bit taken back by her attitude. "I will be fine to drop down as close as Abba can get me and track them down from there. I won't hesitate to join their group and will not put myself in a high-risk situation."
"Sei-i. As you wish." He cut the transmission, a bit miffed at her insistence, but impressed with her stance. She stood tall, like any proud Yautja and spoke their language well. Much better than before.
"Be more respectful, Miana," Abba tsked at her, more amused than anything.
"I'll be fine." Her cheeks puffed out for only a moment. A sign of irritation. "Human or not."
"It is best not to wear yourself out. You do not have the stamina and do not travel as fast as we can." Abba tugged her to her seat and pulled up a hologram. "Elder K'ash has ordered your group to be placed in the southern region with another group. They are taking the western side filled with desserts while your group has gone east to the jungle."
"And?" She raised a brow at him.
He growled lowly, explaining very carefully the dangers lurking there. Alone, she could get lost or attacked. If she failed to remain in contact with the ship, she would be lost and hope of finding her slim. This planet helped to keep the hard meats well contained with its tricky mazes and endless predators. Of course, that did not mean the prey didn't slip out into the other regions.
"You must be careful if you are to go down alone." He almost suggested he come with but kept those thoughts to himself. "Lex will know you are coming, but I can only get you so close to her location. You understand?"
"Sei-i..." Miana's face softened, her arrogant indifference falling away. "I don't mean to be rude. But I don't like you holding it over my head that I'm human and meaning I'm incapable of doing something. I may not do it like you, but I can reach the same result."
Abba purred, "we never meant it that way. We just don't want to lose you. What would Lex think?"
Miana smiled and patted his hand before leaving to continue her preparation. She knew exactly what Lex would think and she'd never be forgiven if she died so soon.
A few short hours later, Abba hovered over the jungle. Lex would be a few miles to the east and said she would wait if able to give Miana a chance to catch up. The clearing below would give Miana an easy landing spot.
"Beanie gets a little anxious when left alone and doesn't really like me gone. He has bad separation anxiety and-" Abba shoved her forward and she stumbled down the ramp.
"He will be fine with me." He gestured to Beanie who sat obediently next to him. "Thar'n-da s' yin'tekai, mei-jadhi."
"N'dhi-ja, mei'hswei." Miana disappeared into the jungle.
Beanie whined as she left, but stayed put as Abba closed the ramp.
"Come, pup. We have a bad blood to catch." The dog followed him back to rest by his feet as he piloted them away.
Miana kept her pace as she navigated through the jungle. Her mask helped her detect the few predators that came close to her, but nothing in the shape of a kiande amedha. She kept her distance, keeping track of any who appeared to be following her.
The kiande amedha hissed in displeasure at the hunters before it. Its tail lashed out in warning to stay back. One of its arms had been cut badly, green oozing onto the jungle floor and burning through the twigs and soil.
Scar couldn't watch both during the fight, but Lex held her own well. He could feel her present, tense for the fight, rather than elsewhere.
Her body stayed low, every muscle coiled. She stayed a few feet behind him, waiting for the beast to attack and she could come in from the side and land a hit. Its how they injured its arm.
She doubted the same trick would work twice, but either way, Scar would be her spear and shield and she would be his hidden knife.
The hard meat charged with a roar. Sharp claws jutted out in its attack and Scar rolled away, nicking its good arm with his wrist blades.
Lex shoved herself in the path of the xenomorph. Before it could defend itself, she extended her combistick and shoved it through its head.
She yelped, letting go of her weapon, and jumped back a few feet. Its blood had spurted out and landed across an exposed portion of her arm.
Scar was on her in seconds, blocking a blow from a second kiande amedha. The pack had scattered their hunting group a bit, everyone had agreed to a partner before setting down. They spread themselves a few yards apart, but distance grew between them as their fights wore on.
He roared, throwing a few discs to back the creature up. It worked for only a moment before it attacked again. Always trying to get past Scar to attack the wounded hunter behind him.
They tussled for a moment before Scar shoved it back a few yards. It went to charge again, but a flash of metal cut its tail clean off and sent it reeling back in pain. A sword imbedded itself on its head.
Scar sensed her presence before she decloaked and revealed herself. The use of a sword made it painfully obvious who had just caught up to them.
"I'sumu." He came forward to shake her shoulder in greeting at the call of his name.
"Lar'dha." Scar stepped away from Miana and turned his attention to his mate.
Lex walked to them, a smile on her face despite the pain in her arm. They needed to clean it before the acid reached the bone. If it hadn't already.
"Setg'rath." Miana bowed her head in greeting, trailing after Scar. "You okay?"
"It squirted at me." Lex sat down, nestled in Scar's arms as he set to work.
Miana scrunched up her nose at the description, thankful her kill hadn't done the same.
"Hold her arm for me." Scar waved Miana over and she did as he wanted.
She held Lex's arm straight out, giving him a clear view of the wound without his overly large hands in the way. He instructed his mate to bite into his bicep as he prepared to cauterize the wound.
Lex did, eyes focusing anywhere but the blue gel hovering over her arm. When it touched her flesh, stars dotted her vision and her light bite on his arm tightened as pain seared through her. She never let go, even when he finished.
"Let's give her a moment." Miana stood and surveyed the area around them.
She spotted several of their group members rushing to their spot but no other predators in the area. Lex could rest safely for the moment.
"Sorry." Lex pulled away from him and rubbed his arm. Her blunt teeth had barely done anything to his tough hide, but it didn't mean it hadn't hurt.
Scar only purred at her.
"Is she okay?" Celtic appeared first from the trees, clicking worriedly at her. She had yet to stand.
"Sei-i. She needs a moment to rest from the sting." Scar answered for her, wrapping up her arm in gauze.
"Miana." Celtic shook her shoulder, a human-like grin forming on his face.
"Nagaris." While she couldn't reach his shoulder to reciprocate, she did smile his way. "Good to see you again."
The rest of their group, consisting of Jag and Molten didn't dawdle in their haste. They had their own trophies hanging from their backs.
"You should claim yours." Scar nodded to Miana as he helped Lex to stand. "Is it wearing off?"
"Yeah. Thank you." Lex brushed herself off and retrieved her spear and skull. "Not leaving this behind." She removed it carefully, making sure to clean off any blood that could burn holes either in her armor or skin.
Miana and Lex strapped their skulls to their backs to carry. Miana also grabbed the tail she had cut off and added it to her collection.
Together, they set off to find more kiande amedha.
Celtic remained close by Miana, watching as Lex and Scar took the lead. Molten and Jag had kept a few meters to the left.
"Lex didn't freeze." He clicked at the statement.
"Freeze?"
Miana nodded. "Freeze."
He had heard of the trials Lex had mentally gone through when combating against the kiande amedha and how it worried his brother. Today, he hadn't seen anything to worry him other than her wound. Their flesh so easily tore, though that didn't always hinder them as Lex proved time and time again.
"Did you freeze?" He asked the question gently, so as not to offend her.
"H'ko. I did not. I didn't really think either. The kiande amedha hadn't backed down but continued to charge over and over again. I saw my opportunity and struck it down." Miana shrugged, a bit unsure of her answer.
"Did you expect her to freeze?" Again, he asked it gently. Prodding the curious topic with careful claws.
Miana didn't answer but turned away as if a bit ashamed. He thought that over for a moment. Letting words tumble in his head before he nudged her gently.
"Is that why you rushed to get here? You are tired and worn, but Lex had only received word of you reaching ground an hour prior. You rushed to get here." She merely nodded. "Do you not trust her to grow past this?"
"I do!" Her words were defensive. Quick and a bit loud. "Sorry… I do trust her." With her mask, she could easily see the couple ahead.
"Then?"
"She's happier with him. Happier than any other time I've seen her." Celtic nudged her shoulder again, getting impatient as she danced around her words. "I don't know. I don't want to see her lose that."
He considered that for a moment before nodding. He knew Scar felt the same, if not more, from the way he held her close while she recovered.
"Scar has never been happier, I assure you." She snapped her head up to look at him, unable to determine his expression because of the mask. "He is devoted to her and cherishes her."
"It's not that I think he doesn't…" Celtic stopped her from continuing with a shake of his head.
"H'ko, I know that. I don't want to see him lose that either. In a hunt like this, it would be quick for them to lose their heads. They're not that kind of hunter, but things happen." Miana smiled and bumped her hip against his thigh in a way that baffled him.
She merely laughed and waved down his concern.
"That's why we're here. They may not need us, but if they do…"
He nodded in agreement.
"Miana-"
"Lar'dha." He stopped, confused, but then a small purr rumbled from his chest at her correction.
"Sorry, Lar'dha," she waved off his apology, "I was wondering if you'd help me understand something."
"Sure, what is it?"
During the hunt, he had been curious about a few of the things. Her word choices to the elder, in both his and Abba's defense, her issues in comparison to Lex's, and human mental health in general. It had been an interesting discussion.
He came to the conclusion that the Chiva affected them differently not because they were human but because they hadn't been brought up to view it as a test. To them, it was a nightmare. Even when it had been explained, their thoughts and feelings during the time carried with them.
Then, he asked how they overcame that. He had never been thrown into such a situation.
Miana had no clear cut answer, unable to speak for Lex. She had many nightmares that followed her around and clung to her shoulders at night. Most nights, she feared not being here rather than being here. The Chiva had been just a little seasoning added. She always connected the pyramid with the Yautja and they often appeared in her nightmares. She clung to them as a sort of light in the dark.
That brought her to where she was now.
Lex, of course, mourned the death of Sebastian and the ill Weyland. Part of her connected Weyland to her father, but from what Miana could see, she also connected Elder K'ash to her late parent. She didn't fear the Yautja. Neither of them feared the hunters. The kiande amedha on the other hand…
Miana hated them more than anything. She knew the Yautja was to blame for putting them there and if Weyland stayed home, they would have never set off the chain reaction. She explained, that for her, the chain reaction didn't end in Antarctica, but followed her all the way home to Mississippi. She assumed the same for Lex following the Himalayas' incident.
She couldn't hate the predators. Not when the expedition interfered with something that had been there many, many years before them. Not when Night explained the elders had thoroughly investigated the ruins and found several possibilities that would have led to the Queen's ultimate escape.
Miana knew that her hatred was childish and misplaced. All things considering, the Queen had a right to be pissed about her prison and her children being used for the Chiva. Perhaps that's what made her angriest of all. The damn thing had a right and Miana couldn't deny it. Kind of like how some of the elders disagreed with the acceptance of non-Yautja entering their clan, but couldn't deny their honor and with it, the place they earned among them.
"Lar'dha." Nagaris nudged her gently and crouched low.
More kiande amedha ahead.
"Watch the love birds." He nodded, keeping one eye on the pair and the other on the approaching threat.
"Watch the love birds." He mimicked her as if to mock and if made her lightly laugh before she shoved at his shoulder and advanced.
What an ass.
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The in-laws are teaming up!