Author's Note: I've put up a site so if u click 'homepage' on my profile u can see the pictures being drawn for this fanfic and The Greater Game. More pictures should be coming up just as soon as my friend can sketch them. Also considering that this is a story with ONE female and 3 males I figured that I don't need to separate the sections with dashes so I'll slowly faze out of it throughout this chapter. ï
Chapter 5:
She knew they had no tactics that could prepare them for an enemy they knew nothing about, no matter how resourceful they were. And if she truly wanted to use their methods and weapons against them she would first need to acquire the actual weapons. If the initial problem of the weapons was small then she at least had one notable setback. Something strange was happening to her, her blood was pumping in her body like fire, and her focus was becoming fuzzy. Seeing the giant blue sunset she knew that it was only about forty-five minutes until the second sun, a white dwarf, would also set. She would need to force them to make their move soon. She could see in the dark almost better than in the day, but when it truly went black she wanted them scared and second-guessing themselves all night long.
Letting out an irritated sigh she knew they would just sit tight if she didn't prod them forward. Besides, she smirked, it's only fair I give them a running start. Gripping the branch she was on with her claws she took in a deep breath and let out a bird-like roar.
Heads snapping in the direction of the roar, the Elder and his two warriors knew it was a challenge. Ng'clar had no choice but to go with his half-formulated plan. He would choose misdirection and baiting to lure this new beast out into the open. Digging his own claws into the wood he let out a bellow that echoed deep into the forest.
He tapped quickly onto his wrist computer, "Follow these coordinates. Kreil, point one. Mk'dei, point two." Half jumping, half climbing they split up and headed deep into the forests.
She cursed herself and her own arrogance. She had expected them to do the Yautja equivalent of a charge and now they had split up. If she followed one it could be a trap to surround her by the others. If she didn't follow then it could be a trap to distract and surround her if they doubled back. This was getting out of hand, screaming her irritation she was forced to follow all of them.
Straining his ears as hard as he could Mk'dei tried to listen for any movement after the second screech. Small beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he continued to move as quickly as possible. He could not show any fear in front of his Clan Leader but now that he was all alone he let himself feel at least a brief pang of panic. He was nothing compared to the Honored Warrior that had already met his death, how was he to survive this? Snapping back to the mission at hand he let his mask scan the area and his distance to the target. It would be no less than 2 minutes at his current pace, besides, he wasn't the bait—Kreil was. No hard-meat could out think the Yautja, this drone had probably just overpowered the previous warrior or the Honored class warrior had made some foolish mistake. Gaining back his confidence Mk'dei didn't notice the blip just outside his mask's range; nor did he notice it's incredible speed.
She had singled out the one that seemed to be slowing, looking around she was surprised to see they were unwittingly heading straight for "her" cave. High above the young Yautja she crouched upside down, claws deep in the bark, not making a single movement. He sat there waiting for the other Yautja to settle into their positions, as well as watching his own motion detectors. Kreil sat relatively in the open near a riverbank doing the same thing, while Ng'clar waited near a cave covering for the "drone" to accept the bait.
Seconds passed to minutes, almost an hour... and nothing happened. Ng'clar's mandibles twitched as he began to think that the drone wasn't going to accept the bait. In the minutes they all waited for Kreil to be attacked, as slowly, inch by inch, a shadow crept down from the treetop above Mk'dei.
In the quiet dying light of the white dwarf no one heard the gurgle and crunch of his neck snapping clean off, nor the soft thud as the shadow let his body slip to the ground. Letting her nose sniff the air she could smell the Elder and the young one upwind of where this one had been. As quickly as possible she skinned his body hoisting it along with the head, using twine from his own kit. Stripping him of disc and wrist blades she quickly returned to the treetops. So... she thought, you intended to bait and surround me? A wave of respect for the Old One washed through her as she realized that it was more luck than skill that she had picked this unlucky warrior to follow. The Elder's scent came from the area around her cave and the other young one sat not far from the riverbank near that very cave. Sniffing the air again she could sense that they knew something was wrong. She didn't understand why they didn't move when they knew something was wrong, dipping again into her memories she realized that silence was maintained so that no one's position was ever revealed. A move or sound made by a hunter would put everyone in jeopardy. She was tempted to roll her eyes in exasperation but then something made her smile. Here she is stringing up this Yautja and arming herself with their weapons. Didn't she want to play their way? She let out a small laugh, which grew louder and louder until it was a loud ring in the forest.
Ng'clar had hunted many species and he knew a laugh when he heard it. Worse it had come from the direction of Mk'dei. Signaling to Kreil they sprinted to his position. In the last rays of a white sunset swung the mangled body of Mk'dei. Ng'clar's chest tightened as Kreil stood stalk-still. This was no drone hunting them.
Nearby...Doubling back she watched contented as the Elder and the young warrior discovered her first trophy...