(Author walks in covered in pink cottenly fluff-ness)
See! I told you there would be fluff!
(teh evilness)

Okay, first things first: writing on this fic may slow down a bunch within the next few chapters, since I've just aqquired MAJOR inspiration for one of my other stories and I am currenly shiftingbetween madly writing on it or this one. I feel soon I will go completely to the other story for a few weeks or so, so don't expect too much past this endearing and cute chapter until... oh, perhaps next month? I don't know, it might be shorter, might be longer. Besides, people haven't been reviewing as much and I need to gather my brokeninspiration (considering the fact that reviews seriously are the only things keeping me writing, becuase I have to know people like what I'm doing or I get all sad and stuff...)

As for questions slash comments: Well, Skulds, I'll show you exactly how there can be fluff in this story! (note: I wasn't originally planning the fluff part, it just sorta... got written. (shrug))

DarkXeno: Your other cat LIVES! (insert happy face here) I'm glad. Now you get the chapter you want! It looked like you have some strange things happen to your cats, but be assured, I will lay off the cat maiming and death from now on. It'll just be humans and other hapless creatures (perhaps squirrels?) from now on!

Space Jocky (explination): Well, have you seen the first Alien movie? Yeah, the Space Jockey made an brief appearnce in it near the beginning. Of course, it was fossilized, but by what we saw it was a huge elephantine creature with relatively long legs and arms. There was also a brief appearance of a LIVE Space Jocky in one of the comics (though past the movie part this is all information I looked up on the net). Since I can't find anything on that, I'm going with the summery of their species found in a DandD-type net thing and whatever I can glean or make up.

Others: Thank you so much for your comments! (hugs all) I'm glad you think this story is progressing nicely and to your liking!

Note: I have just found out that I can indeed draw Xeno's now (gasp!) I'm pretty happy about it, I've been trying to get 'em right for forever! If you go to my DevientART account, you can view the first tiny sketches (literally tiny). They should be in the recent Deviations box. My gallery name is Crystal-rex.
Oh, and perhaps you would want to anyway, since the drawings contain a sneak preview of the newest character to appear in the next chapters. Yes, the name IS a code, though I'll let you guys try to figure it out by yourselves. First one to succeed gets a cookie!

Arigato!

Dtai'kai-dte sa-de nau'gkon dtain'aun bpi-de: The fight begun would not end until the end.
Kainde Amedha: Hard meat (referring to Xenomorph)
Thwei: Blood
Jehdin: Single, One
Ell-osde: You
H'sai-de: A scythe-like sword
Ki its-pa: Spear
Bpi-de: End
Kwei - tricky or sly
Chiva: Test, Trial
Dtai'k-de: Fight

I collapsed on the floor of the lair thankfully, feeling as if I had been absent from it for far too long. Only the hissing of the concrete as it was eaten through by my steadily trickling blood brought me back to myself so that I could properly notice the intense pain caused by the missing tine of my crest. Looking down, I saw that my side was covered in my green blood, some of it half-frozen from the cold, and the bone of my leg was beginning to protrude from the skin, more blood welling up from the older but no less painful injury.

A metallic clatter brought my attention back to Kwei, who had once more taken out the medical kit and was preparing another batch of the gel substance that I remembered all too well. I snarled lightly as I saw it, backing away involuntarily as the flame melted the plaster-like materials into the numbing yet agonizing substance. Kwei looked up, the expressionless gleam in the eyes of his mask seeming almost to be laughing at me, before quenching the flame and approaching me, substance held out so that I could see what he was up to.

Wait, I said, seeing him hesitate at my words. I nodded to the disk and shook my head just enough to let my blood dislodge from the tine and hit the floor, Cauterize it. You'll burn yourself if you don't.

"Are you certain?" Kwei asked, tilting his head and regarding me curiously. I nodded again, hearing a new hiss from the floor.

The Yautja turned the flame up on the disk, and I winced upon hearing the crackling fury of the fire. It was more intense than that of the burning house, perhaps even hotter than the lightning bolts that were still raining down outside the cold walls of the lair. He approached me carefully, and I sat still, bracing myself and locking the muscles in my legs so that I wouldn't lash out or leap away.

The searing pain reminded me much of the healing gel substance, and I couldn't help from flinching as the fire burned the caustic tissue, sealing it off more effectively than any other type of flame could have done. I felt the burning slowly make its way along the length of the wound, going back across to make sure the injury was closed before finally pulling away. I hissed through my teeth, my lips pulled back in an involuntary snarl, but no more blood came from the damaged tissue.

Thank you, I managed, breath sharp and gasping, Now, if you can, please reset the leg.

I saw Kwei's nod reflected back from my hissing, and he gently gripped my leg in his clawed hands. Just when I was beginning to wonder if he was going to examine it before setting it, there was an excruciating wrenching sensation, and the feeling suddenly came back to the extremity with a vengeance. I screamed out, writhing in an instinctual attempt to escape the pain, but was held firmly by Kwei, whom had somehow anticipated my actions and positioned himself so that he was able to keep me still.

Suddenly, the pain increased tenfold as Kwei began slathering the limb liberally with the gel substance. Every muscle in my body tensed instantly, bunching up to the density of steel, and I clenched my teeth and tried to keep my tail from attempting to behead the Yautja.

It was then that I heard the hissing.

I snapped my head down, sound waves immediately leaving me as I forgot my pain in an instant. Kwei was dressing the wound, ignoring the fact that his hands were covered in my blood and burning. I screeched in alarm as I saw it, and before I knew what I was doing I had both of his hands clenched tightly in my teeth, my saliva covering them liberally before I released the Yautja.

He hissed in shock, looking down at his hands and turning them over as the pain of my acid blood stopped, as well as the burns they were creating. I looked at them curiously as well, unaware that my saliva had had such properties. With a slight shrug, I nodded back to my half-splinted leg, mind withdrawing into itself as I prepared myself again for the pain.

Kwei looked at me for a long moment, and I was about to say something before he returned to dressing the broken limb. Instead, I growled as the pain intensified and looked away, trying to investigate anything that would take my attention from the torturous necessity and the guilt of causing my one and only friend pain.

I stopped as the thought crossed my mind, mental eyebrow rising as I backtracked. Was Kwei truly a friend? I mulled over the possibility thoughtfully; yes, it was true that we had been rather reluctant allies in the beginning, having merely owed each other a life debt and nothing else. But it seemed as if that had changed over the past few days. When I had first spoken, Kwei had thought of me as prey, and nothing else. Then he had named me, viewed me as 'different', but still we would not have hesitated to kill each other if threatened.

But then I had gone after the weapons, and Kwei had healed me, even though he had no obligation to do so. In fact, he had had the perfect opportunity to take me as a trophy, one that would have gained him enough honor to be set for many years in his society. He didn't, though. And afterwards, when I had showed him my memories, he had reacted just as angrily to the human's words as I had.

And he had gone out to get enough food to feed us, even though he owed me nothing.

Even now, he was acting selflessly, setting my wounds before he tended to his own. I could see the reflections of the cuts on his burned hands, the burns themselves, the constant shivering of his limbs that signaled overexposure to the cold. I pulled my lip back, sending out a gentle probe that would brush the Yautja's mind, for I wanted to know why he had never looked cold before.

It was the netting, of course. The material was basically a thermal regulator that kept the atmosphere around the body at a constant temperature. How else could the creature wear such sparse armor in below zero weather? Somehow, though, the rain had gotten past the netting, solidifying into ice on the sensitive limbs of the Yautja.

If he didn't get warm soon, he could die.

I felt a final tug as Kwei tied off the heavy gauze on my leg, and thankfully I nodded. The Yautja clicked in amusement and looked over his slime covered hands, staring at me curiously before spreading some of the gel over the cuts. I heard him hiss as the substance seeped into the exposed tissue, burning before numbing and healing. After he was certain that the gel had done it's work, he wrapped a few lengths of gauze around his hands loosely and stood, walking to the battered carcass of the cow on trembling limbs and dragging it over to me.

"You must eat," he said shortly.

I glared at him, angry that he would ignore his own hunger or wounds to feed me, who didn't deserve such treatment. I could tell that he sensed my anger, and he tilted his head as he looked at me.

Stop worrying about me and tend to yourself, Yautja, I managed to rasp out as I stood shakily, trilling lowly to form a clear picture of the room. My tail thrashed, You need to eat this more than I. I won't touch it unless you eat your fill, first!

"Screetee-" he began to protest. I snarled, teeth bared.

Unless you want me to force you to eat, you'll do as I say, I threatened, making it very clear that I would force the Yautja to eat even if I had to shove his face into the carcass and hold him there. Kwei looked uncertain for a moment, but finally sighed and began taking his mask off as I growled lowly.

He glared at me, his small and bright eyes glinting in an exasperated way as he sat and began ripping chunks from the meat with his bandaged hands. I watched curiously as he ate, delicately taking each strip of meat in his mandibles and transferring them to his inner mouth before swallowing. It made me wonder what I looked like while eating… I was certain that I didn't look half as dignified as Kwei or the humans. More like a starving dog, I guessed.

As soon as I was certain that Kwei was actually going to eat instead of take a few strips and transfer the carcass to me, I relaxed from my tense position. Through my hypersensitive limbs I could feel the thunder outside; the storm was still strong, and it was perhaps even intensifying. The temperature in the lair was dropping rapidly from the absence of a window to keep the cold air out of the room.

With a growl I thought of how Kwei was half-frozen, and suddenly I remembered the door that I had removed from its hinges just earlier in the day. Limping over to it, I saw that it was the perfect size to block the open window. I took it in my teeth and, ignoring the curious look that Kwei gave me as he paused in his meal, brought it to the opening.

Snow was already beginning to pile up, and the wind howled through the window frame in a shrill mockery of life. I growled again, taking the door and trying to lay it against the aperture so that it would block the wind and not move or fall. It took me a long while to discover that, without supports, the door would not stand, and so I was forced to drag several barrels to the wall to pin the door in it's place. After I was finished, I looked upon my work with a grim feeling of satisfaction. Even though the wind was still whistling slightly through the cracks, it was no longer pouring in like it had been.

I trilled contentedly and looked back at Kwei, who was staring at me with a strange expression, his head cocked to one side while he ate another small strip of meat. I snorted sheepishly, flicking my tail as I became aware of the fact that he had been watching me struggle with the door since I had moved to fix the problem. His upper mandibles stretched upwards in what looked suspiciously like a human smile before he went back to eating.

But as I looked closer, I saw that his limbs were still trembling as he moved. He was still suffering from exposure, and needed to get warm. I looked around helplessly, mind racing as I explored the room with sound. There was nothing, not one thing that even resembled a source of heat. It was too dangerous to start a fire in the middle of the room, for the abandoned bakery contained too many things that could have caught fire and gone out of control. I was at a loss.

And I was also beginning to hunger. Saliva dripped from my jaws as I looked at Kwei eating; he was beginning to slow, having eaten close to his fill of the meat. I was surprised to see that there was much of it left on the carcass, more than I would have thought. I suspected that it would be reasonable if I decided to eat, now.

Then, another idea occurred to me.

Don't move, I commanded, approaching the carcass in my limping gait. Kwei looked up in surprise at my voice, regarding me with shock as I wrapped my long tail around his midsection and proceeded to curl around him. Finally, I was positioned much like a half-curled cat, with Kwei wrapped snugly in the curve of my body.

"Screetee?" he said, confused.

You'll die if you don't get warm, I said sternly, feeling the violent shivering of all his limbs. I may not have been the best creature for warmth, but my body wasn't built for conserving heat, and the fuel of food would automatically raise my body temperature to a higher degree. I was counting on this to help the Yautja overcome the biting cold of the lair, Let my warmth be yours.

Kwei thought about struggling or protesting, but the heat that was already starting to radiate from the Kainde Amedha's body silenced him. Instead, he settled on looking stunned as Screetee began ripping into the meat of the carcass, her movements jarring him slightly as she ate. He distantly was reminded of the hunts he had gone on that had chased her kind, of the many Kainde Amedha that had killed both friends and enemies and devoured them. The way she plunged her fangs into the flesh of the beef was disturbingly like those mindless drones.

But she was trying to save his life again. He hadn't told her about the cold, or how he had been near frozen from exposure. He guessed that the Queen had either taken the information from his mind or that she had seen the clues herself. She could see from sound, after all, and the Yautja had been shivering rather violently from the layers of ice that clung to him.

Now, though, that ice was beginning to melt from the warmth. Kwei wondered how the Kainde Amedha had become so warm in such a short time; when he had found her in the storm, she had been barely radiating any heat at all.

Screetee stopped eating, tilting her head towards him slightly. The Yautja noticed that the saliva pouring down from her maw was tinged with red.

(My body isn't built for conserving heat,) she explained, (Food energy is burned very quickly.)

So she was allowing him the warmth that she was gaining from her food? Kwei nodded in acceptance, sighing as he leaned back against her warm torso. Already his shivering was beginning to cease, the frightening numbness of his limbs changing to a painful but welcome tingling. He had feared that he was going to freeze, but now he felt the uplifting sensation of hope within him. He wasn't going to die here as he had thought over the past several days.

(Dtai'kai-dte sa-de nau'gkon dtain'aun bpi-de) Screetee said softly, quoting an old Yautja proverb. Kwei clicked, amused at the amazingly fitting statement and the learning streak of the Kainde Amedha. If she kept up like this, she would know how to speak the entire Yautja language as perfectly as he did.

"Ell-osde are right, of course," Kwei replied, "It is not the bpi-de."

(No, it is not,) Screetee replied. She pushed the carcass –the remains of the carcass- away lightly with her snout and curled tighter around Kwei, centering her warmth. Kwei chuckled softly, tentatively bringing up a hand to stroke the smooth carapace of the creature. Screetee tensed slightly at his touch, but finally relaxed. A moment later, Kwei felt the steady vibrations of her thrumming, (When are you going back?)

The Yautja stopped, surprised at the question. How long had it been since he had come here? He thought back quickly, and realized that it had only been a mere five days since the ship's landing, five days since he had been injured and met the Kainde Amedha Queen. He still had many days until he would be expected back, many days before he would have to face the elders again.

"Two weeks, two days," he said softly, the warm creature wrapped around him and the constant purring making him drowsy. Kwei caught himself as he began to fall asleep, jerking from his half-alert position.

Screetee moved her head a bit so that it pressed into his hand, and Kwei chuckled softly as he resumed stroking her skull, hearing and feeling her purring intensify. He traced along the smooth lines of the side of her head, where the carapace met the jawline, distantly reminded of the warrior's mark he had thought to give her before the snowstorm. He didn't know how it could be done; however, because Kainde Amedha blood couldn't affect the creatures' themselves. The only other way would be to etch it into the carapace itself, which would be tedious and possibly more painful than having the mark burned into one's flesh.

(Warrior's mark?) Screetee had apparently picked up on Kwei's thoughts. He sighed, looking out through one of the thankfully small windows in the lair and seeing with surprise that it was completely obstructed by a thick mound of snow.

"It is the mark given to warriors after they have completed their Kainde Amedha Chiva," he explained nervously, wondering how Screetee might react to the knowledge that her kind was hunted by his.

(You must kill a Kainde Amedha to be thought a warrior?) she sent softly, nuzzling his hands where they had been burned by her blood. Kwei nodded, knowing that Screetee could hear the movement.

"Yes, and jehdin must mark themselves with the thwei of the Kainde Amedha to be accepted as an equal to all other warriors," Kwei growled, looking blankly at his own hands. They were still bandaged, but soaked through with Screetee's saliva and the healing gel. A roar of thunder shook the lair, and Screetee tightened around him on reflex, shuddering at the noise. The Yautja absentmindedly ran his hands over her head to comfort her.

(But I am different,) Screetee said, her voice confused, (You did not kill me. Why? I would have brought much honor to you.)

"Ell-osde wouldn't fight back," the Yautja said, mandibles tightening, "It would have been dishonorable to dtai'k-de an enemy that would not defend itself. I do not dtai'k-de dishonorably."

(I did fight,) she protested, bringing her head up, (I stopped you from slashing at me. You could have killed me then, if you'd been strong…)

"I didn't," Kwei said firmly, ending the discussion, "And now I see that ell-osde are a true warrior, worthy of the mark."

(Why?)

Kwei shook his head slightly, exasperated. She had said it herself, all those days ago.

"You told me to wish you luck on your chiva when you went to recover the Ki its-pa and the H'sai-de," he explained, "I saw what ell-osde went through, and it was equal to any Kainde Amedha Chiva. You arean equal, Screetee."

The Kainde Amedha growled softly.

(An equal?) she mused, her voice both disbelieving and longing, (An equal to your kind?)

"Yes," Kwei replied, "Even if some will not see it at first."

Screetee tilted her head to him curiously, her thrumming faltering for a moment.

(You talk as if I would be going with you when you leave,) she murmured, laying her head back down slowly on the concrete.

Kwei froze, suddenly realizing that yes, he had been thinking as if Screetee would be accompanying him back to the ship. He had been thinking as if he would be allowed to even approach the ship with a Kainde Amedha in tow. Even being a full fledged warrior, he doubted that he would be able to pull off such a feat, or that Screetee would be able to survive the first meeting with many of the others.

But could he leave her here, where humans were literally crawling all over and it was only a matter of time before she was tracked down and eradicated, one way or another? He found that he couldn't stand the thought, as feasible as it was. With a tired hiss, he lifted Screetee's head so that she faced him, much as he had done when she had refused his help.

"If ell-osde wishes to go, I will protect ell-osde with my life," he told her, "I will find a way to make them accept ell-osde as an equal."

For a long, tense moment, there was only the constant sound of her purring. Finally, Screetee nodded.

(Mark me,) she said, her voice strong.

I reeled inwardly from the offer that Kwei had just made for me. An equal? Me, a mere Kainde Amedha, considered a warrior as the Yautja were?

And he wanted me to go with him when he left.

I watched as Kwei took out the medkit that he had used many times to heal himself and I, looking both curiously and suspiciously at the tools within. Many of them were long and sharp, but I knew that they could not stand up against my corrosive blood. Finally, the Yautja took out a long tool, one whose end seemed like a circular saw or some sort. I couldn't help but flinch as he activated it, hearing the sharp buzzing sound as it spun wickedly.

Kwei paused, regarding my movements.

"You could mark yourself," he said, gesturing to my claws. I trilled, looking down at them, and finally shook my head.

Better for you to mark me, I told him, You know what to do better than I.

He nodded, bringing the tool close, but I stopped him with a claw. I leaned over the tool, letting my saliva drip onto it for a moment, before settling back and bracing myself for the pain that was sure to come.

It came with a vengeance, and though it did not match the agony of the gel or the broken leg, it brought with it a pain all its own. I kept myself from pulling away by a pure force of will, locking my legs and body so that I wouldn't thrash. As it was, my tail tightened into what I was certain was a painful embrace around the Yautja's midsection.

The buzzing jarred against my delicate senses, confusing me and disorienting my sense of direction and time. I could feel the blade as it chiseled into the hard chitin of my carapace, digging into the soft flesh beneath slightly as the mark was permanently etched into my forehead armor. It seemed as if the noise would never stop.

And then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, it ended, and I was left with a dark silence. After a long moment I resumed thrumming, my world erupting into the soft painting of silvery gray that I had become so used to in my few days of true life. I saw that Kwei was looking at me worriedly, his brow furrowed and mandibles twitching nervously as he gauged my reaction.

With a snort I loosened my tail, seeing Kwei breath a sigh of relief as he realized that he could breath normally again. I winced inwardly, chiding myself, before relaxing completely and curling tighter against the cold that was starting to seep past the windows and doors. Again, the thunder sounded, but this time it was distant and less ferocious than before. The storm was moving on, finally leaving this blighted area for a new place to destroy.

Thank you, I said softly, It is a great boon you have given me, Kwei, greater than you know.

He grunted slightly as he put the tool back into the medkit, giving me the Yautja version of a smile before placing the kit back onto his belt. I could see that he was tired, his eyes were beginning to close and his movements were sluggish. The warmth from my body was still great, and so I decided that it would be best to stay where we were for now. Moving to the more sheltered room would only waste what little energy we had gained from our meal, and we would lose the warmth that had seeped into the rock below us.

Sleep now, I whispered into his mind, I will stay alert as long as I am able.

He grumbled slightly, but I could tell that the Yautja was as good as asleep, already. It was only moments before I felt his steady breathing and slowing heart rate confirm the fact. I chuckled slightly, and then yawned, my mouth opening wide to reveal my gleaming teeth. I would be able to keep sleep off for perhaps an hour, but it was long enough to make certain that there was no danger about to burst through the makeshift wind-barrier. I doubted that anything would be out in this weather, anyway.

I yawned again, curling as much as I was able around the still form of the Yautja. The floor was more chill than I would have liked it, discouraging me from placing my head down on the concrete. After a few moments of looking around helplessly, my gaze fell on the sleeping form of my friend.

He needed as much warmth as he could, and I was sure that he wouldn't mind. With a sigh, I placed my head across his chest, letting my neck rest directly above his heart. There would be no chance of him freezing to death, now, not when I had turned into a makeshift blanket. My constant thrumming faded to a quiet purr as I yawned again, feeling my mind slip down into the place just between dreaming and wakefulness. Nothing could disturb the room without me knowing.

Awwwwwwwwww!