I know, I know, a short chapter. But the next one is longer and exciting. Yes, Guan-Thwei does fight Dachande. Thanx for all the reviews and give me more!
Dachande-Different knife or broken tusk.
Pauk-de-Fucker or fucking.
Ell-osde'pauk-Fuck you!
Jehdin/Jehdin-Hand to hand combat.
Chapter 8
Several weeks had passed. Matt now knew a small amount of Yautian and was just learning to read it. He was putting on muscle from the chores, hand to hand combat lessons and the Yautja's high protein diet. Currently, he was going to get fresh bedding for both him and Guan-Thwei. Luckily for him, most of the other Yautja on the ship did not get him to do anything for them, since they viewed him as a weak, stupid ooman, worth even less than a conventional eta. That didn't bother him, since he probably wouldn't be able to understand what they asked of him. Another Yautja was walking down the hall; this was not unusual; they always ignored him. Then the warrior appeared to notice Matt and headed over. He stopped and folded his arms over his chest, glaring imperiously down at Matt. The new warrior was not taller than Guan-Thwei, but had broader shoulders and was much more heavily muscled. He had a scar starting above one brow, passing over an eyelid, which drooped slightly, and ending on his chin. A lower tusk was broken.
"Ooman." he said before launching into rapid Yautian. Matt struggled to follow it, but could not. The Yautja stopped and waited expectantly. When Matt didn't respond, he repeated himself, anger lacing his voice.
"Um, could you slow down? I can't understand you when you talk so fast." said Matt nervously in English. The Yautja's body was shining with sweat. That probably meant that he had been training and was tired and would therefore have a short temper. Matt backed away a step and sniffed the air. He had learned that the musk that Yautja's gave off changed slightly when they were angry. This one smelled angry. It shouted at Matt again, and then growled in frustration. He drew back his arm. Before Matt knew what was happening, the scarred warrior backhanded him. He flew through the air, landing heavily. He had never been the receiving end of a Yautja's backhand before. He didn't want to again. Curiously, his face didn't hurt; it just felt thick and numb. Matt passed out.
Guan-Thwei found Matt crumpled on the ground, blood pooling around his head and Dachande standing over him. Panic gripped him, panic which he would later dislike because he didn't like to think that he was fond of the annoying ooman.
He ran to the older Yautja, roaring "STOP!" since Dachande looked like he wanted to hit Matt again. "What are you doing?!?"
"This eta was being deliberately disrespectful to me. I asked him to prepare the baths for me, yet he didn't, so I gave him the punishment he deserves. He needs a far worse beating than this. You are too easy on him."
"That is my personal eta! He does not speak our language! He didn't know what you were saying!" A crowd of other Yautja was beginning to draw around the two enraged warriors. Matt groaned and twitched behind him.
"He is a slave! I can do what I want with him!"
"M'aat-hew is my eta and you will not touch him, pauk-de!" The crowd began muttering and clicking.
Dachande drew himself up and yelled, "Ooman lover! You are a disgrace to your family and race!"
"Ell-osde'pauk!" Dachande and Guan-Thwei glared murderously at each other for a while. Then Dachande reached out and pushed Guan-Thwei. The other Yautja gasped and the muttering began anew. Excitement filled the crowd. Then the two warriors turned and marched away.
Matt saw Guan-Thwei through a red fog.
"Get up." he commanded. Matt moaned and struggled to sort out his limbs. "Pauk-de Dachande…" he muttered and picked up Matt, carrying him to his chambers. He set Matt down in a chair and brought out his medi kit. He opened it and started wiping away the blood. "Your nose is broken again." warned Guan-Thwei before he shifted it over. Matt cried out.
"You should learn to do this yourself. I will not keep doing it. Next time you practice."
"Why did that other guy push you?" asked Matt thickly. "He challenged me to Jehdin/Jehdin. He is opposing my right to have a personal eta and wants to prove that he has the right to do what he wants with etas. If he wins, you will not be staying here anymore." Guan-Thwei reached into his medi kit a pulled out his thinnest curved needle and thread. "The cut on your cheek needs stitches. Take this." He handed Matt a padded bar. Guan-Thwei inserted the needle into the flap of skin at the top edge of the gash. He ground his teeth and screamed, holding the bar in a death grip. By the time the stitches were done, tears were streaming down his face and his knuckles were white and aching. "You are lucky that this was not larger or I would have burned it shut. That is how I treat most of my gashes. I can tell you that doing it that way hurts much more that simple stitches." Guan-Thwei gathered up his medi kit and stalked into his chambers.
