Thanx for all the reviews! See, I told you I'd update faster! I got the first season of Gargoyles for Christmas, so I might write some fanfics on that. Oh, guess what? Seven more chapters to go on this story! Please review!
Kehrite: Battle or practice arena
Bakuub: Straight spear
Guan-Thwei: Night-blood
Shuriken: Throwing star
Thwei-Tjau'ke: Blood-Stone
Nihkou'te: Tooth or tusk
Naginata: Highly prized weapon
Ki'its-pa: Retractable spear
Ki'cti-pa: Wristblades
Setg'in-kwei: Quick and tricky
H'chak: Mercy
H'sai-de: Curved sword
Mei'hswei: Friend or ally
Kainde Amedha Chiva: Hard Meat Trial, Blooding hunt
Ooman: Human
Tarei'hasan: Unworthy opponent
Ell-osde'pauk: Fuck you
Chapter 11
"Watch it!" shouted Guan-Thwei as a shuriken whirred past his stomach.
"Sorry!" Matt yelled back. Nihkou'te laughed harshly from the side of the kehrite and Bakuub smiled despite the obvious danger. They were trying to teach Matt how to throw and catch shuriken. He was relatively good at throwing them and could hit whatever he was aiming at about half the time. Catching was another matter altogether. After Matt nearly removed a finger, they had dulled the razor sharp blades. When he still nicked and gashed himself, Guan-Thwei had Thwei-Tjau'ke make a special glove fitted with metal plates for Matt. He still rarely caught it, but didn't have to worry about missing fingers anymore, so he made more of an effort.
"Hey! M'aat-hew! Next time aim a little lower!" called Nihkou'te. Matt made a rude gesture and Nihkou'te returned it cheerfully. Matt glared as he sauntered over. Nihkou'te was casually throwing up a shuriken and catching it. He wasn't even looking directly at it! "My turn again. Let the master teach. You may learn something if you watch closely enough." Nihkou'te said to Guan-Thwei, trying to sound like an arrogant Elder.
"Yes, O Great Master." said Guan-Thwei sarcastically as he hurried off the kehrite. He covered his head with his hands and feigned fear as he left.
"Watch closely, M'aat-hew…" Nihkou'te pulled out three more throwing stars, popped open the blades and began juggling them. He threw them behind his back, under his leg and finished with a flourish, bowing and grinning.
Bakuub growled, "You are not here to teach him tricks Nihkou'te! Hard Meat will not stand around and applaud while you perform foolish tricks for them!"
Nihkou'te blinked and bent down to Matt's level, he whispered conspiratorially, "They may be foolish, but they impress the females. At least most females." Matt hid a smile behind his hand. "I'll show her cheap tricks…" hissed Nihkou'te. He began juggling them again and one by one, threw them at the targets. Each one connected and spun back to Nihkou'te, who caught them easily. He faced Bakuub, cocked his head to the side and raised a brow ridge. The older female remained mostly expressionless. Then he turned back to Matt. "M'aat-hew close your eyes. You cannot easily catch shuriken if you just watch. You have to listen as well." Matt shut his eyes, feeling a little foolish and hoping he wasn't about to fall for one of Nihkou'te's jokes. He felt a rush of air go by his head and heard the whir as the six-bladed shuriken sliced through the air. "Listen. When the part without blades faces you, it makes a different noise. Use that to time your catches." Matt strained his ears. He heard the slight whap as Nihkou'te caught it again and heard him throw it again. A slightly different tone pulsed swiftly through the whir as it returned to Nihkou'te. "See? When you have your mask made for you, it can amplify the noise, but it's best to learn to catch it like this first. Use your ears." He tugged at one of Matt's. "They are large enough for you to hear everything!" Matt clapped his hands over his ears, wincing as the metal plated glove struck it.
"My hearing's not as good as yours! Leave my ears alone!"
Bakuub clicked her mandibles angrily. "Stop playing and get practicing!" she barked. Matt retrieved his dull shuriken and prepared himself to throw it again.
…..
They gave up for the day after many more misses. While the glove protected Matt, it was hazardous to anyone standing near because when he didn't grab it, the shuriken tended to ricochet.
"That is enough for today." said an exasperated Bakuub, "M'aat-hew, you must learn how to use the shuriken! There are times when your plasma caster or scatter gun or net gun or harpoon gun will break! In the Kainde Amedha Chiva, you are not allowed to use any projectile weapons except knives, Smart Discs, net guns and, yes, shuriken. You only get the plasma caster after you make at least one kill."
Matt frowned, "I don't like the shuriken. I'd rather use daggers, swords or ki'its-pa."
"I do not like shuriken either. I would rather use my naginata or ki'cti-pa. I had to work hard with shuriken too. Not all of us are prodigies with them." Bakuub shot a nasty glare at Nihkou'te, who was again tossing a shuriken absentmindedly.
"Who, me?" he said innocently.
"Nihkou'te is the best one to teach you. I have only met a few Elders that are better than him."
"You're doing wonders for my ego." cut in Nihkou'te.
"Get out your ki'its-pa. You can practice with it some more." Matt breathed a sigh of relief and folded up the hated throwing star. He walked over to where he had piled his weapons and retrieved the retractable spear. Pressing a button, it sprang out to over six feet long. He went back into the centre of the kehrite and faced Guan-Thwei, who was also gripping a spear. With a flourish, the Yautja spun his ki'its-pa and stabbed it towards Matt's flank. Matt blocked automatically and counter attacked. They continued their battle, gracefully attacking and defending.
Sometime into the practice, Matt was forced into defense; he was tired and Guan-Thwei was still fresh. The spear was knocked aside as he attempted a half-hearted attack. Guan-Thwei lunged into the opening. Matt scarcely had time to bring his own weapon up. Both shafts met in the middle with a clack. Guan-Thwei slowly bore down on Matt with his weight. Matt strained with his newly toughened muscles, but to no use. His feet slipped out from under him and he landed hard on his back. Mocking, raucous laughter echoed through the arena. He looked and saw three Youngbloods standing at the edge.
"Silly ooman! Go back to being an aseigan! You are not worthy to fight with us!" hooted the leader. Matt slowly picked himself up and stood tall, raising his head aggressively, as he had seen other Yautja do when confronted. The leader sneered "Setg'in-kwei, show him back to his place!" One of his companions started forward, opening his spear.
Guan-Thwei snarled "He is our student, not yours! Leave this kehrite now!"
"This kehrite is open for anyone to use. We don't want a primitive ooman fouling it up. They are only worthy to be hunted or enslaved!"
Nihkou'te hissed "Get out of here, Youngbloods! We are seasoned warriors and you are no match for us." he smiled, "If you leave now, I won't give you a free haircut." he added generously. Three shuriken had appeared in his hand. Guan-Thwei flared his mandibles and started to advance, but stopped, looking surprised. Matt had blocked him with his spear.
"They want to fight me, so I'll fight them." Guan-Thwei shrugged and let Matt to the eagerly waiting Setg'in-kwei.
…..
I must be insane, thought Matt. The young Yautja in front of him towered at least a foot higher. The young male was not heavily muscled but looked fast. He spun his ki'its-pa nervously. Suddenly, the Yautja attacked swiftly and viciously. Matt jumped back, hardly able to block the blows. He backed away and the two circled. He studied Setg'in-kwei. The young male tensed slightly and paused before he attacked. Matt was ready and he blocked more easily now. His spear slid under Setg'in-kwei's and the Youngblood barely avoided the blade. Matt attacked now, adrenalin coursing through his veins, removing past tiredness and aches. After another clash, Matt looked up and met Setg'in-kwei's yellow eyes. They were not filled with contempt now; they held respect. The two young warriors-to-be fought, dodging blows and giving them. There was no way the human could win this by brute strength; trickery was the key. Thwei-Tjau'ke had shown him ways of making the opponent's own strength betray them. The young Yautja was a clever opponent. He could read Matt's body language as well as Matt could read his, maybe even better since Yautja's used a great deal of body language. He glanced at his shoulder, Setg'in-kwei moved to block him there, but Matt's ki'its-pa was already moving down to his legs. The shaft caught him behind the knees, sending him unceremoniously to the floor. The Youngblood found himself staring up six feet of spear.
"H'chak, I yield to you." said Setg'in-kwei. Matt relaxed and suddenly the spear weighed three times as much. He staggered off, panting. Matt sat down to ward off his dizziness.
Guan-Thwei grinned, feeling very, very proud that M'aat-hew had beaten a Youngblood! M'aat-hew had learned in a few weeks what most Youngbloods learned over months, or even years! Setg'in-kwei picked himself up. The leader of the small clique stomped over and began yelling.
"You let an ooman beat you! A puny, stinking ooman! Tarei'hasan, you are not welcome with us anymore!" The two stalked off.
"Ell-osde'pauk, I do not need you as a mei'hswei!" shouted Setg'in-kwei. He walked over to Matt. "You fought well." The Youngblood smiled. "You've inspired me to train harder! How long have you used the ki'its-pa?"
"About two and a half, three months." He clicked his mandibles in astonishment.
"Are you good with anything else? Ki'cti-pa, h'sai-de, shuriken…?"
Matt grinned. "No, ki'its-pa is my best, though I'm doing better with ki'cti-pa and h'sai-de. Just never mention shuriken to me again and I'll be happy!"
"Well, I must go. We must meet again for practice. I have to work harder!" Setg'in-kwei ambled off.
"Wow." said Nihkou'te, "I thought he would hate you for beating him for sure! I would have been pretty sore myself!" Bakuub walked back into the kehrite from the entrance where she had been watching.
"That just means that Setg'in-kwei is more mature than you. You should take lessons from him." said Bakuub serenely.
"You have an ally now, M'aat-hew. Work hard enough and you may be on the same Chiva." said Guan-Thwei.
