All of you guys are so nice! Your reviews are wonderful and kind, and make me really encouraged in regards to continuing!

Thank you!

:bright smile:

I went to the zoo today! And I bought these awesome stuffed animal monkeys with the little velcro hands that you can loop around your neck. Here ya go!

:tosses each of you one:

Aren't they cute?

:hangs one from each arm:

XP

Hope you like this chapter! Its a third-person (i think) telling of Yet'rin's first hunt. There are parts where the kids interrupt and its back to the present though. Hope I don't lose too many on this one...

Chapter 5

The others on the ship bustled excitedly, thoughts on what was to come as they felt the jerked motion signaling contact with the planet's surface. The sounds died to a few small chitters, and heads turned in the direction of the docking alcove. A sturdy ramp was lowered to the dusky ground with a muted grating of internal mechanics. Silence was suddenly a heavy shroud, smothering them in weightless wafts.

It was time.

The young hunters filed out of the craft, all familiarity lost once they passed through the red-symbol bedecked doorway. The atmosphere greeting them was heavy and humid, thick and foreign.

Good.

Yet'rin liked it that way. The thrill of hunt was derived from the disassociation with anything well-known and recognizable. One had to get past a comfort zone in order to feel the excitement of a hunt. Something one couldn't really grasp when limited to excursions on his home planet. Now, that was no longer applicable.

He smiled.

Watching the others spread out and dissipate into the exotic shrubbery surrounding their current position, he looked for a certain familiar face. He had decided, on the journey here, to hunt in a party comprised of a few friends. A little measure to keep the would-be dull moments interesting. Just for fun, of course. It wasn't as though he required back-up.

He spotted Gherrnoh a few meters away, eyeing the local plant life, a hand at his hip. He looked unpleased. But that wasn't anything stray of normal. Yet'rin watched as he made a disapproving gesture, crossing his arms and turning to speak to another hunter.

It was Damat. He returned some undecipherable words (due to distance) to Gherrnoh and shrugged. Pulling out his spear, he turned and began scanning the crowd. It wasn't long before he spotted Yet'rin watching him, and waved slightly.

With a grin, Yet'rin made to approach his comrades.

And was sent crashing into the foliage by a large force connecting with his back.

Without thinking he rolled into a crouch, swiveling to face the attacker and unsheathing his wrist-blades in one fluid motion.

Had the face of the attacker not been all-too-familiar, it would have fallen in ribbons upon the alien ground.

He lowered his arm with a smirk.

"Ready to hunt, are you?" Retshi'rk looked down at his favorite sparring partner humorously.

Yet'rin stood up and continued walking in the direction of Gherrnoh and Damat. Both of whom were chuckling.

"If the prey on this planet are as easy to take down as you, then I cannot even call it a true hunt."

"Try saying that when you're not covered in mud. It might sound realistic."

Yet'rin turned and kicked the mud that had splattered on his knees at Retshi'rk. It missed, but felt dignified.

"If you two act like this during the hunt, I'll be pleased to do nothing more than sit and watch as you get mutilated and eaten." Ghernnoh walked into the unchecked vegetation, taking out a serrated disk. Damat followed silently, probably determining the probability of the aforementioned situation.

"Don't expect me to hold your carcass in high regard, then!" Retshi'rk shouted after Gherrnoh, disappearing into the shrubbery as well.

Yet'rin followed, spear rod already cradled in his palm. The hot air was thick and dank, misting on his skin as he strode forward purposefully. He could hear the jumbled, alien banter jostling off every branch, reverberating each unidentifiable fern. With the exception of an occasional curious chitter issued by one of his comrades, their party moved in absolute silence.

This was what he lived for.

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"So, you'd never been there before?"

Yet'rin paused in his tale to glance down at the boy laying on his stomach, chin cupped in his hands, beside him. The large eyes looked up at him expectantly.

"No." It seemed an odd question to the hunter, but he did not say such.

"That's pretty scary."

"And pretty dumb."

Melody chuckled at herself. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. She resumed her gaze at the hunter who was currently sitting between her and her brother. He looked at her, all expression hid behind his mask. And what a pretty mask it now was! With a full view of the headpiece, she burst out laughing.

He let out an annoyed gurgle. He could tell she was laughing at him. He couldn't decipher why, though.

"Why do you laugh?"

Melody bit her tongue to keep from giving away that she had doodled on his mask. She shook her head and rested it on her arms.

"Nothing."

Trent was grinning behind his hand at her. He could appreciate her artistic talent. Yet'rin followed Melody's gaze to her brother, who barely checked himself when faced with his own view of the head-gear directly. He forced a stoic expression.

"Please continue telling the story."

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They had found a cave of some sort. A jagged-dark opening looming amid the otherwise softer, lush ripples of terrain. Appearances aside, it FELT like a creepy hidey-hole for some solitary, predatory beast.

Damat's chuckle seeped out of his visor.

"Anyone who doesn't think this is a good place to start, say something."

"Well, that depends upon what you are aiming to start…" Yet'rin joked.

They slipped inside.

Within seconds, the hunters could feel the drop in temperature. A putrid smell wafted from within, and all outside sounds were lost to the stillness inside the cavern. Rather than bothering them, these aspects spurred them onward with anticipation.

The tunnel they were currently moving through was fairly narrow, not much wider than the arm-span of the largest in their party. The ceiling was undistinguishable, higher than touch would allow them to decipher. A sickening slush pooled at their feet, trickling in the direction they had come.

A sudden increase in stench warned them of unnamed manifestations which drew nearer rapidly.

Four sets of wrist blades unsheathed almost instantaneously.

Here it comes…

It punctured his right calf, sending him reeling backwards and into Gherrnoh. A searing pain shot up his leg and he heard a faint screech from someone ahead of him. It had gotten them too. He reached down, grasping frantically at whatever had hold of his leg.

He yanked it from his flesh, raising it to eye level. He could feel Gherrnoh grab his arm to steady him for a moment, then was bounding ahead into the darkness. Yet'rin looked at the assailant he had in his grasp.

A…twig?

Not like any that could be found where he came from. But it was still some form of plant life, he was certain. He looked at the side of the chamber near his feet. Nothing. He switched vision modes. Not detectable in infra-red, or thermal settings.

He knelt and felt along with his fingertips. He could feel a raking along the side of his leg. Thin, razor sharp protrusions extended from the wall. He ran the back of his hand across the tips. It was dripping with blood before he drew it away.

Crap.

He must've just walked into one of them and twisted it off in his leg with the motion of his stride. He wondered if that was what happened to whoever was in front as well. He stood up to locate his comrades.

His foot came down upon warm liquid. Not his.

And he heard Damat scream once before he was barreled over by a creature he had only heard stories about.

Hunting stories.

It shrieked in a hideous tongue, unintelligible to Yet'rin. He swiped furiously at the dark mass pinning him to the floor. Suddenly it didn't matter whether it was a clean kill or not. He just wanted to kill it, quickly. Even a decent stab would be nice!

Somehow he had pictured this moment differently. Easier. A swift blow to the skull, a spear through its bony chest. The tip of its tail strung at his waist, the beast dead on the floor.

He'd be lucky to get off the floor.

He dodged another rapid stab of the barbed tail, struggling to regain the use of his left arm, which was pinned beneath his back. The rapid, clawing movements of the creature kept him in a defensive maneuver. Its strength rivaled if not bettered his own.

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Yet'rin almost jumped when a small force actually did connect with his side just then, and he looked down in a jerked motion, still a little lost in his memories.

After a moment he relaxed, however, upon recognizing the culprit of the force, now remembering where he was. He looked down at the human child curiously.

The boy was leaning against his side, grasping his arm tightly. His little nails were digging into the hunter's skin, and his eyes were on the doorway. Was he shaking?

"Close the door, Melody." He called out.

"No! You do it!"

The little girl jerked her head in the direction of the open door, scooting closer with her back to Yet'rin. She hadn't touched him yet, but was pretty close to it. Her wide open eyes stayed fixed upon the door frame.

Puzzled, Yet'rin asked:

"What is it?"

Trent shifted nervously. He tightened his grip. "I'm scared."

The hunter looked around quickly. Everything appeared normal.

"Of what?"

"The monster!"

"Monster?"

"The one you're telling the story about."

Now the yautja was really confused.

"Why?"

"What if it comes in through the door!"

Melody stopped trembling suddenly. And scooted closer. Her back was pressing against Yet'rin's left arm now, and she didn't seem to notice. The hunter looked out the open door, at the night-view of the woods surrounding the house.

Nothing was out there, of course.

"It won't."

"What if it does!"

The two children were close to panic. If they were larger, Yet'rin had no doubt he would be flattened between the them. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why they were afraid of a creature which existed so very far away, on a different planet, walking through their door.

Perhaps it was time to end the story…

He got up to leave, feeling a little ashamed. He shouldn't have agreed.

"Where are you going!" The boy was still clinging to him.

"It's 'bedtime'." The sun has disappeared, and now its time for you to sleep."

"No! Don't leave!" Trent struggled with reasons why the hunter should stay.

"You have to finish the story!" Melody called out, from the floor. She pulled the blanket around her tightly, almost knocking over the long-since discarded pop-corn bowl.

Yet'rin made a face behind his mask.

"But you are frightened because of it."

"Don't GO!" If the boy weighed more, Yet'rin would have been sprawled on the floor by now.

"No, we'll be fine! Stay and tell the rest!" Melody pleaded with her most imploring expression.

"Yes! We're ok. We wanna hear more!"

The yautja paused, giving both a scrupulous look. They stared silently, pleadingly back.

He sighed.

"You…are sure?"

"YES!" They squealed in unison and Trent raced back to sit on the covers.

Yet'rin walked over and closed the door, marveling at the human children's' actions. They were frightened, but wanted him to continue? Did they enjoy being scared?

He could vaguely understand that.

He strode over and sat down on the edge of the blankets.

Within seconds he was once again crowded between the two small creatures, one of them a limpet-his arm, the rock.

Having no better idea as to what to do, the thoroughly perplexed hunter continued his story.