Finally given the chance for her anger to cool off, T'Priel loped back to the inner perimeter. It was T'Larc's turn to patrol now… and she was hungry. She reached the rock bluff and froze, hearing the sound of the Earth Forces gunfire. She charged her Cannon, her spines snapping rigidly straight as she prepared to go to battle.
:Bond-Sister!: T'Larc's voice rang desperately in her head. She snarled and leapt into the battle, firing her Cannon at the cluster of Humans making their way down the hill.
:Someone started the battle without me…:
Vaulting over the entrance to the compound, she landed with a crash next to T'Larc and fired her cannon again. Seeing a human approaching the entrance, she snarled and spun; her spines ripping his flesh. He fell to the ground and stayed. She felt a sting as several of their projectiles pierced her armor and stumbled back, shaking her head to clear the pain from her mind. She leapt into the air and landed on two soldiers, crushing them with her massive claws.
Her vision suddenly blurred as she felt something hit her from behind and she fell to one knee. The soldiers suddenly turned their guns on her and she activated her shield, managing to send some bullets back at them. A round blinking object suddenly rolled past her, sticking to one of the Humans. He saw it and started clawing at it, screaming in terror.
Out of nowhere, a clawed hand grabbed her waist and flung her backwards just before the Plasma Grenade detonated, spraying the hillside in blood and ridding them of the last of the Humans.
A silence fell over the gully.
T'Priel stayed on her back for a moment, employing the use of her third lung to catch her breath again. She pulled herself weakly to a sitting position. Beside her, T'Larc offered her a clawed hand. She took it and stood up uncomfortably.
"Thankyou… for-" She said, her voice strained.
"Thankyou for coming back." T'Larc turned and reloaded his Fuel cannon.
There was another silence. T'Priel gave a noisy sigh.
"What I said… about being …Bonded to you-"
"You didn't mean it." He cut her off with a claw. There was another silence and he loped off, taking up the patrol again. He stopped, till facing away from her, "Oh, and never do that again T'Priel. That's an order." He said simply and disappeared around the rock bluff.
"I thought you weren't coming back." He mumbled to himself when he'd disappeared from her sight.
T'Priel sat down, still eyeing the hills for any Humans that may have survived the fight. Satisfied she wasn't going to be surprised, she pulled another cylinder of chilled plasma from the Arms container and reloaded the Cannon on her arm. She hesitated for a moment then snapped the clips on her wrist open, letting the cannon drop to the ground with a thunk.
She stood, wobbling for a moment as her body adjusted to the absence of the cannon's weight, but she soon recovered her balance. She closed her eyes and breathed in before beginning a series of training exercises. Hunter close-combat usually revolved around using your spines and shield together. She spun and leapt with surprising grace for a massive 6-foot creature with bent legs.
T'Larc had his own stupid 'sitting down and organizing his thoughts' to relax… and she had her training. It was the only time she could be perfectly alert and her reflexes lightning sharp… especially without that damn cannon weighing her down all the time.
Halfway through she stopped, suddenly losing the motivation, and looked at the pale skin that had been under her Fuel cannon. On her wrist was a tattoo; the symbol that faded into existence once two Hunters were Bonded. T'Larc had one exactly like it.
Strangely enough, whenever she looked at it, it reminded her more of her Bond to T'Larc than her duty as a soldier. A sudden thought struck her; maybe that was their point?
"Why stop?"
She spun - spines stiffening - and grunted in irritation when she saw that T'Larc had returned. She scooped her cannon from the ground and slid it onto her arm with a snap.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." She growled.
"I had no idea you could move that fast." T'Larc watched her lope past him.
"Now you do." She hissed through her teeth. T'Larc snapped his teeth in frustration,
"If we're going to be Bonded for the rest of our lives, we should at least try and get along with each other."
"And what if I enjoy-" T'Priel's answer was cut short by a explosion at their feet. Both Hunters were sent flying apart.
"Sshk!" T'Priel swore and gritted her teeth as she leapt to her feet; What use was them patrolling when the Humans always managed to sneak up on them? Maybe they were just bad at it.
She wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth and charged her cannon. T'Larc beat her to the Humans though, and sent a blast towards them that splintered the tree-trunks into toothpicks. Much different from usual.
:What was that supposed to be?: T'Priel asked him. He looked in her direction and grinned, showing his very long teeth.
:I made a few adjustments to my cannon.:
"Pretentious do'ssar…" T'Priel muttered and fired her own cannon. It was dodged by three Humans and hit the cliff behind them, sending a rockslide that took their attention off the Hunters in front of them for a few moments; just enough time for T'Larc to leap up the hill and skewer two Humans before they could turn around again.
He retreated behind the hill as they turned their guns on him and activated his shield. He continued to fire his cannon as T'Priel crept around the side of the cluster of trees to the top of the hill. She had a clear shot to the side of their flanks from there. She shook her head and smiled; they would never learn. She sent a ball of green plasma rocketing towards them and howled in triumph when three Humans were sent flying through the air with the dirt and rocks that had been around them.
Without warning, something hit her armor with incredible force. It winded her and made a crack split across her chest armor from one side to the other. The sharp sound made a lance of fear shoot through her. She staggered backwards as another rocket hit her straight on and sent her tumbling down the hill.