Sorry for the delay everyone! Life kind of took over and the story took a back seat, but herre is Chapter 8! ENJOY!

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Aleris sat on her bed in her sleeping Quarters. She had been confined there ever since Xerxes had been informed about the injured Yautja. He could not deny the fact that Nex had it coming. He stupidly tried to force his will upon a creature that they knew nothing about. The honorable Yautja from the fight did not know who or what she was, but challenged her and lost. They both deserved what they got and now bore the scars of their mistakes. Aleris was just there until Xerxes could figure out what to do with her.

She filed her nails with a metal file that stole from the boiler room. She hadn't clipped them since the day before all hell broke loose, which was about 2 months ago. She usually kept them short, cutting them every three or four days. It was her step mother that forced her to keep them short. Now that they were long, she noticed that they were unusually think and had very sharp edges. That was very good for climbing, she found out, and attacking unsuspecting Yautja, i.e. an unguarded Tangoroa.

Hiram sat behind Aleris on her bed. He was carefully braiding her hair as his was. Usually this was done in a very painful ceremony that lasted several months, but he chose not to put her through anymore more pain. It was taking a very long time. He only had half of her head done and he hadn't even gotten to putting the metal clips on and glossing the hairs together.

Tangoroa sat on the floor in front of Aleris. They were talking. Just talking. About everything and about nothing. Mostly it was Aleris speaking about her life on Earth and what the Pyode Amedha did when not engaged in battle with the Yautja. Hiram would ask a scientific question about the anatomy of a Pyode Amedha or other specie and about personalities now and then.

Hiram was braiding her because he wanted her to feel like she was one of them. He wanted her to be accepted within the clan. In not too long, she would be given the mark of honor. She would be scarred with the warrior mark that belonged to his clan. She would be an honorable warrior. Hiram liked the thought of that. Maybe if he hung around her after she was marked, he would not be picked on so much. That would be a very good thing.

xXx

The cold depths of space called them. They went wherever it called from. Killing and keeping trophies as they went. They cared nothing about what they were killing as long as it fought back. That was they only way their twisted sense of honor could be made. The only way their thirst for the hunt could be met.

Xerxes was the one chosen to lead them. It was by chance that he was even allowed to participate in the hunt for honor. It was a miracle that the Kainde Amedha didn't see him before he killed them. Sure. His back was to a wall and he was so scared he could hardly move.

He was one of the original members of the clan. At that time, the clan was not that honorable. Most of the warriors died during the hunt due to lack of preparation. After a brutal attack from a rival clan, Xerxes was left with only a few other males. Over several hundred years, Xerxes had rebuilt the clan of warriors and honor.

Now he had quite the dilemma on his hands. Aleris was her name. She was an Ooman. But that was not the only thing that troubled him. She was considered a warrior within the clan. She killed several Kainde Amedha and protected the Yautja. She even had a trophy. He had no choice. He had to recognize her honor.

But that only created another problem. He very well couldn't give her the clans' mark of honor. If he did, he would face great opposition by fellow warriors. They may begin to feel inadequate if an Ooman female were given their mark and they may revolt. Perhaps he could give her their mark, but modify it to make it her own.

Their warrior mark was made up of two curved lines overlapping each other, forming a point on one side. For them, it symbolized ever striving to better ones self even after receiving the mark. In their written language, the mark meant "brave one".

Xerxes wanted to give Aleris the clans warrior scar, but couldn't do so without loosing respect. Then it hit him. He could add to the mark without changing it greatly. He could ass just one small slash on one side. That would change the meaning only slightly. Instead of having the mark mean "brave one", it would mean "Brave Queen".

Xerxes chuckled to himself. It would suit her well.

The intercom link within his room opened. It was silent except for some growling and a few dispersed laughs. A loud thud, some more growling and hysterical laughing; then all fell silent. A shaky voice came through the silence.

"Uh…Xerxes?" He said

Xerxes could tell it was Tangoroa right off. He was so young and was so new to everything. "What is it?"

"You said you wanted Aleris so you could give her the warrior scar?"

"Yes I did. When might you be bringing her to me?"

Tangoroa looked behind him. Aleris and Hiram were in the mist of a 'Duel to the Death'. They were wrestling on the ground. Aleris had a tight grip on his shoulders with her hands and her legs were wrapped around his waist. She was on his back so he couldn't get her.

More laughing and grunting. Hiram was not about to lose to her.

"Um…it may be a little while longer…"

"Why?"

"Well, Aleris and Hiram have decided to go at each other and see who can win in a one on one fight. It was rather funny though, how it all came about. Hiram called Aleris a weakling when he was braiding her hair and she didn't like it, so she attacked"

Xerxes nodded his head and chuckled to himself. He knew the kind of relationship Hiram and Aleris had. They would never hurt each other intentionally. They were siblings, battling it out on the plane of all things cookie.

Aleris grabbed onto one of Hiram's braids, pulling on it harshly. He barked out at her and tried to get a hold of her, but she kept slipping through his fingers. Tangoroa chuckled. For being so small, she was quite a vicious thing.

"Bring her when they are done" The channel closed.

Tangoroa looked back to Aleris and Hiram. Hiram had his arms around Aleris' body in a bear hug, keeping her body close to his and keeping her from attacking him again. She thrashed about violently, but Hiram held on tightly. Suddenly, he stopped cold and her body fell limp in his arms. He held onto her, not sure what just happened.

"Ok. I'm tired now" She said

Hiram picked her off the floor and laid her gently onto her bed, guiding her head to her pillow. She closed her eyes and drifted effortlessly to the realm of unconsciousness.

Hiram looked her over. Her body lay limp. She was vulnerable now. He had to stay here, with her, to make sure nothing happened to her. It would kill him if something happened to her.

He looked up to Tangoroa, who was standing, studying every moved he made.

"You can go" Hiram said. "Go to Eryx, if you wish"

Tangoroa laughed at Hiram. "You're kidding, right?" He walked over to a lone chair in the room and sat down. He rested his arms on the rests on either side and looked back to Hiram. "I'm going to stay here with you and Aleris"

Hiram cocked his head slightly. "Why do you want to stay here with us?"

Tangoroa rested his head on the back of the chair and sighed deeply. He didn't understand it himself, why he wanted to stay with Hiram and Aleris. He just had this feeling of security…or perhaps just the feeling of being wanted. They treated him with respect. "I just want to stick around for a little while longer, that's all"

Hiram nodded. He leaned up against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. As long as the room was still, he could rest.

xXx

Xerxes waited in his room, impatiently now. It had been several hours since he ended the call with Tangoroa. Something might have happened with the girl. But someone would have informed him if something did indeed happen. They could still be fighting. He really wished he knew what they were doing.

He was startle by the automatic door in his room opening suddenly. In walked Tangoroa. Xerxes stood quickly and greeted the young warrior with a hard pat on his shoulder.

"What took so long?" Xerxes asked happily

Tangoroa stepped to the side, allowing Hiram to walk up the leader. He carried, on his back, a sleepy Aleris. Her head rested on his shoulder, eyelids half open.

"What happened to her?" he barked out

The translator had picked up his question. Neither Tangoroa nor Hiram knew why she was so tired. Aleris decided to answer him, as only she could.

"It's ok. Just, for some, I'm really tired" She trailed off

Xerxes looked to Hiram for an explanation. Hiram had been dubbed her keeper while on the ship. He had to know everything about her and why it was.

"She's drained physically. Hasn't had a good rest for several weeks. A little rest for her will do us all much good" Hiram said

Xerxes understood this. If the female were cranky…well, let's just say, they would be lucky if she only destroyed the ship and crash landed it on a Kainde Amedha infested planet. That would be very bad indeed.

Hiram set Aleris down on her feet and slowly walked away from her, keeping his hands out in case she fell. She swayed slightly, but stayed up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. So badly did she want to just fall over asleep right here, but she did not. There was a very good reason she was here. Good enough that she would have to be awake and alert for it. Or rather, it had better be something important. If not, she would go total Nagasaki on the ship and everyone on it.

She became alert, however slowly it was. Xerxes sat back down in his chair, waiting for Aleris to be ready. It was not long until she was fully alert and awake.

"Are you awake now?" Xerxes asked in an almost loving tone. Aleris smiled sweetly at his kindness and nodded. "Do you know why you are here?" He asked next. Aleris licked one of her canine teeth, thinking. She shook her head after not too long. Xerxes chuckled. She was a brave Pyode Amedha, and yet, there was something prismatic about her. Something that calmed everyone around her.

He motioned her to him. She was hesitant, but decided that her two friends were there, so she had nothing to worry about. She walked up to him, stopping right next to him. He slid a paper towards her. Looking at it, Aleris noticed several pictures drawn with alien writing under each.

Xerxes pointed to one of the pictures. It was two fluid slash marks, connecting and forming an arrow to the left. "This is a scar we give certain members of our clan which exhibit a certain level a courage during a ritual. The ritual is a fight against the Kainde Amedha. It means 'Brave one'"

Aleris nodded her head. "And you want to give me this scar?"

"I can't do that, but I can give you this one" He pointed to another picture

It was the same as the first picture, but in the open end of the lines, was a small slash mark. Aleris thought that was very strange. The marks were pretty much the same. There was probably some deep meaning behind them.

Xerxes spoke again. "The mark I would give you would mean 'Brave Queen'"

"Hmmm…" Aleris thought out loud. "Where would you put this scar?"

"On your face. Your cheek"

Aleris sat in a chair that was positioned just a few feet away from Xerxes. She looked at him, staring deep within his eyes. It was simple intimidation. If he were hiding some ulterior motive, she would know.

He knew what she was doing. How could he not? As she looked into his soul, he, in turn, looked into hers. He noticed something right off. His gaze was met by a cold, hard wall. He could not see her soul. He figured that it came from years of bad rearing by the Pyode Amedha. No Ooman could properly care for such delicate and rare specie.

Aleris smiled at Xerxes. She could feel him trying to penetrate her soul. Little did he know. Not only was it extremely unlikely that he could break the cold, thick walls around her, but if he could handle what lie behind them, that would be a feat in itself.

"Ok", Aleris said at last, "I'll let you do this"

Hiram sighed a breath of relief. He was worried that she wouldn't accept the mark Xerxes chose for her. Seeing she was not fully aware of their system of honor, she could have not accepted it and she would be in dishonor for the rest of her life. He couldn't live if that were to happen.

Aleris had figured this much. She could almost feel the tension ease immediately after accepting the mark. That just goes to show you that alien men take way too high of pride in things that really don't mean a whole lot.

Xerxes reached to something black on the table. Aleris watched the elder carefully as he picked it up and brought it up for Aleris to see. It looked like a silver pencil. Aleris gave Xerxes a skeptical look.

"It is a soldering tool. We normally use Kainde Amedha blood, but since you are half Kainde Amedha, we have to use another method" He explained

Xerxes brought up his other hand and grabbed Aleris' chin. He turned her head gently. The tool was ready and hot, wanting to burn anything it touched. Xerxes gently pressed it into her cheek. The flesh beneath it singed and a small plume of smoke rose from it. Three, small lines made up the mark. Xerxes was finished after not too long. On her cheek was now the wound of the mark Xerxes chose for her. It would heal and scar, leaving it there forever.

Aleris poked at it with her long, sharp claws. The skin was still tender and it sent sharp pains through her face. She winced, but quickly shook it off. Xerxes motioned her closer to him when she did this. She was hesitant, but did as she was asked. She brought her face closer to Xerxes. He grabbed the sides of her, turned it harshly to the side, and licked to the wound. He let go and Aleris jerked her head away from Xerxes, not exactly sure of what just happened.

"It's to make sure no serious infection sets" He assured

"Yeah…but did you have to lick my face?" She asked

"Yes, I did"

Aleris gave him a skeptical look, but shrugged it off. Of all the things that have happened thus far, that was not that bad. She stood up and shook her head from side to side. Xerxes also stood up in front of, towering over her respectfully. He set his hand on her shoulder and patted hit hard. It hurt Aleris, but she knew it was a good thing, so she wasn't bothered by it.

She turned her back to Xerxes and faced Hiram and Tangoroa. She smiled happily, knowing that the tension had ceased.

Hiram bowed his head to her. He knew he should to appease Xerxes. She was, after all, of a higher rank than he. Tangoroa also bowed his head to her. Not just because he was an equal to him now, but for another reason. He felt something towards her. Something beyond respect.

Xerxes shooed Aleris out of the room quickly. He, Hiram, and Tangoroa had some things to discuss, but would not divulged what about to her. She left the room and walked down the hallway. She had no real direction; she just felt the sudden and uncontrollable urge to walk.