Chapter 29: The Hunt Begins.
Ryan in typical Ryan fashion fell asleep first, after the delicious meal that his sister and Shena had prepared for them combined with the day he'd had it was just too much for him and he was out like a light.
Both Shena Black Crest and Sela eleth who were both sat on the bed grinned at his sleeping form, "He's always been like that" Sela said quietly, Shena turned her attention to her and widened her smile,
"I know" she said, Sela slapped her own head,
"Oh yeah the emotional transference" she said remembering what her brother had done with her in the tree, Shena turned her attention back to the sleeping male and just watched him for a few moments before Sela broke the silence, "You know how he feels about you now don't you?" she said, Shena looked really embarrassed but she nodded,
"Yeah and I still can't believe it, I've never met anyone like him, he's an amazing male, he's strong, fearless, selfless and honorable" Shena said, Sela eleth was nodding at everything her new friend was saying, "It still shames me that I said such vile things to him when I found out what he is, but despite that he still came after me and saved me from the bad bloods" she said with a cracking voice,
"That's Ryan all over, he can't stand injustice and dishonor" Sela said, Shena nodded,
"Watching him fight was like watching a force of nature, he was this flurry of rage and beauty, I just wish there was some way to make it up to him" Shena said looking Sela right in the eye,
"Are you sorry you called him those things?" Sela asked, Shena looked surprised at the question,
"Of course I am" she replied in a very apologetic tone, Sela eleth nodded approvingly,
"Then he knows that too, he was in your mind remember?" she said, Shena looked a rather embarrassed at that fact and she glanced at the sleeping male, Sela eleth smiled at this, "If you really want to make it up to him I know a way" she said, Shena snapped her head round so fast her dreadlocks whipped her,
"What is it!?" she asked quickly, Sela eleth smiled broadly,
"Give him a chance" she replied, Shena's eyes widened,
"Y-Y-Y-You mean accept his feelings?" she asked, Sela eleth nodded,
"You know how he feels for you and he knows how you feel for him, so just go for it and give him a chance" Sela said, Shena looked really worried and Sela eleth watched her shift around in her seat,
"My clan would disown me" she said in a very disheartened and quiet voice, Sela eleth moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at her,
"Pauk them, if they're too narrow minded to see your true worth and your true strength then you can join our clan" she said, this caused Shena's eyes to widen massively, the thought of abandoning her clan had never even crossed her mind before, but this was the second time that this thought had entered her head now, first time was when she'd read the diary and now this.
"R-R-R-Really?" she asked, Sela eleth nodded,
"If you genuinely feel that strongly about my brother and from your words I can tell that you do, I know my father and Matriarch would welcome you into our clan" she said, Shena felt like crying she was so flattered by this genuine acceptance, Sela eleth knew that a decision was a massive one to make and she smiled at her knew friend, "But there's no need to rush this, just think it over ok?" she said, Shena nodded, "Ok then, now let's get some sleep, you take the top of the bed next to my brother and I'll take the other end" she said pointing, Shena suddenly looked really embarrassed,
"N-N-N-Next to Ryan!?" she exclaimed, Sela eleth grinned broadly,
"You too have already had a couple of cuddles so no need to get embarrassed and besides according to my Matriarch there's no feeling quite like waking up in the arms of the one you love" she said smiling, with that she moved down to the other end of the bed near the foot rest and curled up under the blanket of furs leaving Shena looking at the vacant spot next to Ryan at the head of the bed, her heart started to hammer in her chest as she moved into the spot and lay down, the second she did Ryan turned over and she felt his arms slip around her, the feeling of his touch on her skin was nothing short of amazing, it suddenly felt like all her nerves were on fire and fireworks were going off in her head, she looked at his sleeping face and she realized that she really did think that this male was truly handsome, she turned over on her side facing him and slowly and nervously slipped her arms around him, she was expecting him to wake up and ask her what the hell she thought she was doing any second, but he remained asleep leaving her to relish the amazing warm smooth feeling of his soft skin under her touch and for the first time in her life she felt completely at ease, she ran her hands over the smooth delicious skin of his back and felt the power in the muscles concealed below it and she realized that she loved being able to touch him like this, she realized that unconditional love was a real thing and here it laid right here in her arms hers for the taking if only she could get past her misgivings and let go of her prejudice, as if in tune with those thoughts Ryan sighed happily and tightened his grip on her and she felt his hand running softly up and down the curve of her spine from the top of her back right down to her hips, this sent a tingly thrill through her and instantly started a fire in her belly that she'd never felt before but she really kinda liked, then a thought struck her, although she already knew how Ryan felt about her both of them would have to declare their feelings for each other in a loud and proud voice, she wondered if when the time came she'd have the guts to do this, with that thought bouncing around in her mind amongst the whirlwind of feelings that she'd never felt before her fatigue gripped her again and dragged her into sleep.
Dawn had already broken on this hellish planet of death, but the three young warrior remained asleep in bed totally unaware of the horrors that were heading their way, well that was until an ear splitting screech broke the dawn chorus of birds and animals.
The screech caused all three in the bed to wake with a start, they all sat bolt upright and looked around, it also took Ryan and Shena a second or two to notice that they were both still clinging to each other but neither of them actually moved to let go of the other, "What the hell was that?" Sela eleth asked from the other end of the bed, a second screech made Shena's mandibles drop open,
"I know what that is!" she exclaimed, both of the twins turned to look at her, "It's kiande amedha" she said in a low voice.
At the voicing of the name the three of them scrambled from the bed and instantly started grabbing for their armor and weapons, as Sela eleth hoisted her massive AS50 off the weapons rack that her Matriarch had left here and checked it over, "Can you sense them Ryan?" she asked, he shook his head,
"I still really don't know how this bloody set up works, I'm still kinda piecing it together from the things that I've seen father do and what I've seen it do on its own" he said, Sela eleth sighed heavily, his Dream Warrior skills and abilities would be a massive boon here, but only if he could figure them out in time, "And besides just like you I've never seen one of these things up close" he said glancing at his sister as he checked his weapons were secure on him,
"I have and they're not pleasant" Shena said from his left, the twins both looked at her, "They were on the planet that me and my Uncle were hunting on where we encountered the bad bloods" she continued, suddenly Ryan rose to his full height and he had a sparkle in his eyes, Sela eleth knew that look it was one he shared with their Matriarch, it meant that he'd had an idea and usually Ryan's ideas of this kind meant trouble,
"This is our chance to prove ourselves guys" he said causing both Sela eleth and Shena to look at him in confusion, "Don't you get it? We're unblooded hunters, if we take down a couple of those things then we'll get the right to bear the mark of honor and we'll be full blooded then!" he explained his eyes sparkling as he said it, this had a profound effect on Shena and Sela eleth noticed it,
"Your right! If we take down those things, then we will earn the right to call ourselves full bloods and our clans will have to take us seriously!" she exclaimed happily,
"Our clan already take us seriously Ryan" Sela eleth said in a cautionary voice, but she knew what her brother was like when he set his mind to something he was like a force of nature, just like their Matriarch,
"Oh come on Sela! Just think of how proud of us our Matriarch and father will we if we come back full blooded!" he said, she sighed heavily, he did have a point there, their Matriarch would be awfully proud of them if they took down these creatures with no assistance from them, she knew that their father would be worried sick about them, but that was the ooman in him and he couldn't help it, it wouldn't stop him fighting against any and all odds for either something he believed in or someone he loved, but he would always exercise caution.
Sela eleth sighed heavily again, she knew that there was going to be no stopping either her brother or Shena Black crest in this one, she could see they both had their sights set on the glory that this hunt would bring, so it was going to be a case of join the fight or get the hell out of the way and there was no way she Sela eleth would sit on the side lines, he lifted her AS50 and rested the massive barrel on her shoulder, "Let's go hunt some bugs then shall we?" she said with a dark smile that was returned by both her brother and Shena, they both nodded in unison and all three turned and headed for the door to the cave.
Outside the now secured cave the three young hunters knelt on the ledge observing the jungle canopy below them, they'd all switched their masks over to the frequency designed to allow them to detect the kiande amedha, Sela eleth swept the canopy through the scope of her massive rifle looking for any targets to engage, "Anything?" Ryan asked from her left, she glanced up at him and shook her head,
"Me neither" Shena said from their right, a screech from their far right drew their attention and they turned to look, it wasn't close by the way the sound echoed through the trees, suddenly Sela piped up as she scanned the trees through her scope,
"Got something!" she exclaimed, Ryan looked where her rifle was pointing and instantly saw large green blobs moving through the trees, there seemed to be about six of them and they seemed to be engaging something in a fight, they were just over half a mile away,
"Ok here's the plan, me and Shena will go down there and engage them, Sela you stay here and cover us" he said, he instantly picked up on his sister's ire as she looked up at him from her scope, she obviously didn't like the thought of being left here, but there was a method to his plan, "You're a far better shot with one of those ooman rifles than I'll ever be, we'll need you to keep them off our backs while we fight otherwise we could end up surrounded and what did father always say?" he said looking at her,
"A good hunt is a team effort" she said with a huff in her voice, he nodded,
"Remember what happened with the Manx Rhinos? If wasn't for you and father taking them down with those guns of yours there's no way me and our Matriarch would have stood a chance" he said, Sela eleth sighed heavily, she knew he was right, but she still didn't like the thought of leaving them to go down there alone, Ryan placed a hand on his sister's broad shoulder,
"If there's anyone I trust to have my back it's you Sela, I know how pauking dangerous with one of those you are, I remember that time you managed to shoot the wings off that butterfly when father was training you to use a pistol" he said, she nodded proudly remembering what he was talking about, he grinned under his mask and she could feel him smiling, "Alright then how about we remind these pauks why you don't pauk with a Mason?" he said and now it was her time to grin,
"Alright let's do this" she said, he patted her on her shoulder and ran his hand over the side of her head, then he turned and both he and Shena turned and began to climb down the cliff, while she got herself into a better shooting position and set up her rifle by dialing in the scope, she was determined now, not one of the bullets that left this gun barrel was going to miss, she was going to claim a victory of her own here.
Ryan and Shena made their way down the cliff and took to the trees as they reached the canopy, the pair of them moved rapidly through the branches leaping from branch to branch, Shena again was surprised by Ryan's incredible level of grace as he bounced effortlessly from branch to branch, he easily made jumps that even made her pause and she'd always prided herself on her climbing abilities and her ability to move rapidly when in the trees, she figured that this had to do with the ooman in him and she guessed that as a species they must be pretty graceful and fast, but she also realized that it was a real pleasure to watch and she was actually thrilled with the chance to hunt with him let alone to be able to hunt kiande amedha at his side, her heart was pounding as she leapt and not just from the efforts of the movements required to pull of the jumps, but from the thrill of going after the most dangerous prey in the universe with the male she loved at her side, that's when it really hit her, she'd just realized in her own head that she truly did love him, after all of two days of knowing this amazing male she had fallen for him and her feelings had just truly hit her, she'd known that she'd liked him from the beginning but it was only now that the veil of the denial had totally lifted, it had even managed to cloud her mind after the emotional transference that they had done together, but after spending a night willingly in his arms and now heading off to a hunt with him had forced her to see it clearly for the first time and she reveled in it.
As Ryan glanced at Shena Black Crest bouncing gracefully from branch to branch his mandibles dropped open, her lithe figure was an amazing contrast to the greens and browns of the canopy, she was by far the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life, this figure of an amazing, proud, young Yaujta huntress in her element really hit him hard, the way that the sunlight filtering through the leaves caught her skin and made it positively glow as she jumped gracefully through the air, her whole body twisting as she dropped onto yet another branch before full on sprinting along it, her powerful and slender legs compressing causing her toned thighs to tense as she made her next jump.
There was no denying it now, he had fallen completely in love with this amazing female, his respect for her was deep, this was mainly because when they'd connected for the first time he'd seen all the pain and humiliation that she'd suffered at the hands of her cruel peers, yet she remained proud and she remained standing, she'd shrugged off their cruel taunts and their belittling of her accomplishments and achievements, her refusal to quit and sheer determination to best all odds thrown at her kinda reminded him of his Matriarch, but that wasn't a bad thing, his father had always told him that when it came to women that he should always choose one who respects herself first, then they will be your equal. He remembered being confused by his words when he said that there was nothing sexier than a strong proud woman who wants to be your equal, nothing more nothing less, now these words made perfect sense to him, because here he saw a young woman who he knew he could trust to have his back, who he knew would stand shoulder to shoulder with him when the going got tough, this was a woman who he wanted in his life, with whom he desperately wanted to share his life.
The pair of them arrived at the scene of the fight with the kiande amedha, there were more of them than they had originally thought, Ryan spotted at least eight of them, they appeared to be attacking some sort of giant primate, which seemed to have responded by hitting at least three of them into the ground like one of his father homemade nails, it was massive standing at least four meters tall and was covered in bright red and gold fur, it seemed to be rather pissed off by the constant attacks by the kiande amedha who were attacking it's rear legs in an attempt to bring it down, "Plan?" Shena asked, from his right, Ryan focused on the kiande amedha and instantly a green and black aura sprung up around them, the large primate had an aura as red as it's fiery fur,
"I think it would be prudent to let that thing thin them out a bit before we attack, no need to fight on two fronts, if we end up drawing that thing's attention we'll have one hell of a fight on our hands" he said, Shena nodded agreeing with him, the primate looked pissed off, but it was definitely losing this battle considering how much damage the kiande amedha were doing to it, as they watched the primate tore one of the bugs it had caught in half and threw the halves at its comrades, but both of them saw the smoke rising from its hands where the acidic blood was doing serious damage, it followed up this attack by flattening another one with a massive hammer fist that shook the ground and caused the bug to burst like an over ripe sit, in retaliation the two of the bugs jumped on its back and raced upwards, it managed to get hold of one of them and swung it like a club towards another killing them both with the force of the impact, but the one that managed to scale it got a devastating hit in with its tail, it managed to swipe it across the primates throat severing an artery, the huge jet of blood that sprayed from its throat signaled its doom, the massive creature swung lazily around in a circle before collapsing to the forest floor dead, "It put up an honorable fight" Shena said quietly, Ryan nodded, the bug that had killed it stood triumphantly on its chest one of the five remaining bugs left alive, it screeched it's victory to the canopy and as it raised up it's head exploded in a shower of acidic goo.
Shena looked at this in total surprise, she glanced at Ryan as he heard the report echo through the trees, "Hah trust my sister to get the first kill in, damn she's a fantastic sniper, alright now it's our turn" he said, suddenly Shena understood what had happened, that massive report had come from Shena's massive ooman rifle, but it had totally surprised her, she'd always been led to believe that ooman weaponry was weak and worthless, but that could never be said of anything that was capable of taking down a kiande amedha with a single shot, quickly she readied her weapons and jumped down after Ryan who was now on the ground level, he was right now it was their turn and she had no intention of disappointing her perspective mate, in fact quite the opposite, she was determined to impress him, with this battle she would prove herself worth of the love she knew he had for her, while at exactly the same time Ryan was thinking the exact same thing about her.
The remaining kiande amedha turned to look where the shot had come from and instantly saw the two young hunters at the edge of the trees, they screeched a challenge which both Ryan and Shena replied to with their own roars, then both groups charged right towards each other.