Chapter 32: Building Bridges.
Shena Black Crest looked at the long blade in front of her fact, the thing was absolutely huge and was beautifully decorated with unusual runes and lettering that had been etched into the metal, the blade was easily wider than her arm at its widest point, following it upwards with her eyes she realized that it appeared to be some kind of sword that was easily six foot in length made in a black metal that shimmered in the sunlight making the runes really pop out, it led up to a large curved golden guard that was shaped like a set of wings, or more accurately bat or dragons wings, she couldn't quite tell from here, this flowed into a massive two handed grip with a large round black and silver colored pommel on the end.
The massive sword was being held by someone dressed in what appeared to be some form of Yaujta armor, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen in her life, it was completely white and gold from the crested breast plate right to the white and gold hunting mask, the figure also had a billowing white cape behind it that swirled around it like a white fire.
The figure had a presence like nothing Shena had ever seen in her life, it just screamed fierce without saying a word, stood to the figure's right was the owner of the second set of boots, this one was blatantly a female Yaujta, her feminine shape and brown and tan skin was visible below her armor but she was dressed in a rather unfamiliar clan armor. She was wearing a rather nasty looking par of twin wrist blades made in a deep black metal, this led into her very toned and well-kept arms, the chest plate was gold and black that led into a massive set of shoulder pauldrons with a pair of twin mounted plasma casters that bore a crest that seemed familiar to her for some reason, Shena noticed that both plasma casters were pointed right at her head.
For a moment she stared at both the figures and they stared right back at her with neither speaking, she noted that both figures were extremely well-armed, both had a collection of swords and blades hanging off them and they seemed to be geared for any type of engagement.
The figure in white decided to break the standoff and slowly lowered the large sword before flipping it over and locking it into a rather large scabbard mounted between its shoulders, Shena couldn't tell if it was a male or a female but it seemed a bit on the small side for a Yaujta despite its armor, it was at that point that Shena's eyes locked onto something that nearly made them pop out of her head, on the figure's back right next to the sword was a very long projectile weapon, it was exactly the same type of ooman gun that Sela carried.
"Where did you get that rifle!?" she exclaimed pointing at it, both figures looked at each other as if deciding how to respond, "Did you find it on a Yaujta girl near the top of that ridge line? Is she ok? Is she alive? tell me please!" Shena demanded in a half aggressive half pleading tone, that caught both figures attention and the female snapped her head around to look at her and Shena heard a growl coming from her, but just as the female was about to take a step towards her the figure in white held a hand up and placed it on her shoulder which seemed to calm her,
"So you must be Shena black crest I presume?" the figure asked in a distinctly masculine but rather soft voice, this surprised Shena, who was this figure?
"How do you know my name?" she demanded, the figure reached up and with both hands removed his hunting mask and as soon as it was clear of his face Shena's eyes nearly popped out of her head,
"Because you've met my son" the ooman male said in perfect Yaujta.
"Y-Y-Y-You're an ooman!?" Shena stammered staring at his face in disbelief, he smiled broadly and his bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the light, the very same bright blue eyes that Sela eleth had.
"Yup, my name is Jack Mason and this is my life mate Tik eleth Mason" he said first gesturing to himself and then to the female to his right, Shena swallowed hard this was not the way she had wanted to meet Ryan's parents.
Jack suddenly thrust a hand out in her direction and she winced at first almost expecting it to contain a blade of some kind, but she swiftly realized it was an empty hand extended intended to help her to her feet, timidly she took it and with surprising strength for an ooman he hoisted her to her feet, then in a sudden flash she felt another presence in her head and as she watched him she saw Jack's eye's change to a silver color in the same way that Ryan's had when he'd entered her head, she tried to pull her hand away in fear but Jack's grip was extremely strong, then as quickly as the presence had come it went and Jack's eyes returned to normal, he released her hand and she snatched it back to her chest and cradled it looking at him in shock, "My apologies for the intrusion young one but I find it quicker and easier to go directly to source rather than spend time questioning someone" he said apologetically in his soft voice,
"So you really are a Dream Warrior, when Ryan said it to me I didn't know how to believe him, I didn't think ooman's could be Dream Warriors" Shena said quietly, Jack smiled and nodded,
"We oomans may just come to surprise you Shena if you give us a chance" he said smiling,
"So? Where are our children?" Tik eleth suddenly said from Jack's right in a rather gruff and irritated voice, Jack turned to face his large soul mate,
"An Arbiter from the Shadow Claw clan has taken Ryan, he paralyzed Shena with a dart and took Ryan, she and Sela eleth tried to rescue him but failed and the Arbiter got away" Jack said to her, this news seemed to shock and annoy Tik eleth and she roared so loudly and with such intensity that it shook Shena to her very core, then suddenly Shena remembered Sela and she snapped out of her shock,
"Sela! We have to find Sela she could be hurt!" she said with an almost panicked voice, this sudden revelation snapped Tik eleth out of her fury and she looked right at Shena,
"Where is she!? Where is my beloved daughter!?" she growled at her menacingly, Shena pointed to the hole in the trees on the ridge,
"She was up there with her large ooman rifle, she was covering me while I tried to board the Arbiter's ship to rescue Ryan, but he fired at her with his plasma cannons before blowing me out of the air lock" she said quickly, the news that Shena had tried to rescue her son seemed to calm Tik's fury but it swiftly reignited when the thought that her daughter maybe laying injured or worse up there on that ridge,
"If my beloved daughter is injured or goddess forbid worse then I will personally tear that Arbiter's arms off and beat him to death with them, no-one pauks with my cubs!" Tik roared in a voice that sent a chill down Shena's spine before she set off in the direction of the ridge with Jack and Shena following behind her.
The three of them set a blistering pace through the jungle as they headed up to the ridge where Sela eleth had been, Shena couldn't help but look admiringly at the two figures running alongside her, Tik eleth was the epitome of a Yaujta female on the war path, fearsome, proud and strong, her every movement had confidence and purpose as she ran, then there was Jack, he moved with such speed and grace that Shena still struggled to believe that he was indeed ooman, he was nothing like the oomans she'd been brought up to believe were totally inferior and nothing more than a dumb prey species, the second he'd removed his mask she'd seen the powerful intelligence behind those sparkling blue eyes, she could also see where Ryan had gotten his looks from, then a blush flushed across her face as she realized what she'd just thought in her head, she'd inadvertently called an ooman attractive, that's when the memories of the diary that Sela had showed her came back and the vivid descriptions of what these two had done together and her blush intensified tenfold, she'd never been so glad of her hunting mask in her life.
Finally, they reached the crater where the Arbiter's plasma cannons had torn up the landscape, the trees were burnt to a crisp and there was a rather large hole right in the center, the three of them stood looking into the hole, there was no sign of a body or remains and they all took that as a good sign, Jack stepped up to the edge of the crater and he held up his hand as if he was gesturing to something unseen, then slowly he cast it about from left to right, Shena was about to say something when Tik eleth placed a rather large hand on her shoulder, "Do not interrupt him, he's calling to the spirits for guidance" she said in a gruff voice, Shena looked up at the big female who was staring at her ooman mate, then without a word Jack suddenly took off around the outside of the crater heading left, both Tik eleth and Shena Black Crest followed the ooman Dream Warrior closely as he ran into the trees, Shena couldn't help but be reminded of the time that she'd followed Ryan blindly through the forest till somehow he'd managed to lead her to the very cave that his sister had been in, this Dream warrior thing sure was confusing to watch but it never ceased to be fascinating.
Jack stopped next to a large tree, then he knelt down and inspected the ground, there were multiple boot prints on the ground and signs of rapid movement, the floor was littered with large shiny brass cases that Shena recognized were from Sela's rifle, Jack followed the foot prints away from the tree till he found a rather large mark on the ground, then he picked up some kind of small dart that had a wire coming from it and stood up holding it up for them to see, "The good news is our daughter is alive the bad news is that she too has been taken" Jack said turning to face Tik, she growled angrily as she took the small dart from him and inspected it,
"Bad bloods?" she spat the question as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, Jack shook his head,
"Nope and as weird as this sounds I think it was humans" he said using the proper name for his species, both Tik and Shena turned to look at him in confusion,
"That's a Taser dart, it's a human stun weapon, from what I'm seeing here she escaped from the Arbiter's parting shot only to be blindsided by a human who hit her with that and knocked her out, or more accurately two of them" he said pointing at the twin sets of foot prints leading away from the scene.
Tik eleth growled at this confusing information, "Why are there oomans here? And where did they come from? And what do they want with our daughter?" she asked in quick succession, Jack shrugged,
"I have no idea, as far as I know humans still don't have deep space capability, so the only thing I can come up with is that the bad bloods brought them here to hunt just like they did with me, maybe they mistook our Sela eleth for one of them, but then that beggars the question as to why they didn't just kill her?" he said rubbing his neck under his mask, the thought of her daughter being harmed caused Tik eleth to growl again,
"We must get our children back Ack!" she said, Jack turned and walked up to Tik before putting his arms around her large frame and drawing her into a hug,
"And we will my love and we'll make those who took them pay for what they have done" he said, Tik clicked her mandibles in agreement with her soul mate, "But first we need a plan because now this has just got a whole lot more complicated" he said, Tik eleth nodded in agreement and the pair of them released and turned to face Shena, "Ok I think it would be best if we spilt up" Jack said,
"Split up? Why?" Tik eleth asked,
"Two kids to find and two of us, it would be quicker and easier if we take one each" Jack said,
"Three of us!" Shena's voice came from their left and they both turned to look at her,
"This is my fault, if I hadn't allowed myself to fall for Ryan then the Arbiter would have had no reason to take him, but because he kissed me the Arbiter took him, so it's my fault and I have to get him back!" Shena said her voice cracking as she said it, Jack smiled under his mask, even Tik clicked her mandibles at this, then she walked up to her and placed a big hand on the young girl's shoulder,
"Do you truly love my son?" she asked in a very direct but slightly softer voice than she had been using, Shena looked at the proud matriarch of the Mason clan and ex member of her own clan and something her uncle had told her popped into her head, 'If you feel strongly about something always declare it with a loud and proud voice so that those that hear you know your conviction' he'd said, she knew that now was the time for her voice to be heard, she'd been toying with these new and exciting feelings in her head and her heart but now it was time to give them a voice,
"I Shena Black Claw full blooded huntress and former member of the Shadow claw clan do herby lay my heart claim to the full blooded hunter Ryan Mason of the proud clan Mason, I hereby declare my love for him and my intent to make him my life mate" she said in the loudest voice she could muster, she was as nervous as she'd ever been in her life to make a statement like this in front of a clan Matriarch, but it was what her customs dictated and she knew that her feelings for Ryan were not just whimsical, they were as true as every beat of her heart.
Upon hearing the young girl's loud declaration of love for her son and hearing the pride in her voice Tik eleth clicked her mandibles in acknowledgement, although she'd only known him a few days it was clear to her that this girl did indeed carry her son's heart with her own, just like her she'd fallen in love at first sight and she'd been lucky enough to meet her soul mate at such an early age but there was one last point that needed clarifying before she could do her duty as clan Matriarch, normally the male would be present during such a declaration, but in his stead there was another here who knew her son's heart and mind better than any other as he had been in there, so she turned to Jack, he simply nodded showing her that he knew that Ryan would accept this pledge had he been present as he'd been in Ryan's mind and he knew how he felt about this girl, she smiled below her mask, then she turned and placed both of her hands on her shoulders, "Shena Black Crest despite your youth you have respected our customs and our ways with the honor expected of all Yaujta, so I Tik eleth Mason Matriarch of the proud clan Mason hereby acknowledge your heart claim to my son and bless it, once we retrieve my son from the hands of the Arbiter you will be accepted into our clan with open arms" she said in a loud and very proud voice.
Shena couldn't believe it, she'd been terrified that Tik eleth was going to rip her heart from her chest and show it to her before she dies, but she'd just not only accepted her claim to Ryan but had blessed it, not only that she'd also extended her a place within their clan when this was all over so even if she had been exiled by the Shadow Claw clan she would now have a new home, she didn't know what to say to this and she could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes, then as Tik eleth released her Jack suddenly stepped up to her, his white armor gave him a mighty presence and that white cloak still swirled around him like fire, he was holding out something to her.
"Take this young one may it serve you like it's served me" he said holding out what appeared to be a rather long thin sword of some kind to her, she reached out and took it and the second her hand touched the handle she felt a buzzing coming from it that seemed to pierce her very soul before it stopped, Jack removed his mask and smiled at her, "It has accepted you that means your heart is pure" he said,
"Accepted me?" she asked looking confused, Jack pointed at the long sword in its black scabbard, on the hilt there was a large white winged animal,
"That's no ordinary sword young one but rather a rather famous one in my culture, that there is the sword of Perseus, a legendary human Dream Warrior, it took it from the bad bloods many years ago" he said, Shena looked at the sword and instantly she felt a flash of its power buzzing through her and she knew that Jack spoke the truth, "Here and one other gift for you" he said holding out his hand as if he meant to shake hers, without thinking she took it and instantly felt a flash of images and memories flooding into her mind, it was over before she was even capable of thinking of pulling away from him, "That should show you the best ways to use the sword" he said and to her surprise she realized now that when she touched the handle it felt as comfortable as if she'd been born holding it,
"Thank you but I am not worthy of such a gift" she said holding the sword out to him for him to take back, he shook his head,
"If you're going to be my daughter in law then you are going to learn that we Mason's never take back that which was given as a gift and that goes double for love, once given it is never taken back, now I know you've won my son's heart and when I looked into your mind I saw that he has won yours too, that which is given is never taken back" he said smiling, Shena smiled shyly and again felt the tears sting her eyes, "Right well here's the plan as I see it, you two can team up and go after Ryan and I will stay here and hunt down Sela eleth" Jack said, Tik eleth now looked at him confused as to where that had come from,
"It makes the most sense, as your old clan you would know them best and with young Shena here eager to redeem her honor and fight for her mate sending you both after Ryan is the best course, while I stay here and track the humans who took Sela" he said, Tik clicked her mandibles as she thought this over before nodding her head in agreement, then she walked over to Jack and pulled him into a tight embrace while stroking her mandibles over his face,
"Bring our daughter back and punish those who took her my mate" she said in a low voice, Jack reached up and kissed Tik's inner mouth,
"I will my love you can count on it" he said as they broke their kiss, Tik nodded to him and placed her hunting mask back on her face, then she turned to Shena and gestured for her to follow, Shena took one last look at the ooman who had just become her step father, he smiled at her one last time before placing his own mask back on and turning away and heading towards the forest, as she watched she saw some sort of invisible force start swirling around him, to her eyes it looked like heat haze coming off him in waves, even the grass seemed to bow out of his way like it was being blown away from him as he moved even though there was no breeze to move it, birds took to their wings as he approached and she was sure she could see animals in the forest fleeing, suddenly a hand appeared on her shoulder,
"You see it too don't you?" Tik eleth's voice asked from her side,
"What is it?" Shena asked in a stunned voice,
"You're witnessing the righteous rage of a Dream Warrior young one, it affects everything around him, it's like he becomes a walking storm, I've only ever seen it twice myself and both times it was when our cubs were at risk, when he's in this state nothing in this plain of existence will stop him from achieving his goals, he can and will do the impossible to protect the ones he loves, so don't worry about him, worry about whoever is stupid enough to get in his way" Tik eleth said as she watched her beloved disappear into the forest, the image instantly made Shena think of Ryan and the way he'd fought the bad blood to protect her, now she knew what it was, "Come now young one, we have an Arbiter to punish" Tik eleth said suddenly from her side and she turned and placed her mask back on her face before nodding, then they both set off at high speed towards where Tik had left her ship.