INTSTM 7
R'ka-thwei nodded nervously. She had no idea how she would communicate with this ooman who had truly risked life and limb to preserve her honor. After removing her mask, she reached out and began tapping on the female's right shoulder. She was careful to avoid shaking the female, and to avoid breaking the skin which she had found to be much thinner than she would have thought possible. It took several moments of this before the female's eyes slowly opened with a groan. The ooman blinked rapidly several times as she obviously tried to clear her mind and her sight. Then, the ooman focused on her, and R'ka-thwei flexed her mandibles in a smile of relief. That relief was short lived when she caught the unmistakable scent of fear, as the ooman began to struggle. She grabbed the ooman's right shoulder firmly and began shaking her head 'no' rather vigorously while growling slightly at the same time.
She was relieved when the ooman quit struggling, and she knew that she needed to inform the female of her condition, but she didn't know the pauk-de ooman language! Then she got and idea. She quickly pointed at the ooman's upper left arm, before tapping a specific point on her own left arm. Then she put both of her fists together before snapping them both down and apart to mimic the act of breaking something. Then she repeated the act with a slightly lower point on her own arm. She kept her focus on the ooman while she went through these actions, and she saw a strange expression on the ooman's face while she did so. But it was when she started doing the same thing in relation to the ooman's ribs that there was a sharp gasp from the female.
"You're saying that my left arm is broken in three places, and that I've got some broken ribs too; right?" Jennifer asked in confusion.
She found it a little hard to think, or focus, but she was sure that the terrifying, and more than slightly hideous thing above her was trying to show her just how badly she was injured. She frowned as she tried to remember how she'd gotten hurt, and suddenly it all came back in a rush. The alien world, the alien prisoners, the attempted rape, the short lived fight, and finally the huge bruiser of a bastard that had thrown her nearly thirty feet through the air with one hand. As soon as she remembered all of that she felt a flash of terror because she felt no pain at all. She knew from past experience that any injury like the ones she'd received would hurt like hell even with good pain killers, so the only thing she could think of was that something had damaged the spinal cord in her neck, and that she was now paralyzed.
Jennifer wasn't even thinking about what she was doing as she closed her eyes and covered them with her right hand. It was when she felt the presence of her hand that she lifted it, and stared at it in total confusion. There was something that wasn't right here. She stared at her own hand for several seconds without really seeing it, as she concentrated on what she could feel. There was the pressure of her head against what she was laying on, along with the same feeling of pressure along her entire body. She tried to move her right foot, and felt not only the movement of her foot, but also that her foot was rubbing against something really furry.
She blinked her eyes a few times as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her mind felt strange. It was almost as if her thoughts were coming in slow motion. It was so hard to think for some reason. Jennifer closed her eyes and tried to summon every last bit of willpower that she could muster, and it seemed to help some, but her thoughts still felt as if her mind was filled with thick molasses.
Opening her eyes again, she once more saw the head and face of the huge alien in front of her. The high domed forehead almost looked like a mass of scar tissue, except that there was color in the raised patterns on the alien's head. The eyes were deep set and yellow like a cat or perhaps a wolf. The difference in those eyes was that instead of white around the iris, there was solid black. In place of hair, there were many thick fleshy protrusions that resembled nothing less than huge dreadlocks which had some rather strange beads of gold on them. It was the mouth that was the most disturbing though. There were two large… well… tusks, was the only thing she could think of to describe them, that angled slightly downward from the top of each side. There were two more that were twice as long on the bottom of each side and all four of those tusks overlapped in the center of the mouth. The overall aspect was one that was straight out of a nightmare, and Jennifer couldn't stop the chill of fear that ran down her spine as she looked at the alien that was hovering over her.
Suddenly, a slight sound to her left drew her eyes away from the huge alien on her left side, and she saw a second one. It was immediately obvious that this one was smaller, but different as well. Instead of a black and gold coloring, this one was a pale yellow-green with darker green accents. Another difference that was immediately noticeable was that instead of a normal domed head, there was a flat forehead that sloped straight up towards the back of the skull. This second alien was also much smaller. Otherwise, the two were very much alike.
Jennifer's right hand automatically went to her waist to grab one of the weapons that she always wore on duty, only to find nothing there. There was nothing there! Not even a belt, the waistband of her fatigues or even her panties! Shocked into action, she raised her head and looked down at her body. There was a huge discolored bruise that had formed along the entire left side of her body, but more disturbing was all the blackish blood that covered her stomach and sides, and was already drying. Hurt, devoid of any and all weapons with which to defend herself, and also completely naked, sheer panic filled her mind, and she started to scoot away from the two aliens.
R'ka-thwei acted the instant that the female tried to move. She knew that the ooman was scared, because she could easily smell the thick cloying scent of her fear. Her left hand snapped out and pinned the female's right shoulder to the furs beneath to hold the female in place, while she shook her head.
"Not move! Ooman hurt. Not move. Ooman… safe." Kwei-kv'var-de said carefully. He knew that he wasn't very well versed in the ooman language at all, and that he only knew a few dozen words or so, not counting the insults and profanity, but he thought that he might soon be learning more, if he could get this ooman to be friendly enough to cooperate, and teach him.
That voice! She knew that voice. It was the same voice that had asked her to free the female alien that had been about to be raped! Suddenly, she was taking a more careful look at both of the aliens next to her. These had been the two prisoners! She was certain of it! Jennifer closed her eyes with a small amount of relief. Whatever had happened after she had blacked out, the two had gotten free, and more, they had brought her with them to someplace that they believed was safe.
She was then struck by how strange the words sounded. She remembered that the alien didn't have any lips, and that it had mispronounced a sound or two the first time she'd heard it speak, so why was it able to speak so clearly now? She replayed the sounds in her mind, and realized that he had made the proper sounds; it was just that she hadn't heard them clearly. It was perfectly understandable when she finally thought about it, given the growling nature of the alien's voice.
Opening her eyes once more, Jennifer looked again at the smaller alien on her left. There were several slashing scars on the alien's torso, which was thick with large and bulging muscles. The alien was squatted down on the balls of the feet, and her eyes were drawn to the strange loincloth that the alien wore. Then her eyes went wider as she realized that the loincloth was bulging in a way that told her this was a male. Suddenly she was acutely aware of her nude condition, and she tried to cover herself.
R'ka-thwei had been watching this ooman female intently. She wanted to know everything she could about the tiny being that had rescued her from the clutches of the dishonorable males. It was when the female tried to cover her genitalia while staring at the smaller Yautja that she realized the female was still being stared at by a male when she was not dressed.
"You need to stop staring at her while she's naked." She ordered in a slight growl without even bothering to turn her head.
"You're right. I'll wait over by the fire pit." He answered quickly as he stood up. Kwei-kv'var-de knew how close the Black Yautja female had come to being dishonorably forced, and he was sure that she would now be extremely wary of any male for a while. He also knew that she was now going to be very protective of the ooman female while that ooman was incapacitated by injury. With no wish to be killed or severely injured, he stepped away from the both of them.
Right after the male left her immediate presence, the ooman seemed to relax a little. That was good, since a relaxed state would allow the healing serum to have a much greater effect. R'ka-thwei reached over and picked up her battle mask, before putting it on. She cycled through the visual modes until she could view the ooman's internal organs. The healing serum that had been applied directly to the damaged areas, had effectively stopped all of the internal bleeding, and within a few moments, it would be safe to move the ooman, if it was done carefully.
"I'll take her into the next chamber to get her cleaned up. While I do that, would you be willing to take this fur out to the sea and clean it up some, since I'll have her in there?" R'ka-thwei asked quietly.
"I can do that, but where should I put it to dry? If I leave it outside, it would be a clear signal that at least one of these caves are occupied." Kwei-kv'var-de replied reasonably.
"I don't know. That didn't occur to me." She answered quickly, glad that this male was thinking of proper concealment as she started looking around her cave.
"There. Hang it in front of the tunnel entrance to dry." R'ka-thwei finally answered.
"Excellent idea! That will help stop or muffle any sounds that we might make, so they aren't so noticeable from outside." Kwei-kv'var-de replied quickly.
R'ka-thwei narrowed her eyes at the much smaller male as she stared at him in sudden suspicion. "Why are you so concerned about concealing the location of my home?"
"Revealing the location of this cave so that others might find you would be highly dishonorable after you have graciously allowed me to enter. There is also the fact that I am now stranded on this world. I can see that having an ally is important here. You and the ooman are the only two I know on this planet. I've been here less than a ten day, and already, I've been subjected to the dishonorable actions of others. If you will accept me as an ally, then I will gladly contribute whatever can be salvaged from my ship. The armory was stripped bare of all awu'asa, but the equipment for repair still remains. The medical room is also still fully stocked, and the ship's computer can still be accessed from the library." Kwei-kv'var-de reasoned quickly.
He didn't want to seem like a beggar, even though he knew that what he was asking was an incredibly huge favor, and this Black Yautja female really had no real reason to trust him.
"Why should I allow this? How do I know that you won't try the same thing they did?" R'ka-thwei retorted immediately.
"Because not only do I have more honor than that, but I am now forced to wield the same shattered blade that you have. You have the advantage of size and strength. You said that you were sent here right after your Chiva, I completed my own Chiva thirty one years ago, which gives me some advantage in experience. By working together we would be less likely to be overcome by others. Besides, I too owe the ooman female a debt of honor, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to repay that debt." Kwei-kv'var-de told her bluntly.
"You may stay then. I'll get the ooman bathed, and I'll let you know before we come out." She replied.
Kwei-kv'var-de looked at the Black Yautja in confusion. "Come out of where?"
"My bathing chamber. There is a pool of water to bathe in. Once I have bathed myself and the ooman, you may use the pool to bathe as well. While you are doping so, I'll prepare some meat for a meal." She answered plainly.
The young hunter knew that his mandibles had gone slack from total surprise as he stared at the large female in disbelief. "You really have made a comfortable home out of this cave!"
R'ka-thwei declined to respond to that comment, because she didn't want pity from the small male, but she knew that she had made as many improvements as she could think of to make the cave livable. But, now she had a reason to be concerned. After being on the run for four years, and living alone in this cave for another half year, she suddenly found herself with not one but two others sharing it with her. She was not sure that she would be able to adapt to the sudden change easily.
Turning her attention back to the ooman female, she saw that the female had her eyes closed, and thought that the female might have fallen back to sleep. As soon as she touched the female's shoulder to prepare to wake her, the ooman opened her eyes.
"Tell her that I'm going to take her into the next chamber and give her a bath." R'ka-thwei instructed quickly since she didn't want the female to cause further injury by struggling.
"I would, but I don't know those words. I only know a little of her language, and some of it is not easy to say." Kwei-kv'var-de answered.
R'ka-thwei shook her head and began to gently ease her hands under the ooman female to lift her up. Instantly the sharp tang of fear assailed her sense of smell in a sharp acrid odor. She knew that the ooman female couldn't be strong enough to effectively resist her strength when healthy, but while injured like this, any attempt to fight would only aggravate already severe injuries. She decided that the move should be done quickly and smoothly to prevent any further injury to the female.
"Not move. Ooman safe. Ooman not move." Kwei-kv'var-de directed to the smaller female quickly as he saw what was about to happen.
Although she wasn't the slightest bit sure of any of this, Jennifer knew that she really wasn't in any condition to fight against it either. She couldn't help going somewhat stiff from fear as the huge alien lifted her up and carried her. The trip was short, and she was taken past a hanging piece of leather, into a much smaller and slightly warmer cave, where she was gently laid down on another piece of fur.
Jennifer turned her head to look around the smaller cave and saw the large pool of water, along with a good sized fire nearby. There were a couple of dozen rocks the size of her head that were actually in the fire itself, and she frowned as she tried to figure that one out. Looking back at the alien that had brought her here, she saw the alien stripping down to bare skin. Then the alien retrieved a set of strange looking ivory tongs before getting one of the rocks from the fire and dropping it in the pool of water.
As soon as the rock hit the water, that water began to sizzle and boil as the heat was transferred to the water. The process was being repeated with hot rocks, while the cooled rocks were placed back in the fire. Soon, Jennifer could see slight trails of steam rising from the pool, and her mouth fell open at the ingenuity that she had just been witness to. Suddenly, she realized that it couldn't be too much different from the way her ancestors had made steam in their sweat lodges, and she had to smile in appreciation at just how effective the method really was.
"I guess this means it's bath time now, huh?" Jennifer asked offhandedly with a glance towards the female alien as she slowly started to relax after being moved in the way she had. She was thoroughly surprised that being moved hadn't been painful, because she was positive that with the broken bones that she'd been told she had sustained that it should have been excruciating.
The alien tilted her head and let out a rather strange combination of growls and almost bird like trills, while looking at her. Jennifer was sure that the alien probably hadn't understood her, but it wasn't really important, so she let the subject drop. Besides, what she really wanted to know was the reason she wasn't in pain, and if she was actually as injured as she had been shown.