Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.
The brief rest after the nasty fight between A'sao and Nai'stip was what they needed before adventuring out for a better hiding spot, although the tension lingered through silent glares during the walk. Ethan wisely stayed close to Vi'su and A'sao, trailing behind the brute of a Leader while she surveyed for danger.
"We're here," Nai'stip said harshly.
Clearing through the curtain of vines, they stumbled upon a metal structure that was far more massive than Ethan expected, half embedded into the rocky wall but barely holding itself together. From what he could tell, the frame resembled a vessel that had fallen on this planet a long time ago with all the overgrowth and broken pieces littering the surroundings.
"A ship?" He heard a hiss from Nai'stip and he shuttered back.
"It is," Vi'su interrupted, "This was part of the last hunting group that came to get Na'tou-Va."
"What happened to them?"
No one answered but the tilted head movement and the quiet look underneath Vi'su's mask were enough and he should know. The Bad Bloods had done far worse horrors to the people who were unfortunate to even be there, the memory of Grace and her cries of mercy as she was struck down like a wounded dog stung in his chest, the wickedness of Na'tou-Va bringing forth the rage that threatened to reach the surface.
He clenched his chest. If they could do that to humans, imagine what they do to their kind.
"You shouldn't worry," A'sao placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, sensing his worry, "This has been abandoned for many seasons. The Bad Bloods won't think of us coming here."
"If they haven't trailed us first," Nai'stip hissed, "Don't forget it," Nai'stip ducked her head over a hanging metal and disappeared, leaving them alone for a second.
"So much for that," Vi'su grumbled at A'sao, "Let's get this over with."
All of them entered the broken ship, weaving through tight spaces of wires and other weird stuff that Ethan couldn't decipher, line symbols decorated every surface that hadn't been destroyed. Is this their language or something? He stumbled on a mural depicting a warrior like the females going into battle with creatures that were out of this world with pride and strength like he'd seen in historical movies like Troy. Weird . . .
After going deeper into the ship, they finally settled on an open space that used to be some sort of gathering area, open but covered enough by the cliff and metal plates that it would be difficult for an enemy to get the drop on them if they invaded. Nai'stip sat down on the edge and leaned into the wall, taking her mask off and resting it next to her, "Get some rest, all of you. We'll be planning to counterattack soon."
A'sao grumbled and sat on the opposite side, keeping a close eye on Nai'tsip. After this whole incident, she had to ensure her Leader didn't do something while her guard was down. She never fully trusted her to begin with, and now this was a red flag for Nai'stip to endanger the entire group with no regard for the consequences. It was the Yautja way of honor to fight to the death, especially against Bad Bloods . . . but on the logical side, she knew they needed to do things differently. The track record for the hunting parties that have tracked Na'tou-Va down was poor, they followed the Code of Honor to the letter and fought them.
Look how they ended up . . .
A'sao sighed to herself as she took her mask, her muscles aching after the adrenaline dissipated and the pain from her fight with Nai'stip grew worse but she refused to visibly show it or else it would display weakness and her Leader would take any opportunity to get at her. She glanced at Ethan who wiggled uncomfortably on the hard floor and then to Vi'su who nodded.
With nothing else to do but wait, A'sao closed her eyes and listened to the whistles and crickets as nightfall overtook the sky and the suns faded in the distance.
A'sao had woken up a few hours later, met with the light of a small fire illuminating the dark abyss. When did that happen? Slowly, she moved to see Vi'su tending to the flame while Nai'stip laid with her back turned against her, a wise choice to not see each other right now. Despite their injuries, it paled to quench the tension within her, much less Nai'stip's.
Wait . . . Where's the ooman?
She stood quickly, panic swelled in her chest when there was no sign of him, and the urge to act came in like a flood.
"He's fine, A'sao," Vi'su sat down next to the fire, paying mind to sharpen her blade, "He went out to get some air."
"Where?" She suppressed a growl.
"Out for some air."
"And you let him go?"
Vi'su glanced to Nai'stip for a second, "He said he needed some space. I thought it would be best after everything. You know . . . oomans and all."
A'sao wanted to vent her frustration in letting Ethan leave without supervision but she paused. Knowing Vi'su, she thought this through carefully and figured Ethan had enough common sense not to run away. If there was one thing she excelled at, it was carrying the wisdom of an Elder. She is the offspring of one after all.
She headed for the exit, "I'll check on him. Make sure to keep vigilant."
"Understood."
The coldness of the air hit her body like a hurricane despite the thickness of her hardened skin that kept her warm most of the time. She held strong as her body's instincts kicked in to shiver. Damn this planet. Her biomask activated and saw the heat signature of Ethan trailing away rather far.
Where are you going?
A'sao leaped into the treetops for a better view, her scan confirmed that Ethan didn't go far as she expected, only to a set of rock formations that blended well enough in the environment, giving plenty to cover and strategically smart. A small smirk formed on her mouth.
It didn't take long to spot him settled inside a cave, fiddling with a piece of metal, abnormal noises from his ears somewhat interfering with her biomask settings. She softly landed a few feet away so as not to startle him, unmasking as she walked to him. Little did it help as Ethan jumped in alarm when he looked up as she made it to the entrance, "Oh!"
"What are you doing?"
Embarrassed, he slipped trying to get on his feet, almost dropping the device in his hands, "I was just . . ." He scratched his head, "I was just getting some air."
She grumbled, "So far from us?"
She didn't expect the reaction he gave to her, almost immediately lowering his head to whatever he was holding, heavy air of depression swirled around him and A'sao almost regretted saying such a question, immediately deflecting from it.
"What do you have?"
Ethan's body tightened and then relaxed, a smile appeared on his lips for a brief moment, "Just something to help me relax. With all the shit we faced, I needed it badly."
A'sao tilted her head, "What for?"
Again, Ethan lowered his head, "It's nothing."
That simple answer only made things complicated, not able to quench her curiosity but rather enhance it. A'sao snatched it right as he turned his back to her, taking him a minute longer to realize what happened and widening his eyes as she lifted it to get a better look.
"Hey! Give it back!" He tried to snatch it away, making poor attempts to jump to her height. Out of instinct, A'sao growled deeply and that stopped the ooman in his tracks. Ethan lowered his head again and a stinging pain zapped in her chest, instant regret came.
She looked down at the metal device, "This is important to you?"
Ethan didn't answer and A'sao sighed, "Here."
She held out the object, watching as Ethan grabbed it without hesitation nor any sense of danger. If it were another Yautja in her place, having an ooman of all beings snatch an item in that manner, he would have been killed in an instant. Lucky for him that she was tolerant of his 'enthusiasm' given the way he cared for it until he pressed on it and began to play the noise again, "What is that?"
"This?" Ethan asked as A'sao shook her head in irritation, "It's an MP3 player."
"A what?"
"A music player. It plays music as entertainment."
A'sao lifted her upper mandible, "What sort of entertainment is it that screeches in your ears? Sounds more like torture."
"Oh . . . Well, it's because I had it playing in a rock genre. Not a big fan of it either," He fumbled with it and then another sound softly began to play, the animal loop recorder translated in time with the ooman words.
I'm no stranger to the rain
I'm a friend of thunder
Friend, is it any wonder lightning strikes me
I've fought with the devil
Got down on his level
But I never gave in, so he gave up on me
A'sao's confusion grew, the melody was soft but had an undertone beat that Ethan moved with. At first, it was tolerable until Ethan started to sway his hips back and forth and then his arms followed suit, eyes and mind closed to everything else. The next thing she knew, he swung in a slow circle a few times. Okay. This ooman is starting to act weird. Is he sick?
It took a moment before Ethan noticed the slight awkwardness in her, "What's wrong?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just dancing."
"Dancing?"
He stopped, raising his hands with a perplexed expression, "Do you even know what dancing is?"
A'sao held a mandible between her fingers, pondering over the question. She had studied the biology and culture of oomans out of pure interest when she was a suckling, much in secrecy due to others of her kind, but this was not what the ancient scriptures covered over. Then again, it was for hunting them as trophies, nothing more.
"Why don't you try?"
"Excuse me?"
Ethan tightened his body closer to the center, a clear sign of being nervous, "It helps to calm the mind . . . and I think a break from Mrs. Bitch might take your mind off of recent events."
Mrs. Bitch? Her translator had difficulty transcribing it. Must be slang of some kind.
"Come on," Ethan smiled softly and then continued this 'dance' he was talking about.
A'sao looked around, checking to make sure no one was watching before walking to his side. It would be easier to walk away but she had nowhere to go than back to the shelter since the purpose is to stay low for now. . . and deal with Nai'stip of all hunters. Between that and this, she chose the latter option.
A'sao stood there, all the more confused as Ethan did some stepping dance as if in a ritual for the crazy ones. The animal loop played along with the song and she listened carefully.
I'm no stranger to the rain
I can spot bad weather
And I'm good at finding shelter in a downpour
I've been sacrificed by brothers
Crucified by lovers
But through it all, I withstood the pain
I'm no stranger to the rain
She stood still, observing Ethan as he kept going. She noticed the smile on his mouth and the way he acted, carefree and oblivious to everything else with his eyes closed. Somehow, this ooman could think of anything else other than staying alive, that would have been considered a fool's death sentence in an unforgiving world like this planet.
Still . . . He's . . . interesting. A smile faintly etched onto her mouth until a rustling of leaves grabbed her attention. The bush shook intensely and instinct kicked in.
"Get down!"
A'sao wrapped her arms around Ethan, covering his body as they fell to the ground, quickly throwing a knife into the bush. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to fall halfway on top of him and gravity took her head with it . . . smacking her mouth right into Ethan's.
What the?!
A'sao pulled away immediately but the shock of it all had both of them frozen, staring at each other with wide eyes. Her heart was racing like a rhynth stampede, the heat and her musk swelling with great intensity as her body trembled.
What the Paya did I just do . . ?
Da'kiun took a breath of relief as he jumped into the trees, barely missing the knife that came right at him, nicking him on the shoulder where the awu'asa left a narrow piece of skin exposed. All he aimed for was to observe the females but earned nothing but a near-death experience. That female is sharp!
He grabbed his shoulder, held a winch from the shot of pain, and felt warm liquid oozing and lots of it.
She got me good. I need to get out of here and heal before she sees me. This is a total mistake.
He shook his head. What did you expect? To trust a former Bad Blood is a fool's errand. There's no way that—
Da'kium paused, catching the scent of musk swirling in the air that was coming from the direction of the female. He glanced through the branches and was shocked to see the female Yautja on top of the ooman, both locked in a sort of embrace and making intimate contact that only occurs during—
No. That can't be.
His sensor went off in alarm, the biomask indicating two unknowns heading his way. Someone's coming!
Already seen enough, he got out of there, leaping through the maze of a jungle to his safe place to treat his wound. But even as he abandoned his mission, a thought nagged in his mind and it wouldn't stop.
But maybe . . . just maybe . . . they might be the key to ending all of this.
And then . . . maybe . . .
Hello my fellow hunters and huntresses.
It has been a tough road for my during this holiday season and that's the reason why my posts have been delayed. But I'm going back on track, starting with this new chapter of Respect that many have waited for!
I hope you enjoy and more updates are coming.
Thank you and Happy hunting and Happy Hunting! :)))))))
Awu'asa = Armor
Paya = Goddes of Life (opposite of Cetanu, The Black God of Death)
Song: I'm No Stranger to The Rain by Keith Whitley
Normal = Human speaking human language
Bold = Yautja speaking ooman (human) language
Bold and Italics = Yautja speaking Yautja language