As we traveled to the Dune Valley ,which in reality was just a large desert portion of the valley we were already in, Jon and I had a conversation with Trish. Our conversation mostly revolved around the knowledge she had about the Thei-de Tjau'ke, as we wanted to have a better understanding of the threat we were facing so we'd be better prepared when we did face it. In retrospect I think we should've done that before we left, but the threat didn't seem all that big of a deal at the time, so you could understand our complacency. That and this would be the only time for us to get it before someone else did, and we'd already gone to far to turn back now.
As for our conversation with Trish, well it was pretty lengthy since she went into a lot of the religious aspects the creatures inspired with other Yautja clans and things of that nature. As for the physical attributes and abilities of the creature, Trish described them as being long serpentine creatures with segmented bodies. They possessed multiple small legs close to their underbellies, along with rows of sharp spine like protrusions, and two large scorpion like pincers. Oddly enough the function of the spines and pincers are not primarily for offensive or even defensive purposes (although they are also largely used for those purposes too), but rather they are used to help the creatures burrow and move while underground. Now you'd think that a creature like that wouldn't need eyes and would only need to sense vibrations to hunt, however these creatures do spend a substantial amount of time above the ground as well while hunting. Trish didn't explain how good their vision was, nor how many their were to help give some idea of what their visionary range was like, but I had a feeling we'd figure that part out once we encountered it. Among the creatures' other physical attributes and abilities they had an armored rock like exterior that was unusually soft ,likely an exoskeleton that it used to trap heat in, rather than for protection ,since I guessed these creatures needed the warmth to survive, and because I also guessed these creatures didn't have very many natural predators, if they had any. They also had a very weak toxin gland in their mouth that would sting, but not do much else besides that.
Trish's vast knowledge of the Thie-de Tjau'ke and the religions that revolved around them was a true testament to how intelligent and well educated she was. It kind of made me wonder why she even had goals of becoming a hunter. I even asked her.
"I enjoy the thrill of the hunt just as many of us Yatja do. But my fascination for learning is why I strive to become an elite hunter. I wish not just to hunt my prey but to learn of them too, and grow a better understanding of them. Kjon says you are a scholar, is that correct?" She asked.
"Yes, why?" I answered.
"Then you may understand that their is a sort of joy and a power that comes in learning. All of my life I have been regarded for my smaller body when compared to my fellow young-bloods. But achievement does not come through strength alone, it is also earned through cunning and strategy, which comes from learning. I don't wish to really achieve a high ranking status through these means, I enjoy the experience of learning things." Trish explained. She actually had a very very good point in that statement, and I couldn't just understand her motivations, I could relate to them personally. It was also interesting to think about it when you compared her and her motives to other Yautja. You could truly see how different she was from them, not just in body, but in mind as well.
"That's actually very very interesting Trish, I mean your interest in learning." Jon agreed.
"We are here." Beo'n told us as we reached the Dune Valley.
As I'd said before the Dune Valley was just another area of the valley we were already in, however there was more to it than that. The desert stretch actually felt more like a partial plain that was sandwiched between the oasis area we had traveled through to get here, and a volcanic canyon maze. You could literally see the canyons from the oasis, the Dune Valley wasn't that big in width. The length of it however seemed to go on forever as it stretched from side to side, even going past the portion of the oasis and into the rest of the desert.
I also wasn't kidding about the canyons being volcanic, you could see streams of lava flowing through the crevasses, and you could even see whole waterfalls of lava coming off of the tops of these gigantic monoliths that filled the lakes of liquid fire below them. The lava was actually flowing down from atop the mountains, so the canyons were basically the bases of these mountains. I'll be honest if it weren't for the heat both from the two suns above our heads, and the warmth I could feel coming from those canyons all the way on the other side of that dune field I would've actually admired the scene for it's beauty.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Jon asked.
"The general said the creature was reported being in the desert valleys in that direction." Beo'n said pointing away from the direction the canyons were in. Trish had explained that the Thei-de dwell in volcanic areas like the canyons we saw, and for some strange reason this individual had managed to tolerate the cooler temperature of the soil so it would make sense that the creature would be coming from the direction indicated. It also made sense that this is where it would come too, since this may have been the route it would've taken to come out of the volcanic areas. That last part is just my speculating though.
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.
"If it were here, it would've likely attacked us by now, so it must be coming still. I propose we take the high ground in the trees and use small stones to bait the creature to us. Once we have sighted it One of us shall further bait it to the surface where we may all engage it. Kjon you and I shall face the creature head on. Trish, Jennifer, you both shall provide us with ranged support with your weapons." Beo'n said. We were actually very fortunate to have Trish and Beo'n with us, not just because they knew about the enemy we were about to face, nor did they have a good idea of the location we were in but they were educated on them. Trish had an encyclopedia of knowledge on the creature, and they both had good navigation skills. Now while Jon was a good navigator himself, I would argue that here they were better than he was since they knew the area. Not only that but Beo'n was a very experienced leader. Being one of the earliest siblings of his family, and the successor to Ph'rills throne ,something we found out about while we were on the hunt, it made sense that Beo'n was such an excellent hunter and leader. It also made sense why he was so frustrated with me after the mistake I made while I was leading when Jon snapped. I could just from the way he spoke, that he had everything necessary to be a great leader. Also of partial note, it was one of Bri-ci'all's main reasons for hating him. Bri-ci'all felt that he was the one who deserved the throne after Ph'rills passed because of his physicality. Because of his aggressive and head strong nature though, Ph'rills gave the title of his successor to Beo'n, for reasons previously shown.
We did as Beo'n instructed us, and patiently waited for the subterranean creature to make it's appearance. We perched ourselves atop the tallest tree we could find that gave us the best view of the area in front of us, gathered a bunch of rocks and sticks and just chucked them into the dune fields. I've got to be honest during the first half of the wait it was kind of exciting. My mind was filled with thoughts and ideas about what this creature would actually look like. Yeah I actually wanted to see this thing. After the wait began to drag on though I became bored. Trish joined me soon afterward and we had a pleasant conversation with each other. As we talked Jon and Beo'n kept their focus on the scene in front of them, continuously throwing rocks and sticks to attract the Thie-de's attention once it came into range. Since we were basically fire support Jon and Beo'n allowed us to talk with each other, although we would occasionally need to help them once they ran out of objects for them to throw. The morning quickly began shifting into afternoon, and our conversation quickly died down. We didn't do the foolish thing and fiddle around aimlessly, but sat with Jon and Beo'n as we waited for the Thei-de.
"Where could this thing be?" I asked myself out loud after waiting several hours.
"Have patience. This is what part of the hunt is about. It is not simply about killing, and pursuing your prey. Often times you must wait for it to come to you, and even when you are tracking it, you cannot always simply kill it when you first see it. You must often get an understanding of the prey before you decide to slay it." Beo'n explained as we threw bait into the sandy fields. Like I said he was experienced. I made no response and simply took the advice that was given to me.
Somewhat ironically, not even a whole five minutes after I had said that we got an indication of the Thei-de Tjau'ke's presence. Unfortunately it didn't come from the front like we'd expected it to. Somehow the creature knew we were on the tree and rammed into the base of the truck. The creature's strength had allowed it to fracture the base badly enough that the whole thing came down, all in just one blow too. After falling to the ground we quickly sprinted to another tree, not even bothering to look and see where the creature may have been coming at us from.
"How could it have know we were up there?!" Trish asked saying exactly what the rest of us were probably thinking.
"I do not know!" Beo'n replied as we clawed our way up. Just as we all made it to the safety of the branches, the creature bashed into that tree, almost causing us to fall again. We managed to react quickly enough and leap onto another tree, which the Thei-de Tjau'ke subsequently knocked down as well. We continued hopping from tree to tree trying to at least catch a glimpse of where the creature was. We had to separate in order to do so with Jon and Beo'n sticking together, while I was with Trish just as we'd planned. It was kind of surprising it took us so long to actually find it given how large the trenches this thing made were and the fact that this thing made micro tremors you could feel as it moved.
"It's over there!" I called out as I saw the creature's underground silhouette move around in the form of rising and falling earth. The creature sensed my vibrations and shoot itself at us like a bullet. It felt like the creature wasn't just digging or moving through the ground, it moved so fast it looked like a hyperactive shark swimming through water.
Before the creature could collide with the tree Trish and I were on, Jon and Beo'n were able to spot the creature. They both hopped down from the tree they were on to face the creature. The subterranean behemoth's hidden visage turned in their direction sharply before it simply stopped there, the vibrations it made quickly fading away as it did so. We saw the trench simply sit their with dust swirling around it obscuring our view a little. For a moment it'd seemed like the creature had just disappeared. We dared not make a sound, and looked around to find it. Little had we all realized however, it had just faked us. A couple seconds later we felt the tremors return growing more intense in sound and in feel as they did so. Jon and Beo'n realized what it was and jumped away before the head and claws of the Thei-de Tjau'ke erupted from the ground in an explosive display. Once we recovered from our shock we could see the creature in it's entirety.
Whoever guessed it was a simple 50 cubits long obviously didn't get a proper look at it since this thing looked bigger, that or a cubit in Yautja estimation is larger than mine and Jon's is. Trish's description of the creature was on point, but lacking in a few other details. Like she'd said though it was a serpentine creature with a segmented body like that of a snake and a worm. Not only that but the creature's exoskeletal platting was patterned like that of a snakes scales. The Thei-de's pincers were absolutely enormous, about a little over half the size of it's own head. The creature's head came in the form of a small hole that opened up revealing six large elongated mandibles that had been folded in the monster's mouth. With them were four long tentacle like tongues, which I assumed the creature used to sense vibrations. It had six large eyes that it used to stare all around itself, giving it a 360 degree field of vision. The Thei-de's spines flexed in this sort of revolving pattern, each one spinning right after the other. As the creature opened it's mouth I expected it to make a roar, when instead it made a deep hissing sound as it vibrated it's teeth and mandibles.
The absolute scale of this monster was breathtaking in a very terrifying way. Despite that we did not display any fear and stood our ground, at least until the Thei-de Tjau'ke decided to tear it open. The Thei-de slammed it's face down at Jon and Beo'n, who moved out of the way as it did so. The creature quickly resurfaced afterward this time in a smoother fashion, before charging at Jon and Beo'n. It's legs made a weird clicking noise as they revolved in this locomotive fashion.
As Jon and Beo'n attacked the creature from the ground. Trish and I fired upon it with a series of arrows, plasma blasts, and 10x28mm caseless ammunition from Jon's pulse rifle he gave to me. The creature retaliated using it's claws, tongues, and snapping jaws, all of which we avoided and blocked with the best of our ability. Despite our combined efforts to bring the creature down, it was doing little to it. It's not that our weapons weren't piercing it's armor, they were ,easily I might add, but all of the fat and muscle tissue under that exoskeleton served as a good damage sponge for it. We managed to open up quite a few scratches on the Thei-de, but all that really did was piss it off. The Thei-de Tjau'ke continued attacking us as it did, while also employing its burrowing ability to create pitfalls and sink holes. This thing was smarter than we'd thought. It not only had the ability to traverse the terrain but control it to it's advantage as well. It knew this and was using them to excellent effect.
Just as it created these circumstances though, we were able to evade them without to much effort. That, and I also noticed a weakness the creature had, which I shared with everyone else. The reason why it was able to move through the ground with such blinding speed was because of those spines. When it was above the ground it didn't move so fast, because of it's size, putting it at something of a disadvantage. After informing everyone of this thought, Beo'n came up with the strategy of destroying the spines, that way it would affect it's ability to move through the ground. This task was easier said than done though as the creature kept going underground, and it was very hard to target the spines even when it was above ground. Despite that we still did it, and we managed to shave off quite a few of them. As we continued fighting we began to see that our strategy was coming into affect. The Thei-de's speed began reducing the more we cut off it's spines.
Unfortunately for us however it recognized this and kept itself underground. The only attacks it did make on us were with it's pincers and prehensile tongues, the latter of which it used less often because of how soft and easily they could be damaged. The creatures claws, while being bigger, and much much more heavily protected however were also very ineffective. They were to big and clumsy to make a precise and effective strike on any of us. Because of all of this we actually began to do some pretty significant damage to it.
Even though the creature was hurt it wasn't out yet though. That and it could still burrow, meaning it still could control the ground around us. The creature once again tricked us by making a series of pained howls before they died down in resonance.
"Is that it? Is it dead?" I asked.
"I would not be so sure. I do believe we've wounded it very badly. The creature may die of it's wounds, but we should remain to be sure." Beo'n suggested.
Just after he said that however, we began to feel the entire ground begin to vibrate around us as we heard these powerful pounding noises coming from underneath us. Shortly afterward the ground around us began to sink dragging us and everything else around us ,including the trees, down. Little had we realized that while we were attacking it earlier it created sinkhole underneath us, which it then set off by pounding it's scorpion like claws on the ground. The plan worked well for the insectoid reptilian creature as it managed to trap all of us except for Trish who began working to get us out, after the sinkhole finished. The Thei-de Tjau'ke was about to attack as she did so though, but thankfully my luck had managed to help us out.
A powerful orange plasma blast came out of nowhere hitting the creature in one of it's mandibles. The plasma blast had managed to damage the appendage badly, causing it to dangle uselessly as orange fluid began squirting and foaming from the wound.
We all looked up in the direction of where the plasma blast had come from and saw Bri-ci'all standing at the top of the sinkhole. Standing with him were five tracker hounds all of which barked antagonistically at the massive threat in front of them.
"Thank-you for weakening our prey! Now we shall see who truly is the stronger hunter ,brother! We shall also see who truly holds the right to be father's successor." Bri-ci'all said to Jon and Beo'n with a mocking laugh. I'd completely forgotten about the competition between Jon and Bri-ci'all. He was still going to prove his superiority over his siblings no matter what.
The Thei-de Tjau'ke hissed at the blue Yautja before crawling out of the hole to engage it's aggressor. As we all dug ourselves out of the hole, Bri-ci'all and his hounds fought viciously against the subterranean monster. Bri-ci'all's armor, weapons, sheer brute strength, and tenacity allowed him to go one on one with the creature. He even brawled it with his bare hands a couple times, one such instance allowed him to break off another one of the creature's mandibles, and punch out one of it's eyes. His flusher hounds didn't openly engage in the fight with them, only coming in to fight when their master looked like he was in trouble. Because of this the poor creatures ended up being crushed and eaten. I watched as one of the poor dog-like creature's was slashed on one of it's hind legs by the Thei-de Tjau'ke's claws before it's tongues pulled the hound into it's mouth. I can still remember the painful and horrifying yelping noises it made as it was crushed in the creature's jaws. I can also remember the sadistic smile it's master made as he watched the animal being killed. That just caused Jon and I to despise him even worse than we already did.
During the end of the fight, Bri-ci'all had managed to do a substantial amount of damage to the creature. He even damaged one of it's pincers, forcing it to stay above the ground. The creature tried to lunge itself at him, but even after the brutal fight and the weight of all that heavy armor on him, Bri-ci'all was still quick enough to avoid the monster's strikes. After dodging the monster's snapping jaws, the Yautja made a strike to the Thei-de Tjau'ke's throat with his wristblades. Orange gore soaked his face and armor, as he smiled up with satisfied glee, as the creature began to fall. Once he pulled his wristblades out more of the monsters blood splattered on him, which he licked at happily with his forked tongue as he watched the monster writhe around in pain before exhaling a final hiss and fell to the ground. We all managed to make it out of the hole just it time to watch it happen.
Bri-ci'all smirked at us as he gave a boastful huff. We watched him walk over to the fallen creature, before pressing his foot down on it's twitching body and threw his hands in the air in a victorious roar. Little did we all realize it wasn't over yet.
As he proclaimed his victory over the supposedly dead Thei-de Tjau'ke, it's undamaged claw shot forward grabbing him by his lower abdominal area. The Thei-de Tjau'ke had been faked it's death again. The Predator thrashed and kicked helplessly as he was hoisted into the air and crushed in the monster's powerful claw. Had he not had any armor on to protect him, the creature may have been able to cut him in half. Before it could do that or put him in it's mouth, we all attacked. The creature quickly lost interest with it's defeated prey, quickly throwing Bri-ci'all's unconscious body aside before returning to us. We'd all been exhausted by the fight earlier, so we were not as quick as we were, but our teamwork allowed us to stay ahead of the monster. Despite all of the punishment it had taken and was continuing to take, the creature wouldn't stop either. It knew how badly we were after it, and was fighting for it's very survival now.
Jon and Beo'n had spotted a weak point on top of the creatures body and went to attack it. As they did so though the creature began thrashing about before doing a death roll like a crocodilian would do so. The both of them jumped off of the creature's body to avoid being crushed under it's weight, but that allowed the creature to bat them away with it's claws. Trish and I continued giving Jon and Beo'n fire support during the battle just the same as we'd done so before. Our firing managed to get it's attention. Before the both of us ran, Trish shot another arrow from her bow, hitting one of the creature's eyes. The monster gave a agonizing his, before angrily rushing towards us. Trish accidentally tripped on something as we ran, allowing the Thei-de Tjau'ke to catch her with it's tongues. The monster kept her arms pinned to her sides as it pulled her forward. The creature gave her a look I can only describe as one of anger, but it did not intimidate Trish, who roared back at the monster defiantly. The monster responded by pulling her into it's mouth and swallowing her.
"TRISH!" Jon and I screamed horrifically as we watched the monster quickly consume her.
"THRISH-ALU!" Beo'n screamed with us. Jon and Beo'n quickly became enraged by this, and attacked, perhaps they thought they still had time to save their sister if they acted quickly enough.
The beast reacted by swatting them away with it's claws. It grabbed Jon in it's one claw as it held Beo'n down with it's other. Jon's lack of armor allowed the monster to crush him more easily. Jon however fought back against the creature's hold and even spat in one of it's eyes. The creature did not respond the same way it had done with Trish and instead tightened it's hold on him, which he continued fighting back against with every last bit of strength he had, refusing to even become subject to his enemy, even managing to free himself a little as he fought back.
I quickly reacted by grabbing Trish's bow that she'd dropped when she tripped, along with a remaining arrow. Despite how big the weapon was it was actually very light weight. I'd never used a bow and arrow before up until that point, so I had to rely a little on my luck and faith that this would be enough to attract it's attention. I had an idea of how to kill this thing, and save us all from this mess.
"Let him go you ugly son of a-!" I said as I pulled back on the string and let it go. My faith had worked and my aim was on point, as the arrow sunk into the monster's eye. The Thei-de Tjau'ke gave another pained bellow ,throwing Jon aside by accident, before turning over to look at me.
"That one's for Trish!" I roared back.
"What are you doing?!" Beo'n exclaimed as he saw me.
"Announcing my presence to my prey." I replied with a smile. I also forgot to mention I brought the glove Jon made for me with. The only reason why I hadn't used it earlier was because I was relying on Jon's pulse rifle and my plasma caster. It was about time I put it to some use. "That's right. That's right. Come and get me." I said as I opened my hand in preparation for what was about to happen. "This is going to be so gross." I thought to myself as I charged at the Thei-de Tjau'ke and dove into it's maw.
Needless to say, the experience I had inside... was not a pleasant one... Not at all.
Fortunately my idea paid off. I flexed my hand, the blades of my glove shot out, and I unleashed every last bit of exhausted rage I had clawing into the creature's esophagus with my glove and with my tail. I continued to do that until the creature fell. I couldn't be able to hear it's painful bellowing, but I sure felt it as it fell down. Once I reached the stomach of the monster I felt Trish's figure thrashing around with me, just what I hoped would happen. I grabbed her and began clawing at part of the creature's stomach in an attempt to dig us out. Jon and Beo'n saw what had happened and noticed me clawing our way out of the creature, and they helped us out. Trish, and I, and the disgusting remains of Bri-ci'all's hounds spilled out all over the ground.
"Thrish-alu! Jennifer!" Beo'n exclaimed as we spilled out over the ground.
"Pyode! Trish! Merciful Master, are you both okay?!" He asked with a scared look on his face as he knelt beside me.
After I finished puking my guts out, I flopped beside Trish's gasping body and replied. "Yeah, Yeah... I'm fine." I replied gasping a few deep breaths before giving a smile.
"Thank the Lord!" Jon said giving a relied sigh as he did so. He took a few more relaxing breaths before giving me an angry look. He didn't say it but I could tell by the way he looked at me he did not want me to do that again. He also couldn't say anything about this because it was partially his fault, and I'd also just saved his sister so he had even less room to bitch. He just softened his gaze into a thankful smile before hugging me gently.
"Thank you ,Pyode. Thank you so much." Jon thanked me graciously as he held me tightly.
"Your welcome ,Fire Angel." I whispered back. "You've saved my life seven times before already. I thought it was about time I started returning the favor." I told him, causing him to laugh a little.
"Jennifer! What did I tell you about announcing your presence to your prey! You must never do that again! Ever!" Beo'n roared at me. I could tell his yelling was more because of the stress of the situation than anything. This time I did not regret my actions, and returned his furious glare with a hard glare of my own. He looked down to see his sister covered in disgusting internal fluids, but that she was still alive. "But you saved Thrish-alu. I understand that your actions were intentional. And necessary. I am sorry. Thank you." Beo'n continued. He actually sounded like he was almost about to cry, that or it was the stench of what just came out of the Thei-de Tjau'ke.
"Thank you, Jenny." Trish said gratefully.
"Don't mention it." I said gasping a laugh, before choking over the awful smell again. "You know ,Jon. I take it all back. You're right, that was actually pretty fun." I said after I finished coughing up my lower intestine. What I thought was more surprising though was not that I said that, but that I also meant it. The Yautja just responded by giving me a very odd look of concern. Fortunately we just laughed it all off. "Wait a second let me do something!" I said taking Jon's machete from him as I got up. The thing was actually heavier than it looked, but I could still lift it without too much difficulty.
"What are you doing?" Jon asked.
"This thing played dead on us twice I'm not having it do that a third time." I replied before swing the machete into it's face, and began slashing at it with my glove several times. I continued to do this until it's face was unrecognizable orange mush. "You can have your machete back now." I told him as I flopped down on my exhausted butt. "Also by the way, I love this glove." I said springing the finger blades out and wiggled them a little in a playful manner.
"Your welcome ,Pyode Tarei'hsan." Jon said as he gave a soft smile and tore his weapon out of the monster's face where I'd left it. "Beo'n's right, that was pretty damn reckless. But I expect nothing less from the most amazing and beautiful Ooman girl I've ever known." He told me. "I'm seriously sorry about that though. I apologize to both of you." Jon apologized to me and Trish with a sorry look on his face.
"Do not be too disappointed with yourself ,brother. He I not aggressed the creature I would not have had that misfortune. I am just thankful for Jennifer's selflessness. Truth be told I quite enjoyed this hunt. That was the most exciting experience I've had in my life." Trish replied. Her last comment caused Jon to give her the same look he gave me earlier.
"Okay you women are just weird." Jon said.
"Here. Take this. It belongs to you." Beo'n said after cutting off one of the Thei-de Tjau'ke's mandibles as a trophy, which he gave to me. He was right, I was the one who killed the monster, while also saving Jon, Beo'n, and Trish. I deserved it. I took the appendage in my hands, before climbing atop the Thei-de Tjau'ke's corpse with it. Once I was at the top the three Yautja bowed to me expressing their gratitude and their respect to me. After that I held my trophy high in the air before exhaling a victorious scream. Now that I think back on it I actually did enjoy that hunt. I got to spend time with my boyfriend and his siblings, I had a quite enjoyable hunting trip, and I managed to slay the prized game we were after. Yeah, I'd say I really am proud of that moment.