So everyone, sorry for the wait AGAIN! But I have been kind of preoccupied recently with the curse of all Fic writers….I am of course…referring…to LIFE *DUH, DUH, DUUUUUUUUH*
Anyway…on with the show.
In need of a hand
Funny when one thinks about the diversity between all the species in the known universe. Sentient species come in all shapes and sizes, all colours and shades, some organic, some synthetic or even mineral or energy based. The sentient species that inhabited the universe were varied in ways which humankind could never imagine. Their cultures were vastly different and sometimes eerily similar to each other, though no two species were ever exactly the same.
But there was one little fact that no one could possibly know.
*prod
One thing that no species would ever consider in a million years.
*prod, prod
One thing that united every life form in existence.
*prod, prod, prod
One sole factor that united every single creature that crawled out of the primordial ooze, every creature that swims in the ocean, flies in the sky or walks on the ground.
*prod
None of them were fond of being repeatedly poked in the face.
*prod, prod
At the moment, Al'Dan was trying to listen to what his teacher was trying to say. He sat cross legged on the floor, trying to listen to the teachings of the veteran hunter, regaling his students of battle tactics and hunting strategies that he himself used. Al'Dan would usually be paying full attention if not for the young striped female Yautja sat to his right, intently prodding the scar on his face.
"Yui'La, could you please stop?" Al'Dan whispered to the female still prodding his face.
"But it looks so…strange" the female said with curiosity in her tone.
"I gathered that, but can you please stop? I'm trying to listen" the human continued with a frown. Yui'La frowned in response and huffed as she went back to sitting still, Al'Dan sighed a breath of relief as the female ceased in her continued pestering. Al'Dan at first didn't mind all the attention he got from the girls in his class recently, as a lot of them were very pretty and their attentions were something to be encouraged, but it got to the point where the girls would simply not stop poking and prodding his scar.
The class was full of young Yautja around Al'Dan's age, males and females alike. Al'Dan's clan was probably the most diverse in terms of their skin colours and patterns, as Yautja were used to be known to have very diverse coloured skin patterns. Of course this was before the feud with the Black Yautja began and thus many of the different Yautja tribes and clans were slaughtered to the point where Yautja with exotic and strange skin patterns were rare to come by. Most Yautja clans were comprised of Yautja with green or brown earthy coloured skin patterns, Al'Dan's family were an example of this fact.
Their teacher for example of one of said Yautja as his skin was almost pale blue with dark blue accents on the rougher patches of his body. Such a Yautja was hard to come by, but seeing as Al'Dan's clan was one of the oldest next to the royal and Dark Blade clans, it only stood to reason that they would be the most diverse.
Al'Dan couldn't help but be enthralled by the tales that their teacher told them. He was a Hunter that had really lived, telling stories of how he brought down mighty beasts that towered above him and of the allies he fought beside. Al'Dan imagined himself in his teacher's place, he wanted to be like him and he wanted to be looked up to like he and all the other students looked up to their teacher.
The time passed relatively quickly and the teacher kept telling his tales of glory to his students. Only his passion of storytelling was beginning to get the better of him as he leapt around the classroom and began quickly scrawling depictions of him killing his prey upon the class's equivalent of a black board. In a Human classroom this would be considered odd, but for Yautja it was rather commonplace to have a teacher get so enthralled in their tales.
"…And so I stood there, with only my dagger and my wrist blades as the foul creature slobbered, licking his chops, waiting for when I would be his meal" the teacher continued, his students hanging on his every word.
"…this creature had already killed many hunters and the smell of his foul breath reeked of rotting flesh and he slowly circled me as if already savouring tonight's feast. He lunged at me with insatiable hunger and whenever he swung his huge claws I ducked, bobbed and weaved under his every movement, slicing and jabbing at him with my dagger whenever I got the chance. But the creature's hide was like armour and was twice as thick as the hull of a ship, my dagger simply scrapped his hide and left him unharmed" the teacher continued. As he told the story the children acted as if they were there, right beside him as he fought the ferocious beast. A few of the girls in particular gasped when he revealed the part about the creature's hide.
"But I noticed that there was a crack in his armour, a small dent above his left breast where his heart would be. The crack wasn't that wide and to get to that crack I would have to get really close to him, I would have to get within biting distance of his slathering jaws. I took my chances and ran towards him as my life depended on this one strike. I clutched my weapon as he lunged at me, baring his six rows of razor sharp teeth, I put every ounce of strength I had into my dagger and I…." the teacher continued until he was interrupted by the sound of the door swinging wide open.
"Am I interrupting something?" the Yautja in the doorway asked, this Yautja wasn't a Hunter per say, but a scholar of sorts that was much thinner and not as large as the Teacher who glared at him.
"Tii'Vak, I swear to Paya herself, if you don't STOP INTERUPTING ME!" the teacher bellowed at the top of his lungs, enraged due to the pure adrenaline flowing through his veins from the passionate storytelling.
"Oh, I'm sorry Bul'Vyr, but it is midday and that means…" Tii'Vak said, jolting his head to the side as if gesturing to something. Bul'Vyr wondered what he meant until he finally remembered what was happening today, something that was happening more and more frequently as the blood feud with the Black Yautja raged on.
"Ah, yes I….I remember. Just give me a few minutes alright?" the pale blue Yautja asked. Tii'Vak nodded and went back outside, keeping the door open. Bul'Vyr pinched the part of his face where a nose bridge would usually be as if scolding himself for something. Al'Dan noticed the look of discomfort on his teacher's face and wondered what would make him go on edge like this, it wasn't very usual he saw veteran hunters like Bul'Vyr act like this.
The Veteran Hunter took a deep breath before clasping his hands together and addressing his students.
"Now class, I'm afraid we will have to pick up on my story some other time" Bul'Vyr explained with a weary tone.
"Awww come on!" one child groaned.
"That was the best part!" El'Dan groaned.
"Why don't you ever finish the stories, Master?" Yui'La moaned. Al'Dan found it impressive that she could be totally focused on his face while also listening to their teacher's story, females seemed to be very good at multitasking.
"I'm sorry class, but we have more important things to do than stories today" Bul'Vyr explained to his students. He paused for a second to compose himself before continuing.
"Today we are having a new addition to our class. She is from a very different clan to ours, so I want you all to welcome her and treat her like a sister…is that understood?" the older Yautja asked the class, his voice returning to the strong tone that it was known for.
All the class either nodded or replied with a simple 'yes'. The older Yautja narrowed his eyes, eyeing his class before looking towards the doorway and gesturing for whoever was waiting outside to enter the room.
Every young Yautja in the room looked towards the doorway, they had their eyes fixed on the entrance as if they were expecting Paya herself to come walking into the room. But who walked into the room was something they were not expecting.
It was a young Yautja girl, about Al'Dan's age but she looked VERY different to any other Yautja that Al'Dan had ever seen. Sure Yautja had many different skin colours and could be extremely varied when it came to their clans. Only this girl had light blue skin where the softer areas of her skin would be while the scalier areas of her skin were sort of a khaki brown. Her eyes were a gleaming emerald and then came probably the most surprising thing about her, the thing that made her look so different to the other Yautja were her Dreadlocks.
Every single Yautja that Al'Dan had seen in his life had dreadlocks that were of a pure jet black colour, not only did regular Yautja have black dreadlock but their Black Yautja cousins also possessed the pure jet black colour.
Her dreadlocks were a crimson red.
"Class….this is Liana, she is my niece. Introduce yourself, dear" Bul'Vyr asked the young female.
"Hello, everyone" the female replied shyly. Clutching her hands in front of her as she looked around the class.
"Liana will be staying with us for a while, she is from my former clan so be sure to be nice to her" Bul'Vyr continued, his hands on his niece's shoulder.
While all the other Yautja in the class were fixated on how strange or weird the odd colour of her dreadlocks looked, Al'Dan had his eyes fixated on her for a different reason. Even though Al'Dan was a human, he was raised by Yautja since he could remember…in his mind he was the weird looking one. The only thing that ran through the young Human's mind was about how beautiful she looked, Al'Dan had never seen something so beautiful in his life. Now mind you, Al'Dan had never seen a female of his own species in his life, so his whole concept of female beauty was on Yautja females.
El'Dan looked to his brother and noticed the way he was looking at Liana. El'Dan had never seen his brother give anyone a look like the one he was giving the young girl. The young Yautja smirked and decided to wait until later to talk with his brother.
"Go ahead and pick a seat Liana" Bul'Vyr said. His niece looked around the room to see that there was only one seat available, though her eyes widened when she saw what the seat was next to.
There was an Ooman in the classroom.
"Uum, Uncle" Liana whispered to her uncle, who in turn leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.
"Is…Is that an Ooman in the class?" the red headed Yautja asked. Bul'Vyr chuckled a bit and whispered back "That's Al'Dan, he's a good boy, go ahead and sit next him" Liana sighed and walked over to the seat next to the Black haired human.
"Mind if I sit here?" the red headed Yautja asked.
"No…N-Not at all" Al'Dan replied as the red head sat down in her seat.
El'Dan couldn't help but smirk as his brother awkwardly shifted in his seat under the pressure of having a girl like Liana sit next to him.
"Uh…I'm Al'Dan, nice to meet you" The young human introduced himself.
"…I'm Liana. Likewise" the red headed Yautja replied before she tilted her head at the human.
"Do Oomans usually have red skin?" Liana asked curiously.
"Um….no" Al'Dan said embarrassingly trying to hide his flushed red face.
El'Dan smiled as his brother tried desperately to not look like a complete imbecile in front of a young female who had caught his eye. Thing were beginning to look up for Al'Dan in light of things, though today was going to be a very busy day.
*Later that day
Al'Dan and El'Dan were both walking home from school. El'Dan had to admit that seeing that girl must have done a number on his brother as Al'Dan hadn't said a word to him since leaving class. El'Dan being the eldest of the two had to try and find out what exactly was going on in his Human brother's mind.
"So, you like her?" El'Dan asked out of the blue.
"W...WHAT!?" Al'Dan pretty much shouted. Many of the Yautja on the streets turning to see where the sound came from, only to turn back to what they were doing when they saw it was there resident Human.
"I saw the way you were looking at her. I can't say I blame you, she is quite pretty" El'Dan replied, keeping confident in his opinion.
"I…I-I don't have any idea who you're talking about" Al'Dan responded, desperately trying to cover his ass.
"Little Brother, you are a terrible fibber" El'Dan smirked as he snuffed out his brother's terrible lying skills. Even though it was fun teasing Al'Dan, El'Dan had to admit that he was proud of him in a way. Seeing his little brother begin to mature was something any older brother would be pleased to see.
"Oh really? Then for how long have you had your eyes on Yui'La?" Al'Dan replied.
"…..What did you just say?"
"You've been wanting her to prod your face for years, though I'd be more than happy to let her know if that's the case" Al'Dan replied, knowing of his brothers feelings toward the young female.
"How the hell do you know that?" El'Dan whispered through gritted teeth.
"You talk in your sleep brother" Al'Dan grinned back.
"Alright, do you want an apology? I'm sorry I pried, Alright?"
"…I'm good" Al'Dan smirked with satisfaction.
The two boys continued on their way through the empty looking marketplace that took up a lot of the clanship's space. El'Dan remembered that their mother asked them to collect some meat from the trading store, the trading stores were a much more reliable place to purchase supplies than the posts at the Market. After all who knew whether some of merchants at the market weren't selling counterfeit or shoddy supplies just to make some quick credits?
Once the two boys came to the trading store, they found that it was practically empty. It didn't seem like there was a shortage of supplies in the store as the shelves seemed relatively well stocked. El'Dan and Al'Dan didn't have to wait much longer when an aged Yautja, probably in his late 800's with pale green skin entered from behind the desk and greeted them loudly in a loud voice.
"Welcome to Ran'Yal's trading depot where…oh it's just you boys" the Yautja said, calming down a bit when he realised it was just Al'Dan and El'Dan.
"Well that's a nice way to greet your customers" Al'Dan spoke sarcastically.
"Yeah, besides it looks like you could use the business, old man" El'Dan replied, receiving a glare from Ran'Yal.
"Normally I would tell you to get your arses out of here for being an insolent little runt…but unfortunately you are right, now what is it you need?" the old Yautja replied with a weary tone. El'Dan quickly informed the trader of the meat that their mother tasked them with acquiring, and immediately the old Yautja went to work on getting what is was that they wanted, leaving the boys to browse around the store.
"So why isn't anyone in? I thought you were popular this season" Al'Dan asked.
"Well it has been hard getting customers today of all days, seeing as everyone has been glued to the Net in light of let's say 'recent events'" Ran'Yal replied from the back of the store.
"What would those be?" El'Dan asked, curiously.
"I wouldn't want to trouble you youngsters with political problems, why don't you just ask your mother and father later. After all isn't it there job to addle your minds?" the shopkeeper asked.
Al'Dan and El'Dan paid the older Yautja no mind, after all Ran'Yal was well known around the clanship as a sort of 'Eccentric and grouchy uncle' sort of figure. So the young Yautja on the ship never paid any mind to most of the things he told them, this was probably due to the fact that unlike the vast majority of Yautja, he had travelled the galaxy in his youth and had interacted with many different species. This meant he had a very different mind-set to the other members of his race, this also meant that he usually had dealings with other species to get his stock.
Al'Dan was browsing along some of the hides and pelts that were hung on the racks of the store. Some of said hides could be made into leather that Hunters would adorn themselves in, while other hides would end up being used for decoration or even as furniture.
Al'Dan then suddenly stopped in his browsing as his eyes were caught by one hide in particular. The hide was pitch black and scaled like that of a reptile, but when he picked it up it was as light as a feather despite its large size. The scales of the hide had a certain shimmer about them, like the way icy ground shimmered in the light of the sun, Al'Dan ran his fingers across the scales and he surprised at the…
"Hey! Don't touch that!" Ran'Yal shouted at Al'Dan. The young human's head jolted towards the older Yautja as he stormed out of the back and over to the hide section to get it out of Al'Dan's hands.
"This isn't for young ones like you. I doubt anyone under the rank of Elder could afford this" Ran'Yal said as he put the hide back in its place.
"What is it?" the black haired human asked.
"…LaGuar hide"
"What's a LaGuar?" El'Dan asked out of curiosity.
"It's no surprise you two haven't heard of them. They are the giant flying reptilians that soar over the skies of Arkadia Prime, they are something that no Yautja has ever had the privilege of hunting before" the shop keeper explained, all the while tending to the hide with care.
"Arkadia Prime?" Al'Dan asked, hearing that planet name somewhere before.
"You've heard of that haven't you? The home world of the Kamads" Ran'Yal confirmed for the two.
"Why would a hide be so valuable? It's just a skin" El'Dan inquired to which Ran'Yal replied by giving him an arched eyebrow.
"You are full of questions aren't you?" to which El'Dan and Al'Dan nodded vigorously.
"Well…LaGuar hide is so valuable because not only are the creatures nearly impossible to bring down, but when their hide is turned into a Leather with the correct skill it becomes as hard as diamond. Kamad Elites make their coats out of this leather, so they hunt the creatures to prove their skill" the older Yautja explained.
"Whoa, then how come some Hunter hasn't bought it from you yet?" El'Dan asked.
"Because the only race that knows how to properly create LaGuar leather from scratch is the Kamads. If a Yautja tried making leather from this, they would turn it into scrap in an instant" the Yautja spoke with knowledge in his tone.
"How do you know so much about Kamads?" Al'Dan asked.
"That's none of your business young one. Now take your meat and get out of here" Ran'Yal replied with a gruff tone. El'Dan quickly gave Ran'Yal the money that his mother gave them for the meat before the two brothers left with haste.
All the while Al'Dan had many questions on his mind after today, the most being of which what did Ran'Yal mean by 'recent events'. Sure Yautja had news just like humans did, only they tended to pay attention to events that really deserved attention as they didn't draw unneeded attention to the trivial things that humans paid attention to. This line of thought made the 'recent events' sound quite serious, then again it was probably Al'Dan yet again looking too far into something that wasn't that important.
It was then when Al'Dan and El'Dan came to a rather large gathering of Yautja who seemed to be heading towards the docks. El'Dan and Al'Dan being the inquisitive youngsters they were, couldn't resist following them to see what the fuss was about.
That was when they saw the ship.
Normally the dock wouldn't be that full, only groups of Hunters that would be there, prepping for hunts on other planets. But right there, right in the centre of the docks was a Hunting Vessel that looked like it had been thrown into sun. The hull was bent and warped, the screen was cracked, two of the four turbines had been blown to pieces and not to mention the entrances looked like they had been clawed at by something…big.
Al'Dan and El'Dan could barely see what the Arbitrators were doing while they were trapped behind a huge crowd of Yautja that were clamouring to get a sight of the scene. The only thing stopping them from over flowing was the chief Arbitrator, whom made it no laughing matter when it came to security.
The Arbitrators were the Yautja equivalent of police officers, they enforced the law, hunted down bad bloods and kept the peace as best they could. They defiantly stood out amongst other Yautja due to their gold coloured armour and blue shoulder capes. The Chief Arbitrator was identifiable by the crest on his mask, surely the Arbitrators were a sight to behold for anyone as it was very rare when they were required for a situation like this.
"Now, now everyone just stand back!" the Chief Arbitrator called, holding out his hands for emphasis.
All Al'Dan could make out by peeking in between Yautja was two Arbitrators dragging another Yautja out of the battered ship and onto a stretcher. Now despite all the countless Yautja gathering in the docks, anyone without impaired hearing could hear every word of what the healers and Arbitrators were saying, only being obstructed by a whisper or two.
"These cuts are deep, very deep" the one healer said, looking closely at the Yautja's wounds.
"Can, they be healed?" an Arbitrator asked.
"He has lost a lot of blood. I don't know…ill see what I can do" the healer said as he began treating his patient. The other Arbitrators were inspecting the damage to the ship very closely, especially the plasma burns imprinted on the hull.
"What do you say? Black Yautja?" one Arbitrator asked.
"Who else? Their Plasma Casters are geared for rapid fire…this was them alright" another Arbitrator replied, running his hand over the burns. Plasma bolts were of course known for leaving imprints upon surfaces like the hull of the previously mentioned ship.
Al'Dan had heard of the Black Yautja before, what Yautja raised child didn't? The Black Yautja were the scourge of so many sentient races and were responsible for the near destruction of the Yautja race. They were the equivalent of the boogeymen for children like Al'Dan…after all it was a Black Yautja that killed his birth parents. Al'Dan couldn't help but subconsciously begin gripping his birth mother's necklace as this train of thought passed him by. Luckily something snapped him out of his trance.
"Al'Dan, why are you standing so still like that? Is it an Ooman thing?" asked Yui'La as she disregarded Al'Dan's need for personal space.
"Yui'La! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Al'Dan exclaimed in surprise at seeing the young female from his class appear so suddenly.
"Hi Yui'La" El'Dan greeted.
"Hi El'Dan" the young female greeted back.
"So do either of you know what's going on?" Yui'La asked with her hands behind her back.
"Not really. You?" Al'Dan replied. Yui'La was a well-known gossip in the academy, she usually caught wind of things that the children of the clan weren't supposed to know. In a way she was a bit of an informant or a source of news for the other young Yautja in the class.
"Well, I've heard from some of the Hunters that the Yautja that they are treating there is from the Uin'Ava clan" Yui'La said with a very high and mighty tone. Al'Dan and El'Dan could only raise their brows in confusion at what the young female was getting at, especially when neither of them knew of the Uin'Ava clan.
"Are you two serious? You haven't heard of the Uin'Ava clan?" Yui'La asked, gobsmacked.
"Should we?" the brothers asked simultaneously.
"Uh, yeah. They are the clan that Liana comes from" Yui'La explained, that was when she had Al'Dan's full attention.
"What? Really?" the young Human asked.
"Yeah, famous for their Blue skin and red dreadlocks" Yui'La explained. So Liana wasn't some kind of anomaly?
When Al'Dan looked over to the wounded Yautja, he noticed the crimson red colour of his dreadlocks against his blue skin. True it was strange seeing a Yautja with such a combination for the children, but by the looks on the faces of the other Adult Yautja in the crowd, it wasn't that surprising.
"Get out of the way! Make way now!" shouted a very familiar voice from the crowd. Al'Dan, El'Dan and Yui'La were all shocked to see their teacher Bul'Vyr pushing his way through the crowd with haste, trying his best to get to the ship.
The blue skinned Yautja finally broke through the crowd before an Arbitrator got in front of him, holding out his arms to halt the experienced Hunter from going further.
"Get out of my way" the blue skinned hunter growled.
"Do you know the victim?" the Arbitrator asked.
"Of course I know him! He's my brother for Paya's sake!" Bul'Vyr shouted, shoving the Arbitrator out of his way in order to run to his brother's side. The blue skinned Yautja grabbed his brother's hand as he trembled, his bleeding only seeming to get worse as time went on, the healer trying his best to treat the wounds.
"Brother, what the Pauk happened?" Bul'Vyr asked, a tremble of fear in his voice as he asked.
"….T…The….Clanship…..they…..knew were to strike us….so many….dead…" the red haired Yautja gasped between wheezes.
"Brother, just hold on! Hold on alright?" Bul'Vyr told his brother as he gripped his hand tightly.
"Liana…where….where is…..is she safe?" the red headed Yautja asked as blood dripped from his mouth.
"She's fine, she'll be safe. You just hold on for her alright?" Bul'Vyr spoke comfortingly.
"….They…..They won't…..won't stop….until….until we're all…..dead…." the red headed Yautja gasped again, blood running down his mandibles as he spoke.
"Save your strength Brother, you are going to make it through this" Bul'Vyr spoke, gripping his brother's hand tightly.
"S….Swear…..Swear you'll…..You'll keep her safe…..Swear to me Brother!" the red headed Yautja growled as he gripped his brother's hand tightly.
"I….I swear Brother….I swear" Bul'Vyr hesitated.
"He's lost too much blood! He's going into Shock! We have to get him to the Healing Bay! Quick! Pick him up!" the healer shouted, four arbitrators suddenly hoisted the stretcher up and began to carry him off at a quick pace. This left Bul'Vyr staring as his hand and the glowing green blood coating it.
His brother's blood.
A blood oath had been made in those few moments.
Al'Dan watched on intently as Bul'Vyr gazed at his brother's blood before slowly looking up and making eye contact with Al'Dan. The young human and the Veteran Yautja looked at each other intently before Bul'Vyr raised a brow and began walking towards the young Human.
"Um, time to go I think" Al'Dan said as he nudged Yui'La and El'Dan. Being near the back of the crowd seemed to have its perks as there was a wall of Yautja in between the young ones and their teacher.
Al'Dan was in such a hurry to get away probably due to the fact that Bul'Vyr would give them a right scolding for snooping around the docks like they were without an adult on some kind with them. Being a strict teacher he still cared about his students and would probably have a long talk with Al and El's parents, which was something they would not be eager to experience.
It was probably best if the two brother went home now.
*The Next Day
"Keep your feet in position, don't grip your weapon too tightly and make sure you keep your breathing at a regular pace" Bul'Vyr instructed as he walked past the row of his students, all holding their combi-sticks in an attack position.
Today Bul'Vyr thought that it would be a good idea to give his students some hands on training, something much more practical to keep them focused and ready.
"Now, you must use your weight with the weapon. Use your own body as a weight to make your strikes more powerful…now attack!" Bul'Vyr ordered, the students all obeying his orders and thrusting their combi-sticks downwards. The sight was like one you would see in a martial arts school where the students learned to use bo-staffs.
The combi-stick was a multipurpose weapon in the world of the Yautja as every hunter carried one. Its popularity wasn't limited to its cultural value amongst the Yautja, but about how versatile such a simple weapon could be. It could be used as a staff, a spear, a survival tool, some Yautja even used it in the creation of traps. The combi-stick was only surpassed in popularity by two other weapons, the wrist blades and the Plasma Caster.
Bul'Vyr wanted to start his students off slow, so basic Combi-stick techniques were usually the first things that Yautja wanting to be hunters would learn.
"Remember to keep your balance, balance is the key. If your posture is making you feel uncomfortable then adjust it to suit yourself. There is no right way to do combat, there are no rules in a fight and you must be able to adapt to every situation" Bul'Vyr continued instructing as his students continued to thrust and jab their combi-sticks.
The blue skinned Yautja looked back and forth between his niece who seemed to have her mind elsewhere as she continued to thrust and swing her combi-stick, and Al'Dan who seemed to be avoiding his gaze for some reason.
"Al'Dan…something on your mind?" Bul'Vyr asked his human student.
"Uh…no…nothing sir" Al'Dan replied.
"Is that so? Because by my reckoning you should have something on your mind…like the fact that your pose is so sloppy that my grandfather could push you over, and he's been dead for 100 years!" Bul'Vyr growled in a tone reminiscent of a Military drill instructor.
"..Uh…b-but sir….I…I" Al'Dan stuttered uncharacteristically.
"There is only one thing for it! If you can't concentrate on your stance and posture, then I'll have to remedy that. Who wants to spar with Al'Dan?" Bul'Vyr called to the rest of the class who all stopped their in synch thrusting to look at their teacher.
Al'Dan saw the grin on Tu'Van's face as he contemplated raising his hand. This of course was a golden opportunity for the young Yautja to get some free hits at Al'Dan without his brother interfering. After all Tu'Van was always pleased to see the young human suffer in some way.
Thought just as Tu'Van went to raise his hand, someone beat him to it.
"I'll do it" Liana volunteered, raising her arm.
"Alright then, Liana, Al'Dan, get up front. I want everyone to see this play out" Bul'Vyr instructed.
The young human and red headed Yautja stood up in front of the class, Liana flourishing her Combi-stick with skill. This made Al'Dan the slightest bit nervous seeing as he really wasn't at the skill level where flourishing ones weapons for effect was an option. He was lucky enough to hold his weapon without dropping it, yet alone wielding it with expert skill.
The look that Liana gave him spoke exactly what she was going to do much more than any words that could uttered.
Her gaze said 'get ready for an ass kicking'
He could already feel the bruises he was going to get from this. Even if Al'Dan couldn't imagine why the young Female would want to beat on him, maybe it was a custom from her clan to be as brutal as possible to their opponents.
"Are you both ready?" Bul'Vyr asked, though just as Al'Dan was about to answer, Liana answered for the both of them.
"Yes we are" she said.
Al'Dan's eyes widened and the entire class would have heard him gulp if they weren't fixated on how perfect Liana's stance with the combi-stick was.
"Alright…COMMENCE!" Bul'Vyr ordered.
Al'Dan didn't have a chance to react as Liana lunged at him with her combi-stick in a spear like fashion. The young human barely side stepped out of the way, using his smaller size to his advantage. If he were a Male Yautja of his age, that strike would have easily caught him, luckily Al'Dan's form was not as brawny and large as other Yautja.
"Paya! What the Hell are you doing? You could have impaled me if I didn't dodge!" Al'Dan exclaimed.
"Less Talking, you don't want to bite your tongue off, Ooman" Liana replied before swinging her Combi-stick yet again. Al'Dan raised his stick in response and blocked her strike as best he could, he felt good about blocking a hit before he noticed the grin on her face and the sparkle in her eyes.
The Young Female forced Al'Dan back and crouched down and swept Al'Dan's legs from underneath him with a sweep kick. Al'Dan fell onto his back, but he wasn't going to except defeat that easily, he rolled out of the way as fast as he could before Liana could knock him unconscious when she lashed out, swinging her combi-stick downwards.
"Very good, Al'Dan, keep it up like that and you may wear her out by the end of the week! Fight back dammit!" Bul'Vyr growled.
Al'Dan mustered the best growl he could and put his hands at either side of his head and leapt up as Liana brought her stick down. Al'Dan grabbed the stick in time and struggled against Liana, Al'Dan may have been a human and by that logic physically weaker, but he had been raised by them and therefore wasn't exactly a garden variety human.
Liana glared at Al'Dan as the two of them struggled to overpower the other. Both seemed equally matched in strength, the only way that Al'Dan was going to break Liana's hold was to break her concentration. He smirked when he thought of a way to do that with ease.
The young human leaned closer to Liana and whispered at a tone that only the two of them would hear. He gazed deeply into her gleaming emerald eyes and spoke.
"You know, you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen" Al'Dan whispered.
Liana gasped in utter shock and her eyes widened at the human's completely unexpected comment. Yautja didn't speak such things when in combat…in fact Male Yautja hardly ever said things like that in general.
Al'Dan took advantage of Liana's shock and wrestled the combi-stick from her grip and used it to sweep her legs from under her, causing her to fall to the ground with a thud. Al'Dan kneeled onto one of her arms to stop her getting back up and pointed the end of the combi-stick to her neck.
"So, do you surrender?" Al'Dan asked with a smirk. However his smirk disappeared completely when he felt a cool metal blade against his neck.
"Never!" Liana growled.
The Young Female had a small Dagger at his throat!
The silence that the revelation of a dagger was suddenly broken by the sound of clapping and chuckling. The class looked to see that Bul'Vyr was applauding the two of them and had the biggest grin on his face they had ever seen.
"Hahaha, Good! Very Good! Adaptation, improvisation and best of all the ability to turn the scales on your opponent! Very good, both of you! Thought I did notice two major flaws in both of your 'techniques'" Bul'Vyr spoke as the two got to their feet, Liana putting her shiv-like Dagger away in her belt.
"Liana, you should never allow your opponent to break your concentration, do you think that a Bad Blood or a Black Yautja or a Kainde Amedha will allow you to stay concentrated in battle?" Bul'Vyr asked.
"No…sir" Liana replied with her head held low.
"And Al'Dan, even if most of what you did was improvised I noticed one glaring issue with how you ended your attack, do you know what that is?" Bul'Vyr asked.
"No, sir" Al'Dan replied, his blue skinned teacher stepped closer and leaned down to him.
"Hunters never surrender…nor do they allow their opponents and prey to live. When you have a chance to kill your opponent, you do it without hesitation nor remorse! Remorse is not for our enemies or prey, do you understand?" Bul'Vyr asked.
"Yes, sir" Al'Dan replied.
"Good….I hope you have all learned something today. Now all of you are dismissed!" Bul'Vyr ordered his students as they all began packing up and getting ready to leave. However as Al'Dan went to leave with his brother, Bul'Vyr spoke out.
"Al'Dan….I wish to speak with you, alone" Bul'Vyr spoke out loud.
"But sir, my brother and I have to get home, or else it will get dark soon" El'Dan spoke out, wanting to be able to leave with his brother.
"Don't worry El'Dan, it will only take a minute, just wait outside and you'll have your brother back before you know it" Bul'Vyr reassured his student. El'Dan nodded and reluctantly left his brother as he left the room.
"Liana, you wait outside with El'Dan…I'll only be a minute" Bul'Vyr spoke caringly to his niece who nodded and left along with El'Dan.
Al'Dan approached the Veteran Hunter, wondering if he was going to get a scolding for what happened yesterday at the docks.
"Come closer boy…I won't bite" Bul'Vyr said, gesturing for the Human to come closer. Al'Dan sat down on a seat that Bul'Vyr had pulled up for him while the Blue skinned hunter sat on a bench that his other students sat up while watching the spar.
"Now Al'Dan, what I am about to tell you is never to be repeated to anyone, unless you have my consent. You do not tell your brother, your mother or even your father…understand?" Bul'Vyr asked.
"Yes….sir" Al'Dan replied nervously.
"I know that you saw what happened on the docks yesterday, and don't worry…I'm not mad. You are inquisitive, I like that in a person, but that does not excuse the fact that you ran from me, without giving me a chance to speak to you and explain" Bul'Vyr spoke.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't tell my parents I just…"
"Let me finish. I suppose you may have figured out that the injured Yautja on the docks was my brother…and Liana's father" Bul'Vyr explained.
"Now…my brother is strong, but I fear even he will not last long in the healing bay, considering the condition he was in. Now I suppose you are wondering why I am telling you this." Bul'Vyr asked. Al'Dan simply nodded in response.
"My brother's clan…the clan I was born in and the clan that Liana was born in. Their clanship was destroyed and every last one of them has been killed, that leaves only myself, my brother and Liana…and I fear my brother is not long for the world of the living" Bul'Vyr explained. Al'Dan was shocked like he had never been before, knowing that Liana's entire clan had been wiped out. No wonder she was so aggressive earlier.
"Now…I made a promise to my brother that I would take care of Liana once he is gone. But there is a problem with that. The ones that wiped out Liana's clan will probably want to clean up loose ends…and I am not the young Hunter I once was. There is only a handful of Yautja on this Clanship whom I trust, and even less whom I would consider in the condition to protect her" Bul'Vyr spoke, pondering in a way what he was going to say next.
"I like you Al'Dan…Ooman or not, you have potential to become something great. Though with all the Bigoted Pauks in this academy and the little Cjit's like Tu'Van I doubt you will ever find someone ever willing to teach you properly once you progress from my class" Bul'Vyr said. It was pretty factual that some Hunters would only teach those they considered 'worthy' or pure enough to deserve proper teaching of the skills they needed to become great hunters.
Being an Ooman would most defiantly make that an impossibility.
"That…is why as of tomorrow…you are to be my personal Apprentice" Bul'Vyr spoke.
"W….W….What?" Al'Dan stuttered in complete shock.
"I am willing to take you under my wing Al'Dan. I will teach you every skill, trick and strategy in my arsenal and by Paya I will mould you into a Hunter worthy of the gods. But only on one single condition…you will protect Liana with your life" Bul'Vyr spoke.
"…But…But Sir…" Al'Dan stuttered.
"You can stop with the 'sirs'….I'm no longer your instructor, I am your Master now Al'Dan" Bul'Vyr smiled at the prospect.
"But Master, why me? Why not El'Dan or another Yautja? Why would you pick…"
"An Ooman?" Bul'Vyr finished, predicting exactly what Al'Dan was going to say. Al'Dan nodded.
"I have seen what Yautja are capable of Al'Dan…I have. But in the war, some of the greatest warriors I have ever faced were Ooman….especially the Oomans In black armour. Oomans are capable of great things Al'Dan…you have something within you that no Yautja could ever possess, no matter how hard they trained…a spark of sorts" Bul'Vyr continued.
"You will protect my niece from whatever threats possible…in return I will make it my purpose to turn you into the greatest Hunter our clan has seen…is that understood?" Bul'Vyr asked pointing a clawed finger at Al'Dan.
"Yes…Master Bul'Vyr" Al'Dan smiled. Bul'Vyr smiled back and put a hand on the young Human's shoulder.
"Good…now…go to your brother. Your training begins tomorrow, my young Apprentice" Bul'Vyr smiled. The young human smiled in utter jubilation and stood up, running to the exit with the perhaps the largest smile he has ever had on his face.
Once Al'Dan had left the room, Bul'Vyr pondered to himself whether the young Human had what it took to become a Hunter of such calibre. Then again, he remembered the humans he had fought in the war. The humans clad in black armour…yes…Al'Dan could do it.
Humans were capable of great things.
Al'Dan could not wipe the smile from his face all the way home. The very prospect of being the apprentice of a Hunter of Bul'Vyr's stature was enough to make any Yautja scream with jubilation. Yet he had a pact with his Master, he could not tell anyone. Not his brother, his mother or even his father.
But becoming the Apprentice of such a Hunter was worth it. The added prestige of being the first and only Apprentice of the Great Bul'Vyr only made the joy greater. Bul'Vyr was one Yautja who would probably never take on an Apprentice due to his stubborn and gruff nature. But here Al'Dan was…about to become the protégé of Bul'Vyr Sapphire hide.
That had certainly made his day.
That was when the boys came home.
El'Dan of course entered first as per usual, though both brothers saw something that they didn't expect to see when they entered their home. Now as most Yautja homes had the layouts of villas or temples, they had a quite wide open and spacious sort of 'main room' which contained the kitchen, the lounge, the dining room and the Yautja equivalent of the main hall.
This meant that the brothers could see their father and mother sat down at the dining room table, only they were not alone. Three cloaked figures were sat across them at the table, one in black, one in brown and one in white. As Al'Dan shut the door behind him, all five of them looked in his direction before continuing their discussion. Naturally the two young boys' curiosity got the better of them and they both approached the dining room at a quickened pace.
Yui'Tyr noticed this and darted out of her seat and stopped her sons about 10 feet from the table where they sat opposite the three cloaked figures. Al'Dan unlike El'Dan looked at the three figures closely, paying particular attention to the one in black who sat between the ones in white and brown. He couldn't make out the figure's face due to the hood, but he saw that he had armoured clawed gauntlets on his hands as they rested on the table.
But what really caught the young Human's attention was what the coat that the figure seemed to be wearing under his cloak. The coat had the very same shimmer to it that the LaGuar leather at Ran'Yal's store had…this guy wasn't a Yautja indeed.
"Al'Dan" Yui'Tyr shook her Human son to attention.
"Yes mother?" Al'Dan asked.
"Go to your room with your brother and don't come out until I come and get you alright?" their Mother asked. Al'Dan nodded as his brother lead him away from the table, the young human still trying to get a few more glances at the hooded figures as his brother led him away to their room.
Yui sighed as her sons went to their room and she went back to her seat next to her life mate.
"So….that's Al'Dan?" the black cloaked figure asked.
"We don't want our son involved with this…he deserves a normal life" Yui replied.
"He is a Human…what makes you think he can have a normal life with you?" the brown cloaked figure asked.
"We raised him…we loved him when no one else would, we clothed him and fed him. That boy is as much of a Yautja as I am" Kal'Dan spoke proudly.
"Be that as it may…he may get involved no matter what. With the Destruction of the Uin'Ava clan, there is no telling how much bolder the Black Yautja will become" the white cloaked figure replied.
"What do you mean?" Kal asked with concern.
"….It…it was the Black Yautja that attacked Aether….wasn't it?" the Black Cloaked figure asked, leaning forward, revealing his golden reptilian eyes.
So everyone, I hope you enjoyed the meatiness of this chapter and I hope it didn't disappoint. I also hope you enjoyed the addition of new characters that will help flesh out the world of the Yautja.
Especially Liana and Bul'Vyr whom I based off of Buliwyf from 'The 13th Warrior' as I envisioned him being played by Vladimir Kulich.
Anyway next chapter will feature a bit of a jump forward in time. A couple of years or so, where Al'Dan will be in his teenage Years and will no longer be a mere child.
A/N I have also been pondering whether I should write a Mass Effect Fic that could feature the Kamads from my AVP universe. Any Mass Effect fans out there, PM me if you want. The description for Said Fanfic in on my profile page…All help in appreciated.
So everyone please leave a review of what you thought, and don't forget to favourite or follow if you haven't already.
Dakkaman777 signing off.
