YAAAAY I'M NOT DEAD! FEAR NOT, THIS STORY WILL CONTINUE!

Ok everybody, yet again sorry for the wait. Recently University has been very hectic, not to mention I have to rehearse for a play I'm doing in my local drama group and I've got a job that takes up a lot of time…so yeah uploads will be scarce for a while. I will continue to do my best to update my stories without leaving month long gaps, but no promises.

Another fair warning, this chapter will be featuring mostly Al'Dan, Bul'Vyr and Liana. Other characters will be appearing but this chapter will mainly be showing their characters as they develop.

Anyway….lets commence :)


Progress

Human Year: 2185

Since the Yautja race had crawled out of their primordial ooze, they had kept one trait in the highest regard over all others.

Strength

Being able to overpower an adversary or slaughter your prey with ease was always an admirable trait to the Hunters. Ever since their kind could stand up straight and even before they had mandibles, the Yautja had valued strength above all else.

There was a reason that Humans were not adopted by the Yautja frequently.

"Agh!" Al'Dan fell to all fours, sweating and gasping for air as his black hair clung to his skin. The young Human wasn't exactly taking to Bul'Vyr's training in the best of ways, his speed was sloppy, his agility was all over the place and his strength was weak at best.

The mind was willing, but the body wasn't built like that of a Yautja.

"Al'Dan….are you alright, boy?" Bul'Vyr asked as he stood straight up. The blue skinned Yautja had been trying to help Al'Dan improve his hand to hand techniques, but unfortunately a young Human like Al'Dan just wasn't suited to fighting a full grown Yautja like Bul'Vyr.

Bul'Vyr wanted more than anything to turn this young human boy into a warrior that could hold his own against the best of their species. All he needed was to find the best way of doing so, he had never trained a Yautja before yet alone a Human, he had no idea in the slightest how the black armoured humans from the war trained their warriors to become so deadly.

But Paya as his witness, Bul'Vyr wasn't going to give up on the boy so easily.

"Yes…Master Bul'Vyr….I…" Al'Dan tried to speak between gasps. It was evident that the young human was exhausted, it was no surprise for the veteran Hunter that Al'Dan couldn't keep up with him. Bul'Vyr after all was one of the greatest warriors of his race; he was an elite that many countless clans revered and looked up to, and not to mention he was once a personal Hunter to the Yautja King himself.

"Don't waste your breath, Al'Dan. I can see that this isn't working as well as I had hoped" Bul'Vyr replied, holding his hand up to emphasise his point.

"No…I can do this" Al'Dan gasped as he shakily returned to his feet, returning to a fighting pose similar to one that a boxer would use. This style of fist fighting was very popular with all forms of Humanoid species around the universe, the art of combat would be vary from species to species when it came to the warriors of the species. Human soldiers would use CQC or mixed martial arts, Kamads used an advanced form of Bushido, and Yautja used a mix of bare knuckled boxing techniques and brute strength.

Right now, that particular style of fighting wasn't working very well for the young human.

"Is that so? Very well…lay a single hit on me…and ill bow and call you master" Bul'Vyr smirked before putting both hands behind his back.

"Alright…..RAGH!" Al'Dan yelled as he charged at Bul'Vyr, throwing punches and kicks at the larger Yautja, who dodged and side stepped every single punch and kick that the Ooman threw at him. The skill that Bul'Vyr possessed was akin of that of an Elder of thousands of years, so dodging the punches of such a youngster was easy as breathing.

But the point of this wasn't training Al'Dan to land a hit.

He had made a mistake that any self-aware Hunter would have never made in such a situation.

Al'Dan had a long way to go.

The young Human threw punches and kicks with all his strength, he knew just how experienced Bul'Vyr was, the Hunter had lived countless human lives and had the experience of many more. But even Bul'Vyr could slip up sometime.

That's what Al'Dan thought at least.

Bul'Vyr effortlessly dodged and weaved through each and every hit that the human sent his way. This ineffective onslaught was beginning to get old, Bul'Vyr could clearly see that this human had heart and an above average level of stamina by the way he was going. But when the Blue skinned Yautja looked up to the balcony of his dwellings, he was surprised to see Liana watching the spar between the two.

The Red headed Yautja was watching Al'Dan intently, Bul'Vyr knew that look. A look of pure curiosity, Liana had never seen a human fight before, even one without any experience in fighting. This amazed Bul'Vyr, his brother had died very recently and Liana was taking it extremely hard, she hadn't spoken to anyone, even her Uncle since it happened, however here she was; watching the young human train without a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Bul'Vyr, however, knowing just how young boys thought, decided to put an end to the child's flailing without embarrassing him any further in front of his Niece.

The blue skinned Yautja dodged one particularly fierce right hook and swept the Ooman's legs from underneath him, causing the black haired human to fall onto his back before feeling Bul'Vyr's forearm pressed against his throat.

"Gah!" Al'Dan gasped as Bul'Vyr pressed down.

"….a few ounces of pressure and I could snap your neck like a twig, Al'Dan, Ooman, Yautja or otherwise you would be dead….now…." Bul'Vyr said before standing to his feet.

"…do you know what you did wrong?" the Blue skinned Yautja asked, offering a hand to the human.

"I…wasn't strong enough?" Al'Dan asked assumingly.

"Your failure to hit me had nothing to do with strength, speed or skill. You failed simply because you were foolish enough to think you could win against such odds while completely spent" Bul'Vyr explained, pulling the young Ooman off of the ground.

"There is no shame in retreating to assess your situation, Al'Dan. No matter what you hear from anyone else, Hunters who recklessly continue to fight even when there is no chance of victory are foolish and are always the first ones to die on a hunt. Let me ask you, do you see many scars upon me?" Bul'Vyr asked, spreading his arms wide open.

"No, master" Al'Dan replied.

"Many hunters would claim that my lack of scars shows a lack of experience or guts, but in reality it shows I don't have Cjit for brains and don't just run in like an imbecile and get impaled or decapitated off the bat" Bul'Vyr explained to his pupil.

Al'Dan seemed to be letting this sink into his young and developing mind, a very good sign in Bul'Vyr's book. He wanted this young human to learn, and improve as time went on, he wanted a Hunter that could hold his own against Black Yautja, Hish and Kainde Amedha, not some thick skulled thug like so many hunters of his generation would become, under masters who only got far by brute strength alone.

"Consider this your first lesson learnt as my apprentice…don't rush in…think, plan and strategize. That is the way of a true Hunter" Bul'Vyr told his young pupil, as Al'Dan nodded between deep breaths.

The older Hunter crossed his arms as he pondered what the following lessons would bring.

By the panting and continues sweating of his pupil he could only be certain of one thing:

He had a lot of work to do.

*Timeskip – 3 years later.

Human Year: 2188

"For how much longer do I have to do this?"

"For as long as humanly possible….then an hour longer"

"Are you serious?!"

"Have I ever not been serious?"

"….Good point"

"Balance is key, Al'Dan. It is what gives you strength in combat, it is what makes your movements fluid and allows you to evade your opponent" Bul'Vyr said as he paced around Al'Dan, keeping his hands behind his back as he spoke.

Al'Dan however was having trouble keeping balance as he had been stuck with one foot balanced upon a long stretch of cable for over an hour. He looked like a tight rope walker of sorts, using both his arms to keep balance, once in a while teetering back and forth like he was going to fall off.

"Remind me….why do 'I' have to do this? Yautja don't learn this sort of thing" Al'Dan asked.

"Only the smart ones do. Balance is something that many Hunters glaze over, and even the ones who do practise it don't take it very seriously" Bul'Vyr replied.

"Then why am I supposed to be taking it seriously?" Al'Dan demanded.

"Because as hard as it is to admit, Al'Dan. You aren't a Yautja, you need skills and advantages that the other Hunters will not have. When you are faced with another Hunter, you will need something that sets you apart from them, if you try to fight them on even ground you won't stand a chance" Bul'Vyr explained.

"Alright…and balancing on cable will do….what exactly?" Al'Dan asked.

"The longer you can keep your balance on cable like this, the more balanced you will become. What I am trying to do, Al'Dan, is mould your body into the perfect Hunting machine. Now since you aren't a Yautja, you will be lacking in certain areas when compared to the others. Your strength and speed, though greater than most Oomans does not match up to that of a Yautja, but your smaller Ooman form is perfect for evading attacks and weaving around the enemy. Balance is key to becoming a greater Hunter…isn't that what you want, Al'Dan?" Bul'Vyr finished with a question.

"…it is" Al'Dan replied. There was nothing the young human wanted more than to become a great Hunter. The Yautja race had prided itself on its ability to create the greatest hunters in the universe, many of whoms names were carried by hundreds of races and would survive long after their people went extinct.

If Al'Dan proved himself to be just as great as those select few hunters, he would no longer be the outcast he had been for so long, he would be accepted by the race that raised him, he would no longer be the freak, he would bring his family pride and honour and earn his keep.

It was his biggest aspiration.

"Good...as you get more and more adept, you will spend longer on the cable, the cable will get thinner, the gear you wear shall get heavier, but you will improve….do you understand me?" Bul'Vyr asked.

"Yes Master Bul'Vyr" Al'Dan replied.

"Never underestimate yourself, Boy. Give yourself some credit and you'll get better with time"

"Yes Master Bul'Vyr"

"Good….Liana, watch Al'Dan and make sure he stays on that cable" Bul'Vyr called to his niece.

There standing on the balcony was Liana, watching both her Uncle and his apprentice as they practised. In three years it still hadn't gotten boring to watch the Human train, Liana was as fascinated as she was three years ago. Watching Al'Dan develop was strange considering he was the first and only human she had ever seen or known in the flesh.

"As you wish Uncle" Liana half-heartedly replied, keeping her eyes fixed on Al'Dan.

"Good….I'll be back in an hour or so" Bul'Vyr said as he began to leave. Al'Dan's eyes widened when he mentioned being back in an hour and exclaimed in response.

"What do you mean an hour!? What could possibly take up that much time?!"

"I'm going to the tavern, watching you keep balance is thirsty work" Bul'Vyr smirked with his mandibles. With that the blue skinned Yautja left, leaving his niece and Apprentice alone.

There was a long silence between the two as Al'Dan concentrated on keeping his balance.

The two didn't talk very much ever since Al'Dan had become Bul'Vyr's apprentice, one would think that occupying the same space for most of the day would mean that the two would constantly be interacting, in that regard you would be wrong. Bul'Vyr's dwelling was like a villa in Yautja terms, his long life of Hunting and being a personal guard to the Yautja king had been very beneficial in the long run. The sheer size of his dwelling meant that the two could occupy the Villa for years and would never have to interact with each other.

Al'Dan thought it best not to bother the young female, especially since her father and clan were taken from her. Ever since the older red headed Yautja had passed, Liana hadn't been one for social interaction, even Bul'Vyr had trouble speaking to her at first.

Liana on the other hand, after two whole years of mourning her father and entire clan had gained a more emotional maturity that many other Yautja her age would have. Though she never really spoke to Al'Dan, she was always watching him from that Balcony, even when her father had died and she was an emotional wreck she continued to watch the Human practise.

Al'Dan never knew why Liana was always watching him.

And Liana never knew why Al'Dan trained so hard with her Uncle.

Even after three years, Al'Dan hadn't told anyone the conditions for his training with Bul'Vyr. Liana just thought that her Uncle was experimenting with his training methods while El'Dan, Yui'Tyr and Kal'Dan only knew that Al'Dan had been doing some 'afterschool training' with Bul'Vyr. The young Human's adoptive family of course were glad that Al'Dan was getting some sort of special treatment due to his 'disposition' as a human, but they didn't know that he was now the apprentice of a Hunter like Bul'Vyr.

"So….how's the training coming along?" Liana asked out of the blue.

The sudden question had shocked Al'Dan to the point where had had almost fallen from the cable he was balanced upon. Liana hadn't spoken directly to him in three years, not since that day so long ago.

*Flashback

Al'Dan sat there in the waiting room, his hands rested on his lap as the sounds of chatter could be heard all around him.

Yautja hospitals weren't that different from Human hospitals, aside from the difference in technology, the layouts were eerily similar. Even with a race as durable as the Yautja, there needed to be a sense of calm and sterility to outweigh the sickness and the pain of the patients within. It was a hard time for Bul'Vyr and especially Liana, with their only living relative slowly dying in the next room.

Al'Dan didn't have to be there, but he chose to be there for his Master and his Niece. Al'Dan didn't know why, maybe it was that he never knew his real parents, never fell asleep to his mother's lullaby or be held by his father's arms, he never knew the pain of losing them, so the least he could do for someone like Liana was be there.

But the sounds that transpired made it harder and harder for Al'Dan to make light of this situation.

The sound of crying and weeping could be heard, clear as day from the next room.

Sounds of medical equipment going haywire, attempting to preserve what life there was left within its patient, but failing nonetheless.

The sound of a long, flat beep, signalling the end of a heartbeat.

The sound of healers sighing, knowing that they had failed.

The sound of an Uncle, desperately trying to pry his crying Niece away from the body of her father.

The long silence.

The sound of footsteps, the sound of sobbing, the sound of grief.

It was a sound that none enjoyed.

Bul'Vyr came into view, his hand resting on Liana's shoulder as they both exited the room.

Al'Dan left his seat and was about to say something until he noticed the look that Liana had in her eyes. Greif, sadness and loss were but a few of them as tears left those emerald green eyes of hers like rivers. Al'Dan froze in his tracks as Liana and he made eye contact, all the emotions, all the pain and loss didn't need words to be conveyed.

"Liana…I'm..."

"Don't…just…don't" Liana spoke before she ran out of the hospital, tears falling freely from her eyes.

Al'Dan could only watch, feeling completely helpless as the niece of his Master ran at top speed out of the hospital.

"Don't take it that hard, boy. The girl just lost her father, she needs time to come to terms with it" Bul'Vyr told the young human.

"What about you, Master?" Al'Dan asked, wondering how his mentor was taking his brother death.

"I've lost people before, Al'Dan. When you have seen as much death and lost as much as I have…you get used to it" the old Yautja replied.

"Get some rest…we train in the morning" Bul'Vyr said, ruffling Al'Dan's braided hair before leaving the hospital.

*end flashback

"Uh….the training hasn't given you brain damage has it?" Liana asked due to Al'Dan's stun silence and zoning out.

"No, uh no it hasn't I'm….I'm just, well it's been a while since you have spoken to me, that's all" Al'Dan replied, still balanced on the cable.

"I had, my reasons…now are you going to answer my question?" Liana asked, reminding Al'Dan of her original inquiry.

"Oh, yeah the training is going fine, thanks for asking" Al'Dan replied with a smile.

"Really? Because you don't seem to be enjoying the whole 'balancing' training that much" Liana asked, leaning her chin on her hands.

"It….has its moments, you wouldn't be enjoying it, any more than I am" Al'Dan countered.

"You know…you look a lot like one of those….what do you Oomans call them?" Liana said, trying to remember what the term was.

"I dunno…what do we Oomans call them?" Al'Dan asked back. Truth be told, Al'Dan knew about as much about Humans as the next Yautja his age. It was one of the downsides of being raised by another species.

"You….you don't know?" Liana asked.

"I didn't grow up with other Oomans….I was raised by Yautja since I was a pup. To be honest…I've never even seen another Ooman in the flesh" Al'Dan explained.

"Really? I…I guess it must be hard for you" Liana assumed.

"No, not really. I mean…most of the time it isn't a big deal, this life is all I have ever known, but once in a while I get reminded of what I am and….it hits pretty hard" Al'Dan replied.

"Like when? Give me an example" Liana asked with pure interest. Al'Dan normally wouldn't bring up these things, but Liana was speaking to him for the longest time since that day they sparred in class three years ago.

"Well…my brother thinks I have a weird accent because of these" Al'Dan explained, gesturing to his lips "My mother thinks that my hair is a pain in the neck, and these get a lot of comments" Al'Dan said, gesturing to his ears.

"Hehe…well….those flaps do look strange" Liana giggled.

"They are called ears…and unlike Yautja I have them on the outside" Al'Dan smiled proudly.

"And…what about those things on your mouth? Why do Oomans have them?" Liana asked.

"They're called lips, and they used to form certain letters like B's, P's and M's" Al'Dan explained. Yautja didn't have lips, but it was very curious how they managed to form words that required lips. Unlike Humans that had lips, Yautja had lips seemingly in the interiors of their throats, this got them a lot of insults from races like the Humans which thought their mouths look like something that should belong in between a females legs.

"Still, my only guess is that most Oomans don't train this hard" Al'Dan chuckled as he continued to keep his balance.

"Actually I've trained like this before, all of my clan trained like this" Liana replied.

"Huh? So all of your clan trained at this age?"

"Yeah, everyone. It just becomes muscle memory after a while" Liana said with a tilt of her head.

"Really? Who taught you?" Al'Dan asked, curious until he saw the expression on her face change.

Oh….he didn't mean to bring that up.

"Oh, Paya, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, no, its fine, really…you didn't know" Liana told the human, obviously not wanting the conversation to go this way.

"I didn't want to bring it up…I'm sorry. I know it hurts but…" Al'Dan began.

"Just…I think you should just forget it…really" Liana told the human, raising her hand in apology.

Al'Dan felt the colour flushing to his face, he felt like an absolute twat for saying what he said. Not only did he break the first conversation they had in 3 years, but he also brought up a very painful subject that shouldn't have been trodden on by someone like him. In his plain disappointment with himself, Al'Dan lost his balance and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh Cjit! Now I have to start it all over again!" Al'Dan cursed, knowing exactly how Bul'Vyr would react to hearing this news. He could hear his scolding right now:

"You fell!? That's it, give me 50 push ups, 50 pull ups then get back on that cable, training time has been doubled!"

Then again, that may have just been Al'Dan overreacting.

"Get back on the cable" Liana said softly. Al'Dan looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh….what? Aren't you supposed to tell Master Bul'Vyr that I fell?" Al'Dan asked.

"…I won't tell if you don't" Liana smiled. Al'Dan smiled back and hoped back up onto the Cable, regaining his balance once again.

"And for your information…" Liana said leaning her back against the railing, showing her very toned back to Al'Dan.

"…I think those lips look….fetching" she smirked.

Al'Dan could only chuckle.

'Eat your heart out El'Dan' was all he could think.

*Timeskip – 5 years later.

Human Year: 2190

"Come on Al'Dan, faster! Swifter! Don't hold back an inch!"

"Yes Master!"

*Twack! Twack! Twack!

"Remember what I thought you! Don't act on instinct! Instinct is for prey! For idiots and beasts! Not for Hunters!"

"Yes Master!"

*TWACK! TWACK! TWACK!

"Think quickly! The enemy won't give you an easy time! Kill him before he kills you!"

"Yes Master!"

Al'Dan and Bul'Vyr were having a very intense sparring match, the older Yautja was training the young human in advanced Combi-Stick combat. This was the sort of training that Young Yautja would learn when they were appointed a Master to learn under, and that was usually when they reached the age of 18, Al'Dan was 17 and had already been doing this for two years, though in Bul'Vyr's defence he had to teach the human sooner due to his disposition as a member of a physically weaker species. Bul'Vyr needed to teach Al'Dan in advance to when other Yautja would begin learning in order to give him a chance at being just as good.

Over the past 5 years, Bul'Vyr had been rigorously training Al'Dan the ways of the Hunter as he saw them. The young Human had become very adept at Hand to hand combat, combi-stick fighting, evasive manoeuvres and not to mention all his physical traits such as his strength, speed and stamina had dramatically increased for someone of his age.

Bul'Vyr had to be honest with himself, he was proud of how far Al'Dan had come in 5 years. As his first apprentice, the young human had proven that he could become something great. But pride aside, Al'Dan was still a human and Bul'Vyr had known Yautja prodigies of his age that were leagues beyond his skill.

Bul'Vyr's training of the boy would only have to become more and more intense as time progressed. He would have to push the young boy to the brink when the time came. But then there was one question that someone unfamiliar with Yautja culture would ask:

Why the haste for Al'Dan to become a great hunter?

There was a custom of the Yautja species in general. A rite of passage for the young hunters of many clans to prove their skills and strength before the greatest of their species. The rite was known as the Chiva, and the Hunters of the next generation would prove their worth amongst their clans. Now usually the rite would be for the Hunters of the next generation to hunt down an alien creature of considerable strength. For some clans it would be to retrieve the skull of a Kainde Amedha, for other clans it used to be the skull and skin of an Ooman, but this rapidly approaching Chiva was special.

It was an event that only happened once every 300 years, a special event where the greatest Hunters of all the remaining Yautja clans would gather and battle each other one on one in a tournament of sorts, until the greatest Hunter of all the clans would stand as the victor. The Victor would then be allowed to fight and kill a very dangerous and powerful alien creature of the highest rarity.

Though the one thing that made this such an important event was the fact that the Yautja King and his family would attend the tournament and bestow the winner with a title which would forever engrave them in the history of their people, forever immortalizing their clan's honour for the countless generations to come. The very perks of being bestowed a title by the Yautja king were countless, access to the best weaponry and armour, permission to hunt on the most exotic worlds and even the right to become a clan founder in your old age.

It was a great honour indeed. But Bul'Vyr was not the one in a hurry for Al'Dan becoming great enough for the Chiva.

All Bul'Vyr wanted was to have Al'Dan become a Hunter of great enough skill to protect Liana. Al'Dan was the one who wanted to enter the Chiva, but in order to do so he would have to become a great Hunter, one of excellent skill and strength in order to be on par with the other Hunters that would attend the Chiva.

As Al'Dan and Bul'Vyr sparred however, the older of the two feared that even with this intense training, that Al'Dan wouldn't stand a chance against some of the other contestants. If this were any other event then Bul'Vyr wouldn't fear, but this was the great 300 year Chiva, Hunters were known to lose their lives in this contest if they weren't careful.

Bul'Vyr hated to admit it, but he had grown to take a fond liking to the boy he was training. In the beginning, he had thought that the boy would be a student, nothing more and nothing less, he first thought that Al'Dan was just a Hunter he was making a deal with. But now, after spending hours every day with the boy, he had become much closer.

Bul'Vyr and Al'Dan's combi-sticks clashed together with a loud clang. The sound echoed through the courtyard where the two were sparring, Bul'Vyr's dwellings had a very considerably sized courtyard for training, even though he wasn't as active as he once was, he still liked to keep in relatively good shape.

"Well, Master Bul'Vyr? How am I doing? Am I giving you a hard time?" Al'Dan smirked.

"Very Good, Al'Dan. You've improved a tremendous amount"

"Thank you Master Bul'Vyr" Al'Dan smiled

"But not good enough!" Bul'Vyr snarled, in the blink of an eye, Bul'Vyr swept Al'Dan's legs from underneath him with the end of his combi-stick. The young human fell flat on his back with a loud thud, before the human knew what had happened, his teacher had the tip of his combi-stick pointed at his throat with a grin across his mandibles.

"Do you want the good news or bad?" Bul'Vyr asked.

"Surprise me" Al'Dan chuckled.

"Good news is you aren't an idiot" Bul'Vyr smiled.

"And the bad?"

"You still have a cockiness problem" Bul'Vyr replied with a chuckle before offering his hand to the boy. Al'Dan took the large Yautja's hand and heaved himself onto his feet, the human then began to dust himself off, cleaning the lightweight leather training gear he was wearing.

Al'Dan's appearance had changed quite a bit in the past 5 years. He had become much taller than before and his black braided hair had grown down to the back of his shoulders like a Yautja, his muscles had become much more defined like that of an athlete of his people thanks to Bul'Vyr's training.

"I'm trying, Master, but didn't you say something like 'never underestimate yourself'?" Al'Dan smiled.

"Don't twist my words around, Boy. My teachings aren't excuses for you to act like a dimwit" Bul'Vyr replied.

"Ok, Ok, I'm sorry" Al'Dan chuckled, scratching the back of his head as he retracted his combi-stick.

"I'll straighten you out yet, boy. Mark my words" Bul'Vyr warned, pointing his combi-stick at Al'Dan before retracting it.

"You are dismissed for the day, but I expect you back in the morning just as early, Understand?" Bul'Vyr demanded.

"Yes Master" Al'Dan bowed in respect.

"Now go…" Bul'Vyr waved his student away as he walked over to the entrance of his villa.

With that Al'Dan went to leave through the front entrance at the Villa, but as he made his way there he was stopped short by a very familiar face.

"Done for the day are you?" Liana asked, leaning against the archway of the entrance with her arms crossed.

"You bet, I could do with a rest after today" Al'Dan smirked, scratching the back of his head.

It was understandable why Al'Dan would be acting a little more nervous around Liana now, especially since the female had physically matured quite a bit in 5 years. It was perfectly natural how Yautja females would mature much faster than the males, it was a strange occurrence in most sentient species, Liana now had a much more defined and feminine form due to her training.

It was a myth amongst many other species that female Yautja were the stronger and larger gender of the species. Now whole this rumour wasn't true, it certainly wasn't false as Female Yautja could very well beat a male within an inch of their lives while hardly trying. This was most likely due to the fact that Females would reach their primes much quicker than the males, not to mention the females of the Yautja had stores of adrenaline twice as large as the males, so their stamina was much greater.

Needless to say, Al'Dan didn't want to pick a fight with Liana, but at the same time his hormonal teenage eyes couldn't keep themselves off her.

"Do I have something on my face?" Liana asked with a raised brow.

"Oh…Uh, no of course not, I…I…nothing" Al'Dan sighed as he finished his sentence.

"Would you mind if I walked with you for a while?" Liana asked.

"Uh…no, not at all" Al'Dan replied.


"So…I suppose that the training is going well?" Liana asked walking beside Al'Dan, gesturing to Al'Dan's trained athletic figure.

"It's working well enough, I can actually keep up with your Uncle now. I still remember when I could barely stay at the same pace as him without running out of breath" Al'Dan smiled in return.

"You did well…for an Ooman" Liana smirked.

"Oh, are we playing that game again?" Al'Dan chuckled in response to the Female's jest.

"What game would that be?" the red headed Yautja replied with a knowing smirk.

"The one where you make snide remarks about me being an Ooman as if you need to prove something" Al'Dan retorted. Training in close proximity to the soon to be Huntress gave both of them time to grow closer and much more comfortable while talking.

Since the young Ooman was never really that good at talking to females in the first place, it was pretty obvious that in Al'Dan's eyes, the new scars and aches he earned by training with Bul'Vyr were worth it.

"Well, that would be in poor taste. I don't want to offend the only Ooman on the clanship do I? I may start a war" Liana smirked.

"Ok, now that's in bad taste" Al'Dan chuckled as he put an arm around Liana's shoulder.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist" Liana chuckled in response. The sight may have seemed odd to any human or Yautja that didn't live on the ship, a human and a Huntress acting so chummy with each other, on any of the more purist clanships the sight would be considered blasphemous.

Many of the Yautja families on the clanship had gotten used to Al'Dan being around them for so long, that even now they considered him a member of the clan, even if he hadn't passed the proper rituals yet.

The two enjoyed their time walking and talking with each other, Liana enjoyed the way Al'Dan told stories and Al'Dan loved hearing Liana laugh in response to hearing said stories. The two were having a good time until something had to come and ruin the moment.

"Why don't you stop talking to that Ape and talk to a real man?" came the voice of Al'Dan's chief tormentor, the ever annoying tiger striped Yautja, Tu'Van, sitting on a nearby bench accompanied by his 3 ever present friends whose names Al'Dan didn't have the patience to remember.

The tiger striped Yautja still towered over Al'Dan, not as much as many of the Adult Yautja did, but being a Yautja, Tu'Van had a good two to three feet above the young human.

"Just keep walking Al'Dan, he isn't worth it" Liana said to the human as they kept walking on their path. Liana knew how deep Al'Dan's disdain for the bully, the tiger striped Yautja was always a constant reminder of Al'Dan's difference to all the other inhabitants of the Clanship and not in a joking or caring way.

"What's the matter Al'Dan? Letting a female fight your battles for you?" Tu'Van smirked.

The young human stopped dead in his tracks, his hands tightly forming into fists as his knuckle bones cracked with tension. Through all of Bul'Vyr's teachings, Al'Dan had learned to always think before acting, something that apparently many Yautja didn't do when picking fights.

"Tu'Van, you won't like where things will be going if you keep this Cjit up" Al'Dan swore as he turned his head towards the aggravator.

"Oooooh, we made the Ooman angry, we had better run boys" Tu'Van chuckled with his friends.

"That would be wise, I'm not afraid of kicking your scaly arse around the clanship, Tu'Van" Al'Dan threw a very real threat at the Yautja that loved to torment him so.

"Oh, as if your threats have ever meant anything when your brother isn't around" Tu'Van said as he stood up from his seat and walked over to the human and his companion.

Tu'Van's obsession with tormenting Al'Dan was not without reason, the young Yautja's family used to be a part of one of the more extreme clans that still discarded children that suffered from birth defects. Even though these clans were frowned upon by many of the more 'civilized' clans, they still saw themselves as the clans that stayed true to their nature while the other Yautja clans were abandoning them in pursuits of less honourable societies. It was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes that Tu'Van loved himself like a true member of one of said clans, and with that old clan belief drilled into his mind by his parents whom were just as bigoted as he was.

To Tu'Van, Al'Dan was little more than a trained pet that had learned to speak and act like a Yautja, this made him a prime target for his bigotry. The only setback of living on such a varied clanship was of course having to deal with bigots like Tu'Van, his friends and family members, along with aged hunters that hadn't learned from their mistakes in the Human/Yautja war.

"What's your problem with me, Tu'Van?" Al'Dan asked, getting extremely fed up with Tu'Van's constant tormenting.

"I just want to know why such a beautiful girl would waste her time with a hairy sack like you" Tu'Van smirked.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a misogynistic piece of Cjit like you" Al'Dan spat back at the Young Yautja.

To say that Tu'Van and Al'Dan never got along would have been an understatement to say the least. Ever since childhood the two were at odds, with Al'Dan's human heritage and Tu'Van's traditionalist upbringing they would never get along.

"Well, perhaps if your whore of a mother raised you better you would know your place" Tu'Van grinned widely. That statement struck a nerve within the Young human as he lost control, no one insulted Al'Dan's adoptive mother and got away with it.

"You son of a…" Al'Dan lunged at the Tiger striped Yautja only for Liana to grab him and hold him back.

"Al'Dan, stop, stay calm" Liana said as she tried her best to stop Al'Dan from doing anything stupid. For Al'Dan had failed to notice that some of Tu'Van's friends had weapons, nothing hunter worthy, but a dagger or two strapped to their belts could end a life just as easily as a plasma caster could.

"I can't let him get away with saying that" Al'Dan growled through gritted teeth, but Liana's grip on him only got tighter, even though Al'Dan was strong for a human his age he was still physically weaker than a Yautja of Liana's age even without her training.

"Don't let them get to you, if given the chance they would kill you" Liana whispered into Al'Dan's ear, that's when the black haired human saw the daggers strapped to their hips. All of a sudden the human was feeling glad that he had asked Liana to walk with him.

"What do you expect me to do? Just keep my head down and take it?" Al'Dan whispered back, weapons or no weapons, we wasn't going to allow Tu'Van to get away with such words against the woman that raised him when no one else would.

"You don't have to fight all your battles yourself…that's what friends are for" Liana whispered back into his ear. The young human wonder what she meant until she whipped her head around to face Tu'Van, her red dreadlocks swinging from the gesture.

"And what pray tell is it that you could offer someone like me?" Liana asked as she walked over to Tu'Van, whom was looking pleased with himself that he had gotten the attention of the young female.

"More than the primate can offer, that is for su…."Tu'Van stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a cold blade pressing against his 'male parts'. Liana had pulled a shiv and had it placed right where no male of any species wanted a blade to be placed, she had thought this through very well telling by the smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" Liana chuckled the slightest bit.

The other 3 Yautja grabbed the hilts of their knives when they realized what Liana was doing to their 'leader' and were ready to engage her in combat. But Tu'Van held up his hand "Don't you idiots dare move!" the Tiger striped Yautja shouted at them, he didn't want to lose his manhood because three of his friends were too stupid to stand down.

"Smart boy, now if you ever talk to Al'Dan like that again, I'll make sure you regret it for every day of your life" Liana whispered sadistically into the Yautja's ear. Tu'Van hesitated in responding, but when Liana twisted her shiv she earned a sharp yelp and a terrified nod from him.

"Good, now…" Liana reared back and held her shiv up to Tu'Van, showing him its razor sharp edge "…off you go" she grinned widely.

Without a word Tu'Van turned and went into a brisk pace, not fast enough to be considered fleeing, but fast enough to gain some distance. Al'Dan smiled when he heard the other three chuckling and poking fun at the tiger striped Yautja, it wasn't going to last, but for the moment it put a smile on the human's face.

"Well…where were we?" Liana smiled as she turned to Al'Dan and sheathed her shiv in her skirt.

The young Huntress to be had a habit of making shivs, she was young at the age of 17 but was already acting like a veteran, making her own weapons out of whatever she could scrounge up. Ever since childhood when she pulled a shiv on Al'Dan during their first training session, the young human knew her knack for hidden weapons.

She would grow up to be a talented Huntress indeed.

Al'Dan being a male was naturally a bit more cautious after that little display that the blue skinned Yautja gave. No male was very anxious to have their most precious bits severed by a crazy female, even if they knew them personally.

"Promise you won't ever do that to me" Al'Dan asked, earning a hearty laugh from Liana.

"I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have cut 'everything' off" Liana shrugged before she returned to walking beside her human companion.

"Seriously, promise you will never do that to me" Al'Dan said again, further stressing the issue.

"I cross my heart, I will never do that to you" Liana chuckled, holding up her hand and using her finger to trace a cross against her chest.

"Good, and for a second there I thought you were actually going to, you know?" Al'Dan said, referring to when Liana threatened Tu'Van.

"My old clan wasn't THAT violent, I only said that to scare him. I would never threaten a friend like that" Liana smiled as the two continued to walk.

"So…that makes us friends?" Al'Dan asked. He had always questioned the true nature of their relationship, whether they were simply fellow students of Bul'Vyr, classmates, acquaintances or just clan members that happened to know each other.

"I…suppose it does" Liana replied with a smile.

"Now, what was it you were saying before we got, interrupted by the idiots over there?" Liana asked curiously.

"I believe I was going to ask you over my house for dinner" Al'Dan offered the young huntress with a smile.

"Well…you're forward aren't you?" Liana said with a raised brow.

"Well I am an Ooman, I don't have as much time to fool around" Al'Dan joked, making light of his shorter lifespan.

The young Yautja followed the young Human back to his home to have dinner with his adoptive Yautja family. Sure it was a strange situation for anyone, as Liana would find out, but then again this world was full of strange yet wondrous things. Seeing a fully grown Yautja Huntress telling off her Adopted Human child to eat with his mouth closed was bizarre for Liana, but it brought a smile to her face.


The old Yautja was sat in his dwelling, sharpening an old hunting knife of his as he gazed over the wall of his most prized Trophies. Skulls, spinal cords, claws and weapons of fallen prey or defeated opponents that he deemed worthy of being displayed for all to see.

The skulls of Xenomorphs with rare ridges and spines adorning their crests.

Claws of primordial alien beasts that resembled the Dinosaurs of prehistoric earth

Swords, daggers, spear heads and single shot firearms of primitive alien species

All were trophies that he had exiting memories acquiring on his many hunts. Memories that reminded him of his former glory back in his prime years as a young Hunter, but now he was starting to feel his age as he was beginning to leave his prime and slip into the years that belonged to Elders and Ancients.

It wasn't going to be long until the Elder of this clan would begin considering a replacement as the leader of the clan, and even though not born a clan member, Bul'Vyr had been with this clan for hundreds of years and in doing so, built a reputation and bonds that would last forever with its inhabitants.

But the aging Yautja scoffed at the idea of him becoming an Elder. He was a fighter through and through, and Paya forbid he would die with a weapon in his hand, not coughing his lungs out on a bed, waiting for the Black Hunter to claim him. There was never a chance of family for the old hunter as not only did he always rub females the wrong way, but he getting too old for a family of any kind besides his niece.

Bul'Vyr was more than a capable warrior, in all his years he had never met an opponent that could best him and give him an honourable death. Something that he as a Yautja warrior yearned for in his older years, to be remembered as a great warrior and not as a decrepit old man.

*KNOCK**KNOCK**KNOCK*

Bul'Vyr noticed the knocking originating from the entrance of his dwelling, and after sheathing his dagger he rose from his seat to answer the wrapping upon the door. Thinking it may have been Liana forgetting her key, he smirked and promptly called "Patience, Sweetheart, I'm here"

But as he opened the door he was greeted by the sight of three large figures, shrouded in hooded cloaks. The largest one stood in the middle, cloaked in black, the next tallest to the right cloaked in brown and the shortest to the left cloaked in snowy white.

"I didn't know you missed us that much, Bul'Vyr" the largest of the figures cloaked in black replied.

To say that Bul'Vyr was shocked would have been an understatement, it had been hundreds of years since he saw these three and it only made it more unsettling as they had barely aged compared to him.

"What are you three doing here?" the blue skinned Hunter asked.

"It's important, old friend. We wouldn't be here otherwise" the figure cloaked in white replied.

"Now could you let us for god's sake? We don't want to hang outside like idiots all day" the brown cloaked figure asked in a gruff voice.

"Fine, get in" Bul'Vyr replied, holding the door open for them. As soon as the three stepped in, he looked for signs if anyone had seen them and promptly closed the door in haste.

"Huh, you've redecorated" the black cloaked figure observed as he looked around the room.

"Well it has been 400 years since you've been here, what do you expect?" Bul'Vyr rhetorically asked.

"Unfortunately, we aren't here for a visit Bul'Vyr" the brown cloaked figure said.

"Then why are you here?"

"Would we be correct in thinking you are training Kal'Dan's human boy?" the black cloaked figure asked.

"….What does Al'Dan have to do with this?" Bul'Vyr asked, wanting to make sure his apprentice wouldn't be in danger.

"We don't know….yet. But we have to warn you, to watch him closely, your niece too" the black cloaked figure replied before walking over to Bul'Vyr and looking down.

Bul'Vyr had almost forgotten how tall this one was, his height was immense even to his own people and the mask on his face made him intimidating to say the least, but what made him stand out were his eyes.

Those golden reptilian eyes, but where there would usually be a snow white surrounded his pupils, there was a pitch blackness. It really made it hard to believe this guy was royalty, much less a Prince of his species.

"What do you suggest I do?" Bul'Vyr asked.

"I would suggest accelerating their training, because if my hunch is right….well….they'll have to be able to look after themselves" The black cloaked prince said before turning back to the door.

"What hunch would that be?" Bul'Vyr asked.

"…That they're being hunted"


Well everyone, that's where this chapter ends and the real action is going to begin. BTW I am really proud and happy that everyone is enjoying the story and how it's progressing, I just hope I can continue to please you guys with the insane asylum of ideas that is my mind, because I got a lot planned for the future of this story.

Don't forget to favourite and leave a review of what you want to see in the future.

This is Dakkaman777, signing out : )