Chapter Nine

I begin to type when I am left alone. The words are freed with each gentle drawing of fingers on the key pad of my laptop, and I feel normal again. In control of my environment.

It's beautiful. The way words can just flow so easily after a long break. It's as if they were just waiting, building, until I could find time to let them out.

I write about the drop at the port, throwing myself at the mercy of this world, and the way I felt so small in the midst of such powerful beings, all looking down at me quite literally.

I remember the way I felt, the uncertainty as I narrate the story. I begin with the long trek to the keep that eventually stretched overhead like a storm cloud. The fear of harmful strangers, and the relief of friendly faces. I recall Mian's curiosity and his interest in being friends, and I smile when I think of Tygis, and how she is only a child, but we are about the same size.

I recall the way I felt, the fear, but also the sense of wonderment. Sangheilios is massive, it's brand new. A planet that has yet to be fully explored by human kind, one that has a voice that shakes the world with the vibration of it. The tides that draw currents in the sand, air and earth moving as parts of one great whole.

I never do realize how fast time has gone until I'm reminded of the fact, and I stop typing at the tapping at the door.

It is due time for a break. I've been at it for hours, and I'm proud of my success. I haven't written anything in so long. I smile at my screen, pleased with the success of the words peering out vividly on the white backdrop of my document, closing it gently before rolling off the bed.

I find Tygis at the door and she greets me with a short nod.

"Remember what I said earlier?" She starts.

I did. My mind is sharp today, surprisingly. It is a good day for finding words. "I do. You had some things you wanted to ask?"

Tygis is pleased, I have grown used to sangheili expression, and I can see it in the tuck of her mandibles and in the sparkle of her vividly colored eyes. She does resemble her mother, very much. I wonder if she has any sisters, maybe brothers.

I step back to let the child inside, and we take a seat on the bed, Tygis appearing to fidget as her long neck sweeps around to take in my room. I realize that she is nervous when she speaks, and I see her neck bob as she swallows.

"You are…my first human." Tygis says quickly. "I've not met one of your kind before. I've only heard stories. You are not very strange."

I chuckle. "I hope not." I admit. "I already feel strange enough being the only human here. You guys are pretty tall."

Tygis grinned. "We grow quickly too. You should have seen me last year. Father says I may reach his height too. Some females do."

"I'll feel even smaller then." I laugh.

She seems more relaxed, and doesn't lose the smile on her mandibles. She notices my computer on the bed, and reaches for it before pausing to look at me. "May I see?"

I push it to her, and she turns it around to look into the screen.

"You're writing about us?" She says. "All good I hope?"

"Promise." I say, beginning to feel nervous as her eyes flicker with interest as she scrolls to read with a careful claw.

"You write very well." She says some moment later.

I'm surprised. I remember something suddenly. "You can read the words?"

"Your civilian common?" Tygis said. "Yes I can." She didn't try to conceal the pride in her voice. I am impressed. I'm impressed by anyone who can learn a second language, I had never gotten around to learning myself.

"That's amazing." I encourage her further. "I've never had the patience or the time myself, that's quite impressive."

"Father wants us to learn all we can." Tygis said carefully. "Although I would prefer less time in the books and more on the field."

"What do you mean?"

Tygis pushed the computer away gently and righted her position on the bed. She tucked her hands together, appearing uncertain. "I would like to fight like my brothers. To help defend our keep."

I'm a coward so I can't hope to understand how Tygis feels about fighting, but I do understand the yearning for common ground. If she wants to be like her brothers, then surely that she be a goal made available for her as well.

"You're braver than me." I admit. "I'm not much for fighting even insects."

Tygis chuckled. "Well, we'll protect you Lacey, no one will be getting past my brothers."

Her face looks sad again, her mandibles relaxing slowly, eyes looking past me. "I just wish I had more choice in that matter. I feel I have a right to stand with them. I want to be on the wall, not within them reading or weaving all day."

"Is your keep more traditional?" I ask. Of course some parts of human worlds were still so. Women kept at home while the men fought or worked outside of it. I don't know much about gender studies but I'd have to be stuck in a situation where I was told it would be the only role I could have. Luckily the big cities are usually more progressive.

"Father values tradition, most sangheili do." Tygis said. "The only real change was allowing humans into the keep, and allow business between our kinds. The old ways are still very much the same."

"What of Karis?" I just remembered her, the warrior female who had traveled with us to the keep.

"She is different." Tygis says quickly. Her eyes flashed past me, and I see something like sadness in them.

"May I ask how?" I don't know what I'd gain by pushing, but I can't stop my curiosity.

"I cannot say." Tygis shook her head. "It is not my business."

That is curious.

"That's alright." It is, I won't bug the kid about it. I shouldn't be so insistent, I suppose it's the journalist in me, always seeking a story.

Tygis returns to looking at my computer screen. "I wish I had one of these. Our tablets are outdated, mother only requests textiles it seems."

"You do need clothes." I say.

"Do we?" Tygis sighs. "It's warm here, we could do with less."

"It is hot." I agree. "I was surprised, but the wind helps."

"It's the windiest season." She tells me. "When they quiet we will plant again. The harvest festival is a month after that. It's a lot of fun."

"I'll be sure to attend then." I smile. Will I even be here that long? Why is it taking so long to find these bad guys? Surely they wouldn't trouble themselves coming after me again. I should be safe here.

I hope anyways.

"These buttons." Tygis interrupts my thoughts. "How do you place your hands?"

I scoot by her and she makes room, and I pull the laptop onto my knees. "Here, I'll show you."

00oo00oo00oo00

There are gouges on the wall. Deep, and I can smell the musk of the beast, it is as unpleasant as usual. Such an acrid smell to come from something with such sweet meat.

Hunting one was typically not so grating a task, but somehow the beast had escaped into a low-setting wall in the granary.

"Kahlo, how goes it?" My friend Kah'tin walks towards me, carrying a sack over one shoulder. "Did it spoil anything?"

I shake my head. "Only wall damage." They are deep, it appears to be a territorial display. Kylonit are beasts that run in small groups, and fight any who invade their hunting lands.

"At least they don't piss on everything." Kah'tin laughed. "It can be fixed."

"I'm more concerned with its aggression levels." Kahlo was thinking of course, of Lacey. He wasn't sure how refined the animal's senses were, but she was something new. Kylonit were known to be very curious creatures, which made them more dangerous than the others.

Kah'tin seems to think the same. "I'll make sure the human stays inside."

"I appreciate that, brother."

"My honor."

00oo00oo00oo00

Eventually, Tygis had to scurry off to heed her mother's call. She had given me a disappointed look, eager to see more of what I had brought with me, and had made me promise we could continue later.

I gave her that promise, and now I'm lying back on my bed, pleasantly surprised at the comfort, feeling a little bored.

I chuckle a bit as I stare up at the ceiling. I'm bored. On an alien planet. The thought seems extremely silly, I mean, what is not going to be new to me here?

At this realization, and the promise of more stories to tell, I slip off the bed and move into the small bathroom. I look at my tired face and splash some water on it, smiling at my reflection. I wonder what I must look like. I try and not think about anything, but clearing my mind and turning onto my reflection like a new onlooker.

A brow that makes me appeared puzzled, the arch falling low on my eyes. The pale skin, made to look a bit blue in the strange light. I am truly the only alien here now. They are so unlike me, we are so different, yet we still have so much in common.

I need to learn more. This is a beautiful opportunity to get back into journalism, to find my pace again.

I can imagine it now. Publishing a book all about Sangheilios and her people. It has been done before, but I want it to be of my own unique perspective, sans the extra stuff of course. I doubt it would be best to describe the more dangerous situations to the public.

What did these beasts want anyway? I frown as I dab at my face lightly with a rough cloth. It's definitely not made for my skin, but I don't think about comforts now, I'm thinking of the anxiety of being in a situation where you know little of your enemy.

"I just need to get out of here." I tell myself in the mirror. I look into my reflection's eyes for a moment, before blushing lightly, feeling silly for talking to myself. I was tired earlier, but returning to my writing had refreshed me. Maybe I could take Mian up on that tour.

I do leave, making sure to tuck my laptop safely into its bag. I was a bit paranoid that someone besides Tygis would read what I had wrote, and take it in a negative light. It was silly, and the common sangheili probably couldn't figure out the keys himself, but it was just my nature to be paranoid. It might come in handy, who knows.

I slip down the hallway carefully, listening for others down the hall. I'm surprised to find it empty. Even as I turn down the main corridor, I am met with no one.

They must be in some kind of clan meeting or something. I wasn't one-hundred percent sure what was daily life like here, what schedules they kept, so it could very well be.

I continue down the corridor towards the dining hall. Perhaps I would discover someone there.

When I enter, I'm surprised to see no one. The area has been cleared off of plates and the like, and the long banner like curtains on the far wall have been pulled down and tied off. I'm alone. I recall hearing about an animal outside, and I wonder if that's where everyone has gone. Hopefully they are safe.

Maybe it was time to return to my room, because there is no one here and I'm beginning to feel spooked being alone. Tygis would probably come searching for me soon anyway.

I hear it then, and I turn quickly on my heel at the sound of heavy footsteps.

"Greetings." The sangheili says quietly. "You must be the one I've heard so much about."

He is unfamiliar, yet I've seen him before. Perhaps we have had yet to speak. He is an average sized male with ruddy brown skin and piercing gray eyes. I see his nostrils flare as he takes me in, and I feel nervous again.

I don't stink….probably, but they do have an excellent sense of smell, but it still makes me uncomfortable. The way his eyes look, the reptilian arc is very noticeable, but I try my best to smile and be polite. Something about the way he watches me is unnerving. It's unkind to judge one you've not yet met though.

"Hello." I return, dipping my chin lightly as I smile. I saw another sangheili dip his mandibles to greet another, so I'm hoping this subtle action will appease him.

To my pleasure, he returns the gesture, and suck in a quick breath as his sharp gray eyes look into mine as he moves closer. I hate feeling watched. It makes me anxious. It was always the worst part of my classes in college, having to talk above an audience and have all those eyes on you…

"Were you looking for someone?" He asks. "I can help you look if you like."

He didn't give me his name, but I decide to answer him first. We can get to that part later. I'm glad at least, he doesn't seem hostile. "Oh, not really anyone in particular." I say. "I was just taking a walk."

His eyes seem to rove over my form with some kind of silent inquiry, but then they return to look into my own. "If you like, I can show you the grounds. There is a garden on the southern great wall."

He is a new face, but I'm curious to see a sangheili garden. I wonder what kind of vegetables they have.

"That would be much appreciated." I reply. "Thank you."

He seems pleased with my response, and ducks his head as he turns around to the dining hall entrance. He peers back at me with one of those silver eyes. "Follow me."

00oo00oo00oo00

"Tygis, have you seen the human?"

"No Kah'tin, I've been preoccupied, as you can tell."

Tygis looks up at the tall male with disdain. Her mother had made her sort through the fabric bin for a particular shade of orange, and so far, every hue had been turned away. Now Kahlo's friend was pestering her about Lacey, the fascinating human that Tygis was eager to learn about, but once again kept away by a woman's chores.

It was enough to make her want to run away and join a mercenary guild. She smirked when she thought of her mother's expression at that bit of news.

"Where did you last see her?" Kah'tin presses. "In her room?"

"Yes." Tygis sighs. "I left her there. Mother was insistent, so here I am. Did you check the bathing room?"

Kah'tin's mandibles gape widely in a grimace. "Yes of course, I promised Kahlo I would check on her, but she is nowhere to be found."

Tygis paused, dropping a roll of fabric back in the bin. "Can I help you look? I'm really tired of doing this."

"I would not risk your mother's scorn." Kah'tin snorts, "I will find her myself."

Tygis scowls but his back is already turned on her and she watches as he leaves the room quickly, not even bothering to seal the door shut.

00oo00oo00oo00

There is so much to see. I'm in awe at every marking in stone and on glass.

"There are glass makers, here?" I do a slow spin, facing straight up at the chandelier looking object above. It's warped like some kind of kraken wrestling with a blooming rose. "It's beautiful."

"Yes." My guide says impatiently. "Hurry along now."

I felt a little embarrassed, but I was doing my best to keep up, though there was so much to see. I quickly follow him again, and he slowed his stride to allow me to meet him equally, though his eyes keep peering about as if he is looking for something, or someone.

I did notice he was becoming more distracted by the minute. Like his thoughts were someplace else. I recall he has yet to even introduce himself, and I realize, I have been following an actual stranger this whole time.

Now I'm feeling more unease than anything. I watch the turn of his shoulders, and how stiff he is looking. He doesn't seem to be paying attention, and I slow down a little, wondering if I should try and excuse myself.

Why do I always get myself into these situations? It wouldn't even take candy and a van to get me caught…it's shameful.

I decide to say something, to at least put these fears to rest. I'm just being silly, surely I'm safe here, in the kaidon's own keep. These are his people, his law.

"My name is Lacey." I say to the stranger's back. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

He stops and turns to regard me, mandibles sealing in a firm smile. "I know who you are, after all, you are the guest here."

He watches me and I feel a shiver roll down my back as he scans me with those cool gray eyes again. It's like he's trying to look through me, into me. I haven't felt this way since…

"I'm a bit tired." I say weakly, already stepping back a little. "Could you perhaps show me this garden another time?"

He chuckles, a gruff sound, and straightens up, his neck arching dangerously in my direction, one gray eye locking onto me. "It isn't far now." He promises with a sweetness that sounds more tart than anything. He steps closer and I realize he could reach me with one arm very easily.

I step back, mouth opening to say something, but he's already on me. I feel his grip burn, feel the sticky trickle of blood as his claws embed themselves into my shoulder.

I utter a choked sound, the pain taking me by surprise. I grab at his one strong hand with both of my own small, and try my best to loosen his grip. My nails slip off his scaly hand effortlessly, and I cry out as his head rears over me.

He pulls me close, and I feel his other hand reach around to capture my hair. I whimper as I feel him tug on my scalp, cursing myself silently for my stupidity. How could I let this happen? Maybe I deserve to die, the cause being my own foolishness.

His hot breath fans my face, and I wrinkle my nose at the stink of his breath, beads of moisture hitting my face as he laughs again. "You are a stupid girl, aren't you? Good. It makes this much easier."

I scream as he pulls me up by my hair, tears stinging my eyes and blurring my vision, as he hauls me into the air.

"Please." I cry. "Stop."

He merely looks into my eyes with his steel gaze and scowls. I see something in his other hand, as I'm wrestling with the one at the back of my neck, but I'm unable to stop him from doing it.

There isn't time to do much more than scream a final futile time before the wide based needlelike object is plunged into the side of my neck. A rush of cold and hot sensations run through my body like a torrent.

It seems like a long agonizing minute, but suddenly I feel tired and I cannot even utter a sound, feeling as if my whole body has gone limp. I can only feel the tears that escape down my cheeks to slip down my neck.

It is some kind of sedating drug, I feel so weak. I can't muster the energy to make a sound, though I'm screaming inside. It's always that one terrible mistake, and there's not taking it back. I deserve this. I cannot muster the strength to survive a single day, on any planet.

He throws me over his shoulder and we continue down the corridor, and I can see nothing but one of his strong legs taking me forward. To some probable horrible fate.

"There are no gods." He hisses. I see dots in my vision and my eyelids grow heavy. But I hold onto words, to anything. I'm losing my grip, and I'm falling fast. "Only the tools they left behind."

Then there's nothing at all.

00oo00oo00oo00

He plunges the blade into its neck and blue blood spits into the air, the animal's death knell confirming the kill. Kylonit have thick skin, and even thicker fur, but he managed to find a young one with a short mane.

Kahlo grunts at he pulls the blade free, blood painting his chest plate as it squirts upward. Soon it is a steady stream across the earth. He wipes his blade off onto his cloak in a quick motion, already turning to face his companion.

"Good kill." Lyre 'Ahun nods, the elder sangheili approaching steadily. When he reaches the body, Lyre turns down to see the beast by the mane, admiring the many sharp teeth in its maws. "Will you keep these?"

"All yours, I have enough trophies." Kahlo spits on the ground, having gotten some foul ichor in his mouth. It was messy business, always, but it was thankfully over with. Now he didn't have to worry about it finding a way inside and hurting anyone. Possibly Lacey. She wouldn't survive, these beasts were tough enough on their own kind. Cunning and relentless.

"Humble." Lyre grunts with a slight laugh. "I will offer these teeth as a present. They are mostly intact."

"I wish I could say the same for our silos." Kahlo turns his head to assess the damage again. Four small, wide bottomed storage silos were damaged near the main wall. One had been emptied completely of its ore.

"Stupid beasts." Lyre snorts. "Senseless destruction is their way. It's not intelligence, they will force their way into anything."

Kahlo couldn't disagree. It was more curiosity than anything, which was part of why they were so dangerous. That and destructive to property.

Now they would strip the beast of its useful parts and burn the rest. Then would come the repairs of the storage silos and two walls. They were fortunate to have killed it before more damage had been wrought.

Lyre had already begun cutting into the mouth of the beast, and Kahlo was prepared to assist in holding the head still when he heard footsteps.

Kha'tin ran forward, mandibles flexing with his hurried breaths, looking flustered for some reason or another. This was not like him, so Kahlo didn't hesitate to step forward to see to him.

"Kahlo." He says. "I cannot locate Lacey. She is not in her room."

"The human is safe now." Lyre grunts from his place crouched on the ground, he had managed to free some long fangs and was dropping them into a pouch. "We downed the beast, hah, well Kahlo here did."

"Be as that may." Kahlo says. "I must know where she is. I'm supposed to watch over her."

"I'll help you look." Kha'tin says.

The elder sangheili on the ground just shook his head and continued his teeth collecting. The human probably got lost running through the keep. Humans were often reckless creatures with a penance for getting into trouble.

00oo00oo00oo00

Her eyes narrowed as she gazed around the corner, watching the traitorous scum throw the female over his shoulder and trudge off. Her senses were acute as always, she had sensed something strange in the air, and now she had found a treacherous act taking place under their very noses.

She carefully followed the male who seemed totally unaware of her soft footed pursuit of him, mumbling stupidly under his breath. He would die a traitor and a fool then.

The weapon she carried in her grip was not a blade or a gun, but it would work just the same. First she would see where this fiend was taking the human.

It's been far too long! I'm sorry, I've had some personal issues/legit computer issues, so I'm glad to finally be updating SOMETHING. Hope you enjoyed! Stay safe guys.