Six

Several hours passed by without much notice. Traveling appeared to have that effect. Avocet found herself caught up in the scenery around her, a deceptively peaceful mountain trail probably used by hunters. It was well worn. With the sunlight streaming through the tree branches, it was hard to believe the night before had been filled with waking nightmares of bipedal black monsters and mysterious 'saviors' firing white hot projectiles into hillsides. Any more of this excitement and Avocet figured she'd probably die from sheer exhaustion. She was forced to stop frequently to rest while trekking further up the mountain. And she hadn't come across anything edible or familiar for several hours. The carrots she'd eaten the night before were already beginning to wear off. Though she tried a few times when the opportunity presented itself, she was unsuccessful in hunting any small prey that crossed her path. She resorted to just taking it slow and steady on the way up. By the time she reached a stopping point, it was already evening and the sun was beginning to dip.

The road Avocet chose to take was a steep incline leading up the mountain. She assumed it was a transport road due to the wideness of the path. However at one point, about a quarter of the way up, the road had been washed out by a mudslide, the resulting bank too slippery even for her to cross. She was forced to simply stand there and digest what she was seeing, her wings twitching in agitation. Had she been born a normal Avian, crossing this gap wouldn't even phase her. Actually, thinking about it like that, had she been born a normal Avian, she wouldn't be traversing human territory in the first place at her age. She'd be preparing for her flight trials where her place in the caste would be decided.

She hadn't thought of home in several days. The thought of her mother searching her old tree by the outskirts of the territory and finding only her discarded feathers made her heart feel sick.

Sighing, she turned toward the remainder of the cliff edge, seeing a ridge located about thirty feet up. There were tree roots and rocks lodged into the side and she knew she could use those as a foothold if she was careful. She didn't want to cause another mudslide. But she was losing light fast and needed to find some shelter quickly before those black demons started appearing again.

Grasping a tree root, she hauled herself up, ignoring the way her muscles protested the action due to her lingering malnourishment. The carrots the night before that Maria had given her had helped, but they weren't enough to keep her going for long. As she'd been suspecting, she needed to eat meat to fully regain her strength as an Avian.

She forced herself to keep going. Maria had said that the entire region was overrun by black demons and that a quarantine was being placed by someone. She'd forgotten the name already. If that were true, she needed to get out before she was caught. Maria was a fluke, caring for Avocet like she had. Who knows what other humans would think of an Avian wandering alone?

As she reached up to grab hold of another root, she heard a sharp whizzing sound in the distance. Pausing, she glanced behind her and screamed as the world exploded around her, threatening to send her plummeting back toward the road. She held onto the root in her grasp with a death grip, her other arm covering her head as debris rained down on her. She looked down through the hail of dirt and stones. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw yet another black demon scaling the wall about sixty feet away from her. But it wasn't so much that that terrified her, the sight of this inky black monster with saliva pouring from its jaws as it finally took notice of her, no. It was the sight of the melted, corroded handle of the familiar hunting knife barely visible around a crusty coating of dried yellow blood beneath its neck that terrified Avocet.

Another white hot blast struck the cliff Avocet clung to, knocking the black demon back down to the road below with a shrieking hiss. Avocet didn't bother to watch its descent as she scrambled up the side of the cliff. It vaguely occurred to her that the black creature wasn't the only one following her.

Gasping, she cleared the edge of the ridge, pushing herself up with the last of her strength as her legs gave way. Her body was already famished and exhausted; she couldn't take much more of this. But a familiar echoing roar sent shivers down her spine and she tapped into reserves of strength as she jumped up and headed for the trees beyond the ridge. A rattling shriek met her ears and she barely had time to register as something heavy barreled into her, knocking her sideways. She twisted and landed shakily on her feet, sliding backward through sheer momentum as her claws dug into the ground. Her wings extended and she looked up into that horrifying black face, the knife handle just within sight in the grisly mess of clotted blood at its neck. But it held its head at a grotesque angle, suggesting immense pain from such a ghastly wound. It hissed viciously at her, that bizarre second mouth shooting out preemptively as it approached her, tail swishing. Avocet stood up, claws bared and eyes flaming. If she was going to go down, she was going to go down fighting.

The creature hesitated a moment, as if discerning the best method of attack. Avocet crouched and hissed warningly, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared. As a fledgeling, she knew she didn't present an imposing image quite yet. It would be awhile before her adult feathers and markings developed and before her milk teeth were replaced with sharp adult teeth. But that was assuming she lived long enough to witness those changes.

The black demon snarled suddenly, saliva flying from its mouth as it charged her. Avocet flexed her claws, holding her ground until the last second as she jinked, swiping her claws across the creature's head and leaving several deep marks running along its wide skull. It swiveled sharply, its tail narrowly missing her face. It shook its head and shrieked angrily, bracing to charge again. This time, Avocet was pinned against the trees. She had nowhere to dodge to. As the creature raced toward her, she braced, preparing to spend her final few seconds on this Earth ripping out that horrible second mouth.

The creature stopped just short of her, jaws gnashing viciously at her face and the second mouth just far enough away to send shivers down her spine as it snapped so close at her face she went cross-eyed looking at it. But it didn't come nearer. It flailed ferociously and she watched as it reared up away from her, its head angling back at an awkward ankle. What was it doing?!

Suddenly, it shrieked and its head appeared to explode as a wicked looking set of blades shot up through the skull. Avocet watched in horror as the creature started twitching in its death throes and the body was abruptly flung away across the ridge, dying with a shaky hiss. Her eyes followed the creature before slowly moving back to where it had stood moments before. At first, all she could see were those blades in midair, dripping with the yellow blood that hissed and crackled and ate away at the sharp metal. But that wasn't all that was making that crackling noise, she realized. An image appeared before her, fading in and out of sight for a second before solidifying with a cracking hum. The new creature before her lowered the arm holding the blades and a second set shot out from the gauntlet at its other arm. This creature appeared to be human, she noted, except much taller and clearly nothing like she'd ever seen before. He wore a mask over his face, preventing her from discerning his features or his thoughts. Basic armor covered his shoulders, chest, and arms and beneath that he wore what appeared to be netting along his arms, legs, and torso. He had similar armor attached to a belt about his waist and wore a loincloth of some kind beneath that, guarded by a metal codpiece. The gauntlets at his wrists were both holders for probably some of the most terrifying blades Avocet had ever seen, and he wore a spear of sorts strapped across his chest behind his back. But the thing that disturbed her the most were the series of small skulls adorning his armor and chest plates.

She stood up, backing away from him warily. That sensation down her back returned with the ferocity it had had the night before, a stabbing, numbing feeling shooting clear down to her lower spine and back up again and she felt the down on her head stand on end.

This creature was far, far more dangerous than the black demons had been. Her instincts were screaming at her to run.

She turned and took off through the trees, adrenaline sending her running full tilt only half against her will. But she was half-delirious from hunger and exhaustion and she couldn't see perfectly straight anymore. Heck, she couldn't even run as fast as she once could, now.

She gasped when that same bellowing roar echoed through the trees after her.

HE was the one doing that!? She screamed in her head, her terror pumping through her veins with her blood as she searched desperately for some way out of this. That familiar whizzing sound met her ears and she jinked as the ground exploded at her feet, sending her flying and landing hard on her side on the forest floor. Stunned, she shook her head to clear it and stood up, only to fall back down as a shooting pain ripped through her left leg originating at her hip. She was still able to move it, but she'd bruised the bone badly and it slowed her down.

"Who's there?"

Avocet choked and gasped at that voice; "...Maria?" she whispered. She stumbled back as a looming dark shadow appeared in her vision through the trees, slowly approaching her.

"What's this?"

Avocet bit her lip, ignoring the voice so similar to Maria's. So this monster was a mimic, huh?

Unable to run now, Avocet ground her teeth, spreading her feet apart defensively as he drew nearer to her. She hissed warningly, emitting a sharp snarl for the first time in her life. Her hip burned, her body shook, but she wasn't going to just let him take her. He stopped about five feet away, staring her down with that blank, expressionless mask of his. She could now see for sure it was a mask; she saw the outline of his actual skin end just before the edge of the cover over his face.

Cornered and completely overpowered, Avocet knew she was out of options. She almost preferred the black demon from before. Reacting purely out of fear, she snarled and leaped forward, charging him with claws bared. He raised his right arm and she heard a short snap before she was suddenly flung backward, encased in a thick netting of some kind. To her horror, it started to tighten around her and she started flailing, slashing and biting at the material and working herself free. She wriggled out of the net as it contorted and twisted on the ground in a grotesque fashion. She barely had time to tear her eyes from it before a tremendous weight pressed on her throat and she was suddenly hurled against the trunk of a tree, slamming hard into it and sinking down, stunned and in pain. Her vision exploded with white hot stars and she struggled to regain clarity. She started choking when she felt the weight around her neck again and realized it was his hand wrapped around her throat. Claws raking his arm, she struggled to free herself as his iron grip tightened and she felt a horrible lightheaded feeling sinking in. Her claws dug in deeper and she managed to draw blood, but he still wouldn't let go. In desperation, she unfolded her wings and beat them furiously, the fight quickly leaving her.

All of a sudden, his grip weakened slightly. Her pulse returned to her body, pumping blood through her veins freely again as she took a desperate gasp of air. She opened her eyes, her claws still buried in his arm as she eyed him nervously. His head was tilted toward her wings, still twitching on reflex. He'd been distracted by their movement. Avocet chose now to speak up, knowing she wouldn't have another opportunity; "Why do you want to kill me? What did I do to you?!" she snapped, her voice hoarse.

His head snapped back to face her and she expected him to break her neck right then and there for barking orders at him. To her surprise, he cocked his head to the side looking at her. She heard some sort of high pitched trill escape him. Or at least she thought it was him. Honestly, she wouldn't have expected such a delicate noise to come from such a horrifying creature. She scowled, "You heard me!" she snarled at him, "I've been through enough these past few weeks. What did I do to you that I deserve to die? Can you tell me that much!?"

He stared her down, his hand still coiled around her throat with just enough pressure to hold her to the tree, but not enough to flat out strangle her like before. Her claws however, remained gouged into his arm as she stared up at him darkly.

"...hhhhhh...," he suddenly grumbled, startling her. She blinked a few times, waiting with baited breath if he'd actually speak to her or not. He tossed his head once, as if trying to compose himself. He looked at her again, raising his other clawed hand and pointing to the skulls adorning his armor. He then moved his hand to lightly tap her on the forehead a couple of times.

It took her a second to work out the meaning. Her eyes widened in alarm and she ground her teeth, "What? You're hunting me for my head!?" she shrieked, "I'm not some animal!"

He placed his hand on her head and she felt an intense pressure on her scalp as he tightened his grip. Her eyes watered and she hissed, "Will...will this even be worth it!?" she cried desperately.

He froze, staring down at her. She glowered up at him and continued, "I'm just a fledgeling! I've only been fighting for three weeks! I don't know how to fight back or anything yet! Is killing a fledgeling Avian really worth all this? Are we really that rare, now!?"

Maria's words of the rare Avian sightings had stuck in her mind. And now, with her death looming before her, all of her fears and anxieties at hearing that began to bubble to the surface; "So we're rare enough that even the skull of a fledgeling is worth hunting down? Is that it!?" she screamed.

Behind the mask, he scowled angrily, his suspicions confirmed upon her words. Her tirade had identified her race as 'Avians'. He made sure to record that. However, further stating how apparently rare she and her kind were supported the reason for the lack of data his kind had on them. With as many trips as his kind had been making to Earth over the years, they should have run into some. So they were either elusive, or endangered. Or both, apparently. She was an endangered species and he knew he couldn't kill her—yet, anyway.

She wasn't done; "You want to kill me, then fine! I don't care!" she shrieked, her voice cracking, "But...but why not...why not wait until I've gotten older? Until I've become good at surviving? I mean...what's the challenge now? I couldn't even fight back!"

He cocked his head to the side at her words. She noticed and scowled, "What's wrong with you!? I have nothing to stay alive for anymore! I can't fight, I don't know how! And it's not fair for you to just steal my life from me without giving me a chance to learn how to defend it! Why did you even save me twice from those monsters if you were just going to kill me!?" she yelled.

He couldn't understand half of what she was saying; she was speaking far too fast. But he was able to catch some of it. Was she asking him to train her to fight? He couldn't quite figure it out. What would bring this on all of a sudden?

"Make up your mind!" she snapped, making him look down at her again, "Either kill me, or don't! What's it going to be?"

That much, he caught. He found himself further impressed by the intense fire in her personality, much more so than many other creatures he chose to hunt. On top of that, her raw skill was very much in evidence. He was curious to see what she could eventually do with such skill if put to proper nurturing and responsibility. And since he couldn't kill her anyway...

"...going to be..." he repeated her own words back to her, startling her. Then, he reached down and gently pried her claws out of his arm. He released her and stepped back, allowing her to her feet. She stood up shakily, eying him warily. She was highly intimidated by his height, but she forced herself to remain calm. She wanted to run while she had the chance, but she knew that he'd be able to catch her in her weakened state without a problem.

He watched her carefully, noting how her eyes flickered to the forest around them. He wondered if she'd try to run again. She presented to him an interesting proposal. After all, since he couldn't honorably kill her, why not perform a little experiment and see how she'd do under his kind's training regimen? The taking of apprentices wasn't unheard of, though it was fairly uncommon. And the injury she'd caused to that kiande amedha had made killing it laughably easy. Given her age and skill level, that was no small feat and definitely deserved some form of recognition, no matter how small.

"So what now?" she grumbled, catching his attention again, "Are you letting me go or am I going with you?"

She sounded somewhat hesitant when she said this. He pointed first to her and then to himself. She sighed, clenching her fists at her sides, "Guess I'm going, then. It's not like I've got anything left here. What are you?"

"Yautja." he said without hesitation. She was speaking more slowly now and he was able to make out what she was saying and actually translate it, never mind replying to it.

"Ya...Yautja?" she repeated, struggling a bit with the pronunciation. He nodded. He pointed at her, then. It took her a second to understand before her eyes widened, "Oh! Uh...Avian."

He made note of that word so he could try looking it up again later. The databanks were extensive, stretching back millenia. They had to have something.

"Do you have a name?" she asked, somewhat more quietly than before. She was more or less forcing herself to talk to him. She knew it was going to be awhile before she felt like he wouldn't kill her for the slightest misstep.

"...have a name..." he repeated in her words. He hesitated, "Kar'kha."

He looked around slowly, and then looked back down at her. He reached out and placed his hand on her head somewhat roughly. She watched him warily as he nodded down to her; "Luar'ka."

"Huh?" she asked.

"Luar'ka." he said again in the same tone. His hand moved down to point at her chest, nudging her, "Luar'ka."

She realized then with a sinking feeling that he was giving her a new name. This was different from when Maria had started calling her 'Michelle'. This was more permanent. But like it or not, she had no choice, now. She'd chosen this, and she had to take the twists and turns that came with it. She sighed sadly, nodding, "Luar'ka," she repeated, managing to pronounce it as he did. This was no small feat though, as for some reason, every time he spoke, strange growls and clicks were emitted along with his oddly gravelly voice. But she'd managed to enunciate her new name quite well. She looked back up at him glumly, "So, does it mean anything?" she mumbled.

He swept his arm out slowly, gesturing around them. She followed his movements, studying the scenery for what he was referring to. "Uh...forest?" she ventured.

He shook his head, those strange black appendages on the back of his head swishing with his movements before settling. He repeated the gesture and she tried again, "Hm...oh, dark!" she said.

He nodded once and then looked up, pointing at the sky toward the east, where the moon would have been rising if it weren't a dark moon at the moment. She frowned, trying to place his meaning. His motions indicated 'sky', but to point where the moon would normally be visible as a specific direction clued her into to his other possible meaning. She decided to take a chance. She studied it a moment as she pieced the fragments together in her mind, "Luar'ka means...'Dark Moon'?" she asked.

He knelt down and began to write in the dirt between them with his claw. She knelt as well and watched as he wrote out two words in a language she didn't recognize. They were strange letters composed of little lines to make odd symbols and patterns. He finished the words and then drew a line between certain combinations of letters, rewriting the final combination below them for her to see. She realized then that her name was a combination of those two words meaning 'Dark' and 'Moon'.

"I see..." she mumbled. It would be a while before she could fully accept her new name. She figured it would be best if she just forgot her old one. Maybe being addressed by the new one would help some.

She remained staring at the letters for longer than she probably should have, as he'd already stood up and begun moving away, but not before letting out a low growl in her direction. She shot to her feet, quaking nervously as she turned to face him. She kept reminding herself, her life was spared. He'd agreed to her challenge. With any luck, she'd survive whatever the future held and come out strong enough to win in the end.

"Oh..." she muttered, "Wait!"

To her surprise, he paused, turning back slightly to look at her. He watched as she searched the forest floor, turning leaves and larger rocks until she found a smaller, sharper rock. He turned fully, cocking his head to the side as she ran to the tree he'd previously had her pinned against. She stood on the roots and, using the sharpest edge of the rock, started carving something into the bark. He waited, watching curiously until she was finished. He couldn't see what she had written and he felt it best to leave her to her task in peace.

She finally stepped back from the tree, dropping the rock as she stared at her former name carved into the tree trunk. Her wings sagged and she felt her heart hammering suddenly at the sheer force of emotion welling up through her. She dragged her claws against the rough bark of the tree over the ragged letters in her kind's adopted language, some of the only letters she knew and recognized.

"Good bye, Avocet." she whispered.

She heard him chuff impatiently several feet away. Casting one final glance at her old name on the tree, Luar'ka turned and hurried after him, resisting the urge to look back one final time at the piece of her left buried beneath that tree, the spot where her life had come to an end.

They disappeared into the darkness and a single black feather floated down to rest on the ground, forgotten by the world.

Lar'ja- Dark

Luar-ke-Moon

Luar'ka (L-whuar-kah) - "Moon Dark" Dark Moon (Because the Yautja language appears to be reverse phonetic)

So merry Christmas, my lovelies! Here's a new chapter as a present from me. I hope you enjoy it. And yes, while I'm doing like everyone else and utilizing that amazing compilation of words courtesy of Steve Perry, I plan on expanding on it and coming up with more words and names of my own. I hope you like the new update and the change of plans for Avocet. Please review if you liked it. I'll update January 5th like usual. I just wanted to get this one out early as a present. See you in the new year, my lovelies!

~Luna