Twenty-Five

The wind rustled through the tops of the trees, gusts powerful enough to nearly knock Luar'ka out of them as she clung to the uppermost branches. Trying to see the horizon around her, she shielded her eyes against the sun's glare. She was able to locate the Sandstone Spire far to the northwest of her, placing her just east of her destination by about a day or two. The going was slow and difficult as she clung to the thick underbrush of the thickets and meadows surrounding the Darkling Wood. She'd spent just over a day traveling and could no longer pick up the scents of her pack. She'd already left the ship far, far behind. With any luck, sad and isolated as the idea made her feel, they'd return, find her missing and possibly just leave without her. The thought of being abandoned by her brothers was nearly enough to cause her to collapse in fear and despair, but she kept going, pushing her body to continue moving further and further away from them. Whenever she could, she scaled the trees to make her scent trails more difficult to track, jumping from branch to branch with her powerful legs to gain more ground more quickly. For gaps that were further between branches, she practiced gliding, soaring silently from treetop to treetop and landing more easily with every attempt. By the end of the first day, she'd about mastered landing in trees.

When evening fell, she located a thick, fluffy branch high above the ground and curled up in its scraggly folds, tucking her wings around herself. She doubted her pack had returned to the ship just yet. Even though the mentioned hive was small, she figured it would take well over a day to completely clean out. She hadn't seen any sign of the kainde amedha yet, either. She wondered if perhaps the human prey they favored had moved out of this area, or even been overrun, forcing them to expand their territories. In any case, her pack wouldn't notice her absent presence until well after she'd gotten far beyond their range. By then, hopefully she'd have reached her destination and...well, as for what followed, she supposed she'd figure that out when she came to it.

She sat quietly, listening to the ambient sounds of nightlife around her. After so long sleeping to the dull hum of a powerful engine pushing the ship through space, this nighttime chatter made her uneasy. She'd almost forgotten what crickets sounded like. She jumped and flared her feathers at the sound of an owl hooting close by. A small animal tearing through the undergrowth had her feathers standing entirely on end for a short while. She huddled closer to herself, tucking her wings in tightly around her body. She shivered and began to dearly miss her warm pallet, no matter how old and ragged it may have been. It was only now that the impulse decision to seek out her homeland was beginning to wear off that regret began to set in. Thoughts of her brothers and all she'd learned from them, thoughts of familiarity aboard the ship and of the life she'd carved out for herself among the Yautja, thoughts of S'iirai on Illmianyar. She was possibly throwing all of it away, and for what? What did she make this decision for? And why?

Deep in her heart, she knew why. She needed to see her birthplace again, one last time. Come to terms with her abandonment. Despite telling herself this so many times over the last year, Luar'ka had tried and failed to banish her past. She'd spent so much time lingering on it in spite of commanding herself to let it go. She was still missing one important ingredient in her quest to move forward.

She needed closure. She needed to know that her Clan truly no longer had need of her. She needed to let them know in turn that they'd been rash and impulsive by expelling her from their protection and that she no longer had need of them. This thought had consumed her mind when she'd first translated Sechinde's orders to the Illmorein. The fact that she and her brothers would go to earth following that meeting had set her heart racing. The planet of her birth, the place that once harbored some of the most challenging prey the Yautja had ever faced before said prey faced possible endangerment and extinction. The planet she'd once called home.

Now, this place of all places felt alien, foreign. It was too quiet, too peaceful. She found herself already missing the familiar grumbles and clicks she often fell asleep to in the healing ward as Than'ja and his comrades worked long into the night. The sound of his voice had soothed her. There was something she found so calming about those sounds. She found herself missing Ikthya'de and his habit of sharing his favorite fruits with her, thereby making those fruits her favorites. She missed Kar'kha and how he'd begun to teach her to care for and maintain the various weapons he kept in preparation for her to receive her own one day. She even found herself missing Thwei'ja. Cantankerous and unpredictable as he could be, he was still a familiar figure in her odd little family. The brothers saw her as one of their own, a place she'd worked hard to claim.

Luar'ka shook herself, trying not to berate herself for this choice. Closure was something she needed more than anything and if it meant being labeled as fair game to the Yautja, then so be it. She'd at least be able to die content. Still restless, she did her best to catch a little sleep, nestled inside her makeshift nest high in the treetops.

/ooo/

Morning found Luar'ka as restless and anxious as she had been the night before. She rose carefully, remembering she'd fallen asleep in a tree. Spreading her wings, she stretched them generously before gliding down gently to the ground, bracing her strong wings against the air and beating them to steady herself as she touched down on the ground. She folded her wings back behind her and stared off into the morning sky, the sun kissing the tops of the mountains to the east.

Time was running out. She still had a lot of distance she needed to put between herself and her pack. By now, the Hunt was most likely nearing its end, if it hadn't already ended during the night. Luar'ka turned, bolting off through the trees. She ran near noiselessly, her stormy eyes scanning the forest around her for signs of either encroaching threats or, better yet, nourishment. She didn't want to break out her food supplies just yet, not when there was plenty of game around to Hunt.

A squirrel darted into her line of sight on the trunk of a tree. She ignored this animal. It was too agile to catch quickly and chasing it all over would leave an obvious scent trail in this area in case she was pursued. She moved on, continuing to watch for signs of movement. The telltale scent of water wafted into her nose and she instinctively followed it slightly to the east. Through the dense trees, she caught sight of a chink of water reflecting the early morning sunlight. But she hesitated as she approached, finding it to be a small pond, stagnant and still, and covered in peat. This wouldn't do to drink. She grumbled to herself and resumed her northerly trek, moving swiftly through the ferns in a wide zigzag pattern. This served two functions; to mask her scent trail and to catch the trails of other animals she might cross over. It worked; the sharp scent of blood hit her hard and she snarled softly. It was coming from right up ahead. However, the feathers on her head and running partly down her neck raised in apprehension and she hissed softly. This feeling of unease became stronger as she drew nearer and she soon saw the source of the blood in a large, grassy clearing between the trees.

These were human corpses, splayed out on the ground in awkward positions, their faces frozen in eternal fear and agony. The corpse nearest Luar'ka had already fallen prey to the birds flitting about, its vacant eyes staring hauntingly up at her. Upon seeing that they were dead, Luar'ka relaxed, her feathers dropping. She straightened up, looking around the clearing carefully. There appeared to be no sign of living humans within her range of scent. These three were relatively fresh and the cause of their deaths was evident in the gaping chest cavities and splayed ribs, complete with a familiar dead creature lying curled up next to each of their faces. She grumbled low at the sight of these.

"Tou'amedha."

Her guard resumed at the thought of new kainde amedha roving about the area. Casting wary glances around her, her hand flicking to the knife at her right thigh, she froze, listening carefully. So far, the only sounds she could detect were those of far off bird and animal calls. The telltale hissing that betrayed the presence of the Hard Meat menaces was nowhere to be heard. She relaxed again, but only marginally. She shifted her attention to the corpses that lay before her. She had been hoping to find some form of sustenance while traveling, and while she would have preferred fresh meat, she supposed carrion would have to suffice for now. In the distant past, Avians had once held a reputation as consumers of humans. But as their numbers dwindled, while human numbers soared, they gave up eating them and focused instead on adding various forms of roughage and other herbivorous foods to their diets. Luar'ka had found that she appeared to thrive on a carnivorous diet, though it seemed the Yautja had been more omnivorous over anything else.

One of the human corpses, as it turned out, had not been killed by the tou'amedha, but instead, appeared to have died at the hands of another human. There was a Hunting knife plunged into his back as he lay on his side at the edge of the clearing. Luar'ka moved closer to him and yanked the knife out, turning his body over and examining him to see if he was truly dead. His eyes were vacant and empty, his mouth hanging open and his face ashen. The scent of death betrayed his lingering corpse and she could tell it hadn't been there very long.

Glancing around to make certain she was alone, Luar'ka grumbled lowly to herself and stepped forward, pressing her claws down against the corpse and leaning down, burying her fangs in the body. Scavenging, one of the instinctive and ingrained traits that had partially saved her life during her time alone the year before. Luar'ka could hardly believe she was back to this point, picking carrion off as a food source. However, she'd been trained extensively thus far and knew that to shun an opportunity was to shun the Paya once again favoring her chances. For whatever reason, they appeared to be looking out for her, providing her with an opportunity to continue to live and fight. Luar'ka felt deeply honored by this and devoured nearly her fill of the corpse. She kept her eyes and ears trained to the area around her, alert and ready to spring at the first sign of danger. There were crows waiting close by for their share of the meat and she heard the scratching sounds of small scavengers in the immediate vicinity, watching and waiting for her to abandon the corpse. Though small, Luar'ka was very obviously the top predator in this little hovel and she relished it silently, knowing better than to outwardly gloat. She finished her repast and moved away from the corpse, crossing the meadow and approaching a wide oak tree. Ascending quickly, she paused at a branch about twenty feet off the ground and settled back against the trunk, setting about to grooming herself. The view from the tree branch was extensive. Luar'ka was able to see the Sandstone Spire many leagues away, but not so far that she couldn't rely on its guidance. She was still headed in a northerly direction and making excellent time. She sighed and resumed grooming, relaxing briefly before she would steel herself to continue her journey.

As she stood up and stretched, preparing to move on, movement to her left caught her eye and she turned. Her heart leaped into her throat when, far off in the distance, she saw the outline of the trees explode outward as something large rocketed out from beneath them. Though the cloak was still up, rendering it more or less invisible, Luar'ka knew that that was the ship taking off. Her sharp eyes could see its outline as it rose higher and higher into the sky, moving more quickly with each passing second. Soon, it was lost to sight among the clouds. Luar'ka felt sorrow and despair at being abandoned yet again as she bid a silent, mournful farewell to her brothers. She could take a guess what had happened. No doubt the Hunt had ended without a hitch and they'd returned to the ship. Upon discovering she was gone, Thwei'ja most likely considered this to be of little consequence and ordered the others to forget about her. Even when her powerful eyes lost sight of the ship, she continued staring at the sky where it had gone. She felt an indescribable pull in that direction, toward the sky. Her wings twitched and some insane part of her demanded she try to catch up, even though they were already likely breaking through the atmosphere of the planet by this time.

"N'dhi-ja, mei'hswei-de. Le'thi-de n'jauka-de se'thin le-soun ky'var sint-ki'a depaya." she whispered, her feathers drooping. She found it difficult to believe how much she missed them already. This pain felt nearly as strong as when the realization that her mother had abandoned her as well hit her so long ago. But this was worse. Far, far worse.

She turned and bolted out of the tree, landing roughly on the ground and taking off through the forest as she fought the instinctive urge to shed tears in her despair. She knew that once she achieved the closure she required, she would have nowhere else she could go. But there was no point in worrying about that right now. She had to reach her homeland first.

Her crushing despair could wait.

/ooo/

The going was slow. Luar'ka had to stop multiple times to make certain of her direction and pathway. Whenever she lost her way for longer than a few minutes, she'd climb the nearest tree and take note of the Spire somewhere off in the distance. This way, she was able to remain in a northern trajectory. She continued moving at a decent pace, blocking all other thoughts from her mind except her current goal. She took breaks from the fast pace whenever she could, pausing once at a deep stream to cool herself off. However, she knew that she remained vulnerable during these times and kept her senses trained for anything out of the ordinary. It was never safe to become too preoccupied on a Hunt.

Late afternoon signaled a longer pause for her when she came across a wide valley overlooking a vast desert terrain in the distance. To her left, far off on the horizon, the great Spire beckoned, its shadow falling across the land. Luar'ka scowled as she realized that after over a day and a half of journeying, she was nearing her goal. She'd have accomplished much more distance by flying if she knew how, but she had to content herself with running.

In the basin of the valley, thick trees flanked it on all sides, obscuring her vision to what lay between them. But she knew instinctively what was down there. This was a different route than she'd taken before, but she was once again on the pathway leading back to her homeland. Beyond this valley, she'd find the impasse she crossed through the year before, leading into the desert wastes she'd once called home. As she moved along, moving a bit more slowly now, she eyed the forest around her, taking note of prey whenever and wherever she saw it. Once she'd finished her quest, she knew she'd have to learn how to eke out a living in these forests. Even if the Yautja came back, she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she'd become little more than prey to them. Assuming due to her status that she'd be exempted from the term 'Bad Blood', she'd be forced to fight or take flight if she saw one of her brothers. No doubt, whatever bond she'd shared with them would have completely disintegrated by then and they likely wouldn't even recognize her.

Vaulting over a fallen log, she paused to sniff the air, feeling her feathers raise in discomfort. A sudden, all too familiar scent suddenly wafted through the air, assaulting her olfactory senses and causing her mane to raise up in apprehension. The saliva of the kainde amedha. It was impossible for her to forget that scent, not after having been nearly drenched in it and Hunted at close range by those creatures. The scent was drifting up from the base of the valley. If she continued in this forward path, Luar'ka knew she'd be heading straight into another nest, possibly bigger and more infested than the one Thwei'ja's pack had taken on. She wondered if he was aware of this new nest. If it hadn't been detected yet, it could easily continue spreading. But with no experience Hunting them and weapons that would probably only serve to anger such a beast in combat, she knew she had no hope of taking on one at her present level.

She jumped back onto the log, crouching down with her wings tucked behind her. She was now faced with two options. She could either continue on this northerly path down through the center of the valley and most certainly into an established or else developing nest of kainde amedha, thus risking an encounter with one, or she could skirt along the sloping edges of the valley. There were two roads leading south and southwest leading out of the basin. The year before, when she'd passed through, she'd taken the southwest route simply by chance. The road she was on was relatively higher and led more toward the center of the basin than the other road did. She would most likely wind up tracing her steps all over again. If this were the case, it meant she'd likely run into kainde amedha either way. Weighing her options and coming to the obvious conclusion that both roads were fairly dangerous, Luar'ka sighed and stood up, stretching her wings. She'd continue on this road and hope for the best. It wasn't like she had much else to go on. This valley and mountain would soon become her domain anyway, so she might as well get used to it and familiarize herself with it. If the Yautja ever did return to Hunt the developing nest, then it was a good bet they'd stumble across her. If and when that happened, she'd have the opportunity to figure out what her new standing was with them following her desertion of her Clan and react accordingly.

As she flew down the mountainside, barely making a sound as she tore through the trees, she kept her eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary. She found it strange, though. Unbloods were required to learn about the chosen prey of the Yautja, the Hard Meats, through simulated battles aboard the ship. kainde amedha drones were captured and brought aboard the ship in singular units to fight honored and experienced warriors in the central kehrite. Luar'ka had partaken in this spectacle and marveled at the warrior chosen to fight the creature. He'd dispatched it easily while R'zha explained the lifestyle habits of the creatures and how they functioned and progressed their hives and communities. This was right before the chosen warrior sliced his wristblades down through the neck of the beast, severing its spine and ripping its head from its body, the acid blood dripping ominously onto the floor below and partially eating through it. Those lessons had been invaluable, especially now that Luar'ka was faced with the real thing. Though there were obvious signs of the Hard Meat population holding steady in this area, it didn't seem to be growing or depleting. Rather, it appeared in random, erratic spots. She believed this due to the fact that Thwei'ja had landed his ship so far away from this new nest. It was becoming quite obvious that the Yautja hadn't been made aware of this one yet, otherwise they would've cleaned it out. So what on earth was going on around here?

Something really wasn't right.

The ground began to even out a little more and Luar'ka slowed her pace, panting softly as her breathing returned to normal extremely quickly. Her tail swished, her eyes roved the area. Every synapse in her brain was on high alert, natural predatory instincts coursing through her system. While simultaneously keeping a look out, Luar'ka felt so undeniably alive in that instant, padding quietly through the dense, dry undergrowth. Every step was taken with care to avoid treading on a dry twig or leaf. Soft soil met her feet and she moved slowly. Her feathers splayed out across her head and her wings lowered slightly, their dark coloring helping her meld in with the shadows. Her caution was high and she kept every sense focused.

She froze at the sound of leaves crunching. It was the beginning of the cold season. The leaves were drying up and falling in waves across the forest floor. Her legs bent, lowering her body carefully to the ground. She lay on her belly, her tail curled up around herself as she hunkered down amidst a growing pile of leaves. Her tail swished in a wide arc, throwing a pile of leaves over herself. Her eyes moved slowly, circling the field of sight before her as her heart thudded painfully in her chest.

She froze as something tore through the trees directly before her, about twenty feet away. She caught the telltale sound of high pitched whining. It was a wild dog. Two more followed suit behind it and she saw that they appeared to be running from something else.

Hssssssssssssskkk!

Luar'ka watched with baited breath as an all-too-familiar black shadow tore through the trees after the dogs, moving so quickly she almost couldn't see it. But she saw it, and it was horrifying. It vanished within seconds, and Luar'ka held her breath and her position, not moving a muscle. She heard the frantic yelping of one of the wild dogs a few seconds later. It continued for several more seconds before cutting off abruptly. She couldn't tell if the creature had killed it or impregnated it. Either way, it took the heat off of her and spared her the trouble of dealing with the beast for now. She waited several more minutes, listening intently. Just as she expected, it stamped back into her line of sight, moving steadily without pause. It didn't know she was there.

It continued through the trees at a brisk pace, no doubt heading back toward the hive. Luar'ka waited until she could no longer hear its footsteps before slowly standing up, waiting to shake off the leaf cover. She tread lightly as she moved forward, walking as quietly and swiftly as she could in her preferred direction, angling away from the path the creature had taken. She wasn't very deep into the valley yet. If she'd run into one of the kainde amedha this quickly, then who knows how many more she'd have to contend with? Her knives, taken from the Yautjas' weaponry, were sharp and light enough for her to wield near effortlessly, but they were virtually useless against the oily black creatures. Their only soft spots, if you could call them that, were the underside of the belly and the inner neck and if you managed to get that close to their vital points, then you were also likely on the receiving end of that vicious mouth. She figured that she'd only gotten so lucky the year before because again, for whatever reason, the Paya had already chosen her and were guiding her. It was the only explanation she could come to, being such a youngling and having actually incapacitated one of those monsters.

She turned to the tree nearest her and began to climb swiftly, her tail slashing the air behind her. She reached a branch high enough above the lower treeline that she could see further out across the valley. It was settled then. The only way to reach the basin quickly without attack was to glide. Fortunately, the wind was at her back and moving slowly enough that she wouldn't be knocked off balance. She opened her wings, preparing herself as she coiled her legs and bounded from the branch, stretching her wings to catch the gust behind her. She wobbled precariously a few times before steadying her balance. Keeping her lower body aloft and straight, she kept her wings angled with the wind, stretching her tail out behind her. This supported her balance further and actually helped her to steer. As she soared noiselessly above the treetops, her pounding heart started to settle a bit and she began to relax. She took a chance and beat her wings softly, hoping this wouldn't send her careening into another tumble like it had on Illmianyar. Surprisingly, this time, it didn't. She was properly balanced in a steady glide. She rose up a few inches in the air, maintaining her balance as she glided—no, flew—across the treetops. She beat her wings again, gaining more altitude and a bit more speed. The wind rushed past her ears and she let out a pleased rumble at her progress, baring her teeth. So this was what flight felt like? She had to admit, it felt pretty good. Perhaps she'd gain the opportunity to reach the heavens after all. If the Paya ever allowed her to join her brothers in their lands one day, perhaps she could show them what she'd become capable of.

She cleared the valley walls in no time, now soaring high above an empty, broken human road surrounded on all sides by decrepit dwellings and structures. Luar'ka was reluctant to land now that she'd finally become fully airborne, but she knew she had to at some point. She angled downward, beating her wings in a more forward motion to slow herself down. She tilted her body back slightly, bringing her legs forward as she braced her wings against the rushing air, beating them roughly to kill her momentum as she touched down on the ground—and promptly lost her footing and crashed to a halt on her back with a groan. Okay, so she still needed work on her landings. She could live with that. She sat up, hissing in pain as she assessed her surroundings. She thought this place had looked familiar. This was that human village she'd visited briefly the year before after Maria had found her. She remembered this place being directly in line of the pathway she'd taken away from her homeland heading south. She stood up, glancing around her curiously as she recalled the placement of all the old structures she'd seen the morning she escaped Maria's house. Come to think of it, was there a chance the woman was even still here?

Luar'ka walked silently along the cracked and broken road, thick weeds growing in and around the old pathway. Nature had overrun the place, the old dwellings overflowing with green vegetation. Humans had clearly been absent from this valley for quite some time, now. Luar'ka had to wonder just how long things had been getting this bad. She also wondered how far it had spread. Even to her untrained eye, there was something weird about the influx of kainde amedha in this area. They were sporadically placed and oddly few in number.

She passed a home where the roof had completely caved in from the weight of mosses and grasses growing atop it. Another dwelling looked as if it had caught fire, with only the basic foundation still standing. Luar'ka barely spared these structures a glance. She was too focused on keeping her guard up as she gained her bearings and figured out where she was.

At the end of the road, she stopped, staring for a moment before letting out a soft sigh, her shoulders sagging. There was no mistaking it, and a hidden, softer piece of her heart had told her exactly what she should possibly expect if she should find it.

Maria's old family home, as she'd described it, just as Luar'ka remembered, lay situated at the edge of the community, near the treeline and the mountain trail leading around the edge of the valley, the separate pathway she'd taken before. The home looked in good repair at first glance, but as she drew nearer, Luar'ka could see a giant, gaping hole in one side of the wall, as if something enormous had slammed through it at full speed and strength. Judging from the claw marks raking across the walls on the outside, peeling the sides of the dwelling away, she hazarded a safe guess that should she venture inside, she would not find Maria.

She crept closer, peering in through the hole of the wrecked home, scenting the air carefully as she did. The rancid stench of the kainde amedha saliva was everywhere and dried mounds of it coated the floor. Without even venturing inside, Luar'ka now confirmed it, backing away from the hole and bowing her head sadly. Maria was gone.

She rested that evening on the roof of Maria's old home, staring out over the plains of the basin and gazing up at the sky, now ablaze with the glow of the dying sun. The shrill cries of birds rent the air and she felt a tugging in her throat, almost as if she were tempted to answer their calls. That was silly. She knew better than that. She answered the urge instead with a low purr, trying to comfort herself. Each night spent in dreadful silence was awful, but was gradually getting easier. Soon, she knew—and feared—she'd lose the memory of her brothers' voices altogether.

Sleep came slowly that night, punctuated by moments of brief unease at the sounds of shrieking in the distance. This caused her to wake and glance around anxiously. When she did sleep, her dreams were filled with images of the black beasts and of shadowy forms that resembled the Yautja, which never seemed to draw near to her no matter how close she moved toward them. As she watched, the dark form closest to her materialized right before her, towering over her. The shadows around him twisted and warped and she watched in horror as his form, as black as the creatures surrounding him, was suddenly swarmed by the monsters and torn apart, dissipating into thick, black muck that coated the ground. She staggered back, scrambling for purchase on the boundless ground beneath her as a gnarled, clawed hand emerged from the nightmarish mass and grabbed for her, scratching the ground desperately, as if trying to pull itself free. Reacting instinctively, Luar'ka darted forward and grabbed the hand, practically sobbing in fear as she tugged as hard as she could, only to be dragged forward. The shadows around her began to swirl menacingly around her body and she watched as the black horror at her feet suddenly swallowed the hand before rising from the ground in a seeping, smoky ball of ash, transforming into an inky pair of wings that beat furiously, rising into the air. A dark pair of eyes opened in the smoke and glowered down at her.

Her eyes snapped open with a start and she took several quick, shaky breaths. Her wings shuddered and she pushed herself to her feet, trying to calm her racing heart in her chest. Just a nightmare, a bad dream and nothing more. She told herself this over and over.

The sky was still dark. All around her, the ambient sounds of night on the deceptively peaceful planet made their voices known. Crickets, far off nightingales, and owls. Raising her head, she gazed longingly into the night sky. Once a source of wonders for her, a place of unimaginable fantasies of the heavens and what they would feel like beneath her wings, now that night sky represented a home she could never return to. A place where she'd found a tiny little nook she could call her own. A home carved out among the culture of ancient warriors far more aged and knowing than she could ever understand. The stars were as endless as the years they'd seen as a society, at least to her decidedly short life thus far. She raised her hand up to brush her claws through the air, tantalizingly close to the stars she loved, seemingly close enough to touch even though she knew better.

She knew she needed to sleep for another hour or two before continuing on her journey. Reluctantly, she curled up again, tearing her eyes away from the stars as they began to swirl and twist in her suddenly warped and watery vision. She hunkered down, closed her eyes and drifted into another deep sleep.

She suffered no dreams at all.

/ooo/

She truly found the whole experience to be surreal. So little had changed that recognizing familiarity in these lands had ceased being a chore long ago. Here she was, standing on the same riverbed outside the human village, staring high above her to the cliff edge where Kar'kha's burner had blasted off the top half of the rocky overhang. She could still see where the landslide had struck. She was definitely heading back on the same path she'd taken. But this time, getting there wouldn't take so long. She'd dragged her heels before, hoping her family would come find her before she got too far while knowing she couldn't stay put. This time, she kept moving at a brisk pace, fully aware of where she was going. She tucked her wings back, adjusting her pouch about her waist as she charged forward, bounding easily from rock to rock and maintaining her balance near perfectly.

As she arrived at the top of the riverbed, near where her first brush with death from the kainde amedha had taken place, she kept a close eye on her surroundings, making certain she was truly alone. She was still too close for comfort to the spot where the pack had gone in Hunting the creatures down. She knew from experience how quickly those monsters could travel. Instinct told her to avoid open spaces as much as possible. A deeper inner voice clawed at her to take to the skies as any grown Avian would do. In reality, most Avians her age already knew how to fly. She had one advantage over them in her advanced fighting skills, courtesy of the Yautjan prowess. She hurried over to the cliff face and dug her talons in, heaving herself up easily across the jagged rock, climbing higher and higher until she reached a slightly more even terrain. Scaling sideways, she kept a close eye on the ground below her, keeping watch for anything out of the ordinary. Clattering of stones above her almost made her lose her grip as she whirled around, spotting some kind of wild deer peering over the edge of the cliff above her. She relaxed, focusing again on her task at hand. When she finally reached a more level area, she cautiously let go, turning around and facing northward. The Spire loomed high in the distance, now much closer than it had been previously. Luar'ka sighed heavily and unfurled her wings, feeling for the wind direction. The wind was at her back, but it was liable to change at any moment. She had to be cautious. She knelt down, bracing herself with her claws as she beat her wings furiously, pushing off from the cliff edge just as she'd done from the trees on Illmianyar. Her wings snapped open to catch the wind behind her and she beat them several times, establishing her balance as she soared above the earth. She continued to beat her wings infrequently, every time she started to lose altitude. She tried to keep herself on as straight a path as possible since she wasn't too sure how to steer. She felt that if she tried to turn, she'd flip upside down and go crashing back to the ground. She was over fifty feet up now, so such a crash would be a disaster. Keeping her body straight behind her, her eyes focused on the horizon before her, she concentrated on maintaining her altitude. She was built for this and practicing gliding before had given her a vague idea of how to execute flying. Fully trained Avian aerialists were capable of astounding acrobatic feats in the air. The rannin, or guardians, had proven as much. Some of her farthest memories of her sire consisted of watching him perform such feats while flying with the rannin. She supposed she should be glad she hadn't run into them yet. Their territorial circuit around the Clan was extensive and grew more so each year with the humans' advancing encroachment into the northern territories. It became harder to protect the Clan from threats. She was glad she'd managed to avoid their circuit during her journey back to the north.

She was gaining an immense amount of ground as she flew carefully and steadily. Already, she could make out the vast desert of her birthplace beyond a stretch of fluffy, thick green trees that grew sparser as she drew nearer to the deep ravines that plunged down into the earth abruptly. In the distance, she could make out the expansive plateau that served as the last ditch attempt hiding place for her people. As she caught sight of it, her heart began to hammer in her chest and she fought back the sudden rush of adrenaline and anxiety.

What would they say when they saw her again? Would they accept her? Would they reject her again? Would they question her whereabouts for the past year? How was she supposed to tell them she'd been taken away by otherworldly creatures and trained to fight? It would at least explain the furs and armor she wore, but she doubted her Clan would believe her. She shook her head with a snarl. She didn't care what they thought; she was only going back to prove that she was worth keeping around. She wasn't planning on staying. The mountain she'd crossed would serve as her new territory and she'd become a solitary Hunter, upholding her code of honor and pride until either Cetanu or another Hunter came to claim her. She was certain that the Yautja would come back eventually. Nearly everyone on the ship had been made aware of her. Many of them wouldn't have minded claiming her for a trophy. She was positive that Thwei'ja would alert the Matriarch and the Elders of her desertion and the edict would be drawn allowing her to be Hunted for this transgression. Sooner or later, a Yautja would arrive in her territory and ultimately claim her life. She might fight, and she might even kill one or two before she went down, but this was the only way it could end. She would end up an enemy of the creatures she'd come to see as her kin. As time went on, this became easier for her to accept.

She beat her wings again, lifting her aloft once more as she began to sag toward the ground. She'd cleared the trees and now soared high above the desert sands, making much faster time than she would have on the ground. She had to keep a wary eye out, now. Rail likely still Hunted in this region. No doubt he'd spot her if he were out scrounging. She doubted he'd recognize her right away and probably attack her first, believing her to be a threat. So far though, there was no sign of him. She kept a wary eye out for anything else to be concerned over, but the skies were empty of all flight, including the buzzards that haunted the dead and dying in these parched lands. The light reflecting off the bone dry rocks and sand nearly blinded her, causing her to instinctively lower her second eyelid as she pressed on. She found that through the darkened, protective membrane, she could actually still see with all of the extra light flooding down. It had always been dark before because of the low light available in the Yautjan ships. This cover for her eyes created a brownish red filter when filled with natural sunlight, enabling her to continue to see where she was going, even with her eyeballs covered.

Finally, she reached the wide base of the enormous plateau and she glided down toward the ground, throwing her legs forward and beating her wings to stabilize herself as she came to a clumsy, scraping landing on the sandstone. She was getting better, but she still had a long ways to go.

As she crept forward toward the rocks, she started coughing as enormous gusts of wind whipped up, sending the sand flying around her in wicked eddies and forcing her to crouch beneath a wide, flat rock for defense. She lay there, tucked in a ball and listening to the roar around her as the sandstorm ran its course, blocking out the sun's rays and making it difficult to breathe. She'd forgotten how quickly sandstorms could pick up in the desert. She waited patiently until it died down some more before she started to dig herself out, flapping her wings to free herself from the heavy sand pile. She staggered out and shook herself off with a sigh, tucking her wings back behind her as she continued deeper into the canyons. She dimly recalled the path she had to take, recognizing familiar formations here and there as she walked along. And all the while, her heart continued to hammer uncomfortably in her chest at the anticipation of what she was doing.

Things were beginning to look more familiar. A rocky fork in the road here, a cluster of stones there, a peculiar formation in the cliff above her, and so on. She was feeling an increasing sense of familiarity as she moved steadily through the canyons. She picked it up a notch, scrabbling up the side of a small cliff and into a deep clearing in the rocks. She could see the passageway before her, a strong beam of sunlight cascading down through the top of the roof at the end that told her she was nearing the end of her journey. She could hear voices in the distance, heard the distinct sound of footsteps ahead of her. This was it.

She moved forward through the tunnel, emerging into a wide ridge overlooking the desert she'd just crossed. As she moved up along the ridge, she craned her head up over the rocks, her eyes widening as her steps increased. During the journey here, she'd been living in anticipation of what she'd feel when she arrived back in her birthplace after so long away from it. The turmoil of her decision, her choice to abandon her pack, her brothers, the way of life she'd come to embrace and to love, all of it in preparation to feel something new and hopefully renewing upon her return. Facing the darkness of what she'd left behind. Now, as she took in her birth family's plateau home for the first time in over a year, digested exactly what she was looking at and seeing who was moving around on her old homeland, she settled on her chosen emotion; Rage.

Her mind went hazy, her body moved on its own as her feathers flared and she let out a blood curdling scream that bounced off the rocks around her, reverberating through the canyon and across the sands beyond, a cry so powerful that a part of her was in disbelief that it had originated in her own throat at all. The scent of the dried and caked blood splashed across the sandstone floor, the mangled corpses lying drying out in the baking sun, the sight of her hated human enemies moving in and around the mounds of bodies, dragging them around and searching for useable material; it all served to splash her gaze with a veil of unearthly fury.

The five or six human males all jumped out of their skin at the scream that rent the air around them, whirling to face the still-living Avian, dressed in strange armor and her wings unfurled. The one closest to her drew a blade and charged forward, his stance clumsy. Luar'ka bolted toward him, weaving easily beneath the sharp edge and leaping up into the crook of his neck, sinking her teeth in deep and digging her sharp talons into his abdomen. A quick wrench of her claws had his middle spilling out onto the sandstone beneath them, causing him to bellow in pain and double over. Compared to the thick hides of the Yautja, the human hide cut through like parchment. He crumpled down in a heap and Luar'ka spun out from beneath him, shrieking her rage as she rushed to meet another attacker coming at her with a knife. The others followed suit, blindly diving into battle with the last remaining Avian. She dug her claws into the second human's neck, using her momentum to rip open his throat as she pushed herself off of him and into the third, slashing her claws across his face and tearing out one of his eyes, ripping his face completely open in the process. Both went down with screams of pain as the final two wisely chose to hesitate before her. Luar'ka spread her feet apart, throwing her arms to the sides and bellowing out a challenge to her foes. The first one took her challenge, hurrying forward with a hand spear drawn, aimed toward her stomach. He was clearly lacking in training and this was evident when she leaped up over his head, spreading her wings and crashing against his face, slicing and ripping her talons across his unprotected face and spilling his blood across the ground. She launched off his head, sending his writhing and twitching form collapsing in a ball as he screamed. She used her talons to rip his throat out, cutting off his screams and ending his life quickly. The final human, trembling in terror, his eyes wide, dropped his weapon to the ground, staggering back in fear as he watched her bear down on him. He screamed wildly and flung his arms over his face, squeezing his eyes shut.

Luar'ka paused, her eyes falling on the weapon on the ground. Even through her blood fueled haze, the honor teachings of the Yautja rang in her mind. Her sparse training thus far held true and steadfast. She clenched her fists closed, her claws digging into her skin. She would not attack an unarmed victim. She glowered angrily at the cowering human before slowly turning away. Something inside her screamed at this action and her instincts rang true when she heard his sudden movements and whirled, meeting him in time to deflect his lunge toward the knife he'd dropped. She jumped lithely out of his range, snarling viciously as she charged forward and buried her fangs in his neck, choking the life out of him and clamping her jaws down hard. He gradually fell limp in her grasp. This final act of savagery sealed her fury and she let out a long, shrill screech to the sky, lashing her tail furiously. She whirled, eyes frantically scanning the terrain for any more movement. Her blood lust was high, her rage higher. Movement to her right caught her attention and she snarled, bounding toward it furiously as she leaped into the air, claws bared toward her next target.

Snap!

Luar'ka shrieked in surprise as something shot toward her, ensnaring her completely before she had a chance to react. She was sent flying backward from the sheer momentum of whatever held her prisoner, slamming hard to the ground. Screeching and flailing, she struggled to free herself from the net as her intended target stamped forward, crouching down and pinning her to the ground with one knee while one hand grabbed hold of her neck and shoulder and shoved her down hard. She shrieked in anger and instinctive terror as she struggled furiously, feeling her muscles wrench painfully from the solid grip.

"Submit!"

Her eyes snapped open in amazement and alarm as she recognized the Yautjan language. Suddenly, all anger left her, replaced by fear and her struggling grew more intense. In response, her captor's sharp talons pricked her skin, drawing blood. His grip hardened, now pushing her so hard that she had difficulty breathing.

"Submit!" he ordered again. This time, Luar'ka obeyed, falling still, save for the frantic, shallow breaths she gulped down to feed her starving lungs. He continued to hold her there, keeping her pinned down with his knee to prevent more flailing. His grip on her neck loosened slightly, allowing her breathing to gradually return to normal. Finally, she fell entirely still in his grasp.

"I submit..." she whispered, having finally calmed. She opened her eyes and turned her head, slightly wary of whoever had captured her. He was wearing his mask, but she didn't need to see his face to know who he was. Her eyes went wide in confusion and amazement at just which Yautja had pursued her all this way to her homeland. Certainly not any of the Yautja she'd been expecting.

"Thwei'ja." she mumbled.

Translation:

N'dhi-ja, mei'hswei-de. Le'thi-de n'jauka-de se'thin le-soun ky'var sint-ki'a depaya.- "Farewell, brothers. May we hunt together again in the lands of the high ones."

A/N: I wanted to get this out a little early. Not to mention leaving a little cliffie of my own for you to enjoy. I did my best, but this was a hard chapter to write. It took two weeks over the summer while I was working on it. Hope you enjoy!