felt inspired and wrote the third chapter too

hope you guys enjoy this! that said, please review and message me, it really helps with motivating me to write more!

Sleep came in small doses, here and there, disrupted by violent dreams and the sinking feeling of free fall, only to end up on the floor of her quarters. After the third time trying, the huntress gave up completely and remained on the cold ground, until the lights of the ceiling began to turn on slowly, mimicking the rise of the two suns on Yaut Prime.

Blue eyes stared unflinching at the display, a longing to see the real sunrise instead of something so artificial. Regardless, she had to get ready and await the summoning of the clan leader. With a sigh, Kali'adah rose to her feet, supporting her sluggish body by using the side of her hammock. Morning didn't agree with her, especially when she didn't get to rest properly.

This was the first time she was asked to participate in something of such importance and she couldn't help the tingling in her stomach at just the thought that she may embarrass herself or do something wrong, ruin the reputation she built herself along the years.

The Tu'jan clan was known for the human slave numbers they held, either for pleasure or sport when on the hunt. Some had been lucky enough to be used as servants alone and that, she could turn a blind eye to. The Tu'jan were also known for being the first clan to break the taboo that was to rut a female of another species or mate with her. The fruition was obvious, because all the clans took some of that and made it a thing, all in a couple hundreds of years.

It didn't mean humans were better seen now or respected, no pauk'de way, it meant they were easily conquered, especially the females. Kali learned fast that the yautja females despised their human counterparts because of how weak they were, giving in easily and being tame during the mating, but that's what males found attractive, them being docile in bed and out. Naturally, both species' females were vastly different. The female yautja only reproduced once every rotation, while human females did it every moon cycle. Their musk during this period was far stronger and aromatic to the males, more potent than that of a yautja, therefore, it attracted more attention. During this time, as soon as she became fertile, Kali remained indoors, because female yautja could become restless and violent, see her as a threat, even if she couldn't produce pups.

After freshening up in the bathing room, she returned to the sleeping area and marched right to where her ceremonial armor was, looking it over to make sure it was in good condition, before she started on her braids. Normally, she wore her hair in long and thin braids, making it all look like the dreadlocks of a yautja, over which she pulled her rings, testaments to her glory and success, forged to fit only her.

When back in her quarters, she always let the strands loose in order to wash them properly, the raven locks currently reaching the back of her thighs becoming less of a hassle to handle under the water.

Every hunter had two types of armor, the ceremonial one, used only at important events, a symbol of their rank within their society, and one reserved for hunting, dented and usually quite worn, made to be comfortable and befitting the rank as well. Obviously, they cared a lot about making it known who they were and what they were.

The clan leaders had the most intricate kind, long capes of velvet trailing behind their heavy steps, then the arbitrators, each with their own personalized armor, the elders with silver platings, elites with their ornamentally complex ones, the honored warriors, like herself, sporting precious pelts wrung about the d'lex, and the blooded, younger yautja that returned from chiva victoriously and earned their cannons -the young bloods had to earn their armor before the chiva trial, something that was quite hard to do when you were competing with a generation of aggressive teenagers, each intent on getting their hands on metal and be chosen for the respective rotation's chiva.

Carefully, she strapped her belts over her loincloth, then the furs that came around the hips and codpiece, d'lex plates over each hip and pelt hanging behind to the back of her upper thighs. After that, she pulled her breast plate over her covering, stopping right under the bone of her rib and exposing her midriff completely, along with the scars on her sides from her old days in the kehrite. Her thighs were bare, down to right under her knees, where her sandal wrapping started, which, of course, was covered by greaves and shin guards all the way to her ankles. Taking a small inhale, she grabbed the pelt that she wore as a cape, an accessory that spoke of her rank, and clipped it with the top of her breastplate, over which she placed the pauldrons on each shoulder, masking the clipping.

This particular get-up always made her feel proud of her status and how hard it was achieved, it never failed to overwhelm her with strong emotions and deep satisfaction. She pulled the vambraces over her forearms and ended with fingerless gauntlets. This ritual now finished, Kali turned her attention to the wrist computer, synced with the mask on her armor holder, quarters and vital signs. Seeing no signal for any summoning just yet, she simply grabbed the mask and strapped it to her belts, deciding that a meal was in order. "Would be irresponsible to start on a journey with an empty stomach," she hallowly told herself, turning to grab her weapons, two chakram on each hip, the common combi stick and trusty wrist blades.

Okay, now she was ready to officially start this fuckery.

...

The corridors were filled with yautja, all ranks, either coming or going somewhere. The kehrite on the west wing was full and if she had to guess, so were the ones on the east wing and south. All were excited and tense, the mating season coming forth already taking its toll on the males and making the females more aggressive than usual.

Commotion in the mess hall was enough to tell her of a little roughousing going on already, on account of getting in a female's favor, no question about it. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped inside, she was met with three males throwing punches and another knocked out by the door with a broken mandible. Time to become a ghost and just go unseen, unnoticed, until these brutes were out of energy. As per usual, she went to get her tray and the meat she was allowed to get and then dodged her way through sweaty, bulging muscles to reach the very far side of the hall, where an empty table just begged to be occupied.

Not one for the public displays of masculinity, she sat and placed her tray down, indifferent to the fighting and screeching happening smack in the middle of the room. Quietly, she started with her greens, some vegetable from the homeworld, all while checking her wrist computer once more. Nothing. Her mind busied itself again with the reason for her summoning. You would think they wanted to rely on a higher ranking yautja instead of a human, but given the history of that clan and their passionate love for humans, maybe this was just a way to show them that they had the same taste in slaves or whatever? Please them somehow?

Suddenly, a tray was shoved on the table, knocking hers aside with a loud clank and making her inhale sharply at having been caught offguard.

With widened eyes, she looked up at the culprit, finding the masked face of Lar'ja, his skin color the dead giveaway. Kali had half a mind to simply stand up and walk the fuck away, but as soon as she entertained the idea, Jac'in's words came back with a vengeance. Right, that would be dishonorable. She would have to make him believe that she was complying, trick him into letting his guard down for now. Just until she sorted this shit out at least, because there was no way in Paya's name that she was going to be mounted by this degenerate.

Despite the fact that he was wearing his mask, she could feel his gaze on her and not just because his face was angled down, there was a certain tension in his shoulders, a heaviness that made her spine tingle. Very slowly, she looked over the tray he brought, a variety of fruits and meats that she's never eaten before, cut into small pieces as if especially for her to fit them into her mouth and chew without issues. Did he do this for her? He was sure putting effort into this courtship stuff. Maybe he didn't know that humans couldn't reproduce with yautja, but that wasn't possible, right? Well, if playing along got her more delicious food, then so be it.

A short growl from his chest, like thunder, prompted her to pick up a piece of blue meat to chew on, glancing up at him with a scowl directed at his impatience. Seemingly pleased, he puffed out his chest and sat down heavily, just across from her, the bench squeaking under his weight.

Great. He was gonna watch her eat.

Why was he even wearing his mask? Granted, it was less awkward when his eyes weren't visible, but she couldn't help the furrow of her brows at this detail. Wait, his visors were opaque, which meant he was using one of the sights provided by the mask when on hunt. Did he have problems with his vision? Or was he using something different to...see her? Nah, that was a stretch.

Deciding to use this opportunity to find out more about this exchange, Kali leaned her elbows on the table and locked her blues on his visors. The fact that he was the clan leader's firstborn meant that he probably had some knowledge about this meeting between the two clans. "Lar'ja?"

He chirred at hearing his name spoken by her, tilting his head to the side and making his midnight black tendrils slither down his broad shoulders when he leaned forward just a bit. Huh, she almost didn't notice him wearing his ceremonial armor until his elbows came to rest on the table's edge, showing off the gleaming of his chestplate with intricate carvings.

"Why this exchange happening? It never did before this rotation,"

"Fuel. Metal." he crossed his arms and leaned back into the seat, his reply short and vague. Kali huffed and glared away from him, obviously not satisfied with his answer. She picked up and chewed another piece of meat, considering her next question. "Why do we need fuel?" -metal, yes, she could understand why they needed it. On every rotation, they took young bloods and dropped them off for their chiva on game reserves, which is also why they carried kainde amedha eggs. After three days, they went to collect them and thus, becoming blooded, they needed different armor and weapons. But why fuel? They always had the same amount every time and it was always enough for their journey.

"Kv'var."

Hunt? She stopped eating and just looked at him grimly, lips falling into a thin line. They had already finished with hunting this rotation, they went to the same planets as usual, same route as every long hunt and now they had to return home for mating season. If they missed it even by a day or two, the yautja on board would...c'jit, she didn't even want to know. "For?" she frowned and picked up a naxa fruit, piercing the top with her nails and tearing it in two.

Lar'ja merely clicked twice and leaned over again, catching her chin between two taloned fingers, calloused and rough on her jaw. "H'ulij-bpe thwei-te." his thumb pressed against her lips as he drawled that out, every muscle in her body going rigid at his sudden touch. Bad bloods? But couldn't they simply send their arbitrators? She knew they had two on the clan ship…

He pushed his thumb further, talon scraping against her flat teeth and he chirped at the contact, tapping them with curiosity. Was he actually exploring the inner workings of her human mouth right now? Paya, this was obnoxious and offensive. With a warning growl deep in her throat, she jerked her head away, only for him to catch her jaw again to try shoving his finger back in her mouth like a suckling fascinated with a new toy.

She was having none of it. Snarling, she bit down hard on his thumb, the unexpected bite making him lurch back with a choked off roar as he tried to inspect the bleeding digit for the damage she did. "Pauk'de...keep your hands to yourself!"

Before he could retaliate, both of their wrist computers blipped to life, the summoning from the clan leader clear in the message, along with the location they were expected at. Taking one bite from the naxa piece she managed to open, Kali stood up from the table along with Lar'ja and they both left the mess hall, walking side by side through the corridors.

Luckily, he kept silent and his weird ass behavior at bay, something she could actually work with and delight in. They took the elevator to the main deck and proceeded to join the other members already lined up in front of their clan leader. Lar'ja's sire was a very old version of his firstborn, his skin a very dark blue at the edges, turning into ice cold blue and then white on the belly, with splotches of black mingled in the dark blue areas. His tendrils were white, showing his age and his body, while still looking quite strong, could be seen as having aged, figure more slender and movements slower. Despite this, he was an experienced, seasoned warrior that knew how to fight his enemy even without the strength he once held. He had a long black cape draped over one shoulder, a modest golden chestplate covering only one side, inscripted with markings she wasn't sure she knew the meaning of, a codpiece over his hips in the same fashion, trimmed with black fur and sandals that wrapped over strong calves. His larger, sharper tusks were ornated with rings like the many on his tendrils and he had two skulls attached at his belt on his hip; human skulls. Instead of pauldrons, he had yautja skulls, bad bloods surely, and the choker around his neck was made of kainde amedha claws. With all the yautja that were summoned present, they bowed, Kali doing the same under his scrutinizing golden gaze, by his firstborn's side.

"Rise," he commanded in a deep baritone. Just the presence of this male demanded respect and obedience, it made anyone's skin crawl and spine to tingle, which is why Kali'adah admired him enormously. Maybe she was even attracted to him and the way he exuded confidence, and she only saw him a handful of times through her life...and that one time when he held her gaze, back on homeworld, during the festival of Paya when the feast began, was enough to ignite her insides.

She shivered under his gaze, but met it with her own, daringly and boldly, like the young fool she was back then. Her stomach had fluttered and twisted when he remained like that, fixed on her with a predatory glint in his burning coals.

Kali had bitten her lip in desire for the first time in her life then. It was the only time she had ever felt something for another male. But that was all squashed when she came out of her fantasy world, hitting rock-bottom reality with a painful blow to her ego. A male like that would never look upon an ooman, no matter the rank, no matter how strong. It was disgust at herself that squeezed her stomach afterwards, rotten and deep-rooted disgust at how she had the audacity to even look him in the eyes and feel this way.

Regardless, now was different. She had been summoned alongside others to complete a task, ensure the safety of their clan leader amongst another clan and make sure that what they transported wasn't taken from them without the exchange being made. Kali rose up at the same time the others did, keeping her posture confident and taut.

"Come. The transport is ready. We will take a shuttle to the Tu'jan clan ship," R'ka spoke up as the clan leader turned his back with the flare of his cape, towards a corridor to their right. On instinct, the human waited for all the others to follow, so that she would be the last and thus, able to observe them each. Habitually, she did this to learn of her hunt group before every major hunt in which she had to partake with others, to understand where she stood and how to behave around certain individuals. There was a certain scent in the air, something musky, pleasant, but strong -oh. Her gaze roamed the hunters until she saw the 9ft yautja female and the two males staring up at her with purpose. That made sense.

Lar'ja, pausing when he didn't see Kali by his side, turned his head towards her, catching her wrinkling her nose at the display.

His amused rapid clicking made her snap her gaze on him, trailing behind the group as he fell in step with her. His proximity was bothersome. "Mating season affects many," he trilled, trying to start something, but she said nothing as they continued to walk towards the clan leader's shuttle. There was no way she was going to encourage his stupid goodie-goodie act, knowing what the end game he wanted was.

Once inside, everyone knew their own task, therefore, being a lesser rank, Kali marched to the lead pilot seat, where two other yautja were already occupying two other pilot designated seats, going over the indicators and checking the functionality of it. She sat down and the half-moon chair slid upwards and forward, a large screen-like table ascending from the floor right under her fingertips. Kali locked her legs at the ankles and leaned forth, inspecting the transport via hologram, using her hand to swipe over it, make sure it was secure, before moving on to the ship's controls, checking fuel, engines, core, system and weapons just in case.

Various red squares opened in holographic images in front of her eyes, and she located the other clanship with ease, before sending them the courtesy transmission through message that they were ready to leave their own clan ship and would be en route. The estimated time to get there was roughly a cycle, which she could possibly shrink a bit if she really tried, but she wasn't sure the clan leader wanted a bumpy ride through a meteorite belt.

Inserting the exact coordinates and sending them to the other two aseigan pilots, she brought the core's temperature up, before engaging the fuel and starting the engines.

"Preparing for launch,"

Lar'ja stood behind her through this whole ordeal, his own mask angled to the controls and hand settling on her chair's top, the weight added making her glance up at him. What? What was he trying to do? Especially when there were others around like this and...Paya, she could almost feel the female seething at her back.

He should just go mount that one.

Maybe during this trip she could make him change his mind by nudging him towards what's-her-face back there, sitting her ass down and doing nothing...like the elite she was.

"-permission to launch?"

Uh? When did she zone out? Straightening up with his hand still very much...fucking...there, Kali gave the two pilots a curt nod and she could feel a second later how the whole shuttle started thrumming with energy. "We are off," with the hooks out of the way and the large panel open, the shuttle was easy to get out into open space, but as any maneuver regarding docking and undocking, it needed her focus to stay in line. His proximity gave her some kind of comfort, reassurance, but she knew that wouldn't last long. He was just a male looking to rut and she was seen as an easy target, a female that could be easily shoved down and humped. Well, he was in for a surprise. There was no way Kali'adah was going to get mounted in this life.

After what seemed like some more time, the clan leader barked an order for Lar'ja to come join him in his personal chambers for a discussion, which thankfully had him remove himself from her completely. The female left to the transport bay, followed by the two other males giving her longing stares -that meant they would either fuck or get beaten up. Either way, she wanted nothing to do with it. R'ka was the only one left on deck, a presence she could handle being around.

"Mind occupied?"

"H'ko. Focused."

"N'got," there, this was the kind of conversation she liked having. From here on, it was the two pilots that had to handle the journey and in case something happened, alert her, be it a meteorite curtain or any unknown ships heading their way, she was there only to guide, combat and handle critical situations.

A lot more relaxed, Kali'adah leaned back in the oversized seat and sighed her contentment, eyes boring over the holo images of the route and shuttle sensors.

Kv'var = hunt

H'ko = No/Negative

N'got = Good

H'dui'se = musk/smell

H'ulij-bpe thwei-te = word for word it means berserker? mad blood? but i thought it was fitting for bad bloods tbh