HURT (15)

"Stop pinching it!" Lucy growled as Mute fixed the burn on her back. Mute growled in response. Lucy thought about replying, but it wouldn't have done any good.

It was obvious they were both tired. They'd wanted to finish their hunt, but their targets had gotten away. Not only that but they'd been captured and beaten to a bloody pulp as well. The past couple of days had been nothing but a fat waste of time. It was frustrating to think about, but there was nothing they could do about it now. At least they were still alive.

Lucy yawned tiredly. She badly needed sleep and she wanted to forget that this had ever happened.

Mute abruptly pinched her back again, before jerking something to the left. Lucy gave a startled yelp.

"Will you quit tugging on it?" Lucy barked. Mute growled at her again. "Stop growling at me!" Mute clicked his mandibles, irritated. That wasn't any better. Lucy wanted to tell him to shut up, but she knew he'd keep growling at her so she kept quiet.

It'd been like this for the past hour. Mute had already patched up all her other injuries, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt. Her leg was what was bothering her the most. The bullet had grazed her bone. Walker's men had got most of it out, but they didn't get all of it. Mute had to do the rest. After digging the fragments out, he administered a liquid to her leg that burned worse than her back. Afterwards, he had put something else on her leg which crystalized over the wound. Lucy tried her best not to react to the pain, but it was difficult.

Don't these guys know what anaesthetics' are? Lucy thought to herself as Mute continued pulling on her back.

Suddenly something snapped. Lucy felt something sting her shoulder and she groaned. Mute growled angrily before pulling on it again.

"That's it, I'm done!" Lucy exclaimed as she got up and began to walk away.

Mute hissed at her.

"What?!"

He pointed back down at the armory slab where she'd been sitting. He wasn't finished yet.

"No!" Lucy responded defiantly.

Mute stood up and growled before pointing at the slab again. Lucy was intimidated, but she was too pissed off to let it show.

"No! I'm not sitting down! You keep pinching and it hurts!" she yelled at him.

Mute set a weird tweezer instrument that he'd been using down on the slab before stomping towards her. With a deep low growl, he pointed at the slab.

"No!" cried Lucy again.

Mute flared his mandibles and his eyes sharpened.

"Go ahead! Do whatever you want to do you big asshole! See if I care!" she howled.

Mute responded with a shrill hiss as Lucy screamed in his face.

Once they were done screeching and hissing at each other they stood and stared at one other silently.

"I'm going to my room," Lucy told Mute as she stormed out. On exiting she gave him the middle finger. Lucy heard Mute slam something heavy down in the armory as she left.

"Kuso baka!" Lucy cursed as she crawled into bed.

Why is he such an asshole? What did I ever do to him? she asked herself as she began

fidgeting with her magatama. Her thoughts trailed to her mother and father as usually happened when she did that.

She felt her eyes begin to water as she looked down at the little comma-shaped bead. She couldn't understand why this was happening to her; why were her parents taken from her at such a young age? Why was her sister in the hospital dying? Why was she being hunted by a man-eating monster?

Why is this happening to me? Lucy felt like crying. She was tired of this. She wanted it all to be over. She missed her family more than anything. Her mother, father, Amy, all of them. She wished she could just fall asleep and when she woke, they'd be back with her.

Despite her anti-social behavior, deep down Lucy was lonely. All she wanted was to have someone she could talk to. Someone who would understand. Someone who would listen.

"I miss you guys," Lucy whimpered tearfully as she clasped her magatama tightly in her hands.

Lucy didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it. She didn't know what to do. After everything that she'd been through these past months, Lucy wasn't sure she could do anything anymore. All she could do was lie there and cry, and that's what made it worse, the fact that she couldn't do anything about it.

Lucy continued to cry until her eyelids dropped shut.

/

For the next couple of days, Mute and Lucy didn't speak. It was obvious to Mute that she was angry with him. He couldn't hide his anger either. He would occasionally growl whenever he saw her, but that was all.

Ooman-di Pauk!

He had been so close. He would have died an honorable death had Lucy not interfered. Why did she have to save him like that? Why did she shame him? He'd been taken captive by the oomans, beaten at his game, and they hadn't even allowed him to die honorably. It infuriated him.

Ever since he'd brought Lucy onto his ship, she'd given him nothing but trouble. Mute was tired of it, he wanted to hunt as he wished, and not have to worry about babysitting a pathetic ooman.

Hell, he couldn't even call her that. While he was bandaging her wounds, he discovered that she was part of his kind. She was part yautja - a half-breed abomination, a mixture of species, a genetic hybrid that was dishonorable in his society. Such abominations were to be destroyed.

Although she was an abomination he couldn't bring himself to kill her. He thought she could still be of use to him. It was tempting though, considering she'd been more trouble than she was worth.

As the days went on though, Mute became more curious about her.

Lucy had been acting strange. It wasn't just that she was quiet, but each night when she went to bed she would clutch the little bead on her necklace. She would also cry herself to sleep, muttering random nonsense. Mute didn't know what to make of it, but it left him wondering.

What was the strange little bead she wore around her neck? Why was it so important to her?

Mute didn't know. All he did know was that it was important to her.

As he watched Lucy cry herself to sleep one evening a thought came to him. Perhaps the bead used to belong to someone she knew? It reminded Mute of something he had. Something that used to belong to someone he knew. Someone he'd cared about very deeply...

/

Mute gave a low growl as he opened the door to his trophy room. Lucy had come in here once and had almost touched one of his trophies. To touch another hunter's trophy without their consent was considered dishonorable, but he didn't care about that. He just didn't like anyone else being in this room. He didn't like being in there himself.

Although it held his most noteworthy accomplishments, the room also housed his greatest pain. He turned towards the kiande amedha skull, the one that Lucy had almost touched. He removed the skull from the shelf and opened up a secret panel behind it. After entering a code it opened up to reveal a box hidden on the other side. This was what he hadn't wanted Lucy to find.

He opened up the box and took out a uniquely designed mask. The mask used to belong to a huntress he once knew. Her name was Ki-vei'ri. The two had been friends ever since they were pups, and their affection for one another only grew as time went on.

As they got older, Mute found himself thinking about Ki-vei'ri more often. She had blossomed into a beautiful young blood huntress, one that any male would have been lucky to have. Mute intended to make her his. He wanted to impress her with his skills, but he was always at odds with another young blood hunter, Dre-kon'de.

Dre-kon'de was a troublemaking youth, one who thought that he was above his peers because he believed he was more gifted than they were. Although he was talented, Mute couldn't stand to listen to him. Dre-kon'de was too pleased with himself, and he always talked down to everyone. He would often pick fights with the other young bloods, but Dre-kon'de always seemed more interested in making fun of Mute. Mute could not understand why Dre-kon'de was so interested in him. Perhaps it was his affliction that made him such a tempting target for the cocky hunter.

Mute, being the brave youth that he was, never backed down from a fight, but he lost every battle he fought with Dre-kon'de. It infuriated him. How was he to win the heart of the female he loved so dearly if he could not stand up to this other male?

As time passed, Mute continued honing his skills, and he noticed that Dre-kon'de had begun to show an interest in Ki-vei'ri. That made Mute furious and he was determined not to let anything happen between them, so when the time came that they were all of age, Mute saw his opportunity.

It was yautja tradition to test their young with a rite of passage. If they could slay a kiande amedha in combat, they would be accepted as adult members of the clan. Mute not only saw this as a chance to rise within the ranks, but it also gave him the means to show Ki-vei'ri what he was truly made of.

Mute recalled the excitement boiling in his blood as the ship landed on the planet. Although he was anxious to prove himself, he was also nervous. Not all yautja survived their rite of passage.

He remembered what the elders had told him about their prey. The kiande amedha were dangerous creatures that feared nothing. Their entire bodies were weapons, they lived in hives that numbered in the hundreds, and their blood was acidic enough to burn through any material it came into contact with. Mute recollected that they would often take their prey alive to be used as hosts for their young. That was by far their most terrifying trait. It was no wonder that his kind regarded them as the ultimate prey.

Although the kiande amedha were strong, they were only as smart as dogs. Mute questioned why his kind admired them. Mute had always wanted to hunt prey that was equal to him. He wanted something that could think, that could use its wits against him in combat. He remembered hearing stories of the oomans. Deadly nomadic creatures who were very similar to the yautja. Although they were weaker than his kind, they were crafty. The oomans could think, plan, and make traps as his kind could. They were smart, and that's what Mute liked about them so much. He hoped that after he became an elite hunter he would go on to hunt these dangerous creatures. Perhaps he would also hunt with Ki-vei'ri after they were mated.

He thought about that as he stalked through the jungle. As he did so though he made sure to pay attention. If he was caught daydreaming, he would not live to be successful.

He also made it a point not to underestimate the kiande amedha. Although they were not intelligent enough to think past their instincts, that did not mean they were stupid, far from it in fact. They could see in the dark, they had no discernible body heat, and they could move across surfaces like a zabin bug. There was a reason the yautja spoke of them as they did, and the creatures had earned the right to be feared.

Although Mute was scared he did not permit it to show.

Eventually, the Hunting party Leader came across a track. After conferring with the other Bloodedwarriors, the Leader decided to split the party into separate groups. One Blooded hunter was to accompany each group. Unfortunately, Mute was selected to go with Dre-kon'de's team.

As Mute paid attention to the Leader's instructions and followed the trail, Dre-kon'de continued to boast of his talent to the other hunters. At one point, Dre-kon'de even challenged Mute, but he ignored him. This was not the time for such childish behavior. Dre-kon'de continued to push, however. He spoke of how he planned on mating Ki-vei'ri after he was an elite hunter. That made Mute's blood boil, but he wisely held his temper. He knew what the Leader would do to him if he started a fight during such a dangerous hunt.

Suddenly the prey revealed itself to them. Two of the Young-bloods weren't paying attention. They did not even get the chance to swing their blades.

The Leader responded by slaying the kiande amedha. Mute marvelled at his movements. He made it look easy.

Mute heard one of the beasts shriek to his left. The kiande amedha was loping towards him. He shook with excitement and fear as he took aim with his bow. Just as he was about to loose the arrow, he was pushed to the ground. Mute looked up and saw Dre-kon'de.

The youth effortlessly killed the beast with his plasma caster. Mute hissed angrily. Not only had the kha'bj-te stolen his kill, but he'd used a ranged weapon. Mute had practiced long and hard to master his own weapon, but Dre-kon'de hadn't made any effort at all. There was no sport to the kill.

Dre-kon'de looked down at him and laughed. As he picked up his defeated prey and proclaimed his victory with a mighty roar, three more of the monsters pounced from the trees. Dre-kon'de looked up and screamed in horror as they came down on top of him.

Mute acted with barely a thought. He wrestled two of the creatures off of Dre-kon'de, managing to slay them with his wrist blades. The other one turned towards him and struck out at him with its claws. Mute took a swipe to the torso and another to his arm as he fought the monster. He managed to kick the beast off of him, before drawing his bow and finishing the beast with an arrow to the skull.

Mute stood there in a moment of silence. Three! He'd killed three of them on his own! He shivered with adrenaline as he thought about what just happened. The other young bloods cheered as they watched him. The Leader nodded approvingly, acknowledging the kills. Mute felt a smile crease his mandibles. It felt like the gods had found favor with him and blessed him.

Mute threw his arms into the air and hissed proudly. He looked down at Dre-kon'de. He knew he was upset. He'd just been shown up by the one he looked down upon.

Dre-kon'de got up and lunged at Mute but was swatted away by the Leader.

"S'yuit-de!"(Pathetic!) the Leader called him.

Mute couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only did he just humiliate Dre-kon'de in front of his peers, but the Leader wasn't acknowledging Dre-kon'de's kill either. Mute's smile grew as he watched.

With an angry roar, the youth stormed off into the jungle.

"S'vite b-eh Te-osde,"(Let him go) the Leader said. None of them had any intention of following

him.

"C-hai de nin-mi'mar, Mei-ab'we."(Come to be marked, Mei-ab'we.) commanded the Leader. Obediently, Mute did as he was told.

Mute recalled the stinging pain as his Leader marked him. He felt a sense of accomplishment swelling within his chest as the kiande amedha's blood was used to brand the symbol of his clan into his arm.

As the hunt continued, Mute went on to slay two more of the kiande amedha. The gods had truly blessed him. He knew they had.

Mute could not wait to see the look on Ki-vei'ri's face when he showed her his scars. He felt like an eager pup again as he hurried back with the rest of his hunting party. Once they regrouped with the others, Mute began searching for Ki-vei'ri, but he could not see her.

"Ch'kou-ta, Ki-vei'ri?"(Where's Ki'vei'ri?) Mute signed to the Hunt Leader.

The Leader growled as he pointed to approaching yautja carrying a body. Mute's heart broke as he realized whose body it was. Ki-vei'ri!

He pushed past the others and tapped his mandibles softly in a low growl as he gazed into the eyes of the deceased female. He bowed his head low as he began to mourn.

As he reached over to touch the young female's body, he was smacked away by the Leader who growled at him. Mute had shown emotion. It was not dishonorable for yautja to show emotion, but to show it openly was a sign of weakness. Mute had humiliated himself in front of the others, but he didn't care. The female he hoped to love as his mate was dead.

"K-ne'de Sun-da?"(What happened?) the Leader asked.

"Se-osde' th'syra nin-mar'ct po'so Dre-kon'de,"(Dre-kon'de killed her for her trophy) One of the Blooded warriors responded.

"Kod-osde' kv'var Dre-kon'de."(We hunt Dre-kon'de.) The Leader declared.

Mute, despite his sadness, felt an angry flame rising in his chest. That dishonorable rogue had killed Ki'vei'ri for her trophy!

Mute picked up his bow and stomped into the jungle. As the Leader ordered the Young-bloods to return to the ship, they saw Mute leave.

"Ch'kou'ta b-ehS'di, Mei-ab'we?"(Where are you going, Mei-ab'we?)

Mute ignored his superior's question.

"H'ko b-eh, Mei-ab'we."(Do not leave Mei-ab'we) The Leader told him.

Mute did not listen. He knew he would be punished for disobeying his Leader's orders, but at that moment he didn't care.

Later that night, Mute found the rogue. The next morning he returned beaten and bloody with Dre-kon'de's head in his hand.

Mute was chastised for his disobedience and for reacting so emotionally, but the elders did not discipline him too harshly. Dre-kon'de had become a Bad-blood, dishonoring the clan with his actions, and Mute had made him pay the price. Had it not been for that he probably would have been punished more severely. Ever since then, he'd hated Bad-bloods, and he chose to become an Enforcer so he could hunt more of them.

Mute's heart grew heavy as he thought about the memory. He held Ki-vei'ri's mask to his forehead as he kept his face low to the ground in grief.

Words could not describe how much he missed Ki-vei'ri. Mute would have given anything to be with her again. That's the reason why Mute was so angry with Lucy earlier when she saved him. It wasn't just because she dishonored him. In fact, he didn't care about that at all. He was tired of being alone. But this was the only way he knew how to handle the pain. Besides, what good would it have done him to return to his clan anyway? They would just chastise him as they had before.

Mute took his eyes away from the mask long enough to look at the wall behind him. He growled as he stared at one of the trophies. It was Dre-kon'de, the first Bad-blood he'd ever slain.

Unexpectedly, there was a sound at the entrance to the kehrite. Mute turned to see what it was, but he saw nothing. He went to investigate and again found nothing. He checked on Lucy, but she was in bed. Mute gave a low growl as he returned to the trophy room.

He gently settled the mask into the box and slid it back behind the secret panel before returning to bed.

/

That was close, Lucy thought as she quietly crawled back into her bed.

Lucy couldn't sleep, there was too much on her mind. So she decided to go for a wander and accidentally walked in on Mute. He had in his hands a mask that was not his. She could tell by the way he looked at it, and the low sounds he made that he was mourning. The mask must have belonged to another hunter he'd known.

Lucy thought about what she had seen as she lay there. Mute had been holding in pain of his own. He'd lost someone he cared for just as she had. Lucy felt sorry for the hunter. She also felt ashamed of herself for being so difficult with him before. Mute had saved her life, fed her, offered to help kill Snake, and all she had done was make life difficult for him. She was too frustrated and impatient with him all the time to realize why he was always so frustrated and impatient with her.

Lucy sighed. She wanted to get up and say sorry, but she didn't know how to tell him. She didn't know how to make him understand.

Lucy sighed again as she rolled over and began rubbing her magatama. I could really use your help right now, Dad. Please... Help me out here...