Special Thanks to Khalthar for beta reading my chapters, past and future, in advance.
In this chapter, Alaric and Ja'anya arrive back at her clan ship and things get a little interesting over a little misunderstanding. Alaric asserts his presence as one who is not to be annoyed.
Chapter 7- Welcome home.
The passing days on the journey back to Lai'Kairis were filled with numerous training sessions as Alaric practiced his skills with his axes any chance he got. Ja'anya would often join him for these sessions, while on other days she would sit them out, just to watch Alaric practice on his own. She sometimes found it a bit annoying when he would get up ridiculously early to train.
Ja'anya had never known someone to train this much. He practiced with every style of combat he knew, be it with his axes or with his fists. He was almost like a well oiled machine the way he was moving fluidly. Ja'anya saw the form that he used when unarmed, mixed martial arts as humans called it. No doubt this was the standard art form for the colonial marines. She had a bout with him before, in hand to hand combat, and she had almost lost the match and only her superior agility over Alaric's endurance tipped the match into a draw.
A close draw.
Alaric took it upon himself to learn the Yautja language. He figured that if he was to hunt down those Yautja who took his family from him, then he would need to learn more about their ways. Running into Sil'cais had been just a coincidence. Ja'anya was more then happy to oblige. In return, Alaric gave her a few pointers on how to focus in combat. He taught her how to mentally block out other influences, namely pain, and several evasive maneuvers that he used to navigate the dense jungles of Floria VII. The style that he said it was called was Parkour or 'The art of movement' which involves adapting one's movements to those of the environment to fluidly pass obstacles. While this was impossible to demonstrate fully on her ship, Alaric had promised to teach her when they arrived at Lai'Kairis.
Over the days that they sparred together, Ja'anya began to understand more of this human. He talked to her about his time in the marines and she would talk about her memorable hunts. One such event that Alaric had been in was a clean up operation for the infamous Weyland-Yutani Corporation after one of their 'experiments' went awry. Alaric often wondered why the Company even bothered trying to harness the aliens since every attempt ever made, had failed miserably every single time. He was just fifteen at the time and the Company had expressed interest in 'recruiting' him but the USCMC fervently denied that from happening.
Ja'anya told him of one of her first hunts, how she and several other hunters went down to hunt xenomorphs on this volcanic world. The heat was the stuff of legend as she managed to hunt four warriors before they had to leave when the planet was erupting. That planet was extreme, even by Yautja standards, and to return alive from that planet was an achievement regardless if you brought back any skulls. Unfortunately, one clan-mate died on that hunt but his body was recovered for a proper burial.
Alaric commented that would be one place he would have to see. To him it sounded like a perfect challenge. Ja'anya was intrigued by his love for a challenge. Alaric said that it was the best way to train, seeking out progressively tougher obstacles. However, there was one thing that she was more than concerned about in regards to him when they arrived at Lai'Kairis.
She wondered how he would fair while going through the clan rites when the time comes.
Alaric was busy doing press-ups in the sparring ring. He had been at this for over an hour this time and he didn't show any signs of stopping. He even went as far as putting assorted heavy objects on his back to increase resistance. Ja'anya walked into the room, having just awoken and dressed in a flowing gown and she saw what looked like her entire armory strapped to his back. All her weaponry, her armor and equipment were balanced precariously on his back as he pumped up and down. He was so focused that he didn't notice that she was in the room until a shadow fell upon him.
"Morning." He greeted in Yautja without breaking a stride. "And one thousand."
He stopped and he carefully removed the things on his back. Ja'anya went about putting her things back into their lockers. Alaric sat up and flexed his arms. Ja'anya shut the lockers and walked over to Alaric.
"Morning to you too." She greeted back in the same tongue as she crouched down to his level. "How long have you been up?"
"Only an hour." Alaric answered.
Ja'anya pushed her dreadlocks back.
"That is appropriate." She said. "In the future, I would appreciate it if you asked before using my entire armory."
"Well, it wasn't as good as I thought. They didn't have much weight they would."
Ja'anya motioned him to follow her. They walked out into the hallway as she led him to the bridge. She pointed to her holographic screens, the language of course was difficult for Alaric. He had been trying to understand the language and he had made some progress but learning to articulate the sounds and pronunciations was taking time.
From what he could understand, their journey to the clan-ship was nearly over.
"We will be arriving at Lai'Kairis within two hours." She told him. "We have to be ready."
Alaric nodded.
"Right, I better get prepped then." He said.
"Better get some breakfast as well."
He walked back out to gather his things. Ja'anya followed behind him into the sparring ring.
"Alaric, there is something I must tell you before we land." She said.
Alaric picked up his harness and strapped it on.
"And what would that be?" he asked.
Ja'anya clicked her mandibles a few times before she told him.
"You are the first ooman to have ever been brought to my clan-ship, alive." She told him. "There is the possibility that they won't be prepared for the idea."
"Don't worry." He assured her. "I'll manage."
'I've been managing for my whole life.' He thought. "So, I guess we should get freshened up first." he continued, removing his harness as he remembered.
Ja'anya nodded and they walked to the bathroom. As it turned out, the drier room doubled as a sauna and Alaric had yet to use it that way. Mainly because he was wary of it after the last time he used it. He stepped inside and sat down as he waited for Ja'anya, getting into a meditative posture. Ja'anya came inside, wrapped in a towel. She tapped a few buttons on the pad and the temperature rose steadily.
Alaric sighed as he shut his eyes and leaned back against the insulated wall. He felt Ja'anya sit next to him and, to his eye opening surprise, leaned on his shoulder, and started softly purring. He chuckled. There was only one thing she wanted in a sauna since the day after Sil'cais. Something that she felt was extremely pleasurable.
"You want a massage, don't you?" He said.
Ja'anya didn't need to answer as she laid across his lap with her dreadlocks parted and her striped back exposed to him.
Alaric sighed as he went to work massaging the muscles in her back. Ja'anya's purring quickly got louder. Alaric had skill as a masseuse, mostly for personal medical reasons such as relieving swelling and dislocated joints, and Ja'anya was enjoying every second of it.
"I get the feeling your shoulder healed days ago." Alaric said, massaging her lower back.
Ja'anya merely purred suggestively and flexed her fingers on the bench, her talons digging into the hard wood.
Lai'Kairis was a sight to behold. It was one of the few mega-class colony ships ever built, the size of a small moon. It was visually like many other clan-ships apart from a more streamlined and less imposing structure. That said, it didn't mean that Lai'Kairis was harmless as the ship packed enough firepower to hold off a large invading force.
Ja'anya guided her ship closer to the Lai'Kairis as Alaric stood behind, staring at the clan-ship in both awe and determination. Despite what Ja'anya told him that he would not be in any danger, he was not going to let his guard down.
"By my ancestors." Alaric said, crossing his arms. "This makes Gateway station look like an escape shuttle in comparison."
A chime was heard as they were being hailed. Ja'anya answered it, talking in Yautja as she identified herself. She left out Alaric, not wanting to cause any type of incident until they docked and Alaric could be formally introduced. She piloted her ship through to the indicated hanger.
The ship landed in the hanger bay with a soft thud. Ja'anya powered down her ship as docking clamps locked her ship down. She had changed into her armor earlier and had her glaive retracted and holstered on her back. She powered down her ship, listening to the engines relieving themselves. Alaric walked back into the ship for final preparations. Ja'anya got off her seat and followed him.
Alaric was by the landing ramp, fully dressed, and armed. He had his long spiked hair tied back, his axes in their holsters and in one hand he had a sack with him.
"Is that what I think it is?" She asked him, pointing to the sack.
Alaric merely nodded. It was evident that he had the item of great significance in the sack and they had both decided not to reveal it unless they have to. Though personally, Alaric said he shouldn't have to wait that long to reveal it.
Ja'anya pressed a switch on the wall and the landing ramp slowly lowered itself. She turned to Alaric with a look of warning on her face.
"Alaric, stay here until I call you." She told him seriously.
Alaric nodded. It was wise to let Ja'anya tell them rather then have a human suddenly appear from her ship. Alaric moved a few steps back into the ships interior as Ja'anya paced down the ramp. He kept himself out of sight until Ja'anya called for him. He gripped the sack in his arms.
I'm getting closer, he thought with anticipation. Slowly, but I'm getting closer.
Ja'anya saw her welcome committee waiting for her as she walked down the ramp and into the hanger bays. It was bursting with activity. Ships dotted the area, either hunters returning from their trips, traders with their precious cargo, or visitors from neighboring clans. There were several fellow huntresses in armor and war gear, an Elder in ornate robes and a few un-blooded Yautja waiting at the bottom. One of them was a young tan and dark brown striped male, who was bulky with sharp amber eyes. He was immediately happy to see Ja'anya come down.
He walked up to her and gave her a hug. Ja'anya returned the hug from the bigger Yautja.
"Welcome home, little sister." The male said, letting go of her.
Ja'anya smiled at her younger and much larger brother. Despite his size he was very optimistic and gentle. A gentle giant to her.
"Kra'vyx." Ja'anya said back.
Her brother looked at the skulls that she had on her belt.
"Your hunt has been good?" He asked with a meaningful look at her belt.
"It has." Ja'anya answered. "How has mother been?"
Kra'vyx chuckled.
"She's still as strict as ever." He mused. "Half the time, I keep expecting a smack over the head for every mistake I make."
"Well, when you pass your Chiva, you won't have to worry about such strictness again."
Kra'vyx smiled as the huntresses and the Elder walked up. The Elder had a serious but relieved look on his face. They towered over the smaller huntress.
"Huntress Ja'anya, it is a relief that you are alive." He said with concern in his voice.
"Elder Kal'deris?" She asked.
One of the huntresses spoke up.
"Elder Kal'deris chose us to find and escort you back to Lai'Kairis when we heard that Sil'cais the scourged spotted was in your sector." she said.
Ja'anya was surprised at this information. Kal'deris was going to send her an escort back to the ship? If they had found Alaric with her, there's no telling what would have happened. She couldn't blame him. Kal'deris was one of her father's closest friends and he was the father figure to her and her brother when they were growing up. He had promised her father to keep them safe if anything was to happen to him. Ja'anya went over in her head what to tell them. They didn't know that Sil'cais had found her or that he was now dead by Alaric's hand.
"Ja'anya, you have gone quiet." Kal'deris pointed out.
Ja'anya took a breath. She noticed her brother watching with a concerned look in his eyes. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Elder." She said, hesitatingly. "Sil'cais did find me."
Shocked murmurs erupted from everyone. 'How did you survive?' and 'What happened?' came up as questions. Sil'cais was not one to keep a plaything after using it, nor was he one to leave any survivors.
"Elder, I had help in fighting him." Ja'anya said.
Everyone stopped talking as they listened.
"A fellow hunter arrived to help you?" Kal'deris asked imeediately interested in what she had to say. "Was he from another clan?"
Ja'anya shook her head.
This is awkward, she thought. How do I tell them that an ooman saved me?
"There's someone you should meet." Ja'anya said, gesturing to her ship. "My savior is on the ship."
She held a hand out when the Elder moved to walk past her to enter the ship. She stepped in front of him.
"Elder, please." She said with warning in her tone. "Don't do anything to offend him. It would be unwise to do so."
Everyone was confused as to what she meant when she turned to her ship.
"Alaric." She called out.
A moment passed before steps where heard from inside her ship. Then a pair of armored boots and greaves appeared down the ramp, followed by marine fatigues with two axes holstered to a belt. One of the huntresses', a light green and mottled blooded Yautja, eyes went wide as she saw them and blinked nervously. Her fellow Yautja noticed how she was starting to shake. What on earth could make a huntress get agitated like this?
Alaric came fully into view, carrying the sack under his arm before stopping at the bottom of the ramp.
Alaric looked at the procession and immediately noticed that every Yautja in the hanger bay was looking at him. He looked around and clicked his tongue as he thought as what was going to happen. More and more Yautja were gathering as they set eyes on him. Most were bearing weapons while others were what you could call civilians by lack of weapons. There were even some children looking at him with curiosity.
'My skull's gonna go on a wall.' He thought. 'I just know it.'
"It's that blood crazed ooman from that jungle world!" The huntress suddenly blurted out.
Alaric looked back at her. He remembered this huntress as one of the Yautja he had fought back on Floria VII. One of the wrong ones. He had almost run her through a patch of razor-vines before realizing she was not one of the Marked.
"You remember me then?" He said in broken Yautja, taking everyone by surprise. "Oh… yes." He pointed to his axes. "These are such a giveaway, aren't they?"
Kal'deris immediately walked up to Alaric. Alaric didn't flinch as the Yautja Elder towered over him. He just merely held a hand out.
"Greetings." Alaric said politely, hoping to make a good impression.
But the Elder had a different impression to make. He grabbed Alaric by the neck and lifted him off the ground to eye level. Alaric would have brought his axes to bear but Ja'anya gestured to him not to fight. This wasn't hostility that the Elder was showing. Kal'deris was examining him, looking at his face, his physique, and the axes on his belt. The Elder dropped Alaric to his feet before turning to Ja'anya.
"What joke are you trying to play, Ja'anya?" Kal'deris asked, not believing that a human saved Ja'anya from a bad blood.
"I'm not joking, Elder." Ja'anya insisted. "This ooman is the one who saved me."
"Ludicrous and improbable. An ooman wouldn't survive five minutes against a bad blood."
Kra'vyx stepped in to his sister's defense.
"Elder, I know my sister, you know my sister." He said, trying to reason to the elder. "She would never lie about anything like this."
The Huntress spoke up.
"How is it that he didn't try to kill you when you came across him?" She asked Ja'anya. "He tried to kill me when I got near."
Alaric gave his explanation.
"Because I was thoroughly beat up, after wiping out a pack of psuedo-raptors." Alaric answered quickly.
Alaric didn't anticipate a flying fist coming from Kal'deris as he felt his head get smacked to the side with a loud thump.
"Silence ooman!" Kal'deris shouted.
A few snickers were heard as several Yautja chuckled at Alaric's expense. Alaric didn't bother to react to that. He merely straightened his head, cracked his neck, and spat out blood from his mouth. Ja'anya eyes went wide as she was anticipating that Alaric would lose his temper over that. Her brother noticed her reaction with puzzlement. Why did she get agitated when he struck that human? Instead Alaric gave the Elder a stare with his red eyes.
"Elder, with respect for your title, you don't want get me angry." Alaric said, firmly and calmly.
Some of the observing Yautja murmured. Did this ooman just dare to threaten an Elder? Kal'deris certainly thought so as he loomed over Alaric. Now, normally this would be terrifying for a human but Alaric wasn't one to be intimidated.
"You don't have a say in my people's matters, ooman." He said to Alaric with hostility very clear in his voice. "In fact, why should we even consider you?"
Alaric was doing a good job in hiding his emotions, though he could admit that he was slowly nearing his threshold. And the one thing he and Ja'anya really wanted to avoid was for him to go into a rage scenario here. Alaric looked to Ja'anya. Ja'anya understood that he'll have to reveal what was in the sack.
"Okay." Alaric said calmly, masking his annoyance at the elder's treatment of him. "I take it I'll have to bring that bastard out then."
Kal'deris was so completely puzzled by Alaric's speech that he raised a brow. This ooman wasn't scared of him in the slightest, and just what did he mean by 'bringing that bastard out.'? Was Sil'cais on the ship? Alaric held the sack in front of him, holding the bottom of it with one hand and gripping what was inside with the other.
"You want to see my worth?" He said, secretly looking forward to the Yautja's reaction. "Why not ask him?"
He pulled the sack down and immediately all the Yautja present gave of exclamations of shock and surprise. The object in question was none other then Sil'cais' own battered head, mandibles dangling limply and the clearly terrified expression on his face was still there. Some Yautja were so shocked at what they saw that they actually turned away and some parents shielded their children's eyes.
That's right, he thought with mirth. It's different if it's one of your heads going on a wall.
Alaric held the head up by it's dreadlocks for all to see.
"This is the bastard who tried to kill me and rape Ja'anya." Alaric shouted out, making sure everyone heard him. "As you can see, it didn't work out the way he wanted. This is what can, and willhappen if anyone is stupid enough to annoy me, and to be perfectly honest, I was doing your race a favor."
He then tossed the head at Kal'deris' feet. Kal'deris just stared at the head, at a loss for words. Kra'vyx on the other walked up, picked the head up, and looked at it. His eyes went wide.
"This is Sil'cais!" He said in amazement. "I recognize him from the wanted posters!"
Several Yautja came over and had a look, several even giving off exclamations of confirmation. One of them, an enforcer in shining armor, even flipped his wristpad up and brought up an image of Sil'cais.
"It is him, Elder." the enforcer confirmed. "More beaten up then his picture, but it is certainly him."
"Take a look at the cut." Kra'vyx pointed out. "That is a clean cut, no resistance encountered whatsoever."
Alaric just watched them, not saying a word with his arms crossed. He was content to let them bicker amongst themselves as they tried to get their heads around the truth. He could tell that Ja'anya was amused by her people's reactions. The Elder on the other hand, kept looking at Alaric and then at the head, trying to get his head around this unexpected revelation.
"How in the Black Warrior's skill did he manage to kill him?" Kra'vyx asked, handing the head to the enforcer who was typing into his pad.
Ja'anya thought carefully about what she was going to say. She couldn't just tell them that Sil'cais was one of five Yautja who brutally killed off Alaric's family. Alaric had trouble enough telling her his past. And she had given her word that she would not reveal what it took to beat this bad blood.
"Alaric had a… well let's just say that he had a bone to pick with him." Ja'anya said. "And Sil'cais was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kal'deris' thoughts were in conflict. How could a human, one that uses only hand weapons, beat a bad blood in hand to hand combat? Bad bloods have no regard for the hunter's code, doing whatever it takes to kill the enemy. He himself had fought humans up close, hand to hand, but they had never put up much of a fight. Even the most conditioned and trained humans wouldn't be able to last long in a fight, even less against a bad blood. How could this human survive?
He then decided to try something drastic.
He walked away from Alaric, who had kept his eyes on the Elder. Ja'anya noticed this and she saw Kal'deris reach for something from his cloak. The Elder had walked a good distance away before turning around and, with a flourish, he pulled out a smart disk from his cloak. Ja'anya's eyes went wide.
"Elder!" She exclaimed.
Alaric saw this and he immediately went for one of his axes on his belt. The people around them started to clamor and clear a space for their Elder while a few hunters gave off some yells of encouragement.
'I knew it!' Alaric thought angrily.
He raised his axe, ready to attack. However, he saw the pleading look in Ja'anya's eyes. She was trying desperately to stop the Elder before things get out of hand. Alaric slowly lowered his axe into a non-threatening stance.
"Elder, please!" She begged.
"If this ooman is as strong as you think he is," Kal'deris said aloud to Ja'anya. "then he should be able to dodge this."
With that, Kal'deris primed his disk and, with a roar, hurled it at Alaric despite Ja'anya's pleadings. The disk soared through the air, giving off a high pitched whine as it locked onto Alaric. Against all the Yautjas' expectations, Alaric was not reacting to this in the slightest. He didn't even move from his spot. Kal'deris couldn't help but feel a little concerned about this.
Alaric dodged the disk by an inch, ducking his head as it buzzed over him. Alaric braced his axe and he watched the disk fly around. Ja'anya saw Alaric's determined look as he waited for the disk to return to try and kill him again. The disk came at him again and Alaric smacked it into the deck with his axe in a shower of sparks. It embedded itself into the deck to everyone's amazement.
He casually gave his axe a flourish, secretly relishing the surprised expressions on all their faces.
"What did I do to get that thrown at me!" He shouted to the Elder, demanding an answer.
Ja'anya was relived that he stopped this before it got out of hand. However, Elder Kal'deris cocked his head to his right and pulled out another one. He primed it and before Ja'anya could say anything he threw it with a load roar.
'Oh, for crying out loud!' Alaric thought with annoyance.
He brought his axe up, blade facing the disk and he braced himself. Now, at this point what would happen is that the disk will slice through Alaric's axe and into him. What actually happened was enough to make every Yautja drop their jaws in shock and utter surprise. Even Kal'deris couldn't stop his jaw dropping.
The disk went flying for Alaric's head again. He parried with his axe, bringing it hard into the disk, and in a shower of bright sparks and screeching metal, the disk was sliced clean in half. Each half went spiraling in opposite directions past his head, causing bystanders to duck and dodge as the glowing halves went zigzagging through the air. The halves went impaling themselves into the deck or in the hulls of other ships.
Murmurs erupted as everyone saw something that they just couldn't understand. A human made weapon had cleanly sliced through a Yautja smart disk. Ja'anya watched Alaric as he starting patting his hair furiously. Evidently by the faint smoke, a spark or two had landed in his hair.
"Ah, sod it!" He said in English, shaking his hair. "My hair's on fire!"
Alaric stopped messing with his hair, which had now come undone and was trailing down him in spikes, and looked at all the shocked Yautja. Ja'anya could see in Alaric's eyes that he wasn't happy about these turn of events. He was showing a great degree of self control in containing himself but that was liable to change if these attacks kept getting thrown at him.
Alaric hadn't done anything to deserve this.
To him, that was an unprovoked attack. Alaric was now in a foul mood. He had come here, in peace, and how does he get treated even though he saved Ja'anya? Why, he gets some razor sharp disks thrown at him, aiming for his head. He would've gone for the Elder's throat the moment he had regained his focus. But, he'd made a promise to Ja'anya and he wasn't going to break it for this.
"I'm going back into the ship before I do something I'll regret." Alaric muttered to himself as he paced back up the ramp before shouting back at the masses. "If your Elder manages to piss me off, you'll have a lot more than severed heads to deal with!"
He disappeared from sight, cursing under his breath, and everyone started to murmur at his reaction. Ja'anya was relieved that he didn't lose his temper but she was just as upset as he was by these events. The first thing she did was to march up to a stunned Kal'deris.
"Elder, why did you do that!" She demanded of him.
Kal'deris snapped out of his stupor and faced Ja'anya.
"I couldn't take your word until I saw him for myself, you know that." Kal'deris said to the small huntress. "But I had never expected this from an ooman."
Ja'anya sighed. Kal'deris had been testing whether Alaric actually had the skill to beat a bad blood, not trying to kill him.
"I have to admit, I did not expect that ooman to stand his ground." He said "He has courage… lots of it!"
Kra'vyx came walking up, holding the two glowing disk halves in his hands with an ecstatic look on his face.
"That was awesome!" He said. "Did you see how he sliced cleanly through this disk?"
Kra'vyx's enthusiasm never ceased to amaze his sister. He would always get excited whenever anyone had a new weapon to show. And Alaric's axes had completely blown his mind.
Ja'anya came up the ramp looking for Alaric. She had to explain that the reason for Kal'deris' actions was not out of hostility but more for observation. She first tried her sparring room but, strangely, he wasn't there. She then tried her bedroom and then the kitchen and he wasn't there. She then tried the bathroom and she noticed that the drier room's door was ajar. She also heard scraping, the sound of scraping metal on bone, from inside.
She nudged the door open and she saw Alaric sitting on the bench, carving something with his axe. The object in question was the leg bone of that ankylosaur and he was carving it with such concentration that he didn't notice the door opening. He was carving the bone using only the spike on the back of the axe head and the amount of detail that he was carving into the bone was simply astonishing, judging by the amount of bone peelings by his feet. What he was carving looked like a figurine or statuette of some kind depicting an ancient human warrior, a Greek hoplite.
Alaric gave the carving a blow to get some flakes off and he examined it, making sure he had gotten all the rough edges out. While he didn't notice Ja'anya opening the door he noticed her shadow suddenly appearing.
"I take it you finally sorted things out?" He questioned almost casually.
"Yes, the problem has been sorted." Ja'anya said, sitting down next to him.
Alaric holstered his axe and popped his carving into a harness pouch.
"Alaric, Kal'deris wasn't trying to kill you. He was just testing you." Ja'anya told him
"Well, he has a somewhat strange way of showing it." Alaric pointed out. "I'd hate to see what he throws at me for the finals."
Ja'anya shuffled closer to him.
"Kal'deris always believed in setting examples and you had set yours." Ja'anya said. "Unless he witnesses events first hand, he remains skeptical."
Alaric chuckled.
"I know how that feels." He said. "My superiors were often like that when they received reports of me." A thought came to his head. "You did tell him about those skulls, right?" Alaric asked. "I don't feel like being called a mass murderer after what happened just then."
Ja'anya nodded.
"Kal'deris knows everything." She assured him. "Enforcers will be collecting them when we leave."
Footsteps could be heard coming closer and a familiar voice calling out for Ja'anya. It was Kra'vyx.
"Sister, where are you?" He called out.
Ja'anya stood up and went out of the dry room. Alaric cautiously got up and followed her, keeping a hand on one axe. They found Ja'anya's brother in her sparring ring looking at all the skulls in the room. All of Ja'anya's trophies and the remains of Sil'cais' victims. He was so focused looking at them that he didn't hear them come in.
Ja'anya winked at Alaric and sneaked over to her brother. She then quickly swept her brother's legs from under him and he went falling onto his back with a loud thud. She then sat on top of him.
"Nice one, sister." Kra'vyx said, picking himself up. "You never get tired of me hitting the ground do you?"
Ja'anya got off of him giggling as Alaric walked up.
"Alaric." She said to him, gesturing to her brother. "This is Kra'vyx, my younger but bigger brother."
Alaric held his hand out but Kra'vyx had other ideas. He lunged forward and grabbed Alaric in a bear hug.
"This is for saving my sister." Kra'vyx said.
Alaric was lost at this as this was one thing he had not expected to get. But he was quick to warm up, giving Kra'vyx a few pats on the back. Kra'vyx let Alaric go.
"Well, that's a first." Alaric said.
Kra'vyx turned to his sister.
"Ja'anya, mother sent me to get you so she can meet your savior." Kra'vyx told her.
Ja'anya raised her brows.
"She's been informed already?" She asked.
"Kal'deris notified her personally."
Ja'anya turned to Alaric.
"Alaric, I suppose it's time to meet my mother." she said.
Alaric crossed his arms.
"I'm not gonna get more disks thrown at me just for saying hello?" He asked skeptically.
"Kal'deris has given orders not to try anything against you while you're with me." She explained.
Alaric shrugged and gestured to the door.
"Let's get going then." He said nonchalantly. "Don't want to keep your mother waiting."
Ja'anya walked out followed by her brother. Alaric followed Ja'anya and Kra'vyx and she led him back out to the hanger. The enforcers waiting outside moved into the ship to retrieve the skulls.
"So, what happened with Sil'cais?" Kra'vyx asked.