Chapter 9- Dinner and a ballad
Kra'vyx waited in the living area, sitting on the cushions with a sack next to him. He knew that they were both in the bathroom, but he didn't know if they were getting to 'know' one another better. He frankly didn't care if they did or did not, though he would have loved to see Ja'anya's reaction to his comment.
The bathroom door slid open and he smirked as he saw Ja'anya and Alaric step out. Alaric had a towel wrapped around his waist and Ja'anya had hers around her chest. She gave Kra'vyx an interrupted look.
"Didn't interrupt anything did I?" He asked before Ja'anya shut her bedroom door. "I think I did."
Alaric leaned against the wall, arms crossed. His hair draped over his in damp spikes. It looked like he was trying not to reveal what had happened in the shower.
"So, what have you got in the sack?" Alaric asked, gesturing to it.
Kra'vyx picked the sack up and opened it.
"Just some clothing of mine that you can borrow." Kra'vyx said.
Alaric walked over and had a look at what Kra'vyx was pulling out. There were a variety of tunics and footwear in the sack.
"Well, at least we have the roughly same build." Alaric said casually.
He walked back into the bathroom to dry himself off and get his clothes back on. Kra'vyx meanwhile saw Alaric's harness and axes. He reached over and picked up one of the hand axes. He was very careful with it, having been told that touching the edge would be unwise. He admired their ornate make, especially the runes emblazoned on each axe.
'I'm curious how an ooman managed to make a weapon like this.'He thought.
The bedroom door slid open and Ja'anya stepped through just as Alaric came out of the bathroom, drying his hair. Kra'vyx saw how Alaric just stood there looking at his sister.
Ja'anya had dressed in a casual short sleeved gown and skirt. She had various items of jewelry on, ranging from shining ocean blue stones in a silver chain around her neck to and the ornate circlet on her head. Placed in the center of it was a small reflecting diamond, cut into the shape of a crescent moon pointing up
Her father's birth sign.
Luar-ke.
Alaric found himself lost for words as he looked at Ja'anya in the clothing she had chosen. Kra'vyx started getting quite a few thoughts in his head.
"You... umm... look beautiful." He managed to say. "Excuse me."
He moved past her and into her room. Kra'vyx got up and followed him inside with the sack of clothes, making suggestions on what would suit him. Ja'anya watched the door slide shut before she smiled at Alaric's words.
"He called me beautiful." She whispered to herself with a smile as she walked over to the cushions and sat down. "Calm down, Ja'anya."
Ja'anya waited outside her bedroom while Kra'vyx and Alaric were getting ready. She could hear them talk about what Alaric should wear to make a good impression. She hoped that maybe her mother and Kal'deris would approve of him joining the clan. She didn't tell Alaric that it would be the best possible chance for him to find those bad-bloods. She planned to tell him the moment she received any notification.
"Kra'vyx, I just want something simple and practical." Alaric could be heard saying. "And no, I'm not wearing a loincloth."
"Oh, come on." Kra'vyx pleaded. "You might even like it."
Ja'anya chuckled at that. She thought of Alaric wearing one with a grimace on his face.
"I heard that." Alaric called out in annoyance.
The door slid open and Kra'vyx stepped through, now wearing a long tunic and sandals. He also had gold metal bands around his arms. Alaric came stepping through after him.
Alaric was dressed rather simply. He still had his marine fatigues on but he was also wearing long plain sleeveless tabard-like tunic over it, covering his chest instead of bandages. However, he had bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms in the manner that fist fighters would. He also had what would pass for knee-high boots to a Yautja wearer, a combination of leather sandals and mesh that was similar to what ancient humans would have worn, fastened by leather tassels on the calf sections. His tags and locket glinted in the light.
'Oh my!' Ja'anya thought as she looked at Alaric. 'Yautja clothing really does suit him.'
"Well, do I look like a Yautja?" He asked, crossing his arms.
Ja'anya got up and walked up to him. She looked at his body, running a hand down his chest. Alaric meanwhile watched Ja'anya doing this, seeing her in such regal and elegant clothing was something else. He could feel something stir again inside his mind.
Ja'anya could feel something stir inside her too.
"Yes." Ja'anya answered. "Handsome.".
Alaric would have blushed if he had let himself. Instead, Alaric tied his hair back before gesturing to the door.
"Shall we proceed?" He asked.
"About time, I'm starving." Kra'vyx said, moving for the door.
The three friends moved out of Ja'anya's home, sealing the doors behind them.
The communal eating hall was a social place to be. Hunters of all ages liked to hang around there to boast about their hunts and for friends to catch up on everyday things. In many ways, this was no different to any human variant, be it tavern or banquet hall.
Alaric, Ja'anya, and Kra'vyx arrived, passing through the great arched doorway. Alaric quickly surveyed the area. He could see that knee high tables were arranged in circular patterns around large open fires. In the center of the hall was a platform and he could see that it was being used by Yautja musicians, no doubt hunters who have an artistic side to them.
He followed Ja'anya and Kra'vyx past tables and their occupants. Alaric ignored the looks he was getting. Some were looking with respect and others not so pleased with him being on the ship. He felt a slight sense of insecurity from not having one of his axes with him. He had talked over this with Ja'anya and, begrudgingly, had promised not to bring them with him. As a gesture of peace.
It didn't take long to find their mother as she was sitting right next to Kal'deris in his red robe and ornate clothing. Alaric felt like a ton of bricks had just landed on him.
"What is he doing here?" Alaric asked Ja'anya with a lot of distrust in his voice.
"Elder Kal'deris is a friend of my parents and a surrogate father to me and Kra'vyx." Ja'anya said as they got closer.
'Well, that clarifies things a bit.' Alaric thought. 'She could've explained that to me before the disks went flying.'
The three friends reached the table and Kal'deris and Zel'tyr rose to greet them. Ja'anya and Kra'vyx greeted their mother while Alaric and Kal'deris exchanged a tense look at each other, Alaric's red eyes meeting with Kal'deris' sharp gold eyes, before everyone sat down on the cushions used in place of chairs.
"Servants." Kal'deris called out.
On cue, a line of Yautja servants came walking over from the kitchens, carrying ceramic dishes filled with various spit roasted meats and roasted vegetable-like things. Everyone went about getting their meal as Ja'anya pointed things out to Alaric who had no idea what things were which.
Kra'vyx was already stuffing his face with whatever he had dumped on his plate. A glare from his mother soon slowed his speed.
Kal'deris then decided to start conversation first.
"So, Alaric. I can see from the clothing you're wearing under that tunic that you were a ma-rine." Kal'deris said, piling his plate with large amounts of meat.
"Yes, I was a marine, more accurately Spec Ops lieutenant." Alaric answered in Yautja, as best as he could while he opted for a balanced meal. "I was part of a squad called the Archangels. I was codenamed Reaper after the Grim Reaper.
"Spec Ops? Ahh, The Elite.".
Kra'vyx looked up.
"What's this Grim Reaper?" Kra'vyx repeated with his mouth full of food.
"That's the ooman variant of Cetanu." Zel'tyr explained to her son. "And swallow before you talk."
Kra'vyx swallowed his food, coughing when he realized he hadn't chewed one morsel properly.
"What does this grim reaper look like?" Kra'vyx asked, wiping his mouth.
"Death, as he's often known, is portrayed as a skeleton in black robes with an hourglass in his left hand and a long scythe in the right." Alaric explained. "The hourglass represents the passage of time, life to be exact, and the scythe is used to 'reap' the souls of those whose 'time' is up."
Alaric took a sip from a cup next to him, coughing a slightly when he realized it was Yautja ale in his cup. Kal'deris snickered.
"And you can never defeat death." He said. "Death always gets you sooner or later. It's an inevitable fact of life and the sooner you accept it, the better."
Zel'tyr decided to change the subject back to something more positive. She didn't want to hear about death at the table, Sil'cais' demise being the exception.
"Did you live with your parents growing up?" Zel'tyr asked.
Alaric went silent. Ja'anya turned to him as he rubbed his neck. His hand then went down and grasped the tags and locket around his neck. Zel'tyr could instantly see that she had touched a sensitive issue.
"No, I was raised in the corps." Alaric finally stated. "I was orphaned at birth. My father's marine squad were the closest thing to a family I had while I was growing up."
Zel'tyr nodded in understanding.
"My apologies." she said.
Kel'deris adjusted his cushion.
"Raised by marines?" He pondered. "Then that means you were training at a young age."
Alaric nodded.
"Yes, I learned some things growing up." He confirmed.
Kra'vyx looked up.
"Do you know anything about your parents?" He asked. "Your father at least?"
There was a hint of concern in his voice. The reason for his concern is he knows how it feels. Zel'tyr, as it turns out, was pregnant with Kra'vyx when his father died and the sad thing is that his father hadn't even known. Kal'deris was the closest thing to a father he had growing up.
Alaric shook his head at Kra'vyx's question.
"I never knew or met my mother. She died giving birth to me." Alaric said, fumbling for something in a pouch on his belt. "I don't even have a picture of her. However, this is the only one of my father."
He pulled from a pouch behind his back, reverently, a folded photograph. It was old worn and with the edges starting to fray from the passage of time. He carefully unfolded it. Ja'anya looked at it.
It was a marine corps squad photo. There were seven marines in their armor in the photo, outside in front of their Cheyenne class dropship and just hanging around. In the middle squatting down, with Alaric's large axe propped up like a staff was a marine.
This was Alaric's father.
Ja'anya carefully took hold of the photo as Alaric let go of it. She could see the resemblance immediately. His father had spiked hair as well which draped right down to the ground and coiled where he was squatting and the eyes were the same, a deep dark red.
However there were a few differences. While Alaric was more slim and agile, his father was much more broad and built like a tank.
Ja'anya looked at Alaric and then back at the picture.
"You look just like him." She said while handing the photo to her brother. "A slimmer version of him."
Kra'vyx looked at the photo and his eyes went wide.
"Damn, he looks tough!" He said. "I'd hate to face him on a first hunt. No wonder you killed Sil'cias just like that."
"Well, that photo was taken after a difficult campaign." Alaric said. "A few months before he went MIA, which was before I was born"
He sighed.
"I think the grief was too much for my mother to cope with." He guessed.
Kra'vyx showed the photo to his mother. She carefully took it in her hand and looked while Kal'deris leaned over to look.
"What happened to your father?" She asked. "Didn't your fellow oomans investigate?"
Alaric nodded.
"They conducted thorough searches but they never found out." Alaric answered. "It was like he just vanished without a trace and was never seen again. The only thing they found of him was his axe, hidden nearby. No one knew what to make of it since they say he never let it out of his grasp during a mission."
Alaric picked up a turnip looking thing from his plate.
"Do you mind if we stop talking about my past?" He asked, clearly uncomfortable. "You lot know about me but I don't know anything about you lot."
From his tone, it was clear wanted to stop talking about it, so Zel'tyr got to the main subject.
"So, Alaric" Zel'Tyr said, picking up a piece of meat. "What brings you to Lai'Kairis? Apart from saving my daughter from bad bloods."
Alaric looked to Ja'anya before answering.
"Well." Alaric said, scratching his head. "The reason I am here is a matter of a very personal vendetta. And this is going back to my past again."
"In what context?"
Alaric picked up his knife and juggled it in his fingers. Light reflected off its shining blade.
"Hunting them down and killing every last one of them." He said. "It's what they did to me with brutal results."
Alaric then stabbed the knife into table and it penetrated the hard wood table to everyone's surprise. Ja'anya saw that Alaric was reluctant as always to talk about anything personal from his past so she spoke up on his behalf.
"Bad bloods murdered his entire family." She clarified. "Down to the last child and family friend."
Zel'tyr and Kra'vyx were utterly appalled at the fact. Kra'vyx for one dropped whatever he was eating, Kal'deris muttered several profanities, and Zel'tyr was silent. However, her fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles were going white and blood was seeping through her fingers. Ja'anya saw this and shook her mother's hand. Zel'tyr looked down, seeing drops of blood on the table.
"Sorry, daughter." She apologized, wiping her hand on her cloth napkin. "These things always get my blood boiling."
"Why would they do that?" Kra'vyx asked, horrified. "Where's the honor?"
"Honor?" Kal'deris scoffed. "Kra'vyx, honor has nothing to do whatsoever with bad bloods in any shape or form.".
Alaric pulled the knife from the table and poked at the hole he made.
"I never found out the true reason, only that they attacked me without warning when I was unarmed and my wife and infant son couldn't protect themselves." Alaric said before scoffing "Fucking sadistic cowards, every single one of them."
"Too true." Kal'deris commended.
"At any rate, that Sil'cais the scourged just so happened to be one of them." Alaric continued, before smirking. "And, by my ancestors, did he have a reckoning."
Kra'vyx chuckled as he brought his food back to his mouth.
"I think the expression on his severed head was proof enough." He commented.
"So, how did you manage to beat him." Kal'deris asked before munching on some dark meat.
"Well, seeing that he wasn't going to win one on one." Alaric explained. "He charged at me the moment my back was turned and stabbed me through the lung with a dagger."
Kra'vyx flinched.
"That must have hurt." He said.
Alaric looked at him with a 'you think?' expression clearly visible.
"Getting stabbed by anything hurts." Alaric said, "Needless to say, I lost my patience with him after that and finished him off, with certain satisfaction on my part."
"Yes, but how? Zel'tyr clarified.
Alaric went silent so Ja'anya spoke on his behalf again.
"Alaric has... let's just say a threshold." She said, quoting what he first told her. "And when he reaches that threshold... it's safer if you back off."
"Sil'cais discovered that a bit too late and, suffice to say, he got what he deserved." Alaric finished.
"Damn right too, I would hunt him down if he had laid his claws on Ja'anya." Kal'deris admitted.
"He tried to use his suicide charge but Alaric felt insulted by that." Ja'anya added.
Alaric scoffed in disgust. He remembered how Sil'cais tried to kill himself and them with his bomb. That was just insulting to Alaric.
"Suicide!" He said, "I'd rather go charging into a xenomorph nest with only a spoon then suicide.".
Everyone else just looked at him when he said that.
"What I mean by that is why bother fighting in a battle if you don't accept that you'll be killed by the enemy. You accept your fate or don't bother fighting at all."
Kal'deris crossed him arms.
"What a fatalistic, yet somehow brave, belief." He said.
They continued eating and talking. Ja'anya was pleased that Alaric was starting to feel more secure and open to them.
You get on his good side and he's a very good friend.
Zel'tyr told Alaric about herself. She told him how she met Ja'anya's father during one of her hunts, how he was getting medical components and how he inadvertently attracted the prey, an insectoid behemoth, she was hunting. She fondly recalled how her attacks were useless until he stepped in and took the behemoth down with one stab from his combi-stick. His teaching in medical arts let him knew exactly where to strike for the most damage. It was then and there that they fell for each other.
They became life-mates soon after that.
Kal'deris fondly recalled that moment when his friend came back with a lovely female with him. He had felt incredibly jealous of him for that but he respected his friend enough to leave it be. Kal'deris was named to be their children's guardian and remembered the day when Ja'anya was born.
That was a special and funny moment.
As Zel'tyr went into labor and the contractions started, she was rushed to the medical wing where her mate was already waiting. They both allowed their hands to be squeezed by Zel'tyr as the contractions intensified and they both regretted it when they found their hands being crushed.
They had to endure it for three whole hours and when Ja'anya finally came into the world they couldn't feel their hands anymore. Then again, the pain was worth it when they saw the little girl that Zeltyr and her mate had created.
Alaric commented that the same thing had happened to him when his son was born.
Kra'vyx talked about his childhood. About how he would always get into crazy situations involving his friends. Everyone often wondered how he even let himself get into them.
One such account was when Kra'vyx was around thirteen and, on a dare, strapped himself into a barrel and was then pushed down several flights of stairs and then went over a ledge. He emerged from the cracked barrel, not scratched but a little nauseated from the many times he went spinning.
He also has an affinity for cunning and sometimes surreal pranks on his friends, usually in the form of traps.
Despite his quirky antics, he was immediately likable by most on the Lai'Kairis.
Ja'anya told her family about how she and Alaric met. How he fought against a dozen psuedo-raptors and survived, barely. She later admitted about how intrigued she was when she first met him.
She kept her growing feelings for him silent.
She planned to tell Alaric when they were alone.
"Daughter, I have something here for you." Zel'tyr said, reaching for something under the table.
She pulled out an instrument, a lyre. Ja'anya reached out and took hold of it. It was a lovely piece of art, very fluid in shape like the roots of a tree. There were carvings in the wood, carvings of plants.
Carvings of medicinal plants.
"Mother, this is special." She said, looking at the carvings.
"Your father played this from time to time." Zel'tyr said as Ja'anya placed it on her lap.
Kal'deris chuckled.
"Time to time?" He said, "I could hardly get any sleep when he practiced with that thing."
Ja'anya turned to Alaric who was busy balancing his knife on a finger, showing Kra'vyx the concept of balance.
"Hey Alaric, do you know a song?" Ja'anya asked.
Alaric thought for a second and he had just one song in mind. A song that he had listened to throughout his childhood and beyond.
A song that had always made him feel secure, safe, and calm.
"Well, there is one." Alaric said, flicking the knife in the air and catching it. "You mind if I try?"
Ja'anya handed him the lyre. Yautja around could be heard muttering that no human could play anything worthwhile. Alaric reached around his back and pulled out his tome from another pouch. He carefully flicked through pages until he came to the right page. He read it for a second before putting his tome back.
Alaric placed the instrument on his knee, flicked a few strings to get the feel of it, and played. What he was playing was something that no one had ever heard, a soft melodious harmony. Something about this song had a very calming effect. Even some other Yautja turned their heads to see where the music was coming from.
Alaric softly hummed to himself as he followed his memory.
Ja'anya watched his fingers as he strummed the strings, admiring how he flawlessly played.
Alaric was very focused as he played the song in a more somber tone, no doubt the sad part of the song's tale. Then, he played more uplifting verses as the song followed to a positive high that soon ended with a soft climatic end.
Alaric finished strumming the last strings and lowered the lyre. The first thing he noticed the silence and the many pairs of Yautja eyes looking at him. He handed the lyre back to Ja'anya.
"I feel better after playing that." He muttered to himself. "And, from the way everyone is looking, they feel better too.
"A warrior, a philosopher and a musician." Kal'deris said "What surprises have you got for us next I wonder?"
Kra'vyx pulled out the sculpture Alaric gave him.
"He's a bit of a carver too." He said showing Kal'deris the hoplite figure.
Kal'deris looked at the bone sculpture. He was amazed at the detail despite its small size.
"You carved this by hand?" He asked, "This is amazing detail for something this small."
"It's a hobby that humans do." Alaric said. "People make models from scratch or from kits. Some of the detail some people put into them are amazing."
It was there that this nice evening with Ja'anya's family was ruined by some inconsiderate and bigoted eavesdroppers.
"You got a nice looking skull there, spike-head." a Yautja shouted at him.
Alaric perked his ears.
"Spike-head?" He said, confused.
"If you're wondering why your mother died on you, go take a look in a mirror!" The Yautja shouted at him again.
Snickers were heard from the Yautja's friends as they waited for a reaction. Alaric rolled his eyes as everyone in the table looked in the direction the outburst came from. It came from a table a few tables away and was occupied by a bunch of hard looking Yautja hunters. No doubt they had been using their masks' audio amplifiers to listen in on them.
"Oh, it's them again." Kal'deris said in disgust.
"I thought those bastards were still on their hunt." Zel'tyr cursed.
Alaric sighed as he stood up. He was starting to get annoyed at how some Yautja still wouldn't leave him be. Ja'anya grabbed him by the arm.
"Alaric don't." She pleaded.
Alaric looked at her, knelt down, and whispered in her ear.
"Trust me." He whispered.
He stood back up and saw some of those hunters were cracking their knuckles, anticipating a fight.
"You know, hunters." He said, keeping a calm tone. "I have got a sense of humor and it's telling me your humor is in very bad taste. I wouldn't be surprised if you crap from your mouths."
He turned his back on them. He intended to ignore them, only that they goaded him in one of the worst ways.
"Aww, little ooman is gonna run off to his father!" One of them said. "Oh wait, he hasn't got one."
"If I was your father I'd abandon you too!" A second one said.
"Yeah, 'cause you're so weak and pathetic he'd be disgraced!" The third one shouted.
They all laughed at Alaric and then the leader said something that cut Alaric deep.
"Hey runt!" He said, gesturing his goons to be silent. "I bet your father...is as ugly as you are!"
Alaric had his eyes clenched shut as he took the abuse. He clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles cracked.
Then his hair twitched for a second, his hair forming into sharp spikes before reverting to its normal state.
Ja'anya's eyes went wide as she thought that Alaric was going to go into Rage. Her fears were justified when Alaric opened his eyes and they weren't crimson orbs. Kal'deris noticed she gave the same reaction when he smacked Alaric in the face when they arrived.
Why is she concerned?
He heard ruffling of cushions and saw that Kra'vyx stood up.
"What the fuck is your problem!" He shouted at them.
"Our problem is that you got a Pyode amedha in your presence and he's not dead." The leader said, pointing at Alaric before picking up a knife "And I'll correct that right now!"
He threw the knife as onlooking Yautja reacted in a mixture of shock and disgust. Ja'anya would have screamed but she knew Alaric.
Alaric, at lightning fast speed, spun around and caught the knife a mere inch from his face. And he was not happy when he lowered the knife. Yautja around murmured at this spectacle. Everyone at the table was amazed by that feat.
"One thing I have got," He half-spoke, half-growled. "is a strong sense of kinship." he held the knife up and grabbed the blade with his left hand "Now, maybe you inbreeds can pool your collective intelligence together and see that I am asking you, nicely, for an apology.".
He then snapped the blade off in a sharp crack of metal. He dumped the two halves to the floor where they clattered.
The hunters were silent for a second as they took in the insult that Alaric just threw at them. Then the leader smirked. It seems they would get what they want after all.
"Hunters, let give the spike headed runt an apology." He said, hostilely.
His comrades snickered and cracked their knuckles again as they walked over to Alaric. Yautja around were busy getting out of the vicinity as a fight was about to erupt. Ja'anya looked to Kal'deris to see if he would put a stop to this.
Kal'deris eyes told her that he had no intention of stopping this fight. He wanted to see these hunters put in their place and he also wanted to see Alaric in action.
Kra'vyx walked up to Alaric.
"I got your back." He said.
Alaric nodded.
"He who sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother." He said, quoting Henry the V.
They both walked forward to meet their foes. Ja'anya, Zel'tyr, and Kal'deris could only watch. Kal'deris would step in if things got out of hand. Zel'tyr would now see if Kra'vyx had been paying attention to her teachings.
Alaric sized up his foes. They were in full armor, two were in standard hunter armor, a third was in a lighter version while their leader had more gold ornamentation.
The looks on their faces betrayed their overconfidence.
The leader walked right up to Alaric and towered over him.
"You know, I'm not going to dirty my talons fighting you." He spat at Alaric before steeping back past his goons. "Get him!"
His goons went charging at Alaric and Kra'vyx.
Alaric dodged and parried the punches and kicks aimed at him. Kra'vyx did a good job in blocking as well. Alaric countered his opponent by grabbing his right arm into a twist before snapping his arm the wrong way. Before the Yautja had time to scream in pain, he was sent face first into the nearest table with enough force to break a chunk off with his face. The hunter struggled to get up with one arm before Alaric gave a stomp to the back of his head, sending him back into the table where he didn't get back up.
Kra'vyx piled into his opponent and they both went crashing to the ground, punching each other until Kra'vyx managed to get his arm around the hunter's neck. He then tried to force him into submission but the more experienced fighter had other plans. He got out of the hold and pinned Kra'vyx to the floor. He grabbed Kra'vyx by the head and started punching him in the face again and again. Kra'vyx, who had his arms pinned behind his back, could only take the increasingly heavier blows.
Ja'anya had her hands over her mouth in horror as she watched her brother getting beaten badly. Then she saw Alaric charging to his rescue, roaring loudly and with a fist drawn back.
The hunter looked up to see who was roaring, only to receive a punch dead center in the face. The punch had enough force to send him rolling off of Kra'vyx who spat out green blood and picked himself up.
Alaric dodged the hunter's counterattack effortlessly before giving one of his own. The hunter was sent crashing into the deck, clutching his broken chest and gagging for air from an elbow to the ribcage.
Alaric and Kra'vyx regrouped as the lightly armored hunter darted towards them. This one was a lot faster then his predecessors. Alaric found himself being outmaneuvered for once and Kra'vyx found himself on the floor again, holding his head. The hunter kept his pace up, intending to whittle them both down and then finish them off at their weakest.
The hunters' leader smirked as Alaric and Kra'vyx were being beaten.
Alaric would not have any of this. These bastards insulted his father's memory and he was going to make them pay. His eyes flickered crimson for a second and the world seemed to slow down as he focused. And now he saw where the hunter was coming from. He swung an arm out, catching the now surprised hunter. His feet left the ground from his sudden violent stop and then Alaric delivered a pile driving punch to the face. All this happened in a split second as the hunter went crashing into the ground, blood spewing from his face. Alaric then grabbed him by the leg and snapped his knee with a kick for good measure.
To anyone watching it was like Alaric blurred as he moved.
The leader by now had stopped smirking and was enraged that his hunters had failed at such a short time. He reared himself and roared. Alaric braced himself, taking up his stance. Ja'anya watched as Alaric stood his ground, not budging for anything. Kra'vyx had now heaved himself up and, seeing that Alaric had things under control, staggered back to the table to be fretted over by his mother and sister.
The leader and Alaric just stood there, staring at each other. Alaric could sense that this Yautja wasn't nearly as confident as before. Probably seeing his three hunters being beaten by a human single handedly had caused him to lose his nerve. Alaric at this point decided to give this Yautja a little insult of his own.
"I can see why you sent your 'friends' first." Alaric said, catching the Yautja's attention. "It's because you will only pick on people you think are weaker then yourself. You send your goons in first, let them beat the target into submission and then you deliver the final blow. Just like a typical scavenger."
He lowered his stance, making himself appear vulnerable, with his arms out stretched to the side. Ja'anya remembered how Sil'cais made the mistake of charging at Alaric when he did that.
"So I suggest you finally grow a pair and come get me!"
The leader was now so enraged that he roared a final time and charged Alaric. Alaric responded by simply stepping to the side and giving the Yautja a roundhouse kick to the back of the head. The hunter leader responded with a swinging fist that Alaric ducked under, sweeping the leader off his feet. Alaric unleashed a devastating knee to his back as the Yautja landed on it and bones could be heard cracking. Alaric heaved the Yautja up on his feet before delivering a final punch to the face. There was enough force to sending the hunter off his feet, teeth flying from his mouth and crashing into the ground to join his friends.
Alaric dusted his bloodied hands, the bandages had helped protect his hands as he'd expected, and looked at the pile of groaning Yautja who had now had a thorough ass kicking. This was a classic case of bullies dishing out what they couldn't take. He wiped some blood from his lips from where that fast hunter landed a punch.
He walked to the leader and trod on his fractured back, making the Yautja scream in agony.
"Now, where is my apology?" Alaric demanded in a firm commanding tone.
"Go to hell, ooman!" The leader spat at him.
Alaric responded by grinding his boot into the Yautja, making him squirm and stifle pain filled grunts.
"Pardon?" Alaric said.
He heard the leader mumble something.
"Louder, so I can hear you." Alaric ordered, twisting his boot again,
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The Yautja yelled "Now get off my back!"
Alaric got off of the Yautja.
"Why you didn't say that earlier I don't know." He sighed. "But I accept it, grudgingly."
He lowered his head to the Yautja's
"I look forward to an honorable rematch." He added sincerely.
Clapping could be heard from Kal'deris as he came walking up. The elder looked at the hunters and held a communicator to his mouth.
"Medical, send out medics to the western banquet hall." He said before lowering it.
He turned to Alaric.
"I must commend you on your skills, Alaric." He praised. "You have the fires of the warrior in you. Now, I suggest you take Ja'anya and Kra'vyx out of here. Me and Zel'tyr will deal with these disgraces."
Alaric nodded and walked back to the table to a relieved Ja'anya and a pleased but bruised Kra'vyx. Zel'tyr had already stood up.
"Alaric, I can now thank you for saving my daughter and now my son." She said warmly. "You are a welcome friend of our family."
She then walked over to Kal'deris who was busy disentangling the banged up hunters. Some of the hunters couldn't help but yell in pain as broken bones and bruised flesh shifted.
"Oh, shut up and take the pain!" Alaric shouted at them.
Alaric held a hand out to Ja'anya. Kra'vyx snickered at Alaric shouting at those beaten up hunters.
"Care to join me for a walk?" He asked.
Ja'anya smiled and took his hand.
Alaric and Ja'anya walked through the botanical gardens, lit only by flaming torches lining the path and the reflecting light of the planet that Lai'kairis orbited. Ja'anya had her lyre in her hands while Alaric had his hands in his pockets. He needed to be in a calm place after that unfortunate scuffle in the banquet hall.
Kra'vyx had gone back to the training barracks, no doubt to tell his friends about the fight he had been in. it was amazing that Kra'vyx got beaten in the face and he didn't feel affected by it, only that he wouldn't let anyone touch his face.
Alaric sighed as he walked.
"Sorry about my reaction." He apologized to Ja'anya. "But I couldn't let them get away with that."
"I understand." Ja'anya answered. "If they had insulted my father, Mother wouldn't have been as merciful as you were."
Alaric chuckled and Ja'anya joined him.
"Never provoke a mother's wrath." He said sagely while looking around at the gardens. "This place is peaceful. I never thought you could have something like this in space."
He looked up at the clear ceiling, seeing the stars and distant nebulae. He knew that the marked were out there somewhere. And the grudge will be fulfilled sooner or later.
Ja'anya walked up to a tree that had fruit growing on it. She knew this tree so well. It was the same tree that her father would hold her up to pick the fruit from. She put a hand on the tree and looked up. She could see one of the oval shaped fruit hanging above.
That one is quite low, she thought, maybe I can get it.
She stretched up to get it as Alaric watched. She had her hand stretched out as far as she could go and was standing on her toes but, curses to her smaller size; she was still out of reach. She jumped to gain some extra height but the fruit, probably mocking her by now, was just out of reach.
Alaric saw she was about to give up and decided to give her a boost up.
"Going up!" He said happily.
Ja'anya was startled when Alaric came from behind, knelt down, and put his head under her legs. He got her legs and before she could protest he stood up with her sitting on his shoulders. Ja'anya almost fell off but she frantically clasped Alaric's arms and head for stability.
Alaric chuckled as she let go of his face.
"Top floor, fruits, and vegetables." He said imitating an elevator's speaker.
Ja'anya saw that she was up to the fruit's level now. She giggled at Alaric for his thinking and went about picking a few fruit off their stems.
Guess the fruit isn't mocking her now.
Alaric knelt back down and she hopped off his shoulders. Alaric stood back up, rubbing his neck.
"Come on, let's go home." Ja'anya said warmly as she walked past Alaric.
She noticed that Alaric was walking in the opposite direction. He had seen something. She saw him walking towards the water in the north. She followed him as he stopped at the edge of the pool. He looked up at the fifty foot falls.
"I think I found my meditation spot." He said pointing at it.
They shared the fruit back at Ja'anya's home while they sat by the fire. Ja'anya found the fruit to be as rich and sweet as she remembered. Alaric found it very pleasant as well. He removed his bandages and washed his hands before eating though.
"No wonder you were so desperate to get this." Alaric said.
"It is my favorite." She said, licking the juice from her fingers.
A beep came from her home's communicator. She got up and walked over to answer. Alaric watched the fire as she talked on. It sounded like she was talking to someone she knew.
She hung up and turned to Alaric.
"Alaric." She called out.
Alaric turned to her as she walked over and sat down.
"Kal'deris had consulted with the other elders, reporting your actions against Sil'cais and those hunters and they have given you permission to perform the clan rites." She said.
"Clan rites?" Alaric questioned. "As in 'joining' the clan?"
"Yes. I feel that this would be your best chance at finding those murderers."
Alaric took this information in as Ja'anya sat back down. He was being asked to join the Yautja race.
'While I wanted their help.' He thought. 'I didn't expect to be taken in by the clan. I was expecting locations or even info on those bastards and then off I go to kill them.'
He then reasoned that out of all his options, both present and future, this was the best possible chance he'd get to hunt down his family's killers.
It felt ironic that he had to become one to hunt them down.
After a lengthy period of silence, Alaric looked back to Ja'anya.
"I'll do it." Alaric confirmed. "As the saying goes 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'."
Ja'anya smiled at his answer.
"Then I suggest that we should get an early night." She said standing up. "You'll need to prepare. Mother can train you along with Kra'vyx."
Alaric ate the last of his fruit and stood up. He threw the fruit remains into the fire, watching them burst into flames as Ja'anya walked into the bedroom. He checked that his axes were secure in their harness before following Ja'anya.
Alaric averted his gaze as he saw Ja'anya stripping down. She had already removed her gown and skirt. She was removing her jewelry and she noticed Alaric had his back to her.
"Alaric, you've seen me naked before." Ja'anya chided while removing her circlet. "Why do you keep turning away?"
Alaric turned back around.
"Sorry, force of habit." He said. "I do it to give people privacy."
He looked at the bed.
"Nice to have your bed back, isn't it?" He said as he went back outside. "I'll go camp by the fire while you get some rest."
Ja'anya sat on her bed.
"Alaric." Ja'anya called.
There was a pause before Alaric answered.
"Yes?" He asked.
He stuck his head back in the bedroom to see that Ja'anya was now under the covers. She had a begging look on her face.
"I'd rather you stayed here with me." She said patting the space next to her.
'I knew there was a catch!' Alaric thought as he kept a straight face.
"You sure?" He asked. "I think I've intruded on your privacy long enough."
Ja'anya simply shook her head at his comment. It seemed that she still preferred sleeping with him rather than being alone.
"I have grown to like sleeping with you." She admitted. "And I'd rather you slept in a proper bed."
Alaric simply sighed and undid his tunic. Evidently, this conversation could go on all night. His hair came undone as he yanked his tunic off his head. He muttered as he moved his hair out of his face. He placed his tunic at the foot of the bed.
Ja'anya watched him and her eyes went wider when his removed his fatigues, leaving only his boxers.
He noticed her staring at him, as if waiting for him to take them off.
"Can't get the shower out of your mind, can you?" He smirked as he sat on the bed.
Ja'anya smirked back at him.
"What can I say, you have a great body." She remarked.
"Like when you and those females were eyeing me on the obstacle course?"
Alaric pulled the covers over him and laid down. He felt Ja'anya huddle up to him as the lights went out. And he could definitely hear her purring as she laid her head on his shoulder. She had been doing this since the fight with Sil'cais. At first, he thought it was just reassurance but now he knew that there was something else going on here. She had taken a real liking to him.
After fives minutes of Ja'anya nuzzling into his shoulder, he decided that he'd better get the inevitable out of the way, now that she was entwining her legs with his.
"Oh, come here." He said, grabbing her by the waist.
Ja'anya squeaked as Alaric pulled her on top of him. She panted lightly as she took in the situation.
Alaric had pulled her on top of him.
She felt his body beneath her as her dreadlocks draped over them. Alaric removed his hands from her hips.
Ja'anya felt a bit dominating, being on top of the Slayer.
"Better?" He asked her.
She looked at his eyes before doing something that took Alaric completely by surprise.
Even though it felt kind of neat, it still was really weird.
Ja'anya fully opened her mandibles and before Alaric could react or even so much as protest, she smothered his mouth with hers. She lightly gripped his head as she shut her eyes. Alaric could only lay there, eyes darting around and wondering what the hell she was doing as her mandibles lightly gripped his face.
'Was she kissing him?'
Getting kissed by someone who had no lips felt curiously odd. He could feel her sharp teeth graze his lips. He then felt something long and fleshy lightly drag across his lips.
'Was she now giving him tongue?'
Alaric figured they must use licking as a sign of affection along with forehead contact. But, thinking logically, they could use their mandibles to gently nip at each other.
Then Ja'anya lightly nipped his face with her mandibles.
'Gotta admire her spirit.' He thought. 'Just like Sam.'
She pulled her face from his and starting nuzzling at his neck with her hands on his shoulders. She was purring even louder.
Alaric scratched his face where her mandibles nipped him and cupped her head in his hand and brought her into view. Her eyes glittered like amethysts in the dark while his were like rubies.
"You're serious about us aren't you?" He whispered.
She nodded.
"I can't hold it back anymore, Alaric." She whispered back. "I've never felt this strongly for any male."
Ja'anya in the past never had any attraction to males, not even the few who took a fancy to her. But for Alaric, even though he was a human, she felt something else. Whereas all the other males were always competing for the best trophy and beating each others heads in, Alaric was a compassionate, honorable, and philosophical warrior, fighting when only he had to. Yautja males always followed survival of the fittest while Alaric would always help those he considered friends, regardless of the consequences.
His growing brotherly bond with Kra'vyx was proof of that.
These were the qualities that Ja'anya loved about him.
Ja'anya laid her head on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. She purred loudly as she remembered the first day they had shared a bed.
Alaric had a conflict in his mind. He still loved his wife but then he started to grow attracted to this huntress, despite denying it. He remembered something his father once quoted from his squad.
'If you remain locked in the past, you will never be at peace.'
Alaric wasn't sure why he thought of that but he felt that it had meaning for this situation. His own wife herself said that if anything ever happened to her, Alaric must move on.
He looked at Ja'anya.
"Ja'anya." He said, catching her attention.
Ja'anya rose her head from his chest and she saw a slight smile on his face.
"I have a compromise in mind." He said. "This doesn't change anything concerning my wife."
Ja'anya lifted herself so that she faced him directly.
"When and if I pass the clan rites, then maybe we can have something together. Deal?"
Ja'anya could only bury her head in his neck and purred even louder. Alaric had actually considered them being together.
Alaric embraced her in his arms.
"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled.
A lone Yautja sat in a stone hall on a magnificent throne. This was an ancient Yautja, one of the few strongest and wisest hunters to ever live. A master of a thousand hunts.
The setting sun behind his throne cast his shadow over the entire hall. Casting his authority upon the stone. He casually juggled a glass filled with ale in his hand while reading an ancient tome with the other.
A chime came from the throne and the ancient pressed a button. A holographic screen projected from the throne, revealing another Yautja. This one looked to be of high caste too, possibly a veteran hunter.
There were many scars and marks of battle on his body and armor but the big distinguishing feature was that he was missing his left eye. Only a metal plate covered his eye socket.
"Yes, Mal'kah?" The ancient asked. "What is the meaning of this calling?"
"My lord, you are not going to believe this." The scarred veteran said. "There has been an... unexpected event on the Lai'Kairis Clan-ship."
The ancient adjusted his seat to make himself more comfortable. He lifted the glass of ale that he was drinking to his mouth. He took a gulp off of ale.
"Mal'kah, I have seen many things in this galaxy. What makes you think I'll believe what you have to say?"
The veteran was silent.
"I think it's simpler if you just watch this holo-footage. I couldn't believe it myself."
The screen flickered and what was shown caused the ancient to crush his glass in his hand, spilling the ale and traces of his blood all over his trophy and gold ornamented armor and robes. Having sticky clothing was the least of his worries.
It was footage of Alaric holding the head of Sil'cais to a massing of Yautja. The film fast forwarded to where Kal'deris threw the disks at Alaric and the Ancient watched as Alaric parried the first and sheared the second in half.
The film then flickered and switched to the training academy and Alaric decking that bully with a kick to the face.
The Ancients eyes went wide and a growl rumbled in his throat.
The final scene was in the banquet hall and Alaric dusting his hands after putting down four hunters.
The film then flickered off and Mal'kah came back into view.
The ancient gave off a loud frustrated roar that echoed in the hall, causing the native birds to fly off in fright. Mal'kah didn't flinch as he saw his lord thump the arm of the throne. The Ancient breathed heavily. It was like this was the one thing he did not want to see or even hear about.
It was like he actually feared it.
"How?" He growled, "How does he and his wretched line keep surviving?" He looked at Mal'kah. "Didn't I give specific orders to make sure they were all dead?"
Mal'kah crossed his arms.
"I didn't think an ooman could survive a beating like that..." He started.
The ancient thumped his throne again.
"This is NO ordinary ooman!" He shouted at the hologram. 'He's the direct descendant of the bloodline! If anything, they are very hard to kill!"
"Are you sure? Judging the number of times they... copulated with oomans, I'm surprised there's any of that blood left in them."
The Ancient glared at the veteran.
"The bloodline is very stubborn and it refuses to die out, regardless who they copulate with."
Mal'kah merely sighed, as if he wasn't concerned about what the Ancient will do to him for his failure.
"From what I gathered from my sources, YOUR sources." He started. "He had left the ma-rines to settle down and, supposedly, rested his weapons never to use them again. We struck when he was most vulnerable and culled his mate, progeny, and anyone else who had contact with him. As you instructed."
He said that in a tone that it was the Ancient's fault anyway. The Ancient glared at the veteran again. He had been there personally the day he struck when Alaric was still a child. Not even those marines, his father's own squad could protect him. How he survived on his own at that age was anyone's guess.
"How did he get to Lai'Kairis anyway?" The ancient asked.
"A huntress found him and brought him to the ship, no doubt impressed by his combat skills." Mal'kah guessed. "I think the holo-footage is evidence enough."
Mal'kah snickered.
"I think that's the result of making sure his bloodline never existed at all. Later generations would never know that knowledge." He said. "Then again, I am itching for a little... redemption."
He rubbed the eye plate as he said the last words to clarify his point. The Ancient sat back in his throne, in thought.
Then his brows rose as he had an idea. Something that can have Alaric killed and attribute it to a freak occurrence.
"I have a plan." He started. "We may be able to use these 'setbacks' to our advantage."
'Advantage, my mottled arse!' Mal'kah thought angrily.'Killing his clan had reset the catalyst when this ooman had no knowledge about the truth of his origin.'
"Has this 'ooman' accepted the clan rites." The Ancient asked.
"Not that I know of, yet." Mal'kah said. "Why? You already thought of something?"
The Ancient smirked.
"When his first hunt comes," The ancient ordered. "Have his group sent to the world of ice and free the Primarch.".