A/N: I'm sorry my update is late! It took me a while to finish this chapter! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Words/Terms:

Ulij-bpe Amedha - mad meat

"thar'n-da s' yin'tekai mei-jahdi" - "honor and strength, sister"

Mei-jahdi - sister

Mei-hswei - brother

H'ko - no


Day One

She'd been hoping her first trial would be on an ideal hunting ground, but this unknown planet was anything but ideal. Since she'd arrived, via space pod, it'd been raining- and the rain showed no signs of letting up. Allowing her wrist gauntlet to get wet was a foolish mishap- the cloaking apparatus built into it would be completely useless until dry. Her hunting brethren had been a bit quicker in concealing such an essential gadget. But they were also in the same situation, it would be impossible to operate the gauntlet without risk of it getting wet.

As young bloods they were not privy to advanced technology (such as gauntlets that were waterproof) until they could prove themselves worthy of their clans title. The cloaking app was the most advanced technology they were allowed to posses, otherwise they were left with only simple armor, few weapons and essential resources that could fit into a bag hardly the size of her head. Ko'ja sat underneath a tree with massive leaves that acted as shelter from the weather. The leaves must have been composed of strong material, for the thunderous rain came down with pure ferocity and the bluish plants did not falter.

She fixated her attention on sharpening her dagger while awaiting her partners to come back from reconnaissance. She had already scoped out her assigned area, the rain had erased pretty much all traces of prey activity- no footprints, not even a proper scent trail. And her mask, with a special attribute for detecting things her eyes could not see, could not find a single detail. Their prey must have found shelter hidden somewhere in this jungle like habitat. Before embarking on the trial Ko'ja had made sure to read every last bit of information she could about the furry creatures, called ulij-bpe amedha - mad meat. The title referred to the effects caused by the flesh of such creature- apparently, if eaten, one would be thrown into a sudden and brief moment of pure insanity- whether this was true or not Ko'ja truly could care less, yautja were well known for their over dramatic stories about prey they've hunted so she usually took their superstitions with a grain of salt. The ulij-bpe amdeha were not very large, compared to her brethren, but they were strong and cunning. The first trial required that her hunting party take down four beasts, one for each member; supposedly their fur would be needed for the next trial.

Ko'ja paused her knife sharpening, staring ahead into the intense rain as a dark silhouette approached. She smirked as she caught the scent of dead meat. Lunch. Approaching her was a yautja hardly a few feet taller than herself. His facial features were hidden by his dark granite mask, but much of his mute colored skin was exposed. Splotches of dark coloration, such as greens and browns, covered specific areas of his body like his abdomen and arms, a genetic attribute meant for camouflaging in environments with a similar color palette. Unlike his other brethren, Thwei-ja was the thinnest and arguably the weakest, but what he lacked in physical capabilities he made up for with pure ingenuousness. When Thwei-ja was close enough Ko'ja got a good look at the plump creature hanging lifelessly in his clutches.

"That is not enough for all of us." She said. Her mouth was already salivating at the thought of biting into such a fat, juicy, rodent-like alien.

"Indeed," Thwei-ja responded,

"This is not meant for us. It is for my prey." Ko'ja narrowed her eyes,

"We can catch more game." and she reaches for the prey, but her hunting mate held the rodent higher beyond her reach. She snarled and swiftly stood,

"How long did it take for you to find it?"

"Why does that matter?" Thwei-ja said and clicked his tusks,

"In case you have not noticed, this rain shows no signs of calming. I have not seen one animal since we have landed. That may be our only meal for a very long time."

"So be it. Perhaps if you were yautja, your thoughts would not be clouded with hunger.-"

"-Quit your foolishness you two," a sudden bark resonated in their ears loudly. Mir'ka, the leader of the party, appeared behind Ko'ja; he took the game from Thwei-ja and gave it to her.

"Do not insult our mei-jahdi, mei'hswei. She is right, I can sense it. This weather will not disperse for a while and our prey will not show itself until then. We will bide our time and continue scoping this habitat." Thwei-ja knew better than to question his senior by strength and intelligence for he demanded authority in every situation. Mir'ka carried an awe inspiring confidence wherever he went and was wiser than most of his age- in a strange way his appearance emphasized these traits. His skin was not as muted as Thwei-ja's; he had long, thin quills along his biceps and thighs, symbolizing a bloodline of strong hunters. His features were sharp, especially along the ridged line separating his brownish tendrils to his forehead. His eyes were a gentle grey, and held a maturity not expected from a youngblood.

In this trial his party would hunt their own prey, but as he was the rational thinker in the group everything concerning basic survival was dictated by him- they were still youngbloods and still vulnerable to all kinds of factors. And he was especially aware of the dangers specifically surrounding the most delicate of the group. Ko'ja was not as fragile as a Terran human, but she was not built like a yautja. He knew he would have to watch her meticulously- not only was his goal to become a blooded warrior but to also ensure the safety of his brethren. These trials often killed whole groups.

Mir'ka sat beside Ko'ja as she immediately began skinning the rodent. Considering how hot this environment was she was confused as to why it had so much fur. Even the prey they were hunting had an abundance of fur and she knew, from the tedious lessons from her Elder as a child, that all living things have special features for a specific purpose. Their prey had lots of fur because it was necessary to its survival in this jungle. The only question she had to solve was what external elements made this feature a necessity. After skinning the rodent, she cut it into parts, wrapping it's limbs in a plastic that would cool and preserve its meat. She put the small pieces into her knapsack, attached to her armor on the hip. Then she gutted the creature, also preserving its entrails that could be used as bait. Afterwards she gradually ate its raw. Mir'ka had begun mapping out the jungle based on his team's recollection, all that was missing was information from Jann'ka, who had yet to return.

"I could go after him." Thwei-ja offered,

"H'ko, give him more time. " Mir'ka said,

"You know how terrible he is concerning directions."

"If he cannot find his own way back, then he will have many troubles in the future." They all knew Jann'ka was clumsy, which their Elder always harshly scolded the male for being. Jann'ka was the tallest and bulkiest in their hunting party. His eyes were a acidic green, his skin coloration consisted of vivid colors and psychedelic patterns that stood out like a sore thumb amongst his more muted colored brethren. To prey, these elements read more as poisonous and vicious, but he was the absolute shyiest yautja Ko'ja had ever come across. Obviously his skills in combat and hunting were attributes the Elder held in high regard, otherwise he would not partake in the trials. Physically he could be a better hunter and fighter than their team leader- his mentality was what needed the most work.

"We will not linger here. If he does not return in the next few hours we will move on without him." Mir'ka declared, much to Ko'ja's dismay- she didn't like the idea of leaving behind anyone. Mir'ka easily sensed this, and purred lightly,

"Although Jann'ka is foolish he can manage himself just fine."


Jann'ka was positive he had seen that same tree. And the only reason he was sure it was the same tree was because it had the same distinct and deep claw marks slashed along its massive trunk. It'd been well over three hours since he and his team landed on this planet. They were not given advanced navigation tools, and compared to Mir'ka who excelled in the subject, Jann'ka had a terrible sense of direction. He had been nervous about separating from the hunting party due to this fact, but if he was to become blooded he didn't have much choice.

It was no secret that the majority of his older brethren found him unworthy- but for some clan members his clumsiness was not the genesis of their dislike. He descended from a bad blood after all, a secret few were privy to. The Elder blessed him with a kindness few of his species possessed. Any descendent of bad bloods were outcasted and clanless- but Al'Nagarra took him in when he was only a pup without the protection of his mother whom had died tragically. The Sun clan had been his family for as long as he could remember, it was crucial that he pass all three sacred trials and become an official full-fledged hunter in his clan. Jann'ka huffed in frustration, and begun tapping the side of his mask with his claw, succumbing to deep thought.

He tried thinking back to the training session his teacher had given on basic navigation. The simplest instruction he remembered was leaving marks when exploring, which naturally he had forgotten to do. His next best bet would have been this planet's sun position, but the rain clouds obscured the sky completely. He did have a compass, but he had no idea which direction the reconnaissance point was. Jann'ka growled in frustration and continued walking on. At least he knew for a fact he was close to the hunting party; he remembered finding the slashes merely twenty minutes into his exploring. Little did he know, if he had simply walked past the tree instead of turning around, he would have reached his brethren in mere minutes- for they had begun walking the same way.

Jann'ka tried staying under the trees' thick leaves, as the rain came down mercilessly. Although the droplets didn't hurt, he didn't like being wet. He hugged his arms and rubbed them methodically; it had been blazing hot when his team first arrived here, but now there was certainly a significant drop in temperature. The jungle had become cooler. With his mask's built in magnifying system he checked the area half a mile from his current spot. There was river rushing violently and building in velocity thanks to the rain. He'd been there before, in fact this was the very location in which he decided to stop his exploring and return to the group. Now it was clear to him just how terribly lost he was, and this greatly frustrated him. He huffed and turned back around, and almost ran straight into Ko'ja. He was so bewildered his instincts took over his entire body and within seconds he had her pinned to the ground with his fist in the air. Before he could deliver the blow he was tackled by another presence.
"Calm down Jann'ka!" Mir'ka growled ferociously. Jann'ka clicked his tusks roughly, expressing his discontent. Mir'ka slowly released his brother, and both stood up. They glared at Ko'ja.

"What?" she said with a mischievous smirk.

"You must want to meet Cetanu." Jann'ka snarled,

"You let your guard down. Perhaps if you were not so busy being lost, you would have realized we have been trailing you for the past hour." Ko'ja snickered, even Thwei-ja let out a brief fit of laughter, as for Jann'ka he was thoroughly embarrased.

"We will rest here for the next couple of hours. Jann'ka, I need to record your reconnaissance." Mir'ka said.


Yeyin'ja watched the youngbloods from a considerable distance. His state of the art armor hid his presence entirely, ensuring they would never notice him unless he wanted the attention. Little did the hunting party know, was that their sacred trial was not what it seemed. They were given the objective to obtain fur from a ulij-bpe amedha, which- indeed- would be useful for their next trial. But hunting the mad meat was not the only test. Frankly, killing a ulij-bpe amedha would not be difficult for Al'Nagarra's students. Their secret test was how they survived in this hostile environment. This habitat's warm jungle climate would not last long. As the rain continued the temperature would drop, so much so, that the rain would freeze into ice. By the next day this jungle would be covered in snow.

Yautja did not handle below freezing temperatures well at all. Their planet was extremely hot, and always hot, and their internal body heat was higher than most species. Without the fur the hunting party would last, maybe, a few days if determined enough to survive- with the exception of the human who would not be able to handle the cold. It took years for her body to even adapt to the hot temperatures of the clan ship. But perhaps she would exceed his expectations.

So far the group had made it well into the heart of the jungle. Finding a mad meat was a daunting task, as they are incredibly elusive creatures. From experience Yeyin'ja had only been able to find two of them the last time he came to this planet to hunt, which was around eight cycles ago. The hunting party needed four. This planet had not been chosen for the trials in nearly ten cycles. Because of its hazards, it was common for all members of a youngblood hunting party to perish. He remembered the last time the clan finally had a success- that was nearly twenty cycles ago, and only one youngblood survived. Since then, not too many yautja venture to this planet, save for himself. Sometimes he came to replenish his supply of mad meat fur- every now and then someone was willing to pay a million pints for a coat of his creation.

But he would not be able to help the hunting party in anyway- it was strictly forbidden. All he could do was witness their actions as he would be their judge if they passed the trial. He was sure the human would die first, and perhaps Thwei-ja as well for he has less body mass than his other brothers. Being smart got him far enough, but in some situations strength and instinct ruled over intelligence. Once having the furs the group would be left to the elements for a year- that was how long the snow lasted. Food would be scarce, which would push their psychological and physical limits. True blooded yautja understood the risks of the hunt. And a true warrior would go through the lowest level of hell to hunt prey. They existed for these moments of pain and suffering, the adrenaline and heated passion of hunting. It was in these intense and thrilling moments were Paya, the Warrior God, truly blessed them. There was no point in existing if one did not hunt. And that was a hard lesson the youngbloods had to learn. If they were blessed they would survive, if not Cetanu would claim them. There was no in between.

Yeyin'ja clicked his tusks together, become increasingly interested in the group's decision to stick together. Usually hunting parties split up during the trials. But Mir'ka, the leader they had chosen, made it firmly clear that keeping the group intact was necessary. He didn't know Mir'ka as well as Al'Nagarra, but had always heard of the youth's exceptional intuition. The human, Ko'ja, followed his demands without much fuss, which was quite strange considering the feline femme fatale had a big reputation for disobedience. The only one she heeded was the Elder, otherwise she ignored most yautja- including himself. Jann'ka had always been a follower, he had yet to show any leader qualities. And Thwei-ja, despite all his intelligence, was terrible at leading. The youngblood was too egotistical. Perhaps if he survived all three trials these attributes would change, if not then it was inevitable that he would grow to be a lone warrior.


Ko'ja held her arms, rubbing her hands along their lengths as she shivered. Her armor did not cover all of her body and she brought nothing to keep her warm. She had never been exposed to anything below eighty degrees fahrenheit. Mir'ka came closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Stay close mei-jadhi." she leaned into his body, accepting his warmth. The rain was becoming colder and colder every hour. They'd been searching for miles, and had yet to come upon any clues concerning the mad meat's whereabouts.

"Maybe we should search on our own, it would be faster that way." Thwei-ja conveyed,

"No, we stay together."

"But-"

"-We stay together. If you have not noticed this jungle's temperature has been decreasing since we arrived. Unlike you three, I have experience in colder climates. Have a little faith in me, Thwei-ja." said yautja huffed and crossed his arms, but did not challenge his leader's command.

"What kind of planets have you ventured to with cold environments?" Ko'ja queried,

"I was born on one," Mir'ka said,

"A female clan had taken residence on a small planet we called kv'var-de's luar-ke. My dame gave birth to me in the midst of a powerful snow storm-"

"-Snow? What is that?" Jann'ka intervened,

"Frozen rain. It came in an overwhelming abundance. The rain had a bit of an acidic property and had seeped into our ship's wiring. The power went out, and it did not take long for the cold to sneak inside. The females kept each other warm by bundling together until the wiring was fixed. As I grew I learned many things from their combined efforts."

"Why did your dame's clan choose such a horrible place?" Ko'ja said,

"They did not have a choice. While I was developing in her womb, their clanship malfunctioned. kv'var -de's luar-ke was the closest planet they could find to land on. It took many years to fix the clanship. The first time I saw our true homeworld I was nearing fifty years."

"I have never seen the homeworld. All I've ever known was the clanship, and the few planets we visited." the only life she known outside of the yautja was before she had ever met her Elder. When she was still a possession of the Slovarian merchant. Thwei-ja suddenly hissed, hushing his brethren instantly.

"Do you hear that?" there was silence, besides the sound of rain, which was becoming quieter as it transitioned to ice. Ko'ja moved away from Mir'ka, honing her senses. Then she heard it. The sound was horrid and high pitched- the sound of a wounded animal. She did not hesitate to run towards the sound, her teammates must have had the same idea for they followed closely behind her. It didn't take long to reach the sound, and what they saw made Ko'ja's heart race with excitement. The wounded pig-like creature was no longer alive as the mad meat took another chunk from it with thick, sharp canines.
"It's mine!" Ko'ja growled viciously, immediately withdrawing the dagger strapped to her waist.

It was almost twice her size. Massive paws with bone thick claws were attached to muscular legs wider and thicker than Ko'ja's own body. Four deep green eyes focused on its meal; its mass of cerulean striped fur was lightly dusted with a mix of rain and flurries. Ko'ja examined her prey carefully. In terms of strength she was at an obvious disadvantage. And the creature wasn't so basic that she could rush it with a direct attack. This was when her years of training and learning the hunt came into play.

"thar'n-da s' yin'tekai mei-jahdi." Mir'ka said. And her teammates backed off. They would stay in the shadows and witness her every action. Ko'ja stalked forward, crouching and using the jungle's abundance of bushes as cover. She did not have the tools necessary for creating traps, and besides her dagger her only other weapons were a couple of shuriken. Her plan was to sneak behind the creature while it was distracted by its food, climb the tree it stood closest to and jump on its back, landing a clean blow into its skull with her dagger. She acted out her plan, and as she was scaling the tree, the mad meat suddenly stilled. She froze as well, confused as to how it could sense her; when it came to stealth she was the best in the hunting party.

A low and hoarse rumble emerged from the beast- "back off." it would have said if it could speak, but it wasn't referring to her. It's gaze was fixated ahead. Ko'ja followed its gaze and her heart beat started pumping faster. Another mad meat appeared but this one was larger and had a huge crown of dark blue fur surrounding its head. Ko'ja gripped her dagger tighter. Both beasts were distracted, and she was sure one of her brethren had already claimed the larger mad meat. If she struck now, she would kill her prize instantly. The large one roared, the sheer sound seemed to make the jungle quake. Ko'ja wasted no more time, she jumped off the tree and onto the beast's back driving her dagger down with as much force she could muster. The blade slipped into the beast's skull cleanly and it jerked wildly for mere seconds before falling limp onto the ground. Ko'ja smiled with victory; her first real hunt was a success. She was about to start skinning the creature, until a threatening growl reached her ears. The large mad meat was still there, and none of her hunting mates were around to deal with it. She hardly had time to react as the creature attacked.


The only advantage she had was her quick reflexes. She didn't expect it to move so fast due to its heavy appearance. So when the beast lunged, swinging an enormous paw at her with an angered ferocity, she almost took the full brunt of the attack. But she was quick to dodge by leaping to the side. She put up her arms, keeping the dagger close as the beast pounced again. It opened its maw, intending on wounding her severely with its teeth. Ko'ja rolled under the beast, and once completely behind it, rushed towards the nearest tree. As far as she knew the mad meats could not climb. She figured once she was far enough up the tree she could think of a legitimate plan. Just as she's nearing the trunk, she jumps and digs her claws into the bark, swiftly maintain a firm grip as she began to ascend. At first, she thought she was in the clear, but then a sudden wave of searing pain spread throughout her whole back.

She screamed, feeling blood run down her back in alarming heaps. Her focus wavered, as adrenaline caused her heart to pulse violently. The wound was already throbbing, increasing her agony ten fold. But there was no time to worry over her pain, as she fell from the tree. She did her best to land on the pads of her feet, but instead sprained her ankle from the harsh impact. She faced the monstrosity and managed to duck as its paw aimed for her head. It left its chest exposed and she dug her dagger all the way to its hilt into its flesh. The mad meat let out a pained and angered roar. She left the dagger, and rolled to the right, putting a little distance between her and the beast. She quickly removed a couple of shuriken from her belt, and immediately threw both, targeting the mad meat's eyes. She succeeded in ruining one of its four eyes. One shuriken nipped its ear and became jammed in the tree behind it.

She finally landed a significant blow, but wasn't too proud in making it extra upset. Her own time was limited as the wound on her back continued to throb, and with the amount of blood she was losing- she needed to end this. The mad meat attacked again, but she held her ground- with her ankle sprained she wouldn't be able to out maneuver as well as she'd like so she had no choice but to face it dead on. The mad meat opened its maw once more, possibly intending on eating her whole- and it was certainly large enough to do so. But she had no intentions on dying, and with fast and precise movements forced the dagger out of the beast's chest and rolled under its body. It's reflexes were quick, and it was already attempting to chomp down her again, but with a fierce cry she drove the dagger into the roof of its mouth straight through the palate and into its skull.

The beast backed off, and flung itself to the ground, writhing in intense pain. She won her first battle- this revelation sparked something within her that she could not quite describe. It was like a surge of power was being pumped through her blood, she felt more energized than ever, even though she could feel the effects of blood loss sneaking up on her. As much as she wanted to revel in this strange and invigorating feeling she had to finish off her prey. The yautja did not believe in letting prey suffer, no matter the damage it inflected upon oneself. So she removed her last shuriken stuck in the tree trunk and slit the creature's throat. It twitched for another twenty seconds before succumbing to the infinite sleep.

Ko'ja would have loved to collapse right then and there, but she had to take care of her back. And she knew what she had to do would not be pleasant at all. In the few things the hunting party was allowed to bring on their trial, Ko'ja made sure to pack heating rocks- a device that was good for sealing deep wounds. The rock came in a smooth form that could fit into the palm of your hand, but with the press of a button could expand and shrink as much as needed. She expanded to the size of her back and set the temperature to around a hundred degrees fahrenheit. The rock lye on the ground and she had to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do. It would have been ideal to do this in a more secluded space, and she hoped she didn't pass out after the procedure. As an extra precaution she stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth; she knew she would scream and the last thing she wanted was for another predator to hear her. Although her teammates were supposed to be near by, she had yet to see any signs of them. As far as she knew they could have left her to find their own mad meats. Either way, she was on her own for now. She counted to five in her head, clenched her hands, gritted the cloth tightly, and leaned back onto the rock.


Jann'ka wiped the blood on his claws onto the mad meat's fur. All he could think of was how greatly they underestimated their prey. They were not that hard to beat, but they didn't expect so many in one area. As far as they were told the mad meat were solitary creatures. But it had been five cycles since a yautja had hunted on this planet; the creature's must had evolved into a pack species. That fact further peaked Jann'ka's curiosity- what dangers are forcing the mad meat to work together? Mir'ka did not stay to skin his prey, he ran off into the direction Ko'ja had gone. Jann'ka was not born when the humans perished, and had never seen an actual human. As far as he knew, based off of the jokes his older brethren would tell of them, they were not strong creatures. Some had even described them as honorless and loyaless.

He knew Ko'ja was neither of those things, although she did not heed authority, besides the Elder. Many from the Sun clan saw her as weak, but Jann'ka had seen her resilience. He thought of her as a subtle predator, the kind who transformed their weaknesses into their greatest talents- he knew there was nothing to worry over but Mir'ka clearly had differing opinions. Everyone knew of Mir'ka's soft spot for her. As of why, that was beyond any of their comprehension. He wasn't sure what his leader saw in the human that warranted affection. She was, indeed, beautiful and had an enticing air of enigma that was rather alluring. But Jann'ka doubted such obvious observations were what caught Mir'ka's attention- there was something deeper within her, a hidden feature that his leader had somehow discovered. A feature Jann'ka wanted to discover as well.

"Jann'ka, I found something," Thwei-ja said, as he yanked out his hand from within his prey's gut. In between his fore finger and thumb was a miniature square chip. Jann'ka clicked his tusks.

"I believe this is a tracking device. Check yours for one as well, I will examine the other bodies." Jann'ka complied and began gutting his prey, using his claws to slice open the mad meat's abdomen. He activated his mask's x-ray, scanning the form for a similar chip. He found it tucked close to the beast's spine. He pulled it out and showed it to Thwei-ja.
"Is this a part of the trial?" he questioned,

"No. I do not think so," Thwei-ja responded,

"Look more closely, there is a foreign symbol on it, one I have never seen before." Jann'ka held the chip closer to his mask. When he wiped away the blood, he could see the metallic chip slightly clearer. The front side was flawless, but when he flipped it his his two hearts simultaneously seemed to stop. A perfect swirl with encryptions encircling it. He'd seen it countless times before when he was a pup- the last time he saw it was on the mask of the yautja who murdered his dame.

"Do you know what it is?" Thwei-ja said, not noticing his brother's change in attitude. Jann'ka clicked his tusks twice, and averted his eyes, choosing to focus more so on skinning his prey.

"H'ko, never seen it." this was a secret he would take to his grave.


Mir'ka found her unconscious amongst two dead ulij-bpe amedha. At first he had feared the worst. But upon further inspection assumed she must have passed out from her wounds which she had sealed herself. The pain had been too much for her to handle. He knew she had lost a lot of blood, and but there was nothing he could do to solve that issue. He couldn't give her his blood, as they were not the same species. He took out his first aid kit, that he made himself, and took out a vial filled with a neon blue chemical. He prepped a small dish on the ground and poured a few teaspoons of the substance into it.

Afterwards, he scraped off some bark of a nearby tree and crushed it in his hands, dropping the pieces into the dish. Instantly the bark dissolved into the liquid, and as the chemicals did its work, the substance started to form into a gel. As he waited he removed all of Ko'ja's armor, exposing her skin to the cold. He worked quickly, dipping his fingers into the dish, rubbing it in between his hands and gradually spreading the gel onto Ko'ja's back. He continued this, until her back was entirely covered in the substance. Fortunately, she was not awake to experience the procedure. Once the chemicals seep into the wounds the pain would have been intolerable. As the chemicals did their work he wrapped her back in bandages and left her on the ground as he began to skin the smaller mad meat. She needed its fur this instant.

The skinning process was swift, and after cleaning the coat he wrapped Ko'ja's body in it. When his other brothers caught up to him, he would have no choice but to camp in this area until she healed. They completed the trial anyhow, and it was only a matter of time when the clan would come for them. The rain had completed its transformation into snow; the blood splotched on along the jungle floor was gradually becoming covered in white. It'd been a long time since Mir'ka had seen snow, he was intrigued that the frozen rain was the same color as on the planet he grew up on. It made him feel rather melancholy.

In yautja culture it was common for male pups to leave their dames once they could fend for themselves. But he had remained with his dame and her clan well into his teen years. In the end he had to leave them behind and find his own path to honor the Warrior God. In his wandering from planet to planet Al'Nagarra discovered him. He remembered boarding the Sun clan's ship, having every intent on challenging as many members as possible before they kicked him off. Back then he was quite the troublemaker. He often fought other yautja, gaining experience and strength with each encounter. Of course he wasn't stupid, he only challenged yautja he had a high chance of defeating. If he had knew anything about the Sun clan, in the past, he would have never acted so foolishly. The first yautja he saw that day was none other than the Elder himself- and if had taken the time to figure out who the Elder was maybe he wouldn't have been beat so badly. He was sure he was going to die that day. But the Elder spared him and turned him into his student. He learned many things from his mentor, but the most important lesson his teacher had ever taught was a concept very foreign to yautja, especially male yautja. It was something his Elder had taught to Ko'ja as well. Perhaps that was why he took such a liking to her. She definitely proved herself to be a capable warrior, the evidence was blatant. The large mad meat mere feet from them had to be the largest one he'd seen so far- and he and his brethren had taken out a whole pack of them. She had killed two, all on her own.

He trilled softly, and held her close in his arms. He had already decided that she would be the female to bear his pups.


A/N: Now you may be thinking, "How could they possibly have offspring if they're different species?", well...I'm not giving away any spoilers. Next chapter comes out next month! Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Thanks for reading!