Chapter 10

Ohh no, no, no too soon it can't be that time already. I woke to find my scent had become so strong there was no hiding now only running until it fades again. Could I stay ahead for that long? No don't lose confidence I got up and left the cover of the exposed roots I had taken cover and slept under and stretched out my stiff muscles then began a steady jog before taking to the tree a swung through the trees until my arms ached then I ran through the trees.

The sun was high the next day when I heard a loud roar from the distance and I pushed myself harder he was close I could smell his strong scent and it made me want to run towards him this feeling was strange and new I didn't like it at all. Running on what little stamina I had left he would catch me I won't give up without a fight. I could hear another roar and I change my direction away from the noise, again another roar and I change direction but it was closer and I knew there would be no crazy jump to escape I skidded to a halt as I snarled in frustration as I saw that he had me trapped by cornering me into a curve of a fast flowing river and I now had to face him. I looked at the river it was too fast to swim across and too wide to jump across. I turned looking into the trees seeing him stalk closer toying with me.

She was trapped, I chuckled. I was tired of chasing the female, she gave a good chase and from her tracks she had not stopped once which was an impressive amount of stamina unheard of without training. She was close to running into a human town which would be a danger to her without any equipment to stay out of sight. Her eyes were locked on me so I turned off the camouflage knowing it didn't work on her with her duo type of vision. She was hunched over ready to attack she smelled good and it was taking all of my self-control not to pounce on her.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted at me her eyes changing obviously to her human vision. I knew should wouldn't come willingly so I needed to take a different approach if I fought her she would get hurt and I wouldn't be able to control myself. So I took the skull and held it in front of me her eyes fixed on the skull.

"Calm down and listen. You will be coming with me to leave earth away from the humans in return you may have your prize back if you don't I will drag you back which is a long distance away from here and I will not give you the skull I will destroy it." I say it plain she snarls.

"Why should I trust you? I don't owe you anything so why should I go with you I could be walking into another cage I won't be caged in again." She snarled.

"Why would I cage you?" I understood her worry the humans had caged her and now she was free she no longer wanted to go back

"The humans were never trustworthy just deceiving." She grumbled low on the edge of the river one step back and she'll be washed downstream.

"I am no human. I am a Yautja and we have far more honour than a human I say what I mean." I was disgusted at being compared to a human.

"What will happen if I go with you?" She was smart to ask questions.

"You will be assessed at my home world and the elders and matriarch will decide what to do with you. Would you rather stay here and risk being captured by humans or come with me far away from any human." I answer being truthful, she tilted her head studying me carefully.

"Take off your mask." I nearly didn't hear he she said it so low that the translator didn't pick up her words. It was my time to study her I straightened lifting a hand up to turn a metal cuff on one of my dreadlocks there was a hiss of air as pressure was released and I lifted the mask away to reveal my face.

She didn't look startled although after seeing her sire's face she shouldn't but she looked curious and took a hesitant step forward her mandibles twitching the expression on her face was cute it was an expression I had never seen on a female if she is to be accepted amongst my people to harden her up. I held the skull out for her to decide either way she would be coming with me but it would make a better case to the elders if she came of her own choice.

She slowly came up to me studying my face this was the first time seeing one of the Yautja alive so this must be so new to her. I studied her back she looked nearly like a full yautja but there were some differences she was so small compared to our females, her skin was a light gold but she had an intricate pattern of brown scales that made a swirling pattern along both her sides perfectly symmetrical her thin cotton strips across her chest and crotch were now soaked and see through I quickly returned my eyes to hers to stay in control. She seemed not to care about me looking at her body strange female on home planet would have gauged my eyes out if caught. She made a dry swallow then spoke.

"I want your promise that if I say stop or no to something you will honour my decision." She looked me in the eyes I thought about it for a minute, it was a reasonable request she didn't know me.

"You have my word that if you do not like something I do and you tell me to stop I will unless it concerns your health and safety while in my care." She tried to take the skull but I pulled it back.

"Because you got a request out of me I want your word that you won't try to run away from me and that you will listen to me." I say she gave a short hiss like when an instructor scolding a young blood. Her colouring started to darken I would add that to the list of differences to report.

"Fine, I promise to listen to you and not run away unless you threaten my life then I will leave." She says then takes the skull from my hand before I could stop her to argue, she was quick.

"Come on we have to go to the ship on foot as we are too close to human dwellings." She follows me staying close. We walked north I could signal the ship now but I wanted to watch her more my reasoning was that it was for gathering information on her to give to the elders but it was more like I was fascinated with her. Walking in front of her was hard as her scent was getting stronger at some point I would snap and go after the female which would complicate things and would ruin my honour forcing a female.

My thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling sound and I turned to the female she grabbed her stomach and adverted her eyes.

"How long since you last ate?" I ask when tracking her I didn't see any sign of her hunting did she eat the fruit while moving.

"When you gave me that food which laid in the fire." She said that was days ago.

"And you're only just hungry." I say in disbelief she nodded shyly. I made a mental note to ask the medical staff about undergoing a full screening and examination.

"You're hungry we'll make camp here" and I started to climb the tree when there was a low buzzing sound and my mask was showing me the status of my clothing the heating was failing dam I try to shut off some systems to conserve power to heating. She began to speak but I had turned off the translator see communicating with her seems more important I turn the translator back on.

"Repeat what you said female." I say impatient I needed to my heating back online.

"I said what's wrong, and don't call me female." She glares at me.

"Don't look at me like that its disrespectful and I call you female because that's what you are and you have no name." She looked away from me and went ahead up the tree without responding I stayed on a lower branch this tree was unusually large for an earth tree the top was perfect to create a platform so I began to cut some lower branches I tied vines and dragged the first one up.

"I want to help." I look up and the female above me dangling upside down by her feet her braids were just short of touching my head she was sight to behold.

"Grab this." I throw up a vine she returns to her feet and we eventually get seven branches to lay across to make the platform. I need to hunt soon could I leave her here. Would she keep her word? She sat on the edge of the platform overlooking the canopy. She began to hum a small repeating tune.

"Stay here I'm going to hunt I'll be back before nightfall." She turned around.

"Can I come?" She looked hopeful.

"No I hunt alone." I say then climb down the tree before she could argue.

It was close to nightfall and there was no sign of him yet so I begin to worry and I don't know why he is nothing more than an over controlling male who was getting on my nerve. Should I go look for him or stay my decision was cut short when the male began to grunt making noise climbing up the tree he was carrying one large skinned carcass he seemed two have caught two large beasts one was skinned one wasn't. I rushed past him and tied a vine around the beasts leg and began to haul it up behind the male it was heavy and it made me slow but I eventually made it up to the platform the male had already hung the skinned beast up over the edge of the platform chunks of meat missing I leave the beast on the platform for him to skin his kill. He began to make a fire but he was slow and had gone pale, was he ill.

"Are you sick?" I asked worried.

"No it's just cold the suit I wear has stopped working it needs repairs." He said not looking at me, he made the fire then begun to place meat chunks above the flames. He looked better now was it really cold to him it was cold it's not as cold as it was when it rained. We ate slowly the meat tasted much better when placed in the flame although it had shrunk in size so I needed to eats more chunks. Once I had finished I climbed the tree to the top branch and watched the stars laid out on the branch it now cold as the wind had picked up how would the male take to this. I climbed down to see the male trying to guard the fire from the wind but was losing the fight he would be cold he was more used to hot weather so without thinking I enclosed him with my arms in a hug he tried to throw me off.

"Stop your cold you need heat." I shout before he flipped me off. He stilled and I then begun to shiver my scales rubbing together to create heat after a few minutes his body was warming.

"You need to remove yourself now female." He growled but I held on tighter and shivered more he needed heat.

"You need heat and the wind has destroyed your fire." I shuttered as a gust hit my practically bare back.

"You're in season and if you remain close I may just take you." He said removing my arms then jumping back to retrieve the two beast skins then laid down covering himself with one while throwing me the other.

"What do you mean by season I understand that I'm ovulating but why do I go through ovulation?" He didn't look at me just answered.

"During a certain time all the female start to what you call ovulate we call it a mating season as males will fight to gain a females attention and the female will choose which male they wish to mate with." He then turns his back to me trying to end our conversion.

"How often does this happen?" I couldn't help asking every month must be a lot of fighting.

"Once a year, our planet's years are longer than human's so about nearly every one and a half human years." Wow that was a long time.

"That's a long time to wait I have them a lot more frequent?" I say he turns now to face me.

"How often do you go into season?" He asks suddenly.

"Every month." I answer he goes quiet watching me with his mask on I couldn't see any emotion but I was guessing that he could be either, shocked or disgusted.

Every month that was impossible her cycles must be like a humans although that the scan earlier her biology was nearly identical to a yautja what other human back washed genetics did she have.

"Go to sleep." I say then turn over again away from her then try to limit my breathing her scent was so strong I don't know how I'm resisting but I wouldn't be able to last any longer. The hours went on and I couldn't sleep it was so cold moving my hands was becoming difficult the beast skin wasn't enough to keep the cold out I worried about the female for a second but then remembered her strange heating technique it was effective but she had gotten too close I nearly flipped her over to take her when a female got that close it was considered to be an invitation to mate but she wouldn't understand our ways being raised here. I was slowly slipping away into a sleep which I knew I may not wake from.