Welcome back to the next episode of…
Say Hello!
By, Sonsasu
Chapter Two
Homemade Band-Aid
The Elder Yautja's POV
…"Thirsty? What does that Ooman word mean again…? Ahhh, yes, I remember now."
Frozen Heart nodded once, and immediately regretted doing so. The deep gash, going from where shoulder met neck, and down to his left hip, protested the simple movement. Grinning Fangs noticed his pained expression, and reached out a hand as if to steady Frozen Heart.
"Elder, you should be resting…the crash has left both of us weakened."
Clicking his right lower mandible in annoyance, he knew the pup was right. Between blood loss, and having lost both their med-kits along with half of their armor during the crash, it was surprising they were still alive.
"We will rest eventually but…"
Frozen Heart's sentence went unfinished, because the female chose to reappear with two very large glasses, cradled against her chest, clutched firmly in both hands.
"Here…You know, I was thinking about giving you two some cranberry juice…but well… I wouldn't give that nasty stuff to my worst enemy. So it's just plain water."
The female handed the glasses to Frozen Heart, and he in turn carefully handed the other glass to Grinning Fangs, who happily accepted.
"Crrrraaaanbeeerry juice?"
Frozen Heart's gaze followed the Ooman, as she resumed her former position, laying back on the strange blue furnishing.
"Is this so called crrrraaaanbeeerry juice, a powerful poison of some kind? If so, why deem it as something to drink? Let alone consider giving it to us as a drink?"
The female's eyes grew as large as his Shuriken disks, and she began to stutter while waving her hands.
"Oh god, no, no, no, no, that's not what I meant! It isn't a poison, cranberry juice just tastes really nasty! But, it's supposed to be really good for your health, that's the only reason I have it..."
By the sharp flare of temperature rising from the female's body, Frozen Heart knew she told the truth, thus he shifted his eyes back to the common sight. He gave her a curt nod, and once again regretted the painful motion.
This time, his grimace of pain made both Grinning Fangs and the Ooman rise to help him. Truly annoyed now, he clicked his lower mandibles and waved them off.
"When I have both my arms and legs cut off and entrails dragging upon the floor, you may then act as if I am dieing! In the mean time, I am well enough to care for myself."
He spoke the same thing to Grinning Fangs, and told him to sit back down.
"Okay, okay no need to bite our heads off…ol' grumpy puss…"
Frozen Heart's glare could have burned a hole through the hardest metal in the known universe. The image of an old scruffy ally cat surfaced in his mind, a broken ear, missing teeth, and half of its fur missing…
"I will overlook such an insult because you have shown promise Ooman. Do not do it again…"
The female's eyebrows lifted and she turned her head, lips in the shape of an o.
"Good hearing…"
With that said, she gave Frozen Heart her most innocent look, and shifted her gaze up to the white ceiling, while twiddling her thumbs.
Moving his eyes to the right, Frozen Heart could see all four of Grinning Fangs mandibles pulled tightly in, and his body shaking with silent laughter, some of the water spilt on his chest from snorting.
"Pups…"
Resisting the youthful urge to roll his eyes, Frozen Heart carefully placed the glass to his inner mouth and took a deep swallow.
Pale blue eyes wondered back over to the Ooman female, who was now staring at the ceiling with a slightly dreamy expression, her hands resting on top of her stomach. Frozen Heart narrowed his gaze and cautiously cocked his head to the side. Wisps of wavy shoulder length brown hair had strayed over the Ooman's gray eyes, reminding the old Yautja of a young pup, daydreaming of its first hunt.
Remarkably dark eyebrows seemed to stand out on her light tan face, but part of her left eyebrow, dead center was missing, as if a blade had slashed the fine hair off.
A bright glint made Frozen Heart shift his gaze to her left ear. Multiple rings of golden metal adorned the curve, right down to its pink lobe, each one reflecting the light. The Ooman moved one of her hands from its resting place to scratch her cheek with long pointed nails, much like a Yautja's own. However, each nail gleamed unnaturally, as if wet or perhaps like polished spear points…
The Ooman flicked her eyes to meet Frozen Heart's curious gaze, and she smiled…
The Younger Yautja's POV
"By the Divine Warrior she called him an Old puss! I may only know some of the Ooman's language, but I caught enough! Why didn't I ever think of that? I'm starting to like this female with each passing moment!"
Taking a few deep breaths to hold his laughter, Grinning Fangs straightened from his hunched position and rubbed his aching upper mandibles. Too much smiling will do that to you; looking to his left, he arched an eyebrow. While the Ooman stared at the ceiling, Frozen Heart had cocked his head to the side and was staring with interest…
Curiously, Grinning Fangs began to watch the female as well, but what he noticed was her disturbing clothing…
A gray sleeveless garb of some kind, with a large Ooman number in bold white written a crossed it, hung to mid thigh. Beneath the vent-holed garb was a pair of very dark…material that revealed her lower legs, but was long enough to hide her knees. Placing his glass onto the table, Grinning Fangs drummed his fingers along his knee.
Shifting his gaze to the female's throat, he frowned, circling her neck like a collar, was a thick chain of silver and connected to it, was a lone line of the same pale metal, dangling to her waist.
Curiosity peaked now, he peered at her wrists and his frown deepened, black bands covered in spikes of the same shining metal circled her wrists, and gazing at the Ooman's ankles, he found chains there as well…
"She is a slave of some kind…?"
That did not bode well with Grinning Fangs, if she was a slave, then he would find her owner and simply kill them, then take her for his own. This certainly cheered him up, however just as these thoughts ran their courses, the Ooman turned her head and smiled at Frozen Heart…and revealed her teeth…
Grinning Fangs straightened with indignity, she would rather show her interest in his Elder then him…?
Glancing over to Frozen Heart, the older Predator showed no outward interest to the Ooman's attentions. Pulling his lower mandibles up and his upper mandibles down, Grinning Fangs crossed his arms over his chest, and started to sulk… However, just as quickly as the sulk began, it disappeared. Lifting his upper right mandible in a small smirk, a thought appeared in his head.
Leaning over to Frozen Heart, he let out a soft teasing purr.
"The females gave you Frozen Heart as a second name because you rarely seek their company…so has this little Ooman thawed your heart…among other things…?"
In less time then it takes to blink an eye, Frozen Heart set his glass on the table with a loud bang and swung around, wrapping his hand in Grinning Fangs long dreadlocks, with a fiercely annoyed glint in his eyes.
Unfortunately, the Elder forgot about his grievous wound, and with a sharp intake of breath, he swayed forward, sagging against the younger Yautja.
"Frozen Heart!"
Panicked, Grinning Fangs supported the larger Yautja against his chest. He carefully shifted the Elder, further exposing his back. The deep gash had managed to reopen, despite the thick white bandages covering it. His green neon blood began to soak the material at a very alarming rate and it started to pour from beneath its edges, to leak down onto the tan fuzzy floor.
Looking up to where the Ooman sat, Grinning Fangs was shocked to find her gone!
Just as he was about to curse her for being a coward, along with a few other choice curse words, she came back from around the corner, and knelt down next to the fallen Yautja…
Human's POV
…Dropping to her knees beside the older Predator, Sam placed the bucket sized jar of goldenseal paste behind her. Quickly removing the duck-tape and fluffy bandages, she grimaced as the bright neon blood covered her fingers.
"God…what the hell did Tony the tiger say to piss him off?"
Sam wiped her right hand off on her jeans, leaving neon trails along the legs of her shorts, and craned around to dip into the thick olive green goop. Suppressing the urge to play in it, she withdrew her cupped hand and began to apply the first glob onto the deep gash…
A few moments passed after Sam had finished packing the wound, but the bleeding refused to stop…
More duck-tape surfaced as an idea, but the thought was cast aside as Tony the tiger placed the older Yautja on the floor and then jumped up, his dreadlocks swinging side to side as he started looking around the room. He zoned in on a large window a crossed the room, and in five strides he stood next to it, running his clawed fingers along its seals.
"What are you doi… No! You oversized ET!"
Sam helplessly watched as the younger Yautja tore chunks of her window caulk from its resting place.
Once the Predator had enough, he came back over with a hand full of the old sealant, but looked extremely frustrated, glaring at the pieces that dangled from his clenched fist. Frowning slightly, Sam felt a light bulb go off in her head.
"Okay, I got it, I know what you need. Just stay here! And don't tear up anymore of my windows!"
Rising quickly, Sam bit back a groan of pain, as her legs complained from being in the same position for too long. She ignored the annoying tingles shooting down its length and made her way through the living room, back to the kitchen.
Leaning down, she opened the cabinet beneath the sink and reached in, grabbing the caulking gun along with a spare tube of caulk.
"Would silicon base be a good thing…? It definitely stops the leaks in my windows… Oh well, as long as he doesn't scream his head off like a demented banshee then I guess it can be considered the perfect ET band-aid! Look mom no ouch… Where the freak did that come from…?"
Heading back to her interesting houseguests, Sam knelt back down beside the older Yautja.
"Okay this is no different then me caulking the stupid Jacuzzi… Except, the Jacuzzi can't decapitate you later…"
Placing the tube securely into the cradle of the gun, Sam withdrew her Spyderco Endura four from her pocket and slid her thumb-pad into it's hole, pushing it open with a loud click.
A soft rumbling growl made her pause completely; lifting her eyes, she visibly flinched. Of course, Tony the tiger would assume the worst. Grimacing, Sam retraced a few words from her memory and formed an extremely poor sentence.
"At easy…cut boob…lube…tube!"
Lifting the tube closer to her other hand, Sam set the blade's edge half way down the length of the barrel's spout, one quick stroke and it cut clean through the plastic cone cap. With another practiced motion, she pressed the release mechanism, flipped the blade closed and re-clipped it to her pocket. Rising higher onto her knees, Sam shifted the gun over the older Yautja's back, and had to stop yet again, as a hand tightly gripped her upper arm.
Blinking in confusion, it took a few seconds for his actions to sink in, the caulking gun, it looked like a gun…duh. Sighing softly, Sam placed her other hand beneath the gun tip and squeezed the trigger, pouring a small amount into her palm, and then holding it out to the edgy Yautja.
She pointed to the dry caulk that he still held, and then gestured with her head, towards the fresh white sealant in her hand. After narrowing his eyes, the Predator let out a few soft nervous clinks, and released her wrist. Swallowing, Sam stared at the gigantic hand shaped bruise on her upper arm.
"Holy crap… If that's his idea of a warning hold…then… Memo to self, don't ever, play football with a Predator… Penalty first down! For illegal killing of the opponent quarterback!"
Biting the inside of her cheek, she moved the gun until it hovered near the start of the deep injury, and with a soft bubbly goop sound, a thick rope of caulk eased out. Slowly easing the trigger back, Sam made it to the center of the wound when he began to stir…
Refusing to sway from her task, she glanced at Tony the tiger, and gestured with her head towards the moving Yautja. She continued to apply the white paste, as the younger Predator placed his hand on the uninjured shoulder, clicking softly to the restlessly moving…old puss.
"Done! One problem though…what do I use to smooth the stuff down with…?"
Placing the gun beside the goldenseal tub, Sam stared hard at the long line of white, leading from shoulder to hip.
"What to use…what to use…what to use…what to…ah-ha!"
Hopping up swiftly, Sam half jogged, half-bounced from the front room, back into the kitchen, to fetch her plastic cutting board from the dish rack, sitting in the left side of the second sink. Snagging it, she swung around on her heel, and rushed back to the two oversized cousins of ET.
Kneeling beside the Elder, Sam smiled faintly, she was no fool… Clicking her tongue softly, she gained Tony the tiger's attention, and motioned for him to hold the huge Predator down. He gave a weary glance at the cutting board before carefully placing his hand on the Elder's uninjured shoulder and the other along his ribs. She would need to do this quick, before he accidentally reopened the cut.
Gathering her courage, Sam maneuvered under the younger Yautja's arm and placed the flat board on the top of the caulk. She shifted her legs and braced herself; Sam was making sure there would be a chance to jump out of the way later.
In one fluid motion she swiped the cutting bored down the Elder's back, efficiently smoothing down the caulk, and leapt backwards to land firmly on her back. It was a good thing she moved when she had, apparently, the motion also woke the Predator from his little stupor. He let out an eardrum-splitting roar, and swung his arm right where Sam used to be kneeling…
The Elder thrashed wildly on the floor, nearly tossing Tony the tiger off, low clicks came from the younger predator…as he struggled to keep from gaining a fist in the mandibles.
They managed to maintain the struggle for a full minute, before the older Yautja finally collapsed, but at the last second, he jerked his body and effortlessly tossed the younger Predator off… Laying eagle spread, face down, Sam could see his gigantic back heaving up and down from the little wrestling match.
"Are you okay…? I mean, you're not going to try and use my head as a soccer ball, if I come near you…are you…?"
"I do not know what you speak of but you may approach…" Was the exhausted reply; taking this as a good thing, Sam sat up and crawled near the older warrior's head. An annoyed grunt rose from a few feet away, as the burnt orange Yautja sat up from where his Elder tossed him.
Luckily, those ice blue eyes of the Elder weren't open, because it just registered to Sam that she still had the cutting bored in hand…with the smeared evidence still visible.
Lifting it up to her wide-eyed face, she glanced guiltily down, and then slowly stuck the plastic item behind her back, with a hard twist of her wrist she sent it skidding under the TV stand, halfway a crossed the room. "So…how about getting some rest…?"
"…That would be best for now…" The Elder replied, while struggling to shift his weight onto massive arms, but even with greater strength, his white striped arms trembled, threatening to buckle…
Automatically, Sam reached out a hand to help, only to watch as two large burnt orange colored hands, speckled in black spots…beat her to steadying the huge Yautja.
With a considerable amount of effort, the older predator managed to stand on his own feet, but had his left arm slung over Tony the tiger's shoulders.
"Okay well…follow me."
Rising from her knees, Sam glanced over at the two, to see them as they adjusted their awkward stances to walk.
However, she paused for a moment, remembering just how narrow the hallway was…and how wide the warriors were side by side…
"Maybe they should walk in front…I don't exactly like the idea of them falling on me… I can see the drunken man stagger already…"
"Okay, you two can go first…my bedroom is straight down the hall. You can't miss it…"
Sam stood aside to let the two stumbling Yautja's pass.
"Oh God my poor walls…"
As she watched them, she cringed every time they grazed the delicate man made walls, but after a few nerve racking seconds, they managed to make it to her bedroom without putting any new holes...never mind. Just as they were ducking into her room, the older Yautja shifted his elbow and put a basketball-sized hole in the white wall near the doorframe…
Sam's eye twitched as she followed the two into her room…but came to a halt in the doorway, when she saw her guests simply standing in the center of her large circular room.
Almost like something out of a magazine, this is what Sam had gotten when Father had bought her a birthday present two years ago, one hell of a gigantic house sitting on a hill, overlooking a crystal-clear ocean below. A single long window stretched half way crossed her room, giving a perfect view of the lapping waves, crashing up against the white sandy beach.
On the opposite of Sam's window, thirty glinting weapons placed on racks, covered the entire wall like Christmas ornaments.
Decorating the first rack, were eleven various butterfly knives, the second rack below it, were nine knives from Spyderco, one of them, the new Cara Cara Black. Another three were from Gerber Legendary Blades, four more came from Mtect U.S.A.
"A growing girl can never have too many knives."
However, the last three, which hung like crosses, a black claymore that Sam couldn't even lift, a short sword made of VG-10 steel, and an ancient katana made of lovingly crafted folded steel.
Turning away from the collection, Sam nearly had a heart attack!
By peering around the two and looking onto the bed, she felt her face flush with embarrassment, scattered from her morning rush, were her undergarments thrown in a colorful array…
"No wonder they stopped…"
Letting out a nervous laugh, Sam stepped around the two stunned staring predators, to the side of the bed, and then swiftly grabbed the bedspread, yanking it to the floor, hiding the garments in a blue mound fabric.
"Okay Tony, I think you can lay him down now without the fear of him waking up with a bra stuck in his dreadlocks…or a pair of my panties hanging off his mandibles…"
That little comment gained a very deadly glare from the old grumpy puss…
"What a way to treat your nurse…"
Sam stepped aside so Tony the tiger could lie his Elder down, however the old Yautja began clicking furiously and pointing to the bed. A small argument followed, but Sam managed to catch three words, back, exposed, and a very firm no.
Sam had to bite her lip, to keep from grinning; as Tony the tiger helped sit the stubborn Elder, down on the edge of her king sized bed.
"I wonder…was that the quick drying caulk…or is it the normal kind…? Oh man…if not…I'm going to have a predator stuck to my bed sheets! And me without body sized spatula…"
Blinking away the thought, she took a few timid steps toward the giant pair, until she stood near enough by her standards.
"Now that you're…comfortable…I can show…your…friend to his room…"
The older Yautja stared into Sam's eyes, who in turn struggled not to shift from foot to foot under the intense ice blue gaze.
"That would be…"
The Elder stopped in mid-sentence to peer down to the left, and Sam followed suit. Tony the tiger had for some reason dropped down to his knees and was looking under her bed, reaching an arm out for something beneath it. When he finally withdrew his arm and stood up, his broad back was facing Sam.
"Hey what is tha…oh crap no…"
Tony the tiger turned to face her and his Elder to show them what he'd found…it was Sam's worst nightmare…he was opening it!
"No!"
Sam lunged forward to try to grab the simple item that would certainly spell her doom…
To be continued…
Disclaimer - I do not own Predators