A/N: Not much to say, have I. There is more AU content here! I do so love writing such ^_^ Ennnnjoy!

Chapter 11 - Unexpected

The lack of luminance in the jungle at night was unnerving, causing the fledgling commander great unrest. Qymaen walked lightly, one with the shadows and silent as a predator. Howls and screeches from the indigenous animal species echoed through the misty, tree-covered expanse. Still he went onward, confident that he would be able to navigate his way back to the populated area by the first light of morning. First, however, he would have to lose himself, if he was to properly locate the place he had seen in his vision.

He paused for a moment, feelings of wariness running down his spine. He knew that he was being watched - one always was being watched when one was alone in such an environment, whether it be by enemy spies, murderous beasts or rogue, fellow Kaleesh. He slipped the war-mask he had been given over his face, exceedingly guarded.

The words of his father surfaces in his memory. He had been taught the art of the hunt at a young age, and a point that his mentor had stressed from the earliest stage in that teaching had concerned the hunter becoming the hunted. "Do not lose your sense of reality," he had said, "for when you do, you will surely die." Qymaen continued to tell himself that, even as he stood there.

The snap of a twig sent him whipping fully around to the left...

...just in time to see the bipedal figure, a shadow among many, dart off into the nearly impenetrable undergrowth.

Muttering an oath, he gave chase, shoving through the dense leaves and dodging the rocks and trees that came up out of what seemed to be nowhere. Like in his vision he made certain that he did not once lose sight of the person he chased, but that did not stop them from slipping away - he kept watching, yes, but that meant nothing when they escaped all on their own. Cursing again, he slowed to a stop, enraged. Bracing his hands on his knees he doubled over, remaining alert, but at a loss of breath. His right hand strayed to one of the hunting knives, safely tucked within it's sheath.

Before he could even begin to pull it out, he felt the lethal coldness of a blade pressing against the back of his neck.

"Leave it be," a voice hissed - heavily accented; female, as anticipated, "I want to see your hands..."

He swallowed evenly, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Do not fear, I am not here to cause you harm."

"I doubt that, hunter. I doubt that very much." He felt the tip of the blade trace along his neck, followed by the slow trickle of blood down his back. "Just a moment ago, you following me. Why?" He had barely opened his mouth to answer when a hand wrenched his head back at a painful angle by his hair, "Speak carefully or your life is mine to take."

"I - had a vision..." he began. The metal on his skin lifted slightly. "I was to find someone."

"And you believe that it was I?"

"Perhaps, and perhaps not. I can not be sure."

He was in a bad place. Qymaen's jaw locked tightly, the tense air around the two people almost unbearable. He could not see anything of her in his peripheral vision, nor could he determine exactly how close she stood behind him, for her arm could have been fully extended. He felt breath wash over his back, over the trails of blood the blade had produced.

Finally, she spoke again, "I must tell you, that I too have experienced what you claim."

"What?"

"Yes, it is true. I search for the place with the rock, as do you, though it was made clear to me that I am not to linger in your presence."

He gathered his thoughts, then asked calmly, "Will you let me go?" When nothing came of the request, he added, "I mean you no harm - I swear."

A scoff. "As if I fear a boy of your age."

Nonetheless, he was released, and immediately turned around to find that no one was there. A frustrated growl escaped him, his hands dropping to his sides in fists. Behind him - still - there was a small expression of amusement. "By the gods, I like to see whom I speak to!"

"You must be faster then," the quip urged him to turn again, this time fueled by a rising amount of irritation. Still he did not catch more then a glimpse of her as she disappeared from sight. It was still impossibly dark - giving the more swift of the two the advantage. Qymaen ceased in his efforts and crossed his arms, posture slackened a bit. He waited. "Come now, you give up already?" The voice was close - a smirk Rahkah would be proud of pulled at his mouth.

In one fast motion he slammed his head back into her, simultaneously locking his ankle around her own to trip her. He rotated his upper body just enough to shove her back down towards the ground, bringing his knee forcefully up into the hollow between her neck and shoulder. Perceptibly shocked, she hunched over on the ground for a time, hands at her head - her face was masked, he could discern that now.

"Shall we talk now?" Qymaen inquired, rolling his neck. He offered his hand and she took it.

As soon as she was to her feet, dignity required, her fist found its mark at the side of his face, another soon following it. He retaliated severely, praying that he would not be condemned for treating a woman thusly.

They did not speak - they fought furiously, for their pride was great and their will to hold onto it was greater.

It all came to a halt when Qymaen pried the mask from her face with his bloodied hands. The unshrouded devilish eyes that stared at him were recognizable - hauntingly so. He remembered the time not so long ago when he went over to the enemy world to save a fellow general's family, and the captive woman he had found there who was of no relation to him; who was an outsider who did not call the mainland her home.

She scrambled to get back the hunting mask, but he tossed it aside, restraining her from trying to retrieve it by holding her shoulder. Slowly, he removed his own facial covering, dropping it as well. They gaped at one another, and she took a step back, recognition for him evident.

She shook her head, disbelieving what she was seeing, and said faintly, "You..."

A/N: I ended up completely rewriting what I had written by hand a long while ago in a notebook, which is why this is a week late. No matter though - reviews make me giddy :3