Night of the Full Strawberry Moon, Amini's Room inside Temple of Mixcoatl, city of Tenochtitlan

He could hear the ticking for her death all day long. He knew that when you hear the sound of the Deathwatch beetle, the one you love is doomed to die. And he could do nothing for it. For everyone knew that with the sweet…comes the sour.

Cit'lal-i woke with a start. He was covered in a cold sweat and laying in his bead alone again. For some reason he had expected someone to be curled up against him under the sheets. The Hunter lay back for a moment and sighed, shaking away scattered remnants of a bad dream. He threw the silken sheets from his body, waiting for a moment. Standing and walking to the bathroom, the Hunter washed his face in a basin of water and shook the remaining water from his mandibles. He then stumbled back to the main room and hissed lightly in annoyance. The moon illuminated only the things she wanted to. There was the human girl again, in the chair curled up in a ball and covered only by her clothing. She acted too much like a slave…the hunter stopped at that thought. She wouldn't come close to him since he had growled at her. She would bend to his every whim, not that he had many, and bow and grovel, but she looked so frail and helpless all alone. She hated him now it seemed. He had begun to think more and more about her. During his guard duty he would space out and just picture her flawless face or remember her scent. A few times it had led to him hardening to his embarrassment. But she was too frail to serve him out in the open. Cit'lal-i stood close to the chair his human female sat in. She was making small whimpers in her sleep, some making him cringe. Slowly, as to not wake her, he reached down and ran a hand through her obsidian hair. He loved the feel of it and it stirred her odd scent into the air. He breathed it in deeply; it seemed to calm him when he was angry or upset. He remembered back when her mere presence had calmed his anger. As he thought, she stirred again.

Xochiyotl was dreaming, her vision filled with horrid images of things she could not comprehend fully. She whimpered and closed her eyes tighter to attempt to remove the pictures.

What was her name again? She seemed to be forgetting that a lot lately. Mayahuel. Yes, Mayahuel was her given name. But what was this other identity she was living? Who was this person with brown hair and golden eyes? She could see from the other girl's eyes and hear from her ears. It was horrible. This girl was a monster! Mayahuel couldn't look away.

Something was coming. It was seething and black and it covered the walls in a goo and reddish bloody mess as it traveled. She was disgusted and yet at the same time she loved every one of the serpent creatures. Each one was going to change the world in its own way. Her face smiled. They poured up onto the temple as one seething mass of teeth and hate. As they reached her she screamed. And the vision faded.

She jumped up with a start as Cit'lal-i was about to touch her again. At first she didn't seem to know what she was doing. The small teen launched into his arms and began to cry loudly. Her whole frame shook as he wrapped his large arms around it. It was an instinct to protect and sooth her …sometimes he didn't like it. She was so small compared to his massive bulk. He could have crushed her on accident. Cit'lal-i began to purr; he hated the odd noises she emitted. His kind could do something similar to what she was doing right now, but without the obnoxious noises. The Hunter shook his head and stood awkwardly. Then he heard something that sounded like a word. Cit'lal-i listened intently to what she was muttering. He could almost make out sentences.

"Temamauhti …" More sobbing. "Ni temo noihuan."

He couldn't comprehend what she was saying all together.

"Ni mictia in tiein cocotona ." (I'll kill the one that destroys)

She continued to say 'no' over and over to his chest as she sobbed herself into a stupor. He didn't know how he got her into the bed, or how long it took her to fall asleep once she was in the furry mattress. For the rest of the night, he stayed up and watched her sleep somewhat peacefully in the ruffles of the sheets. Outside, a black vulture circled the lazy moon.

The Next Morning…

Xochiyotl smiled as she stretched her stiff limbs and yawned. Then she froze. Why was she lying down? The small girl didn't make a single noise or move another inch. She hadn't been lying down when she fell asleep! There was an all too familiar sound of breathing in her right ear. But it couldn't be… when Xochiyotl turned her head slowly, she gasped and jumped. The floor was cool and hard as her ass connected with it. She cried out at the sudden movement and hard landing, immediately waking the Hunter. He whirled around and hissed a long note of suprise. When his eyes connected with hers, she could see his surprise mixed with anger plainly. His lower mandibles clicked together while his upper ones parted to reveal his inner mouth and rows of sharp teeth. The girl gasped. Up until now she had never seen his face, always hidden by his metal mask.She didn't think he could look so…different from the other Amini. His eyes were an odd electric blue and one of his lower mandibles had a long, painful-looking, crack in it. Probably from some long ago battle. But it was what his eyes held that made her flinch and feel a pang of remorse shoot down her belly. His blue orbs held a fright and pain in them that made Xochiyotl want to shrivel up in the corner. She was lost though, lost in his eyes and all of the emotion they held. She had thought them mindless killers, hunters, messengers, and most of all creatures. They were not supposed to have feelings! Shaking the pain from her buttocks, the girl stood and brushed her butt off. Xochyotl looked to him as he leaned over the bed and cocked his head. The teen could not help but laugh a little at that motion, it threw his dreadlocks into his mandibles and for a moment he choked and had to brush them away. He "smiled", pulling both his upper and lower mandibles up, and a tingly feeling warmed Xochiyotl's stomach and spine. Odd. The teen remembered herself just as he was about to lean closer to him. She stepped backward and landed in a low bow. He growled from up on the sheets. Xochiyotl frowned at the stone floor and the day began like any other would. They both got up and the little slave girl went about her work in the "small" apartment. The Hunter strode past the bed and deftly stomped in the room Xochiyotl was forbidden to enter, his loincloth flapping at his speed. The teen pretended that she could not see him and continued to scrub on the dinner table, or what they used as one.

After she finished her chores, the small girl watered the flower at the bedside table. She smiled as it drank from her soil. Cit'lal-i had given her the plant as he had apologized for growling at her a few days ago. Wait…had it been a few days or months? She barely even cared about time anymore. In this room everything blended together. She barely remembered what the town square looked like, or the daily sacrifices to the gods. Every day seemed normal and yet at the same time not. Xochiyotl smiled even broader as her "Master" returned from behind the forbidden door. He stopped when he noticed her and the expression on his face made Xochiyotl laugh aloud. He stepped back at her random laughter.

Then he smiled and gave her a wicked look. She hunched her shoulders as he launched for her. The girl launched herself out of the way, surprised at his ferocity and speed despite his massive size. Xochiyotl huffed for breath as she felt his arms wind around her waist. Her eyes widened in anticipation and shock. She let out a small cry as they both fell to the ground in a heap of armor and cloth and flesh. As they both regained their breath, the Hunter did something he had never done, something she wished he had not. He pulled her closer to himself and buried his face in her long, silky, obsidian hair.

Cit'lal-i groaned at the silky feel and smell of her. She was beautiful. He pulled her closer to himself until he could feel her butt against his male-hood. And the simple thought of them touching made him growl. Cit'lal-i's face searched through her silky hair until he found the back of her neck. He heard and felt her gasp as he lightly nipped her with his mandibles. He loved the taste of her skin, the feel of her against him. Then something hit him like a brick. It was sweet, almost to a sickly point, and hot. Was she in heat? Did humans even go through heat? Her scent proved it and it drove him mad. Something about her sweaty and satisfied underneath him made him hard and hot for her in a second. He wanted her. Now. The Hunter groaned and twisted her in his arms. He pulled back enough to see her face. She was hot and yet…what was this stench mixed in with her? It was dark and smelt of…fear? He eyes were huge and her face was stiff. The smell and sight snapped him out of his excited state of mind. He looked into her blue eyes and found fear. She was scared of him? Why? The look on the girl's face made the memories flood him. He had touched her and it had not been pleasant. Long ago he had touched her wrongly. How could he explain that it had been his job to do so? Although un-honorable it had been necessary? Hadn't it? The hurt in the Hunter's heart made him let go of her and get up. He shook his head sadly and sighed. Without another word, the Hunter strode past her and out the door only stopping to grab his spear and helmet.

Xochiyotl stared at the cool floor. She shook her head and took a moment to stand up. Brushing herself off, the Aztec girl brushed off her grungy dress and looked at the closed stone door.

"What was that all about?" She spoke aloud to anything listening.

Sighing to dissipate emotions, the girl began cleaning. Anything to take her mind off the event.