Yeyinde pt. 4

K'han was actually surprised when he came down to the fifteenth level and found her already standing there with the book tightly pressed against her chest, as if she expected someone to take it away from her any moment. Admittedly she looked like crap, black and blue in the face and sickly pale; probably from lack of sleep and food. K'han shook his head; he wouldn't permit himself to take pity on her. That way he would do her more harm than good.

'Stupid pup', he thought. 'Whenever did I tell her to disregard her health in favor of that book?'

He saw how her face lit up when she spotted him. K'han clicked his mandibles in annoyance, it would be hard to disappoint her but he had to set matters straight with her from the start; that was after all his responsibility as her teacher. Mahwa might have allowed her to train while not fully recovered but K'han knew from experience that training gave the best results if the student was Setg'-wa, alert. He came to a halt before her, towering two feet above her head, she was so tiny. She lowered her head a bit, showing her respect. K'han gave her a critical onceover. Even without using his body-scan K'han knew that she was dehydrated and tired from lack of nourishment. He growled and she looked up at him, startled.

"I'm disappointed Yeyinde", he clicked and saw how she shuddered under his heavy gaze. "You're not fit for training today."

"But-"

"Are you questioning me?" he growled, flaring his mandibles, she backed away looking frightened and embarrassed.

"No Zah'zai", she whispered and he saw how a strange liquid poured from her eyes. He remembered that Vraa'hn had told him that her eyes exudated water when she was upset or sad. She slumped her shoulders in defeat and offered him the book. He gave her a questioning look. "Here Zah'zai, I'm clearly not worthy of your time. I'm sorry to have wasted so much of it already. Mahwa's training session is due to start soon, I'd better hurry."

"Stupid pup", he growled. "Did I tell you that I wanted that book back or that I was going to take back my promise to train you? Do you think so little of my honor?"

"I just thought that since I displeased you-"

"You presume too much Yeyinde", K'han said. "I will tell you when you're not welcome anymore, until then you're my pupil. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Zah'zai."

"Good", K'han said and pushed the book back toward her. "Since you've been disregarding your health the physical training won't start until tomorrow morning. Today you'll rest and eat properly and go to bed in time, we'll start early. You are permitted to study the book but you aren't allowed to stay up all night to do it. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Zah'zai", she replied and K'han could see a glimmer of hope and perhaps happiness in her eyes. For some reason that made him feel good as well, which was a strange feeling that he hadn't experienced as a teacher before. 'Curious', he thought.

"I'll expect you here tomorrow morning then", he said and walked past her toward the training grounds, even if he couldn't train her ha could always train himself.

XxX

The following morning he found her in the same spot, standing close to the wall, cradling the book close to her chest. She was still pale and the bruises hadn't quite faded yet but she looked much better. K'han nodded with approval. Even her eyes held a good spark within them; an interesting fire that held a hunger for knowledge that he would be more than willing to provide her with.

"Come with me", he said and gesticulated to her to follow him and she did so without saying anything and K'han wondered for a moment if she always was thins quiet. This would prove to be very different from training young, un-blooded yautja males. It remained to be seen though if the difference was good or not.

He took her to the large training hall that, except for a few older yautja, was empty. K'han had planned it that way since too much attention could disturb her. K'han had pondered upon the best way to teach the young Ooman battle and had come to the conclusion that he needed another outlook than the traditional teaching methods offered. She was not full of testosterone like the young males; she was not bloodthirsty or thickheaded like them. All in all, she was not built for battle. She was a female but not like their females. She lacked strength but K'han saw promise in her reflexes, agility and speed. She could be trained to use long-distance weapons and her small form was perfect for fighting in narrow spaces where the yautja for the most part were at disadvantage. The more he thought about it he realized her potential. It would be hard to teach her but it wouldn't be impossible. He would succeed with doing what most yautja thought impossible and turn a soft meat into a hunter.

"Sit down", he told her when they had reached an appropriate spot and she did so without questioning him. "Tell me Yeyinde, why do you think that I gave you that book?"

"To improve my fighting skills Zah'zai?" she asked and cocked her head to the side.

"Do you notice anything different about it?"

"It's written in yautja language Zah'zai but it's not the yautja way of battle", she answered and K'han smiled a little, she was smart.

"That's right", he said and sat down as well and gesticulated to her to give him the book. "This is a translated copy of Sza'h, the book of battle in our language. This is the Xah-hli way of battle."

"The Xah-hli Zah'zai?" she questioned. "Who are they?"

"They are a vicious kind of aliens", K'han said and picked a small skull from his belt and showed it to her. "They are small and very clever, they use tools like us yautja and they live in highly developed societies much like ours. They even have the hunt but in a bit different way than ours."

Yeyinde studied the skull in his hand. It was oddly shaped, like a triangle with spikes and four holes for the eyes. K'han shuddered; the battle against the ferocious creature hadn't been an easy one even though it had been so tiny.

"Do they make good trophies?" she asked and K'han smiled.

"They make very good trophies", he confirmed and nodded. "Do you understand why I want you to study their battle techniques and not ours?"

"Is it because of my size?" she asked and lowered her head as her cheek turned red for some reason. K'han cocked his head a bit to the side.

"It's not only that", he said. "It's also the fact that I think that you are clever enough to understand the importance of agility, speed and tactics. Something a young yautja wouldn't be able to do since he's too wrapped up in his own ego and strength. I myself would be unable to understand this book only fifty years ago."

"What do you mean Zah'zai?"

"I mean to tell you that there is still hope and that I can turn you into a lethal hunter that the likes of Kwo-hn and Kul'vir have reason to fear."

The look in her didn't fail to please him. She practically beamed with joy, showing of her ridiculously short and blunt teeth. She really wasn't good looking, at least not by yautja standards, but she had a pleasant air about her and her scent wasn't that bad either. It was actually something disturbingly female about her fragrance. K'han shook his head and wondered where to his thoughts had been straying. What she looked like shouldn't really be of any importance to him, except-

"You need to let your hair grow Yeyinde", he said and shook his head so that his own locks rattled against his armor. "When you're blooded you'll need to have somewhere to put your ornaments."

Yeyinde nodded and smiled again. "Yes Zah'zai."

"Good", he said and got up from the floor. "Let's get started then."

"Yes Zah'zai", she replied.

K'han could easily get used to her compliance.

XxX

Yeyinde stared wide eyed at her Zah'zai as he moved across the floor. It was impossible for her to understand how something so huge and powerful was able to move so gracefully. She felt clumsy in comparison as she tried to copy his movements; it wasn't easy. K'han had made it clear from the beginning that he wouldn't go easy on her. She was almost as battered after his training sessions as she had been after Mahwa's but the difference lay in the fact that she trusted K'han not to hurt her so badly that she wouldn't be able to recover. She hardly ever needed to use the healing gel after K'han's training sessions.

She was almost caught off guard when her Zah'zai made a jab at her. She ducked, made a somersault backward and got up on her feet just in time to almost get caught by his huge hand.

Yeyinde tried to remember the exact locations of the yautja pressure points as she ducked under his oncoming left fist. She dived close to his body and jammed her right fist into his abdominal brain and was rewarded with a grunt. When he reached for her she made another backwards somersault to get away to a safer distance. She could hear how he laughed which wasn't a good sign. Without mercy he charged her and ignored that she kicked him in his face. Yeyinde screamed when his heavy body landed on top of her, effectively pinning her down. She could smell his breath on her cheek and feel his impressive muscles against her entrapped limbs. She was stuck but refused to give up just yet, something she would have done only weeks prior to this. With a snarl she slammed her fist into his chin. K'han roared and Yeyinde was almost crushed underneath him as he rolled away from her.

They got up on their feet and stood facing each other for a while. Yeyinde noticed how K'han bled from his mouth but she didn't feel much better of herself. Her teacher crouched down and growled, Yeyinde took a defensive stance with her left arm ready to block an onslaught. He came at her with impressive speed and roaring like a thunderstorm. She avoided his first strike but was brought down by the second. With sweat pearling on her forehead she laid on her back and stared at the huge fist that had stopped only a few inches from her nose, if it had connected she would probably be dead or seriously injured. She swallowed against her dry throat as he clicked his mandibles in annoyance.

"Better", he muttered and helped her to get up. "Better but it's not good enough."

"I'm sorry Zah'zai."

"You are a staff", he told her unexpectedly and she blinked at him in surprise.

"A staff?"

"Yes", he grumbled. "And we yautja are wrist blades."

"What do you mean?"

"You are blunt Yeyinde and we are sharp", he tried to explain. "You need much skill to be able to kill with a staff but it is possible. You don't need as much skill to be able to kill with wrist blades. Do you see what I mean? You need to become much more skillful than an ordinary young yautja before I can allow you to go on your first hunt."

"My first hunt?" she echoed.

"Of course, there is a party leaving next Sah'ja and my goal is to have you leave with them."

Yeyinde stared at him open mouthed.

"But I thought you said that I was-"

"Blunt? – Yes I did – and you are, but you're improving, look you even made me bleed", he said and as if to emphasize he wiped some green blood from his mouth, clicking his mandibles in approval as he did so. "I think you are ready to move on to armed combat soon which will be in your favor. You really aren't built for hand to hand combat even if you've become good at finding the right pressure points, that last punch you dealt me was actually painful."

She felt pride as it swelled in her chest. Her Zah'zai had given her a compliment, it was backhanded but it made her feel good nonetheless.

"What have you learned from this fight Yeyinde?" he asked her.

"That I have to study harder and that I have to become more skillful", she summarized, it was almost always the same after each training session but she didn't feel put down by that fact. If anything it made her want to get better even more. She did not want to disappoint her Zah'zai after all the work he had put into her.

"Good, that'll have to do for today", he told her as the first couple of un-blooded entered the training hall for their daily exercise. "Do some running today Yeyinde and some weight training as well. Tomorrow I will bring wrist blades for you to try on."

"Thank you Zah'zai", she said and smiled but the smile died on her lips when her gaze fell upon a huge hunter that entered the training hall, followed by several others that she knew.

"Mahwa", she hissed and noticed how K'han tensed beside her.

Their eyes met. Yeyinde felt how her blood ran cold when recognition dawned in her former trainer's eyes. He too, like K'han, was huge even for a yautja. His skin was pale green with darker spots. One of his mandibles was missing; according to himself he had lost it in battle against a hard meat queen. Sometimes he was referred to as Dachande. Yeyinde couldn't keep herself from sneering.

"Yeyinde", Mahwa said, disdain evident in his voice. "It has been a while, have you decided to come and try your luck again?"

Yeyinde was about to reply to the badly concealed insult but K'han put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her behind him.

"This un-blooded is no longer any of your concern Mahwa", he said.

Mahwa narrowed his eyes. "And why is that K'han?"

"You're not skilled enough to train her, to put it simple, so I have decided to train her in your stead", K'han answered and the challenge in his voice was clear.

Accept it or fight me.

Yeyinde stared at her Zah'zai. Did he really challenge Mahwa over the right to train her? The other yautja flared his mandibles and sunk down in a battle stance.

A battle was inevitable.

Yeyinde didn't even dare to breathe as K'han slowly walked toward Mahwa.

Yeyinde - ("Brave one")

Pyode Amedha - (Soft meats, humans)

Ooman – (slang for human)

Yau-th – (guardian, someone who's family)

Pup - (child)

Zah'zai - (venerable)

Sah'ja – (a time measurement equivalent to a month)