Yeyinde pt. 8

The bright light blinded her when she walked onboard the mother ship, she carried her trophy on her back and she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this proud. She limped a bit and the wound from the kainde amedha hurt pretty badly but she was alive. She was alive and she had come home victorious, not only had she killed her first hard meat, she had also helped to kill a hard meat queen. She glanced behind her and noticed how Duh-kwe'h struggled to stay on his feet but she knew that he'd rather die than accepting any kind of help. Gr'aal walked beside her, he didn't say anything, but the hard meat queen's head on his back said it all.

They stopped in front of the huge door to the main hall.

Dun

Dun

Dun

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, they had started the drumming. She had almost forgotten about the traditional festivities that took place after the hunt, especially after the Hard Meat Trial, Kainde Amedha Chiva. She closed her eyes and listened to her beating heart as it blended with the rhythmic drumming on the other side of the door and realized that she was nervous. For the first time of her life she was the one in center of attention. She was the one coming through those doors with a hard meat skull on her back. She was one of those returning as a blooded hunter.

The doors hissed as they slid apart. Yeyinde took a deep breath and entered the main hall together with Gr'aal. The roar that erupted as they passed through the door was deafening and mixed with the erratic beating of the drums. It seemed like the whole ship were there to greet them. The crowd split apart for them as they made their way to the small podium that had been raised for them. There were six chairs but only three of them would be used. Her legs felt like jelly as she climbed the stairs, she had stood in the crowd on numerous occasions but this was something entirely different. They had made the podium for her, to honor her bravery and skill and the drummers drummed to praise her victory and the dancing, she smiled broadly, the dancing would be to commend her good hunting.

The food and the drinks was all for her sake. "Dear Paya", she whispered and sat down in the chair. "If this is a dream, do not ever wake me up."

A young blood with green skin and brown stripes climbed the stairs and offered her, Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h goblets filled with what Yeyinde suspected was C'ntlip, an intoxicating beverage that was rarely served since it was so strong and the yautja, being the training and battling obsessed people that they were, usually didn't feel inclined to indulge in drinks of that character. Yeyinde hadn't in fact ever tasted it because of its supposed side effects. Vraa'hn had told her that the beverage could enhance certain senses like smell and taste and that it was consumed rather abundantly when males and females got together during the mating periods. But then again, it was also served during occasions like this, to celebrate victory and bravery.

"To victory", clicked Gr'aal and uttered the first words he had ever spoken directly to her.

Yeyinde cocked her head to the side and smiled as she raised her goblet to both Gr'aal's and Duh-kwe'h's, they connected with a soft clink, and then she brought it to her lips and took a small sip. It burned like fire and tasted like nectar in her mouth and when she swallowed a warm sensation settled in her belly. Yeyinde took a deep breath and sank back in the chair, all of a sudden she felt terribly comfortable and the fact that almost every yautja on the ship stared at her didn't matter so much anymore. She didn't even feel the pain in her chest. The drumming stopped and a very old yautja with dreadlocks so long that they reached all the way down to his knees entered the podium. Yeyinde, Gr'aal's and Duh-kwe'h's bowed respectfully to him and Yeyinde couldn't help but feel a bit scared when she realized that the old yautja standing before her were the mother ships ruling elder, N'tao. She had never seen him before but she had heard stories about him and his bravery on numerous occasions.

"The young ones have returned", said the elder with a voice that crackled a bit but still was very strong. "They brought home Cetanu*and defeated the Kainde Amedha. Tonight we honor them with food and drinks and Nuj-hinde* - I raise my goblet to the victorious blooded hunters! Payas Leitjin-de Hma'mi-de!"

Every yautja in the hall roared and raised their goblets high into the air. "Payas Leitjin-de Hma'mi-de!"

The elder gave them a small nod and then descended down the stairs. The young yautja that had served them earlier came back again and offered them plates with meat, s'pke and a'oga. Gr'aal waved his goblet at him and the young male re-filled it with C'ntlip.

Yeyinde's eyes wandered over the crowd and not before long she sighted K'han, he was hard to miss with his long stature and strong built. Vraa'hn was at his side they were both dressed in formal armor and had their belts full with trophies. K'han's eyes found hers and he raised his goblet to her and she returned the gesture and took another sip from her goblet. It tasted good.

It felt good.

Yeyinde smiled and took another; both the drink and the food tasted superb and not before long she was involved in a conversation with both Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h about combat philosophy.

"My main thought about thin-de le'hasuan 'aloun'myin and mainly thin-de, is that the sight is something experienced in the heat of battle", said Gr'aal. "I felt it when I fought the hard meat queen, it was like-"

"Like tranquility", finished Duh-kwe'h for him and downed all the content in his goblet. The young yautja wasn't late to re-fill it.

"I don't understand why we don't practice the gifts of all sights in training? Do you suppose it's because the sight is something that cannot be taught by anyone but oneself?" asked Yeyinde thoughtfully and drank some more. The world started to blur a bit but it felt nice to be relaxed for a change. "Because K'han never mentioned it to me and neither did Mahwa", she sneered. "But he was stupid so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised."

Duh-kwe'h made a face and hummed something that could have been an agreement. Yeyinde smirked and gave him a nudge with her elbow. "But you turned out right regardless Duh-kwe'h."

He gave her such a comical look that she started to giggle, a sound that never had left her lips before, which resulted in an even stranger expression on Duh-kwe'h's face. Yeyinde threw her head back and laughed so hard that she almost cried, Gr'aal joined her and Duh-kwe'h shook his head before he also joined in.

"Whoo!" exclaimed Yeyinde happily. "This C'ntlip is great. I don't feel tired in the least, I feel-"

She was interrupted when the drumming started again, this time it had a contagious beat that for some reason made her want to get up and dance or jump or something that could make her join the flow of the music. The crowd down on the floor split up and made room for a huge circle. Yeyinde cocked her head to the side and almost squealed in delight when she realized that it was time for the dance to start.

Ten hunters made their way into the middle of the circle and Yeyinde's heart leapt in her chest when she saw that K'han was one of them. They had discarded their ceremonial armor and were almost naked in their muscled glory with only loincloths to cover up the most private parts. Yeyinde couldn't help but stare. She had seen Vraa'hn without clothes before but that was long ago when she still lived with him and a naked Vraa'hn was a different thing all together then a naked K'han. They were family. This hunter, he were, well she didn't know what he were but all of a sudden she felt uncomfortably hot and realized that she blushed.

They roared and brought their right hand to their chests with a thump.

"Mesh'in'ga!" exclaimed the whole hall and the drumming escalated and mixed with the roaring of the crowd.

Yeyinde swallowed.

The hunters split apart in two groups and started moving. They circled each other and made graceful leaps into the air. Yeyinde had seen this dance before; it visualized the birth of Paya and Cetanu and their first battle against the space mother and her children. It was an exciting play but for some reason Yeyinde felt more transfixed on K'han's graceful body and his wonderfully perfect muscles. Her gaze was glued to the way he moved his torso and his elegance as he avoided a punch from the yautja playing Tij-au* it was ridiculous because she had seen him fight before and this wasn't even a real fight but the way her heart beat in her chest told her that this feeling that she never had experienced before was connected to the hunter dancing before her.

'Attractive, he's so attractive', she thought and felt how the blush spread over her neck.

Her mouth went dry as she caught a whiff of distinct male musk and she realized that the scent of yautja males were so thick in the air that it was remarkable that she hadn't sensed it before. The strong, intoxicating scent went through her whole body and tickled sensors she hadn't known that she possessed until now and for some reason she felt needy. For what she had no idea, it was like poison, she felt too hot, too itchy. It was hard to breath and the whole room started spinning. It felt like fever but in a way that told her it wasn't.

She bit her lip.

'Dear Paya! What is this feeling?'

This couldn't be happening; she didn't know what to do with herself. All of a sudden she became very aware about how both Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h smelled. For some reason she wanted to reach out and touch them, get close to their bodies and stroke her fingers up and down their muscled chests' while purring softly to them. Yeyinde swallowed and stared at the goblet in her hand. It had to be the C'ntlip, she felt like she were on fire. She had to get away before she did something stupid. She noticed that the performance had started to become more violent, the hits almost connected. To her horror she realized that both Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h had started giving her strange looks and it might just have been her imagination but it seemed like Gr'aal leaned towards her and inhaled her scent. He gave her a strange look before he reached out to touch her hair. No one had ever done that before. He exhaled with a trilling sound and for some reason he started to purr. Yeyinde was torn between the feeling of absolute bliss and complete terror.

She had to get away if she didn't want to make a fool out of herself. She glanced toward the play again while trying to ignore the fact that also Duh-kwe'h had started to purr. She turned her gaze toward the play and inhaled deeply when her eyes found K'han's, his heated stare sent a jolt of electricity through her spine and the hotness she felt in her stomach spread like fire down between her legs. K'han broke the eye contact and Yeyinde felt how she blushed furiously. It felt like he knew what kind of dirty thoughts she had entertained and perhaps he had also seen that Gr'aal had started to twine her dreadlocks between his fingers. She needed to get out. She needed to get away.

She needed to get away now!

She stood up abruptly and jumped down from the podium before anyone could stop her. She sprinted through the crowd and out of the main hall.

XxX

K'han kept a watchful eye on her where she was seated on top of the podium; she drank C'ntlip and seemed to be enjoying herself. When their eyes had met he had noted how she had looked genuinely happy and for some reason that made him smile to himself.

"To think that she helped to bring down a hard meat queen", clicked Vraa'hn and the pride in his voice was unmistakable. "Without a burner."

"Yes", said K'han. "That is admirably. A certain someone I know barley made it home alive."

"That was an accident."

"So you say", chuckled K'han and Vraa'hn growled but not in an aggressive way.

K'han checked the time on his wrist console panel and noted that it was time for him to prepare for the Nuj-hinde.

"I think it's time for me to get ready for the Nuj-hinde mesh'in'ga now", he said.

"I think Yeyinde will be happy that you will be participating in the Nuj-hinde, she likes the mesh'in'ga very much, I used to tell her the story when she was little", said Vraa'hn and smiled. "Do you want me to keep an eye on your armor?"

"Yes", said K'han and started to remove his breastplate. "It has been a while since I did this but I think that I still have a trick or two to show the young ones."

K'han gave his armor to Vraa'hn who put it over his shoulder. Vraa'hn put his hand on K'han's shoulder and wished him good luck. K'han nodded and then he went to find the other performers because the drumming had already started. He felt in great shape and when they stepped into the ring he could barely keep from smiling.

They sank down in battle position and roared; the drums started up with an aggressive beat that inspired to wild jumps and stylish moves that were more for show than efficiency.

"Nuj-hinde mesh'in'ga!" cried the whole crowd and K'han felt how the adrenaline kicked in.

His opponent who played Tij-au and normally went by the name Guan attacked him fist. K'han slipped his move according to the chorography and then they started to circle each other. All of their moves were made in synch with the drums and from the corner of his eye K'han could see that the other performers did a good job as well, the tale about the space mother were after all a well known performance.

He blocked a kick and was just about to counter strike when a sweet scent reached his nostrils and tickled his senses. At first he couldn't place it because how could it be possible that he could catch a whiff of that scent in this place? When he felt it again however there were no doubt what it was that he scented, that was female musk, N'dui'se. Somewhere in this hall so crowded and drowned in male musk there was a female in heat. K'han blocked a strike that almost hit him square in the face. That strike wasn't in the chorography, neither were the kick that followed. K'han growled. They were out of sync, all of them. The strikes and kicks became more violent. It had to be the female musk that drove the males to this behavior, that and the C'ntlip.

"Pauk", he breathed. 'What's happening? It shouldn't be any females on board and especially no females in heat, it could be dangerous!'

Guan tried to strike him again and K'han decided to end it quickly before someone got seriously hurt. He delivered a heavy kick to Guan's stomach and the other hunter tumbled backward, in pain probably but without being seriously hurt. He lifted his gaze and somehow it connected with Yeyinde's where she was seated on the podium. Then it hit him.

"Pauk!" he growled.

Her telltale gaze and her strangely red face told him everything he needed to know. It was her. She was the one that for some unfathomable reason had gone into heat. K'han's mind worked furiously. How was this possible? Why did she awaken his instincts to mate? Why did her Ooman musk have the scent of the sweetest yautja female? Why?

All of a sudden she was on her feet and literally flew of the podium and disappeared among the crowd. That was when he realized that she was in serious danger. Sooner or later the others would realize who the scent belonged to and then…

"Pauk! Vraa'hn!"

K'han ignored the fact that Guan was on his feet again and had growled a real challenge for blood in his direction. He ran toward the place where he had left Vraa'hn and found him standing in the exact same spot; his gaze was transfixed on the podium where Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h also had disappeared from the podium.

"What is that scent?" mumbled Vraa'hn dreamily. "Its-"

"Female musk", growled K'han. "Give me my armor and follow me."

"What's going on K'han, what happened to-"

"Follow me!" roared K'han. "Or we might be too late."

He started to elbow his way through the confused crowd, here and there small brawls had erupted and the mood in the hall had rapidly become more upset and threatening. K'han roared and threw a young blood out of his way and kicked another one. It took too long to get to the door, K'han cursed under his breath. Yeyinde could be anywhere by now.

"What is happening K'han", asked Vraa'hn urgently when they finally had made it out through the doors.

"It's Yeyinde", grumbled K'han as he looked for a place to hide his armor, there was no time to put it on.

"What?"

"Didn't you feel it? The musk?"

"I thought I did but-"

"That was Yeyinde."

Vraa'hn's mouth fell open. "It can't be; she's an Ooman…"

K'han gave Vraa'hn a stern look. "I'm sure about it; didn't you see how both Gr'aal and Duh-kwe'h almost went crazy up there? And then there is the fact that she is the only female onboard-"

"But that's dangerous!" exclaimed Vraa'hn with a series of upset clicks. "She could run in to someone and if it's really her then that stupid hunter might not be able to contain himself, it's been four years since the last time the males on this ship had an opportunity to mate."

"I agree."

"We have to find her, if something happens to her, if someone touches her I won't be held responsible for my actions!"

"Where could she have gone?" asked K'han.

"Her room?"

"You check the lower levels; I will check the higher ones. It shouldn't be too hard to track her, I can still smell her."

"If something happens to her K'han I will kill the hunter who is responsible", muttered Vraa'hn and ran toward the elevators.

K'han couldn't agree more. 'By Paya, don't let me be too late!'

XxX

Yeyinde ran blindly. She just needed to get away. K'han's gaze still burned in her mind, the aching and itching feeling in her stomach and between her legs didn't go away, if anything it had intensified. Tears of frustration blurred her vision; she rounded a corner and ran up a flight of stairs. She took a right turn and went through a door and into an unfamiliar corridor. Without thinking she continued straight forward and took a left turn. Blinded by tears and slightly unsteady on her legs she rounded a corner and straight into a solid chest. She fell to the floor and furiously tried to wipe the tears away while she mumbled fevered excuses to whomever she had collided with.

"Yeyinde?"

Her blood ran cold. She knew that leery voice, that underlying note of ridicule and hate. A hand landed on her shoulder and with more force then was necessary the hunter dragged her to her feet. Mahwa's deformed face greeted her through her blurred vision. He cocked his head to the side and regarded her with a guarded expression, as if she intrigued him somehow. He leaned forward a bit and sniffed in the air between them.

Yeyinde shook her head; that damn C'ntlip had dulled her senses, she couldn't think straight.

'I need to get away from him', she thought. The way his eyes bored into her made her skin crawl.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the main hall?" he asked. "Since the festivities are held in your honor?"

Yeyinde bit her lip. "That's none of your business", she answered. "Could you let me pass, please?"

"Where are your guardians? That Lou-dte Kalei and your supposed Zah'zai?"

"Don't talk about Vraa'hn that way", she growled.

"No need to get angry Yeyinde", he said with a chuckle.

"Get out of my way", she said with as much authority she could muster.

He stepped aside with a smirk on his face and she gave him a suspicious glance but pushed past never the less. When she had got past him she started running, his eyes burned holes in her back and she felt scared, as if she was back to her first day of training with him. After only a few meters and a right turn she understood why he had let her pass; to her horror the corridor was a dead end. Yeyinde spun around and found herself facing Mahwa's massive chest. She heard a strange rumbling sound and realized to her revulsion that Mahwa was purring.

"Tell me", he said with a deep rumbling. "How come that you smell of female musk?"

"What?" she breathed. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh?"

He leaned forward and breathed in deeply, a small trilling sounded from his chest and Yeyinde's breath hitched in her throat.

What was he doing?

"Definitely female", he clicked excitingly. "I wonder if…"

She almost shrieked as he griped her arm and dragged her closer.

"Let go of me!" she yelled and kicked at him. She succeeded to hit him in the kneecap. He grunted and she managed to break free of his hold but to her frustration and absolute terror there was nowhere to go. He blocked her only escape route.

He snarled at her pushed her against the wall. She found herself trapped between his heavy form and the cold steel behind her back. He put one hand over her mouth and shook his head with a predator smile. He had started purring again and this time she could feel how his body sent strangely pleasant vibrations through her own.

"Hush, hush", he mumbled and buried his tusks in her hair. She could hear his deep and erratic breathing in her ear and she could feel his hot breath on her neck. "Could it really be you?"

He started chuckling to himself and Yeyinde didn't like the sound of it, somehow he had realized something that she had yet to grasp. She yelped in surprise when he brushed a finger over her sex, he brought it back up again and inhaled deeply. A soft trill escaped him again and the gaze he gave her was strangely hazed.

"It would seem that the little Ooman have gone into heat", he purred and removed his hand from her mouth. "I have always thought that your kind wasn't compatible with our kind but it would seem that I was wrong."

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"It means that I'm going to mate with you naturally since you so kindly choose me over all the other males on this ship", he purred. "What would K'han say if he knew?"

Mate?

Yeyinde stared at him. He couldn't be serious, it had to be a cruel joke of some kind, but the burning gaze he gave her made her terrified. It was true that she had secretly dreamed of the day when a hunter would ask her to mate with him but that had just been a stupid fantasy. Yautjas and Oomans couldn't mate, could they?

His tusks stroked her face almost gently and she could definitely smell him. It was a strong scent that she couldn't really describe but it increased her pulse that already ran wild.

She was unsure about if she should fight him or let him go on with whatever he had started. It was true that she hated him and if she had a choice she would never have picked him to mate with.

'But it's also true that you'll probably never have a second chance at this', she thought and squeezed her eyes shut as he started to remove her clothes. His large hands ran along the curves of her breasts and followed the outline of her stomach, down towards her trousers. His purring was deafening and she felt how his vibrations passed through her, sending tickling sensations through her nervous system. It felt good. Comforting. Thrilling. 'Tomorrow this craziness will have passed and he will regret that he ever touched me. But then at least I'll know what it means to mate…'

She opened one eye and found herself staring straight into his. They were burning. Something evil lay behind those irises and she felt cold all of a sudden.

'I can't do this', she thought. 'He will hurt me; I know that he will hurt me! I have to get away.'

Without really thinking it through properly she brought her knee up and slammed it into his groin. Mahwa's purring ended abruptly and he kneeled. She kicked him in the face and made a somersault over his back and landed on her feet on the other side. She felt wobbly and disorientated; the C'ntlip definitely had dulled her senses. With a harsh curse she started running away from the dangerous hunter but she was mercilessly tackled to the ground from behind only moments later.

She screamed in pain as Mahwa's massive body landed on hers, the wound from the battle with the hard meat split open and she felt how warm blood trickled down her stomach.

"Ooman bitch", Mahwa growled from somewhere above. "Now I understand why K'han wanted to train you. If Vraa'hn only had told me that there were some perks in training you perhaps I would have paid you more attention."

His large hand took a hold of her hair and forced her it backward in an awkward position. He smiled and she noticed how blood flowed from his mouth where she had kicked him.

This will hurt.

He slammed her face into the floor and she heard the crunching of bones and realized that he probably had broken her nose. Blood flowed from her mouth and nose and the world spun around like crazy. He brought her head down again and her ears started ringing, everything was a blur and she felt like throwing up. He got of her and grabbed a hold of her neck and then he lifted her high up in the air so that her feet no longer touched the ground. He pushed a knee between her legs and pressed his body so close to hers that it would be impossible for her to kick him.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard that your mother might feel the pain", he whispered harshly. "And then we'll see what K'han has to say about it. Do you think that he'll challenge me again for your sake?"

His claws found their way to her trousers again and this time he tore them.

"You were tough one to crack admittedly", he grunted and started to fumble with his loincloth. "But now I realize that I went around this problem the wrong way."

Yeyinde felt so terrified that not even the hard meat queen could top this experience.

'K'han! Vraa'hn!' she thought panicked. 'Someone help me!'

Mahwa squeezed her throat a little tighter and she couldn't breathe she tried to shake him of but it was impossible. He was stronger and bigger then she and he had more experience.

"Now, let's see…" he muttered and she felt ice cold fear as something blunt and warm probed at her entrance. "The anatomy is slightly different but I think I understand how it's done. I hope you are ready Yeyinde. This might hurt."

"Let her go now Tarei'hasan or Paya help me I'll rip your guts out!"

Cetanu – God of death

Kainde Amedha – Hard meat (xenomorphs)

Nuj-hinde – The dance of the victor

Payas Leitjin-de Hma'mi-de – "Remember God's Practice"

Aboga – A brightly colored fruit with a sourly sweet taste.

Thin-de le'hasuan 'aloun'myin-del bpi-de gka-de hasou-de paya – Learn the gifts of all sights, or finish in the dance of the fallen gods

Tij-au – The space mother's eldest child.