Ellie's hands traced over a strange skull she found resting on the ground. It wasn't human, it was completely different than the rest and she found it rather intriguing. She had been skeptical about aliens and their existence, seeing as they never really bothered in coming to Earth, never showed themselves, she was both a believer, and not... She guessed she understood such a reason now; they needed to keep low on the Government's radar, not wanting to be captured in case they may blow their kind's cover and bring shame upon themselves. After all, they probably liked to be secretive, and most certainly didn't wish to share their advanced technology.
She set the skull down, not knowing who it belonged to and not wanting to be caught stroking the skull with great interest in case they thought it meant something else. She walked back over to the rock in Tracker's part of the camp, managing to climb up onto it before sitting down. She grinned, sitting up straight as she let her legs dangle over the side, feeling like she was on top of the world. She was now watching the main entrance to the camp, wondering when Tracker would get back. Why she cared if he returned or not, she wasn't sure.
Usually, when he and his brothers went to hunt, they were gone for a really long time. They had left at dawn, leaving Ellie to her lonesome. The other two seemed a bit suspicious about her, as if they were wondering as to why she hadn't run away yet.
A few reasons as to why she hadn't actually left was she actually felt wanted by someone, and she was being taken care of in the best way, a way she never had been before. She wasn't going to go back to being alone and frightened, scared to the point where she would barely go anywhere, thinking there may be a trap set somewhere that would end her life in either a painful way or a quick one.
Ellie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She wished Tracker left at least one of his hounds with her, she wanted company. Humans were a herding specie, needing other humans or creatures in order to survive, unless they really really loved to be alone. She was kind of like that, but she loved it when she got attention from someone, it made her feel like there were butterflies in her tummy, the ground under her vanishing as she flew up to the sky.
She sighed, looking to the ground, but perked up to the sound of the hound's strange roaring barks as the three remaining hounds ran into camp, coming to a halt when they stepped across the thresh-hold. Ellie quickly slid herself down the rock, watching the hounds approach her once they laid eyes upon her, they looked badly wounded. She frowned, extending her hands out and crouching as they limped some to her. They had gotten use to her, smelling Tracker's scent on her skin. They treated her almost like they treated their master; with respect. They all laid on a side of Ellie, whining every time they exhaled. Tracker had told Ellie that the Hell Hounds couldn't die as long as a vital organ wasn't cut or shot, making them the perfect hunting companions, so she wasn't too worried, their wound would be healed in no time.
She sat down, one of the Hell Hounds she nicknamed Smog instantly rested his head on her lap, nuzzling up to her the best he could. She lightly patted Smog's head. He was a darker colour than the other two, his skin was the usual, but it looked like it had the lightest coating of black ash covering him. Hence why she called him what she did, he moved like a dangerous, deadly cloud of smog, killing anything that dared to cross him. He was big, but had a soft spot for her, she could tell.
The other two she was still thinking of names for, not being able to think of good ones that would go with them. She didn't actually know if Tracker named them, he never really spoke to them much, only giving them gestures and making that whistle noise to order them around. Maybe he didn't name them so he didn't get attached to them, cause that was how it always worked. Ellie felt a bit attached to Smog in a way, he was a lot more gentle than the other two, being careful around her so he didn't cut her with his horns when he jumped up on to her. He was the cutest most dangerous thing ever, and he adored Ellie.
Ellie sighed, looking at the wounds the Hell Hound's had received. Bullet wounds mostly, a few scratches here and there too, probably from the bullets that only whipped by them, grazing their reptilian skin. She smiled, lightly grabbing the horns that jutted from either side of Smog's head, pulling him up to look at her as she made a silly face at him.
"Who's a good killer dogie-alien-thing? You are! Yes you are!" she giggled, lightly touching her nose to what he had of one, earning a low grumble of approval from him as he nuzzled his head against her, pushing his body closer to her with his hind legs. She laughed, then began to scratch under his jaw to see what kind of reaction she'd get. He didn't do much, so, she began to search for the sweet spots on him. She quickly ran her nails across his back, scratching right in-between the sets of horns that jutted out to each side. That seemed to do it, one of his back legs began to kick as he panted, long tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as he dug his claws into the ground, head held up high. "You like that? Good to know I found the perfect spot to scratch. This spot does seem like a hard spot to reach, you know, because of all your horns and what not." she smiled. "Good Smog. Good boy... I'm sure you're a boy, it's hard to tell with you guys."
The other two suddenly started growling lowly, causing Ellie to stop what she was doing and look at them, curious as to what was going on. They all stood up slowly, looking into the forest, growling at nothing, at least that was what she believed. Smog stood too, sensing some kind of danger approaching, feeling the need to protect her. Ellie cocked her head, looking around to see what was going on. Slowly, she stood up as well, allowing the large alien creatures to get closer to her, their heads low as their faces wrinkled, standing guard as they snarled. Ellie squinted, trying to see what they saw. Their eyes were way more keen than her own, and their sense of smell was probably far better as well.
She felt a knot tie into her stomach, causing her to take a step back as she watched closely, waiting. There was nothing. Not a sound to be heard except for the low snarling of the hounds. They stepped back with her, looking to just want to protect her instead of go after whatever was hiding just beyond the large foliage that lined the edge of the camp.
"...Tracker...?" she whispered, wanting to project louder, but she was too scared to try. She didn't know what it was, who it was, or if was even anything. But, if it was nothing, the hounds wouldn't be reacting this way, they don't just up and growl at nothing, there had to be something there to snarl at.
An unknown being suddenly stepped into the camp, his cloak slowly vanishing, the hounds got as close as they could to Ellie, Smog standing right in-front of her as he roared at the other, a warning to not take a step closer or else.
He looked human, but he was wearing Yautja gear. He had a strange looking gun, one she'd never seen before in her life, and he was pointing it right at the hounds. She was certain he wasn't one of the alien beings, his skin not reptilian-ques, and just the fact he had a gun was something that gave it away. The only gun things that she knew Tracker and his brothers used were mounted shoulder cannons, they didn't carry around things like that.
"I... I would suggest you turn... r-right around and walk off, buddy. These h-hounds aren't afraid of you, and there's three of them, and only o-one of you." fuck, she couldn't stop shaking, she was afraid. Funny, she was afraid of a human being, someone who probably came to help, but she didn't want it. She was fine where she was.
Smog growled again, taking a step towards the other. The two others followed after him, mouths hanging open to show dagger teeth.
"Your little friends here decided it'd be a good idea to try to attack me while I was doing a little scavenging..." the other whispered from behind his mask, pointing his gun now at Ellie, "... I managed to take out a few of them, then I decided to come check to see if their masters were here so I could give 'em a little something something." he didn't sound so happy, and she couldn't blame him. The more she looked at him, the more fucked-up she noticed he was. Scratch marks, teeth marks, and all in-between.
Ellie shivered, glad that the hounds never turned on her. True, the first time she actually saw them, they chased her down and trapped her and tried to bite at her while they jumped up to the net, but that was in the past.
"Well... He's not here, so... T..turn around, and walk away, and nobody will get hurt." she reasoned. He held up his weapon, looking ready to shoot at her. She held up her hands, the hounds barking at him threateningly.
"I think I'll wait here and deal with him myself when he gets here... He and I have a bit of a rivalry going on." the male spoke, now pointing the gun back to the hounds. They snarled, taking a step back.
"...He'll have your skull." she muttered, "If you dare to touch me, he wouldn't be too happy about it. Nor will Smog and his friends." she looked at the hell Hounds. Smog looked back to her over his shoulder the best he could, letting out a snort before returning his gaze to the unknown intruder, "Now... put the weapon down..."
"I don't think so." the male hissed, charging the gun up, getting ready to fire it at her. Smog roared, lunging forward a great distance like a big cat towards the male, once again followed by his two companions. They barked and roared and snarled loudly, howling to the sky, not actually attacking him, but seeming to be trying to send some warning. "Damn dogs!" the male aimed his charged gun at Smog, the darker coloured hound bared his teeth, challenging him.
Smog pounced, digging his teeth right into the arm of the other human, causing him to scream in pain. The two Hell Hounds roared, pouncing onto him as well, one biting his leg, another biting his other arm, causing him to fall to the ground.
Just as they were to rip into him, a booming Yautja call sounded nearby, causing the dogs to scatter and return to Ellie's side, all standing behind her.
"Fucking mutts!" was the last thing the male shouted, standing up and aiming his gun. But that was all he was able to do. A large blade cut through his chest, his seizing body slowly being held up by it.
Tracker stood behind him, his gaze not focused on the other human, but instead on Ellie. He was scanning her, to make sure she was not hurt. He had heard his hound's calls, and rushed as quick as he could to aid. He threw the body down once he stopped his movements, then, dove his hand right into the other's back, pulling out both his spine and skull in one swift motion, blood leaking and dripping from the bone pieces.
Ellie felt her stomach reach the back of her throat. She wanted to barf, but held the feeling back. That was gross, but it had been really cool to see. She brought up a hand and placed the back of it against her lips to help her resist the urge to barf as she turned away, the hounds looking to her before Smog decided to pounce at her, his front paws resting on her shoulders. Ellie yelped, feeling the weight of the alien hound before she fell backwards, Smog now on-top of her. He growled playfully, licking her face as he jumped around happily.
She smiled and giggled, pushing him away so she could sit up before she lightly smacked the side of his head, just trying to get him riled up. He did a complete 360, whipping his body around, hind wagging fast since he didn't have much of a tail.
Tracker let out a soft trill as he watched the scene. She had really gotten along with the creatures, and he guessed that was good enough. They seemed to like her a lot, too. She was just full of little surprises, wasn't she?
He walked over, the Hell Hound she was playing with looking to him before jumping away to give him and her some room. Ellie's smile vanished as she looked up to him, that submissive look appearing on her face as she looked away like she did something bad.
He extended his hand, placing a finger under her chin and tilting her head up so she was looking at him. He cocked his head to the side before he glanced at the skull in his hand before looking back at her. He trilled and bowed his head, grabbing two other skulls he collected from his pack and presenting them to her, hoping she would like them.
Ellie just stared, unsure how to feel about the situation. She wrinkled her nose, feeling a bit disgusted. This must be how his kind declare 'love' for a female, or it was their weird idea of a romantic gesture. How should she react? He'd done so much for her. He'd taken care of her, and it was obvious he liked her somehow.
She shut her eyes, extending her hands out to take the skulls even though she really didn't want them. She kind of liked him back, and always joked about wanting her boyfriend to give her the skulls of their fallen enemies, but this was way too serious, but she had to show that she wanted him and wasn't just someone who was here because she didn't want to die...