Disclaimer: I don't own Aliens or Predator, which sucks, but unfortunately I was neither alive or intelligent to have at the time. But my characters are still mine, HAH!

CHAPTER 7:

How To Deceive Your Loved Ones

Kaen'Dre waited patiently in Kiara's room on her bed. She had gone out to bring him some food quickly before she headed to eat her own meal with her family and royal court. She had shown him views of the area from her room, made him learn names for different objects, and gave him a brief version of how her kingdom was. He also met her pet, Asim, who was not little at all and tried to attack him at first, but Kiara calmed it down. He did not want to sleep around that thing tonight, for all he knew, it would attack him in his sleep. What a sad ending that would be, the great hunter felled by a mere house pet.

Kaen'Dre could tell instantly that her pet would not be trusting him easily as its mistress. It kept growling and hissing every time he approached Kiara in her room. Either it didn't like him or he didn't want him close to Kiara at all. Even after that incident, he still wanted to learn more and explore around but he couldn't yet. He felt trapped at times, especially when he was left by himself but Kiara always made him feel better when she came back. She always made him seem the focus of her attention without prying into his life, but how he was.

She's a very different being than my own, Kaen'Dre thought while he laid down. She trusts me so easily and yet, I can't tell her what I really am. Shame really, but that's how it has to be.

"I'll be leaving in a while anyways" Kaen'Dre said, opening his mouth and mandibles to yawn. "I wish I could take her with me to study, but then she'd know the truth."

I will miss her though, a voice said in the back of his head. She's been so generous with me so far. Even her smile makes me smile and that's uncommon.

Kaen'Dre stopped his thoughts after that, why was he acting so concerned about her? He didn't think of these things when he thought, he thought about hunts or what to do for the day, not about a ooman girl. If he wanted a female, it'd be one in heat among his own. He shook his head and growled towards any feelings that had risen.

"This is not who I am" Kaen'Dre said, exasperated. "I am a hunter, not an acquaintance of prey. Prey which I am supposed to hunt since I am on a freelance hunt for about a month."

That got him back on track. He was going to collect as many soft and hard meat as he could, then return home and bring pride to the clan as well as himself. He got excited thinking how many he could kill if he set a time limit. Usually, he hunted with his two friends but if he could get a head start, he could start here.

"I cannot wait to make my next kill here" Kaen'Dre said, excitedly. "I could start targeting my next kills while I explore here. This will give me time to plan my strategy against the oomans."

Not every day can be happy for me. Especially now, with this recent attack on my people, but I try to cheer myself up when awful things happen, Kiara's voice ran through his head. He sighed in disdain.

"If I attack, she'll probably find out it's me" Kaen'Dre growled in annoyance. "She protects her people but mines need them to begin the Hunt. This is just great. This is why hunters avoid alien acquaintances!"

He felt aggravated for not being able to hunt without being held under suspicion, but he knew she'd be hurt if another casualty happened among her own. He'd probably feel the same if the tables were turned and she killed one of his own without him knowing.

"Why did I have to meet her?" Kaen'Dre sighed, tracing a hand down his face. "This just made my situation worse."

He sat up and popped open his wrist computer. Dialing Ani'Twei's connection, he waited for an answer.

"Kaen'Dre?" Ani'Twei's voice asked.

"Yes, it's me" he said, simply.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Kwei'De's voice rang through.

Kaen'Dre had to place his hand over the comlink to quiet its loudness. Kwei'De was never one to be silent.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he hissed back.

"Where have you been? You never met back with us!" Ani'Twei said, quickly. "For once, I agree with Kwei'De's attitude."

"So you know that has to mean you're doing something wrong because I'm the reckless one in the group!" Kwei'De agreed.

"Would you let me explain?!" Kaen'Dre snapped.

"No! Never!" Kwei'De said, sarcastically.

"We were about to start looking for you if you didn't come back in three hours" Ani'Twei said, firmly. "We were supposed to meet back at the end of the forest. Remember?"

"I know but something came up" he said, sighing.

"Well, we still have to catch that damn hard meat since you went who knows where to bask in the sun instead!" Kwei'De exclaimed.

"I killed the damn Kainde Amedha so be quiet, both of you!" Kaen'Dre barked.

"Hey!" they both complained in unison. "No one yells at us."

"Oh, for the love of the gods!" Kaen'Dre said, irritated. "At least I finished my task and that's all you need to worry about."

"Are you sure it's dead?" Ani'Twei asked, firmly.

"I'm sure, I sliced its head off, it can't get any deader" he said, simply. "I won't be heading back to the ship tonight, though."

Suddenly questions of "What?", "Why?", "Where are you?", and "Are you crazy?" came out from both of them. Kaen'Dre raised his brows in exasperation until they subsided.

"I. .I met up with a ooman and I'm now in their kingdom" Kaen'Dre explained. "I don't know when I'll be able to leave but I will be back before we leave and before the hunt."

"You mean you're in an ooman civilization!" Kwei'De exclaimed in surprise. "How the hell do you expect to not get caught? You're not exactly permanently invisible, Kaen."

"They think I am a sort of a god to them. Interesting, isn't it?" Kaen'Dre said, quickly. "I will be fine in the company I am in."

"And you've known this being how long?" Ani'Twei pointed out.

They are my best friends, I guess they should know something about her, Kaen'Dre thought. But I won't say it's a female because I know how Ani'Twei will get.

"I met the being once when I was a child, and now we have been reunited" he answered. "I feel safe around the ooman."

"Hunt it down and get it overwith!" Kwei'De scoffed with a snort. Ani'Twei laughed. "Then get out and take some ooman trophies along the way."

"No, Kwei'De, I am doing this my way!" Kaen'Dre snapped. "I will be fine, I just wanted to tell both of you in order to not come after me."

"We won't now, we're angry at you" Kwei'De exaggerated. "I hate you!"

"You always do everything your way" Ani'Twei sighed.

Kwei'De then said, "I could never hate you, you're not angry at me, are ya?"

Kaen'Dre laughed along with Ani'Twei. If someone could break tension somehow, it was Kwei'De.

"Look, I'll be fine you two" Kaen'Dre assured. "I will keep in contact, do not worry."

"What do I tell the Elder?" Ani'Twei asked pointedly. "He'll notice one of his crew missing."

"He will not worry about my location for a while, but clear it with our captain" Kaen'Dre informed. "Anything else?"

"Don't trust prey" Kwei'De pointed out.

"Don't be seen" Ani'Twei added.

"And eat fruits with soft shells on them!" Kwei'De said, chuckling. "Very interesting fruits they have here."

If all three friends were together, Ani'Twei and Kaen'Dre would probably looking at him as if he were crazy. But that expression usually happens everyday with them so they said nothing.

"Uh. . .sure" Kaen'Dre said, after a while.

"He's an idiot, we know" Ani'Twei said for him. "How the hell he eats all these foods and survives is beyond me. Crazy hunters nowadays."

"I am not! I know how to survive" Kwei'De defended quickly. "When you get back, I'm beating both of you down!"

"Then maybe I won't go back" Kaen'Dre mocked.

"Ah-ha! So you are afraid of me!" Kwei'De said, proudly. "True, every warrior wishes to be me. Everyone else sucks, like Ani'Twei."

Kaen'Dre heard a crash and someone groaning in the back. He listened attentively.

"Well, Kwei'De just happened to fall 'accidentally' onto the floor" Ani'Twei said, laughing.

"How could you not want to be here relaxing with us?" Kwei'De's faint voice yelled. "Ow! Get off me, Ani!"

"Because he likes being uptight" Ani'Twei said, laughing.

"I am not uptight!" Kaen'Dre said, instantly. "I just tend to be. . .serious."

"Sure, and I'm an Arbitrator" Kwei'De said in a closer voice. Kaen'Dre guessed Ani'Twei finally let him go.

"All right, enough!" Kaen'Dre said, trying to create peace.

"See, he's grouchy again" Kwei'De laughed. Kaen'Dre groaned in annoyance.

"How the hell did I end up in this predicament with each of you?" Kaen'Dre said, exasperated. "I could've had a calmer, peaceful group but no-"

"All right, let's stop before he ends up mad again like last time" Ani'Twei said, stopping his laughter.

"Hey, his armor ended up in the trash compactor on its own!" Kwei'De said, quickly. "I had nothing to do with it! Someone else put his armor in there."

Several months ago, Kaen'Dre's armor disappeared from his quarters right before a hunt. He looked everywhere only to see it had been crushed into a flat sheet of metal in the trash compactor. Kwei'De had been nervous the most when they all found out which made him guess he did it. He got Kaen'Dre some inferior, weak armor instead which never made him forget that day, especially since he got the lowest kills. Ever since, he's kept his armor in his armory with a retinal scan combination so no one would get through.

"Who else knew my quarter's combination?" Kaen'Dre retorted.

"Ani'Twei!" Kwei'De said instantly.

"He doesn't have an evil bone in his body!" Kaen'Dre said, easily.

"Oh, thanks" Ani'Twei said, chuckling.

"Shut up, Ani!" Kaen'Dre snapped quickly. They all laughed.

"All right, we'll leave you in peace" Kwei'De said, still laughing. "Go to your silly ooman."

"A ooman friend" Kaen'Dre corrected.

"Whatever, just don't end up killed in your sleep by it" Kwei'De said, chuckling. "Seriously, don't trust anything there."

"I can take care of myself very well" Kaen'Dre said, smiling. "I survived in our trial with all your blabbering, didn't I?"

"Hey!" Kwei'De started.

"We're going, goodbye Kaen'Dre!" Ani'Twei said, quickly.

He heard him cut the connection while Kwei'De complained. He closed his gauntlet and relaxed back onto the bed and looked around Kiara's room. It was very big, especially the bed, but it mostly contained objects to sit or relax on. She had her own cabinet to put her clothes in and furniture that contained books, jewelry, and cosmetics. He snorted and closed his eyes to rest.

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Kiara stood with her brother and in front where her father sat and his court stood. She was informing them on what she had found out about the murders. She had gotten the food ready to take to Kaen'Dre but she had to tell her father her news. Good thing for her she had gone to clean up to give a clear presentation and not a unsophisticated one.

She had gone to change so she wouldn't look a complete mess in front of everyone. She had changed into a gold gown with green linings. It had no sleeves and draped loosely at her upper chest, and reached down to her ankles. She wore gold armbands and jeweled wristbands, along with an emerald necklace with gold earrings. Her hair had been wrapped around her crown from the front and hung loosely from the back. She wasn't much on cosmetics like other elites so she wore only the common black eyeliner and light red tinting on her lips.

"So, this black demon is the one who did this?" Pharaoh Abubakar asked.

Her father was great pharaoh who took good care of his kingdom and his children were proud to share the duty also. Abubakar reached a height of 5'10 and was 44 years of age. His hair was jet black and short like Atem's adorned with the pharaoh's crown while the age gave fine lines to his face. His robes were white and gold and draped over his whole body, and gold embeddings on the edges. He wore gold jewelry on his arms, neck, ears, and arms. He was currently standing in front of his throne towards Kiara and Atem.

"Affirmative, everything matched: the claws, the footprints, its agility, along with its strength and height" Kiara said, nodding. "I cannot say that it was the only one or if it was, I can only assure you it is dead."

"You killed it on your own, daughter?" the pharaoh asked.

Kiara hesitated. What could she say? She hadn't done it on her own, Kaen'Dre had done most of the work. But she couldn't reveal anything of him or he'd be infuriated. She did not need the wrath of a immortal being on her kingdom.

"Yes, father, I did" Kiara lied and nodded. "It was difficult but I managed."

"Even after you mother told you and Atem not to separate?" her father asked, raising his brows.

"Don't blamer her, father, she was very determined to find out" Atem defended in brotherly concern. His father raised his hand to silence him. "Sorry, father."

"I know I disobeyed Ma but I needed to do this" Kiara said, softly. "But I am well, and justice has been served."

"I know, Kiara, but you are our daughter" Abubakar explaned firmly. "You need to be careful in dangerous situations. What if Atem had not told us and you didn't come back?"

"But I did, I promise that I won't next time" Kiara said, quickly.

"Daughter, you have told me this over many years now" her father said, crossing his arms. "I know you are very courageous and protective, but I don't want it to be your downfall one day."

"It won't, father, it won't" Kiara assured softly. "I can take care of myself, I am an adult."

"But I want you to be able to see your days of old, not to die before you get to live your life" Abubakar said, coming down to her. "As a family, we have to look over the other."

"She's just too daring father, it should pass one day" Atem said, shrugging. "Probably a phase she's going through."

"He's right, it should one day" Kiara nodded, smiling persuasively.

"Every time you smile, you look just like your mother" her father sighed. "As your father, you can easily find forgiveness from me but as your pharaoh, you need to take someone with you when you go out."

"Fine, how about Asim? Or Aziza?" Kiara asked, instantly. "One is my pet, the other my best friend?"

"As long as it is someone" her father said, nodding. Giving her a stern glance, he asked, "Understood?"

"Yes, father" Kiara said, nodding in return. Then smild, "Now, as my father, what did you think of my kill?"

"You have too much of a warrior spirit in you, Kiara, I don't know where you get it" her father laughed. "But I am glad you are confident in yourself, I am very proud of you."

"So am I, you took on that demonic thing" Atem said, smiling. "Next time you decide to head out to kill something, take me with you."

They both laughed while their father raised his hand to dismiss them.

"I thank you both for everything you've done, we will find out if there are any more of those beings on our own, all right?" Abubakar addressed. Atem nodded. "Kiara?"

"Yes, father, I will let you do that" Kiara said, nodding.

"All right, you may go" their father dismissed. "Go have fun."

They nodded and exited the chambers. Atem wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulder.

"You are very lucky, you know" Atem said, laughing. "I wish I had a smile like yours. No one can deny you anything."

"You think so?" she asked, grinning.

Maybe that's why Kaen'Dre acts so shyly around me, she thought happily. But I easily return it with the way his eyes are.

"What are you smiling about?" Atem asked, suddenly. She snapped out of her thoughts.

"Nothing, I have to get my food to eat" she said, simply.

"We have time until we are served" Atem said, waving his hand.

"No, I want to eat in my dormitory today, I'm tired" Kiara lied and faked a yawn. "I was out for some time."

"Are you sure?" Atem asked, raising a brow. "You never miss dinner."

"I am sure" she said, nodding.

He nodded and headed to a hallway at the right that led to the bathing chambers. Kiara headed to the chamber where the meals were prepared.

Hopefully, he will like our food, she thought and sneaked in.

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End of Chapter 7. I'm so happy with everyone's reviews, thank you! Enjoy the chapter!