Night Hunt

2 - BBQ & Beer

When Saint Walker told the male Green Lanterns what they were actually there to help with, Kilowog smacked himself on the head. "Oh, you've got to be kidding! I already know too much about those two, and he wants ask us about 'relationship' stuff?"

"This is a difficult subject for Brother Razer to talk about," Saint Walker explained. "It is a measure of his need and trust that he asked us, his family of Light, to help him."

"I suppose..." Hal said. "But I don't know if I brought enough beer."

"Never fear, my friend," the Blue Lantern said. "There are several other varieties of alcoholic beverages available, including some Select Odym Homebrew."

"Local Moonshine, huh? Sounds interesting," Hal said. "Are we getting into any of it tonight?"

"Not this evening," Saint Walker said. "I advise that you stick with your native consumables until Aya finishes scanning and labeling them. Different species need different nutrients, and have allergies and sensitivities to substances that could be dangerous to some yet harmless to others."

"That's a good idea," Kilowog said. "That sort of thing gets automatically flagged on Oa, and on both Interceptors, Aya or LANOS took care of that for us. You haven't lived until you've been up all night watching over a vomiting rookie who ate the wrong thing because they didn't know their food codes."

"Oh. I never noticed," Hal said, rubbing his neck. "I just knew what was safe for me. Usually because my name was on it, or it was one of the colors I was told were ok."

"Colors that I taught you, because I didn't want to nurse a puking human," Kilowog said. "That's what most Lanterns know, because we Drill Sergeants make sure you know it. We learn what your colors are from that thorough exam Medical gives you."

Hal frowned, and made a face. "Don't remind me."

"Poozer." Kilowog gave him an unimpressed sneer.

"Brothers, please," Saint Walker said. "We need to determine the arrangements for tonight, as we don't have enough finished rooms for everyone individually."

"Well, Carol and I can share a room," Hal said. "And it's probably a given that Razer and Aya are going to be."

"Hmph!" Kilowog said. "I'll... have to talk to Galia about that."

"I won't need one," Sayd said. "Guardians don't sleep much, and Ganthet and I have much to discuss."

"Just give me a sleeping roll, and I'll stay in milady's room," Arisia said. "I've done it before when we were out on Green Lantern business." Iolande gave her a fond but exasperated look, and the younger woman said, "I don't mind, really!"

Galia came over and linked an arm with Kilowog, "We've shared a room before," she said softly.

"I didn't want to assume for you," he said to her smile.

Razer had been coaxed back to the conversation. "Aya and I will spend the night in the Interceptor, and tomorrow the males will be camping in the woods until late."

"Oh, good," Carol said. "That means we ladies won't have to tiptoe around the drunks... I mean, Drum Circle. Or... whatever."

Hal raised an eyebrow, and chuckled "I think you meant it more the first time. And you're probably right."

Iolande nodded, and smiled at Carol. "I think some girl talk will be very interesting."

"Will I be allowed at this talk?" Aya asked. She had carefully observed the other's reactions to her and she was not mistaken; Galia was not pleased with her presence.

"Of course you will," Carol said squeezing her shoulder. "You're a girl, aren't you?" Aya smiled shyly in return.

-=O=-

The next morning, with all the final preparations complete, Saint Walker and his guests were ready to head for the campground. Ganthet declined to accompany them, stating that it had been so long since he had any experience with... physical relations, that he probably had nothing relevant to contribute to the planned discussion.

Hal watched Ganthet and Sayd float off with a pallet of the goods she'd brought. "Besides," he said in a passable imitation of the exiled Oan, "I have some totally not-'physical relations' that require my attention."

Saint Walker gave the human an amused look, until he saw Brother Warth trying not to laugh, and then succumbed to laughter himself. "I do appreciate how humans have the gift of not taking things too seriously."

"Actually, I think that's just Jordan," Razer deadpanned. He was feeling a little twitchy and exposed, but was doing his best to hide it. Aya made it clear that as much as he now regretted the whole idea, they were committed. "The campground is this way." He took off flying with his share of the supplies, heading in the general direction of the cave where Aya had her tête-à-tête with the damaged Manhunter.

Razer landed in a bowl shaped clearing in the lightly wooded forest, partly sheltered and encircled by large standing rock formations. There was an open sided lodge he'd helped to build into the side of a hill, in case of bad weather. On the other side of the clearing was a gravity fed water tank and a shack containing a plumbed toilet. He checked again the preparations they'd set up; rocks and stumps and camp chairs for seating, the central fire pit and an ample supply of dry cured wood under a lean-to.

Razer stored his goods against the cool innermost wall of the lodge, as the other Lanterns joined him. He checked the logs in the fire pit for dampness, and set a fire starter nearby. This place was a blend of his culture's idea of a hunting camp, and a wilderness ranger's post of Saint Walker's people. Compared to the Ulfir's Oasis back on Volkreg, this part of Odym was a lush paradise teeming with plant and animal life, but the homey simplicity soothed his jangling nerves.

"Nice camp," Hal said. He seemed more subdued than usual. "Reminds me a place I'd go with my brothers when we were young."

"Thank you, Hal," Razer said. "Saint Walker and I put a lot of time into it."

"It is something that I learned early about Brother Razer," Saint Walker said. "When everything else becomes too much for him, he does best when grounded by natural surroundings." He stretched his slender arms out, and drew up high on his toes, before relaxing again. "Perhaps we can begin by taking a hike?"

"Sure!" Kilowog said, "Some physical exercise is a good way to start the morning!" He followed Saint Walker out of the bowl to one side of the lodge, heading generally downhill through scattered trees and ground cover. "Hey Jordan, remember that bracing run we had on the methane planet?" Saint Walker stopped to cut and trim a walking stick from a nearby tree. "Seriously?"

"I rather intended this to be more a meditative activity, rather than aerobic," The first Blue Lantern said, twirling the stave over his head, before allowing it to thump on the ground. "But if you wish to test yourself against the terrain, feel free. I thought I saw a picturesque waterfall in this direction, and I believe that it would be more impressive approached on foot," with that, he set off with a firm stride.

Razer set out with the rest of them. After walking silently for a while, he took a deep breath, before starting with Hal. "I think can understand why you and Kilowog feel strange about this. I imagine you feel... parental towards her, because I know she feels that the two of you are like her fathers."

Hal and Kilowog exchanged a look, and then Hal looked down for a while, kicking a stone away from their path. "Yeah, I guess so. Although I'm too young to be a dad to someone her age."

Razer snorted, "On Volkreg you'd be a confirmed bachelor if you weren't married at your age, or halfway to being a grandfather if you were."

The company had to start ducking under branches and weaving around tree trunks as the woods grew thicker. From the top of a hillock, to the left Razer could see glimpses of a waterway winding through the woods, while from the right came the whispered echo of the falls.

Kilowog had been thinking hard, and finally spoke up, "I see your point. Aya is like both her daddy's little girl, and then she has to go and fall in love with a poozer like you."

Razer didn't rise to the bait. "Actually that is part of the problem." He had their attention, now. "We organics are born, and go through childhood, then adolescence over a period of over a decade or more. What we are not taught directly of adult matters we see demonstrated by others dozens of times. Like, how couples are to treat each other; so that long before we start to court someone ourselves we have a model for that."

He sighed. "Aya had no such learning time. Whole swaths of behaviors were blank for her, and she cobbled whatever examples for those blanks, from whatever sources she could find. In the case of romantic expectations she gained her imprinting mostly from you, Jordan, or rather from those entertainment videos you brought from your home."

Hal stopped abruptly, forcing Brother Warth to quickly side-step in order to not run into to him. "Wait, she watched my movies?"

"We watched your movies, including the romantic ones, and the less graphically adult titles." Razer paused, and lifted his head to smell the wet of the air coming from the falls, which was much louder now. "I found them boring, and unrealistic, but she absorbed them like a sponge." He smirked, "I enjoyed making fun of them."

Saint Walker jumped lightly to the top of a large mossy rock, and paused, his head sweeping back and forth. "We're here," he said. He leaped down to the other side, only the top of the staff visible as he moved to the side." The rest of the small group followed him over, and caught their breath at the sight.

The falls were about as tall as an earthly skyscraper from Hal's movies, and the ledge they'd reached was about two thirds of the way up of the total height. The top of the falls curled over the rim above them as clear as glass, but before it reached their level, it began to feather out in great plumes of water, filling the air with misty spray. The angle of the sun cutting through the spray threw out rainbows, great and small, making the air sparkle with color.

Not far below them were signs that this planet had been inhabited before; jutting out from either side of the rushing flow were huge stone conduits whose ends were fashioned to look like the heads of the great ground wyrms of Odym. Part of the flow diverted through these channels, so spouts of water gushed forcefully through the open mouths and arced far out from the cliff side, down through the cloudy mists, and eventually joining the swirling cauldron of water far below.

The thunder of the waters made it too loud to talk, so they settled themselves to take in the majesty of the view. Saint Walker bounded back up to the top of the mossy boulder and assumed a meditation pose. Razer followed his example at the verge of their ledge. Hal held up his ring and recorded for a while, then walked along to the ledge until he came up to the cliff that the falls tumbled down. He stood on a large rock and made a simplified ring construct signifying stairs or steps, then an arrow pointing at the rocks above him.

Kilowog nudged Razer, while Brother Warth got Saint Walker's attention. Hal's head and shoulders were visible as he ascended the stairs until he'd reached the level where the waters started to feather out into spray. He used his green ring to manipulate something at the top of the stairs, and a deep booming thump cut through the roar of the falls. The water spouts from the wyrm heads visibly lessened, and the outer ends of the stone conduits began swiveling towards each other. By the time the two heads came snout to snout, there was only a trickle of water dribbling from them, almost lost in the rest of the spray.

Hal lifted up in the air and disappeared into the rocks, and a bit later a green streak could be seen as he passed between the two open mouths. Not long after he came out of the joined tunnels on the far side of the falls. He sent out a green arrow that passed through the feathering waters from where he hovered on the far side, to the end near the rest of them. His meaning was clear; the relics in their current position served as a footbridge past the crush of the falls. He flew back, and joined Razer who had flown up to the top of the stairs to see the mechanism that controlled the bridge.

Hal used his ring to turn a large stone dial, and the wyrms slowly turned away from each other until they each channeled part of the flow far out into the wet air once more. Hal gave an exaggerated shrug, and headed back to the others. When they met up, Saint Walker pointed back up the way they had come, and lead the way once more. The boulders and thick trees they passed through quickly swallowed up the roar of the water. "I think that should be called Kissing Falls," Hal said.

Kilowog rolled his eyes. "That's why you're not allowed to name things. Kissing wyrms?" He ignored Hal's pout, and then turned to Razer. "What you were saying back there, what did she get from me?"

Razer smiled a little. "From you she learned to be cautious of giving her trust, but once it is given, it is given wholly and unconditionally. Also she learned never to be shy about her affections; she's a big hugger to those she likes and not too good at boundaries." He grunted, "That thing she did with the teeth? That's your influence, so you only have yourself to blame for that."

"Hey, now wait a minute!" Kilowog said. "I wouldn't broadcast about... romantic things like that in front of everybody."

"Which is exactly the sort of fine distinction she's not good at," Razer said. "When you were young, your elders would have corrected you, and taught you the difference of when it's appropriate to say what... She's still learning that part." They had nearly reached the tall stones spires that surrounded the camp. "Ah, good, we're back at the camp. I'm getting hungry."

"Me too," Hal said, "and thirsty. Some of that brew sounds good."

Brother Warth put his hands on both their shoulders, "And we can continue speaking about your problems with Aya when we are all sufficiently lubricated." Razer nodded in thanks.

-=O=-

A few hours later, the lubrication was well underway. Razer was unable to tell any of the brews Hal had brought apart, feeling they were all equally bad. He surreptitiously poured his bottle of 'miller' into a plant, and hoped that he hadn't killed it.

"...and when the Coast Guard dropped my dad off at the docks, he asked old man Ferris if he was building a plane or a submarine!" Hal roared at his own joke, and the others just looked at him, confused. "Guess you had to be there."

Brother Warth leaned over to Saint Walker and whispered, "What's a submarine?" The first Blue Lantern shrugged, as he gently strummed his lap harp.

Kilowog had been quiet for a while, before turning to Razer. "I suppose we need more information about you and Aya. Do you and her... I mean, is it just you? Or..."

Hal groaned, "Oh, here it comes..."

"...And the only reason I'm asking is I want her to be happy, and I guess you and her are having problems" Kilowog continued over his friend's complaint.

Razer flushed lavender, and grit his teeth. He looked up at the big Lantern with a haggard, desperate expression, "That is the only reason I'm here, because I also want her to be happy." He looked down, and scuffed the ground under his feet clear of pebbles. "Yes, we have a mutually sexual relationship."

"Really?" Hal said, too curious to keep his pose of distaste. "I didn't think she could do that."

"Her old body probably couldn't, not without a lot of alterations," Razer said. "The body we saw assemble on the table that day, wasn't designed with that sort of thing in mind." He stared off into the trees. "When I finally found her, she had redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up. She studied people, especially women, and researched biological functions and anatomy in science books, or observed clandestinely. Her resources were limited, but she created a modular core so that aspects could be improved as needed without disrupting the rest." He frowned at a meat skewer he'd finished an hour ago.

"Her old body was... exoskeletal, much of it hollow, and filled up with construct energy. The new one is endoskeletal, with a solid spine and core to support the new functions. It can still disassemble, but not as easily or completely." He took a deep breath, and made himself continue. "It... can do whatever we require of it."

"So what's the problem?" Kilowog asked, sipping a cup of the local Odym product.

"I... I think the problem's mostly mine," Razer said, "and it's driving me to destraction. I don't even know how to discuss it."

"Well, start back where you said we were the problem," Kilowog said.

Razer scowled and flashed his fangs. "Not you so much, as those cursed videos."

"Well, what about 'em?" Hal said.

"Like I said, she was a blank slate in many areas, and she imprinted on them for her... romantic expectations, unfortunately." Razer sneered at the human faintly. "Your kind stems from arboreal apes, omnivores, she tells me, and I suppose that makes sense. Many of the courting rituals in your movies had to do with offerings of sweets and vegetation."

"What's wrong with flowers and candy?" Hal said, growing annoyed at Razer's tone.

Razer shot up to his feet and sank into a tense stance, with Hal mirroring him. "Nothing! If she were courting a human! But she's not... is she?" He bared his fangs and crooked his fingers into claws. "I did not descend from apes, and the mating rituals of my kind are... different. But whenever I try to lead her to something that is more familiar or exciting to me, I... just feel like she disapproves..." He twisted away, reaching up to yank on his white hair, growling.

Hal opened his mouth, and Kilowog put his hand over it, covering most of Jordan's face. "Sit down. Shut up. Or I'll show our friends here that time you sparred with Ch'p." Hal sat down and frowned at his friend. "See, this is why you're not a trainer. You aren't good at this. Sometimes the recruits I get are... really green, if you know what I mean."

The Sergeant went to Razer and firmly but gently removed his white knuckled grip from his hair. "Sorry, kid, but I'm gonna need more information. I've seen some of those movies, myself. What's so different with your kind?"

"We're carnivore stock, firstly. Nearly exclusively meat eaters who dislike overly sweet foods," Razer pointed at the Chinese takeout containers. "I can't even get near those, the smell of what was once good meat smothered in sickly sweet sauces turns my stomach! I got nauseous from that scene where the man fed his female candy coated fruit." He broke out in a full body shudder. "And Aya thought it was so romantic!"

"Don'cha do like... romantic things for your girl?" Kilowog asked.

Razer started to pace, "Yes, of course! And it's not like Aya needs foods, of either variety, and that's a problem too." He stopped and stared blankly into the fire. "We come from pack hunters. Much of our behavioral makeup tracks back to that primeval lifestyle, racing through the wilderness, hunting down the prey..." He started to pace again. "If I had to explain the way we conduct our relationships, there are three stages: The courting, the hunting, and the mating. The courting is the... getting to know each other stage, like those movies... I noticed they seldom go on from the courtship to a more mature, long-term relationship, as if that part wasn't more important than the courting. But to me that's... like children playing at being lovers, pleasant but ultimately unsatisfying. It's been a year now we've been together and I want to move on, but I don't know... if she can, the way I'd like her too."

"So what's 'moving on' mean to you?" Kilowog said.

Razer made a pained noise. "I... came from a Hunting Clan, our totem was the Ulfir[*], the lion-wolf, a feared and cunning hunter. And while not every Clan had such a totem, we had the pack hunting heritage in common. When two of my people are thinking of establishing a permanent relationship, they hunt together. We find the thrill of the chase, and the blood of the prey... arousing. And then... we hunt each other, testing the other's mettle in a fashion that is almost as much combat as sex."

Kilowog raised an eyebrow ridge, and Hal tentatively held up a finger. "Is it constructive?" the Bollovaxian asked.

"I think so. I mean the blood and fight-sex stuff sounds kinda gross to me, but I think I can relate. I mean, I only brought at the most NC-17 movies to the Interceptor, none of the hardcore X or unrated stuff. So Aya didn't see humans having rough sex, fortunately. But I...kind of feel like I'd like to 'move on' with my relationship with Carol. Where I'm from we call it having hot and freaky monkey sex, ya know?"

Kilowog face-palmed, and Brother Warth stood abruptly to get another glass of earth brew. Razer turned his back and shook his head, stiff with disapproval. For a time the only sounds were the crackling of the fire, and the gentle strumming of Saint Walker's instrument. Hal looked around for any sign of understanding, a frown beginning to furl his brow. Just as Hal began to desperately put up his hands and say something else, or take it back, Saint Walker nodded.

"I can understand that," the wanderer said firmly. "There comes a time in every relationship when the introductions have been made, and the participants know if there is something more to be had between them. A time when unbridled, primal sex is no longer taboo or to be avoided; there were times I fondly remember enjoying with my dear wife." He looked off into the far distance, an aura of sadness about him, and then looked directly among his companions. "And I am sure that we all can understand the visceral urge to experience more. To let loose all restraint and sense of self, in the celebration of the partnering."

Relief flooded Hal's face and he nodded. Kilowog made a noise of agreement, while Razer turned back to the fire, and Brother Warth nodded as he settled himself with his new beer. Saint Walker looked at the young Blue Lantern as he settled himself again."You said there was courting, and hunting, and then the mating. That last part is...?"

Razer looked up, "A formal marriage, with a ceremony including family and friends."

"She surely knows your nature better than any of us do, after this much time with you," Saint Walker said, "Why didn't you suggest this to her? Why would you assume she would decline?"

"I don't...! She wouldn't...!"Razer sputtered at him, outrage writ clear on his face. Then the fight seemed to drain out of him, into an expression of depression. "I... saw little point in beginning an endeavor destined to failure." He slumped back down on his tree stump.

Saint Walker gave him a measured stare. "You haven't even asked her about it? She'd become a being of pure energy, like her parent, Ion. She dragged herself back into the realm of the physical by creating a body specifically designed to meet your needs, and you don't see fit to bring this greatest need to her attention?"

"She glows in the dark!" Razer snarled. "We are all warriors of light and glowing is part of the job. But when we take off our rings, we're just people. She can't do that. When we're alone at night, she lights up our room," he said. "This sort of hunt begins in the evening, and she'd be as hard to hunt as a sun snake in a moon cave, or playing night-tag with firebrands." He slammed his fist on his knee, "The challenge is part of the experience; the more difficult the prize, the more rewarding the victory, for both participants." After a long silence, Razer sighed. "I didn't want her to feel responsible for my unhappiness. Besides, she doesn't know how to hunt."

"Saint Walker's right," Kilowog said. "She's already done the hard work just being physically in a body again. I'd think she'd enjoy the chance to figure a way not to glow for a while. So just tell her already!"

Razer gave a frustrated sigh. "Aya is made of light. Asking her not to glow is like asking us not to breathe."

Hal said, "Wouldn't you willingly stop breathing if by doing so you could save her? Why would you assume her love for you is any less than yours is for her?" He shook his head, and looked up at St. Walker's faintly surprised expression. "Hey, I have a deep side, too, you know."

He turned to Razer, "But baffling a light source is a lot easier than going without air. She'd do anything for you, you thick lunk, can't you see that? Sometimes you can't see the broad side of a barn when it's falling on you!"

Razer jumped up, his hackles rising visibly at the human's aggressive tone. Face furious, his fists clenched, hard, and the blue light emitting from his ring... flickered. St. Walker stopped strumming his instrument, and approached his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is this matter draining the hope in your heart, Brother Razer?"

The Volkregian stared, shocked at his ring. Slowly he sat, and with a visible effort fought his way calmness again. "She does love to learn new things..." he said, as if trying to convince himself. "She enjoys tinkering with her modules, striving for a perfection of form and function that she admits she will probably never achieve." The fitful flickers gradually smoothed out to a steady glow once more.

Kilowog gave a laugh of forced cheerfulness, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood. "You'll probably make her day, giving her so much to work on." With a more normal tone, he continued. "Then when she finishes having fun in the workshop, you and she can have fun..."

A green construct muzzle silenced him abruptly, courtesy of Hal. "Unh-uh, pal," the human said. "Please don't go there..."

Kilowog frowned at him, and brought up a construct pry-bar to free his mouth. "...hunting. Dang it Jordan, dirty mind much?"

The relief on Hal's face prompted most of the others to laughter, and even Razer smiled thinly. "You think this will work?" he said.

St. Walker nodded, "Any proactive efforts will certainly be better than doing nothing. Don't you agree?" Razer nodded back, firm determination plain on his face.

Come back next time, when Arisia asks if Carol and Hal are a serious item in "Girl Talk".

Notes: (My Writing Jam: Neil Diamond Playlist.)

[*]The Ulfir is the totem animal for Razer's Clan in my fic "Marking Rites".