The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)

"You think we will beat them there? I mean I know you're super-fast, but even you can't outrun a speeding vehicle." Aurora stated as he carried her.

"I trust them not to speed ahead. And I like to think they gave us a solid head start." Air'ik replied.

"How much longer will it take us to get there?" She asks.

"Not much longer. As I said, I programmed the ship through my wrist computer before leaving it behind to land only a couple miles away not too far from the road. We should be there in another 7-8 minutes." He confirmed.

"I never did get the chance to ask. But what is the fastest a yautja can run?" Aurora asked curiously.

"At our fastest, I'd say around 50mph. Though that's usually with short bursts of speed. I have trained my body to hold out longer at a more consistent speed though." He stated.

Aurora's eyes widened, "50mph!? No fucking way! That's like cheetah speed! I mean I know you guys are very strong and fast but shit, not that fast!"

He trilled at her surprise.

"I hunted a cheetah once while on the continent of Africa. It definitely gave me what you oomans call; 'A run for my money'." The hunter joked.

She shook her head, of course he did. Aurora recalls him telling her that he went to places like Africa, India, and once in Siberia even. He apparently liked hunting large feline species. He told her that he liked hunting tigers the best because they were the bigger and stronger challenges of the large predatory cats.

He also went on to tell her that on one of his last trips to Earth, he also hunted mountain lions and grizzly bears. Air'ik told her he does this sometimes to take the time to hunt other varieties of prey. Joking that sometimes he just needed a break from hunting oomans.

The hunter even showed her a handful of skulls from Earth's large predators. It came to a total of three lion skulls, one mountain lion skull, two grizzly skulls, one cheetah skull, one leopard skull, and two tiger skulls.

There was one tiger skull in particular that was his favorite of the trophies. He told her the story of that one. It was a very large, strong, and fierce Siberian Tiger that he hunted in Siberia. Stating how it was a very good fight and the tiger dealt him some pretty powerful blows before he won the fight. A fight he thoroughly enjoyed because he mainly fought it bare handed without the use of weapons.

Aurora was a bit surprised she didn't see something like wolf skulls in his collection. He told her he fought one once, but it didn't provide him with a very good fight like the larger predatory animals he hunted. In the end, the fight hardly lasted long at all and because it wasn't a very good challenge, he didn't bother taking its skull for a trophy.

They continued to chat a bit on and off until he slowed down and came to a stop.

He carefully set her down but didn't approach the cloaked ship sitting several feet away. Standing there, she did take the time to notice his combi stick attached to his back and the hard meat's head that was stuck to the end of it.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask. Why did you take one of their heads for a trophy? You already have a ton of them." Aurora stated.

"Aurora, the quantity of one's trophies is important. The whole point is to keep building up the collection. Though, I'd like to point out that this skull isn't mine, it is yours. It is proof that you have proven yourself a warrior by killing what we deem our first 'ultimate' prey. And you didn't just kill one, you killed several.

It's just too bad you blew the larger kainde amedha's head to pieces. That would've been an amazing trophy to bring back and show off. But at least our mask were recording all the events that took place.

And I intend to show the recordings to my Elders so they can see how you fought and killed the kainde amedha. And show that you are very much worthy to carry our mark and be blooded.

Speaking of which, while we're here. I will take this time to mark you." He finished.

Air'ik gestured for her to come closer. Aurora approached until she stood right before him. The hunter ripped what appeared to be a hard meat's severed claw from his belt. It still had some remnants of its acidic blood on it.

He then instructed her to hold still, before carefully etching a mark onto the forehead area of her mask. Then he asked her to remove the mask so he could mark her face.

Aurora hesitantly removed the mask. She saw the deep scarring mark on his forehead many times. It looked pretty painful to receive. But she took a deep breath and sucked it. The young woman tilted her head up to give him better access.

Air'ik gently cupped her chin and tilted her face to the side. He then took the tip of the claw and pressed it into her left cheek. She winced slightly and grit her teeth as the acid burned into her flesh. But otherwise, held still long enough for him to finish.

After a few moments, Aurora was now sporting a mark that looked very similar to the letter 'T' on her cheek. It was identical to his own on his forehead.

Afterwards he stepped back and bowed his head, a sign of recognition and respect for her new status as a hunter and warrior. And to say he was proud of her was an understatement. Within the short time they had together, she has shown to prove herself not once but on a few occasions.

Within a couple months she has now gained two trophies from some of his kinds' most dangerous prey. Her first being the large male re'vand-de on Planet Mi'nae and now the kainde amedha.

"Congratulations, Da'dtou-di. You have proven yourself worthy to carry the mark of our clan." He told her, his eyes beaming with pride as he said it.

Aurora gave him a beaming smile.

"Thanks, Air'ik." She said.

He nodded, "Now, we walk to the side of the road and wait. They should be here any minute. And we want them to see us so they don't accidentally pass us. The road is only about 13 meters to the left of here."

"Taking a risk parking that close to the road." She stated, as they walked.

Air'ik shrugs, "We're still pretty far from town. And I don't believe many people travel down this way. Plus, I made sure to leave the ship cloaked for now, just in case."

They sped up their pace and made it to the road in record time. The Humvee was just about to pass when Aurora quickly jumped out onto the grass clearing and waved her hands over her head.

Wilson and Robin spotted her just as they passed her. He gradually slowed down, then put it in reverse and pulled up next to her on the grass.

"Hey, perfect timing. We almost passed you." Robin said, as she got out of the car.

The young blond frowned when she saw blood on her friend's cheek.

"Hey, you ok? I could've sworn that cut wasn't on your cheek before you left." Robin said.

"I'm ok, it's a small shallow wound. And it's a very big deal among his kind." Aurora replied.

Her friend just gave her a questioning look. Aurora just told her and Wilson to follow them. They didn't see Air'ik at first. Until he stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

They then followed him the last forty feet through the brush to his cloaked ship. The two humans looked around in confusion.

"Where is the ship?" Robin asked.

That's when Air'ik lifted his hand and pressed a few buttons. There was a slight crackling sound as the invisibility melted away and revealed a fairly large ship.

"Damn." Wilson muttered as he looked on, intrigued with what he saw.

"Pretty cool huh?" Aurora stated.

Robin nodded, while keeping her green orbs on the ship.

"Hell, yeah it is. Even better than some of those phony ships from the Star Trek Movies." Wilson commented.

"So, now that we're here, what happens now?" Robin asks.

A small sad smile made its way to Aurora's face.

"Unfortunately, this is where we part ways. We told you guys to meet us here, so that we can properly say goodbye." Aurora confessed.

The blonde's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait! What!? Aurora, you can't be serious! You're actually leaving here!?" She blurted out.

Wilson stood next to her, silent. He wasn't surprised by this outcome. Even he could tell there was a deep connection between the alien hunter and this human woman. It showed clear as day during his interrogation of them.

"Yeah, I wish to go with Air'ik. To experience more of what he's willing to show me. Everything there is to know about the hunt, his culture, and his people." Aurora stated.

"Wait, hold up! Now you're saying you're going to live with him and his people now! Aurora, I love you and all but that sounds insane! How are you going to fit in!? How do you know they are going to be ok with you living with them!?

Shit! What about the family you have here!? I doubt your aunt, uncle and cousins would be ok with the notion of you living on an alien planet!" Robin all but yelled.

"Robin, I promise you that everything will be ok. I won't be alone in this. I'll have Air'ik there with me. And a for my family; this isn't forever. I'll still be able to come back and visit them and you whenever I want." Aurora assured her.

There was brief silence between the two. Clearly the blonde was at a loss of words. It was clear, she wouldn't be able to talk her friend out of this new and alarming situation.

It was then Robin felt an arm drape over her shoulders and she looked up at Wilson. Who was looking down at her with a comforting smile.

"It will be fine, Robin. Listen to her, she already stated why she wants to go, and assures you that the hunter will be there with her. And she even told you that she will see you and her family again. So, it's not goodbye forever." Wilson told her.

Robin slowly nodded, a lump forming in her throat. By the time she turned her gaze back to one of her oldest friends, she had tears in her eyes.

"I...I understand, Aurora. It's just hard, you know. I mean, we've been best friends since we were 9yrs. old. Hell, we're like sisters at this point. That's also why I'm taking this quite hard." Robin admitted.

Aurora almost couldn't help the tears starting to prick at the corner of her eyes. As she stepped forward and enveloped the taller blonde into a hug. One that Robin gladly returned, by wrapping her arms tightly around her shorter friend.

At this time, no one noticed that Air'ik disappeared into his ship a couple minutes ago. He then came back out and approached the small group and stood off to the side waiting for the two females to end their embrace.

They were finally able to pull away several seconds later.

"I love you, and I'm going to miss you...Sis. But don't worry, I promise I will come and visit you." Aurora said.

Robin wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled.

"Love you too, Crazy Girl. And you better visit." She demanded.

That's when Air'ik stepped in and held out his hand to the other woman. In his hand, was a small oval shaped object. Robin slowly took the small, light object from him and held it out in front of her, turning it this way and that.

"It's a small communicator. You can use it to communicate with Aurora. There are some small buttons on there you tap with your finger. Then when the other responds to the incoming call, a holographic image comes up of the person, and the two of you can chat.

It's kind of similar to the way you would chat with someone on the screen of your computer. This way, you two can chat between visits and arrange for when you want to have visits between one another." Air'ik informed them.

This lit up Robin's features and certainly made her feel a lot better.

"Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!" Robin thanked him.

Air'ik nodded, "Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, there is just one more thing I'd like to grab."

The hunter then turned around and started to walk away. But for some reason he wasn't walking back in the direction of the ship, but back to the road.

"Air'ik, where are you going?" Aurora questioned.

"As I said, I'm getting something. I'll be right back." He answered.

Everyone at this point was wondering what he could possibly need from that direction. But after a couple moments, everyone shrugged it off.

"So, Wilson, what you going to do now, since your job went up in smoke...literally speaking." Aurora asked.

He smirked at her pun.

"Well, before being recruited there, I was hoping to join the police force. I would still like to retain the status of interrogator but also I would like to take some more advanced training to eventually become a negotiator." Wilson informed her.

"Nice, no doubt you will be good at it. Seeing as you have the patience for it and know how to talk to people." Aurora replied.

"And I personally think that's hot." Robin blurted out, before thinking.

This caused the other two people to stare at her, causing her face to turn bright red.

"Sorry, what I meant to say was; it sounds like a great job." She stated awkwardly, looking everywhere but at them.

This made Wilson chuckle. And it was then that Robin noticed he had yet to remove his arm from around her shoulders, which only made her blush even harder.

"Well, thanks. Though I'll be the first to admit it would make it even better if I had a beautiful face to return home to at the end of the day." Wilson said with a wink.

Robin almost choked on air when she heard that remark. And Aurora almost couldn't help but laugh at her friend's reaction. It's nice to know some things never change. Robin always has been a bit socially awkward around guys she liked, ever since high school.

Before Aurora could say anything else, Air'k made his way back to them.

She noticed he had a couple boxes balanced on one shoulder and in his other hand he held a bazooka at his side.

"I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed when that place exploded with all the bomb launchers inside. But as luck would have it, I noticed there was one along with a couple boxes of ammo for it in the trunk of the vehicle. So, I went back to retrieve it from the trunk." Air'ik stated.

That's when Wilson let out a displeased noise.

"Oh c'mon, man. I nabbed that to bring home for my personal collection. And for your information, they are not called 'bomb launchers'. They're called bazookas." Wilson argued weakly.

Air'ik just cocked his head to the side.

"Sorry, 'Man'. Think of it as payment for my services." Air'ik smartly retorted.

Wilson slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Dammit, fine." He muttered.

It was then, Air'ik carefully set everything on the ground and walked back over the group. He then pulled one of his good daggers from his belt and presented to Wilson.

"Here, I'll trade you. This is a very good blade. It's made out of a strong metal alloy you won't find anywhere else on Earth. It's extremely sharp and very light weight for its size, making it simple to use." Air'ik told the ex-agent.

This perked up Wilson a great deal and he gladly received the blade.

"Thanks. What kind of knife is it? It looks similar to a hunting knife, only large and non-serrated." Wilson inquired.

"It is a dagger. Though its much larger than the daggers you are used to seeing. It's because our kind are a great deal larger than oomans, so, our weapons are made larger to suit us." The hunter explained.

"Nice." Wilson said as he looked it over.

Then they heard Robin muttering again about boys and their need for dangerous toys. Which only made Aurora chuckle.

Air'ik then returned to his newly required bazooka he pilfered off of Wilson. Before he bent down to retrieve it though, he heard Wilson speak.

"Hey, how did you know I had that stashed in the trunk anyway? You were on the roof of the Humvee the entire time." Wilson pointed out.

The hunter turned to face him and tapped his mask right beside the visors. And that is the only hint the yautja gave him before picking up the weapon and ammo and walked onto the ship with it.

Aurora smiled and shook her head at his antics.

"Why do I feel like you're going to have your hands full with him?" Robin inquired.

Aurora's smile widened.

"Oh, I'm counting on it." She replied.

Air'ik returned shortly and went to Aurora's side. He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked her.

She was silent for a couple moments before finally nodding.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Aurora said.

She then turned back to Robin and pulled her in for one last hug.

"See you later, Robin. And give me a call when you can on the communicator Air'ik gave you." Aurora reminded her.

"I definitely will once everything is settled. And good luck." Robin said.

Aurora then turned her attention to Wilson and stuck out her hand.

"Bye Wilson, and good luck getting into the police force." She said shaking his hand.

"Thanks, take care of yourself. And please, call me Marc." He added.

Eventually, Aurora pulled away. And her and Air'ik entered the ship.

They made their way to the control room. Air'ik started pressing the controls in front of him. While Aurora looked out the large window, spotted the pair outside below.

She waved at them, and they returned the wave before backing up when they heard the ship come to life. Then Aurora went and sat in Air'ik's lap. He paced an arm around her waist and pressed the button for lift off.

The now cloaked ship rose off of the ground and into the air. And once it cleared the trees, it took off, heading out to space.

Until Next Time ;)