The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
Aurora felt herself being jostled slightly.
She heard a series of rapid clicking, grunts, chirps, and words all blending together above her. Then she felt someone careful lift her head and lightly feel the back of it.
Aurora hissed when they pressed on the spot behind her head where the wound was.
They placed her on a table on her side. She felt someone brushing her hair out of the wound at the back of her head. Then she felt something with a creamy consistency being applied to the wound. It was followed by a strange tingling sensation.
Then she felt something soft being applied to the wound and they wrapped the soft material around her head just once before tying it off.
"Au'rora, ca'an yoo hear me?" Came a voice.
Her vision was still not a %100 clear and her head felt a little foggy. But she could make out the words enough to understand what's being said.
"Yeah." She croaked.
"I'm go'ing too use the scan'ner too checkk the re'st of yoo." Said the voice above her.
Her head started to clear a bit more. And Aurora began to recognize the voice. It was Prit'zu.
Aurora distinctly heard the scanner start up and heard the low hum as it slowly went over her. She heard a couple people around her bustling about. And heard more clicking, grunting, and words being exchanged.
Though she was unsure who was conversing with who. One did sound like a female. That's all she could make out. Then she noticed someone else came to stand by her while she was still laid out on the table.
"My baby? Please, tell me it's ok." She pleaded weakly.
There was silence for a moment, before more clicking, and a series of words were tossed back and forth above her.
The longer she laid there, the more coherent she became again. Her vision started to become clearer, and she noticed Prit'zu, Nee'la, and the unknown female yautja that brought her in was still here. She was conversing back and forth with Prit'zu.
Aurora opened her mouth to speak again, when someone came running through the doors several feet away. They began frantically looking around, before spotting her, and ran over to her side.
"Aurora! Are you ok?! Please tell me you're ok!" Came Air'ik's frantic voice as he stood above her, caressing her cheeks.
"My head's kind of pounding, and my back's sore. But otherwise, I'm fine." She said.
That's when Prit'zu came over.
Aurora turned her attention to him.
"Prit'zu, please tell me the baby is ok." She repeated, more desperately this time.
He nodded, "The pup is fiine. Her h'eart beeat iz st'ill str'ong. No siignz of distresss."
Tears rolled down Aurora's cheeks as she let out a shaky exhale. Air'ik ran his hand over her cheek and lightly grasped her hand. Both soon to be parents were filled with relief when they heard their unborn baby was still ok.
"Can we see it, on the scanner?" She asks.
Prit'zu nodded, he went over and tapped a couple buttons on the screen. The couple watched as the holographic image above the scanner zoomed in on the growing fetus.
Now, they can see the unborn baby very clearly. Aurora was amazed at how clear the 3-D image was. You can practically make out the very tiny features starting to form on them.
"Am'azing. The sh'ape of her sk'ull and fa'ciaal fea'tures loook veery ooman. Do'nt seee anyyy man'dibles. Th'oough I dooo seee cl'awz st'art'ing too foorm. She app'earz too bee gr'owing he'althyyy annd as I saaid, she haz a str'ong he'artbeeat." Prit'zu stated, as he observed the image.
He hit a few buttons to turn the image at different angles to get a good all-around look at the pup. And so far, he was happy with what he was seeing. Despite the beating the mother took, the fetus doesn't appear to show any signs of distress at all.
Aurora and Air'ik could barely take their eyes off the image of their unborn child. They were still elated that it was ok and still going strong. They were also amazed to see that so far in this stage of development it appeared to look more ooman than yautja.
But that could change as it grew. It still had a long way to go before it would start developing more of its features.
Another thought hit Aurora as she looked at the image of their baby.
"Prit'zu, you said 'She' before." Aurora inquired.
He nodded, "Yesss, pup is fe'male."
The couple smiled at the exciting news. A daughter, they were going to have a daughter!
"And she's already showing how strong and resilient she is." Came an electronic voice.
Aurora turned to the source, and it was the still unnamed female that saved her and brought her in. Air'ik looked from Aurora to the female than back to her.
"Aurora, this is Rus'ka, Qu'or's mate. She is the one that helped you and brought you here. She also contacted me earlier and told me what had happened and where you were at." Air'ik explained.
The female yautja, Rus'ka nodded a greeting her direction.
"I can't begin to thank you enough. I..I don't want to think about what could've happen had you not been there to intervene." Aurora said.
"You're welcome. But that should've never have happened. It is against our laws to attack pregnant females. Even more so when they're unarmed and not a threat. I assure you, those two will not cause you anymore trouble. They will be dealt with accordingly." Rus'ka declared.
A sad look washed over Aurora's face.
"It's because I'm human that they attacked me in the first place." She said, barely above a whisper.
"That doesn't mean anything. We still don't allow attacks like that on females, no matter what race they are. What they did was nothing less than dishonorable and cowardly, and they will be punished for it." Rus'ka replied.
"She's right, Aurora. The fact that you're an ooman, still doesn't give anyone here the right to harm you like they did." Air'ik repeated.
He then turned back to Rus'ka.
"Who were the two males that attacked her?" He asked the large female.
"Who else? Those pauking hotheads, Adul'sa and Liir'i. They always were trouble. Still, I never would've believed they stoop so low to attack an unarmed pregnant female. Whether they knew she was with pup or not is irrelevant. The fact that they attacked her unprovoked was a despicable act on their part." Rus'ka said.
Air'ik growled, he knew of them. They were arrogant self-absorbed youngbloods who had a knack for being very reckless and irresponsible. There were also plenty of times they thought they could see how far they could bend the laws without breaking them. Pathetic excuse for warriors and not too far off from being labeled bad bloods. Though after this little stunt with his pregnant mate, they may as well be seen as that; bad bloods.
"Did you kill them? Or did you leave that honor for me?" Air'ik asked her.
"Broke Liir'i's mandibles when I decked him, the little s'yuit-de ran away shortly thereafter. Adul'sa I pulverized a bit more. Last I checked, he was catching z's when I left his worthless ass in the ally way.
You can't miss him now, half his tresses were ripped out and part of his lower face was crushed in a little, along with a few of his ribs. If you wish to go find them and take them out, go right ahead.
Though you know as well enough as I, that it must be done in a challenge. Can't go out there and hunt them all throughout the town. Or you can drag both of them to the Elders and let them decide their punishments.
Usually, attacking a pregnant female like that, is grounds for death. If not, at least exile from the clan, and deemed bad bloods." Rus'ka informed him.
Air'ik snorted, "If you truly pauked them up that bad, then they would hardly be a challenge in a fight. May as well hand the little tarei'hasans over to the Elders."
Aurora could only wonder what they've been going back and forth about. Most likely still discussing her attack.
It didn't go on much longer, Prit'zu stepped in and interrupted them.
"Sorry to interrupt you two. While I strongly agree that those two should be tried and punished for their actions, right now, I think it's best to get Aurora home and let her get some rest.
Her scans show her, and the baby are no longer in immediate danger. So, it is safe for you to take her home, Air'ik. Make sure she goes to bed as soon as she can and make sure she doesn't strain herself.
If anything happens to come up, don't hesitate to contact me at any time. And bring her in immediately at the first sign of anything being wrong.
And I'll see her within the next couple months for her next appointment." Prit'zu stated.
Air'ik nodded and returned to Aurora's side.
"Prit'zu said that you and our unborn child are no longer in danger. He's says I can take you home now." Air'ik told her.
Aurora smiled in relief. She's glad to hear that. And at this point, just wants to go home and get some rest.
"Ok, let's go home then." She said.
Air'ik lifted her off of the table. But didn't put her down and began to carry her.
"Air'ik, I'm pretty certain that my legs still work, and I can walk." Aurora quipped.
"Please, Da'dtou-di, just this once...humor me." He told her.
It was clear he was still getting over being worried about her and their unborn baby's safety. So, this time, she'll let it go.
She leaned into his chest and relaxed as he carried her.
"Well, I'm off too. Need to get back to Qu'or and the pups. I had him watch them while I went out to the market stands." Rus'ka said.
Then she turned her attention to Aurora and switched back on her translator real quick.
"It was nice meeting you, Aurora. Though I wish it was under better circumstances. I'm glad to see you and your unborn pup will be ok." Rus'ka said.
"It was very nice to meet you too, Rus'ka. And thank you so much for what you've done for me before. I'm eternally grateful for it." Aurora told her.
Rus'ka lightly bowed her head, then turned around and headed for the exit.
The couple then turned their attention back to Prit'zu and Nee'la.
"N'dhi-ja, my friends. And thank you again for tending to my mate. We'll see you soon." Air'ik said to them.
"Yes, thank you for everything." Aurora added.
Prit'zu and Nee'la bowed their heads.
"N'dhi-ja, yoo two. Seee yoo sooon." Prit'zu said.
"Goodbye, take good care of yourselves and see you soon." Came the electronic voice from Nee'la's wrist comp.
The couple turned and headed for the exit.
Air'ik ended up carrying Aurora the whole way home. And didn't put her down until he reached their bedroom. Where he carefully placed her in their bed.
By now, the suns had already gone down. So, they may as well turn in as it was.
"Does your head still hurt?" He asks.
Aurora shook her head.
"No, I think that pasty stuff Prit'zu put on it has kicked in and numbed it. My back is doing a little better too." She replied.
"Good. I'm glad you didn't sustain any more serious injuries." Air'ik said.
Though as he says this, guilt washed over him. He feels he should've been with her. This would never have happened if he were right there with her.
"What's wrong? You're suddenly very quiet." Aurora pointed out.
Air'ik gazes at her, looking her in the eyes.
"It's just...none of this would've happened if I've been there with you. I could've refused Ull'sah's request. And then I would've been free to walk you to Ki'morah's. And by the way, she knows what happened. And I told her you were being well looked after at the healers. In case you were wondering." He said.
"While I'm glad you let Ki'morah know why I didn't show and that I'm alright, you need to stop punishing yourself for this situation. It wasn't your fault. So, don't even try to blame yourself. We're ok now." Aurora said, then placed his hand over her lower abdomen.
He lightly rubbed the tiny swell where their unborn daughter was growing. Speaking of, now that they know the gender, they can narrow down the names. And maybe, Aurora will finally share with him the names she likes.
"I'll try not to blame myself. But no promises. It scared the hell out of me when Rus'ka contacted me and told me what had happened to you. But I'm greatly relieved to know that you're both alright. And we saw that our little one is still growing healthy and strong." Air'ik said.
Aurora smiled, "Yeah, she's already proving to be a tough little cookie."
Air'ik trilled a little at that.
"Speaking of, you finally going to share with me the names you like, now that we know we're having a girl?" He asks.
She figured he'd ask that. Aurora may as well share now.
"I really like either Yeyinde or Kantra. But after everything that had happened today, I certainly was praying like hell that our baby girl was ok. And thankfully she was.
It gave me renewed hope when I saw her and heard her heartbeat, still strong and steady. I think it be most fitting to name her Kantra. I also think it's a very beautiful name. Certainly, one of my favorites that I've heard." Aurora told him.
Air'ik listened to what she had to say. He can see why she would like that name for their daughter. She was their hope, they prayed for a pup. He doesn't see why they shouldn't go with that name. In a way, Aurora was right, it fit her well.
"Then Kantra it is." Air'ik said.
Aurora smiled and leaned in to kiss him. He spread his mandibles and pressed his inner mouth to hers. Their hearts thumped in their chest as they shared the slow intimate kiss.
And when they finally pulled away, the scooted in closer to one another. Air'ik pulled the covers over themselves, and he wrapped an arm around Aurora. While she draped her arm across his waist and rested her cheek against his chest.
They held each other close and soon fell asleep in each other's arms.
Last chapter certainly put you on edge and left you with a serious cliffhanger. But at least we learned here that Aurora and her unborn baby are ok. And it looks like they found a good name for her.
I must say, out of all the Yautja names, Yeyinde and Kantra are my personal favorites. I knew for a while now that I wanted to give the baby one of those names.
Yautja Translations:
s'yuit-de- pathetic/coward
N'dhi-ja- goodbye
pauk- fuck
Until Next Time ;)