A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with the third installment of the Somewhat Damaged Saga. If you haven't read it from the top and you want to, Somewhat Damaged is the first, Blood of My Blood is the second. Thanks as usual to all who have reviewed already, and favorited and followed! I appreciate it greatly. Hope you all enjoy this installment as much or more than the others!

Present Day Yaut Prime:

"Get up! Both of you!" Dteinou yelled. Jasmine rolled her eyes and made it to her feet. The young female pup that Dteinou and T'chnde had more-or-less adopted, sprang to hers. Show off. Ever since she'd undergone a series of medical treatments to regrow her tongue, Dteinou had added her cutting remarks to the rigorous training she'd spent the past year or so administering.

"C'mon ooman, or can't you take it?!" The young nameless female teased. Dteinou had refused to name her prior to their upcoming chiva.

"Shut the fuck up before Dteinou kicks you in the ass again," Jasmine teased back. The female chuckled, but they both snapped their eyes forward at the sound of Dteinou growling.

She paced back and forth like a caged animal. They were all in like a public kehrite, a boxing gym for predators. She was in the kiddie section of it. All around her were predators right around the age of the young female, which to Jasmine seemed equivalent to a group between the ages of fifteen and eighteen if she had to guess it in human years. It was shameful that she, a grown woman, had to be there but she supposed it was for the best. After all, she was being trained now for her chiva. The Matriarch had made it quite clear, that Jasmine's honor would be judged along the same code that all yautja lived by. She had a life mate, and sucklings, so she had adopted their lifestyle. It would not be complete nor respected very much if she could not even pass the most basic test; the chiva. Once it was settled that she pretty much had to do it, it had been Kujhade's idea to hand her over the Dteinou. Jasmine made the mistake of thinking that their adventure together would cause Dteinou to be lenient. She was sadly mistaken.

Jasmine glanced over across the open space. The whole thing was sitting underneath a canopy, sort of like those large tent revivals. It was extra hot, and Jasmine was still adjusting even after all this time. Due to the atmosphere, she wore two very small nasal devices, one in each nostril. They didn't need a tank or outside air source, as they acted as self-contained filters. Her eyes searched among the very small pups to find her own. She spotted them, then her heart sank. Yeyinde, formerly known as Marcus, was playing happily with the other pups. Mili on the other hand had been ostracized. It had begun early. He was sitting, banging some metal toy against the ground and seemingly content. He did occasionally glance up towards his brother. He finally made a move. He got up and toddled his way over. Immediately, he was rebuffed harshly by all except his brother. One little pup even advanced upon Mili, but that was a mistake. Mili crouched and flared his little mandibles. His legs were stout now, having shed much of his baby fat as had his brother. Yeyinde had also moved to confront the group of small children, and at that display, they backed off angrily. Mili stood a moment, and simply went back to his toy, on the far outskirts of the group.

Thwack!

"Ow!" Jasmine screamed. She looked up to see Dteinou towering over her. She'd punched her in the arm, and now there was a bruise forming. Her body was full of them.

"Pay attention! The pups will sort themselves out. You must stop hovering over them, and pay attention to your own training. Distraction will kill you, now come!" She ordered, and Jasmine had no choice but to obey.

Kujhade stepped out of the Matriarch's domain, into the harsh glaring sun. He'd been visiting her often in between performing local arbitrator duties. These included basically policing the higher ranking yautja. Most of them understood and adhered to the rules rigidly, which made Kujhade's job easier. The way in which Dhi-rauta had demonstrated a liking for him, shielded him from the ostracism and derision of his kind. He didn't think she'd meant to do that. She was simply curious over his choices for a mate, and his choice for creating a family with said mate. She'd come to be fond of his pups as well, inviting him to bring them along on these short visits. The Matriarch had even invited Jasmine to one or two private meetings as well. Apparently, she was curious how prey could ever feel comfortable and be willing to mate with and live with their direct predator. Jasmine would not tell him how she'd answered those questions, but whatever she said seemed to please Dhi-rauta very much. Kujhade had been quite relieved over that. He never told anyone, but he was extremely worried over what the Matriarch would decree. She had every right to banish him, strip him of his title, and replace it with that of a bad blood. His taking of a human as his mate and daring to breed with her, made that a real possibility. He came before her completely prepared to accept whatever ruling except separating from Jasmine, or either of their deaths. He would reject that, and officially become a bad blood if he needed to. Thankfully, he didn't need to do any of that. He rather enjoyed getting to know the Matriarch on a more personal level.

Just as he was headed towards the public kehrite, he heard footsteps coming quickly behind him. He turned, and his jaw dropped. He'd never expected to see….her.

"Oh, pick your mandibles up off the ground Pale One," she said. She was a little taller than him, solidly built but still feminine, her skin a mottled olive green and dark brown, and she was absolutely beautiful. More than he remembered.

"R'ka? What are you doing on the home planet? I thought you were out hunting everything in your path?" Kujhade said, good-naturedly.

"Heh, and I thought you were out killing bad bloods and mating oomans. Funny how we ended up here then, huh?" R'ka said, circling him slowly and trying to gauge his reaction to her.

"How do you know about Jasmine?" He asked, then silently cursed himself.

"Oh so that's her name is it? Interesting. Where is she? I'd like to take a look at this, ooman, who managed to capture the attentions of one of our most illustrious hunters," She cooed, as she circled back to his front.

More like challenge her, Kujhade thought to himself.

He started walking in the direction of the kehrite, R'ka walking casually alongside. The streets were full. The Matriarch's domain was mere steps from the bustling marketplace, and Kujhade was pleased to find that even here on the home planet, they parted at his coming and avoided him rigidly. There were sellers of everything from naxa fruit to weapons, but any self-respecting hunter earned or had his weapons specially made. Only pups and young bloods bought common low quality weapons such as these.

The marketplace sprawled for what on Earth would be considered a mile or so in each direction. The yautja lived in one city-state. It was not divided into territories like states, countries, or even other cities. Everything happened in one large, but very organized place. It was however divided by caste and the boundaries were kept strictly at all places, except the marketplace. All were welcome to buy or ply their trade here. It was one of a few which were located more-or-less in the middle of the city. The marketplace, the public kehrite, and large ship bay, were all located in a valley amidst the tall, but squat buildings which surrounded it like a mountain range. The buildings in this part of the city were all occupied by higher ranked yautja. Some were domiciles, and some were more official in function. These served as places where hunts were discussed and coordinated, where judgment was passed down in their courts, and where other important decisions were made. Each major clan leader had their own building reserved to conduct the private business of their clan. Beyond the buildings were the caste districts. Each housed the living quarters of those bound to the home planet, either with honor or without it. These places were in large part governed by the females and their own clans, which consisted of their own lineage. This is where they reared their pups, and woe to any non-clan member or outside female who dared to enter territory which did not belong to them. Any intrusion was viewed as a direct threat to any pups, and was dealt with accordingly. No one could come there unharmed except arbitrators on official business, the Matriarch herself, or one of her court. Any outside of that risked injury or death.

All other districts housed retired hunters who were too injured to continue the hunt. Those of them who were simply too old, but had a long history of successful hunting and siring, were raised to more official ranks, and quite frankly lived better. If they had the misfortune of becoming injured in a failed hunt, but did not manage to die during such a hunt, then they were banished to a rank just shy of being a bad blood. It was a shameful position, and many did not show their faces anywhere. Those who were brave enough, and physically able to at least somewhat defend themselves, found work within the marketplace. The others only had two choices; die in ignominy, or leave for the final hunt never to return. Only on the latter choice could the honor of their name and any lineage, be restored.

Kujhade and R'ka walked in companionable silence for a few moments. He knew she wanted to ask, but he would wait until she actually did. He could have volunteered the information on exactly what happened to her brother Bakuub, but it would be all in due time. For now, R'ka was adjusting to his presence, for the second time around. She stopped to take a look at a fruit vendor's stand. Kujhade waited patiently alongside.

"Are you going to attend the festival tonight?" She asked, perusing the fruits and not looking at him.

"What festival?" He asked. She whipped her head around, and smiled briefly.

"Has it been that long since you've been away from the home planet Pale One? It is the first night of Paya's moon, marking the beginning of mating season. Did you forget it?" R'ka asked, turning back to pick more fruit, pay and gesture to Kujhade that they continue walking.

"Why would I attend such a festival? No one is going to mate me, we both know that R'ka," Kujhade replied, irritated at the reminder.

"Well, despite your appearance, the Matriarch seems to favor you. It would appear that has placed you on the list of viable mates," she said, gauging his response. He didn't seem phased by it at all.

"I'm not going to attend that. There's nothing for me there. Besides, I have a life mate now," he stated. It didn't sound too confident from what R'ka could tell.

"Unfortunately," she quipped.

"And just what the hell does that mean R'ka? And watch your answer," Kujhade warned. He didn't know how Jasmine dealt with it; questioning her mate. He was unaccustomed to having to defend or answer for any decision he made. He was used to making his own decisions, and having only the rules of the hunt apply to him universally. His private life was just that; private. As far as he was concerned, his social ostracism removed him from the arena of every other yautja's judgment on the matter. On the other hand, he was far from stupid. It was the fact that Jasmine was a human which was the sticking point. No one cared whether he mated another race or not, but life-mating a human was unheard of except on the rarest of occasions.

"A ooman, Kujhade? You couldn't do any better than a lowly piece of prey?" R'ka asked with a mockingly sympathetic tone.

"I tried to "do better", but you wouldn't mate me again. After our pup…"

"Don't blame me! I did what I had to do!" R'ka said, turning on him with a snarl. Kujhade regarded her coolly, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"After our pup, every female shunned me. I moved on. I found a female who would sire my pups, and that's that," Kujhade said, and he could see R'ka working up a rebuttal.

"Did she have a choice? Probably so paralyzed with fear, she would have done anything you said. We can be persuasive," she said, still gauging his reactions. He was angry, but then again she loved him when he was angry.

"No. If she wanted to live, she did not have a choice…" he wanted to add more. He wanted to say that it had started off without a choice, but now Jasmine loved him and their pups. He wanted to say that Jasmine was with him of her own will now, but why? Why would this be any of R'ka's business? It wasn't, and he didn't owe her an explanation, so he left the sentence unfinished. She chuffed with satisfaction, and kept walking. She knew how far to go, and when to quit with Kujhade.

"In any case, I still want to see this, Jasmine. A ridiculous name by the way. Did she name your pups with stupid ooman names as well?" R'ka asked, chuckling and poking the bear one more time before dropping the subject.

Kujhade faced forward, not willing to dignify the back-handed question with an answer. The silence between them became slightly uncomfortable for R'ka, and he thought she would take her leave, but she didn't. She just kept pace with him until they finally reached the kehrite. Kujhade stood at the edge of the large multi-tent structure and watched his life mate spar with Dteinou and the young blood. They were wrapping it up. Kujhade took this opportunity to search out his pups. He walked around the side and found them in a play pit with other young pups. He clicked to them, and when they turned to see their sire, they toddled as quickly as they could to him. Instead of allowing themselves to be picked up, they climbed him like a tree all the way to his head. They were grunting happily and screaming to the top of their lungs. R'ka stood back a bit, but was entranced nonetheless by them; particularly Mili. At that moment, he turned towards her and gave her a curious grunt, tossing his little head to the side. His short dreads were just now becoming visible, unable to drape over his shoulder like his father. Mili turned to Kujhade who was now holding him on his hip.

"Who that papa? Who that?" He asked, pointing a small claw in R'ka's direction.

"Yeah Kujhade, who that?" Jasmine asked, walking up to him and the pups.

"Mama, who that?" Yeyinde said in his raspy little voice. He was also pointing at R'ka.

"This is…"

"My name is R'ka although you hardly have the right to speak it, prey," she thundered, stepping forward to stand over Jasmine threateningly.

Jasmine was a walking bruise, but she did not shrink back from the enormous female. In fact, she straightened her back, and lifted her chin defiantly. She was a couple of feet shorter, but held her ground just the same. At that moment, R'ka stepped up and pushed Jasmine to the ground, then stood over her. She put her hands on her knees to come a little closer. This, coupled with her training had Jasmine about ready to lay there and collapse. She tried to sit up, but a hot meaty hand on her chest kept her in place.

"Looks like we're going to have some good entertainment tonight at the festival. You, me in a fight for the right to mate Kujhade. When I beat you, you'll have the pleasure of watching me teach you how to properly mate one of our males," R'ka said with a snarl that seemed more pleased than angry to Jasmine.

When R'ka stepped back, Jasmine scrambled to her feet. R'ka had turned her back, sauntering off, but Jasmine ran up behind her and gave her a good kick to her ass. It barely made her stumble or break her stride, but she wheeled around on Jasmine just the same.

"Yeah turn your big ass around bitch!" Jasmine hissed out, extending her spear and taking a stance.

"You got me three different types of fucked up, if you think you can march your ugly ass over here and challenge me for my man!" She exclaimed.

At first R'ka wore a shocked expression, then a moment later she actually laughed before grabbing her own weapon. She drew the spear and pointed a claw in Jasmine's face. She started to say something, but before she could speak, Jasmine had smacked her hand with the handle of the spear.

"Bitch, get your hand outta my fucking face!" She spat. Jasmine could feel her heart start hammering, and her system start to dump a load of adrenaline into her blood stream. How dare she? Who the hell was this anyway, and why did she think it was okay to come talk to her this way? In fact, why hadn't Kujhade stepped in yet? She glanced over, and he seemed shocked, and she caught a whiff of his mating scent. He was giving her that look, but she couldn't pay that any mind. For some odd reason, he was horny as well as taken aback. This was probably some weird ass alien tradition she didn't know about, but she still didn't appreciate it. Apparently on Yaut fucking Prime, it was par for the course to come challenge another woman for her man. Jasmine knew they weren't a monogamous species, but she thought challenging for life mates was off limits. Obviously not though, by the looks of things.

"You little pauk'de ooman….."

"Enough!" Dteinou thundered, as she stepped in front of R'ka.

"Dteinou. The Matriarch's errand girl. This isn't your business. I've challenged this weak ooman to a duel, and…."

"And it was a dishonorable thing to have done, not to mention stupid beyond even you R'ka. Kujhade is her life mate, he's off limits unless he and his mate agree otherwise. You know this, or do you have need of a reminder?" Dteinou stated, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword, and daring R'ka to defy her.

R'ka huffed as she glanced between Jasmine and Dteinou. Finally, she stepped back; a sign that she had stood down.

"Smart girl. Run along now, young one. You have a festival to attend. Find a suitable mate there if you can," Dteinou said dismissively and turned to face Jasmine.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Jasmine nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just fine," Jasmine said, then looked at Kujhade. He was still holding the boys, who were babbling excitedly to each other.

"What kind of festival is this Kujhade, and why does she wanna have sex with you so bad?" Jasmine asked in a huff, with her hands on her hips. She was flustered and still angry. She was also deciding if any of that anger needed to be directed at a certain albino male yautja.

"It's just a mating ritual. Mating season…it's tonight Jasmine," he said, his deep baritone a little too breathy. He then gave her a once over, and his mating musk kicked up a half a notch.

Both Jasmine and Dteinou rolled their eyes in unison.

"Males,"

"Men,"

They said at the same time on their respective languages.

"I would not dismiss it so casually great Dteinou Thei-de. T'chnde should be searching you out tonight as well," Kujhade said, in a rare instance of teasing.

"Never mind about T'chnde pale hunter," she said, but then couldn't hide the blush that passed over her crest.

"Can I get a mate too?" The young female asked Dteinou. She'd been hanging back, but now sidled right up to her adoptive mother.

"Not until after your chiva, when you become worthy to be a bearer," Dteinou answered casually. The female seemed highly disappointed in this answer.

"Well, if I'm going to be going to this festival I better get out of here and get some rest. C'mon little guys, let's go home," Jasmine said. She noticed Dteinou and Kujhade pass a look between them.

"Jasmine, you need not attend a yautja mating ritual. There is nothing for you there except danger perhaps. I'll not allow it," Kujhade said, putting the pups down so that they could toddle along at least for a little while.

"Nope. I was challenged by Big Bertha so I'm going. Let it never be said that Jasmine Bledsoe was a punk bitch. We're both going," she said confidently, and began marching in the direction of their home.

Kujhade gave a questioning look to Dteinou, who only shrugged and went her own way, the young blood following close behind. He turned to follow Jasmine, liking the view of her finely muscled rump and curvy hips sway with the motion of her walk. He closed his eyes and took a breath, then caught up with his family.