Jasmine had been cooped up in the house for the last day or so. Mating season only lasted about two weeks, then immediately after was the Hunter's moon which marked the beginning of the chiva. It had already been four of this planet's days, and she was being worn thin between constant sex, training, and caring for the boys. She didn't have a whole lot of time, so she was here studying. Kujhade had shown her how to access the general database for information, and suggested she learn all she could about the prey she would have to hunt; kiande amedha. All the information was in their language, and even though she could access audio files which explained literally everything you'd ever want to know about these things, her translator could only pick up the salient points. She had to fill in the blanks with the accompanying video feed, and context clues.
She'd been at it for hours. Sitting back and rubbing her eyes, Jasmine paused the video of a Xenomorph being implanted into a host. Kujhade had often spoke about them, but it was only now that she was getting a clearer picture of just what she was going to be facing. It scared the living hell out of her. She shivered, and turned her mind to more pleasant thoughts. Mainly, they consisted of having very public sex with Kujhade in almost every kind of gathering. She was surprised to realize that the mating ritual she had attended had only been the official one. Yautjas hosted their own little gatherings throughout the entire mating season, and she and Kujhade had been the stars of a couple of shows. Many had never seen a human mate one of their own, and apparently, it was a fascinating piece of business. None of them ever spoke to her aside from the occasional snarl or threat, but Kujhade had been getting a lot of feedback about it from the other males. Most of them thought the fact that Kujhade did not need to engage in a fight prior to the mating, to be the most intriguing albeit confusing part of it all. What kind of female does not make a male prove he has the right to seed her? Even life mates squared off before mating just as a custom, so that was no excuse. Some of them even could see what the attraction was. Sure she was hideous, but her mating scent was exquisite, and Kujhade had gotten into at least three skirmishes with some newly eligible bachelors about mating Jasmine. In short, they could not overpower one of their own females, and Jasmine being human presented no such issue. She was an easier catch with Kujhade being the only obstacle between them and an easy lay. The only problem was that Kujhade was a hell of an obstacle to overcome, and they were too young, inexperienced, and crazed by the need to mate to defeat him. He didn't kill any of them, but the third one wasn't going to be able to go on a hunt for a while. It was the price he paid for persistence.
Ever since being on this planet, Jasmine was not allowed to go anywhere unaccompanied by a yautja. All her business was conducted this way as well, even at the market. No one would serve her, or acknowledge her except members of her own clan. If she wanted something, she either had to send the young female when she was available, or wait for Lijia who performed the transactions for her. Most times she went along just to get out of the house, but it was uncomfortable and awkward, and that feeling never changed.
During the mating season, this was intensified and it seemed her very presence outside of putting on a sex show, irritated the vast majority of the populace. Usually able to control such impulses, the yautja's were running mostly on pure instinct and heightened sex drives. The challenges were becoming more intense as time wore on, and the best pickings were being taken out of the gene pool. The females mated many males, but when they realized they had become impregnated, they were no longer available for mating. They entered their rather lengthy gestation periods and headed back to their own territories to carry the pups to term and raise them. The males had become more daring in their pursuit of a female, and the females responded in kind. Even though they were becoming a bit desperate, the females made a specific point to avoid approaching Kujhade. No matter what kind of favor he curried with the Matriarch, they still had no desire to birth an albino pup. Only one single female bucked the trend consistently, and that was none other than R'ka.
Jasmine had won their non-lethal challenge, but R'ka was not done. She made attempts to mate Kujhade at every turn, but he refused. At first, Jasmine allowed herself to believe that it was due to his undying love for her, until he burst her bubble with a simpler truth; it went against his word. The life-mating was his word of honor that his seed was Jasmine's to have. It was born of the idea that there would be little to no chance of a yautja female bearing pups for him, and to a large degree this remained true. R'ka was the one incongruity, and no amount of pressing Kujhade could make him tell her why. As she sat back in her seat, Jasmine couldn't help but go over the events of the night before after returning home from yet another mating ritual gathering.
They made it back to their domicile to find the boys fast asleep, and their temporary babysitter waiting by the door. She bid the parents a quick farewell, and left quickly. They shared a vigorous sex romp in the woods, but Kujhade wasn't tired out yet and demanded another round before allowing Jasmine to recuperate. They lay snuggled against one another, but didn't sleep. Jasmine was tired, but the confrontation with R'ka two nights before, and more importantly Kujhade's reaction worried her. She'd known him long enough to realize that any dillydallying with her words was apt to upset him, so she simply came out with it.
"Do you want to fuck R'ka?" She blurted out. He answered her just as smoothly as she'd asked.
"Sei-i," came the quick one-word reply. Jasmine's heart sank, and all her insecurities rushed to the forefront, begging to be voiced, but she swallowed them as best she could. With his hormones raging, it would not be wise to get into her own emotions despite how it made her feel.
He's not human, he's not human, he's not human…..but he's still a man
She repeated that mantra in her mind, as she tried hard to formulate her next statement carefully. She had to be articulate and succinct, and she could not show undue stress over what to him was a simple, and irrelevant matter.
"So, why didn't you have her that night?" That was the best she could do. She licked her lips and waited patiently for his answer. He heard her heart start racing, and her pulse quicken, but it was unaccompanied by any trace of fear. There was however, some anxiety but he could not determine the source. In any case, he wished to calm her and it seemed an answer would serve that purpose.
"We are life mated. You have not agreed that I could spend my seed elsewhere, so I did not," simple and plain. The anxiety lessened, but it did not go away.
"So, if I told you that you could have sex with her, you would?" She knew it was a dangerous path to tread. These were questions meant for a human man, and if he had any sense it was a question he would know exactly how to answer. "You know I love you; I don't want anyone else but you; I love you, why would you ask me that?" These were not questions meant for a yautja arbitrator, who under any other circumstances would have ignored her, or killed her. She didn't seem to be able to help herself.
"I would go immediately to mate her," again with the fucking truthful, blunt ass answers. She wanted to cry. Her woman's intuition was spot on. She wasn't good enough, wasn't enough woman for him, and how could she have been? She'd taken a good look at the females around her, and in many ways, she didn't stack up.
On Earth, Jasmine was desirable because of how she looked. She was young and pretty, she was talented, she had a nice body, hazel eyes, and nice ass. If she twerked it just right, winked seductively, or flirted in any way, men would crawl over each other to be with her. Even after she had declined due to drug use, this was still the case when she cleaned herself up and went out. Here, there were no dance clubs, or porn movies, or video vixens. There were no outrageous standards of beauty, or superficial demands made of women, to measure up to some ideal the men had. Here, it was about what you could do, what you had done, what you could offer to the community at large. You either cut the mustard or you didn't. Shit or get off the pot, as her mother used to say. You proved your worth, and if you couldn't hack it, you died or you lived in exile to your last days. Here you either killed or you were killed, hunt or you were hunted, mate or let your lineage die with you. In short, her beauty did not matter here. In fact, she was not considered beautiful among them. To go even further, she was not considered much at all among them. She was weak, prey, pitiful. She had birthed pups, but that was more of a curious thing than something to be fully respected. She had not even passed the most fundamental and elementary test of all yautja, which was the first among many to prove that you even deserved to live and contribute to their race. The only reason she was even here with Kujhade in the first place, had nothing to do with who she was, but rather who she wasn't. She wasn't a yautja, so therefore was not in any position to judge him or refuse him. Had he been deemed acceptable as a sire by the majority of females, he never would have sought out human companionship at all. It was then that a horrible realization hit her all over again, and threatened to burst forth from her in a mix of hurt and anger; she was a consolation prize. Nothing more, and nothing less. Kujhade had lived among his kind as a second-class citizen, socially speaking, and had to settle for any female who could physically bear him children.
"I have given my word Jasmine. That is enough," he added. She couldn't take anymore. She grit her teeth and then turned to face him. She gave him her best smile, and kissed him gently on his crest and mouth, and excused herself under the pretense of going to the bathroom.
She had to bite down on her own arm to keep the sounds of her crying from reaching him. A year ago, she would have cried openly, but since being among the rest of his kind, she had stopped being so open with him about everything she was feeling. Much of it he did not understand, and if she was being honest with herself, he was largely unconcerned with her more complicated female human emotional states and reactions. If it did not directly concern himself, the pups, her personal safety and welfare, or the hunt, Kujhade viewed it as unimportant. Over the past year, she had felt the dynamics of their relationship shift. It was subtle but irreversible nonetheless. For a long time he tolerated with an enormous amount of patience, her emotional outbursts, her misunderstanding of his culture, and her dogged determination to hold on to values and mores which were stupid and served no real purpose in his eyes. Yes, she had come far, but not far enough. He had life mated her, she had birthed children who would never know much about their human heritage, and she had been in battle with him. In his eyes, that made her part of them, and as such there were certain expectations which came with the territory. One of those things, was having more control over her emotions. It was highly frowned upon to indulge in feelings of jealousy, greed, laziness, or sadness. It was even more frowned upon to display such feelings outwardly. This was seen as a weakness of the mind, and character, and placed a small blight upon one's honor.
With that in mind, Jasmine cried bitterly but in silence. He loved her. It was a love unburdened by complicated scenarios, or the trappings of delicate human emotions. His love was manifest in his patience, in his protection of her and the pups. It was in his eyes when he looked at her, it was in the way he accepted Mili as his pup, it was in the way he had went against a lifetime of dogmatic teaching and accepted behavior for her sake, for the sake of their lives together. She cried because the tectonic plates which formed the bedrock and foundation of their relationship, were subtly and slowly shifting. Even the smallest shift could create tremors and Earthquakes, and nothing would be the same afterwards. It pained her in the deepest places of her heart, but she loved him so much, that she felt she would die even at the thought of being without him. There was another thing also; love meant sacrifice. She would never go back to Earth, or be part of the society she was born and raised in. To that end, some of the things she had ever learned about anything simply had no place here, but love was not one of those things. Love was one of the most powerful human emotions, and could be wielded for good or ill to devastating effect. Jasmine would hold on to love, or at least her ideal of it. It would be the opposite of what she'd been shown. It would not be full of selfish desires, and it would not be characterized by how much pain she could inflict, but rather what she could endure. He was denied the simple right of fathering children, and even though she had birthed two, they were half-breeds. She felt no ill sentiment about that, and neither did he for that matter, but it was the simple truth. Jasmine had never experienced being denied a man, regardless of the nature of the relationship. She had always had dreams of someday getting married and having children, and she did not have to resort to any extreme measures. It was possible, plenty possible. All she had to do was clean up her act, and it could happen. Kujhade had been denied this for many years, until now. There was a small glimmer of hope for him to have what he truly desired, and she had the power to grant or deny. His hope had come in the most abominable, disrespectful package she could think of, but this wasn't about her. This was about him. He had a chance, so the question was, did she love him enough to let him take that chance? He had given her so much happiness, but what would she give him in return? What was she willing to sacrifice for his sake? The answer, of course, was her heart. She would give a piece of her heart away, and hope that she could survive without it.
Jasmine dried her eyes, and straightened herself out. She exited the bathroom to find him on his back, resting but not asleep. She padded her way to their bed pit, and lay next to him. He was awake, his green eyes reflecting the moonlight which filtered in from the skylight in the ceiling. She swallowed hard as her heart fluttered in her chest, and the pit in her stomach deepened with every passing moment. He did not acknowledge her, although there was no anger in it. Jasmine climbed on top of him, straddled his middle and looked into his face. He looked back at her without any readable expression. She kissed his closed mandibles gently before she spoke.
"I love you, and even though you have never said those words, I know you love me too," she began. He waited patiently for her to continue.
"I don't ever want to deprive you of anything that makes you happy. You give me everything, and I realize that I don't really give you anything in return," she went on to say.
"That is not true," he offered. "That has never been true, my mate," She shook her head in denial.
"I don't do enough. You've gone against so many of your customs for me, and I can't think of one thing I've gone against so that you could feel comfortable. I know you may not understand why I'm saying what I'm saying, but," she hesitated. This was so damn hard to do, but she felt she must no matter the personal cost.
"If you, if you want to mate with R'ka… I give you permission," she said, and the pit in her stomach churned mercilessly. His eyes focused on her face. He was looking for any sign of deceit, and found none. She was being sincere.
"You are certain of what you say?" He asked. She simply nodded, not having the heart to verbalize it again. He stared at her for a long moment, with that old familiar look where the emotions swam just below the surface.
She crawled off him as he rose to a sitting position. True to his word, once she gave the permission, he gathered himself and left immediately. She held it together for a few minutes after he left, but then burst into tears and sobbed quietly into the furs of the bed until she fell asleep.
Jasmine was startled out of her thoughts by Kujhade's entrance. Given the last thought she had before seeing him, it was difficult to manage her usual greeting, but she tried anyway. She got up to come towards him, but stopped in her tracks. She sniffed the air in his direction, and then frowned. There was something familiar about the smell, but it was mixed with something. She was about to make some off-handed comment about how stinky he was until realization dawned. It hit her like a punch to the gut. It was his mating musk, but mingled with another similar scent, and she knew it belonged to R'ka.
"Well, hello to you too," she said, crossing her arms over her chest because she didn't know what else to do with them. She wanted to hit something. Maybe smack herself in the face for being such a dumbass.
He grunted her a response, then went to the small locked box, opened it, and retrieved one of his trophies. Even after all this time, his main collection remained on the ship they arrived in. He only had a few trinkets here that didn't take up too much space. Jasmine peeked around to see what he had in his hands. It was an ornate blade, no more than a pocket knife to him, but it made Jasmine angry all the same. A trophy for R'ka.
"You've gotta get her a gift too? Not enough that she got you?" Jasmine said in a clipped, angry tone. Kujhade stopped and stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.
"We've mated several times already. I should have presented the trophy first, but I did not," he said as he placed the dagger in his belt and went for the door. She stood in front of it, with her mouth a thin line. She wrinkled her nose again, and looked into his face.
"You have permission to mate her, but you don't have permission to come here wearing her pussy scent," she said bluntly. His eyes went from slightly bemused, to hard and flat. He growled low in his throat, and Jasmine's eyes narrowed.
"When I life-mated you, I gave you my word and I honored it. Now, you gave me your word, and you will honor it. I mated her, I wear her scent like I wear your scent. I have business to attend, and I do not have time for this," he said, and then gently but firmly picked her up by her shoulders and placed her to the side.
At a complete loss for words, Jasmine stood with her jaw working furiously to stay shut, as she watched him leave. When the door opened, none other than R'ka herself had been standing there. The walls weren't as thick as Jasmine would have liked to believe, so Big Bertha had heard that exchange. Jasmine settled a steely gaze upon the large female, and it was returned in kind. Seeming oblivious, or maybe plain not giving a shit, Kujhade openly handed R'ka the ornate blade. She took the gift, with a gesture which seemed to Jasmine to be ungrateful, and then caught Jasmine's eye contact again. R'ka trilled in her direction; a happy sound. She then turned on her heels so fast, her dreads slapped against her shoulders and strode off, Kujhade in tow. He did not even cast a look back in Jasmine's direction. Jasmine blinked away angry tears which she did not allow to fall, and looked around to see how many yautja she had been embarrassed in front of, only to find that they paid no mind to the scene. It was a quick reminder that she was the only one feeling hurt and left out. She was about to let the door slide closed, when she spotted Lijia. Jasmine didn't feel much like entertaining any yautja right now, but swallowed it. She'd brought this latest heartache upon herself, and taking it out on Lijia was both unfair and useless.
Lijia had come to escort Jasmine and the pups to the kehrite, but upon entering the private quarters, she noticed something very off. She stood at the door a moment, while Jasmine sat back in front of the projectile screen. On the screen, a human host had just been implanted, and it was now showing how the nasty little fuckers developed and then broke free.
"Are you ready to go?" Lijia asked. She looked around and noticed that Jasmine didn't seem to be in any rush, and the pups were still taking their nap.
"I'm not going anywhere today. I'm studying. All the training in the world won't help if I don't even know what I'm hunting and fighting," Jasmine said, sulkily. Lijia went to one side of the room, and dragged a seat and placed it right next to Jasmine. She paused the video feed, and looked at the human who had become her clan sister.
"You are typically eager to train, and prove your strength. What has happened, and do not deceive me Jasmine," Lijia asked, with some concern. Jasmine wanted to be strong, to hold it in. After all, Lijia was still a yautja, still a predator. She could no more respect such weakness than any of them, but Jasmine couldn't stop herself. She looked up at Lijia with shiny eyes.
"I've done something so stupid Lijia. Now, I can't get out of it," Jasmine whimpered, placed her elbows on the table, and held her face in her hands. Her shoulders hitched with silent cries.
Lijia had seen Jasmine upset before, but something was different about this time. There had been no danger, no upsetting circumstances, so Lijia waited on her clan sister to calm down and tell her what was so wrong. It didn't take long for Jasmine to calm herself. She swallowed hard, and checked to see that she hadn't woke up her boys.
"I let Kujhade have sex with R'ka," she said, and Lijia's look of utter surprise caught her off guard.
"You did what?!" Lijia shouted.
"I knooow, I feel so damn stupid!" Jasmine shouted and picked up her training mask which lay on the table, and threw it at the wall hard.
"Mamaaa," Mili cried as he was startled out of his sleep. He wiped his little eyes, and toddled to her with his arms out.
"Mama's sorry baby," she said as she picked him up and rubbed soothing circles in his back.
"Lijia, how do I get out of this," she said. Her voice sounded sad, as it did on those rare occasions when she would speak to Lijia about Earth and the things she missed. She sat down and rocked Mili gently until he settled down, but he was wide awake. Yeyinde wasn't far behind, as she saw him sit up and look at his brother. He burst out laughing, and Mili scrambled off his mother's lap, and ran to jump and tackle his brother. Jasmine watched with a wan, sad smile on her face before turning back to Lijia.
"From all accounts, you stood your ground and took the challenge she issued. Now, you have done nothing but void that victory. I do not understand this Jasmine. Why would you do this? Did someone threaten you over it?" Lijia asked, her lower mandibles moving rapidly with a mix of frustration and anger, both directed at Jasmine.
"Oh my god," Jasmine said quietly and stood to her feet, her back turned to Lijia as she hugged herself.
"I was trying to make him happy Lijia. I thought that, being with me was somehow making him, I don't know, worse I guess. I know what he wants in his heart, and it isn't me. He wants his own kind, and children with them. He only chose me because there was no other choice to make. For him, being with R'ka is like getting the queen Xeno trophy, and being with me is like, I don't know, getting one of those dog things you all play with. Just not good enough," she said. When she turned around, she was unprepared for the obvious anger written all over Lijia's face and body language.
"I asked if I could be a mate to Kujhade, and you became angry with me. Now, you have given this very permission to a female that you have defeated in a challenge, and that you do not even like?" Lijia asked, and there was another emotional kick to the groin, that almost made Jasmine double over. Lijia waved it away.
"In spite of that, you were challenged by a female, accepted, and prevailed, only to later void this by giving your mate specific permission to mate the same female. Do you know that none of this has ever been done in the history of our species?! Do you even know who R'ka is to him?" Lijia said, absently stalking towards Jasmine. She didn't mean to be threatening, but she couldn't really help it. It was rare that Jasmine caused her to be angry for any reason, but this was unthinkable.
"Furthermore, why do you think so lowly of yourself in your mate's eyes? Has Kujhade stated these things to you, that you are inferior, or that he thinks of you as low prey?" Lijia asked, not believing that Kujhade could have expressed that. Then again males sometimes had a way about them.
"No, he didn't, but I know it's true. I mean, think about it Lijia. If he could have had kids with any one of his own, he would have never chosen me in a thousand years and you know it. Now, he has a chance. Is it really right for me to stand in his way?" Jasmine asked, trying to plead her case.
"A chance? He has no chance. He is albino, and no matter how he has survived or turned out, he is still an albino. We still do not welcome such a genetic inferiority into the gene pool. I have traveled with you, Kujhade, and these dear pups, and I have nothing but respect for this choice of keeping Mili alive. At first, I didn't understand the choice, even though I agreed with it. I can see that this defect does not have to doom one to fail as a hunter, but that will not remove the hardship in life. Kujhade is outcast, not due to his honor but his genetics. You know this," Lijia said, but Jasmine seemed confused. Lijia clicked loudly in frustration. She started pacing, and flaring her mandibles. Jasmine had simply never seen her this way.
"You have been with us for more than two Earth cycles, yet you refuse to learn anything! This feeling you humans have, this love you call it. We are able to feel that sometimes. A bearer feels it for her pup, a youngblood may even feel it for their huntmaster… and a life mate feels it for their mate. Don't you know that Kujhade did not need to life-mate you in order to make you birth his pups? He had you in his grasp, and under his control. Had he a mind to do so, he could have simply imprisoned you, mated you as he pleased and you would have no say or choice in the matter. Yet, he does the opposite and life-mates you, marries you as you call it. He defends you, he defends his pups, he protects your honor. Do you know that the Matriarch could have decreed him a bad blood for even being associated with you in this way, and that he was prepared to fight even her?! Do you have any idea what that means for us, to even consider such an act of defiance? For you, Jasmine, he had done this, and you dare to question your status in his eyes? You are a fool! A human pauk'de fool, and I will not tolerate more!" Lijia shouted, as she stood over a withered Jasmine.
With each accusation, Jasmine had crumpled into herself and onto the floor. She was bowed until her forehead touched the ground, hugging herself, rocking and crying bitterly. Every syllable Lijia had spoken was correct, and it hit her at the very core of her being.
"That's why I did this Lijia," Jasmine said in a hushed tone, in between sobs. "He has given me everything. He has changed his whole way of doing, of being, just to show me how he feels. Every day, it eats me alive to know it, but I have done nothing, given him nothing. I have not changed for him, I haven't made it easier on him. I have wanted more and more and more, things he can't give. I decided, I could bear this pain for him. I decided, to give him what he wants most I think. He wants a yautja woman, and pure bred pups, and I can give him neither," Jasmine said. It was the simple truth. She had laid it out on the table under the harsh light of reality, to be examined and picked apart. Maybe it was pathetic, but it was still the truth as she felt it in her heart.
"Little do you understand, my human clan sister. R'ka will not give him these things either," Lijia said, squatting next to Jasmine, and lifting her chin to meet her eyes. Jasmine's was a look of utter shock and confusion. She tried to say something, but found herself speechless.
"I know Kujhade would never tell you, but his is a well-known story. R'ka is the sister of Bakuub. When Kujhade first appeared among us, he was again rejected by his bearer and older sibling. He was taken to the Matriarch, it was Dhi'routa then as well, to have a decision made upon his fate. There were a lot of opinions, most were to kill him, but the high council finally came to an honorable decision. The young blood had proved his worth and right to live by surviving against such terrible odds. His bearer was brought before the courts, and banished to a status just shy of being a bad blood. This was because she did not kill Kujhade as she should have, but chose a more dishonorable way. She tried to leave him for dead, a coward's way, but since he did not die she was punished for the decision. It was Dhi'routa who decided that as one of the more promising young clan leaders, Bakuub would be a good choice of mentor, and proper huntmaster," Lijia told. Jasmine had never heard anything other than the snippets of story that Kujhade reluctantly offered about his past.
"Bakuub balked as heavily as he dared against even being associated with one such as Kujhade, but in the end he had no choice. They remained here on the home planet until Kujhade was old enough to perform a proper chiva. During that time, R'ka was also training, as she is about the same age as Kujhade. She gave him a hard time. She openly ridiculed him along with all the other youngbloods, until Bakuub finally put an end to it. It was only after Kujhade returned from his chiva, bringing with him at least five successful solo kills, and the shared trophy of a kiande amedha queen, that he gained honor and respect. After that, he was made to travel with Bakuub on his clan ship, in order to partake of even more challenging hunts. Word spread quickly of this pale hunter, who conquered all prey with an ease which was rare to come by even for us. Many cycles later, they returned to the home planet, and all the females who had sworn he would never be welcome to their wombs, were eager to mate him," Lijia continued.
While she was talking, the twins had come to soothe their mother, who was now only sniffling here and there as she listened closely to the tale. They had even begun to purr at her while climbing into her lap. They were also trying to bring their foreheads to hers, and she obliged, much to their delight.
"Is R'ka, K'var's bearer?" Jasmine, asked. Lijia scoffed.
"No, she is not. K'var's bearer still lives here. She was the diminutive female who was standing on the edge of the warrior's hall where those honored hunters whose remains we possess, are placed," Lijia said, and Jasmine nodded. She remembered that one. Very quiet and aloof, she was. Now, Jasmine understood why; she was grieving the loss of her pup.
"That was the female who managed to garner Kujhade's attention. The other females were somewhat willing, but did not want to take the chance on bearing a pup with his affliction, that they would then be forced to kill. After K'var was born, everyone sought out Kujhade for the next mating cycle. He mated a few as the story goes, but only R'ka became impregnated. Many females envied her having become the potential bearer for such a powerful hunter, but it was short-lived. The pup did not even have a name. The only reason we know it took after Kujhade's genetics was because R'ka was without a pup that next mating cycle. This ended all chances for Kujhade becoming a great sire among us. No other female of good genetic stock would even consider it. He was rebuffed heavily, and from that point, he did not mate a yautja female again. R'ka is eager to mate him because of his sexual prowess, and their history, but I doubt she will bear him pups, if that is indeed what he desires from her," Lijia concluded to Jasmine's amazement.
Her husband had led a storied life in his more than two centuries worth of living, and she had very little clue about any of it. He was private. So much so, that he would have never given her a blow-by-blow as Lijia had done. Jasmine was sitting now with her back to the wall, legs crossed and her boys all over her. They were two big balls of endless energy, and all of it was focused on her at the moment. Instead of being frustrated by it, Jasmine welcomed it. It was soothing to her, like cool water on a hot summer's day.
Lijia was still squatting on her haunches, and looking at Jasmine. Her earlier anger abated, and her face now was one of concern. She began to purr lightly, replacing her earlier growls and chuffs.
"I never knew all of that. No one ever told me," Jasmine said, her eyes cast down in thought.
"You did not ask. You show interest in Kujhade and in our culture, but only that which serves your relationship with him. What you must learn, is to become one with it. You talk about what R'ka can give that you cannot. You should understand that you are the only one to have given him what he wants most, and that is strong pups. R'ka killed his pup, and if I know her, she will not bear him another no matter what she says," Lijia said, and the conviction in her voice, gave Jasmine hope but still.
"He's never going to come back to me Lijia. I heard what you said, but he doesn't respect me, not after this. He can't. I've lost him, for good I think," Jasmine said. Lijia clicked her mandibles thoughtfully.
"I do not believe this is true. As a human, you are a very different kind of mate. Kujhade is male, and so can be quite stubborn. If you are patient, and concentrate on the chiva that you must survive, he will gain a better perspective. Now come. You are late and Dteinou does not like to wait," said her friend who stood and offered Jasmine a hand up.
"What's on the agenda today, do you know?" Jasmine asked, finally gathering her training gear and children.
"After Dteinou does the kick of your ass; tracking and navigation without equipment," she said, and chuckled at her own use of Jasmine's lingo, completely unaware that she'd botched it. The earlier tension left, as they exited companionably about ten minutes later, but Jasmine would not forget a word of what Lijia had told her this day.
A/N: So how do we feel about Jasmine's decision? Was Lijia correct in being angry, and what do you think is going through Kujhade's mind? I'm so interested in hearing you guy's thoughts.
By the way, in the last chapter, mentioning Alexa wasn't my only nod to the movies. Danny and Mike are the sons of Leona and Mike from Predator 2. Remember the baby the detective woman was pregnant with when the City Hunter decided not to kill her? That's Danny. In my story, she named him Danny in honor of their colleague Danny which the City Hunter killed. Mike Jr is of course Mike Harrigan's son. Made up of course, but who says the detective didn't have a son? So, I've made sure that we have another dynamic detective duo in Danny and Mike just like in Predator 2. :)