Lilith watched in disbelieving silence while Gwen paid for everything that she'd picked out! She knew that there was a whole ton of stuff there, and that it had to be really expensive, but Gwen didn't seem to be bothered by the cost at all. Once everything was paid for, Gwen turned to her and handed her a small pouch.
"Keep this with you in case you decide that you want to buy something. This is the money that Lar'ja-sain'ja paid for those seeds you recovered from Thwei-de-Nihkou'te's vents." Guan instructed.
"What? You… seem to have made some kind of mistake Honored Warrior. As far as I know, that ooman has never been to my brother's shop, and she got those seeds from my, vents not his!" Thwei-de interrupted slowly.
Guan turned and looked at the shop keeper in confusion.
"My apologies. The mistake is mine. I was so excited yesterday, that I got some things mixed up when I related the events to my mother. After all, how often is it that one receives crafted heat metal in exchange for a simple hunt?" Setg'in put in quickly.
"When you explain it that way, it makes sense. I'd have been excited too." Thwei-de huffed in amusement.
"Then you should now give me their proper names as a form of apology." Guan said firmly.
"This is the honorable shop keeper, and Honored Warrior Thwei-de-thei-de. He is the Elder who began instructing Lilith in the path of the Warrior during her First Hunt. It was his brother Thwei-de-Nihkou'te who gave me the disk and chain of heat metal in exchange for assisting this Elder with an infestation of tunnel runners. I didn't meet Thwei-de-thei-de until I arrived here. I was introduced to his brother Thwei-de-Nihkou'te by my friend Thwei-de-Th'syra who is a Youngblood like myself." Setg'in said formally before turning to the shopkeeper.
"This is my mother, an Honored Warrior and one of the Elders in my Clan, Guan-Kv'var-de." Setg'in said proudly.
"I am honored to meet you Guan-Kv'var-de. Before you ask… I must say that I am very pleased with the results of this hunt. Not only have I been privileged to meet an ooman for the first time, and learn first hand just cunning they truly are, but I have also been honored to supervise, and teach her during her First Hunt. You have my deepest thanks for allowing them to come here." Thwei-de said formally.
"I was glad to send Setg'in and Bakuub along, but I am not pleased to see that Lilith was injured, because I didn't allow her to come here for a hunt, let alone the cleansing that this turned into. Still, I thank you for supervising her First Hunt in my absence." Guan replied just as formally.
"As I said, it was both an honor, and a privilege. I must also add that it was a learning experience for me as well… that little ooman is highly intelligent, and very cunning to have improvised the way she did." Thwei-de stated with no small amount of pride in his tone, before a very serious expression crossed his features.
"There is the matter of her anger though. The Little Ooman Hunter has as much anger as an entire hive of Kainde Amedha! That level of rage means that she should be watched, because whatever the motivation behind that anger, it can cloud her judgment and reasoning… and that will put her life in danger." Thwei-de continued seriously.
"Your warning is appreciated, but also unnecessary. I am well aware of the rage that dwells within her, and though she chooses not to speak, she is quite capable of making her anger apparent. I think it's possible that her anger is a result of being mistreated by bad-bloods for the past several years…" Guan began.
"You mean tortured, don't you? I've seen those scars that adorn the pup's back! There are more than forty thousand of them! That many scars do not result from mere mistreatment." Thwei-de returned sternly.
"You're right… they don't. What exactly transpired during her ordeal isn't fully known at this time. I will say that three of the best healers available have become involved…" Guan broke off at the sudden sound of an angry gasp from Lilith.
Lar'ja-sain'ja's eyes narrowed beneath her mask when she heard the seemingly ridiculous number that had been literally hurled by the shop keeper. She stepped forward and pulled up the ooman's covering to see the condition of the pup's back for herself.
Her mandibles tightened in anger at the sight that met the ultra violet vision of her mask. Even through the coating of medical paste, there were countless scars still visible. "This only proves what I've been saying for years… there aren't any oomans who have any honor!"
"That is where you would be mistaken Elder. My brothers and I encountered Lilith in a Temple of Passage while we were on our Chiva. We didn't know it at the time, but she was severely injured. Two of her ribs were broken, and five more were cracked. Even so, without armor, and equipped with a blade so small that it doesn't even deserve to be called a knife, she still attacked a Drone to save my brother's life. Her first attack was to use the weight of her own body as a weapon to spoil the drone's tail strike." Setg'in said before he started chuckling.
"If that weren't enough, she then used that pathetically small blade to stab the drone after sneaking up on it. If she didn't possess any honor, then she wouldn't have risked her own life to save that of my brother…" Setg'in had been about to say more, but he was cut off by a loud snarl of anger from Lilith who finally managed to escape the Predator's grasp.
Although she wasn't all that familiar with ooman facial expressions, she was certain that the look currently on the pup's face was meant to convey the purest hatred, and anger imaginable. Lar'ja-sain'ja could easily smell the rage coming off the ooman pup. She watched as the little female huffed angrily while pulling her top covering back down to where it should be. Then the pup suddenly lunged forward to shove at her lower stomach with both hands and a snarl of rage before stepping back and bumping into Guan.
Although she wasn't prepared for such a brazen move or challenge, the only effect of the pup's push was to make her place one foot behind her to keep her balance. Lar'ja-sain'ja was about to respond to the challenge of this insolent ooman when she was stopped by a loud snarl of barely contained anger from Guan-vor'mekta.
"You might choose to question her honor, but if you wish to keep yours then you will be very careful because I will warn you only once… do not expose her in such a way again! Especially in the presence of males!"
"My apologies Honored Warrior. I… also apologize to you… Lilith." She said sincerely, after realizing what she'd just done. Even though she was still angry, she knew that the ooman female had been fully justified in her actions.
"I was… surprised… by such a high number being thrown out like that, and had to see for myself whether or not it was an exaggeration." Lar'ja-sain'ja added more calmly.
"I can assure you that it was no exaggeration, and according to a medical scan, they were all received at the same time a few years ago. As I said earlier, I don't know everything that transpired to scar her in such a way, but she will not endure such things again! She is under my care and protection now." Guan said firmly.
Lar'ja-sain'ja looked from the Yautja female down to the ooman female pup who was clearly angry enough to kill and was bristling with barely contained rage. The sight of such obvious hostility and anger made her own anger rise again. "Do not mistake my apology for sympathy… Lilith. I will not disregard any kind of a challenge from you. Is that understood?"
Guan was about to respond to that remark when Lilith snarled angrily and turned her back to the female while looking around quickly. Guan had no time to react as it happened. The angered, and now insulted Yautja female lunged forward with a growl to grab Lilith's shoulder, while at the same time, Lilith snatched Guan's knife from its sheath on her leg. Even as Lar'ja-sain'ja spun Lilith around to face her, Lilith responded by using the force of the spin to stab the female just above her knee.
As soon as she felt the knife sink into the angry Predator's leg, the woman had let her go, so Lilith stepped back and dropped into a crouching stance. She was ready to dodge in any direction so she could try to stab this bitch again.
She'd had enough! Four years of being locked and tied in a basement while getting beaten who knew how many times, and now this Predator wanted to beat her some more? That was so not going to happen!
'Bring it on bitch! I'm not getting any more beatings without a fight!' Lilith thought angrily.
Lar'ja-sain'ja had barely felt being stabbed, but she had let the ooman go when she spotted the weapon in the pup's hand. Suddenly she felt her blood run cold as a thrill of absolute fear shot through her entire body. That fear came from not one, but two distinct and very dangerous growls. The first growl was coming from behind her, and she knew that it was the Yaut Hound was making it. The other and much more frightening sound was coming from Guan! It was that very distinctive and very terrifying growl that could only be made by a female… a female prepared to defend a pup!
Knowing that her very life was now at stake, Lar'ja-sain'ja did the only thing she could to prevent from being mutilated and killed by a female in the throws of Bearer's Rage; she carefully moved into an upright stance and lowered her head while spreading her hands at her sides. It was a position of total submission, and she fervently hoped that she could somehow escape this mess alive.
Lilith was so focused on the Predator in front of her that she wasn't really paying any attention to Gwen. But then she realized what she was hearing, and she knew that the scary as hell growl was coming from Gwen. That was when she realized that Gwen was pissed, so Lilith dropped the knife and darted down the nearest aisle. She wasn't thinking at all as she slid under one of the racks, or she would have gone into the vents where none of the Predators could get to her. All she really knew at that point was that Gwen was scaring the living hell out of her with that growl, and she wanted nothing to do with it!
It wasn't the sound of her knife hitting the floor, but the sight of Lilith darting away from the possible fight that snapped Guan back to her senses. She let out a short bark of anger at the cause of the problem and immediately followed Lilith. Her keen sense of smell easily allowed her to follow the scent, and she knelt down to peer beneath the rack where Lilith was hiding.
The acrid scent of Lilith's fear was over whelming, and Guan had to struggle with the rage that threatened to return because of that scent. She wasn't entirely successful in suppressing the growl, and her eyes widened in shock when Lilith's reaction was to scramble further away from her while the strength of the scent increased. She closed her eyes while she fought for control. Then she looked at the cowering pup.
"Lilith you can come out from under there now." Guan said as calmly as she could manage.
Lilith knew that Gwen was pissed. Pissed? Hell… Gwen was so far gone that she'd have to calm down a lot to be just pissed! She knew why too. She remembered being told to never tough the weapons or armor of anyone else for any reason, and she'd taken Gwen's knife and stabbed someone. Now she was really going to be in for it! She shook her head and backed away towards the far side of the rack. That was when Gwen reached towards her and she scrambled out the other side only to be snatched up by a pair of strong hands.
When she saw that Lilith wasn't going to cooperate with her in the slightest, Guan reached out to reassure the pup. Lilith seemed to want none of it, because she quickly moved out the other side. That was when Guan saw her get picked up by someone else.
Guan was on her feet and around the rack instantly. No sooner did she see that it was the other female who had Lilith, than the pup was abruptly thrust into her arms while the female backed away swiftly.
"With respect Honored Warrior… I think Lilith is just as frightened of your anger as the rest of us." Lar'ja-sain'ja said as she kept backing away.
As soon as the female had moved to follow the ooman pup, the Youngblood that she'd encountered earlier had gotten control over the Yaut Hound. That had been a huge relief to Lar'ja-sain'ja because she knew that she didn't have the proper weapons to fight a Yaut Hound to begin with, and fighting one that attacked from behind would be next to impossible under the best conditions.
Glad that she wouldn't be mangled and killed from behind, Lar'ja-sain'ja looked towards where the ooman female had gone. She saw Guan almost laying on the floor as the Warrior tried to get the ooman to come to her, but the scent of Lilith's fear was so strong at that moment that she could even smell it from where she was standing. She walked a few steps to look at the other aisle and saw the ooman pup squirming out from under the rack in that direction. That was when she understood what the problem was. She moved quickly as she grabbed the ooman and immediately shoved the pup into the arms of the approaching female, before backing away.
Lar'ja-sain'ja positively hated oomans, but she knew better than to make herself the target of any female defending a pup. That was nothing more than suicide! Even though she truly hated oomans because of what had happened to her only child to survive the Chiva, there was no way she was going to be killed because of an ooman. She was very relieved to see that once Guan had the ooman pup in her arms, that the rather muscular female began to calm down.
"Do not threaten her again! You were the one to commit a disgraceful action against her. One that was highly disrespectful as well. She responded as anyone would have done…" Guan growled angrily.
"You're right. This incident was caused by me, and I apologize for it. I will not expose her again." Lar'ja-sain'ja agreed quickly. "This incident should never have happened, and I apologize for causing it."
"Very well." Guan allowed in a still irritated tone, as she headed back towards the counter.
She smelled the increase in Lilith's fear as she knelt down to retrieve her knife. She swiped the blood off on her leg and sheathed it in a single expert move, before turning her attention to the ooman being held against her left side. A glance at her son and the shop keeper showed that they and the other Youngbloods were all near the entrance and ready to leave quickly. She understood their reasons for it. Bearer's Rage was nothing to joke about, and this made the second time in two days that she'd been ready to give in to that rage. Guan knew that there were many Yautja who would dislike or even hate oomans, because of that race's penchant for dishonor, but she'd never have believed that such feelings of hatred would be directed at a mere pup.
"You may rest easy now Lilith. None will harm you while I can prevent it." Guan said firmly.
Lilith was sure that she was in serious trouble. She remembered what Gwen had told her about not touching someone else's weapons, and she'd taken Gwen's knife and stabbed someone. Gwen wasn't saying anything right then, but Lilith was sure that when they got back to the house, that Gwen was going to let her have it big time!
Guan couldn't fault Lilith for being quick to defend herself. Granted, she wasn't at all happy about Lilith using her knife without permission, but the whole incident was one that should never have happened. She quickly took a deep breath and let it out slowly while she took a moment to calm down.
Once her anger subsided, Guan stepped up to the counter to finish conducting her business. The shop keeper was tense and wary as he observed her with a watchful eye while he stepped behind the counter.
"How do you want to accept possession of these goods?" Thwei-de asked apprehensively.
Thwei-de-thei-de was no Youngblood, and he was certainly no fool. He knew very well that the female in front of him was readily dangerous. The physical effects of 'Bearer's Rage' were well known to those who had read the records. The surge of adrenalin that provided a tremendous amount of strength to the general musculature also caused the vocal cords to relax a great deal. That relaxation of the larynx was what caused the voice and growl of a female to deepen dramatically. The strange thing about it, was that no female was ever able to duplicate such a deep tone without that level of anger, and he knew it. He could still smell the ooman pup's fear, as well as the residual anger of the female holding that ooman. Add in the fact that the pup was currently injured, and it was apparent that it wouldn't take much at all to set this female off again… and this time, he didn't think that she'd be so easily calmed.
"I would like to have them delivered to my home." Guan answered in a much calmer tone before giving out the location of where she lived.
"Very well. That is easily arranged." Thwei-de answered with obvious relief, before he entered the details of where the goods were to be delivered into his wrist computer.
"There. Your purchases will be delivered just after the mid-day meal. I should inform you that there are other Souvenir and Curiosity shops in this city, just as there are in all cities. Lilith might find other items among those wares that I don't have." Thwei-de offered helpfully.
"Thank you. I may examine them at another time. For now, I have other matters to attend to." Guan answered before turning to leave.
Lilith knew that she was going to be in trouble, and she was positive that she was going to get a beating before the day was over. The only thing that knowledge accomplished was to force her to think about something else, so she looked at the pile of things Gwen had just paid for. When her eyes landed on the two fireplace sets, she remembered that Gwen only had the one fireplace in the living room. A brief struggle got Gwen to let her down, and she picked up one of the sets. Then she walked around the counter to where the shop keeper was standing. She could see that he had a fire already going behind him, and thought that this might be a good chance to make at least one friend on this world full of Predators.
Lilith walked over to the fireplace that was only half as big as the one in Gwen's living room, and started pulling the things out of the box. She used the poker to stir the coals up until there were small flames leaping up from the wood. She swept up the ashes and dumped them in the fire, before putting the screen in place. That was when she set up the stand, and put the poker, broom and dust scoop on it. Then she stepped back to look at her handy-work. She had to admit that even though the set wasn't fancy, and was just a plain old black; that it still looked nice.
Turning around, Lilith intended to leave, but found the whole path behind the counter blocked by the Predators who were looking at what she'd done. The shop keeper, Scar, along with all three of his friends, Gwen, and even that grumpy broad was there looking at the fireplace set. Lilith couldn't step back without getting burned by the fire, and she knew very well what getting burned by a small cigarette felt like, so there was no way she was going to take a step backwards to feel what a full sized fire would do. She sidled a little to her left while watching all of the Predators warily.
Then, even as she was getting more apprehensive and nervous with each passing second, Gwen stepped forward and picked her up.
"I wouldn't have believed that an ooman had enough honor to do such a thing." Lar'ja-sain'ja said quietly.
"After what I have seen from this little ooman pup… there is nothing about Lilith's honor that surprises me! I know that she has even faced The Dark Hunter in order to atone for the dishonor of others. If that and her actions here this day are not enough to convince you of her honor, then you are allowing yourself to be blinded by hatred." Guan said before turning her attention to the ooman she held.
Guan thought of one more method to display Lilith's honor, and she did so with no hesitation. "Did you intend for him to keep those items?"
Lilith nodded her head nervously. She knew that Gwen had only paid for the stuff that she'd just given away a few minutes ago, but she really didn't have anything of her own, and she felt like she owed the shop keeper because of the things he'd taught her. She was sure that he didn't have to teach her anything, but he had, and there was one ideal Lilith was a staunch believer in… that ideal was 'pay-back'. If someone did something to you, or for you, then there had to be some kind of pay-back! It was just how things worked.
Lilith looked at Gwen in surprise when the Predator holding her started purring! She'd been positive that Gwen would be angry about the fireplace set, but instead, she seemed to be almost happy about it being given away. That was when she noticed that a couple of other Predators were also purring.
"Did someone tell you to give him something?" Lar'ja-sain'ja demanded sourly.
Lilith shook her head while she tried to figure out what was going on. She watched in her typical silence as the grouchy Predator turned and walked away.
"You did well, Little One. Out of the few possessions I've gotten you, you gave your teacher something that is useful in exchange for what he taught you during your First Hunt. It was an honorable thing to do." Guan purred before she turned to leave the shop with Lilith still in her arms.
Guan walked out of the shop while being followed by her son, and Bakuub. She paused with Lilith tucked safely in her left arm, and growl a total disgust left her when she saw that it had begun to rain.
Guan was not at all happy at that moment. She'd shown up at the shop intending to watch Setg'in finish off the tunnel runners. Instead, she found herself watching Lilith finish off a complete cleansing of the full nest! Such a thing would have been a truly impressive feat for a Yautja pup of the same size, but given that Lilith was physically weaker than that Yautja pup, only made it more astounding. Still, after an exhausting morning of seemingly endless questions posed by her Clan's Ancients and Elders, the cold rain only added to her irritation.
Guan growled in disgust again, while she directed an angry glare at the sky. Then, the ooman in her grasp made to get down. "On top of everything else that's occurred today, it's now raining!" She said disgustedly.
Lilith didn't understand why Gwen was unhappy about the rain. At least it wasn't the freezing cold stuff she remembered back before her time in the basement. Then she remembered what she'd seen in the shop, and squirmed to get down.
"I will let you down, but you must hold my hand or Setg'in's… understand?" Guan insisted irritably.
Lilith nodded her head so that Gwen would put her down, and as soon as she was loose, she darted back inside the store. She ran straight to where she thought she'd remembered seeing it, but she was apparently on the wrong aisle. Instead of the thing she wanted, she found herself staring at a fishing pole sitting next to a kite made to look like a giant bat. Seeing that there wasn't any string to go with the kite, she turned and started to walk away to find what she'd come back in for. Then, she turned and looked at the fishing pole again. There was a huge open face fishing reel on it.
'I wonder how high that kite would go if I was using that instead of regular string.' Lilith thought idly while staring at the fishing reel. Suddenly, she smiled, and grabbed the pole and the kite, before looking for what she'd originally come back in for. She found it on the next aisle. She grabbed the sought after object and ran up to the counter. She quickly reached up to put all three items on the counter, and then put the pouch of money on the counter as well. She watched on her tip toes to see over the counter as the shop-keeper selected the desired amount of money, and put the rest back in the pouch before handing it back to her.
Lilith put the pole and kite on the pile of stuff that was going to be delivered, and grabbed the stuffed thing-a-ma-jig off the floor, before turning to head back outside. As soon as she turned towards the door, she saw Gwen standing there and already a little wet. Lilith smiled as she moved past Gwen and went outside. Lilith watched and as soon as Gwen followed her outside, she made a motion to be picked up.
Guan lifted Lilith into her arms and settled the ooman pup against her left side. As soon as the little female was securely held, she prepared to leave, but stopped when Lilith began to snicker. Suddenly, the strange thing in Lilith's left hand extended to nearly three times its length. Then it quickly expanded with a loud 'popping' sound. The result was that Lilith was now holding a very strange thing in her hand. That was when Lilith raised the thing over their heads to form a type of small shelter from the rain.
Guan tilted her head back to stare in slack jawed disbelief at what Lilith had just purchased. It was obvious that the little ooman had known exactly what this thing was, because she had gone almost straight for it. She could hear the pattering sound as the rain drops impacted on the strange device instead of landing on her. Then, Lilith was handing the device to her before moving to get down again. Guan put Lilith down and watched the female closely.
Lilith had the stuffed critter in her left hand when she closed her eyes, spread her arms, and lifted her face to the sky. She could feel every drop of the slow but steady rain as she reveled in the feeling. Pleasant drops of rain were landing on her face and body. The rain was cool, but only enough to feel really good instead of cold, and it felt wonderful! She twirled around a couple of times then stood in place while savoring the feeling for a moment, before looking over at Gwen. The Predator was holding the umbrella overhead while watching her.
Guan watched in surprised silence while Lilith cavorted happily in the rain. She knew that it was only slightly lower than the ooman's body temperature, so it was most likely something that Lilith was able to enjoy. She glanced back up at the device she was holding over her head and realized something that made her wonder.
'Lilith is actually enjoying the rain. Instead of finding it to be uncomfortably cold, she seems to be happy in it. So why would she have purchased this device?' Guan wondered while she watched Lilith.
Guan knew that Lilith had to be highly intelligent for her small size, much more so than Yautja pup of the same size would be. It was Lilith's size that turned out to be a contributing factor in the way the pup was treated at first. A Yautja pup of Lilith's size was rambunctious, impulsive, reckless, and immature. They had yet to learn the reasoning that certain things could be, or were, dangerous, and that was why they were well protected by all. Lilith presented a drastically different problem. In spite of her refusal to speak, she was very intelligent, and more than able to determine whether or not something could be a threat to her.
'She would have to be very intelligent, and extremely cunning to have survived the Chiva that she found herself in. There's also the way she just finished dealing with those tunnel runners. She cleansed an entire nest of them, and she did it with playthings! Then, there's this device I'm using. She's making it obvious that she doesn't need the device, but she bought it anyway.' Suddenly Guan's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she stared at Lilith once more.
'She bought this for me! She heard my comment about the rain, and went back to get this thing. She has almost nothing that hasn't been given to her, and then she spends money that she earned through blood and pain to buy this so I wouldn't have to endure a simple rain.' Guan realized in shock. 'If that isn't a display of honor, then I don't know what is!'
"Come Lilith, I don't know if you're hungry or not, but I am, and there is a place to eat not far from here. That will give us some time to relax and enjoy our mid-day meal before we go home. It will also give Thwei-de-thei-de time to have everything delivered." Guan said as she began leading the way.
Lilith stared at Gwen's departing back in surprise. Gwen didn't say anything about having to hold her hand like she had before. She'd just been told to go along. She quickly moved to catch up to the Predator, and reached up to grab Gwen's hand like she had been told earlier. Lilith didn't want to be treated like a baby, in fact… she despised it! But the sudden idea that occurred to her was something she couldn't get out of her mind.
'What if not always doing what I was told is what made me so worthless? If I start doing what Gwen tells me to, could that let me stop being a worthless mistake?' Lilith didn't know the answer to that, but she did know that she wanted to at least try.
Lilith had just taken Gwen's hand when the Predator stopped walking and squatted down while facing her.
"Lilith, I know that you aren't stupid. Reckless perhaps, but certainly not stupid. I don't know of anyone else who would have gotten a group of tunnel runners to kill off members of their own nest while hunting them. It was an extremely clever tactic, and a very useful strategy. I commend you for that. Another thing I must congratulate you for is being intelligent enough to use playthings as weapons while hunting those tunnel runners. Such a thing shows cunning, intelligence, and the ability to adapt to the situation. Such traits are the mark of great potential in a Warrior." Guan said while facing Lilith.
Guan took a deep breath and slowly released it before continuing what she wanted to say. "I am telling you this, because I know that you are intelligent enough to stay nearby. I know that you don't like being made to hold on to the hand of the adult who is with you. I insisted on that because I wasn't sure about your level of intelligence. Now I am. You don't have to hold my hand if you don't wish to, but I will say that it makes me feel better to know that you are near and safe from harm. Does that make sense?"
Lilith nodded her head, because she did understand what Gwen was telling her. It was strange though, because at the time, all she was thinking about was killing those space rats. She didn't think she was being smart about it, and she hadn't been trying to be. All she'd been doing was killing them because of the way she'd been hurt so many times while locked and chained in the basement. What she had actually wanted at the time was revenge… revenge against her parents for hurting her so many times, for making her freeze in the cold all the time, for making her stay so hungry that she didn't care that whatever scraps they gave her was thrown into her own shit or piss… but mostly what she wanted revenge against her parents for; was for making her hate them so much.
Lilith knew that kids weren't supposed to hate their parents, but she did. That hatred was just one more thing that was wrong with her. She knew that she didn't hate Gwen or any of her family, but then, they weren't hurting her either. Sure she'd gotten mad at Scar a few times, and she'd even gotten mad at Gwen a couple of times, but she didn't hate them.
Being here with these Predators on their world was a whole lot different from being in the basement. Here, she wasn't getting beaten, she wasn't being hurt all the time, she was being given plenty to eat, and she didn't have to be cold. Lilith looked into Gwen's deep-set yellow eyes and nodded her head again. Worthless or not, she knew that she had to do something to pay Gwen back somehow, and the only thing she could think of was to try to be good. That meant she needed to do what Gwen told her. It didn't really sound like much, but Lilith knew that it wasn't always easy. She kept holding onto Gwen's hand as the Predator stood up and started walking again.
As they walked to wherever it was they were going, Lilith noticed that there were a few trails that branched off and went in different directions. Some were trails that went to one of the pyramids, but most went between them. There weren't any street signs or any other way to tell where they were that she could see, so how did Gwen know where to go?
It wasn't until Slobber shook her head to get the water off, that Lilith noticed it was still raining. She looked up and saw that Gwen was holding the umbrella so it covered both of them. That was a little irritating, because the rain felt pretty good. She pulled her hand out of Gwen's and walked closer to Slobber. The first thing the big beast did was lick her across the face. Lilith sputtered indignantly, and wiped her face with her sleeve.
"You know, Lilith. Bakuub would actually listen if you told her not to lick you anymore." Setg'in offered casually although in an amused tone when he saw a chance to get Lilith to say something at least.
Lilith looked over at Scar and gave him a very wet raspberry while patting Slobber on her head. Then she saw a puddle a short distance in front of the Predator, and got a sneaky idea. She quickly ran in front of him, and waited until he got closer. Then she jumped up, and stomped in the puddle with both feet to make as big a splash as she could. Scar roared at being splashed and Lilith simply stuck her tongue out at him before going back over to walk next to Gwen, and Slobber.
Guan couldn't resist a soft snicker of laughter when she saw Lilith's response to Setg'in's teasing comment. In spite of the injury she'd received from a tunnel runner only a short while earlier, Lilith seemed to be enjoying herself. As far as she was concerned that could only be a good sign of things to come. She would readily admit that Lilith's behavior was often perplexing, and sometimes just downright strange. Then there were other times, that the ooman pup's behavior, was so similar to that of a Yautja pup, that she had a hard time remembering that Lilith was ooman.
Lilith had been about to reach up to hold Gwen's hand again, when the Predator suddenly stopped and raised her left arm to start fiddling with that thing on her wrist. She had no idea what it was, but if those weird looking helmets were any clue of what that thing might do, then she wanted nothing to do with it. She watched in wary curiosity while Gwen did whatever she was doing, and waited until Gwen was done before taking the Predator's hand again.
As they walked to where they were going, Lilith looked up at the dusky orange sky to see dark red clouds filling most of it. She could see the rain falling in large patches that were off in the distance, but she couldn't see the beginning or end of the patch that was falling on her. It was kind of weird, and cool at the same time. Being able to look at the sky, and see that it was raining over there, wherever that was, but not in that other place was pretty cool. She hadn't had enough school to understand exactly how the weather actually worked, but looking at it this way, was awesome.
Lilith didn't hold Gwen's hand the entire time they were following one of the trails. Instead, she would let go, so she could frolic and enjoy the rain that would cool her off just a little. It was a nice change in that if she wanted to look at something or stop for a moment, she could. She found it strange since now that she wasn't being forced to hold Gwen's hand, she actually sort of liked doing it. Maybe it because she now had the choice, or maybe it was because it made her feel just a little less worthless. Either way, she somehow felt almost like a normal kid while holding the Predator's hand.
Lilith's attention was drawn back to Gwen, when they turned off what she thought of as the main trail, and onto one of those the led straight to a rather large pyramid. This one was bigger than most of the others. Even though it only had three floors, those floors were huge! Gwen could have put the entire pyramid that she lived in on top of this one and still have room for a good sized yard all the way around!