Lilith followed the two back to the table and climbed up in her booster chair. She still wasn't happy about having to use the damned thing, but she had to admit that she needed it. She knew that she was nervous, because of what she'd done at the shop, and for fighting at the table just a few minutes ago. The strange thing about the whole mess was that instead of being punished, she had gotten some medicine put on her back so it wasn't hurting nearly as much as it usually did, and she was now being given plenty to eat.
Lilith pulled her plate closer and tried to ignore the conversation going on around her since most of it was about 'May-Day' anyway. When she looked at her plate of food, and saw that all of the meat was still there, along with the different fruits, she couldn't help but be surprised. She would have sworn that with what she'd done today, that Gwen would have taken her plate away from her while she was gone.
Lilith was reaching for another slice of fruit on her plate when she was distracted by a Predator kid who was yelling and laughing at the top of his lungs as he ran towards their table. She watched with disbelieving eyes as the kid climbed up in Celtic's lap. That was when her mouth dropped open in surprise, because the strange kid grabbed a piece of meat from Celtic's plate.
"Eat! Eat! More eat! Good Eat!"
That was when the kid quickly turned to her and shoved the whole piece of meat into Lilith's mouth. She couldn't help but stare at the kid like he was stupid or something, because she'd never heard of anything like this. She watched in dumbstruck disbelief as the kid grabbed another slice of meat from Celtic's plate and tried to shove that in her mouth too. The problem was, that she hadn't even chewed the first piece, but somehow that kid managed to get the second piece in there as well.
"Eat! Eat! Eat! Good eat! More eat! Good eat!" The kid was yelling and laughing at the same time.
That was when the kid was snatched from Celtic's lap by a Predator woman that Lilith had never seen before.
"Come Little One, they are already eating, so you should eat as well," the woman said as she carried the kid away.
Suddenly Scar started snickering, and Lilith glared at him angrily.
"I'm glad I didn't do anything like that when I was first learning how to eat solid food," Setg'in said with a laugh as he watched Lilith pry the two slices of meat from her mouth.
"Oh you did much worse than that, my son!" Guan stated smugly. "In fact, you did the exact same thing, only you climbed in the lap of the High Matriarch, snatched food from the plate of one of her advisors, and crammedthatfood into the mouth of the High Matriarch herself!"
"If it hadn't been for your actions that day, I would never have met one of the High Matriarch's advisors," Guan finished with a smile.
"Tell me that this is a joke Mother, because it's not funny! I can't believe I would do something like that!" Setg'in complained bitterly.
"It's no joke Setg'in, but don't worry about it, I don't know of a single pup who hasn't done such things when they first get a taste of solid food," Guan said lightly.
"So are you saying that you did something similar when you were a pup?" Setg'in asked mischievously with a sly grin on in his mandibles.
"Of course I did!" Guan said with a frown as she thought about it. "I've been told that he was the meanest and grouchiest Ancient in existence at the time. It was actually rumored that he positively hated everything! That was no concern of mine though, because I wanted him to eat, just as I was learning to do," Guan finished easily.
Lilith didn't pay any more attention to the conversation that was going on, because she was too busy eating and glaring in the direction that the Predator woman had taken the kid.
Even though he participated in the conversation at the table, Setg'in couldn't get his mind off the fact that Lilith had been about to eat something off the floor. He clearly recalled what he'd realized during the morning meal.
'If Lilith is accustomed to someone constantly taking food away from her, and starving her, then let's see how she reacts to someone giving her more than she can even hope to eat!' Setg'in thought with a smug set to his mandibles.
Setg'in caught his older brother's eye, and gave a subtle nod of his head. Then, he picked up a large slice of meat from his own plate, and darted his hand forward, he quickly dropped it on Lilith's plate.
Lilith pulled her plate closer to her defensively while she glared at Scar. All she'd seen was his hand darting towards her plate, and that was all she needed to see to know that he was going to try to take her food away from her. She curled her left arm around her plate protectively and glared at the Predator angrily. She glanced down at her plate to grab something else to eat and saw a piece of meat that was much larger than anything she remembered getting. She stared at it in confusion for a moment before grabbing another slice of the strange yellowish colored meat. As soon as she looked up, she saw Celtic's arm dart towards her plate. She shoved one end of the strip of meat in her mouth, and used both hands to pull her plate away from the Predator sitting next to her. Lilith shot a silent snarl of anger up at Celtic before she quickly finished what was in her mouth.
'If they think they'll be able to take my food away while I'm right here, they won't do it without a fight. I don't care what Gwen said!' Lilith thought angrily before glancing down at her plate to see what she wanted next.
Lilith stared at her plate in silent mounting confusion even as her anger vanished. 'That… that wasn't there a second ago. I know it wasn't because I just ate a yellow thing, and I was gonna get another piece of that grey jerky next.'
Lilith knew that she hadn't gotten this particular piece of meat, because it was big enough to cover her entire plate! That was when she realized what had happened. Celtic had put this huge slice of meat on her plate while she was glaring at Scar. She looked up at Celtic with an angry expression on her face. The instant she did so, she saw Scar's hand dart to her plate. She actually huffed in anger at the Predator while pulling her plate closer to her and surrounding it with both hands to protect her food from being taken. That was when Celtic again moved for her plate.
Lilith pulled her plate into her lap and glanced down at it to see how much of her food had been taken. She stared stupidly at a much larger pile of food than she'd put on it. While she was looking down at her plate in confusion, she saw Celtic's arm quickly reach over and drop another big slice of meat on it.
Lilith was now pissed! She knew from painfully bitter experience not to waste food, but there was no way that she could even eat half of what had been added to her plate. Tears of anger welled in her blue eyes even as confusion grew within her mind.
'Why are they doing this?' Lilith wondered as she put her plate back on the table in disgust. She knew that she wouldn't be able to eat all of that food if she did nothing else before she got too tired to do anything but sleep. She picked up her spoon and glared at Scar while getting ready to throw it at him.
"Both of you stop it!" Guan ordered when she scented Lilith's mounting anger.
"But Mother… she's obviously famished or she wouldn't be eating that fast. That means she needs more food on her plate." Setg'in protested smoothly.
"I agree with the young male. Whatever it is… this creature is far too scrawny." Said a strange male Predator as he dropped a large chunk of meat on Lilith's plate when he walked by on his way out.
"See?" Setg'in asked pointedly. "Others agree with me, so that proves that she needs to eat more."
"I'll agree that Lilith is much too thin for my liking… but that's not the point Setg'in. Lilith does not appreciate anyone meddling with her plate! When she wants more to eat, she knows that all she has to do is point to whatever it is, and it will be given to her, besides; there's now more food on her plate than I can eat!" Guan scolded firmly. "Lilith isn't in the hands of bad-bloods anymore, so do not tamper with her food, because she doesn't like it."
"Mother… I know that you said Lilith has been starved for a long time, but she needs to slow down while eating." Setg'in protested reasonably.
"Setg'in…" Guan began firmly but in a calm tone. "I will tell you this only once. The best Healer known to our race has said that Lilith has been starved to the point that it has seriously interfered with her growth and development. That kind of starvation does not occur in a few short moons… it took place over several years! Years of constant starvation… coupled with treatment and beatings that should have killed her more than once. She will eventually realize that we are nothing like those bad-bloods who starved her; once she does, she will begin to eat at a normal pace. Until then, leave her plate alone. Is that understood?"
Setg'in nodded his head silently before turning his attention back to his own meal.
Satisfied that her son would do as he was told; Guan turned her attention to Lilith who was alternating between glaring at her son, and looking sadly at her plate.
"Eat your midday meal Lilith. I don't expect you to be able to eat everything, so don't try. Just eat what you want and don't worry about what will be thrown away. That meat will be given to scavengers that are then fed to animals that are used for hunting," Guan instructed calmly.
Lilith nodded her head and began moving the large hunks of meat aside so she could get to the stuff that she knew she liked and would be able to eat. The whole time she kept directing a steady glare of death at Scar for what he'd started. She wasn't sure how he'd done it, but she just knew that he was the one responsible for it all.
Thwei-de-guan stared at the ooman who would barely reach her chest. She knew all too well what it meant to be under the control of a bad-blood and how being used as a living excuse for the dishonor of another not the kind of memory to cherish. The thing that really caught her attention though was that this female who had assumed responsibility for her training had also taken in this ooman pup as well. It was something that told her a great deal about this female's honor.
She could smell the little ooman's anger as the small female resumed eating, and the silent rage the ooman kept directing at a Blooded male was a bit disturbing to her. Deciding that this was something she would rather not get involved in, she turned her attention to her own meal.
Guan waited patiently until it was obvious that Lilith had eaten as much as she wanted, before she helped clear the table for those who would use it next.
"Chi'ytei-de-thei, I want you to escort Thwei-de-guan over to the Clan storage facility where all of our Clan's surplus goods are held. You are to obtain whatever food, clothing, and any other items that she needs. I know that some questions are sure to be asked, so you may give them my authorization and contact frequency." Guan ordered as the group prepared to leave.
"We can accompany you for a while, but we will have to get back to the Center later." Than-guan said as she looked over at Lilith who was petting the Yaut Hound and giving the creature some of the left over meat from her plate. "Lilith seems to like Bakuub." She observed candidly.
"Yes she does. She even slept in the main room with Bakuub for a companion last night. I thought it was a good sign to see her sleeping while leaning against Bakuub's side." Guan answered readily. "It's something that makes me think Lilith is at least starting to feel comfortable here."
"That's a distinct possibility Guan. Even though she isn't speaking, Lilith is able to observe and understand what goes on around her. It's clear that she understands much more than her small size would suggest." Yeyinde stated while watching the ooman pup.
"Lilith…" Than-guan began solemnly, until Lilith looked up at her. "I and my sisters wish to congratulate you on a very successful First Hunt! Eliminating an entire nest of Tunnel Runners is no easy feat even for an experienced Warrior. The nest you cleansed was not a small one either. I commend you on a victory that was well earned and brilliantly achieved!"
Lilith looked up at the 'Thing' sisters and saw that all of them were nodding and smiling at her. She didn't understand it at all. She was sure that someone would be mad at her for taking what Scar was supposed to do away from him. They didn't look like they were mad at her… none of them did. Even Chatter looked like he was about to give her a 'thumbs up' on a good job.
"Come Lilith, there is a shop across the path that I need to visit. I'll need a much larger supply of cleaning cloths after the way you polished our armor last night, because I would like for you to teach us all how you did that. We will practice until we do it properly and I fully expect you to let us know when we do it wrong," Guan stated with a smile.
Lilith gaped up at Gwen with a stupid look on her face. 'She wants me to teach them how to polish that armor stuff of theirs? Is she serious? She told me that I wasn't supposed to touch that stuff, and now she's telling me that she wants me to show them how to polish it. Why?'
"You look as if you are confused Lilith. If you are wondering why I wish for you to show us what you did; then I will tell you that the method you used to polish our armor last night is much more effective than the methods we currently use. So I would like for you to show us how to do it properly!" Guan clarified after seeing the strange expression on Lilith's face.
"Wait! Lilith is the one who polished your armor like that? And you let her do that?" Than-guan-thwei demanded in disbelief.
"Yes, Lilith polished all of the armor that I'd laid out for the technician's visit this morning. No one allowed her to do what she did, and no one asked her to do it either. Lilith made all of our armor look like it was new… the technician even said that it looked like it was made recently, even though one of the sets was my training armor and you know how old that is!" Guan explained proudly.
"You don't intend to exclude your Hunt Sisters from those lessons do you? I too would like to know how to make my armor look new," Than-guan-thwei asked with jealousy in her tone.
"As would I," Than-guan said seriously
"I as well," Yeyinde added quickly.
Guan laughed lightly. "The thought of excluding you never occurred to me. I planned to invite the three of you over to join us for the evening meal so you can see for yourself what method she uses."
"We will certainly be there." Than-guan said with a smile.
"Good! Because you won't believe the comments Nihkou'te and I got over how great our armor looked while we were hunting today. Even the Elders of the hunt wanted to know where we had gotten it from," Hulij-bpe exclaimed excitedly.
"You didn't tell them did you?" Guan asked quickly.
"Oh no! There was no way that I was going to let them know about Lilith. Even if she did take my knife that first night she was here, she made my armor look so good that I can easily forgive the way she dulled the tip of it!" Hulij-bpe answered proudly.
Lilith stared at the Predators as she followed them to the door to the huge dinning room. When the door slid open, she heard several disgusted comments that it was still raining. She saw Gwen smile before pulling out the umbrella and opening it as she went outside.
Yeyinde stopped as she gaped at her Hunt Sister in surprise. "What is that and where did you get it?" She demanded in a jealous tone as she studied the interesting barrier that blocked the rain.
"I haven't the slightest trace of an idea as to what it's called, but this is something that Lilith bought for me when she heard my disgust about the rain. She knew exactly what it was and how to use it, so I'm sure it must have originated on her world," Guan answered readily.
"Well then where did she get it?" Yeyinde persisted.
"She heard my disgust about the rain, and went back into the Oddities shop to purchase it with money that she received in exchange for a pouch of plant seeds that she recovered from the nest she cleansed. If she hadn't retrieved them, they would never have been found," Guan said with no small amount of pride.
Yeyinde had a stunned expression on her face while she thought about what had been said.
"She sold a trophy that she gained from a cleansing during her First Hunt?" Than-guan-thwei exclaimed in shocked disbelief.
"Yes… she did," Guan admitted simply.
Yeyinde and both of her sisters turned to gape at Lilith in surprise before all three began purring in approval. Even though neither a bag of seeds nor the money from their sale were something to be considered proud of by those who knew nothing about the events concerning them, it was still unheard of for anyone to use such money to buy something for someone else. The implication was that of far more honor than any of them would have thought someone capable of.
"Whether it's something that would be recognized as a trophy or not, you still used the proceeds to purchase something useful for another. That was a very honorable thing for you to do Lilith. With honor like that, I am proud to be able to say that I know you," Yeyinde stated with a smile.
Lilith stared up at Thingy in a state of complete bewilderment. The Predator was saying that she'd actually done something right for once. The really weird thing was that the others were agreeing with her! She kept looking at Thingy in confusion while many thoughts went through her mind.
'How can she be proud to know me? All I did was buy a stupid umbrella! Gwen got me new clothes, toys, and a bunch of other stuff. That umbrella won't pay her back for all of that, and it sure won't come close to paying for the surgery Gwen did on my arms and legs! So why would she be proud of me just because I tried to do something to pay Gwen back for a little bit of what she's done for me? This doesn't make any sense!' Lilith wondered as she sidled back over to Slobber.
Lilith was lost in a world composed entirely of her confused thoughts and she wasn't paying any attention to the Predators as she followed them. It wasn't until the rain stopped pelting her, that she turned around, and realized that they'd only crossed the strange little path or trail or whatever they called it.
Looking around at the inside of this new pyramid that she was now in, she saw that it was another one of those stores, like the one where she'd killed all those space rats.
"You may look around Lilith, but do not break anything! If you do, then you will have to pay for it… out of your own money," Guan warned firmly.
Lilith nodded her head and began wandering down the aisle looking at the things that were on the shelves of the wall, and the first of the double sided shelves in the store. She saw chest plates and shields like the Romans used to wear, or at least she thought it was Roman. It could have come from a bunch of other places too, because she didn't have enough schooling to be sure.
Suddenly, Lilith stopped and was staring stupidly at a full set of medieval armor that was mounted on a display stand. She somehow knew without needing to be told that it was the real thing and that meant that it was reallyold!
'Wow! That… that should be in a museum somewhere… not in a store. It looks amazing.' Lilith thought as she leaned closer to get a better look.
The closer look showed Lilith how it had been put together, with the top pieces holding the ones beneath. Then there was the layer that was underneath the plates of steel. That was made out of interlinked rings of metal. She had no idea that the inner layer was called chain mail, but she didn't really care as she stood there and admired the suit of armor. Dull and tarnished, the armor even had several spots of rust on it, and she knew that it hadn't been taken care of in a long time.
"Don't waste your time on that armor! At first glance, it might seem sturdy enough to offer excellent protection, but the metal it's composed of is thin and flimsy. Besides, it didn't do much to protect the one who wore it last or it wouldn't be here, now would it?"
Thei-de thwei (Death's blood) looked down at the small ooman female that a couple of his customers were still discussing. He could see the rents in the back of her top covering that proved she had been attacked by something from behind, but there was nothing about this insignificant little ooman to indicate that she could be deadly enough to wipe out an entire nest of Tunnel Runners during her First Hunt. He found it odd that three Blooded and Honored females would speak of this ooman amongst themselves with such respect. Given the small size and the fact that she had just completed her First Hunt, meant that she was no more than a pup. He'd never actually seen an ooman before, but then he knew that most Warriors chose not to hunt another sentient species, because there were plenty of worthy challenges in the universe without taking another sentient being's Honor from them in battle.
As he studied the first ooman he'd ever seen, he realized that the creature was very thin, and obviously underfed. He did know that oomans were reputedly shorter than the Yautja, but surely they weren't emaciated as well. That was when Thei-de thwei recalled that there were some oomans who were almost as strong as a Youngblood. That meant that this pup was being starved.
Setg'in looked up as the owner of the shop approached smelling strongly of anger. One look at the flared dreadlocks, and bristling muscles of the shop owner, and Setg'in knew that something was seriously amiss.
"Is there a problem that I might help with Elder?" Setg'in asked respectfully, while dreading that Lilith might have touched or damaged something expensive, and at the same time hoping that it had nothing to do with her at all.
"Who is the owner of that ooman?" Thei-de thwei demanded bluntly.
"I guess you could say that technically I am, Elder. After all, I am the one who discovered her presence while my brothers and I were taking our Chiva three days ago. My mother has since claimed her as a part of our house, so she might disagree when it comes to the ownership of Lilith," Setg'in answered quickly.
"That pup has only been among us for three days?" Thei-de thwei asked as his anger abated rather quickly leaving curiosity in its place.
"Yes Elder. In that time she's received a lot of medical treatment, and she eats as fast as a starving Yaut Hound. We know that the oomans who had her were bad bloods of the worst kind. Bad bloods who starved her, and tortured her… but she is in Honorable hands now Elder, and she will not endure such treatment again," Setg'in answered while giving as little information as possible yet still answering the questions that he was sure would come next.
"Let me tell you that I do not know much of oomans because I've never seen one before now, but that ooman is far too thin!" Thei-de thwei snapped irritatedly.
"You are not alone in that knowledge Honored Warrior… my siblings and I are also concerned about her health. So you may rest assured that she will be well taken care of," Yeyinde said as she chimed in.
Thei-de thwei nodded his head. He wasn't about to challenge three females by insulting them over the condition the pup was in, especially when they hadn't had a chance to correct the problem yet. He decided to watch the ooman pup to see what she would do, and how she would act, because he was certain that there had to be a reason she'd been brought back to their world.
Lilith walked along looking at nothing in particular when a box that had a picture sized mirror in it caught her eye. She quickly knelt down and pulled it out to look at it. It was about two feet tall and maybe a foot and a half wide. What caught her attention though was the way she looked. Her pale skin was smeared with neon green blood that had dried on her face and in her black hair. The only thing that she could really recognize was her light blue eyes. Her face was thin, and she didn't like what she saw in the eyes that looked back at her. Anger, hate, and fear were shining in those eyes like a torch in the darkness. She was about to put the mirror back when she spotted the coloring books. There had to be close to a dozen really thick ones! She pulled out a shoebox, along with a human skull on a board with a red button in front. There were eleven of the large coloring books that were over an inch thick. The only problem was… there were no crayons.
Suddenly, after getting an idea, Lilith was opening the shoebox. What she saw there actually made her smile. There were no crayons in the box, but there were a lot of coloring pencils and even a sharpener. She put the lid back on and placed the shoebox back on top of the coloring books. She stuck the mirror in, but put the skull on the shelf. She grabbed the box and started to stand up with it.
"You take all of the contents, or none of them," Growled a voice behind her.
Lilith looked behind her to see the shop keeper that had told her about the armor.
"I don't break collections up to sell the pieces individually."
Lilith shrugged, stuck the skull under the mirror, and started to stand up when she spotted something. She stared at the white plastic canister with a pink label on it. Leaving the box on the floor, she grabbed the container and twisted it open breaking the plastic seal in the process.
Thei-de thwei stared at the ooman pup in sheer outrage when he watched her deliberately damage an item that he had for sale. The ooman's actions were quick and knowing as she twisted off the cap and started to smell the contents. He'd been stepping towards her with every intention of stopping her when he paused at the strange actions taking place in front of him. The ooman stuck a single finger in the container and then put it in her mouth before shuddering and twisting up her face at the same time. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that she had just encountered a very foul taste. Thus, he was thoroughly surprised to see her bare her teeth in challenge at the container, put the cap back on and stick it in the box with the other things that she apparently wanted.
He followed her back to the counter and was surprised that she pulled out the strange container before setting it on the counter beside the box of things to purchase. When he walked around the counter to total her two purchases, he was actually amused at the sight of a fair amount of money on the counter. There was more than enough there to pay for the items several times over. He snorted derisively at such a paltry test of his honor and selected only the amount to pay for the goods, before pushing the rest back towards the ooman. Then he placed the purchases in an oiled cloth to prevent any damage from the rains.
Lilith smiled widely as she set the stuff on the floor by Scar, and went off to find Gwen.
"I don't care if she is a pup… if she challenges me like that again, I will beat her soundly!"
"Actually… that wasn't a challenge. That was an ooman expression of happiness. Given that she's only been implanted with our vocal and body language, she probably has no idea how much money she has or what she just spent," Yeyinde stated in an amused tone. "I think she was most likely just happy that she still has some money of her own, and probably doesn't even know how much she still has."
Thei-de thwei gaped at the female before turning his surprised gaze back to the ooman pup who was darting down one of the aisles towards another Blooded female.
Lilith saw Gwen holding a bunch of rags in a basket with one hand while looking at something on the shelf. When she walked over to the Predator, Lilith saw what was being looked at and just had to wonder. Weird looking jars and other containers of stuff were being examined.
"Lilith, I want you to look at these materials and show me which ones you would use to polish armor like you did last night," Guan instructed when Lilith approached.
Lilith looked at the stuff that was being held out to her. There was a bunch of different cloths, some of which were rougher than the others. There were also creams, and other stuff that was used to polish metal. She reached out and pointed to the kind of cloth that was exactly like what she had used. Then she pointed at the other stuff and shrugged before shaking her head.
Guan looked at the type of cloth that Lilith had indicated with a good level of confusion. The one Lilith pointed out was for polishing fine details and creases.
'No wonder she seemed exhausted this morning. Using only this to polish six entire sets of armor should have taken at least two nights, but she did it in only one,' Guan thought before an idea struck her. 'Our usual methods must be something she used as a base for her method. If that's the case, then I'll need to get everything.'
Guan gathered up twice as much of the cleaning materials as she thought she'd need before smiling down at the ooman pup. "Come Lilith. I'll buy these, and then we can go home, and get your things arranged."
Lilith nodded her head, and followed Gwen to the counter. She watched Gwen pay for the stuff, and put it all in one of those weird sacks like the one her box of stuff was in.
As Guan prepared to leave the little general goods and curiosities shop, she saw that Lilith was carrying a bundle of her own. She couldn't help but wonder what the little female had purchased, though she was certain that she'd find out when they got home.
Guan left the shop followed by the entourage of her three Hunt Sisters, her two sons, her Yaut Hound Bakuub, and the very interesting ooman female named Lilith that she had gladly accepted into her home.
'Lilith has survived and endured abominable treatment from bad-bloods, she's shown her honor by cleansing an entire nest of Tunnel Runners, and presenting the Elder who instructed and supervised her with a truly useful gift. That does not even mention the gift she purchased for me out of money that she earned by selling a trophy. The privilege of having one of such honor in my home is surely a blessing from the Gods.' Guan thought proudly as she observed the little ooman.
When they arrived at the pyramid that Gwen lived in, Lilith was surprised to see the pile of things she'd picked out at the store. She stared at the large pile of stuff until Gwen told her to start putting the things away.
The first thing Lilith did was set her box down and grab a bean bag. She carried it over by the gigantic couch where she could see the fire place, and dropped it there. Then she dug through the stuff until she found the box containing the fireplace set. She put everything in place before standing back to look at it. Gwen's fireplace was twice the size of the one in the store, so the screen wasn't quite wide enough to cover all of it, but it still looked nice.
"Isn't that the same thing she gave Thwei-de-thei-de?" Setg'in asked in surprise.
"Yes… it is. I wasn't aware that she'd picked out two of them," Guan replied as she watched Lilith curiously.
That was when Lilith started taking the rest of the stuff to her room. Once she got it all there, she started unpacking things. She put the boxes of toy swords to one side while she focused on the box of stuff with the water guns and every thing else in it. The golf-discs, she put in one corner, while leaving the water balloons, various guns, and other things still in the box. That was when she found a pair of swim floats that went on the upper arms.
'I can use these when I start learning how to swim.' She thought with a grin, knowing that Gwen had a tub that was as big as a small swimming pool. She put them back in the box and set that next to the wall, while she sorted through the rest of the stuff.
Opening the box of pillows, she put those in her bed hole. Then she turned to the smaller box with the coloring books in it, and got the picture sized mirror. While it was only as big as a large portrait sized photo, it was still a lot bigger than what was in the travel sized grooming kit. She placed it on the floor next to the wall near the door, and put the grooming case next to it. Finding the can of Slime, she put that on top of the boxes of toy swords. The tray of tableware, she put next to the door, and set her canister of pink powder next to it. She put away her coloring books and coloring pencils, along with the other knickknacks.
Once she had put almost everything else away, Lilith was left with the huge white teddy bear that she put in her bed hole next to the pillows. She put the shirts in her closet, and picked up the seriously long pants. She thought about trying them on, but realized just how filthy she was while splattered with the blood, guts, gore, and even bits of the brains of space rats.
Looking at herself, Lilith knew that what she needed first was a bath. She knew that if she tried to carry the stuff she needed, she'd just get it smeared with the gunk that she wanted to get off. Even though she'd spent several long and miserable years in the basement while covered in her own blood, piss, shit, and even vomit from the times that the leftovers had made her sick, Lilith still preferred to be clean when she could. She looked around her room for something to carry her stuff in. The different boxes were way too big, but when her gaze fell on the weird sack that the second store owner had put her coloring books in, Lilith smiled.
Lilith stuffed one of the long T-shirts in the sack, along with her travel grooming kit with the hairbrush. She opened the case and grabbed the brush. She pulled some of the hair out of the brush and looked at it curiously. The strands were long and although some were blond, most were gray. 'This must have belonged to an old woman.' Lilith thought as she stared at the cluster of hairs that she pulled from the brush. It wasn't a fancy brush; it was a plain brown wooden handle cylinder with bristles that went all the way around it, but it was something that she could use, and to her, that was all that mattered. When she turned around, she saw Gwen standing in front of her with the clothes, boots, and some clean underwear that she'd bought just two days ago.
Lilith looked up at Gwen and shook her head. She stepped over to the Predator, and grabbed the underwear to put that in the sack of stuff she was going to take to the pool/tub with her.
Guan watched curiously as Lilith put the undercloth in a sack along with the breast halter. "Why are you doing that? You need to get yourself cleaned up. You are still covered in the gore of those Tunnel Runners you killed, and you'll need to wear clean coverings once you get clean and you come out of the bath."
Lilith looked up at Gwen and nodded her head before she smiled and reached in the bag to pull out the long T-shirt. She held it out in front of her so Gwen could see how long it was, and it wouldn't get filthy by touching what was all over her.
"So you are planning to bathe then? Good! Now, is that what you are going to wear when you get done with your bath?" Guan asked as she looked at the strange covering Lilith was holding up. She could see that it would easily cover everything that needed to be covered so that Lilith wouldn't unintentionally attract or entice any male who saw her, but it wasn't something she was familiar with.
Lilith nodded her head before stuffing the T-shirt back in the bag. She drug the bag behind her as she went out the door of her room.
"Lilith, if you intend to take a bath then I'll be able apply another treatment to your back once you're done. That paste is water based, so it will wash off easily. Once it does, there is still the risk that infection can set in and any lingering pain can return as well. After that…" Than-guan began solemnly.
"After that, we'll need to meet up with Chi'ytei-de-thei and Thwei-de-guan to make sure that young female has everything she needs for the time being," Guan said firmly.
"Agreed. If she's going to begin training now, then someone will need to ensure that she is properly equipped with decent training armor," Yeyinde added as she and the others followed Lilith to the bathing chamber.
Guan followed Lilith into the bathing chamber, and watched as she sat down and began removing her coverings. First were the boots, and then three sets of foots coverings that were clearly used to fill in the extra space of the over sized foot wear. The leg and top coverings were then quickly taken off after Lilith stood up, and Guan was pleased to notice that Lilith was wearing one of the under cloths that she'd gotten for the little ooman. There was no breast halter being worn, but since Lilith wasn't developed yet, that really didn't matter. The soiled coverings were simply dropped in a pile while the small female prepared to bathe. The chain with the Clan's symbol on it was carefully set to one side, and Guan could see from the way it was being handled that Lilith seemed to appreciate it, because it was handled with the same level of care and attention that a Warrior would use with a valued weapon. She watched Lilith as the little ooman grabbed that strange case which was the first thing she'd picked out, and stepped over to the bathing pool.
Lilith bent over to look down into the water to make sure the first step was right there; then she carefully climbed down into it while leaving the case on the side.
Yeyinde could see and even smell the apprehension as well as fear from the ooman as the little one entered the water. She quickly shed her own armor and coverings before she joined Lilith in the bathing pool. She stepped up behind Lilith to ensure that the pup couldn't get past her to go any deeper, and began letting out a soft purr.
Lilith turned around when she heard the splash and saw Thingy right there. She backed up against the side of the pool as she looked up at the Predator.
"Relax and enjoy your bath Lilith, but I want you to know that I will not allow you to leave that first step. Since you can't swim, and I do not yet have the time to teach you, I'll make sure you can't get too deep," Yeyinde said gently.
Lilith nodded her head nervously, and turned back to the grooming kit. As she got out the soap and shampoo, the other three Predators got in the pool with her. When Gwen approached her with a bowl full of that stuff these Predators used instead of soap or shampoo, Lilith grinned and shook her head. She held out the bar of soap so that Gwen could look at it.
Guan took the strange little object that Lilith was holding out to her and looked at it. It had a rather strange but not unpleasant scent to it. In fact, although the scent was different from the cleansing gel that would turn into foam when used, she thought that the intended use was the same.
'This must have the same purpose as our cleansing gel. It was contained in the first item that Lilith selected. That means she chose something that she's familiar with in order to attend to her hygiene needs,'Guan thought as she began to grin.
'This… this was the first thing she chose. She would have gotten hygiene items instead of playthings when she believed that she could only have one thing. She selected what she thought she needed before she chose anything else!' Guan realized.
Lilith watched as Gwen sniffed at the bar of soap before staring at it for a moment. Then the Predator smiled before snapping her arm out and pulling Lilith into a hug.
"I am very proud of you for this, Lilith. The first item you selected was one that would allow you to clean yourself up. Instead of choosing a plaything, you chose something to clean yourself with. That's good; it shows that not only do you have intelligence, but that you use that intelligence as well." Guan said as she slowly released the pup.
Lilith nodded her head before glancing at the others nervously. Then, she lathered up the soap and started to wash her arms and face. She had climbed out of the pool so she could wash the rest of her body when Thing-one spoke up.
"Would you like me to wash your back? That will help to be rid of infection and any dried blood left." Than Guan asked cheerfully.
Than Guan had asked because she was curious as to just how effective the cleansing item was. She knew from what Guan had said and the way that Lilith was clearly intending to use the item that it would have some effect in getting the little female clean, but she intended to judge just how good the substance would be.
Lilith nodded her head and quickly built up a good lather in her hands and smeared some of it onto her thighs, chest, and arms before handing the soap to Thing-one.
Than Guan watched as Lilith used the strange object to create a lather that she used to clean herself with. She then copied the little ooman's actions and noticed something that caused her some concern.
'This substance is even stripping away the natural oils of my skin. It will do quite well to clean the grime and gore from Lilith's back, and it might help with possible infection as well. I'll need to keep a close watch on this,' Than Guan thought as she began to apply the strange lather to Lilith's back while making sure to avoid the use of her claws.
As careful as she was, it made no difference because she immediately smelled a sharp increase in the stress that Lilith was clearly feeling. That she also heard a sharp indrawn breath let her know that what she was doing was still painful as well.
'I should have known that this would instantly remove the pain blocker paste given how quickly it even stripped the oils from my hands!' Than Guan thought sourly.
"I can tell that this is causing you pain Lilith, but once you are cleaned up, I'll apply some more pain blocking paste to your back, and this time it will have a healing accelerant in it as well. By the time the evening meal arrives, these wounds will have closed, so they shouldn't bother you any more," Than Guan said gently.
Lilith nodded her head as she tried to ignore the deep burning sting caused by the soap being rubbed into the claw marks on her back. She concentrated on getting her arms and legs clean because she could see that some of the gunk from the space rats had soaked through her clothes. Being forced to stay covered in the dried remains of her own blood and filth had been bad enough, but there was no way she was going to leave that disgusting goo on her body.
Once Lilith was sure that her body was clean, she grabbed the small bottle of shampoo, dumped some of it in her left hand, set the bottle down, and began to wash her hair. A grossed out look of total disgust twisted her face when she saw that the sudsy foam, which she knew was supposed to be white, was actually a sickly looking neon green from all the space rat blood in her hair. She scrubbed a little harder before jumping back into the pool and ducking under water to rinse her hair out.
Yeyinde was watching Lilith carefully because she knew that the first step wasn't all that wide. As soon as Lilith jumped back into the water with her eyes still closed and went under, she acted. She reached out and grabbed Lilith around the waist and pulled her out of the water to sit her back on the side.
"Lilith, did you intend to go underwater like that?" Yeyinde demanded quickly as soon as Lilith was sitting on the side of the bathing pool.
When Lilith nodded her head, Yeyinde continued. "That's fine then. I want you to know that I am right here, and I will not allow you to drown. If you go past that first step by mistake, I will pull you out right then… is that understood?" She asked firmly.
Lilith nodded her head again without opening her eyes, and jumped back in the water. Her right foot missed the step but she quickly thrust her hands forward and pushed herself back when her hands met Thingy's stomach. She took a few deep breaths to calm down before ducking back under water the rinse her hair out. After ducking under water four times, she was finally sure that she'd gotten all the soap out of her hair. That was when she turned and reached back for the toothpaste and mouthwash. Since the toothbrush was still in the cheap plastic wrapper, Lilith knew that it had never been used. Even if she thought it had been used, she would have just washed it with the soap before using it anyway.
Guan watched as Lilith put a foul smelling paste on one of the objects from the strange kit that was apparently for cleaning oneself. Then, to her complete disgust, Lilith stuck that paste in her mouth. In the span of a few breaths, Lilith was contorting her face in what just had to be an expression of revulsion. She watched in morbid fascination as the little pup continued to run the paste back and forth in her mouth until it turned to foam.
"You don't like the taste of that… do you Lilith?" Than-guan-thwei asked hesitantly.
Than-guan saw the ooman pup shake her at her sister's question, and was surprised that the tiny female was continuing with her actions in spite of the foul taste. Given that the little ooman was using things she was familiar with to clean herself up, Than-guan believed that she was using that foul smelling and tasting stuff to clean her mouth.
Lilith used some of the water from the pool to rinse her mouth out after brushing her teeth. She put the toothbrush and toothpaste back in the little kit, and got out the mouthwash. She stared at the bottle of mint flavored Listerine for a moment, before opening the bottle. It was supposed to be mint flavor… but the only thing she could say about it, was that it was horrible! She gave a hard shudder, and almost gagged at the taste, but she stuck with it, and began to swish the stuff around in her mouth. It burned, it tasted nasty, and it was worse than she remembered. She counted off the seconds in her head the way she'd been taught, and finally spit the stuff out. She panted for several breaths while her eyes watered from the strength of the mouthwash. Even though she had spit it out, her mouth still burned. She ducked her head down and slurped up a bunch of water before gargling with it.
Yeyinde was standing right in front of the little pup, which was why she couldn't help but see the disgusted expressions that Lilith was making. Every cringe, every shudder, and every strange twist of the ooman pup's face was clearly seen. She couldn't help but wince in sympathy every time that Lilith showed just how much she disliked what she was doing.
When Lilith climbed out of the pool, Gwen handed her some weird fur covered hide for her to dry off with. It was just like the one she'd tried to use the first day she'd gotten her. Her mouth quirked at the memory of the 'Texas Titty Twister' that she'd used on Gwen.
'Well she kind of asked for it by not letting me dry off on my own.' Lilith thought to herself.
"I will dry your back for you. Those claw marks from the tunnel runner are starting to seal, and I don't want them reopened." Than-guan said as she approached with a second fur.
Lilith let the Predator dry her back, before putting more of the paste on. Then Lilith was able to get dressed. She still wasn't too happy with the way the underwear crawled up her crack, but that was all there was, so she put up with it. After all, it was better than being naked and chained to a wall. She put on her T-shirt and saw that it went down just past her knees. Whoever it had been made for must have been really tall! Then Lilith gathered up her bag of things, while Gwen tossed her dirty clothes in a chute sort of thing, and headed to her room