[So I think that I will make Monday night my chapter post night from now on, giving you all who enjoy my writing a good way to brighten your day if it was not the greatest. Because I do enjoy sharing my story with you all and if it can brighten your day it should do so! If I do miss a Monday I will attempt to post as soon as I can!So please enjoy!]
Chapter 9: Love
It was the crack of dawn a few weeks later and Amun had been the first to rise. He made his way through the cave tunnel just as he had so many times before. The cool morning air hit his crown as he emerged from the darkness, sending a small shiver down his spine. He took a large breath and enjoyed the clean air. He had slept wonderfully this past week and could not be more happy. After a few more runs the cattle farm they now had thirty daughters to call their own. All of them had ended up being drones or runners. Amun and Emilia knew that this was due to the lack of genetic variation when using only cows, but they did not mind. Each and every one of his beloved daughters were unique and wonderful. They could be a handful of course, but Amun and Emilia had decided that patience and love would do more than anger and fear.
As Amun stretched to his full height and poked his head above the trees, he felt the rays of sun warm his head. It was truly a wonderful morning. Just then, he felt the minds of his daughters begin to wake and scurry around within the cave. He moved a bit away from the entrance knowing that everyone would want to come outside soon, so he sat and waited. He watched as his daughters glided into view from the tunnel and out into the world. It was a rather beautiful sight in its own way. Because there was no rush, their moves were smooth and calculated. As if they had been planned weeks in advance. As the sea of ebony black creatures fanned out, some stopped to stretch, others took to the trees to find the rays of the warm sun. As he sat, many of them came to relax at his feet, greeting him with hello's and good mornings.
Finally, Emilia was the last to exit which was her usual routine, making sure everyone of her daughters had woken. As she came into the open air and stretched like a cat, tail flicking gently back and forth, Amun watched the beautiful creature before him.
"You're quite happy Father." Came a soft voice from below him. He looked down to see a small runner curled up between his feet. This little one they had named Abby.
"How can I not be? I have a wonderful family, a beautiful queen and a peaceful life. What more could I want?" He felt Abby's approval as she settled in under him. Abby had been a strange one. Whereas all the other Xeno's were quite out going, she had been rather quiet and timid. Spending most of her time climbing mountains and exploring by herself rather than playing with her sisters. She was not much for violence or play fighting so she had stuck out a little from her sisters. No one was ever rude or mean to her, but she did seem to be excluded more often than not. This may have been why Bobby had taken such a notice of her and did her best to make sure she interacted with someone. Amun loved Abby just as he loved his other daughters and was thankful that Bobby was there for her.
"How about a heater? It is rather chilly this morning." Exclaimed Emilia as the brisk morning air finally started to penetrate her hard exoskeleton. Amun let out a large mental smile. "Wait...no I was kidding, I'm fine. Amun don't do it!" She said, fully regretting what she had said.
"You heard her my daughters, your mother is chilly...CUDDLE PUDDLE!" And in an instant, thirty small Xenomorphs playfully rushed their mother and began to climb. They quickly moved up and around her body, covering every inch of her with themselves. Emilia had made sure to stay very still as to not injure any of the small aliens who now swarmed her. It was over in a mere three seconds and Amun could not help but laugh every time.
"I hate you so much...please know that." Emilia said, which was followed by thirty aliens giggling.
"I love you too. Alright my daughters, let your mother be, go and play." As quickly as they had covered her, they were all off into the forest in every direction. Amun and Emilia did not fear when they went to play, each and every one of them knew the rules. And with so many of their older sisters around to keep an eye on them, it was reassuring. Abby was the last to slowly make her way into the woods but she stopped and turned to her father, waiting for something. Amun felt her gaze and turned to her. Looking at his daughter he pointed to the top of a nearby mountain. "Red stone with three scratches on it. Bobby already has a head start so I'll give you a hint. What falls down in winter, but never gets hurt?"Amun watched and Abby took a moment to think, then in silence took off in a flash towards her objective.
"She does love playing that game with you and Bobby." Emilia said as she approached and twisted her tail with his.
"She certainly does. And she is getting good, Bobby is having a tough time finding the stone before Abby does. She has a nack and finding things that are well hidden. I hid it at the bottom of the lake once and she found it without the smallest hint."
"You probably smelt like the lake when you came back." Emilia explained, and it all made sense to him in a flash and he felt rather stupid for not realizing it.
"Clever girl..."
"Yes she is... I'll be back, I think Brittney and Sara are burring Ashley in mud again. I swear those three just love to get covered in whatever they can find!" She shook her head and turned towards the river, leaving Amun alone near the cave. In his solitude he mentally reached out as far as he could, checking in on his family. He was happy to feel everyone of their minds touch his in return, a comforting gesture. He then got up and started walking to the base of the mountain that he had sent Abby to, he thought it would be nice if he met her and Bobby at its base.
On his way there, he ran into many of his daughters who were doing various things. Playing, sun bathing, exploring or simply chatting among one another. It brought a smile to his mind with the family that he and Emilia had made. And all the while, they all loved one another so deeply. They always knew that their family was the most important thing they had, so they did all they could to make one another happy.
When Amun reached the base of the mountain he decided to lay in the tall grass and have a short nap, letting the small breeze run over his large body and cool him down. It was not until a while later when a noise brought him out of his blurry state. Following the noise he came to see Bobby coming down the side of the mountain, but he felt something wrong. He looked closer and saw that she was carrying Abby in her arms, the small runner curled up into a ball. Amun got up as quick as he could and ran towards his daughters.
"Bobby! Abby are you two alright!?" He asked as he approached. "What happened?"
"We are alright father, we just had a small accident." Bobby explained as she kept making her way down the rocks. Amun reached out to touch Abby's mind and found that she was awake and in a small amount of pain. Amun stopped in front of the two and waited for Abby to uncurl herself from Bobby's arms. There was a still moment between all of them as Abby stayed nested in her bigger sisters embrace.
"Abby, my daughter, you have nothing to fear."Amun gently told her as he placed a hand upon her large head. He could feel that she was not so much scared as she was embarrassed with herself. "What happened?"
"A cougar...caught me by surprise. I was to focused on finding the rock and..." As Abby explained what had happened, she turned her head to revile her wound. Three large cuts that began near the top of her head and went all the way to her jaw line. The wounds were rather deep but her acid blood was only flowing softly.
"O Abby, my daughter, let us tend to your wound. It is not something we can let heal on its own." The king said as he took her from Bobby. He cradled the small runner in his arms as he turned to make their way back home. As he walked he felt Bobby leap onto his back and join them.
"Don't tell mother...please." Abby quietly asked as he walked through the forest.
"Abby, she-"
"Please..." She cut him off with her soft plea. Amun could feel her emotions strongly flowing into his mind. Feelings of embarrassment and shame. However those were all dwarfed by the fear that she will be judged harshly by her sisters for letting such a thing happen. Amun let out a sigh of defeat and nodded.
"We will treat your wound and try to heal it quickly." He stopped in his tracks and looked down at his daughter. Even though Xeno's lacked eyes and tear glands, he knew that Abby's eyes would be full of them. "Bobby, could you please?" He did not have to explain much for Bobby already knew what had to be done.
"Yes, father." She said as she made her way from his back and to his forearm. She perched herself near Abby and held out her hands. Taking a moment, she began to produce the building resin that all drones could. Bobby then began to gently use it like a band-aid to close Abby's wounds. Stretching it tight to stop her flesh from opening further and filling any gap to prevent anything from entering. Amun had found that their acid blood could destroy anything that entered a Xenomorph's wounds, but it was still good practice.
After a few minutes, and a bit of creativity, Bobby was able to make most of her resin blend in with Abby's natural bio-mechanical looking biology. She had done a very good job and knew that most of his other daughters would never notice it.
"There, good as new." Amun then lifted Abby up to his shoulder, but once there she only gripped his hand tighter. Amun mentally smiled, she was such an innocent thing despite being just as old as most of her other sisters. She was not the predator that was in the movies he had watched with Jolene. She was so much more. Amun brought his hands back down and kept her in his embrace and began his walk once again. Along the trip, he felt his many of his other daughters nearby still playing among the trees and in the vegetation. When he was near a tree, he felt Bobby leap from his back and disappear up into its branches.
"Someone is hunting you father." She said from above him. Amun focused his mind and felt every mind of his daughters until he found two nearby that were trying very hard to stay hidden. He knew it was Scarlett and Rowena, those two were always attempting to sneak up on him, thinking that one day they might be able to surprise him.
"Take Rowena, she is a bit too far from her sister. Go only when one of them makes a move." Amun instructed Bobby, who then took off from branch to branch. Amun usually turned Scarlett and Rowena's attacks into lessons about how to work together. They were fast improving, but still had a lot to learn. Amun kept his pace so he would not give anything away to the two hidden drones.
"Are you playing with someone Daddy?" Abby asked as they walked, sensing that something was at play.
"Indeed, Scarlett and Rowena are at is again." He felt the mental smile from his daughter for she knew that their surprise attacks usually never went in their favour. He knew that he was getting close and that the attack would happen soon. Amun did enjoy playing with his daughters and never liked to make it unfair. After mentally finding them the first time, he had not done so since. He hoped that they had been smart enough to feel his mental touch and relocate. So he would have to stay on edge, in case they were not where he thought.
This is also where Bobby came in, being his second set of eyes so to speak. Amun had to recruit Bobby into this game of cat and mouse a while ago because Rowena and Scarlett had gotten quite good at coordinating their attack patterns. So, to keep their minds sharp and their creativity going, Bobby had become a new player in the game. He continued his walk with nothing catching his eye. It was not until Abby screamed out that he knew he was in trouble.
"Look out!" Just as she finished her warning, Amun heard branches breaking of a tree behind him. Amun quickly ducked out of the way, letting Scarlett fly over his head. He watched as she landed on the ground and quickly turned and lunged at his head once more. Amun was too quick and grabbed the drone out of the air.
"Looks like I win." He said as he held her in front of himself.
"Now Rowena!" She yelled as she was within her father's grip. Amun did not move a muscle, knowing that Bobby had done what she needed to. Sure enough, a small voice reached out to them all.
"Nope...Bobby got me." Amun turned to his right as saw the drone pinned down in another tree by Bobby. "She is too quiet, it's not fair!"
"It may not be, but you need to be aware of everything while you are hunting. Every animal, ever human and every object that is nearby. It may just keep you alive. But you also need to keep communication, let one another know what is happening. If you are ready to attack, if you are not, or if anything changes." As Amun explained hunting tactics, his daughters listened with nothing but attention. They wanted to learn and become the best hunters they could. Which Amun knew they would, they were already miles ahead of many of his daughters. Although, they still needed to catch up to Bobby and her skills.
"Thank you Father, we will try that next time." Scarlett said as she and Rowena took off into the forest. Amun smiled with pride, he was so happy with his family and the diversity that it had. No daughter was the same and neither was each day. He loved them all so very much. He continued his walk towards their cave but it was not too long before Abby leapt from his hands to the forest floor. He stopped to look down at his daughter.
"I will be fine father, I would like to go play with Scarlett and Rowena." She made him smile. He nodded as watched as his daughter took off after his sisters. He let out a happy sigh as he did. He reached out for his queen and found her near the river. He turned and started to make his way towards her. A sense of pride in his step for the life he had now had.