The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)
Kayla doesn't know how long she has been asleep before she heard a disturbance of something big exiting the water not far from where she lay.
She laid there for a moment and didn't move. Then let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Than-guan.
The young woman did however jump up into a sitting position when she saw him drop something fairly large to the ground. It was some type of dead animal.
"What the hell is that?" Kayla asked.
"Food. Figured you'd need it since for most of the walk here I could hear your stomach grumbling." He said, in a teasing tone.
The young woman's eyes widened briefly, and her pale cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"Just how good is your hearing that you heard that?" She asked.
"Yautja have very good hearing and sense of smell." He told her.
"What's a yowcha? Is that the name of your race?" She inquired.
Than-guan nodded, "Yes. And it's pronounced 'Yautja'."
He then pulled out this strange object. And placed it near a large pile of...sticks?
"Hey, where did the sticks come from?" She asked.
"Brought them in through another small passageway that leads into here. It's a longer way, but I couldn't bring the sticks through the waterfall. Not without getting them wet. And they won't light up well if they're wet." He explained.
How in the hell did she not hear him come in with all those sticks? Especially, when she was usually a very light sleeper.
She watched him start to skin the animal, like he did with the other male of his kind. Only this time, she didn't turn away. He used said object and sliced through the tissue with ease and pull off the skin in long strips.
This animal wasn't as large, so it didn't take as long to remove most of its skin. Afterwards, he put the instrument away, ans pulled out another small object.
He used the small object in his hand to create a flame and lit up the sticks. The sticks were bone dry and went up pretty fast. Then he placed the object aside.
Then he reached for one of its four legs, and with a sickening crunch, ripped it free from the rest of its body. Than-guan then held the leg over the flame and started to cook it.
"Have to be fast with this. Because it won't be wise to keep the fire burning too long. The hot flames could be sighted through the waterfall and register on a hunter's mask.
Usually, I wouldn't cook the meat. I mainly eat it raw. But I know you can't eat raw meat. That's why I had to make a fire and cook it this way." He explained to her.
"How can you eat it raw and not become sick?" She asks.
"We just can. We have a strong digestive system. It can break down the harmful bacteria in the raw meat as its being digested. Though, it doesn't mean we don't enjoy cooked meat once in a while.
But if we do, we usually eat it on the ship or at home. Not during a hunt. Because the fire and the smell of cooking meat can attract large carnivorous animals to the camp." Than-guan stated.
Within minutes, the leg was thoroughly cooked. And then he handed it to Kayla.
She made a small face at first when she looked at it. But the smell of it had her stomach growling again. And she leaned in to take a small bite. It was quite chewy and had a gamy taste. Almost like venison.
Kayla heard a small strange hissing sound. When she looked up, she saw Than-guan pulling these strange little tubes out of the side of his mask.
He then pressed his hands to it, grasped it, and started to pull it off his face.
The hunter than placed it off to the side and reached over to the dead animal. With a rough jerk, he pulled another leg free from it. Then she watched him bring it up to his strange mouth and tear a chunk out of it and start eating.
It was pretty nasty, and she tried not to watch. Instead, she concentrated on her own meal. Because Kayla feels if she continues to watch him eat, she'll lose her appetite.
And right now, she can't afford to do so. She needs strength and energy from the food.
They ate in silence. Kayla was unaware that Than-guan was looking at her every now and then as she ate. His eyes shimmered with amusement when he caught her looking his way briefly before quickly redirecting her gaze.
It was either she was trying not to stare at his face or his odd eating habits.
"What? Is there something on my face? That why you keep quickly looking away?" He joked.
Kayla hadn't realized he noticed her looking. And became a little embarrassed at being caught.
"Uhh, no. Just...can't get over how different your face looks from a human's. Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." She admitted.
He lowered the half-eaten leg from his mouth and grinned at her.
"I thought the same thing when I saw a human for the first time." Than-guan said.
She noted his features. His face was the same dark navy color as most of his body. The only thing light in color on him was his chest and abdomen, which was a dark beige color.
For some reason, she didn't think his face looked as harsh or rough as the others. But then, she only ever saw one of their faces. And that was the one he killed.
The other three always seemed to have the mask on the few times she was in their presence.
His eyes are what caught her attention. They were a medium green color with a blue tint to them.
'He actually doesn't seem that bad looking.' She randomly thought.
Kayla quickly stopped herself and wondered where in the hell that statement came from. Then she recalls what he just said.
"Wait, you have seen humans before?" She asked.
His grin faltered a bit, when he realized he slipped. But who was he kidding, odds are she'll find out eventually.
"About that. I wasn't completely honest before when I said I learned your language from tutors. I actually picked it up while visiting your world on multiple occasions." Than-guan said.
Her light blue eyes narrowed at him.
"And why were you taking trips to Earth? Care to explain?" Kayla inquired.
"Sightseeing?" He lightly joked.
She blinked a few times, "Bullshit."
He sighs, "Kayla, this is where I say, just let it go. Because you won't like the answer."
"What? It's not like you're going to tell me you hurt humans. Right? Those other guys I get. Because their criminals." Kayla said.
"Kayla, my kind...they go out to other worlds to hunt the most challenging prey they can find. On Earth...that prey happens to be humans.
I'm sorry, I didn't tell you earlier. I just didn't want to scare you. You have already been through enough as it is. Didn't need to add more to the fear you were feeling from being kidnapped and held captive by them." Than-guan confessed.
She was silent for a few moments. Many emotions swam around in her eyes. Here, she thought she got away from known human killers. Only to end up with another.
"Why? How can you do something so horrible?" Kayla said, in a shaky voice.
"As I said, we look for prey that would give us a good chall..."
"WERE NOT PREY! WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" She yelled at him in anger.
Her loud voice bouncing off the cave wall and echoing.
"That's just how it is, Kayla. It's ingrained into our nature. We are natural born predators, hunters. Since the dawn of time, Yautja have always traveled the world and the stars to hunt a variety of different beings.
It's our way of life. Always has been and always will be. Humans are no different. There was a time they were all hunters as well. There still are hunters on your world today." He replied.
"It's not the same thing. Yes, humans have hunted a variety of animals over the last several millennia. But they never hunted other highly intelligent bipedal beings that looked and acted similar to them and had a high capacity of cognitive thinking and emotions." She argued.
Than-guan cocked his head to the side.
"Funny, one of the last times I was on Earth I saw humans hunt and kill chimps, apes, and gorillas. Are they not a distant cousin of humans? Are they not the same beings you evolved from? Sure, they may not be intelligent enough to create their own technology. But they are still capable of cognitive thinking and emotions. As you so stated." He stated, as a matter of fact.
Kayla pursed her lips. She was frustrated because she was having a hard time coming up with a good defense for that one. But the truth is, it wasn't easy.
Who could not look at a chimp or gorilla and see remnants of a human being within them? It's there because we did evolve from them along the evolutionary ladder.
The hunter could tell by her silence that even though she may be at a loss for words, she was still angry.
"How...how do I know you won't kill me then?" Kayla inquired.
"I wouldn't do that. I was being honest when I mentioned the hunter's code we must all follow. We cannot harm females or children. Only time there is any exception is if the female is armed and either attacks us or incites a challenge.
Otherwise, they are off limits. And even still, I would never harm one. It's not right hunting someone that cannot fight back, especially a child.
These bad bloods though. They have no qualms in hurting females and children. Because they don't care to follow any rules and think they are above them.
But I don't know how to make it any clearer to you, that you're safe with me. Already saved you once, and if I have to, I'll do so again." Than-guan assured her.
There were already plenty of times he could've killed her if he wanted too. But he didn't. It's something her mind kept telling her. Her gut was telling her to trust this hunter.
That he was not like the others. That he was good. Despite the fact he confessed to hunting and killing her kind.
Kayla was still angry about that fact. But she knew she was also very limited on her choices here. He was probably the only source of protection she had.
She slowly shook her head and tried to swallow back the lump forming in her throat. Her gaze shifted to the wall of water.
"I just want to go home." She said quietly, a s a tear rolled down her cheek.
He knew he shouldn't say it. Because he's unsure he could guarantee it and still would be taking a risk in doing so. But this female was hurting. And for some reason, it tugged at him a little.
'Screw it, I know I'm not supposed to. But it's the right thing to do.' Than-guan thought.
"I'll take you home." He said.
Her head snapped to him in surprise.
"What?" She said, not sure if she heard him right.
"When this is all over. I'll try to find a way to get you back. But I'll do so under one condition." He pointed out.
"Which is?" She asks.
"You cannot tell other humans about my kind. Not a soul. You must keep it to yourself. Is this understood?" Than-guan inquired, leveling her with a serious look.
'That was it? Fuck. No problem. Who the hell would believe me anyway? If I mentioned something about being abducted by aliens, they'd probably either medicate me or throw me in the loony bin.' She thought.
"Ok, I promise. I won't say a word." Kayla promised.
Than-guan continued to stare at her. It was like he was trying to find any trace of a lie within her that would show she wasn't completely honest.
She stared back, never breaking eye contact once. The determination in her voice and the hardened stare was good enough confirmation for him.
He just hopes she can take the secret to her grave.
"Very well then. Just as long as we understand each other." The hunter replied.
Than-guan finished up his meal. Then got up and walked over to the water's edge. He told her to move over a bit. When she did, he splashed a huge amount of water onto the fire, putting it out.
"When you're finished eating, get some more rest. Because in a couple hours, we will be moving on." He told her.
"Why a couple hours? Why can't we just stay the rest of the night?" Kayla asks.
"Because we cannot stay in one place for too long. Not with bad bloods about. This place is safe for now. But the longer we remain hidden here, odds are they may find us here eventually." He explained.
This isn't his first rodeo hunting bad bloods. He's done it before. Not intentionally, he just happened to run across them a couple times while hunting on other worlds. And came out victorious.
Among his trophy collection he has at least four skulls of bad bloods. And who knows, after this he may add at least two to three more.
Than-guan rumbled at the thought of taking the head of the one who framed him and took his honor. It certainly would be a most befitting end to scum that doesn't deserve to live.
Until Next Time ;)