The next chapter is here!
WARNING: Some violence and gore in this chapter.
Enjoy :)
In the following days they spent their time training and traveling.
Kayla felt like she was surprisingly learning a lot from his lessons. Even at times when she felt awkward trying to learn how to use weapons. It was annoying at times when he'd laugh at her each time, she dropped the combi stick he lent her to practice with.
Though that was mainly the times he was teaching her how to twirl it.
Since they went into the river, they have yet to encounter the bad bloods. Which left Kayla wondering if they were looking in the wrong direction for them or they were biding their time before they strike.
When she asked Than-guan about his opinion on the matter, he said either option was a possibility.
But Lar'nix'va was a pretty good tracker. And if Than-guan knew him well enough, the bad blood could be just biding his time and lengthening this whole hunt out.
He did note the large red yautja did have a habit doing just that on his hunts.
Lar'nix'va once told other in his hunting party in the past that the reason for that was because he likes to draw out the prey's terror and worry on when and if he will strike.
It was a literal cat and mouse game he so thoroughly enjoyed.
He enjoyed causing psychological damage to his prey before he got to the physical aspect of it.
All these traits even then, pointed to someone who was a sociopath. Some hunters noticed it right away and expressed their concerns with their trainers and Elders.
Others shrugged it off as arrogance and overconfidence.
Than-guan knew for a very long time though, that there was something seriously wrong with Lar'nix'va. Even as pups he witnessed him catching and torturing small animals.
The louder they shrieked in pain the more he laughed. Even when others intervened and told him enough, he didn't listen. And the young Lar'nix'va just continued finding other small helpless beings to torture and eventually kill.
At the time, rumors have circulated that Lar'nix'va's mother wasn't well. Other yautja claimed that she was a little on the crazy side and didn't always take the best care of her pups.
There were times she had neglected and abused them.
Others started to approach her when they noticed most of her younger pups would come to their lessons looking malnourished and had many bruises and gashes on them.
Then one day, she snapped, and killed most of her pups. Only Lar'nix'va and Mar'cte, who were the oldest, made it out alive. They happened to be out playing that day, when she lost it and killed their seven younger siblings.
She was tried and executed for her crimes. And the two surviving brothers went to live with their aunt until they were old enough to make it on their own.
Their father didn't want anything to do with them. He called them tainted bloods due to sharing the same blood as their crazy mother. Because of this they would never be deemed worthy in his eyes.
But even if they had difficult beginnings, it was not an excuse to turn your back on your clan and their code of honor. If they were strong enough, they could've turned their lives around and made something of it.
Instead, they chose to walk down the path of a bad blood like their crazed mother.
Yes, Than-guan just felt that Lar'nix'va was just biding his time. And because of this, the seasoned warrior thinks it may be better to find him sooner rather than later.
But it was a little hard coming up with strategies that didn't put Kayla in direct danger.
This is why he was adamant on training her. Because no matter what strategy he tries to introduce, she will always be in danger. And he knew it would be challenging trying to keep her safe and fight Lar'nix'va at the same time.
One thing was for sure, Than-guan wanted to see if he can take Mar'cte out first.
Hopefully, they have split up on this hunt and were not hunting in pairs. Because if it was just down to one, Kayla had a better shot at remaining safe.
Not to say he couldn't fight them both.
But if it turned into a losing battle for them, he knows at least one of them won't hesitate to go after Kayla. Either to kill her or use her to distract him during the fight.
If one of them were gone, it lessens the chance of that happening. Because when bad bloods get desperate, there is no level of desperation they wouldn't stoop to.
At the moment, Than-guan and Kayla were walking through a meadow with tall grass and rolling hills.
He didn't like being out in the open like this. And it made him even more on guard and focused then if they were in thick dense foliage of the woods.
"You say that you think he will draw this out for a while. But what is that? Days? Weeks? Months?" Kayla inquires as they walk side by side.
"I wouldn't say months. With him it could mostly be days or weeks. Because even with him, his patience can only last for so long before he decides it has been long enough." He told her.
"Hopefully, not weeks. I feel like we already have been here for many weeks as it is." She said.
"Because technically we have. We've been here for three weeks now. You can always tell by counting how many times the sun has went down and rose." Than-guan replied.
"Three weeks!? That's it!? It feels like it's been longer than that." Kayla blurted.
"It probably feels that way to you, because the days here are longer than on Earth." He stated.
"If that's the case, I don't think I want to know how long I've been away from home." She muttered.
Well, it was definitely more than three weeks on Earth. But if she didn't want to know, then he won't say anything.
"Are you thirsty? There is a large watering hole about a mile away if you want to stop for water." He said, changing the topic.
"Yes, please." She said.
Kayla still can't believe that these hunters don't seem to carry water bottles of some sort on them.
When she inquired that a while back, he just told her he could go for longer periods of time without food and water. In which her reply was...
"What are you? A fucking camel?" She retorted.
Than-guan snorted at the thought of being compared to a foul and smelly animal such as that.
"No, it's just part of our biology. Pups needs food and water multiple times a day, like humans. This was referred to their growing phase. But once they grow up and become juveniles, they require less sustenance, and can go longer periods without." He explained to her.
Just another fascinating fact about the yautja she surmised.
It felt like a long time, before they finally reached the watering hole. And Kayla didn't waste time in running the rest of the way over to the water's edge.
She cupped her hands in the surprisingly cool water and started to drink it.
Kayla also felt tempted to jump in to cool off. The weather here was very warm and muggy after all. And the only time he seemed to cool off a bit was at night.
Than-guan watched her as she drank some water. He would alternate from that to scanning their surroundings.
But something caught his eye in the distance to his left. And he quickly turned his head in that direction. He switched settings on his mask and saw something in the sky.
When he got to the right vision mode, he saw that it was a ship. Apparently, another hunter was coming in for a landing here. By the looks of it, they were landing a good seven miles east of their location.
The ship didn't appear to look that large. So it wasn't a drop ship for multiple warriors. At the most, it was probably either a one manned or two manned ship.
The seasoned warrior was contemplating if he should head out that way or steer clear from them. It may prove a little more challenging to have both Lar'nix'va, his brother, and this new hunter out there.
Kayla was still hunched over the water's edge. After drinking her fill, she splashed water on her face and rubbed some on her neck and shoulders.
She was enjoying this little break. Until she thought she heard something moving through the tall grass not far from her.
The young woman stood up and looked around. Thinking it was Than-guan. Then she saw he was standing in the opposite direction a few yards away to her right and the sounds were coming from left.
Kayla pulled the combi stick that was tied around her front and back by a cord, over her head. She held it down by her side and continued to look around.
The sounds of crunching grass grew more erratic and louder, like it was coming in close to her position at a fast speed. She extended the combi stick and held it out in front of her.
She waited with bated breath for whatever it was coming towards her.
Suddenly the movements stopped. And everything went eerily quiet. The only thing Kayla could hear, was her elevating heartbeat in her ears.
Nothing happened for a few moments. Then the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She went to call for Than-guan when a large scaly creature leapt from the tall grass and towards her with a screech.
Kayla let out a startled scream and dove out of the way.
She quickly scurried to her feet afterwards to face the beast. Her eyes widened with horror when she saw this strange large looking lizard with not four but six legs! Its beady yellow eyes homed in on her and it hissed.
The young woman heard a commotion to her right. And she quickly glanced over to see that Than-guan was not battling one, but at least three more of the same creatures that stood before her now.
It was clear, he was too preoccupied to help her and that meant she will have to fight this big ugly lizard herself.
Kayla does recall seeing these creatures a couple times before. But both times were from a safe distance. Than-guan told her that they were indigenous to this world. But can't remember what they're called. It certainly was a funny name though and hard to pronounce.
One thing she does remember clearly; is that Than-guan said they were very dangerous. But fortunately, not very smart. Hopefully, that is one aspect she can use to her advantage. If she wants to get out of this alive.
She held her combi stick out in front of her and followed its movements as it began to circle her.
It then lunged and swiped out one of its many legs at her. Kayla reacted by swinging her weapon at the leg. The sharp tip met with the extended appendage and cut into its skin making a fairly deep slash in it.
The animal pulled it back with a screech. When it did this, she took advantage, and lunged at it and tried to stab it in the chest.
But the creature was pretty quick on its feet and twisted to the side, moving away from the incoming weapon. Kayla realizing, she missed, turned her hips and swung it into the side of its neck instead.
It hissed in anger and reached out trying to bite her. Kayla pulled back as quick as she could, but nearly lost her footing.
The animal still came at her, snapping its jaws. And she kept backpedaling to get away from those sharp teeth. The young woman switched to hold the combi stick horizontally.
That's when it lunged forward again, and the weapon became lodged in its mouth. Then it practically turned into a tug o war as she struggled to hang onto the combi stick while trying to rip it free from its jaws.
It was almost similar to trying to pull a toy from a dog's mouth that refused to let go.
The animal kept turning about on its feet, pulling her with it. It was only when it shook its head, that Kayla found herself getting whiplashed from the sudden jerky movements.
When this happened, her weapon was finally ripped from her grip. And now, she was without her weapon. It didn't help when it tossed it aside into the tall grass somewhere either and returned to pinning its yellow gaze on her.
Kayla quickly looked around for something she could use. And that's when she spotted a decent size rock near the water's edge about twelve feet away.
Question is, will she make it there in time to grab it? It's times like this she wished Than-guan gave her more than one weapon.
She spotted another much smaller rock nearby. Her eyes shifted from it to the rock than back to it. That's when she quickly darted for it, the animal hissed and ran after her.
Kayla quickly scooped it up, turned around and flung it hard at the animal. She ended up nailing it in the head. It grunted and pulled back. This gave her the time she needed to get to the bigger rock.
She picked it up with both hands. It certainly had some heft to it.
The young woman believes she must look pretty pathetic right now holding just a somewhat heavy rock in front of her. But it was still better than nothing at all. Hopefully, she can use it to stun it or injure it enough to get to her combi stick.
It stalked towards her hissing. And she kept backing up.
She felt the tall grass against her back and knew she ran out of open space. Kayla didn't want to enter the grass because she felt it would put this creature at an advantage.
She needed for her and it to stay out in the open where she can keep an eye on it.
Growing impatient, the creature made a lunge for her again with two of its most front legs out in front of it. That's when she began to panic. And was unsure what move to make.
She felt a sharp pain in her upper thigh when one of its claws slashed her.
Kayla yelped, picked up the heavy rocked and slammed it down on top of its head, hard. There was a loud screech and a small cracking sound. It clumsily pulled back and swayed on its feet.
Some blood was pouring from the gash on top of its head.
She screamed and charged at it with the rock and slammed the rock over its head again, before it could recover. It let out another pained shriek. And when she raised the rock over her head again to slam it down, she yelled in pain when it bit into her leg.
Kayla growled in frustration and slammed it into its head for a third time. There was another crunching sound and a small slash of blood as she smashed it into the side of its face.
It pulled back with what looked like half the side of its head crushed in. Yet, it was still on its feet and still alive.
But its movements were slower and clumsier than before. Her adrenaline was still pumping, and she made a risky decision by rushing into the tall grass in the direction her weapon was thrown.
It hobbled a bit on its legs as it gave chase after her.
The grass came up to her shoulders. All she can do is try to find an indent in the grass from where her weapon was laying.
As luck would have it, she saw a bright metallic glint on the ground between the blades of grass six feet to her right. Kayla quickly went for it as she heard the creature stumbling through the grass behind her.
She dropped the rock and brushed aside the blades of grass and snatched up the combi stick.
As soon as she grabbed it though, something wrapped around her ankle and pulled her to the ground. Kayla yelped as she hit the ground and twisted around to face the beast.
She saw its snarling bloody face peak through the long grass. And that's when she arched her arm back and thrusted the combi stick forward.
There was a sound of tearing flesh and breaking bone as her weapon made purchase almost directly between its beady yellow eyes. It let out one last short screech. Before it dropped to the ground.
Kayla huffed and puffed as she pulled her ankle free. Then she quickly stood back up.
The animal didn't move a muscle. She wrapped both her hands around the combi stick and jerked it back. There was a sloshing sound as it pulled free from the animal's skull.
Orange blood began to ooze from the nice size hole in its head made by her weapon.
She stood there continuing to huff and puff trying to catch her breath and slow down her racing heart. Until she heard something moving through the grass behind her, heading her way.
Kayla whirled around with her spear raised over her head. Only to stop short when she saw it was Than-guan.
A tired smile appeared on her face followed by a chuckle of relief. She could see he had a couple scratches on him. But nothing to serious that she could see. Kayla lowered her weapon to her side.
"You alright?" He asked, voice full of concern.
"Yeah, never been fucking better! Despite the fact I almost became fucking lizard food." She blurted out between breaths.
"You fought well. Even when you lost your combi stick you look around for anything available that could substitute for a weapon. That's good. And surprisingly did a good amount of damage to its head with the rock." He told her.
Kayla gave him a skeptical look.
"How could you see all that when you were busy fighting off at least three of these things?" She asked.
"I was able to dispatch two out of the three by the time I saw you dart over to grab the rock. Like I said, kuty'y'ae are dangerous, but not very smart. Which sometimes makes them not so difficult to kill." Than-guan said.
She snorted, "Speak for yourself. You call that fucking easy. I call it fighting for my life."
"And you won. With very few weapons involved. Most would agree that's pretty impressive." He stated.
Her body was starting to wind down now that the danger was over. And she was starting to feel the pain in her leg where the animal scratched and bit her.
Kayla's attention was drawn to something bloody hanging off the side of his hip. She didn a slight double take when she saw it.
"Is that one of those thing's heads!?" She blurted.
"Yes, it's my trophy. Let's go and retrieve yours." The hunter said.
Then he walked past her and towards the kuty'y'ae she killed.
He noted it was a decent size one. Not completely full grown but not a youngling or juvenile either. Than-guan pulled out his Dah'Nagara and with one swift downward swipe, he cut the head clean off.
Then he got up and went back to Kayla.
"Come, we are almost to the edge of this meadow. There are ginormous trees beyond it. Good ones to climb. We will be safe up in one where we can rest, treat or wounds, and clean the skulls." He told her.
He hooked some cord around a part of the head and connected it to his belt. Kayla came to stand next to him and he gestured for them to move on.
Kayla could only hope they don't run into any more of these things while out here. Or any other large predators. Because right now, she was pretty damn tired after the adrenaline wore off.
"Until Next Time ;)