The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)
The next morning, Thea woke up a little sore but feeling refreshed.
She then grabbed a new set of clothes and put them on. Before heading out into the hall. As she passed Setg-in's room, she noticed he wasn't in there.
That only meant he could've been downstairs in the living room again. Or possibly outside training. Since he had healed up, he's been doing more training than anything.
Sometimes during the day. And even sometimes during the night.
He told her he sometimes does it on nights he doesn't sleep and doesn't have much else to do. Thea still thought it was amazing that he could see at night without a light source.
The young woman made her way downstairs and saw that the t.v. was off and it looked like no one was in there. So, she went to one of the windows that look out to the backyard.
And that is when she saw him in full gear, training with one of his weapons.
A small smile appeared on her face, and she headed for the kitchen. She then crossed it and went to the back door.
Thea stepped outside and walked over to where he was. She stopped several feet away to give him space as he spun around with his weapon.
"Impressive as always." She complimented.
He smiled behind his mask, before turning to face her.
"Thank you. How did you sleep?" Setg-in asked.
"Good, thanks for asking. How long have you been out here training this time?" She asks.
"About a few hours. Was doing it to kill time and wait for you to wake up. So, I could say goodbye before leaving to hunt." He told her.
She thought it was very sweet and considerate of him to wait her to wake up so he could tell her goodbye. Instead of just leaving and waking up to find him already gone.
"Well, thanks for waiting. And I hope you have a good hunt today. There are a lot of bears out there, I'm sure your bound to come across at least one good one." Thea said.
He nodded, "I intend to. Hopefully, at least one provides a good challenge too."
"I'm sure it shouldn't be an issue. Black bears get pretty damn big around here. Some of the males can get over four or five hundred pounds easy. Some have even said six hundred. And when standing on their hind legs, they can be anywhere from five to seven feet tall." She told him.
"Not too bad, I guess. Though it's a shame they are not as big as grizzlies. Already told you how much fun they are to hunt." He stated.
Yes, she recalls him telling her that the last couple times he was here he had hunted grizzlies before and enjoyed it.
Thea told him he was fucking nuts when he informed her, he fought one hand to hand before. And commented on their brute strength. Their size and strength are what made them quite formidable as far as predators on this planet goes.
"Yeah, I'm well aware of the fact that your crazy enough to fight a grizzly with your bare hands. And in truth, I'd have paid money to see that too. Because it must've been an even crazier fight." She retorted.
He smirked, "Don't have to pay. I still have that hunt and fight recorded on my mask. I can show it to you later if you like."
The young woman crossed her arms with a small smirk.
"Will I be seeing you at some point get your ass tossed around a little by the bear?" She teased.
Setg-in snorted, "Hardly got tossed around. Maybe got shoved into a tree a couple times and rolled around with it on the ground at one point. But it didn't throw me around."
"If you say so, Rambo. And try not to get your ass handed to you by one of the black bears." Thea continued teasing.
He walked over to her and came to a stop.
"Don't worry, little female. I promise I won't get too hurt, and I'll definitely be back to pester you later." He said, while patting her head.
She rolled her eyes and lightly shoved his hand away from her head.
"Great to know, I can hardly wait." Was her sarcastic reply.
"You say that now, but I know you'll miss me." Setg-in joked.
"Next you'll say, I'll go run into the house and cry once you leave." She retorted.
"I won't hold it against you if you do that." He teased.
"Nope not going to happen. I'll be too preoccupied swimming at the pond to do so." Thea stated.
"Can I watch later? Especially, since I know you will be wearing those skimpy garments you call a bikini?" He asked, part joke, part hopeful.
Her eyes widened for a second, "No, especially, if you're going to be a perv about it. Forget it."
"Not even if I make a wish?" He asks.
"Set!?" She blurted out.
The yautja started laughing. He knew he'd get her with that one.
But hey, he was still a male and still appreciate the lovely sight of a female. And Thea was no exception. If anything, as far as oomans go, he finds her to be quite attractive.
"Don't make me throw something at you." She threatened.
"Can it be yourself you throw at me?" He said, with laughter still in his voice.
She narrowed her eyes at him and started stomping over to him and quickly closing the distance.
And that is when he quickly high tailed it out of there. Thea followed, hot on his heels, until he jumped into the nearest tree for safety.
"Get back down here!" She said up into the tree he was in.
"No thanks, it's much better to avoid a female's wrath than face it head on. That's when males risk losing their parts. And I'd like to keep mine.
So, goodbye, Thea. Try not to have too much fun without me." Setg-in said.
Then he cloaked and started jumping from tree to tree, putting distance between himself and her. But then paused on a tree several meters away.
"And take some Midol to combat that anger issue you're clearly having! Don't want to come home later and be ripped apart! Though that may be inevitable either way. Because I may have eaten your secret stash of chocolate you kept hidden in the fridge that you said was used only during your special time of the month!" He admitted.
Her mouth dropped open.
"BITCH! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE! OR I'M GOING TO SKIN YOUR SORRY ASS AND MAKE A PAIR OF BOOTS OUT OF THEM!" She yelled.
Setg-in snickered, then he quickly dropped his invisibility, and mockingly blew a kiss at her. Before reactivating his cloak once more.
The smart-ass warrior turned around and continued on through the trees.
Thea couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head at his antics. The guy really was hilarious when he wanted to be. He was always saying or doing something to make her laugh her ass off.
Though she kind of regrets showing him where her stash of what she calls her 'period' chocolate in the fridge. Usually, he was good at keeping away from it.
But she still wouldn't put it past him if he were to go in and take some.
The look on his face was downright comical when she told him about human female menstruation. And it all started a week and a half ago, when a bloody pad she threw into the trash can became unrolled after she tried to roll it up.
Setg-in saw it and asked her if she was injured.
That's when she had to sit him down and tell him about female human menstruation. She barely got halfway through her explanation when he held up his hand and barked at her to stop with a mortified look on his face.
Thea couldn't help but crack up when this happened, and she doesn't regret thoroughly grossing him out.
Though there were a few times he tried to avoid her altogether because he didn't want to be subjected to what he called her temporary insanity. Or what she calls p.m.s mood swings.
He even jokingly said at one point after her cycle was over, that he actually thought about sleeping with his combi stick for safety.
The young woman just gave him a deadpan look and told him that wouldn't save him, and he might want to sleep with something that packed more fire power. Like his plasma pistol.
She almost laughed when she walked by his door while he was polishing weapons. And when he looked up and saw her, he jokingly put his plasma pistol under his pillow on his bed.
Once he had completely left the premises, Thea walked back inside the house.
She already had her bathing suit on beneath her tank top and shorts. But her beach bag was still upstairs. So, she headed up to get it. At least it was already packed and ready to go.
Then she went back down and headed out the back door again. She then went to the shed and pulled out her large turquoise colored inner tube, and trekked the next fifteen minutes down the path to the pond.
The weather was said to be clear and hot today. There didn't appear to be a cloud in the sky. Which meant she may find herself in the water a lot.
Once she got there, she placed her bag and tube on the end of the dock.
Thea pulled off her tank top and shorts and dropped them besides her bag. She dipped a toe in, testing the temperature. It was quite cool despite the heat and humidity of the air.
Then she wasted no time and jumped off the dock into the water.
She quickly became enveloped by the cold, crisp water as she became submersed beneath the water. Before she surfaced and took a breath.
Afterwards she started swimming about, doing some laps.
The pond wasn't very deep. At its deepest point in the center, it was around ten-twelve feet down. And at its shallowest near the water's edge.
Nothing in the pond was big enough to hurt her. All there is, is some trout and box turtles. With a few frogs maybe.
She alternated between swimming and lazily floating on her back in the water for quite some time. Before she got to the shallow dock and pulled herself out.
Thea pulled out her towel and laid it down on the floor of the wooden dock. Then she pulled out her small speaker, turned it on and paired it up with her iPhone.
She went to one of the playlists in her iTunes library and hit shuffle.
Once the tunes started playing, she placed it on the floor next to her towel then laid down. She pulled down her bikini straps and soaked up some rays.
Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead, release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry
She lightly drummed her fingers against her towel as she laid there listening to the tunes while she continued to tan.
You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day
As she laid there, her mind started to drift to these last few weeks. And while she didn't mind at all having Setg-in around, she was still concerned for his safety.
Thea knew, she couldn't keep him a secret forever, and worried someone may spot him one day.
Because even though she owned these several acres of land, it didn't mean she was out in the middle of the woods, miles away from society. There were still other homes and people around.
Just because they didn't live right next to her like they would on residential road didn't mean much.
He's already been through so much as it was. And she didn't want to see him go through worse if government officials were to somehow find out about him.
And as many different solutions she can think of, the only one she knows for certain that would keep him safe was if he were to return to space.
But that can't happen, because he no longer has a ship.
And she doubts he could contact anyone through his wrist comp and ask that they come down and get him or send him another ship. Because he was considered a fugitive, and no one would be willing to help him.
Herald what your mother said
Read the books your father read
Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time
Some may have more cash than you
Others take a different view
My oh my, eh, eh, eh
Thea let out a sigh and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the clear blue sky above her.
There just had to be another way, she could keep him safe and hidden from the rest of the world that will want to hurt him. The question is, how?
There are many remote areas on this world that were still untouched by man.
But it's not like she can send him off on a plane and have him dropped there. She may as well be abandoning him by doing so. And yet, a small part of her feels like she may have to do something like that.
If it meant he stayed safe and alive.
Her head was starting to hurt as she wracked her brain trying to come up with better answers and solutions. She keeps reminding herself that he is good at staying hidden and can very be very elusive when he wants to be.
He was always telling her that good hunters know how to stay undetected and under the radar when need to be.
Setg-in had told her that his kind has been coming to Earth for thousands of years. And within that time, many conducted their hunts without being seen by majority of the population.
The only ones who ever did see them were their intended prey that would end up dying by their hand.
It was reassuring to hear that they have been here many times before over the last millennia. And apparently knew humans well enough to know how to stay hidden from them.
But with technology improving among her kind every day, how much longer will they be able to effectively remain hidden from the rest of the world?
Eventually, Thea decided to give her brain a break, and tried to enjoy her time relaxing at the pond.
For the next few hours, she went back and forth between tanning and swimming. As the sun got higher in the sky, it gradually continued to get hotter.
Within this time, Setg-in had manage to find bear tracks and follow them.
He used his stealth, jumping from one tree to the next, as he followed the prints down below. After a half hour, he finally found the bear the prints belonged to.
It was quite large and currently eating a deer.
The hunter crouched down on a branch and watched it. He could tell by the size that it was a full-grown male. And at the moment, it still was unaware of his presence as it continued on with its meal.
Setg-in eventually decided to jump down and confront the large animal.
The large black bear pulled its head up, the muzzle was covered in the deer's blood. Then it stood up on its hind legs, scenting the air. On its back legs, it probably came up to the middle of the hunter's chest. Which wasn't a bad size.
The yautja dropped his cloaking. Then he squared off against the bear with his legs bent and his arms spread out. Setg-in then issued a challenge by letting out a loud growl at the animal.
The bear started to growl and roar a little at the new threat.
It looks like this one wasn't shy or timid like a couple of the last ones that ran when they saw him. Those ones he didn't even bother pursuing because they ran away like little cowards.
But finally, after several hours, he found one who looked to be sticking around and holding its ground.
Setg-in clicked and took a couple steps towards the large bear. The bear dropped down to all fours and charged at him.
The hunter stood his ground and waited for it. Then as it plowed into him, he grabbed ahold of its sides, and held on with his clawed hands.
Then he violently tossed the five-hundred-and-eighty-pound bear to the side. It flew a few feet before dropping to the ground and sliding along the dirt and grass.
He then charged it and slammed his body into the large furry beast.
It grunted and turned its head, trying to sink its teeth into the yautja. At one point, a couple of its claws on its forepaw did scratch him. His neon green blood flowed from the three small gashes in his thigh.
But that didn't slow Setg-in down or deter him.
He grasped the bear by its scruff and slammed it into a tree. Where it proceeded to thrash about while swinging its limbs at the warrior, trying to slash and bite at him.
The young warrior did acquire a couple more scratches, before he reached up with both hands and grabbed its head.
There was a sickening snap that echoed around the woods as he snapped the bear's neck. Then the animal dropped down the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Setg-in let out a small roar of victory.
Then he picked up the bear and tossed it over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and started to head back. He couldn't wait to show Thea his new trophy. Not only that, but he could use its meat and keep the fur if he wanted to.
Bear meat was quite chewy, but it was good. He had it before when he gutted one of the grizzlies, he killed on one of his past hunts on Earth.
Thea at this time was floating about in her inner tube on the water. She was laying across it with her ass dipping down the middle into the water. Her hands lazily brushing through the water on the sides of the tub as she looked around at the surrounding woods on the opposite side of the dock as she floated near the center of the fairly large pond.
"This is the best view I've seen so far today." Said a familiar voice from the dock behind her.
She turned around in her tube and saw Setg-in standing on the dock. He had a large black bear draped over his shoulders as he watched her from the dock. She smiled and started to make her way over to him.
The young warrior watched as she started making her way over in the oversized tube. Then when she shifted her body at angle to try and pedal better with her arms, she lost her balance, started flailing and went face first into the water.
When she broke the surface, she heard Setg-in's booming laughter.
She groaned in annoyance and rolled her eyes. Then she grabbed the tube with one arm and started to swim the rest of the way over that way.
Once she got there, she picked up the tube and threw it at him. Of course, it just harmlessly bounced off of his front. He still had yet to stop chuckling as she did this and as she hauled herself up onto the dock.
Thea looked him over and saw a few new injuries on him. Though luckily, they didn't look all that serious. She then eyed the very large bear he still had on his shoulders.
"Damn, you really found a large one." She stated.
"Yes, put up a pretty good fight too. Was quite worthy. Can't wait to get back and start prepping it and cleaning the skull." He told her.
"Well, congratulations. It's a great catch and I'm happy you were successful." She said, with a smile.
"Thank you." Setg-in replied.
"Let me just put my stuff away, put on my slides, and I'll walk back with you." Thea stated.
He nodded and waited for her to pack up.
She rolled up her towel and shoved it along with her speaker into the bag. Then she shouldered it, slid it her feet into her slides, and grabbed her inner tube. Then they walked off the dock together.
They chatted a little more on the way back.
Then Thea went inside to put her things away and shower. While Setg-in strung up the bear on a sturdy branch and started to skin its hide. He will make sure most of this animal doesn't go to waste.
Until Next Time ;)
