So, do you all ship Katja with anyone? We are curious to know!
Chapter 25
Reunion Tour
They were now all walking in a group, back towards the structure from which the snake vehicle had departed. Vai'dqouulth had refrained from requesting the computer just yet. It would be best to wait until they were in a secure location, and he could work without the looming threat of attack and damage to the critical device. The repair would be difficult and time consuming, potentially taking him up to a full Earth rotation, depending on his working conditions.
Therefore, it was best for the runt to keep the device until then. Hard meats would undoubtedly prioritize their attacks on Vai'dqouulth, further risking it if it was on his person.
Suddenly, Vai'dqouulth felt an impact on his back. Reaching to the site, he found the residual evidence of packed snow dropping off his body. When he turned, he saw Katja and the tiny male looking back at the veteran. "Somebody's throwing shit. Probably Alexei," the veteran lied, though he clearly knew it was obvious.
It was also obvious that the veteran was trying to provoke him into a reaction. Likely so he could sow seeds of distrust, or maybe even into killing them. Well, he would not be–
Another impact on his back. This time he did not turn. Vai'dqouulth waited for a small measurement of time to pass before whipping around. Sure enough, the veteran was holding a ball of packed snow in a throwing position.
Being caught, Adrien threw it at Alexei instead and spoke in a very feigned outraged voice, "I told you, Alexei, it's rude to throw snowballs at the alien!"
"You've been throwing them! Not me! You better watch it or the alien will kick your ass again!" the tiny male screeched. At least he knew a superior being when he saw one.
Suddenly, Adrien took a 'snowball', as they called it, to his headgear. The male Vai'dqouulth had been walking with, referred to as 'Petrov' was the obvious culprit.
"Et tu, Petrov?" Adrien asked.
While they argued, Vai'dqouulth couldn't help but pick up some snow and make his own snowball. More human stupidity. Such a pup's game. But looking at it, he just couldn't resist. He threw it at the veteran, who was totally unprepared.
Since Vai'dqouulth's snowball was larger and had more muscle velocity behind it, it caused the veteran to stumble and fall.
"Ok, enough!" Katja barked.
The tone was universal. A mad female.
"Adrien, I expect this kind of behavior from you, so the scolding should go without saying," Katja began. "Alexei, be quiet! There are things out here still trying to kill us, and noise is just going to attract them. I don't know why I have to remind you of this every day," she continued, "and Petrov, why did you even join in? You're stooping to his level." Finally, she turned her attention to Vai'dqouulth.
This wasn't the first time he had made a female mad; he just wasn't sure what to expect when the female was smaller, a different species, and had unpredictable behavior. So, he bowed his head in submission, prepared for whatever came.
"Big guy, you're supposed to be the superior species, and you let Adrien goad you into this. I expected better from you," Katja told him, tone disappointed, and that was it. No fighting, no honor regaining; just a scolding, like his bearer would do. She had called his superiority out and how he had forfeited it with immature behavior.
Somehow, that was even worse than losing a physical fight with a female of his kind, and he felt ashamed. Like a pup all over again. Of course, he was playing pup games, so this was well deserved. He gave her an apologetic trill.
"See? Her opinion of me is already low, so I get no verbal lashing," Adrien declared proudly.
The veteran, despite his skill, must not be able to woo any females successfully. Like he purposely didn't want offspring.
"A word, Adrien?" Katja demanded irritably.
Hopefully the fool would get what was coming to him.
"You just, what? Had to go and prove me wrong? Does your desire to do that outweigh self-preservation or what?" Adrien demanded preemptively once she requested a private chat with him. At least there hadn't been deaths. Yet. Despite his best efforts.
He still didn't know how Katja had gotten one of these things under her thumb so securely, so quickly. According to her, she'd even convinced it to help her track him down – and Adrien knew for a fact it didn't like him. The feeling was mutual.
"Give me a break, Adrien. I've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other. And can you please stop trying to provoke him?" Katja shook her head.
Ahead of them, Petrov walked alongside the hunter. Either he had little issue with their new 'ally', or he thought he was keeping watch on him. If the second, he wasn't nearly as smart as Adrien had initially believed. If it wanted to, the hunter would rip through them all with its hands tied behind its back.
Neither Adrien's mind nor his body was letting him forget it, either, despite what his eyes were seeing. He felt hyper-alert, his senses heightened and ready for confrontation. "Look, I don't know how or why that thing seems to like you so much. But don't get confident. If it changes its mind–"
"It'll be on me, I know that," she said, hiding a wince as her bad foot caught on a lump of ice.
"What exactly happened yesterday? How did you even communicate that you wanted to team up without him slicing you up like a pizza? Like a cake? Like a Christmas ham?" Lord, he was missing junk food. Damn Alexei bringing up Burger King.
"Adrien!" Katja said loudly, cutting into his thoughts.
"Huh?" Adrien asked.
"I've been talking, and you've been elsewhere."
"Sorry, I talked about food, and I got lost thinking about food," Adrien said.
"That was three minutes ago," Katja said, sounding just slightly amused.
Wow. He really wanted grease.
"Um, I guess the heart wants what it wants," Adrien shrugged.
"What does it want?" Katja asked.
"Dozen tacos. Smothered in nacho cheese," Adrien stated, the thought making his mouth salivate.
"Sounds delicious, but maybe we should focus?" Katja gently tried to get back on topic.
"Cut me some slack, Katja. We're low on food and I burned way more calories going out into a massive blizzard looking for you, with a completely screwed up back," Adrien grumbled.
Her face softened. "You did? Well… thank you."
"Yeah, yeah. So again, how did you communicate?"
"He understands and writes English, though he seems to have trouble with idioms," said Katja, staring ahead at the hunter's hulking form. "Plus, I saved him from a serpent. That might've helped."
The fact that this one could understand a human language was interesting, if nothing else. But Adrien was still irked by the whole situation. "Oh, good. We can ask him to leave us a note for our families when he decides to turn on us and rip our skulls out. Literally. And also, he is the idiom."
Katja shook her head. "Do you even know what an idiom is?"
"Colloquial metaphor," Adrien stated without hesitation. She looked shocked. "Yeah, that's right, not just a pretty face."
The corners of her mouth suddenly tugged downwards. "Listen Adrien, I know you said I don't care what you think. But that isn't true. I'd never ask you to do something that goes against your instincts. Say the word, and we'll figure out an alternate plan, even if it's splitting into two teams."
Adrien tried to hang on to his anger, but it was difficult when she was looking at him so earnestly and had traveled all that way with an injury of her own just to find him. With a sigh, he said, "Forget it. If he hasn't killed everyone yet, maybe he really does want to use us to destroy the nest. And we certainly can't do it ourselves. However: Just let me say now, preemptively, and for the record, 'I told you so'. Before this goes to hell."
"It's recorded," she promised, and for a while, they walked in silence. Adrien could even hear Alexei snuffling from a few yards behind them.
"How's your back doing now, Adrien?" Katja suddenly asked, her messy braid swinging over her pack. "I know, I know, you don't like me making a fuss over you–"
"Probably better than your leg," said Adrien, glancing down at her feet. "What did happen to it? I noticed you never answered Petrov."
"Just a train chunk."
"Just a train chunk? That thing looks nasty, Katja. You up to date on your tetanus shot?"
"Sure. I cleaned it and everything, too. It'll… it'll get better."
Adrien looked at her suspiciously. "Right." Though he wanted to call a halt for a break, he knew she would oppose it. Better keep her talking, divert her attention, and try in a few minutes.
"So, what else did the hunter do yesterday? Besides write you notes? Seems he's not a one-night-stand kinda dude. Even brought you a nice steak breakfast in bed."
She only groaned.
"Come on, for real. Did you find out what he wants from you? Has he been trying to forge an alliance this whole time? Or is he purely trophy hunting?"
Katja frowned as she thought. "I don't know. But I don't think so – to either of your questions, that is."
The hunter had been after something else, then, just as Adrien had suspected. That's why Katja was alive. "Well, why don't we ask him why he has been stalking us for days?"
"He doesn't love answering questions," she replied. Probably could've ended that sentence with 'he doesn't love'. Regardless, Adrien noticed she was beginning to have a hard time keeping up with him. "Might be better to let him bring it up himself."
"All right, can we take five, Kat? Back's killing me," Adrien said, doing a half-side stretch for demonstration.
"I suppose," she acquiesced, hiding any impatience she might have been feeling about the request.
Adrien quickly called the order before she could change her mind. "Hey, Petrov and…" He rolled his hand repeatedly, trying to remember the name Katja gave him. "Blue? We're taking a short break."
Alexei exclaimed happily at the rest announcement from behind her, but Adrien didn't bother to look back at him.
As everyone gathered into a circle, Adrien unhooked the sleeping bags and unrolled them for mats to sit on. Katja took the one Alexei was carrying and did the same, and soon they were huddled together against the elements – except for the hunter, who waited several feet away, and did not sit.
"Why did you call him Blue?" asked Katja, who kept moving her injured leg. Probably looking for a comfortable position for it and couldn't find one. At last, she rested her knee inwards, with the cut facing the sky.
"I didn't call him Blue, you called him Blue. I don't care what he's called," Adrien argued, maybe just a bit too defensively.
Petrov, who was seated beside Katja, took advantage of the distraction and began to check her wound closely.
"I didn't call him Blue, I said he was blue. Doesn't that mean 'friendly' in your jargon?"
Adrien turned away from her and eyed the uncloaked monster warily. He wondered what it was thinking behind that thick, pewter-like mask. "Yeah, but I thought you were referring to his scale coloring. That grayish-blue."
"Well, I wasn't. He said we can't pronounce his name. Blue isn't a bad option, though," she added thoughtfully. Then, lifting her chin, she called out to the hunter. "Can we call you Blue? Is that ok?"
The alien nodded – Adrien could have sworn it was almost indulgent – and he tried not to sigh. Great, now they were naming it.
"When's the last time you cleaned this, Katja?" Petrov suddenly asked her, his head still bent over her calf.
She yanked her leg away from him. "Just this morning. Don't worry."
"I am worried. If it gets worse, we really don't have many options. And I don't want to have to amputate your leg," he said, looking at Adrien for support.
Adrien opened his mouth, but Katja gave him a warning glare and spoke before he could. "Well, there aren't many options now. Can't do much but wait and see, unless one of you knows of a staffed hospital around here."
Stubborn, stubborn woman. He could hear the pain behind her voice. Clearly, she wasn't feeling well – but still wouldn't admit it or allow help.
"Let me…" She blew out a breath. "Let me take some more painkillers. We have to keep going."
That evening, they pitched the tent and started a fire. They had moved very slowly, and Katja knew it was her fault. Every so often, when she felt she couldn't move another step, Blue would scoop her up and carry her – despite her protests and one very dangerous standoff between her men and the alien the first time it happened. It had been a misunderstanding of intention – but even that aside, they traveled at a fraction of the pace they should've.
They were likely within three or so kilometers of the depot when Katja finally had to accept it was too dark to continue, and called for an overnight rest.
Alexei sat as close to the fire as he could without singeing himself, while Petrov kept guard and Adrien cooked. Again, Blue hovered on the edge of everything, as if not really wanting to truly join the group, even peripherally.
Katja wanted the hunter to feel comfortable, and decided to not force the point. If he wished to keep his distance, she would let him be. But she'd really feel better if he'd join them.
By now, her leg was burning; and she could no longer deny, even to herself, that she wasn't in good shape. She felt cold and hot all at once, and wondered if she was getting a fever.
Earlier that morning, they had butchered the rest of the cow and filled their packs with meat, knowing the cold temperature would keep it from spoiling. Adrien was practically drooling as he cooked steaks, but the idea of food was nauseating to her.
Truth be told, she was even having trouble sitting up. It'd be nice to lean against Petrov, but she'd already become one of those commanders. The ones who took sexual advantage of their people. Really, when it came down to it, she was no better than Hornet. There was no way she was going to make it worse.
"Kat, you with us?" Adrien asked.
"Yep," she said drowsily.
"You sure? Want Blue to give you another lift, wake you up a little? Save a horse, ride a hunter?" he teased.
Katja sluggishly gave him the bird. It was a huge relief Adrien didn't know about the little cuddlefest in the cave. She couldn't imagine what he'd say about that. To be frank, she herself wasn't sure what to make of it. Whatever species Blue was, they didn't seem like the type to do or enjoy that.
"Ignore him," Petrov suggested, rubbing her back lightly.
She tensed. He was absolutely not helping with the 'making it worse' thing. "Just keep guard, lieutenant. I can handle Adrien. He's just trying to see how much I'll react, because he thinks it'll show him how bad I'm hurting." Katja ordered, being sure to use his rank over his name.
Adrien lifted his brows, startled; and despite how shaky she felt, Katja experienced a moment of vindication. "Yeah, that's right. I have your number."
"How bad are you hurting?" Petrov asked.
Knowing he wouldn't believe her, Katja said, "Not bad. Tired. Maybe I'm fighting the infection." All that mattered to her was that the others were alive and well.
"Go into the tent and rest," Petrov said. "I'll take care of things out here."
She wanted to advise him on a few final points, but her head was swimming. The ground didn't even feel stable below her. "Don't… Don't let Adrien fight with Blue. Make him feed him," she murmured. "He needs a lot of food."
She could barely hear Adrien call from across the fire, "I do what I want."
"Trust me," Petrov said. "We'll be fine." Looking over to the scientist, he said, "Alexei, help her to a sleeping bag."
"Why me?" he complained. "My steak was almost done."
"What did he say?" Adrien asked, likely already guessing what the kid said. Petrov repeated it for him.
"Oh, this steak? Nah, it's going to the alien now. Little Alexei doesn't eat until he does his chores." Adrien smirked.
Alexei began protesting about how his human rights were being violated and how the United Nations needed to intervene on his behalf.
"Now," Petrov insisted harshly, and Katja could hear Alexei sigh as he stood.
A second later, Alexei was tugging her roughly to her feet, and Katja struggled to keep her balance, almost falling into the snow. From far away, she heard Blue barking warningly.
Adrien must've seen whatever Blue was complaining about, because he yelled at Alexei next, "Hey! Take it easy with her, you're not helping!"
"I'm okay, Blue," she called as Alexei dragged her into the tent. With more care now.
Vai'dqouulth had attempted several scans to pinpoint her exact illness. It may have shown up, but he couldn't be sure. He just wasn't a human biological expert. But he knew something was wrong. As the day had worn on, her body temperature elevated, and she was weak and slow to react.
Her drones seemed to realize this and brought her to rest, but he wondered if it would be enough. If her symptoms became any more severe, her condition could become life-threatening; whatever it was.
When the runt had been 'forced' to help her into the temporary shelter, he hadn't done so with care, which lead Vai'dqouulth to criticize him. Thankfully the veteran had noticed it too and corrected the puny creature. Normally, he wouldn't be bothered by her death; but if she died, this alliance would undoubtedly be over, and the planet overrun shortly thereafter.
"Here," a voice broke into his thoughts. The veteran was holding a makeshift plate made of bark, with some cow piled on it. It appeared lightly cooked with a strange, thick substance drizzled over it.
"She asked that I don't starve you or fight you. And by the way, don't forget that goes both ways. She'll be… well, at least mildly upset if you kill me. Maybe. Anyway, here's a very rare steak with a mountain berry glaze."
Interesting that the veteran didn't place himself as 'high value' in the female's eyes. Little did he know she was raring to find him last night. He took the plate, but the veteran didn't leave. Didn't seem focused on him, either. As a matter of fact, he just leaned against a tree. Vai'dqouulth made a noise that he hoped sounded questioning.
"Hm? Oh, Alexei is making my ears ring, and I needed to think for a moment. Katja's sickness… it's on the tip of my tongue," Adrien spoke, but perhaps more to himself. Vai'dqouulth didn't really understand what he meant, anyway. If what he said was true, he should really get rid of her disease from his tongue…
Oh, that was one of their 'figures of speech'. He often had trouble translating those.
It looked as though he wasn't getting rid of the veteran for the foreseeable future, so he removed his mask to eat. The male didn't so much as spare him a glance. Too wrapped up in his thoughts, it seemed.
Not wasting another moment, Vai'dqouulth began tearing into the steak. The glaze was surprisingly delicious. It reminded him of naxa berries, though not as sweet; more on the sour side of tastes. Still flavorful. And it was just slightly cooked to give it that smoky flavor, while still sealing in the raw taste and nutrients he enjoyed so much. The human knew how to make food, even in a wilderness with no materials to work with, that was a fact.
The veteran, meanwhile, stayed beside him, still ruminating. "Did she sleep last night?" he finally spoke again.
Vai'dqouulth looked at him, his maskless eyes making contact with Adrien's. The veteran didn't seem shocked by his appearance – though that was unsurprising, since he had likely already seen what a Yautja looked like.
"Not accusing you of anything, just trying to figure out what's wrong with her. Also, you got a little sauce dripping from your… mandible thing," Adrien clarified, pointing to a location on his own face to show which appendage was messy.
Since there was apparently no ill intention behind the question, he answered with a nod, then darted his tongue out to clean the tusk off. Delicious. Thank the gods Adrien didn't ask how he got her to sleep.
"Hm, alright then," the veteran responded simply. Without another word, he took the empty bark back and made his way toward their camp, tossing the 'dish' into the fire.
Strange. Given the antics from earlier, he'd assume any interaction with the veteran would be unpleasant. This one just seemed dispassionate, distracted.
Perhaps he was just more concerned about Katja's condition. Admittedly, Vai'dqouulth was as well.
"What was that all about?" Petrov asked as Adrien closed in.
"Feeding the alien, as she requested," Adrien shrugged.
"You seemed really lost in thought over there. Not the least bit scared. And I saw your mouth moving, which implies you were talking," Petrov continued.
"I'd be more scared if it didn't seem Katja had this thing wrapped around her finger. Much as she's done with us. As for the other questions, I've been thinking about her symptoms and asked one question of the beast to try and narrow it down," Adrien explained.
"And?" Petrov questioned anxiously.
"Nothing yet. I know I've seen this before, though."Adrien furrowed his brow. Where had he seen this?
"Want me and Alexei to take first watch, then?" Petrov asked, and Alexei whined in response.
"No, I'll take it. Gonna put on my thinking helmet about this," Adrien answered. Alexei said something, and after being around Russian speakers and the kid for several days, he could guess it was a snide remark about his 'thinking' abilities.
"Alone?" Petrov sounded concerned. Adrien's gaze drifted out to the hunter.
"Guess I'll find out," Adrien answered vaguely. Petrov's gaze followed his, and the man figured out what he meant.
"Ok, well, take care of yourself. Wake me in six hours. Assuming death doesn't first," Petrov stated. "And come get me if you run into trouble with… him." He finished in a lower tone. Needn't bother, the alien probably heard that.
"Nothing I can't handle, but thanks." Adrien nodded, and both Petrov and Alexei disappeared inside the tent.
Great. It was like the Blair Witch Project out here now. Correction: The Katja Alien Project. Trademark.
His reassurance to Petrov had been complete bullshit, too. He had far more gear to work with in the warehouse earlier, and still lost to this thing. He stood next to no chance in a confrontation now.
Looking over, he watched the hunter. If he didn't know better, he'd assume the stupid monster was cold-blooded and simply dying over there, like a lizard in the bitter cold. But no, he knew from Alexa Woods' account that these things could move in much colder environments. Even without that heating mesh on them. Very definition of warm-blooded.
He had to admit though, he was actually a fan of this one's patterning and colors. He always had a thing for tiger-stripe camo, on uniforms or animals; and this one wore the pattern well.
The night passed slowly, and their former stalker seemed to have no intention of sleeping. He and Katja could start a club. Or maybe they both needed a sleep clinic, by some cosmic coincidence. In any case, it was just a little freaky seeing that thing watch him from a distance with statue-like posture.
Looking at his watch, Adrien realized only seven minutes had passed. He groaned. He needed to do something, or he'd just end up nodding off. Deciding a personal equipment check would be a good time-waster, Adrien got to work.
Most of his stuff was in good condition – what little he had left at this point, anyway. He came across something completely unidentifiable in his vest, however.
"The hell is this?" Adrien questioned quietly. Looked to be a bundle of Velcro straps with no purpose, so he tossed it in the fire. Pulling out some gun oil, he lubed his weapons, including his Becker Tac Tool. Glancing up, he could see he had given the alien ideas, and it seemed to be checking its own equipment.
Satisfied with his gear for the time being, Adrien looked for other ways to occupy himself. Maybe a perimeter alarm like he had used in Afghanistan would be prudent. Reaching into his pack, he grabbed his bundle of paracord. It would be a smaller perimeter, unfortunately, but better than nothing.
Using a few scattered trees, Adrien walked the paracord out until he had a vague box-shape surrounding their camp. Next, he began tying the few loud items he had to all four perimeter lines. Carabiners, keys, eating utensils, whatever was left.
Adrien looked over his work and found the hunter inspecting what he had done with extreme curiosity. Damn, guess this trick was out in the open now. Putting his hands in his coat pockets, Adrien approached the new member of the group.
"It's an alarm," he explained, using his foot to jingle the line for demonstration. "To alert everyone, even if we're sleeping."
The hunter looked at him, then cocked his head. Adrien knew the hunters' body language from reports. Questioning. Well, he'd get the whole truth.
"Used this technique to flush one of your kind out, once. I hid the line, of course, but I'm guessing the serpents don't care if they trigger it," Adrien stated, waiting for a reaction.
The hunter just stared; Adrien couldn't even guess what it was thinking. "Dhi'rauta," it nodded, speaking very slowly, likely so Adrien could make out the word.
"Yeah, don't know what that means pal. Sorry," Adrien answered. It must've decided the conversation was over as it left to go back to its spot. Likely to fantasize all the ways to murder him.
As Adrien came back to think of something else to occupy his mind, he noted the fire was dying. "Dammit," he mumbled. Well, he'd set an alarm, and tall, dark, and scaly would be here to watch things while he collected wood.
Carefully, Adrien made his way down a slope near the camp. At the base, there was a mountain river spring that ran off somewhere into the mountains. Very advantageous to have a clean water source so close by. But more importantly, there were some already cut-up trees. Perhaps from a local previously gathering firewood.
As he went to work, Adrien allowed his mind to tackle Katja's illness. Now, she had a fever, of that much he was certain; the problem was, a lot of illnesses had that symptom, so that told him nothing. She seemed to be a lot weaker, but again, a bad enough cold could do that.
Her breathing, even when they were resting, seemed rapid. That, he felt, was a major clue to her condition. Could be pneumonia, which was actually a very effective killer. Perhaps a secondary infection from something very mild she got out here.
Maybe the alien had unwittingly given her something. Like a reverse 'War of the Worlds'. He'd say it was an STD as a joke, but she'd just get mad at him.
Wait, she was always mad at him, anyway.
Still, part of him couldn't help thinking the transmittable illness theory was the wrong track. The cut she'd gotten kept standing out in his mind. He was almost sure it was related to that, somehow.
Deciding he had enough firewood, Adrien turned to go back, only to find Blue right behind him.
"Gah!" Adrien nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't even heard the damn thing join him. Course, that might have been his fault for being lost in thought. The alien was holding a lot more wood than him, too. Show off.
"Alien dickhead! You're supposed to be watching camp!" Adrien hissed quietly. Mostly he was pissed because he'd jumped like his wife in a haunted house attraction. Blue just gave him a nonchalant shrug, as if to say, 'all is good there'.
"Fine, next time, one of us has to watch the camp. Agreed?" Adrien tried to cool off. Stupid Katja being sick and guilt tripping him into being 'nice' to the jerk alien.
Blue dipped his head, maybe in agreement. With that settled, they both made their way back to the camp. Adrien stacked his wood pile and threw a few logs on the fire. Blue was going to add to the stack, but Adrien stopped him.
"Hey! Don't take credit for my pile! Create your own," Adrien stated. It was more of a joke; Blue carried back far more than him, but the alien took it seriously and began stacking his own pile of wood.
"I was just joking; you can add to mine," Adrien clarified. The hunter ignored him and continued stacking his own. Perhaps he really did want to keep it separate to show his accomplishments, though who was he trying to impress out here?
Adrien scoffed. Dumb question, he was trying to impress the only human he actually seemed to like. And the only human that seemed to like him back.
Thinking of Katja brought his thoughts back to her condition. Rapid breathing, that probably meant a fast heart rate, too.
His diagnosis was broken when the hunter came over and began warming himself by the fire. As much as Adrien hated to admit it, the creature had brought a lot of wood back. It would've taken him several miserable trips to get that much.
As far as Adrien was concerned, Blue had earned his spot at the fire pit. 'Course, Katja would've told him he was welcome either way.
Adrien watched as Blue took a seat. He must've had enough of being tempted to join them at the fire and decided to get closer to the heat source. Maybe dealing with just one human instead of several sweetened the deal for him further. Especially one that made it clear he didn't want to interact with him at all.
Watching the fire, Adrien kept trying to work through Katja's sickness. He didn't know how long he'd contemplated it before looking at his watch. Wow, six hours was up, apparently. Time to switch shifts.
Getting up and peeking in the tent, he glanced at Katja first. She looked and sounded awful, her face bone-white and her breathing raspy.
Reaching out, Adrien tapped Petrov. The man woke with a deep inhale before looking at him. Adrien pointed to his watch. Petrov nodded and woke the loud one quietly.
"Any problems?" Petrov asked.
"No, should have enough wood to get you to morning. Important note: the bigger pile is the alien's," Adrien advised.
"Ah," Petrov acknowledged, but was clearly confused.
"I also set a sort of perimeter alarm just in case," Adrien continued. "Since you only have Dingus watching your back."
"That's a good idea," Petrov nodded. He looked back at Katja grimly once, then crawled from his sleeping bag and grabbed Alexei by the collar to drag him from the tent with him.
"Alright then, I'm gonna get some sleep." Adrien opened the flap of the tent. Blue made to join him.
"Woah, no, no, no!" Adrien stated. The hunter stopped and crossed his arms. "Petrov, back me up here," Adrien demanded.
"Last time I backed you up against this guy, I got my shit tossed. I'm staying out of it, unless your life is in danger," Petrov recused himself.
Adrien looked to Alexei, who shook his head vigorously. Why should he expect anything different? When the hunter took Alexei's skull, he'd find there was no spine attached to it.
"Adrien?" a feminine voice called. He turned and found Katja semi-lucid and looking at him. "If you're cold and tired, he's cold and tired. Let him in," she ordered.
Adrien audibly scoffed but opened the tent flap further and motioned for the hunter to go in first. No way this could end poorly, after all.
Once they were both inside, Adrien zipped the tent shut. The hunter made to sleep in the middle. "Oh, hell no, you sleep on that side. Katja is going to be the wall between us," Adrien pointed to the far side of the tent.
He was going to sound like Hornet thinking this, but: Kinky. He didn't dare say that out loud, though. And not even because of the hunter; no, he was scared of Katja. No telling what an angry, sick, Krav Maga trained, Russian special forces woman would do to him. Adrien rather wanted to keep his balls intact.
But, this was her idea. She got to ride bitch for it.
Blue just shrugged and climbed over her. He barely had enough room to stretch out, and he seemed to be grunting in annoyance about it.
"Yeah, next time I'll make sure to get a tent in your size. Go to sleep, or I'll steal that mask of yours and toss it in the river," Adrien hassled him. That earned a threatening snarl. Bugging the hunter when he knew the alien couldn't fight back was… kind of fun.
"Relax, I'm just kidding," Adrien huffed. He should really be more afraid of this thing, but he was pretty sure that short of an actual attack from outside forces, it wasn't going to risk harm to Katja.
This was going to be a long night…
As Vai'dqouulth settled in, he began reflecting on the night's activities. It had been a lot of mundane watching of the veteran from afar, who was most certainly hiding behind the fire to mask his heat signature. Little did he know Vai'dqouulth had the trichromatic spectrum setting on his mask.
It seemed that, like a Yautja, Adrien liked to keep his equipment in good shape – and that had reminded him of his own gear. From there, they had continued to keep a respectful distance between them until Adrien began walking a small perimeter.
Vai'dqouulth found the cable shortly into this walk and watched with rapt interest as the veteran created a box-like perimeter around the camp with said cable.
Then, the human began attaching loud metal pieces of equipment to it, and Vai'dqouulth was totally lost. He assumed it was some sort of ritual. Territorial, maybe? Religious? He couldn't be sure. Either way, he felt the need to investigate it.
Up close, it still made no sense to him, but Adrien came over and explained it was a primitive makeshift alarm system and even demonstrated how it worked. Apparently similar to another trap he had used to flush a Yautja out. That was a story Vai'dqouulth wanted to hear, but maybe another time.
"Cunning," Vai'dqouulth had complimented, and he completely meant it. While it wouldn't do anything against the face-latching impregnators, as they were too low to the ground, it would be effective against the queen's warriors should they attack. Primitive, but viable. Especially considering their limited resources.
Adrien had told him he didn't understand what he had said. No surprise, so he thought it best to just go back to standing guard. It seemed Adrien had other thoughts as the human disappeared over a hill crest.
With the camp secure, Vai'dqouulth decided to see what new trouble the male could get into. As he peered down from above, he saw Adrien gathering tree remains. Looking back, he could see the fire had grown considerably dim and the wood reserves low.
Menial work like this was something he was very familiar with. Whether it be on a hunt or a lesson his trainer had been trying to drill into him, it was almost an automatic response for Vai'dqouulth to join in.
And that was the first time he felt he ever had the drop on this male, because Adrien turned around and yelped in surprise. It sounded almost feminine in nature. Pity he wasn't hunting him.
He had been scolded by the veteran for not watching the camp, which was a fair criticism. But Vai'dqouulth was forced to figure out what 'dickhead' meant. Head was obvious, Dick was a shortened human name for Richard. It seemed like an insult given the context, emotion, and body language.
A short passage of time later, he figured it out while stacking his pile of wood – the veteran having the excellent idea of separating them out for individual appraisal by Katja rather than combine them. Adrien later claimed to be jesting and suggested combining them. Not happening, especially after being called, and realizing what, 'dickhead' meant.
To avoid spitting out an insult, Vai'dqouulth clamped his mandibles over his mouth. Tightly.
He'd shove Adrien's shoulder to initiate a fight in classic Yautja fashion, but as pointed out earlier, Katja had requested Adrien not fight him. And he would not be goaded into starting a fight lest Katja be upset with him again. He had not enjoyed her disappointment in him over the snowballs.
Having been tempted by the heat of the fire as he passed it with wood in hand, Vai'dqouulth caved to weakness and stayed by it. Adrien didn't protest and didn't speak any further to him. He seemed very deep in thought. Almost meditating, he would say.
It was time to switch out the watchers as Adrien woke Petrov and the runt. The wind had picked up, and Vai'dqouulth felt like it was time to rest as well. He figured the shelter was communal, much like they were on group hunts, and therefore it was appropriate to join Adrien and the increasingly sick female.
He was wrong, apparently, as Adrien protested. The veteran even asked for back up from the other males, and didn't get any. While he somewhat respected Petrov – the female found him worthy in some way, after all – the cowardliness of the male to give his true opinion on the matter was disgusting. Alexei was even more so. At least the veteran stood up to him without fear, and spoke pointedly. That he could appreciate.
After that, Katja awoke and settled the matter, leaving the veteran no choice but to allow him inside the shelter.
Once inside, he picked a spot at random to sleep, but Adrien demanded he go to the other side of Katja, saying she would be a 'barrier' between them. Strange. She wouldn't make a very good barrier for anything, but perhaps this was more human turn of phrase he didn't understand. Regardless, he decided it was best to just respect the request.
Giving a stretch, Vai'dqouulth found he didn't have very much room to maneuver around. The veteran picked up on his complaining, assuring him next time he'd get a larger shelter. If there were options, why wouldn't he take the bigger one to begin with?
Settling in, Vai'dqouulth began to relax, but Katja's weak noises were becoming more concerning to him. The veteran gave her a glance, too. If he had to guess, it was an upset look.
Perhaps if one of the males figured out what was wrong with her, he could donate what little was left in his medicomp to her healing and recovery.
It was the least he could do in return for all her respectful treatment towards him, after all.
To writer #1's question - I'll never tell! (And if any of you pick Alexei...we'll know you're lying.