Chapter 4

Synopsis: Lex and Scar arrive on Yautja Prime.

Note: from here on out I'm dropping the bolding for when Scar speaks with his own voice.

Lex woke to heavy arms draped across her. Scar's snoring was more like a soft purr with the occasional growl thrown in. His clawed hand was nearly large enough to cover her entire backside, and pulled her tight against him. His mandibles rested gently on the top of her head. Being snuggled by Scar was not something she had anticipated when she woke up, but he was warm, and she had to admit it was cozy. Lex opened her eyes and slightly pulled her head back, trying not to wake him. His eyes immediately snapped open.

He looked around confusedly at first, having been just awoken. Then his eyes met hers and hooded over with a hint of that same glow from the previous night. Her hair was messy, cascading in black curls down her face. Humans were not usually attractive to Yautja, but Lex was exceedingly so to him. Scar took a second before he moved his arm off of her.

"Sorry," he rasped. Of course he hadn't done this intentionally, but felt slightly embarrassed anyways. Before Lex could reply, the ship jolted. Lex sprung up and gave a slight shriek of fear, which Scar replied to with an amused laugh.

"We're here," he said.

xxx

To say that Lex felt like the center of attention would be an understatement of the century. When she exited the ship, every head within sight turned and gawked. Scar did not seem to share her apprehension, and walked beside her with his head held high. Scar felt proud of Lex, even if his clanmates did not share his view. It didn't matter to him anyways. Few of them had killed any hard meats, let alone a queen like Lex had. To him, and by Yautja standards of the hunt, she was superior. Lastly, he'd kill anyone who put a hand on her.

Lex did her best not to let her shyness show. She heard the dark-skinned Yautja muttering behind her, and Scar growled which ceased whatever he was saying. A small crowd walked towards the ship as they exited, whispering to one another and some pointing to her. She parted her hair away from the mark Scar gave her and proudly displayed it. In reality, many could not see her mark from a distance, and a live prey item walking amongst seasoned warriors was unheard of.

Scar beckoned for her to follow him. He led her away down a stone hallway which led to a large room. Several stone chairs were filled with much larger and older Yautja. Each immediately sat upright or gasped when they laid eyes on Lex.

One elder stood and began growling angrily at Scar, gesturing to Lex. Another elder stood and spoke, to Lex's surprise, in English.

"You do not chastise him. The ooman is blooded and killed the kiande amedha. She is one of us. She bears my staff and the mark of our clan. We most of all must show our respect," Oshun intervened harshly. Lex's eyes widened. He was the one who took Scar, she realized. She knew this Yautja.

"Is this true?" the other elder asked. Scar nodded. Placated, the first elder sat back into his seat.

"I surmise you learned as to why our kiande amedha were found slaughtered," Oshun asked Scar. He nodded, and motioned for Lex to speak. Her eyes widened nervously, but he only stared stoically back at her as they all waited. Lex cleared her throat and began to speak.

"When Scar and I first met I was employed by the Weyland Company, a technology firm. I killed a kiande amedha and Scar spared my life. He marked me and we killed the queen together. Afterwards, Weyland forced me into their servitude. They have limited knowledge of your kind, but desperately want your technology. They thought my connection with Scar would be of value to trading your technology willingly. Another task by the Weyland company was to kill any kiande amedha as they pose a threat to humankind. Against my will, Weyland tasked me with finding and helping destroy any remaining kiande amedha, which led me to the pass. I killed them. We knew when the pass was signaled it was a trap but went ahead anyway. I did not anticipate it would be Scar," she explained. The elders pondered her explanation quietly.

"There is something else you should know… Weyland is not the only company that is seeking you out. When Scar and I reunited we were ambushed by another company named Yutani. I do not know anything about them other than that they have developed technology that is much deadlier to Yautjas. They have knowledge of your technology, can see you while you're cloaked, and have bullets that will pierce through armor and expand on impact. Scar almost died again. If you go there and send that signal, Yutani will be there to attack and will kill you. Hunts for humans on Earth must cease," Lex stated. Clicks and growls broke out amongst the elders.

"Is it possible she lies to protect her own kind?" one elder asked pointedly. Scar tensed at the accusation, trying with every fiber in his body to not show disrespect.

"What she says is true," Scar affirmed curtly.

"You are biased," the elder replied harshly. Lex, unaware of danger in challenging the elders, boldly stepped forward. She pointed to the mark on her cheek defiantly.

"I am your kind now, and you are mine. I did not come here to lie, and we did not almost die to be called liars. Yutani has developed weapons that will kill you. You will send your unblooded to slaughter if that signal is sent. I beg you, in good faith: do not return to Earth," she interjected. Usually, if a blooded warrior spoke to an elder as she had, they would have been severely reprimanded. Instead, the elder looked at her coolly. He realized she was not lying. Furthermore, he knew she was not familiar with their customs yet, and was exceedingly impressed by this human. Scar's eyes flitted anxiously between her and the elder.

"I am grateful for your warning to us and ask your forgiveness for being quick to judge. We must know more and destroy this Yutani company… but first you must become familiar with our culture here. I am requesting this human to be trained in the ways of combat and in the ways of the Yautja. She is one of us now and has earned being blooded. In addition, with this threat of Yutani, she will be useful in destroying them," the elder told them both. Lex's eyes widened in realization that she was not going home anytime soon. The meeting seemed concluded in relation to Lex's arrival, but the elder approached them. He began chastising Scar in a harsh whisper, using their language that Lex could not understand.

"This is not what I meant when we last spoke about choosing a mate", the first elder clicked sternly.

"I agreed and fulfilled my end of the terms," Scar replied.

"No, you were told that if you would not choose a mate that one would be chosen for you. This is not an adequate or viable choice."

"She is blooded. She killed kiande amedha. She is more formidable than any female in our clan, and I want only her," Scar argued. Lex watched curiously.

"Yes, and she will be treated as such. She is formidable. But she is human and will bear our clan or bloodline no offspring. You are our most promising warrior. Your blood will be wasted on her. This is unacceptable," the elder snarled.

"If I cannot choose her, then I will not choose."

"Then you are no offspring of mine."

"I will accept that," Scar replied flatly. The two glared at one another before Oshun interrupted them.

"Train the human. When she is fit for combat we must return to Earth and confront this Yutani company. You are both dismissed." Scar bowed respectfully and turned to leave. Lex followed him down the hallway. He was silent, but she could tell by his body language as he stalked away that he was deeply angered.

"Scar?" she murmured worriedly. He ignored her and growled as he continued to walk. Lex gently grabbed his arm with her hand. She expected him to turn and snarl in her face, but instead he slowed and turned to face her.

"Are you alright?" Lex asked. "What was that about?"

"Disagreement," he sighed.

"About me?"

"No," he replied unconvincingly. Lex narrowed her eyes and Scar rolled his.

"Sort of. It's nothing," he replied. Lex decided to let whatever the conversation was about go. She had more pressing matters at hand.

"So I guess I went from one planet of indentured servitude to another. Guess I won't be going home anytime soon," Lex sighed dejectedly. Scar cocked his head and put on his mask. He flicked the translator on.

"My word was to bring you back if you wish," he murmured. Lex smiled sadly.

"Well, if any of you go back to Earth to hunt, Yutani will kill or capture you… It's not safe. I don't want any Yautja to be dissected by Yutani, but… I also don't want humans to be hunted. I meant it when I said you are my kind now too, you know. I didn't lie," Lex replied.

Scar's heart swelled with affection for her. His hand gently clasped the side of her face, his thumb claw tracing the mark he'd given her. She looked up at him. For a second Lex thought he was going to kiss her. Did Yautjas even kiss? she wondered. Lex thought logistically about how she would go about kissing Scar; the absence of lips seemed like a challenge. Then she blushed realizing she was thinking about kissing him in the first place. A flush of butterflies tickled her stomach and she blushed harder catching herself still staring up at him silently.

"My kind," Scar rasped. Lex's heart beat faster. She realized how much Scar meant to her, and she appreciated how much he had protected her. Lex grasped his hand and stroked it.

"I'm happy we met, Scar. Thanks for not killing me the first time you saw me," she added jokingly. Scar sighed, thanking every God known to him that he had not ignored her plea to wait. The thought of her being hurt or killed filled him with anguish, and the thought that he had almost completed both was unbearable. He knelt until he was on his knees and buried his head into her arms in a mix of regret and relief.

"I… will never forgive myself for that moment," Scar murmured.

Even kneeling, his head reached well to her chest. She hugged him into her and gently ran her hands through his dreadlocks, careful not to overstimulate them like last time. He purred quietly and wrapped his own arm around her backside.

"It's okay. I'm just going to tease you about it all the time," Lex replied. Scar laughed and looked up at her.

"Fair."

"Well, I wanted to stay a bit anyways and get that grand tour. I think I have an idea so we can go back and not kill innocent humans, but first… we need to train. And the faster I can train, the faster I can fix all of this," Lex said determinedly. Thus began the next year of Lex's life.