Thirst
Chapter 3
In the dream, she was back in Japan in her parent's home. While her mother was cooking a mouthwatering breakfast, her father was in his study writing something on a piece of paper. When she walked into his room, he looked up and a wide, warm smile appeared on his face. Then he beckoned her to come closer.
"Machiko." He said in a soft voice. "Come, my daughter. I want to show you something."
Stepping closer, Machiko reached the desk and looked at the paper lying on top of it.
At first, she couldn't make out what was scribbled on it, but when she leaned closer she realized what she was seeing.
With an amazed expression she stared at the piece of paper that said, 'HE LOVES YOU'.
Frowning, she wondered why her father wrote 'HE' instead of 'I', but when she was about to ask him, he said.
"Be happy my love, be happy."
The comforting sound of the rain woke her up from her peculiar dream. Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes and found herself cuddling with the still sleeping Lar'nix'va. She wanted to shove him away, but then last night's events came back to her mind and either she liked it or not, she was glad that he was here with her. Taking a deep breath she looked at his face. The mandibles slightly trembled as he breathed in and out. His deep set eyes were tightly shut, but beneath his eyelids his eyes rapidly moved like he was having a dream.
She would have never thought that one day they would be cuddling in a cold cave like this, but here they were and this greatly surprised her. He killed them to save her life. This still felt surreal and Machiko had a hard time believing that he was not her enemy but her savior. Then her thoughts took her to the settlers. A pang of guilt swept through her unable to help them, but it was too late to dwell on this. Once the rain stopped, she wanted to find their settlement. Then taking one of their ships, she can return to Earth and visit her mother whom she hadn't seen in years. Then her eyes landed on Lar'nix'va's speckeld chest and wondered what he was going to do. She was sure after what happened, he could never return to Yautja Prime. With his actions, he became an outlaw, a Bad Blood Predator. He has no choice but to live the rest of his life away from his clan, hiding. On Earth, he would be hunted, therefore they have to part ways and she hoped he'll be alright with this decision. Then her attention turned to her thigh where the wound was healing nicely. When the Predator stabbed her, Machiko was sure she was going to die. However, Lar'nix'va did something to stop the bleeding and again to her surprise he saved her life. She couldn't wait to find out why he did that.
A few minutes later he woke up and then he heard her voice.
"Why did you do that?"
Rubbing his face, a low clicking sound escaped his throat and then looking at her, he said.
"I will tell you why I did what I did."
With anticipation Machiko waited on his answer.
Lifting up his hand, he lightly ran his knuckles over her surprised face and then he added.
"I like you Da'dtou-di, more than you could ever imagine."
Frowning, she pulled away from him and then clearing her throat, she asked.
"You like me? Since when?"
Seeing her reaction, he was not happy, but what was he expecting?
Their relationship was never friendly and this was all his fault. When she came to his clan, he couldn't get over the fact that this tiny ooman defeated a Queen, therefore she was ranked higher than he ever was. Lar'nix'va felt nothing but jealousy and anger every time he looked at her. But after a while, his anger turned into something else. He started to look at her in a different way and this greatly surprised him. At first, he didn't understand what was going on in his head, but when the dreams started to appear at night, he realized he was fantasizing about her because his feelings had changed. Of course after what happened between them he was sure she would never forgive him let alone want to be with him. But now, everything has changed and he hoped by saving her life, she'll consider the possibility of them being together.
"I want to ask for your forgiveness. I know in the past I did you wrong and I truly regret it."
Sitting up, she looked at him with amazement and then she said.
"I have no choice but to forgive you. Last night you saved my life and I can't thank you enough for that." Then she remembered him calling her Lou-dte kale on several occasions and she wondered if his intentions were more than just friendly gestures. Sudden unpleasant shiver ran down her spine thinking about him being on top of her, feeling him inside her and his cold skin against hers. Machiko was no stranger to intimacy, but she would never consider giving herself to him. This was something she would never do, even if her life depended on it. However, she wasn't in great shape and she didn't want to upset him. She didn't think he would have forced himself upon her, but she had been deceived before and she didn't want to take the chance to get hurt and humiliated, especially by him.
Placing her hand on his arm she said in a soft voice.
"I forgive you, but you have to give me some time to process this. I didn't know you felt that way...about me."
Gazing into her eyes, he said.
"All my life I was never able to express my feelings toward others. I was ridiculed and bullied and this deeply scarred me. I became the bully myself when I met you, which I regret." A small chuckle left his mouth as he added. "Even now it's hard to talk about this but last night you and I became outlaws and you know for sure we can never return home."
"Home?" She asked puzzled. She wanted to say his planet was never her home, but she stayed quiet.
Sitting up, and thinking about what he was about to say, with a quickened pulse, he took her hands into his, and as he gently rubbed the back of her hand, he said with a few clicks.
"I wish to court you."
Machiko should have been surprised but his words somehow felt natural. She knew of their costumes and how the males courted females. Lar'nix'va proved his worth by saving her life and this gave him enough reason to court her. For a few seconds, and while staring at their joined hands, she didn't say anything. She just couldn't imagine them being together as a couple. She had no idea how males looked beneath the loincloth and she was not willing to find out if she could help it. In the past at one point she even joked about it when she asked him if he for any reason hid a sausage beneath his clothes, which he replied with an angry grunt at that time. However, Machiko didn't want to be rude and turn him down, instead she said.
"I am no Yautja. Our union would never be accepted by yours or by my people. We could never be together, you know that right?"
Shaking his head he said.
"I don't care what others think. I like you and I want to be with you."
Seeing the determination in his eyes, she knew he was not going to back down.
If she can play along until they get to the settlement, and after she finds a suitable ship, she could just take off and head home never to see him again.
Swallowing hard, she gazed into his eyes and said.
"Alright. I allow you to court me."
What looked like a smile appeared on his face and then letting her hands go, he cupped her face into his hands and pulled her closer.
With wide eyes, Machiko watched as his mandibles wrapped around her face and then she felt his warm, forked black tongue licking at her bottom lip trying to force its way into her mouth.
This was utterly strange and in a way disgusting.
Closing her eyes, and as she parted her lips, she imagined that she was kissing a man she used to like back on Ryushi at the Prosperity Wells colony.
As his tongue invaded her mouth and found hers, Machiko shuddered from the foreign touch.
However, to her amazement, his kiss was not as bad as she imagined it.
After a few seconds, she even found it a little arousing, which astounded her. Gently, she pushed him away and then she said.
"The rain stopped. I think we better get going and find the settlement."
The wooded, rocky terrain was wet and slippery as they made their way across the land in search of the settlement. They had no idea where it was, therefore, they kept walking in the direction from where the settlers came. For hours, silently they walked side-by-side. Machiko felt strange after the kiss they shared in the cave, and as hard as she tried to push it out of her mind, it stayed with her taunting her. A few times she even glanced toward Shorty wondering what he was thinking at the moment.
Walking beside him, she was quiet and a little distant. He hoped his approach didn't scare her. He was no human man, but he could offer her all and more just like a human can and he couldn't wait to show her what he was capable of. The kiss was sweet and he wanted more. He wished to have her, but she was not ready for him yet. He just had to wait for the right moment and be patient.
After hours of walking, they finally reached a clearing high above a valley where the settlement was tucked beneath the shadow of the mountain. From their view the small metal town looked desolate.
Slowly, they climbed down and approached the place.
As they walked through the main street littered with metal pieces of buildings and cars, and also corpses of people that had already been eaten by some animals, Machiko worriedly looked around. Most of the houses were destroyed and she started to lose hope of finding a ship that could take her far away from this horrible town, where nothing but death greeted them.
When they reached the other end of the town, at the edge of the forest Lar'nix'va found the dead predator lying on the ground. A big chunk of his head was gone, and the ground around him was saturated with his blood turning the grass into a deep shade of green. Ironically, he was a Bad Blood Yautja, just like me, he bitterly thought looking at his outfit decorated with human and Yautja skulls. The thought of killing his own kind hasn't settled in yet, but seeing the dead Yautja made his stomach ache with pain. Most of them he didn't care for. They were bullies who made his life miserable, but Freckles was like a friend and that bothered him. However, when he glanced her way all his worries faded into the background. She was the reason he got himself into all this, and he hoped he didn't make a mistake by doing so.
"Damn it." She growled when she saw the destroyed Yautja ship.
The edge of the town looked like a battleground. Beside the corpses, both ships, the Yautja and the settlers were destroyed when they collided with each other. What it looked like in a failed attempt to flee the town, the settlers' ship must have gotten out of control and ended up colliding with the other ship. Machiko wondered why the Predators left their ship so close to town. When they went on a hunt, usually they left the ship further away from the hunting ground. However, these were not traditional Predators and their confidence caused them their demise.
"Is there another ship somewhere?" Lar'nix'va asked, looking around the desolated area.
"I don't know." Machiko replied annoyed. She was hoping to leave soon, but now her wish had to wait. Unless they had another ship somewhere, it looked like they were stuck here.
After searching through the settlement, they came to a bitter conclusion that there was no other ship or even a radio to call out. The communication room was burned to a crisp with the officers inside. The smell and the view made Machiko gag. Swiftkly, she turned around and rushed out of the room to get some fresh air.
While she was outside, Shorty curiously measured up the burned down room.
The smell of burnt flesh made his stomach growl reminding him he hasn't had anything to eat in a while. Although he preferred his meat raw and bloody, when hunger took over, he was not a picky type. Walking up to one of the corpses, he contemplated on what part he should eat when Machiko came back. With a frown, he stepped away from the crisped meat and looked at her.
"What are you doing?" She asked puzzled.
Shrugging, he said.
"Just looking."
"Then let's look somewhere else." She said fixating her eyes on his face not wanting to look at the corpses. "They are all dead and there is nothing we can do for them anymore."
They ended up going into one of the bigger buildings that stood intact.
Inside was a large kitchen with all the amenities accompanied by four bedchambers and a common shower. Luckily the house had survived the attack and this is where they decided to take up residence until they figure out how to go from here.
Although, Lar'nix'va would have love to share a room with her, Machiko insisted that she needed a little more time and wanted to sleep alone.
Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and let out a frustrated sigh.
She had no idea what she was going to do now having no way off the planet. The thought of spending her days with Shorty gave her a sour taste in her mouth. When she agreed to be courted by him, she also agreed to be with him and this did not set too well with her.
Pushing away from the door, she approached the bed and slumped down.
Directly across from her room, Lar'nix'va took up residence in the modest bedchamber that once belonged to a couple. The ruffled sheets on the large bed in the middle of the room smelled strange with everything else within the room. Lar'nix'va never cared for oomans and he was not fond of taking one of their rooms, but he had no choice. He had a roof above his head and that's all that mattered. Approaching the bed, he ripped off the sheets and threw them onto the carpeted floor. Then he sat down testing the thick mattress. He was not a large Yautja, but he weighed more than an average human. He hoped the bed would hold up his weight and Machiko's, he eagerly thought about her spending the night with him here. Beside the bed was a nightstand with two drawers. Pulling out the top one, he looked inside and saw a datapad.
Taking it out, he turned it on and spent the next hour searching through its content.
When he heard her door open, he turned off the device and placed it back into the drawer.
As he opened the door, he saw her walking down the narrow corridor toward the bathroom. After a few minutes, she came out and looked at him standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Did you find anything?" She asked as she walked past him.
"h'ko." He replied letting her know he didn't find anything.
"What it looks like the cabin I took belonged to a man." She said as she stepped inside the spacious kitchen. "I need some new clothes." She added looking around. The planet was much colder than Yautja Prime and she needed to layer up to keep warm. The clothes she found were too big and she wasn't able to wear them.
"You can look in mine." He said walking around the kitchen isle that also stood for a cooking station.
"I might do that." She replied and then she approached the large built-in fridge.
Thankfully, it was stuffed with all kinds of meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables. She missed seeing something like this and the excitement she felt at the moment was indescribable. While she happily rummaged through the fridge, Shorty opened up one of the cabinets and found a box of candy.
Picking it up, he held it in front of his face smelling the peculiar sweet aroma.
"What's this?" He asked tilting his head and showing the box to Machiko.
Placing the food down on the counter, a wide smile appeared on her face and then she said with excitement.
"Something sweet and good that I haven't had in years. It's candy!"
Just by the tone of her voice, he was able to tell she liked whatever was inside the box very much. Holding the box higher, Lar'nix'va let out a guttural laugh and as he clicked his mandibles, he said by mimicking her voice.
"Do you want candy?"
"Stop fooling around and give it to me." She exclaimed trying to reach for it.
"Or what?" He teasingly asked. "Are you going to kick my ass?"
Furrowing her eyebrows, she placed her hands on her hips, and then she asked.
"Do you really want to find out?"
"You are in no condition to fight me." Pointing to her leg, he said. "You are still limping."
He was right. Even if she wanted to fight him, the only thing she would have accomplished was to get her ass kicked and this she definitely didn't want.
Folding her arms in front of her chest, in a softer tone she said.
"Can I have it...please?"
To hear her like this was something new for him. Over the years, their conversations were only a few ugly words toward each other that became a daily routine. She never talked to him this way and Lar'nix'va enjoyed this to the fullest.
Turning his attention to the box, he asked.
"What's candy?"
"Open it and see it for yourself." She said with a smile.
"I will." He said looking at her. "But first."
Machiko sensed what was coming. He wanted something in exchange for the goods and she was not looking forward to giving it to him.
"I am not playing this game." She said. "Either you give it to me or have it all for yourself. I don't care."
"Alright then." Lar'nix'va said. With his long nails, he ripped open the box and opening his mandibles wide, he poured the candy down his throat while Machiko watched him dumbfounded.
"You." She moaned. "You ate it all." She said with an angry tone. "How dare you?"
The fulsome flavor in his mouth and throat felt sickening. He had no idea what he just ate, but he was sure this was not going to end well.
"Ju'dha." He groaned.
"Oh, now you are thirsty?" She asked with a mischievous smile. "How ironic." She added in sarcasm.
Rushing to the sink, he turned on the faucet and pushed his head beneath it gorging down the cold water like his life depended on it. Behind him Machiko was laughing with an evil sound.
"What the hell was that?" He asked with a disgusted look on his face.
"I can't believe you ate it all." She said looking at his back. "You are going to get a stomach ache, you'll see."
"I'm fine." He said wiping his mandibles with his hand. However, he had a bad feeling he was not going to like what was coming.
Ten minutes later while holding his dreadlocks, and suppressing a smile, Machiko watched as he emptied his stomach into the toilet bowl.
Shorty had never been this sick in his entire life. While he threw up everything, his mind was on Machiko thinking about how much she wanted to get her hands on this disgusting thing called candy. He couldn't understand how oomans were able to eat that. He knew for sure he would never touch it ever again.
"Are you okay?" She asked, staring at the back of his head.
Nodding, he said with a low clicking sound.
"I'll survive."
That evening, Machiko made a light dinner and some tea for Lar'nix'va, who refused to eat anything. While she enjoyed her food, sipping his tea he intently watched her.
"How is your tea?" She asked between bites.
"Like piss water." He said with a frown. Then a small chuckle came out of him, making Machiko laugh as well.
"Stop it or I'm going to choke on the food." She said, reaching for her tea. Taking a few sips, she placed her mug down and then turning to him she asked.
"What do you want to do?"
"We have no ship and no radio." He replied. "Unless there is another settlement in here with a few ships, we have no way of getting off of this planet. Until.."
"Until what?" She inquired.
"Until the others arrive to check on what happened to the ship and its crew." He said, staring at his mug.
"What do you think when they are coming?" She anxiously asked.
"They'll be here in a few weeks I'm sure of." He replied. "Until then, we can clean up and try to make this dump a livable place for us."
For us, she thought, disheartened. He was talking like they were a married couple making her feel uneasy.
The idea of taking the clan's ship sounded good, but Machiko was not looking forward to sharing it with Shorty. Her plan was to go back home and she was sure this was not what he wanted. He would never be accepted into Earth's society and he needed to find another place where he could live out his life in solitude.
When she was done, Machiko stood up and placed everything into the stainless steel sink. As she started to wash the dishes, Lar'nix'va got up to watch her.
Without taking her eyes off the dishes, she asked.
"What's on your mind?"
"I was going to ask you the same." He said looking at her hands.
"After I'm done, I'm going to need a shower." Machiko replied. She was still bleeding and felt dirty and disgusting. She direly needed to wash up. Having only one bathroom, she just hoped he would respect her privacy.
"Alone?" He asked.
"Yes." She replied and then turning off the water she looked at him and said.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Seeing the confusion on his face, Machiko felt a little guilty to shrug him off like this. To make him feel better, pulling his face down, she planted a soft kiss above his mouth where his nose should have been if he had one.
"Good night." She said in a soft tone and then she walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the bathroom.
Baffled, he watched her leaving the room.
Reaching up, and as he touched the spot where she kissed him, a soft clicking sound escaped him followed by a low purring.
That night while Machiko was already tucked in bed and sleeping in her cabin, lying on his bed he listened to the sound of the rain. Then a huge lightning split the dark sky in half engulfing his room with a bright white light. Lost in thought Lar'nix'va stared at the ceiling. His crazed mind was in the coming days and the future. If everything goes as planned, once they acquire the ship they can leave this dump and start their life and a family somewhere else. Gradually, he fell asleep while the fierce storm outside slowly let up.
To be continued...