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“More friends of yours?”
Thia watches as her alien companion holds out his iron red sword, “No…” Dek says, eyes locked on the oncoming ship.
“It’s my Mother…”
Red dust fills the air and scatters as the warship lands and promptly powers down. The waiting members of Deks former clan stay where they are, bright red swords linger by their side. Bud chitters to herself, kicking up the earth and Thia reaches up to smooth her hand over the blue fur, “Easy, Bud…” Whispers the Synth.
Finally, after a moment of waiting, the hatch sealing the entrance to the ship hisses open and slowly lowers. The hatch functions change from large door to wide ramp once it touches the ground. A single silhouette steps out.
She had to duck to avoid the crests on her skull from hitting the border of the door. Heavy armored boots and metal plates decorated her large frame, every step thuds under her weight. As the female Yautja comes down, an impressive cloth of dark red fabric trails behind her. Dek's mother carries herself with a raised chin and an aura of raw strength. Pale white locks face the sides of her head and cascade down her breastplate, several locks of her mane have been pulled back and wrestled into a top knot.
Tucked under her muscular arm is the yautja infamous helmet, scarred from several past battles. She clicks her mandibles and approaches her runt of a spawn and the strangers gathered next to him, a (human?) woman and blue alien creature...
Neh’tah the Scalper stares everyone down.
Dek grunts and puffs out his chest, refusing to show weakness, he brings up his hand and slices his palm on the sharp ends of his dual daggers. Just like his newly deceased father before him, the young warrior holds out his tight fist, glowing green blood leaks from between his fingers, “Mother! I greet you with the highest of honors!”
Thia watches with hard, nervous eyes as the female yautja finally stops at arms length away from her child. Deks’ mother towers over him by a solid meter, maybe a meter and a half. It was a little hard to tell since the synth was occupied by keeping a tense juvenile Kalisk calm. “Shh. It’s ok…” Bud's hind legs scratch the ground, kicking up the copper dirt, large blue eyes watching and waiting.
Dek had since put his bleeding hand down and craned his neck to look up, all while Neh’tah had barely said a word. Mother and son stare each other down. The red cloth that drapes behind her flows to one side by a sudden yet subtle breeze.
A massive hand reaches up and grips Dek by the back of his tunic and his mother slowly lifts him up to meet her eyes. He could just barely suppress the surprised yelp as his mother picks him up like he weighs nothing. Dek tries his best to not look intimidated while his feet dangle in the air. His mother turns him from side to side, observing any new scars and marks from his hunt. With a bored huff, she finally looks at her son.
“Hello, my precious little burden. I see you’ve killed your father. Does the taste of revenge satisfy you?”
Dek clears his throat and looks at his mother in the eye as he answers. “I was only interested in obtaining my cloak. I’ve completed my hunt.”
She hums at this answer, giving a slight nod while still holding Dek up. Fierce black and yellow eyes move towards Bud and Thia.
“And what is this?”
“My clan…”
“I see… Then your hunt for the Kalisk was successful?”
“No… I was unable to kill the Kalisk. I couldn’t when I realized it had a child…”
Dek's Mother tilts her head, turning her sights on Bud, moving the still hovering Dek out of the way to see her better, “Is this the creature in question your father feared?”
“No. That is Butt,” Yautja's lack of lips made it difficult to pronounce certain letters and words outside of their native tongue “The Kalisks' child.”
“Butt…?”
“Bud, actually.” Informs Thia with a smile. She lifts her hands to block Bud's thick whiskers and spines as the creature shakes itself.
Another head tilt. Neh’tah lowers her eyes to the ground and eyes the severed head of Tessa, still, and gaping at the sky.
“Hm… You have much explaining to do.” She reaches behind her back, pulling something out and over her shoulder, “Here, hold this. She fell asleep, so you better not wake her.”
Deks feet touch down on the ground, he watches his mother hold out a bundle of cloth to him and he takes it. “What is it—” Dek pulls back a corner of the cloth and freezes.
Sleeping away without a care in the world is a newborn yautja, or a suckling by their culture. Tiny mandibles pucker against the little creature's face and Dek is speechless as Thia leans over to see. “Aww!” She says, “So cute!”
“Your newest sister.” Answered the Elder, “She’s a few days old.”
Thia studied about their culture and how they don’t typically name their children right away, usually after a year or two to test their strength. Only then are yautja children worthy of a name.
“Come.” Turning away from the small group, Dek's mother gestures to them with a simple flick of the wrist, beckoning them. “Bring the head and your little clan…”
“Uh, what about him?” Thia glances at the corpse, which just moments ago was Njohrr—Dek's father.
Dek himself spares a brief glance before spitting on the ground and follows his mother.
“Oop, ok. C’mon Bud!” Thia quickly snatches Tessa’s head then half jogs to catch up as the young Kalisk creature follows them.
The odd trio walk right into the leadership, the sheer size of the flying machine makes Dek, Thia and Bud seem dwarfed. Neh’tah doesn’t wait for them to be seated as she powers on her ship and grips the steering wheel to lift it off the ground.
Dek and Thia find a seat as they travel through harsh hot winds and over the dry canyons. Bud lies down around them and forms a sort of shield in front of the two.
Thia’s curiosity gets the better of her and she leans over to Dek, “Where are we going?”
Dek doesn’t answer her, not at first, he was too busy staring at the suckling in his hands. He has no idea what to do with one, resorting to holding the baby like a bomb ready to blow up in front of him. He watches the newborn move slightly and make miniscule noises reminiscent of grunts in her sleep. She was big and heavy for a newborn, nearby the size of his arm.
Good. She’ll grow into a strong warrior.
“Dek?” Thia tries again, this time he snaps out of it, looking at her.
“What?”
“I said, where are we going?”
He sneaks a peek through the viewing window in front of Neh’tah as she pilots the ship. “Most likely the Elders domain.” He finally says.
Probably to decide what to do with him…
“I’ve never seen a baby yautja before, aww lookit her little face…!” Thia’s attention is on the newborn in his hands, scrunching her nose like she did with Bud before.
“Suckling…”
“Oh right. Well, how does it feel knowing you’re a big brother now…?”
She doesn’t get an answer right away, Thia looks up and notices Deks face is somber as he watches the baby grunt as adjust her head while being swaddled.
Kwei…
“You know, I don't know much about Babi—er, Sucklings, but it might be easier on your arms if you don’t hold her out like a football.”
“Football?”
“Don’t worry about it, here.” Thia guides him to hold the newborn closer to his chest, supporting both the bottom of her feet and head.
.
.
.
Finally, the ship lands in the middle of a civilization with metal buildings and other flying ships...
Neh’tah and the small mismatched clan walk down the ramp. Another female yautja waits for them, her body isn't feminine in the traditional sense, thick muscles bulge out of her arms and she stands tall on legs the size of tree trunks. The yautja eyes the tiny runt and new strangers trailing after Neh’tah.
“The others will have something to say.”
“Of course they do,” Neh’tah says with a bored huff, passing the guard without a care. “I will have a moment to speak with my spawn before they will. Dek, come.”
He picks up the pace and so do Thia and Bud, the guard frowns at them, “And what is that?”
Neh’tah keeps moving, soon rounding the corner of a structure and passing through the doorway, “Kalisk spawn, Dek tamed it…”
The guard double takes at the puny runt following his mother and the unkillable Kalisk, following him like a loyal dog.
“Tamed it…?!”
.
.
.
They reach Neh’Tahs’ personal quarters, passing a large wall where a few ornamental skulls hang on one side and deadly weapons decorated the other side of the front hall. The habitat was modest for a high ranking member of Deks clan, a wide open balcony allows sunlight into the room.
“Sit…” Instructed the Elder, placing her helmet on a waiting bust, then turning away to face a different wall with various tools and weapons scattered on the surface of a nearby workbench. Dek finds a chair and is reminded again how small he is for a yautja, his feet dangled in the air again. He looks down and scowls at the floor before scooting closer to the edge of the chair so he can at least touch the ground. Bud cooed as she looks around the new change in scenery, a curious warble shakes in her chest. Thia remained standing, holding Tessa’s head in her hand. She glances at the baby in Deks arms.
“Can I hold her?” Thia asks cheerfully, already holding out her free arm, eager for a turn.
“I’d be careful…” Warns the female yautja, back to her son and his tool, she picks up a tiny screwdriver, turning it this way and that to observe the tip. “Some of the females in our clan aren’t keen on the idea of allowing a weak runt to live this long. But are at least honorable enough to not put an innocent life at risk.”
Thia and Dek look at each other and the synth freezes, noticing the glowing three dots on Dek's right temple.
“Oh…” Without hesitation, Thia steps closer and blocks Dek from the sniper's line of sight, her right shoulder now decorated with three new glowing dots. Bud notices the tension and takes a seat on Deks left.
Neh’tahs back is to them as she watches them over her shoulder, “Hm.”
“Useful tools you have there.” She turns and fiddles with the tools on her bench, “I didn’t think oomans can speak Yautjain so fluently…”
“Oh, I’m not actually human, I’m really a synthetic robot using a universal translator. I was made by the Weyland Yutani Corporation for researching the flora and fauna on Genna and—Oop!”
“Quiet, tool…!”
Dek hand elbowed her in the ribs, making her stumble to one side, “Excuse you sir…!” She pouts. “I thought we were past that ‘tool’ business…”
Neh’tah eyes flick from Dek and the… synthetic woman. “Hm…” She turns and steps closer to Dek, towering over him with one large hand out, “I was disappointed to hear of Kwei’s death, he showed promise and was a strong hunter.” Taking Deks forearm, his mother activates the device, it works as intended to and mostly conceals him. Deks' trick on using his ship's thrusters to kick up the sand damaged the cloak's ability for invisibility. Splotches of orange and distorted images brand his body. Neh’tah plucks his newly acquired cloak out of his gauntlet, revealing her little spawn in the chair. It looks like a small coin in her fingers, she brings up the small tool in her other hand and begins to work on it.
“Your fool of a father should’ve just sent you on your hunt if he is so inclined to be rid of you… What a waste.”
Dek hums trying to avoid thinking about his late brother.
“I only wish I could’ve seen the look on his face when you returned with your trophy. If he wasn’t well endowed in his performance in bed and siring many children, I would’ve cut him down myself for slaying Kwei.”
Dek grunts and jerks his head to his giant of a mother and lets out an appalling groan, “Mother…!”
She returns her own growl and swats his shoulder, “How do you think you and the suckling got here?!” Neh’tah continues repairing the cloak.
He turns away and rolls his shoulder with a huff. Thia smothers a giggle by covering her lips with her hand while Bud tilts her head in a curious way.
“Here.” Neh’tah slots the cloak back into Dek’s gauntlet and tests its performance. Satisfied, she gives Dek another swat to the arm, “Now don’t break it.”
The Youngblood gets pushed to one side by her strength and frowns again, normally if it was anyone else he would bare his teeth and snarl in their face. If he dares do the same with his mother, she’ll cut his throat for the disrespect.
Instead he faces her.
“Mother… Why have you brought me here..?”
Neh’tah was across the room already, opening a large metal cabinet, “The Elders want to bring you to inquire about your hunt… She reveals a vanity set behind the doors and turns to open another closet. “Oh, and Njohrr’s death... We don’t typically care about the hunt of the men in our clan. But you, my precious burden, are an exception.” Stripping off her armor until she’s in a plain tunic made of leather and cloth. Neh’tah ties the red cloth around her waist and stores her armor away, returning her attention back to the vanity. She unties her thick white locks and browses through her selection of clips and ties. Neh’tah picks a few stands of decorative beads and binds them into her white locks.
“Some say you should be culled, and doubt the authenticity of your hunt. A few others say you’ve survived Genna and have done enough to prove your worth. Several more are angry at you for breaking Yautja Code. I’m only concerned about my newly acquired alliance with the Widow Clan…”
Neh’tah picks two hair clips, unable to decide which to choose, she turns and holds them up to Dek, silently asking him.
He points to the one on the right, and his mother tosses the other option aside, her biceps flex as she grabs a handful of her locks and pulls them back, “And hearing of your hunt first hand, especially of how you tamed the Kalisk child.” She glances at Bud through the reflection of the mirror.
“Oh…” Dek looks down, relaxing his shoulders he didn’t realize he was tensing.
While mother and son discuss his journey through the Death Planet, Thia’s eyes wander to observe the room, noting all the neat little trinkets and skulls. As well as the poisonous plants decorating the frame of the balcony and one cactus-like flora standing at attention in one corner of her room. Bud gets bored after some time and lies down, placing one large paw over the other and rests her chin on them.
.
.
.
In one claw, Neh’tah observes the decapitated head of Tessa, turning her here and there in the light.
“And this machine managed to slaughter the Kalisk's mother? She asks, “Killing the unkillable? And in turn you hunted her and made her head your trophy…?”
Dek confirms her findings with a firm nod.
“Seems to me you’ve completed your first hunt as expected of a yautja…” She says with a bored tone, dropping the head on the table.
“As for your fathers death. It is embarrassing to think of an elder yautja being overpowered by a runt. His death will pay for his prideful arrogance for underestimating his opponents. Well done.”
Thia looks at the youngblood Yautja, it was strange being this prideful warrior sitting in a chair that is three times his size while clutching the newborn to his chest. Then again, she’s seen this behavior before with Tessa whenever she interacts with MU/TH/ER, the meek timid pull you feel as you bring your eyes down while in front of a high ranked authority figure.
Suddenly the squirming cries of a newborn yautja fill the air, gummy jaws open wide, and snaps Thia out of her train of thought. Dek and Neh’tah turn their attention to the unnamed child. “She’s hungry…” Says the warrior, already treading for her suckling.
Dek carefully hands her off to their mother and Neh’tah shamelessly pulls her tunic aside to expose her breast. Thia leans over curiously and watches as the suckling latches on and feeds on her mother. So they do nurse their young like humans…! Thia observes. Neh’tah turns away and opens another cabinet to collect something else.
She lugs over a heavy container and it thuds against a hard surface of the table. Dek, Thia and Bud see that Neh’tah has placed a large gourd on the table nearby and pulls another chair over to sit in front of Dek. She’s hunched forward with her sharp elbow in her kneecaps—still holding and nursing the newborn while staring Dek down with a hot, terrifying look. Her youngblood son returns the gaze, refusing to show his belly and act weak. Thia notes how Neh'tah's thighs are the same size as Deks torso, Could crush my head on those muscles, she thinks.
“Hm…” Grunts the older yautja, then reaches for the gourd and pops the cork off with her teeth. Spitting it out on the table.
“C’ntlip Spirit. I save it for the occasion when my sons complete a hunt.” She holds it out to Dek and he carefully takes it by the strap it's tied to, the whole gourd can be held with one of Neh’tahs big meaty claws but it’s harder to keep hold when you have your half the size of your beast of a mother.
Dek can already taste the strong fumes of the fermented brew, but he lifts it to his maw anyway. Neh’tah looks unimpressed as her runt of a son flinches when the strong, herbal spirits swim on his tongue. He smothers a cough and forces the liquor down his throat.
Neh’tah snatches the bottle back, lifts it to her teeth and leans back to take a swig, closing her eyes and savoring the burn.
She looks down at Dek again and gulps it down, “Aaaah.” She sighs, holding the gourd out once more, the Youngblood takes it and tries again. He tolerates the strong taste and holds it down as Dek swallows the liquor.
“Aaaah.” Mimics Dek, earning him a subtle nod of approval.
Thia smiles behind him, relishing this hidden, forbidden tender moment between mother and son.
00000000000000000000
Neh’tahs door suddenly opens and heavy footsteps tread down the hallway. Three more hulking giants from behind the wall of living space.
“Mother.” Greets a deep voice.
Dek and Neh’tah, who straightened up, turned to the strangers. Bud perks up with a curious thrill and Thia couldn’t help the next thing that slipped out of her mouth, “Oh sweet Jesus.”
She quickly skimmed the files stored within her. Scanning over ancient biblical stories of the Nephilim, giant hybrid creatures that terrorized the Earth. The synth also recalled how the sexual dimorphism between male and female yautja is greatly different, but she greatly underestimated how much.
Neh’tah barely blinks while Bud coos curiously at the newcomers, “T’ih’ko. Pai’yta. Nidaad. Explain the intrusion...”
The smaller of the three clears her throat, several tattoos brand her face and arms, “Word spread of Dek’s return and his new pet, we came to see if its true…”
“What is this?” Asked another decorated yautja sister, wearing more accessories than necessary as she picks up Tessa’s skull. Tossing it up and down like a toy, “A broken Ooman’s tool?”
Neh’tah recorks the gourd, “Deks trophy.”
“This?!” Chuckles the vain female, holding out the metallic skull, she looks down at her brother. “It's as deformed and puny as he is.”
The first two sisters whicker and snigger amongst themselves, while Dek had to bite his tongue and sit on his hands to keep from doing something stupid. Like punching that smug grin off Nidaad, the vain one, or T’ih’ko, the sister with the tattoos.
Thia leans in while the women converse, “Who are they?” She whispers.
“My sisters... We come from the same brood…”
“So the Yautjas are born in litters…! Wait. You have sisters?!” Makes sense Thia supposed, with a dangerous lifestyle like the Yautjas, you need a healthy supply of multiple generations to upkeep the traditions.
Neh’tah makes a sharp coughing sound and the laughing stops. Tense silence quickly took its place. The skull is quickly returned to her waiting palm and Dek accepts it when it’s passed back to him.
“Dek. Your arm.” Commanded his mother, already holding out her claw for it. He obeys, and gives his limb. Neh’tah presses several buttons and the gauntlet snaps open. Stripping the piece of armor away, the leader in the room turns to the biggest and stoic.
“Pai’yta. Take this to be reprogrammed. Dek has earned his ship.”
The stockiest of the three quietly accepts the task and turns to her brother, “Do you wish for your own ship? Or to claim ownership over Kwei’s?”
Thia double takes at the biggest sister, if she didn’t know any better, the synth would have thought she was male. The muscles and deep toned voice doesn’t help.
Dek turns to his mother with his head in a curious tilt, “May I have Kwei’s ship?”
She nods once,“We can reset the system to your preference.”
“No! It—” Dek coughs to cover up the rose in emotion, he tries again, exhibiting control and strength, “No. The ship is fine the way it is, I’m already familiar with the controls.”
“Kwei allowed you to fly his ship?”
While the act of allowing unblooded youth to operate the ships of the Yautja isn't unheard of, it’s usually kept under wraps to prevent disciplinary action against both the young blood and the experienced hunter. Seeing as the warrior in training isn’t worthy enough to warrant use of Yautja machinery.
Dek didn’t find any use to lie. The ship is his now, and Kwei is gone.
“On occasion, yes.”
With a nod, Pai’yta trudges out of the room, taking care of the environment around her. Thia leans over to take note of the muscular and broad shouldered she-warrior.
For a moment she played with the idea of Dek somehow gaining the attention of a female Yautja, and briefly wondered how long he would survive the coupling before his partner would crush him.
“Maybe 15 minutes…”
Dek turns to her, “What?”
She straightens up. “Er, nothing!” Thia quickly moves her attention to the baby in her mother’s arm, “She’s a big girl huh?”
Neh’tah looks down and watches her newest daughter feed on her, “She better be after absorbing all of her littermates in utero.”
“Mother.” Nidaad steps closer, like her mother, her dark locks are bound with colorful leather straps and decorated with gold, “Is the Kalisk hungry? Perhaps I can take it to the butcher for some meat to feast on.”
“The creature is not my charge.” Says the authority figure in the room, “You’ll have to confront Dek.”
The runt straightens up, giving his sister a hard glare, “I can see through your act Nidaad. No.”
He gets a hard grunt and annoyed frown in return, “I bare no ill will!” Scoffs the vain female Yautja, crossing her arms.
“You mean to dissect my Kalisk to satiate your own curiosity.”
“It cannot die! What do you have to worry about?” Nidaad shrugs, not caring if she was being called out, “You act as if a few trials will somehow suppress the Kalisks ability to hunt…”
Thia watches the argument from her side of the chair Dek sits in, “Trials of what exactly?”
“Bioengineering.” Answered Nidaad, raising her chin.
“But I thought the Yautja women pride themselves in keeping the bloodlines pure?”
Dek glances at her, “Thia…!”
Nidaad chuckles, her wide shoulders bouncing up and down,“A curious little thing we have here. We do, but the Western Clans of Yautja Prime are curious on how to improve the gene pools of Yautja…” Nidaad’s eyes Dek and how his feet dangle in his seat, “Hm… How about a blood sample of the Kalisk, brother? Hair? Saliva?”
Dek crosses his arms, “Now I’m brother to you? What happened to calling me deformed, and puny?”
“That was in the past.” Says the taller sister with a careless wave of her claw. “You’ve done enough to prove your strength on Genna.”
“My answer is no, Nidaad.”
The she-giant pouts, sharp fangs pinched in disdain as she turns to the other beastly woman in the room,“Mother!”
“Why come crying to me, you tenacious child?!” Snaps the maternal figure, “Go look for another exotic creature to entertain your little experiments.”
Nidaad gruffs and snaps her head to glare at a random corner of the room.
“Why does the runt get to hoard the treasures?” T’ih’ko leans over, casting a shadow over the synth and Thia cranes her neck up to watch the yautja sister.
Smiling, Thia gives the towering Yautja female a little wave. “Hello there!” She doesn’t see Deks angry glare next to her as he throws daggers in his sister's direction.
Their mother wipes her suckling’s mouth as she's plucked off her breast. “You’re welcome to help yourself to whatever Genna has to offer.” Neh’tah says, tucking her chest into her tunic.
“Hm… perhaps not Genna.” T’ih’ko’s claws carefully wrap around Thia’s dainty looking chin, pale skin contrast against rough calloused digits. She eyes the synths' delicate face and hair.
“My, aren’t you a cute little thing…”
Dek jumps out of his chair and smacks the arm away but he might as well be chopping wood. He stands between the two, craning his neck to snarl. “Thia isn’t cute!”
T’ih’ko is hardly phased by her brother's harsh actions. But that doesn’t mean she’ll take any disrespect. She clicks her mandibles and grabs Dek by the shoulder strap of his armored chest plate. Lifting him up, she growls in his face, but the runt only returns the favor and opens his mouth to shout a warning back.
Bud hops on her feet and opens her maw to reveal her rows of teeth, a low snarl rattled in her chest. Watching for Deks command when the right time to chomp into the female holding him up.
Small cooing and grunting snap the siblings out of their spat. They all turn to Neh’tah and the newborn pup in her arms, their mother pats the baby’s back to try and burp her while giving her children a warning death glare.
“If she wakes, so help me I will gut you all…” Neh’tah promised.
.
.
.
The trio of suns look down the wide open plane of a ship depot, busy with air crafts, warriors and other creatures. A pair of predator hellhounds jump up at the smell of new prey and charge at it. Teeth bare and massive rows of horn ready to skewer.
Bud the Kalisk hops forward and opens her mouth to howl out an air shaking roar, the power of it makes the alien dogs skit to a stop and run away, tails tucked between their legs. The Kalisk took it as an invitation to eat them so she gave chase.
T’ih’ko watches Bud pounce on one of the hounds and chomp down on its hind, bones and all. “You should control your beast.”
“Why?” Dek asks, walking down the path to his waiting ship. “They were the aggressors, she’s merely defending herself.”
Pai’yta calls sometime later and informs them his new ship is waiting for him. Dek is being escorted to the hangar where the aircrafts are stored as Nidaad and Thia converse with each other. The synth watches Bud return to her with glowing green blood staining her mouth, but she gives the apex predator to be a gentle scratch under the chin.
“Why did Dek react like he did earlier?” Asks Thia, turning her head up to the sister with her locks decorated in gold and leather.
“T’ih’ko has a … hobby of collecting ‘cute’ things regardless of who they belong to. He was merely dissuading her from following through with the choice.”
“Oh.”
“May I touch her? Asked the decorated Yautja woman, rubbing her own clawed fingers together. Eyeing the juvenile Kalisk with patient eagerness.
“Sorry no, she bites. I think she’s getting hungry.”
Nidaad did a piss poor job hiding her disappointment, “So it is true the beast ate my father?”
“Just his head, why would you like it back?” Thia said as though she was talking about the weather.
“No. Just curious.”
Bud carefully steps forward and nudges Thia, she whines at the synth while giving her a distressed look.
“What is it?”
Sitting back, she opens her mouth, and unfolds her dewlap exposing her entire jawline, “Uh-oh. Dek, I need your help here!”
He answers her call and peers in to see what the problem was.
“Oh. Grab here.”
Leaning in, both the runt and synth grip the foreign object stabbing Bud in the jaw bone and moves back to remove it. It takes a bit of work but with a hard yank, Dek stumbles back and holds out a chunk of the hellhound she devoured earlier. A blob of saliva and blood splatters near him, and he gives the apex predator an unamused look. Bud, already healed from her injury, goes for the carcass in his claws, eager to chew on the thick strong horns. He offers it to her with little hesitation. They finally arrive at the ship depot and Thia plays with Bud's maw, admiring how fast she’s grown. A few stragglers working in the area stop and stare at the beast and the little synth handling her like she was a child.
“What a pretty girl we have! Ready to go on a hunting spree?” Thia asked Bud eagerly, smiling and nodding, “Are you going to tear out more skulls and spines? Yes, you are!”
“Thia…” Dek is looking around, uncomfortable by the curious onlookers.
“What?”
“What are you doing…?”
“What? We’re just playing, see she likes it!” Thia lifts Bud's lip and her fangs poke out of her mouth, the Kalisk chitters softly, leaning into the touch. Nipping on the edge of her sleeve, Bud playfully tugs on the synth's white jacket, Thia laughs and pulls lightly, “Want to play? Yeah?”
Dek watches from the sidelines as Thia and Bud embarrass him by acting like children.
Suddenly a large shadow cast over him and he turns around to find his tattooed sister above him.
“You know little brother, if the life of a killer is a task too difficult to grasp—My offer to serve me as my Na’ar still stands.”
Bud the Kalisk flops on her rump and opens her mouth to release a yawn, her jowl unfolds and her teeth shine in the sun's hot light. Thia tilts her head, reviewing the last word and filtering through the several pages of information stored within her computerized psyche. Servant.
T’ih’ko gets a snarling Dek facing her direction, fangs curling to show aggression, “I would rather die.”
Dek’s larger sister merely chuckles and pats his head, her entire palm engulfs his still developing crest, “Ha ha! With a spirit like yours, brother, it’s a shame you don’t have the body to match. The women would be swooning all over you for a piece.”
Nidaad leans over next, reaching for a mandible and giving it a friendly tug. Making Dek's head move back and forth, much to his own disdain, he gave his sister a warning glare. “At least he has a cute face to make up for it. Aww, look at his little fangs...”
Dek swats the claw away, standing his ground and baring his teeth at his sisters, but all that does is humor them. They chortle at his suffering, until a third shadow engulfs the young Yautjas.
“Leave him alone.”
The laughing dies and in its place, nervous silence sprouts.
Nidaad and T’ih’ko back away like timid dogs as Pai’yta watches them with a stern glare. In her clawed hands is a shining steel gauntlet, fitted to Deks size.
“Mother had said he has done enough to earn his place. If any more mockery reaches my ear, I will silence it. Understand?” Dek’s sisters remain tight-lipped as their largest sister passes them, avoiding her sharp gaze. Pai’yta kneels and holds out her other hand, beckoning her little brother forward, “This is your commanding gauntlet, Kwei’s ship is now yours...” Pai’yta straps it around Deks forearm and the neon red lights blink on. He admires how the metal shines on his wrist.
Even when she’s kneeling, Pai’yta still stands a full head taller than Dek. “Take caution to avoid what Kwei did and nearly activate it to self destruct…”
Dek looks up in disbelief, “You jest!”
Pai’yta whickers as her shoulders shake up and down, “I do not. Still, of all the different ways he would’ve died, I did not imagine self sacrifice to be one of them...” She looks at Dek and pats the side of his arm, “You better live to reach ancient status. Other wise my favorite brother would’ve died for nothing…”
Dek huffs at being tossed around again, but out of respect for his sister, he bites his tongue. Thia chuckles and turns away to hide her smile. In doing so, she notices a spinning contraption nearby, “Oh!” She exclaims, “A waterwheel!”
Nearby the large hangar with other stationed ships was a churning wheel—half buried in the water. Collecting and spilling a nearby river and providing kinetic energy to the depot.
“You mean an underwater wheel.”
Thia slowly turns to Dek, the yautja can barely hide his smug little smirk while getting a deadpanned look from the synth.
Pai’yta watches the whole thing in silence, she shakes her head, hiding her grin. “Always with the jokes, this one…”
.
.
.
It would be a few hours before Deks meeting with the Elders would arrive. In the meantime, he’s sitting in the pilot's chair, holding Kwei’s helmet in his claws.
It could mean a lot of things for his future, if he’s worthy enough to stay on Yautja Prime or be outcast as a Badblood. Or maybe he’ll have to go again on a more official hunt, with the hard meat and join a team of three with other warriors that have come of age. Whatever may happen, compared to Genna, it’ll be a walk in the park.
The air is quiet and still. He can hear Bud sniffing around behind him. Sharp claws scratch against the metal surface as Bud and Thia occupy themselves, leaving their clan leader alone.
Brushing a thumb against the metal, Dek quietly sighs to himself. Allowing himself to feel vulnerable and allow grief to pass through his heart. Even in death, his brother still looks out for him, the memory of the toy imploding the tools head in is still fresh in his mind. For a while, Dek was angry with Kwei’s choices. Choosing his younger brother's life over his own when he was the one with more potential. Thia’s talk about wolves and alphas made him realize that Kwei was sort of an alpha in his own right. Showing his strength in protecting others.
Now it’s his turn…
Lifting it up, the runt presses his forehead against the cold surface of the helmet. His claws and fingers tapped the hollow domed object as he maneuvers it.
“Not what was expected, but…” Dek starts after a moment of silence, moving the helmet away. “I’ve brought it home, brother.”
“I brought it home.”