Seasons

Life, death, the rules that confirmed or refuted an honorable one of either... It was the same in every clan.

It was decided. Tzukra was getting too close to the human female. Strange as it was, he would just have to squash that crap before it developed any further.. That fool needed to focus on their mission. Or better, he could wait for the situation to progress into something that would result in a lesson well learned. Arug'rak grunted in his own amusement, right hand caressing one of many small bones on the necklace he was sporting. In that case, he really didn't need to do anything other than wait for something to happen. Things were finally becoming interesting after all. Depending on the outcome, he didn't have to do too much but sit back and enjoy the show.
If Tzukra wasn't so special he'd have decked him on the spot. Instead, they were busy arguing, the shorter warrior explaining all about the strange observations he'd made of Sharon.

He could watch the female without so much contact, not to mention his reports seemed to be getting more intimate by the day. She wouldn't die if she recieved little comfort when she cried. Just what was so important about Tzukra's experiments that he required so much contact? K'tch's eyes darkened as they stood outside of the control room, Arug'rak aware of their presence as he sat not too far inside, glancing at various monitors. He found little interest in their petty squabbling. Besides, they hadn't even thrown a punch, nothing he cared to see. The older warrior, as usual, had much more important things to do.

K'tch found himself torn between wonder and bitter jealousy. He'd heard about the science of touch and how it could calm a human, but it was not something he'd ever thought he'd need to know or use. He did recall that time he'd taken Sharon back to his camp and she had no choice but to sleep close to him. She'd been insanely skittish, his solution to keep her closer to quiet her. It might have worked, he hadn't really thought about it. All he knew was that he got sleep that night.

He sneered at the thought of Tzukra's touch pleasing her. She was his prisoner. He'd found her, claimed her as one of his effects and had been lenient thus far with his protégé's actions.

If he himself had only been adept at understanding humans on a biological plane, then he wouldn't even need Tzukra. That sensitive, scientific, poor excuse for a warrior... How he'd manage to pass his earlier trials was something he could never comprehend. Maybe that science of his had something to do with it...
She hadn't noticed how long the humanoid had been gone, only found herself startled awake at the slight pressure of a body much larger than her own retiring beside her. She turned her face away from the wall, blinking slowly as she recognized the creature. Her voice was heavy with the traces of lethargy.

"Tzukra?" she half-whispered.

He simply stared, bright eyes piercing.

"...You're goin' to sleep now?" she inquired.

He nodded.

She turned to him fully, resting on her right side with a soft sigh as he lay his head down. "No more groping, ok?" she whispered as her eyes became heavily lidded. She looked up at him, eyes tracing his mandibles, then to the tough skin above where his brows would be. She reached up tentatively, pressing the rough skin of his forehead. There would be no more of that, she was sure. Not untill she figured out what exactly was going on in that abnormally big noggin of his. Slowly she withdrew her hand, letting it rest limp on the makeshift bed between them as she drifted back off. He didn't have to wait long until she reached that state, that state where humans became so still and less alert. Carefully, he smoothed a few strands of hair back from her face, watching her just a bit longer before he too, fell fast asleep.
The next morning, Sharon awoke to a familiar pain and she gasped. "Oh crap..." she groaned at the unpleasantly familiar pain in her abdomen, Tzukra turning to look back at her for a moment. He dropped the armor he was about to attatch and simply reached forward, stroking her face as she winced. Something was definitely wrong with her, gathering the words he spoke slowly.

"Pain?"
The young woman bit her bottom lip as she nodded. She needed some medicine, or they could forget her even getting up to leave the room today. The flow wouldn't be too far away now that the cramping had started.

"Tzukra... I need pain killers, fast."
He cocked his head. Pain killers? Now those were unheard of. If they could kill pain, then they'd have beheaded it long ago. He thought for a good moment about what was going on. She was huddled into fetal position, clutching at the part below her torso. A pain killer? He grunted. A pain blocker was probably what she meant. He reached down carefully, claw-like hand ghosting over the area tenderly and rubbing a little, causing her to moan in agitation.

"Would ya hurry up..?" she frowned. "Its gonna get worse."

He turned to stand, leaning over her once more to feel the area, the muscle beneath the skin tightening. It was then that he recognized a presence behind him and he turned, eyes widening.
He hadn't expected to feel so strongly, to react so violently to the scene laid out before him. Instinct millenium's old that not even he could fight clouded his judgment.

Why was he touching her so gently, actions emitting so much concern, so much care? There was no room for such tenderness, not in their world and definitely not on a hunting ship. His expression darkened. It was about time that someone made that clear to Tzukra.

K'tch made a particularly nasty and threatening noise, Tzukra merely meeting his gaze as he approached him.

What was his problem now?

K'tch was emanating raw fury in response to his observation. When his mandibles spread a little, mouth opening, the words of his language were not kindly spoken. Sharon sat up a little as they spoke closer to the exit to the far left. They took turns speaking, K'tch sounding angrier with every word and gesture. It was then that the situation escalated. Without warning, his hand came up, gesturing roughly to an area on Tzukra's chest before pushing him roughly. The younger warrior took several steps back, arms spreading and back arching as he planted his feet farther apart, K'tch doing the same.

Sharon's eyes widened. What the hell where they doing?

K'tch bent his knees a little as he lifted his gaze to the younger warrior's face, welcoming the challenge.

If Tzukra wanted to foster mature pleasures directed at his female, then he'd test him with a mature challenge. Let's see how worthy he really was...

Before Sharon could interpret their actions, Tzukra had thrown the first punch, K'tch dodging it with ease, spinning and slamming his elbow into the shorter hunter's back. Tzukra growled angrily, flipping forward and then turning to face him once more. K'tch made a clicking noise, lifting his top right mandible twice. Tzukra arched his back once more, features darker. K'tch purred. Now that his subordinate knew he was serious, perhaps the fight would really begin.

The younger warrior hesitated as they circled each other, the air thick with tension. Sharon's eyes widened as she watched helplessly from the corner. Why were they fighting each other? She could have sworn they were on the same team.

This time K'tch lunged forward, landing a blow to the younger warrior's face. He was ready to deliver another when Tzukra's right hand came up quickly, trapping the fist aimed at him in a tight grasp. In a split second his knee came up, burying itself in the flesh of his superior's stomach. K'tch made a strange choked noise, wrestling his fist from his grasp, both arms coming up to grab him by the shoulders. His left leg came up, slamming into the softer flesh behind Tzukra's knee and causing him to lose balance. He went down hard, K'tch jumping on top of him and effectively wrestling him on the ground. From there both went rolling across the floor in a symphony of growls, audible blows and unintelligible angry words, Sharon swallowing nervously as the fight grew closer to her.

"G-guys!" she shouted as she pressed her back against the wall. Her pleas went unanswered as they continued to pummel the other, deaf to her worry. She frowned hard. Could someone please tell her what the hell was going on?

After several moments, K'tch had pinned the young warrior beneath him, rendering him immobile. He chuckled darkly as he leaned closer, mandibles a hair's breadth from Tzukra's own. Softly he spoke, Sharon wishing she could understand him. Almost immediately, Tzukra jerked in response, neck shooting forward as he made a decidedly gross noise of expectoration. One moment, K'tch was staring down triumphantly at the young warrior, the next, his hand was coming up, smearing the thick glob of transparent fluid that had landed on his left mandible. He studied it for all of two seconds before back handing him sharply, releasing a terrible roar at him, the very sound making Sharon wish she could shrink back into the wall and disappear.

K'tch tightened his hold for just a second. He reminded himself of just why Tzukra was special, saying it over and over in his mind. The young warrior was damn lucky he had self-control. Had he not, then he'd be well on his way to gutting him for his insolence. He knew few a warrior that could spit in his face and live to tell about it. He would not over look the incident, however. They sat there like that for a while, K'tch waiting for him to challenge him. After several moments, Tzukra finally averted his gaze angrily, his submission all K'tch required. With out another word, the stronger warrior unstraddled him, rising to stand above him. Tzukra wasted no time in rolling over, palms pressing against the floor as he rose to one knee and then to both feet, turning to meet him. It didn't matter that he'd acknowledged his place below K'tch. What mattered was the circumstances leading up to that point.

It wasn't over yet. Oh no. Even as the older warrior growled and then exited, Tzukra knew without a doubt that K'tch was in charge of him and he was likely to make him pay some sort of retribution for this incident. Still... he understood the older warrior's actions, which made the moment all the more sweet. So, he was right after all about K'tch's thoughts on Sharon. A hunter of his discipline wouldn't waste his time attacking one of his clan over a female unless there was something particularly special about them. After all of the attention he'd been paying to the human named Sharon, he just knew that eventually K'tch would no longer be able to ignore it, proving once and for all, that a breed even as strict as his could become jealous. Even a warrior like K'tch could develop a liking to a female, a human female at that. It had taken some time, but the fact that he'd confronted him on the matter and had even fought him to demonstrate his true possession of her simply proved his point. He watched as the door to his quarters slid closed after the prideful warrior.

His shoulders heaved slightly, mandibles twitching as he lifted his bright gaze. The sound was soft but deep at first, a rhythmic noise, the more he opened his mandibles, the louder it seemed to get before Sharon finally realized that it was laughter.

This time Sharon raised a brow.

Tzukra had just gotten the stuffing beat out of him and now he was laughing? He was really laughing, hard at that. She was tempted to ask him what the hell was so funny. The confused woman swallowed, almost afraid to interrupt him, but there were more pressing matters than the creature's sudden bout of inhuman insanity.

"Uh.. Hey, you! Remember me? Now that you're done acting like freshman can you get me some pain killers?" she frowned, crossing her arms.

Almost immediately, the dark laughter faded, Tzukra turning to her quickly.

Oh that was right. He'd been on a mission to retrieve some pain blocker before K'tch had come, proven his theory and confirmed his suspicions about this mysterious and sassy woman he'd brought on board just weeks ago. He looked her up and down once more before exiting the room. Oh how he loved being right...

Whatever punishment K'tch was likely scheming up in his room of endless trophies would be nothing compared to the pride that he knew he was close to putting aside. He understood the cantankerous warrior's need to distance himself from certain urges. His eyes darkened. He may have fooled Sharon, but he couldn't fool him.

Soon, the testy warrior wouldn't even be able to fool himself with his steadily growing desire for the woman he put so much energy into looking down on. Tzukra chuckled as he exited his room. K'tch's pride may have been tough when it mattered, his quick discipline and rough nature merely a guise. That was part of the reason he'd taken a shine to the woman, knowing full well that his comrade would never admit to concern for the soft creature unless provoked. He'd done a splendid job of that he noted with agitation at the ache in his lower mandible. He reached up to rub it, recalling the angry force of the fist that the older hunter had slammed into it. He may not have seen that one coming, but he sure as hell had seen the odd interractions between them a mile away. Oh yes, Tzukra nodded in pleasure as he walked down the hall and followed the path to his small lab.

K'tch's pride was strong, but his desire for the human female named Sharon... was even stronger...