The Ripple of a Stone

The Ripple of a Stone
Occupied Pt. 2
A loud sigh pushes out of Nala at the memory. That was so long ago, and it was horrifying. In her rage, she simply killed the man. Granted he did deserve to die, but not like that. Sometimes, Nala can hear his screaming when she sits in a quiet spot. The last desperate pleas of a dying man, but then she didn’t care. And even now she doesn’t really, it’s just the memory that plagues her. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. She wouldn’t be right if she didn’t feel guilt for her deed. She wouldn’t be…Ooman…if she didn’t feel remorse.
“Scare you guys yet?” She whispers to the awestruck table. Nala slowly looks up to Lord Khupiee to see him grinning.
“We don’t tend to our Bad Bloods in such a way, but it was gratifying just to hear you say how you did it.” Lord Khupiee laughs. He couldn’t help but think that this little Ooman before him holds such malevolence towards her old peoples. Even before being left behind on that island, she detested them enough to kill another with such spite. “And you do have red blood!” He continues his childish argument.
“Oh my goodness!” Nala huffs. “My blood is blue until it goes out side of my body. It only turns red on my face because it is so close to the surface. Just look…” She pulls down the sleeve on her left arm and shows Sya her wrist. “Look at the veins, my blood is blue. Tell him.” She laughs. Sya promptly but gently encompasses her entire hand with his own and starts to softly graze his thumb over her scars.
“She is blue.” Sya says softly. Nala closes her eyes as she feels his thumb. She pulls her hand and his and rests her chin on the tangled ball of fingers then sighs.
“Told you I was blue.” Nala smiles devilishly to Lord Khupiee, who only grunts at being wrong, kind of. “Sorry for interrupting you guys.”
“That’s quite all right, Nala.” Bakkub replies in Ooman before continuing in Yautja. “If Sya is going to teach her all she needs to know today, perhaps she does not need to be altered?”
“I believe she does.” Inkle adds. “Whether or not she knows what she needs too, she still needs to speak and hear. Oomans cannot properly pronounce our words with their voices. And even if she does get some words correctly, she will never be able to articulate a lot of words. It is easier for her and us if she has it completed.”
“When is it scheduled to be done?” Lord Khupiee asks.
“Kh’Cho has yet to figure out just what needs to be prepared.” Sya mumbles, Nala was still staring at his mandible. Pulling it to its full length, making his words slur. But what she was really looking at was the markings on them. Her eyes couldn’t really see what it was but there was something in the design that makes a picture. But she couldn’t make it out because of all the other parts, there were dots and scrapes, long lines that curved and twisted. All she had to do was look past them and she saw…
“Holy shit!” Nala blurts. “You have a picture of a Hard Meat on you!” Sya starts to thrill in laugher, soon followed by everyone else. “I mean, I know you hunt the things but this is obsession.” She laughs.
“You will soon learn why I have this.” Sya tells her. “They are more then just something to hunt.” Nala silently nods to him then suddenly picks up his hand and starts to poke and prod it. His skin was so…there are no words. His talons however, Nala has a few words for them, sharp, frightening, sharp, long and black as night, sharp and very cool. And sharp.
“Who was she challenged by?” Pakka asks.
“Lidch, he is an Unblood.” Lord Khupiee laughs. Nala became suspicious as to what was happening when everyone started to laugh. But she wouldn’t interrupt them again. She was just fine looking Syas hand. That is, until she saw Inkles hand. It was resting on the table, extended just about to the middle as he was listening to the conversation. Nala releases Syas hand and rests her head on the table with both hands tucked underneath. She knew enough not to just grab his hand so she opted for looking. The orange and brown tone of him was very beautiful. However, there were no true lines between the orange and brown, it looked like someone had let those two colors of paint bleed into one another, and what came from it was Inkle.
“Why is she staring at my hand?” Inkle asks very softly while not really looking at her. He didn’t want to stop her from looking, he just wished to know why she was doing it.
“She is very curious about us.” Sya answers. “She finds us to be very interesting.”
“Does she now…” Inkle trails off. A very strange and funny idea pops into his head as he turns to Nala. She hadn’t taken her eyes of his hand in all this time and he was feeling mischievous. As fast as his muscles could allow him, Inkle throws the hand that Nala was staring at right at her. But in an even faster move, Nala grabs his incoming hand then slams it hard onto the table with a loud ‘smack’. She looks up into his deep brown eyes with ‘what the hell was that’ plastered across her face. But he just laughs at her.
“Inkle was just playing with you. Just as you do to Dhm'Ni.” Sya, along with everyone, couldn’t help but chuckle at her face. Her brows were raised high and her mouth hung open.
“Very funny.” Nala mocks. “Perhaps next time you can simply hurl five pointy knives at me, it would be safer.” She laughs at his sharp claws.
“You have very fast reflexes.” Inkles complements. ”Do all Oomans have what you have? Those ‘enhancements’?” The question was actually in all of their minds but they didn’t think to ask her straight out. And for a moment, Nala didn’t know what he wished to really know. And then she remembered that Lord Khupiee said they also hunt Oomans.
“You…wish to hunt them?” She asks cautiously. Inkle nods ‘yes’ to her, not knowing if she was scared or angry or simply wished to know. “Well, I am a dying breed. They are not giving the enhancements to everyone that can have them anymore. If you wish to hunt them I can tell you where to find them and I suggest going now because in a matter of seasons they will all be gone.” Nala says in a clear and direct tone.
“You would so deliberately tell us of where to hunt your own?” Pakka asks, but he had to have Lord Khupiee ask it.
“For one thing, they are not my own any longer. And for another, I had the pleasure of hunting a few of them. So why cant you?” Nala responds with a smile.
“You hunted your own?” Sya gasps.
“Not like you guys do.” She quickly gets outs there. “I track them to bring them back to face judgment for crimes. Some Oomans would join my governments’ army just to get the enchantments and then run. For some years it was my job to go get them.” When the conversation went back to clicks and growls, Nala knew that her turn to talk was over and she should just sit and listen to the song of their language.
“Does anyone else find it odd that she would give up the location to hunt other Oomans so easily?” Miy’Hota finally joins.
“I for one do not.” Lord Khupiee barks. “She clearly despises the Oomans, from past experience. And she said that she even hunted them, she is simply showing us good hunting grounds.”
“We do know very little of her, don’t we?” Rathe says calmly. He watches Nala sigh softly and rest against Sya, who wraps his arms around her for comfort. He didn’t find Syas behavior so odd, the need to protect those close to you is something that should not be questioned.
“We can save the history lesson for the society room.” Pakka hisses.
“Well, I am hopeful of what she will tell us. Perhaps we will finally know of her stories.” Dh’Kn says with a smile.
“Sya…” Dhm’Nis voice was hushed, but he heard him.
“Yes Dhm'Ni.” Sya barks. Dhm'Ni slowly turns his head to him, and motions to the sleeping form under him. With a soft laugh, Sya starts to gently wake her.
“You guys SUCK!” She yells. “I do plan on getting more then 5 minutes of sleep, you know! Have you even slept yet Lord Khupiee?” She asks after she shakes of the drowsiness and sits up.
“I have to yet see my bed little one. Did you not sleep enough before hand?”
“HA!’” Nala blurts. “Seven hours is not sleep for me. It’s a nap! I sleep between fourteen to twenty fours, seventeen on a good night. So no, I didn’t.”
“You sleep as much as males do.” Bakkub thrills. “We sleep around that length as well, our females don’t even come close. They do not need as much as we do. But you do, I suppose.”
“Then I think it is time for you to sleep.” Lord Khupiee says between the laugher. “You will need your rest before your surgery.” Sya shuts his eyes and lowers his head in anticipation for Nala. He even took away his arms from her because he just knew she would do something. And she did.
“Excuse me?” Nala shrieks and jumps off his lap. She walks around Sya to stand to his side.
“You should not have said anything. She does not know of what is to happen.” Sya says in Yautja to Lord Khupiee.
“I’m… surgery?” Was all she could get out. Nala starts to have a cold sweat as she tries to go over what Lord Khupiee just said.
“To speak and hear Yautja you need to be altered, surgically.” Lord Khupiee tells her, but that just made things worse. Nala starts shaking her head from side to side, saying ‘no’ over and over. Sya became concerned when he could scent pure fear from her and her heart beat became erratic. “You must have this done so you can properly come into our world.”
“Well guess what!” Nala says sarcastically. “I don’t exactly have a good relationship with sharp objects.” Nala swiftly unzips her sweater to reveal her plentiful scars to them.
“What happened to your stomach?” Lord Khupiee roughly stands and points to her. It seems the healing gel Sya had put on works fast and a very gruesome looking bruise was now on her stomach. It was started just at her bellybutton and ended just below her sternum. Everyone was engrossed with the sight, Dhm'Ni was apprehensive because he did it. “What happened to your stomach?” Lord Khupiee repeated.
“I was sparring.” Nala says innocently. She never once looks to Dhm'Ni, knowing that the giant mark on her was from his fist. But then again, Dhyot’te’ka kneed her there as well. But it doesn’t matter who did it.
“I know that you were sparing! How and who did it!?” Lord Khupiee hisses.
“Take your pick, Dhm'Ni or Dhyot’te’ka have equally given me this handsome bruise and as for how, I would think you to all ready know how.” She yells at him. She didn’t want to bring in names, except Lord Khupiee asked. But she didn’t expect the reaction she got, which was silence.
“You fought Dhyot’te’ka?” Lord Khupiee asks in disbelieve.
“Yeah.” Nala zips her sweater back and crosses her arms in anger. “What of it?”
“Sya, did you know she spared with Dhyot’te’ka?” He asks in Yautja, making Nala even madder.
“Hey, ask me questions, not Sya.” She bursts. “He did not fight him, I did.” Lord Khupiee growls at her for being so insolent. Nala walks right up to the table and leans on it with one hand. “You see, this…” The points to him and then herself. “This, is pissing off superiors!”
“And you will not last.” Pakka amazes everyone with speaking Ooman.
“So now you can speak?” Nala hisses. “To good to talk with an Ooman are you?” She yells. Pakka bursts with a deafening roar and slams his fists on the table as he stands. Lord Khupiee instantly places a hand on his brothers’ shoulder, to keep him from killing Nala. Sya did the same to her, but to keep her from attacking Pakka.
“Calm your self brother.” Lord Khupiee says in Ooman by accident. Suddenly Nala was almost bent over laughing, she had to use the table for support.
“Brother?” She repeats. “I guess my little ‘Make it a family thing’ rings true.” Nala sighs and sits back in Syas lap. “So, what is going on?” She asks him.
“You see little one,” Sya began, he motions for Lord Khupiee to sit before he continues. “For you to hear and talk Yautja, you need to be altered. Now, we know the translator does not work. And not all Yautja can speak or understand Ooman, so you are the only part of this problem that can be changed. What will happen is, Kh’Cho will change how your voice box works. We do this to Yautja born mute. But he said he may have problems because you are Ooman. And as for your ears, it is just making them able hear someone of our tones and frequencies that you cannot. You are actually missing half the conversation us at the table are holding because you cannot hear it.” He and Nala laugh softly. Lord Khupiee was stunned how he talks with her. Soft and direct. It is clear now that having Sya as her caretaker and as teacher was the best thing. “But we do not know when this will happen. Lord Khupiee just wishes for you to be rested for when it does happen. Now, what do you have to say to him?” Sya whispers to her. But for a moment Nala just sat there. She runs her hand through her hair and accidentally snaps the string of Alsn she used to tie her hair. But she didn’t really care.
“I am sorry I yelled at you.” Nala directs at Lord Khupiee. “And I am sorry for yelling at you too, Pakka.” He just grunts at her. “I will take that as a ‘me too.’ It’s just…I have never had a surgery that didn’t start or end badly.” She drops her head, causing her hair to fall in front of her face. “Okay.” She says softy.
“Good.” Sya smirks at his ability to calm her. “We are almost done here, and then we will talk.” Nala smiles up at him and nods. “Perhaps we should keep her away from your family.” Sya says with a laugh.
“It might be best.” Inkle trills. “And since when could you speak Ooman, Pakka?”
“When I thought it necessary, I learned it. But now I see it was a futile endeavor.” Pakka hisses.
“I am amazed that you hid that from me, for all these seasons.” Lord Khupiee laughs. “Now, as too hunting…” Inkle wasn’t really listening to the conversation, he was watching Nala make the Alsn used in her hair into a small ball. She didn’t really know what she was going to do with it, but then…she got a great idea. Nala places the ball on the table and looks to Dhm'Ni. With one finger, she holds the small ball down while readying her other hand to flick it at Dhm’Nis head. But when she looks back up, her eyes caught Inkles and she froze. He didn’t know what she was going to do at first. He looks at her, then the ball. He follows were she was aiming at and saw she wished to get Dhm'Ni then he looks back to her. Slowly, a smile creeps onto his face and he nods. A very wicked grin came to Nala as she looks back to Dhm'Ni. He had been to quiet and never once did he take his eyes off the table, maybe a small black ball to the head would change that. A quick flick of her finger and the ball was off. Nala made sure that she didn’t hit any other then Dhm'Ni and her mark was spot on. It hit him right in the temple, and Dhm'Ni hisses in surprise. Immediately, both Nala and Inkle start laughing hard. The ball bounces off Dhm’Nis head and rolls onto the table. The discussion stops and all that could be heard was the two laughing bodies.
“Oh that was great!” Inkle trills. He couldn’t stop laughing, every time he would look at Dhm’Ni, his face would just make him laugh harder. Nala was on the verge of crying, she was laughing so hard. Dhm'Ni however, didn’t think it to be funny. He carefully grasps the ball from the table and chucks it at Nala. Somehow she knew it was coming at moves out of the way, allowing the ball to smack Sya in the chest.
“I think it is time to go.” Sya shakes his head at them both. He effortlessly picks up Nala and places her on her feet. She still didn’t stop laughing though.
“Wow…” Nala gasps. “That was perfect!” She smiles at Inkle who nods in laugher.
“You saw and you did not warn me?” Dhm'Ni barks to Inkle, who clearly knew what was going to happen.
“Why should I have warned you?” Inkle barks back. “She was just playing.” Dhm'Ni growls at him.
“Dhm'Ni, I said it is time for us to go.” Sya says again. Dhm'Ni sighs and stands. Without looking at Nala, he left the room. She had to bite her lip to keep from bursting in laughter as he past her, but the moment he was out, she couldn’t hold it any longer.
“How can you not find that funny? I got him right I the head!” But when the only one laughing was Inkle, she gives up, says goodbye and leaves.
“I like her.” Inkle says. Suddenly, a few other hunters start laughing, including Lord Khupiee.
“She has good aim.” Lord Khupiee thrills.
Dhm'Ni had the lift waiting for them as she and Sya walk to him. He kept his eyes on Sya though, never looking at Nala. Even as they silently wait for the lift to take them to Dhm’Nis deck, he never acknowledged her.
“You let her play with you too much.” Sya says in Yautja. He didn’t wish for Nala to hear what might be said.
“You say that as if I have a choice in what she does to me.” Dhm'Ni at last looks to Nala but finds her staring up at Sya, almost waiting for him to say something. “Why does she torment me like this?”
“Like what?” Sya asks.
“Not only does she do things to purposely anger me, but she also does it accidentally. When I see her talking to another, like she has known them since birth, it only reminds me that she and I will never have it.”
“Why do you think you will never have it?” Dhm'Ni sighs and looks back to her, but now she was staring up at him. She was following the conversation but couldn’t understand it. She was just looking at who ever was going to talk.
“I don’t know.” He says softly. Out of the blue Nala sighs and turns her gaze to the lift doors. It was like she knew what he was saying. Dhm'Ni starts darting his head between her and Sya.
“She can tell what you are saying by your face and body language.” He says dispassionately. “She wants it as much as you do.”
“So what am I doing now?” Nala sighs.
“There are things that you and I need to talk about then you will sleep.” Sya tells her. They were quiet the rest of the way to Dhm’Nis room. Sya was fidgety about talking with Nala, Dhm'Ni was gloomy about spending the night with her. It was time for the last meal of the day and then he was set to sleep. But he fears what Nala will say if he wakes roaring for his mother. Some nights he just wakes, and some he yells for her. What will Nala think? Will she tell others about him?
“May I sit on your bed?” Sya asks Dhm'Ni once they were in his room. Dhm'Ni simply grunts in confirmation saying that he can. It is considered taboo for a male to sit on another males bed without permission. Even with Sya being who he is, he still needs to ask. Nala was already sitting in the middle, waiting for Sya. He gingerly sits across from her but he didn’t know where to start.
“I will leave you two to talk while I eat. Would you like me to bring you anything Sya?” Dhm'Ni asks as he is about to leave. Sya simply shakes his head ‘no’ and flicks his hand at him. Dhm'Ni was content in just leaving after that. But he wasn’t going to eat, he had already eaten with Nala and he wouldn’t be hungry until morning. He was going to the storage deck to get a hammock. If needed, up to five Yautja could cram into one room. The hammocks could be set up with one at each corner and one in the middle. He wished be as far away from Nala as possible so he was going to set it up by the door. He will have to get through this one step at a time. Tonight was the first step and tomorrow…who knows.
“Should I start?” Nala laughs. Sya had been staring at her for about five minutes without talking and she was getting worried.
“I do not know where to start.” Sya laughs to himself.
“Tell me about the challenge. Dhyot’te’ka only told me of where to fight and some rules.”
“Alright, I will start there. But you must promise not to say anything until I am done. If you have questions, save them until then. Alright?” Nala silently nods to him with a smile. “Well then, usually when a challenge is issued, it is done that day. But if it cannot then there is a three day wait between when it was issued to when it is done. Now, Lidch is what we call an Unblood. That means he has not hunted the Hard Meat yet. The males of the Yautja have a Kainde Amedha Chiva. That means Hard Meat trial. They have to kill a Hard Meat and come back alive and when they do they are marked like you.” Sya softly touches the mark on her cheek. “When they are marked they are called a Young Blood. Just as you are. And you asked before about Dhm’Nis age, but what I couldn’t tell you then, was that once you are declared a Young Blood, you start counting your age at zero. All Yautja going on their Chive go at age twenty five. So little one, you are the first Ooman to be marked and the youngest ever to be marked at nine and a half seasons. Any questions?” Nala sat there with her mouth open for a moment then shook her head ‘no’. “But there is one setback with you. You are to be judged by our clans seven Elders. They will listen to testimonies from anyone who wishes to speak about you. And from that they will decide if you are to be permanently in the Ehre Clan. Right now you are, you are with the Yautja. But they can say you are not in the Ehre Clan. They may see it as dishonorable to have an Ooman in the clan but you must prove them wrong. You will be a hunter Nala. Just as you were on the Ooman planet. Lord Khupiee wishes for you to go on at least two hunts before the Elders ship come. He and along with everyone else, wish to see you hunt. Questions?”
“Umm… So if the Elders say I am not in the Ehre Clan, what then?”
“Then you will not have a Clan but if it does happen I am sure another clan will invite you to join them. Nevertheless, I am sure they will see you as I do. Someone who cannot simply be let go.” Nala give him a warm smile.
“You guys really think its okay for me to hunt though?” She asks apprehensively.
“Most definitely. Do you not wish to hunt?”
“Well, kind of but you guys do it differently then I. I would hunt for food and fur. Not for trophies.”
“We don’t simply cut the heads off and run Nala.” Sya laughs. “You see this pelt of fur? This is from a beast on a close planet to our Homeworld. Its skull is prized, along with its fur and meat. Now, you know about the surgery, so that’s taken care of. But after you have recovered, you are to go through schooling.”
“Schooling?” Nala shrieks.
“You may be able to talk and hear but you must learn how to read and write. You are to come to me for lessons. I will teach you all you need to know. Once you have learnt to read and write, then I will teach you the laws, the code of Honor among the Yautja. And if needed I will teach you to fight as we do. While I know you are skilled, there are a few things I wish for you to know to protect yourself.”
“Against…” Nala was a little confused. She knew that she should know how to hunt like them but Sya thought she can’t protect herself. Sya didn’t answer her right away. He actually broke eye contact with her and starts squirm on the bed. “Oh it’s bad. I have never seen you squirm. Why do you squirm? I have never seen ANY Yautja squirm. So I’m guessing squirming is not good. Why are you squirming?”
“You need to defend yourself against the males.” He blurts out.
“I don’t understand…” She whispers.
“I want you to understand that it is not expected. Or demanded, EVER. And it has been and always will be your choice.”
“Get to it quick Sya, your scaring me.” Nala shifts closer to him.
“It will be up to your discretion if you mate or not.”
“Umm…” Nala tilts her head at him and her mouth stays ajar. “Mate as in…Sex?” Sya nods ‘yes’ and Nala falls silent. She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Her breathe was caught in her throat while she looks hard into Syas eyes.
“Breathe.” Sya whispers and Nala gasps.
“Is that possible?” She bursts. “I mean, when Kh’Cho examined me I could tell that…Well, you said the dimensions are different.”
“I suppose it can be yes. But it is purely your choice if you mate or not. There are other things you should know about that as well. There is something called N'dui'se, a mating musk. While we are always emitting a type of musk that tells others of how we fell, this is different. When a male or female Yautja is aroused, the produce this musk, which tells another of their interest. Do recall when you were fighting Dhyot’te’ka…” Sya stops when Nala gasps loudly.
“OH! He was, and that smell was, and he thinks, with me…” Sya had to grab her shoulder to stop her. “Am I even attractive to Yautja males?”
“Aesthetically, no.” He says carefully. “But it is not looks that the Yautja go for. It is skill and ability and honor. But most of all, it is the hunt. When we hunt, we collect trophies and with those we attract mates. And you my dear have a Queen and a Warrior. And countless others that you do not have their skulls from. You need to be wary of the males on this ship. But not yet.”
“Not yet?” Nala repeats. She never thought about ‘mating’ with a Yautja. She just lost Allen and her old life. She wasn’t ready for this.
“Lord Khupiee thought it best to prohibit any mating rituals or initiations until the Elders see you.”
“I’m, I don’t think I can. I mean. I’m not ready to do that after Allen.”
“I know Nala. But you must keep an eye out for a few males that think they do not need to listen to Lord Khupiee. They will want to try something but I know that you can hold your own. If anything happens, you must tell me and Lord Khupiee. Dhm'Ni will wish to know also but it is up to you to tell him. I know you two have yet to work things out but he wishes to keep you safe, just as I do. Perhaps, you can speak to him tonight. He cannot talk back so he will not be able to say anything stupid.” Sya laughs. Nala awkwardly smiles at him but thinks it could work. “Now, Lord Khupiee also set other rules. You can send and receive challenges, just like the one you got from Lidch. But there is more then one kind of challenge. The one you will be doing is called Jehdin Jehdin, meaning hand to hand combat with out death. But the other is one that calls for death. That challenge cannot be given to you. But if someone is stupid enough to do that, they will be met by me.”
“You? Why you?”
“Because I am your caretaker Nala. You are my responsibility and I am proud to say so. However you do some things’ that make me question if I can handle you.” Sya pokes her side playfully, getting a hearty laugh from her. “Any questions?”
“So, what’s going to happen tomorrow?”
“When you wake, get Dhm'Ni to COM me. It’s that screen there,” Sya points to that stupid screen thing that woke her. “And then we will work from there. Kh’Cho doesn’t know when he will have everything ready. But you have a lot to do before your fight little one.”
“Like what?” Before Sya could answer, Dhm'Ni walks in with his hammock in hand. Nala slowly looks at him with an expression he couldn’t read. She tucks in her lip until they were out of view and her furors her brow.
“What have you told her?” Dhm'Ni asks while he begins to set up the hammock. To Nala it was a giant one at that. He clips the ends of the hammock to some rings that hung from the wall.
“Just about everything. But Nala, tomorrow before anything, you must go get fitted for an Awu’asa.”
“A what?” Nala asks confused beyond anything.
“The armor you saw Dhm'Ni and myself wearing before. The mask and chest plates. All of it. But for you, you need it to be specially made.”
“Kaine wishes to suit her himself, so bring her to him alone.” Dhm'Ni adds. He turns around and leans against a wall as he cross his arms.
“You are in luck little one. The best of the best in Awu’asa makers wishes to make yours personally. And then you must be set up with the connections for the Awu’asa.” Nala opens her mouth to ask what those are but Sya got to her first by grabbing one of her hands. He leans down a little and places a few of Nalas fingers on a temple. “Do you feel a bump?” Nala nods to him. It felt really weird to touch his face like this. Before she was exploring, now he was showing. “They are little metal implants that are placed under the skin so that the mask can latch on. They are placed all over the body as well. There is an old saying though, that when they are implanted, it hurts more then being hit with a Hard Meat tail.”
“Then that gives me a lot to look forward to.” Nala whimpers sarcastically. “I don’t really have anymore questions for you but, do you have any for me?” Sya draw his head back and looks at her wide eyed. So many questions were running through his mind at that moment. Some were about her culture and her world. But those can be saved for later. Ones he really wished answered were about her.
“There is a lot I wish to know but I just want to know everything about you.” Sya thrills. “But my biggest question is about you past. You see, Kh’Cho told us of all your injuries and scars. Outside…and inside.” Sya was expecting her face to turn red again, but now it turned white. “Nala, are you ok?” He asks concerned.
“I’m fine.” She whispers. “So…you know how I was raped then?” Nala asks very slowly.
“You have no idea how disturbed I became when I was told of this.” Sya softly cups her face in one hand and attempts a smile. Dhm’Ni on the other hand was trying to not join him in comforting her. “You, my Nalani, were hurt like that and all I wish to do is keep you safe now. Rape is virtually unheard of in Yautja society, I have yet to bare witness to such a thing in all of my seasons and pray that I never will. But that is in the past for you. The past that I know of now and so we can talk of other things. Tell me about your life Nala. I truly wish to know.”
“I am going to give you the quick version because I’m tired.” Sya gently nods to her to continue. “Umm, my parents died when I was a newborn and I was raised by a man that I see as an uncle but I have no blood relation too. Nevertheless that feeling of family was there.” She smiles. “As I got older, I joined the arm and that’s when it all went to hell. But I pushed past it and survived. And then Allen and I finally got together. But you know how that ended.” Nala pauses for a moment to remember him. “If…if I tell you something, do you promise to not tell another soul?” She whispers.
“You can tell me anything.” Sya shifts closer to her. It seems she had forgotten Dhm'Ni was back in the room, or maybe she didn’t care.
“I have never felt safe, in my entire life, I have never felt protected. Until you and Dhm'Ni came to me.” Dhm'Ni instantly perks at his name. She feels safe with me? How can feel safe with me when we fight like we do? Or how we don’t talk? “The very instant you said ‘We are not going to abandon you’ to me, I had never felt so safe in my entire life. I thought at first it was because I was going to live but now I see it was because of Dhm'Ni and you. I don’t know if I will every truly be safe but having you two…” Nala finally looks at Dhm'Ni. Her face was full of nothing but happiness and gratitude. Not anger and fear like Dhm'Ni had come to know. This was a face he wished to see more often. And so Dhm'Ni gives her a soft smile and barely noticeable nod. “It was the best things to ever happen to me.” Nala turns back to Sya and sighs.
“Sleep now.” Sya grunts as he stands. “Tomorrow your life will truly begin.”
“I don’t want to go to school.” Nala says sternly.
“You may not want to but you must.” Sya says in a hard but playful tone. He extends his hand to her and Nala grabs it. Sya pulls her up to her knees and leans down to her head. Nala did know what to do at first when he started to graze her forehead with his mandibles. Gently touching her with his bottom two, he starts in the middle then expands them to rub her entire forehead. Sya pulls back to see a confused but intrigued face. “A kiss goodnight.” Nala softly laughs to herself and give him a warm smile. “Goodnight little one.” As Sya was at the door, he quickly and softly tells Dhm'Ni to listen to whatever she had to say in Yautja before he leaves.
“Sya told me this might be a good time for me to talk to you because you cannot talk back and say something stupid.” Dhm'Ni defiantly grunts to her, causing her to laugh a little. “I was true with my words Dhm'Ni, I don’t know why it is the way it is between us but you make me feel so safe. Especially because of what you showed me when I healed you. I really don’t want you to feel vulnerable because you showed me your face. You have no idea how much that made me feel safe and out of harm's way just to be in your presence. Granted at first I wanted to kill you but then again you wished to do the same.” Dhm'Ni couldn’t hold in a small laugh. “And then here we are. Here I am with so much happening, so much is being thrown my way and I…” Not again, the evil sting in her throat was calling her and salty tears form in her eyes. But she wouldn’t cry in front of him again, she promised herself she wouldn’t. So to hide it she bends down so her face was in her knees and she tries to steady her breathing but because she was thinking about what to say, she just tears up over and over.
“Nala…” Dhm'Ni purrs. She slowly lifts her head and finds that Dhm'Ni had walked to her and knelt in front of her. “…tall k.” He tied, that’s all that matters.
“I need you Dhm'Ni. I want someone to be there with me, to be there for me and I want it to be you. I want to say so many things to you. Like, thank you and I hate and I like you and I admire you and I detest you. Every five minutes how I feel about you changed because you never seem to be the same person around me. One minute you say that you not going to leave me behind and the next you wish to shut me up. I don’t understand you Dhm'Ni. But I want you to understand me. I need you as a friend, not as an enemy or simply a roommate. I want to talk to you about things. Particularly about this ‘N'dui'se’ thing Sya said.” Dhm'Ni physically filches when said that. “He said that some males would try something and then it occurred to me that you warned me to stay away from one male. Was that why…”
“Yes.” Dhm'Ni was immediate to answer. “He…he bad.”
“Okay. I will trust your judgment.” She lightheartedly but at the same time completely serious. “I think I need to go to sleep now. Are you going to as well?” Nala points to the hammock.
“Yes.” Dhm'Ni says while he starts walking to the hammock. But he stops abruptly when his hands habitually go to take off his loincloth. Should he sleep as he always does? Does Nala sleep that way? Maybe he should wear a simple leather cloth to bed, just incase. Nala had already taken off her sweater when Dhm'Ni turns to the trophy room. His other casual wear was in there and with it was a soft loincloth her could use. Nala wouldn’t care either way, nudity really don’t bother and it was Dhm'Ni. She neatly folds her sweater and then starts to take off her shorts when something falls out of the pocket and rolls onto the floor. She couldn’t think as to what it was so after she folds her shorts and places them and her sweater neatly on the ground, she goes in search for what ever it was. After a few minutes of looking, she finds it along the wall. Once she grabs it, she jumps onto the bed as laughs as she remembers that she had placed one of Dhm’Nis rings from his hair in her pant pocket when he grabbed her hand.
“Guess what I found.” Nala laughs when Dhm'Ni walks back in with his new sleep wear. She shows him the ring and Dhm'Ni softly laughs. Nala pushes her had to him, thinking he would take it back but he shakes his head with a smile. Dhm'Ni slowly curls Nalas fingers around the rings and holds her fist loosely. She smiles at him and nods. “Where did you go?” She asks just as Dhm'Ni starts to his hammock but he turns back at her question.
“…head room.” Dhm'Ni points to his head then to his trophy room. Nala didn’t know what he meant thought. But she soon figured out that they took the heads their pray as trophies and that room was where he kept them.
“Trophy room?” Nala says to him and he nods ‘yes’. “I will have to see what you have there in the morning. For now I sleep.” She yawns big while crawling up the bed to the top of the covers. Dhm'Ni jumps into the hammock and gets comfy. He then turns off the lights when he sees Nala settle in.
“Dhm'Ni…” She says. Dhm’Ni just grunts to her. “Goodnight.” He grunts again, and Nala smiles.