The Ripple of a Stone

The Ripple of a Stone

Discovery Channel: Yautja Week

Authors Note: This story I have written may not be exact with the customs and culture founded by the Predator movies, comics or stories but I have tired to stay in the area of their beliefs and ways. I have brought in elements from each of the categories and have combined them into one. I do not own Predator. Updates will be regular and changes will be made if any suggestions are made for me. Pronunciations at bottom. Some of the mentioned items in the Yautja world are made up by me. Good Reading.

E.M.

Nala fell into a relatively normal routine after her first day of lessons. All Sya really told her was of what was going to happen and of what she was going to learn. Everyday, at the Thirteenth hour, Nala would be in the conference room to learn how to read and write Yautja and then they would get into the laws and the ‘real’ things she should know. But then Nala had an idea and both she and Sya agreed that as she would learn Yautja, he would learn the Ooman language called ‘French’. Nala had to explain that it was a dead language but now they would have their own private tongue. On the upside, Nala would sometimes have the morning off and not need to go to her lessons until mid day, which was the Thirtieth hour of the sixty hours in a Yautja day. It didn’t take long for Nala to get into the schedule of the new days, her body became well adjusted to the new sleeping patters. She and Dhm'Ni even had a strange but cooperative balance.

Dhm'Ni was beyond relieved that Nala wouldn’t seem to wake if he woke calling for his mother. She was a very sound sleeper but she warned him that once she is awake, she is awake and they both know what she is like when she doesn’t get enough sleep. Dhm'Ni would naturally wake at the Tenth hour and Nala would wake around the Eleventh. It gave him enough time to wash and ready for the day before she even woke. But once she did, the bathroom was hers and hers alone. Dhm'Ni would try and get in there but she would never allow him too. But in the mornings before her lesson began, Nala would meet Sya in the conference room for breakfast for the Twelfth hour. He suggested that she should keep from socializing with the other males until she had at least a basic idea of the laws and customs before another scene like what happened in the galley would occur again. Reluctantly Nala agreed, a little disappointed that she would not be able to go to one of theses ‘society rooms’ Thr'ik kept begging her to go to. Dhm'Ni was even disappointed with not being able to show Nala around. Because the two were slowly beginning to talk, slowly allowing their bond to mend.

At night, the two would talk for a little while about their day. Dhm'Ni would sometimes laugh at how she would feel about the things she was learning. Like her little comment that ‘sending males to fight Hard Meat for a test was a great way to thin down the herd’. But she did understand the idea of the Chiva. It took her a while to grasp the idea of the chain of life for the Yautja male. From Unblood to Young Blood to Blooded, etc, and how she was going to go on that path because she is a Young Blood. But Nala had never felt more awkward in her life when Sya told her how to ‘properly’ swear. For some unknown reason, her way of saying ‘fuck’ was wrong. ‘Pauk’ was now the way to say it and ‘C’jit’ was now introduced into her vocabulary. Dhm’Ni offered to teach her more Yautja swears when she has the time after her lessons and she gladly accepted. But one thing she had immense trouble with was the whole thing about the Arbitrators. Not only did Nala discover that the Ehre Clan was ‘famous’ because they almost single handedly created the Arbitrators, that was a surprise, but she also couldn’t understand the difference between a ‘Clan Arbitrator’ and a straightforward ‘Arbitrator’. Sya, for example, is a ‘Clan Arbitrator’. He only deals with problems within the Ehre Clan whereas someone like Inkle would deal with the entire population. Sya was even more of a surprise because he was Lord Khupiees second in command and when Nala asked how he did both, his answer was ‘painstakingly’. That was not the only thing she really learnt about Sya. He finally explained that he had depictions of Kainde Amedha, Hard Meat, because he was a teacher. He would train those going on the Chiva and because of that he was marked in such away. All teachers would be marked but it was up to them on how. They could be engraved, their skin scaring over to show their status. Or they could simply wear a permanent piece of armor that could never come off.

Nala had to wash her clothing a few times because Kaine never seemed to have her new stuff ready. It was always ‘come back in a few days, they are not done!’ or ‘comeback tomorrow’, but they were never finished. It took Sya having to go down to him and have a ‘talk’ with the Awu’asa maker for him to set a real date and now she only had to wait two more days. Nala did get to see a sample of a shirt though. She was a little put off at how revealing it was but she was told she would be wearing a cloth bra thing under it, so she calmed down a little. But she was still worried about how it showed all of her scars. Once she explained to them that to Ooman males, she was looked at as unattractive because of them, Sya had to sit her down and tell her ‘she wasn’t completely ugly to a Yautja male’. Looks as if the Yautja find scars on a female to be extremely attractive, and for a few days after that, Nala was more attuned to how many males would look at her as she walked the halls to the conference room.

Again, that wasn’t her only discovery about the Yautja. She was in the bathroom one day brushing her teeth when Dhm’Ni burst in wondering what that sound was. Nala had to tell him that because her teeth were on the inside, she needed to care for them differently. She was thankful that in her personal bag, which Dhm'Nis curiosity for grew every day, had a few toiletries. Like a small tooth brush, tooth paste, hair brush and even two tiny odorless bottles of shampoo and conditioner. She threw her ‘last meal’, the small case of suicide pills, into the incinerator. She just didn’t want to look at it anymore. But the day Dhm’Ni burst in, Sya had dropped by to pick Nala up and also wondered what she was doing. And once she explained, they became interested in her tooth paste. Nala complained that she only had a little bit left but Sya assured her they would make some for her to keep her healthy and so Nala gave each one a small dab of her tooth paste and they LICKED it off. The moment very long, slender tongues came out of the two, Nala became gob smacked at the sight because she had no idea about them. She wondered what else she didn’t know. But that day she also found out about their tongues, she also found that Yautja hate peppermint. She will forever laugh at the memory of both Dhm’Nis and Syas face as their features twisted in utter disgust.

But as the days wore on, Nala became worried at the fact that she hadn’t talked to Dhyot’te’ka since they sparred. Maybe she should have helped him from the wall, what if he was angry about it? What if he doesn’t like her any more? Well, not ‘like’ in the sexual way but in the friendship way. She missed him, she really did. She missed her chocolate friend because he was the first one on the ship to genuinely be nice to her. She didn’t care if he had a sexual interest in her, she wants to talk to him. But if he thought it was weird, then she wouldn’t push it. But deep down, Nala was a little hurt if he didn’t want to talk to her. He seemed so caring. Nala laughs at herself every time she thinks about Dhyot’te’ka, making fun of herself for ‘having withdraws from chocolate’. Time will tell if something was wrong, so all she could do was wait.

She wouldn’t have to wait long to see him again however, or to make more discoveries of these Yautja she was now living with…

Today Nala woke up to see that Sya sent a message saying she had the morning off. She was just about to go have a nice, long bath when Dhm'Ni asks her, rather boorishly, why she always uses the bath in their room.

“It’s the only one I can use.” Nala says in utter confusion. She became even more confused when Dhm'Ni laughs at her.

“No, Nala it’s not. Since you are further along in your studies, why don’t you come to the communal baths with me?” Dhm'Ni asks as he stands by the open door. He decided that today he needed more then just a simple bath and because Nala was here, she may as well come along. It could do her good.

“Are you sure I can?” She asks a little worried she may get into trouble.

“Just, come on! You don’t need to bring anything, you can change there and there are towels and everything. Come on!” Dhm'Ni ushers her out of the room and Nala was quick to follow him to the lift.

“So where exactly are we going?” She asks as they get into the lift. Before Dhm'Ni answers, they nod hello to the others all ready in there.

“You think that we are expected to stay with our small baths all the time?” Dhm'Ni laughs after he calls for it to take them to the bathing deck. And when he did, all the males already in there look at one another smiling. “I think you may like it, but I will have to turn down the temperate so we do not cook you.”

“Thank you, I don’t really want to be the next serving of ‘Ooman balls’.” Nala laughs at her stupid joke.

“But there is also a large swimming area that you can use to exercise but there are also a number of hot pools to relax in.” Just then, the lift doors open to a small sitting room that was empty of anyone but just beyond the few large pillows and chairs, was a large red door and on it was a strange symbol that Nala recognizes to read ‘bath’. “Go through that door,” Dhm'Ni points to a smaller black door to the right. “Once in there it should be straight forward on what you need to do and by the time you are done, I will be sitting in the bath for us that has a lower temperature.” Nala silently nods to him and goes for the mysterious door. There was a word written on it but she couldn’t identify it, she would have to ask Sya about it later.

With a soft push, the door opens and Nala is mesmerized. Slowly, she walks into the large black change room and she was immediately dwarfed by the sheer size of everything. There were plenty of Awu’asa stands for Yautja to place there armor on. There were even hooks to place loincloths and such along the walls. Knowing what to do, Nala strips down and neatly hangs her clothing on the wall, careful not to rip her days Alsn undergarments. Her eyes catch sight of another door and she slowly walks through it to see a large shower room. Once she was thoroughly soaked in the steaming water, she walks to a large bench that held extremely oversized, to her at least, black towels. Nala had to wrap it around her twice and roll the top up for it to fit right and she was still laughing as she walks through the last door. When her eyes meet the largest room she had ever seen on this ship Nala freezes and gawks at the room. To her right was a pool bigger then any Olympic sized one, maybe even twice or three times the size. The water was such a beautiful color of green, but it seemed to be opaque, like you wouldn’t be able to see the bottom of it. Nala would have gone to the pools edge to see but she decided to look around even more. And to her left were maybe ten or fifteen smaller, round pools that were steaming. And in one of them was Dhm'Ni.

“When you are done looking at the water…” Dhm'Ni jokes but lets the sentence hang. Nala playfully scowls at him and walks to the bath he was in.

“So it’s really hot?” She asks as she stands in front of a bunch of poles and on one of them was a towel that was most likely Dhm’Nis.

“To me the water was hot so to you I would think it was way to hot. But as I said, I turned down the temperate so we are both comfortable.” Dhm'Ni says in a very relaxed manner. Nala smiles at him and begins to take off her towel. “Do you wish for me to cover my eyes?” He asks a little alarmed.

“What? No.” Nala laughs. “Oh, ’we are not. But Oomans tend to be’. I am not worried about nudity Dhm'Ni. I told Sya but not you. I grew up around it so I am comfortable with it. Don’t worry.” She laughs and completely unwraps the towel from around her body and drapes it over another pole beside Dhm’Nis. Shivering from the sudden coolness, Nala quickly gets into the water. Dhm'Ni didn’t really care what she had said and kept his eyes on the water until he heard her get in. Nala had to hold in a laugh as she sat down on the large step that was in the opaque green water because it came to her choler bone while onto the Dhm’Nis mid chest. “Your right, this is much better.” She sighs and Dhm'Ni silently nods to her, and nestles into the water.

“Oh, don’t look!” Dhm'Ni says after an unknown period of time.

“Sorry, what?” Nala wakes from her half sleep to see Dhm'Ni staring beyond her.

“Don’t look.” He repeats.

“Well, now I have to look!” She smiles and turns right around. Standing about twenty feet from them, was a group of about fifteen male Yautja, and in front was Thr’ik, a naked Thr'ik. For some unknown reason, Nalas eyes trail down her yellow bellied friend. Looking from his smug smile on his mandibles, his large Yautja chest and then down a little further…Holding onto a gasp, Nala snaps her head away from him and bites down on her lips. She had to think fast, she just saw her first Yautja penis and she…she just… It was Godzilla’s tail! It could take down Tokyo!

“There isn’t enough cloth in the entire universe to cover your unsightly areas, Thr’ik.” Nala says in a very low, discreet but completely truthful tone. And not one second later, the entire room was filled with the other males laughing at Thr’ik for her little remark. And a few a few moments, he laughed as well.

“That was good. But why did you not invite me to come along with you two to the baths? Hm?” He asks as he and the others start to get into the bath. Nala made sure to nod to each one of them and with every fiber of her being, she would only look at their faces until they were all in the water. Thr'ik of course went to sit next to Nala and he was quick to comment on her blush, which only made her blush even harder.

“We did not invite you because I did not know I was going to come here.” Nala says to them all.

“How did you find we were here?” Dhm'Ni asks a male beside him.

“Some heard you talking on the lift and came to the residence deck saying the female was going to be here. And naturally, we came running.” The male, whose was Kenin as Nala later learned, jokes.

“What are your females like?” Nala blurts before any conversation really starts. Every male in the pool looks at her with a giant smile but no one really answers. “Hard Meat got your tongue?” Nala jokes and they all start to laugh. With the ice thoroughly broken, Thr’ik sighs and looks to Dhm'Ni to say if he should tell her everything. And he just nods to say ‘yes’.

“Our females are uhh…” Thr'ik pauses, trying to think of a good word.

“Terrifying.” A male yells and all the others nod in agreement.

“What?” Nala asks entirely confused.

“Yautja females are larger then males, they are even more violent and ruthless. They are usually teller then us, larger, broader.” While Thr'ik was talking, he starts out sounding almost scared but by the end of his words, he was almost purring. “They can be quite ‘energetic’ when we mate,” He continues. “And a male wouldn’t be too good to go through a wall during the heat of it.” Even though he continued, Nala stopped listening. She was trying so hard, with everything she had, not to explode in laughter. But she was failing. Nala bites down on her lips and starts to breathe erratically out of her nose. Quickly covering her mouth with her hand, Nala lowers her head and closes her eyes tight to keep herself from doing something stupid!

“What’s wrong with her?” A male asks.

“She is laughing.” Dhm'Ni says. He had become more familiar to Nalas subtle actions and knew instantly that she was trying not to laugh.

“Why do you laugh?” The other male sitting next to Nala asks and she was lost.

“You guys get beat up when you pauk?” Nala finally explodes in laughter. At first the others didn’t know what she meant and after explaining that Ooman use the word ‘pauk’ as a description of mating, they again start to thrill in pure laughter.

“It is considered an honor to be marked with scars from mating. Here,” Thr’ik lifts one of his gigantic arms to show Nala a long scar on his side. “All males are who have mated are marked like this.” He says and puts his arm back down. For a moment, Nala just mindlessly stares into Thr’iks face and then suddenly, she gasps and snaps her head at Dhm’Ni.

“You’re a virgin!” Instantly, Nala covers her mouth with both of her hands, cursing herself for saying such a thing. But Dhm'Ni really didn’t care. It wasn’t a taboo thing that he was a virgin, he had only recently gone through his Chiva and then the whole thing with Ferca… “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why not, it’s true.” Dhm'Ni says with a slight smile. “I am young Nala. I have only just gone through my Chiva and then we went to that Ooman world rather quickly.” He didn’t wish to speak of Ferca and who knows what Nala would say about her. “But our females are very rough when they are mating, right Thr'ik?” Dhm'Ni grins at his friend.

“I have had two females already Dhm'Ni.”

“Only two?” Nala asks in surprise. Thr'ik silently nods ‘yes’ and she looks up at him with complete shock. “Wow, I’ve had way more females than you…” Nala shakes her head and looks back to the group sitting in the circular pool, only to find them all silent, all emotionless, and all staring at her like they just found a Hard Meat in their bath water. “What?” She asks innocently.

“Nala…” Thr'ik finally breathes. “You keep saying things that make me question if you are male or female.”

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“First you say ‘you have a hard on’ and then now you say you have mated with other females…You confuse me more then anything I have ever known.” He says rather seriously.

“Again that was a figure of speech but still, how can you not find an entire wall full of weapon beautiful?” She asks all in the bath.

“So, you mate with other Ooman females…Why?” A small male asks.

“Pleasure.” Nala answers bluntly.

“Where is the reason for breading? Do you not mate to continue the species?” The same male asks.

“Oomans do not mate purely for reproduction. They go more for the pleasure of mating rather then the outcome of a pup.”

“So you have mated with other females, does that mean you have mated with males as well?” Kenin asks her.

“Yes, of course. Oomans do not a have a set age for when they can mate.” Nala didn’t really want to get into the whole Ooman mating thing any further. She just knew it was going to get into something she didn’t want to get into. Like rape. She just didn’t want to discuss that considering she was in a bath with about twenty males. While she knew nothing would happen, Sya assured her of that, it was still a little unnerving and she was getting a little scared about where the conversation was going. But Dhm'Ni saw how she becoming a little frazzled and so he took a nose dive.

“Do you really find it so strange that I am a virgin? I’ll have you know I could have mated before we left the Clanship.” Dhm'Ni just knew what was coming, and it came like a blot of thunder. Nala jumps a little as the entire bath of full grown Yautja practically blow up as each and everyone start to laugh louder then anything Nala had ever heard.

“You brought this on your self my friend!” Thr'ik thrills. “Can I please be the only to tell her? Please!” He begs the laughing group and a few of them just wave at him to go on with it. “Alright, alright…” Thr’ik turns to completely face Nala and she looks up to him, waiting for what ever it was that made everyone so giddy. “There is a female and her name is Ferca. Now, Ferca is almost like you but not really that close. She hunts as you will and she fights males as you do but she will not have a Chiva. She can, but she does not want to. You on the other hand had no choice so you are already ahead of her.”

“Get on with it Thr'ik.” Dhm'Ni warns. Thr'ik was simply comparing Nala to Ferca and right now, Ferca seemed to be ‘lower’ then Nala by his words. While Dhm'Ni fully agrees with his best friend, now was not the time to point out all the good attributes of the only female who was bathing with a group of males.

“Okay, now. Like all the other males of the Ehre Clan, Dhm'Ni went to Ferca, to mate and she adamantly denied him!” Nala went straight faced as she heard this, a female denying Dhm'Ni… “Now, he asked her the day we came from our Chiva, Dhm'Ni and I went at the same time, and she said no but that night, when the tales of how well our trail went…Well, Dhm'Ni should tell you the rest.” Thr'ik laughs and points to his friend who was simply shaking his head in resentment.

“That night,” Dhm'Ni starts and looks to Nala. “That night I went to my room and found Ferca there. She pleaded with me to mate with her.”

“But you didn’t.” Nala didn’t say that like a question, it was more of an observation. “I wouldn’t have either. If I went to a male and he said no,”

“Which will never happen,” Thr'ik purrs to her and leans down so he was eye level with her.

“You better back up or you will have only two females to brag about.” Nala says very sternly and Thr'ik backs away laughing. “But if I asked one and he said no, then came to me, I would have kicked his ass.”

“I would have loved to see Dhm'Ni try to fight Ferca.” A male comments. “That female…” He didn’t need to finish his sentence as a few of the males purr in thought.

“Speaking of fighting, we haven’t seen you in the galley after you challenge with Lidch, where have you been?” The conversation quickly turns into the usual ‘who’s fighting with whom’ and even a few laughs came out of what Nala was learning through her lessons. Nala was grateful that they stopped talking about mating, as well as Dhm'Ni.

“I think I am done my bath.” Nala says as she stands in the green water. But even as she stood there, the water still covered came up to just below her breasts. As she walks around the gawking males, a few of them purr at her body but they were quickly silenced as both Thr'ik and Dhm'Ni growl at them for their inappropriateness. Cautiously covering herself in her large towel once again, Nala tells them that she will be back to talk, she is just going to get dressed and she leaves them to their conversation.

“I didn’t think Ooman females were so much like ours, and yet so different.” Kenin observes. “But gods, those scars would be so much better if they were on a Yautja female.” After a few agreeing growls, Nala came back into the room but didn’t put her jacket on because it was already steamy in the room, she didn’t want to over heat.

“Are you ever going to come to a society room and tell us of how you got those scars?” A male asks Nala as she sits down behind the spot where she was before.

“I can’t go until Sya thinks I am ready. I may do something stupid.” She laughs.

“I am sure which ever room you are in will be full to the walls to hear.”

“Why do find the story of how a scar came to be so interesting?” Suddenly, Thr’ik stands tall and moves so Nala was staring right at his chest.

“Scars make you who your are.” Thr’ik starts.

“’They make you know you are. They are a living story on your body. Never cover them.’ Lord Khupiee told me the same thing.” She smiles. “Now sit down, you are obstructing my view of all the other Yautja and you are not something I would like to look at for a long period of time.” Thr'ik hisses in a playful fit of anger and sits down but as he was doing so, he uses a hand to whip all of his tresses and they end up in Nalas lap.

“Take that scar on your right shoulder.” Kenin points to her. “Tell me about that.” Nala looks to where he was pointing and then to Dhm'Ni.

“I don’t remember how this one came to me.” She says straight faced. Dhm'Ni lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and give her a soft smile. Nala just knew that it would embarrass him even more if the others knew of how he missed the hard Meat and hit her.

“How can you not remember?” A few of them bark at her.

“You go to sleep and wake up bleeding, it happens.” She laughs. Nala looks down and into the bundle of Thr’iks tresses and starts to fiddle with them. They weren’t rubbery, but they weren’t hard or soft. As she plays with a few of them, Thr’iks eyes roll into the back of his head and he suddenly starts purrs at the feeling. “What am I doing?” Nala stops what she was doing and asks quickly, making sure she’s not hurting him or something.

“Don’t stop!” Thr'ik pleads. “You are massaging my head…”

“You think that was a massage?” She jokes. “Do you wish me to give you a real one?” Thr’ik wordlessly nods yes to her. “Now, can I touch the skin closer to your head or it is just your hair that you like?”

“Either…” Thr’ik purrs. For a moment, Nala doesn’t do a thing and then suddenly pushes her hands up into the thick of his tresses and starts to gently, and soothingly massage his scalp. The sounds that came from Thr’ik wee so different from anything Nala had ever heard that she looks up with question written all over her face.

“The scalp is one of the most sensitive parts of the Yautja body.” A male tells her. “While it can be used to sooth, it can also be used to entice…”

“Am I soothing you or enticing you?” Nala leans down and asks Thr’ik.

“Which answer will keep you doing what ever it is you are doing?” He purrs.

“Soothing.” Nala laughs.

“Then soothing it is!” He barks and everyone chuckles.

“Now that you have the biggest loud mouth quiet,” Dhm'Ni thrills and Thr'ik begins to hiss at him but Nala just increases her force in her fingers and it soon goes back into a purr. Nala smiles to all the other males as they applaud her in her ability to calm Thr’ik.

“I need to go.” Nala says after who knows how long. She stops with Thr’ik and he growls at her but she just sticks her tongue at him and he was quick to reciprocate the gesture. “I don’t think I ever get over your tongues. Hey Thr'ik, have you ever tasted peppermint?” Nala looks over at Dhm'Ni and he starts to laugh. He nods to her to confirm that she should ‘let’ him taste it. It will be perfect. Nala stands and says goodbye as she stretches. But before she left, she looks to Dhm’Ni and they both give each other a barely noticeable nod of ‘thank-you’. Dhm'Ni did it for Nala not saying how she gained her scar, and Nala did it because Dhm'Ni took the heat of the conversation.

“I am so sorry I’m late Sya, Dhm'Ni took me to the baths and…” Nala didn’t finish her sentence as she runs into the conference room, a good half hour late, to find no Sya. The guards at the doors said that he had come gone in the morning but hadn’t been there since. Nala was just about to leave the conference room to find Sya when she sees a long piece of paper and on it was Yautja writing. She instantly knew it was from Sya to her because at the top was a big ‘N’. As it was explained, she may be known as Nala, but her name will change when she arrives at the clan ship. While Sya could not tell her the reason as to why her name was going to be changed, he said it was Lord Khupiees duty to rename her once she is brought into the clan fully and meets the rest of the clan. So until then, her name will simply be ‘N’ on paper. The note read: ‘N, this is your task for today. On the table under this, you will find a small piece of paper and on it the name of a place on the ship. Go there and you will be given another piece of paper with another place to go. You will know when you are done.’

“Great, a pauk-de scavenger hunt on a Yautja DropShip.” Nala scoffs to herself. “I just know this will be great.” She says sarcastically.

For the next few hours, Nala traipses around the ship. Going from one place to another. She even went to Kaines but he quickly gave her the little paper Sya told him to and ushered her out because ‘her cloths are meant to be a gift, and so a surprise’. From there, she would go to places like the bridge, where she meet Ykas’e, and even to Kh’Chos. It was close to the end of the day and Nala had been to at least a dozen places. But right now, after someone from the galley gave her a clue, Nala was sitting alone at a table trying to figure out this word. She couldn’t recognize it for the life of her! If at this moment, someone had a knife at her throat and said ‘read this letter to me’, she would be dead. Groaning in frustration, Nala places her head against the table to think. She wasn’t going to ask someone else what it was. Even if she wanted to there were only servants in the galley right now. Dinner was served hours ago and it was bare off all other life. Or so she thought. Nala was on the verge of crying when the sweetest smell of chocolate fills her and she smiles.

“Hello stranger.” She says but does not lift her head. She hears the sound of Dhyot’te’ka pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“Stranger is the correct word for me I suppose.” He says a little sadly. Nala slowly lifts her head to look at him and she gives him a soft smile.

“Where have you been?” She almost whispers.

“In between anger and embarrassment.” Nala tilts her head in confusion and stares into Dhyot’te’kas’ face. She thought he looked like a puppy just then. With the small spot of light brown over his right eyes, it was just cute. “I apologize for my behavior when we sparred. By now I am sure you know of my mating musk I was emitting.” She silently nods to him and he looks away from her in embarrassment.

“Dhyot’te’ka,” Nala calls and he looks back to her. “I can’t even think about mating right now. I am not ready for it but I still wish to be your friend. I want to have my chocolate friend with me…” Now Dhyot’te’ka was the one to silently nod to her.

“If I am chocolate, then what are you?” He laughs.

“Umm, vanilla!” She laughs at her metaphor. “And I apologize for leaving you joined with the wall.”

“That’s alright.” He laughs. “Next time you will not be so lucky. Why are you here so late after dinner?”

“I am trying to read this. Now don’t tell what it is, or I won’t learn.” Nala shows him the clue and he just smiles at her.

“What do you think it is?” He asks and hands it back.

“Well, all the others were places. Like the healers and here. I can’t think of anywhere else I can go.”

“Do you wish for a clue?” Nala franticly pleads for one and he had to hold down a smirk as he watches her beg. “That, my vanilla friend, is not a place. But a person.” Nala gasps as she looks back at the paper.

“Lord Khupiee! Oh C’jit!” She yells as she stands up. “I got to go!” She says as she turns away from the table. But just as she was a few feet away, she turns back around and give Dhyot’te’ka a tiny kiss on his forehead. “Thank you.” She whispers, and then she was off. Dhyot’te’ka just sat there for a moment, relishing in the fact that Nala had just been so affectionate with him.

“C’jit. C’jit. C’jit.” Nala says over and over as she waits for the lift to take her to the Bridge. Lord Khupiee was there before and she hoped he still was. As the doors open, Nala wiggles her way through the small crowd as they walk into the lift and she makes it out just in time as the door close almost on her foot. “Stupid door…” She scolds the inanimate object. She turns around and starts walking into the Bridge when all of the sudden, doors she didn’t even know about, begin to close. ‘I thought they said there were no doors…’ She thinks to herself as she watches them close behind her. “Lord Khupiee.” She says to him as he was standing in front of his large chair. He abruptly whips around to see her and Nala freezes in her step. Lord Khupiee looks from her, to the door and then to a blinking light. Closing the distance between them in one large step, Lord Khupiee gently but firmly takes hold of Nala by her shoulders.

“You must promise me that what ever you hear, what ever you see, what ever you feel you will keep hidden, and keep quiet.” Lord Khupiee says in a very stern and serious voice.

“I promise.” She says with no hesitation and without another moment to waist, Lord Khupiee ushers her to actually sit on his chair, as far back as she can go, and once she was one, he then sits in front of her and moves back. She was comfortable but this was just a little weird. Lord Khupiee takes one last look behind him and Nala silently gives him the ‘thumbs up’. Remaining quiet and hidden as he asked. With a sigh, Lord Khupiee turns back to face the large screens and presses the flashing button on the arm of his chair. Instantly, the face of Elder Heret pops up on the screen and the two bow their heads in greeting.

“Good evening Lord Khupiee.” A gruff and old sounding voice fills the empty Bridge.

“Good evening Elder Heret.” Nala stiffens at his name and she silently curses herself because this was an Elder who was coming to judge her. While she does not know about all of them, Elder Heret was the first name Sya said so it was a fresh in her mind.

“The counsel of Elders is still apprehensive about this Ooman. Even after we watched the videos once more with your sons’ audio, some are not convinced it should be in our clan.” Nala was more then a little insulted that the Elder called her ‘it’. “While we were not completely persuaded in what we saw, we were impressed.” Nala smiles and wiggles her head around in pride.

“I have news.” Lord Khupiee says bluntly. “SHE…” Lord Khupiee implies her title as a being. “Was challenged by an Unblood.”

“And,” The Elder says, rather annoyed.

“Do you wish to see the video, it was again quite impressive. She did to the Unblood what she did with the Hard Meat that she danced with.”

“Did she now?” Elder Heret says more intrigued. “So she won?”

“She went in and came out devoid of injury, the Unblood never got a shot in. And so yes, she won. It was an amazing sight to see. She won with not only her strength but with strategy and tactic.” Nala just had to blush at Lord Khupiees kind words. “I will send the footage when we are done.”

“Agreed.” As the conversation went on, Nala became more and more tired. They stopped talking about her went into Clan business that she had no idea as to what they were talking about! And after a few HOURS, Nala was slowly falling asleep. Her eyes would flutter closed and it would be hard and harder to open them again. Until she just couldn’t open them any longer. And when that happened, Nala softly falls against Lord Khupiees back, using him as a Yautja pillow. He did expect her to sleep but when she fell on him, he didn’t really know what to do but continue with his conversation.

“The Nemico Clan has accepted the request to attend the Clan Leaders meeting next season.”

“Have they?” Lord Khupiee says with a great deal of suspicion. The Nemico Clan, the blood enemy of the Ehre Clan, had been adamantly refusing to attend all other Clan Leader meetings for the past twenty-two seasons. From the beginning, the Nemico Clan claimed to have been the true clan to bring up the age of the Arbitrators. But they could never prove it, whereas the Elders and historians of the Ehre and other clans for that matter could prove it was the Ehre Clan who brought on the new age of reason. The fragile bond was made even weaker when Lord Khupiee joined with Ni’Atne as lifemates because she was the current Clan Leaders younger sister. His name is Dvit. And he knew form the moment Lord Khupiee and Ni’Atne saw one another that they were going to join and he did everything in his power not to allow that to happen, but it did. And when Ni’Atne died, Dvit blamed Lord Khupiee and he never again went to a Clan Leader Summit.

“If there are any other matters?”

“No.” Lord Khupiee was quick to say. “I will leave you to slumber my good friend.” The two bow their heads in goodbye and the screen goes blank. “Nalani…” Lord Khupiee says softly but she only moans in response. Smiling, Lord Khupiee expertly twists in his chair and brings Nala into his arms just as Sya did and starts to carry her to her room. It was rather late and Lord Khupiee was personally warned by Nala that she will not be ‘accommodating’ to anyone that wakes her and he did not want to deal with anything else today.

Dhm'Ni was pacing back and forth in their room and it seemed every time he looked to his time reader it looked as if it was going ten times faster then it should. He was beginning to worry. She went right to Syas so she may be with him. They may have even gone for a late dinner, they had done that before but Sya used the COM to tell him that she was going to be late. But he didn’t do it this time. If something was wrong then Sya would have come to him. Someone would have told him, right?

Cingding

Dhm'Ni was a little startled as the door chimes to say someone wishes to see him. But just as he was turning to walk to it, the door opened and his father was there with Nala in arms.

“Where has she been?” Dhm'Ni asks and walks to his fathers’ side.

“She came to me just as the COM with Elder Heret came on and I couldn’t get rid of her in time so she had to stay there.” Lord Khupiee laughs. “I had to hide her behind me so Heret wouldn’t see her before her judgment.”

“You guys are very loud.” Nala yawns.

“C’jit.” Dhm'Ni curses and she laughs.

“I can get back to sleep, don’t worry.” Lord Khupiee sets her down in her feet and Nala yawns again. “Sorry I fell asleep on you.”

“That is alright little one.” Lord Khupiee laughs. “Now, you will go to sleep as well as I will. How about you and I meet the eight Arbitrators for lunch tomorrow, hm?”

“That would be great!” Nala says with closed eyes. Almost mindlessly, Nala starts for her bed and gives Lord Khupiee a quick wave goodbye as he leaves. “Sorry for coming in so late…” She says as she starts to undress, folding her cloths and placing them in a neat pile beside the bed.

“You did not know, so do not apologize.” Dhm'Ni laughs as he watches her. Nala quickly runs into the bathroom to empty her bladder before she sleeps and then sits on the end of the bed.

“You father said some very nice things about me when he was talking to Elder Heret. I kind of fell asleep a little after that because they were talking about some Nemico Clan over and over.”

“Nemico!” Dhm'Ni barks.

“Um-hmm.” Nalas falls back asleep, falling to the bed with her legs sticking off the bottom.

“You are so strange Nala.” Dhm'Ni laughs as he walks to her. She would do this sometimes and Dhm'Ni would simply place her at the pillow and cover her with his pelt of fur. He gently kneels at the top of the bed and starts to pull her up towards the pillow. Without warning, Nala grabs one of Dhm’Nis arms as her head hit the pillow and she pulls him down to her. He grunts both in surprise at the move and as his body fall to the bed as one of his arms is taken out from under him. Before Dhm'Ni could take his arm back, Nala turns onto her side, bringing Dhm'Ni closer to him. “Umm…Nala…” He tries to say but she still pulls him into her back was right against his front. “Nala…” He says again.

“Allen.” She moans. Dhm’Nis eyes widen as he realizes she thinks he is her mate.

“No, Nala I’m not him.” But at his words, Nala tightens her hold on his arm, the proverbial death grip on him so he couldn’t move away. He could wake her, to get her to let him go. But he really didn’t want to wake her again, she may get angry. And it wasn’t so bad. He missed his bed the past couple of nights. And it felt nice to finally be back on it. Maybe for tonight he will let her hold him. But just for tonight.

Expertly using his feet, Dhm'Ni pushes the pelt of fur out from under them and then pulls it over them, having to use his free hand to get it over her shoulders. With a soft sigh, Dhm'Ni shakes his head at his predicament but after a few minutes, his eyes glide shut as he falls into a light sleep…

(In Dhm’Nis dream.) (AN: It IS different form the other one, so don’t skip it if you think it is the same.)

‘It was always peaceful in the gardens. The grounds were full of rare and even extinct flowers from all over the Home World. A sound of a large wave from the pond, filled with an assortment of fish, crashes on the shore. A soft wind wafts through and brings in the delicate scent of blooming Phpy Blossoms into Dhm’Nis nose. This time of the season was always his favorite because the Phpy greenery was finally blooming. They only did once every ten seasons and when they did, the smell was so calming. So sweet. There was nothing like them in the entire universe, nothing can match there aroma.

At the age of eighteen seasons, Dhm'Ni sits alone on one of the many wooden benches to take in the most beautiful scents imaginable. The small and delicate violet petals of the Phpy Blossoms are thickly scattered on the ground as it is late in the season. But this is when there scent is most potent. Taking a deep breath, Dhm'Ni closes his eyes as he lets the intoxicating scent fill him completely.’

(End Dream)

“Phpy Blossoms!” Dhm'Ni jerks awake but not violently. He looks down and sees that Nala was still in his arms and Dhm’Ni smiles at his discovery. “You smell like Phpy Blossoms…” Finally, he pinned down what Nala smelt like. No wonder why the males were constantly trying to figure out her scent. It was the same as the Phpy Blossoms and it was so hard see it because they are so rare. Before he could stop himself, Dhm'Ni laughs as he thinks about tomorrow when he tells everyone what he figured out but with the sudden noise, Nala rustles in his arms and Dhm'Ni freezes at thinking he may have woken her. But to his delight, Nala simply turns around, letting go of her death grip, but she turns and rests her head against his chest. He could get up now. He can simply stand and pretend this never happened, like she simply crawled into bed on her own and that this NEVER happened. But as his mind was battling on whether to stay, his body made the decision and he incases her in his arms once more. Wrapping them around her and when he did, Nala nudges closer and calls out for Allen for a second time.

Within one second, Dhm’Nis eyes close and he was fast asleep once again. On his bed. With Nala in his arms.

Authors Note: Oooo… He he… Like that? Alright, sorry for the wait, I have been completely enthralled with a novel that was sent to me and I just couldn’t do any writing as I was reading it but I finished it and now here is another chapter!

A special thanks to:

On ff .net: aquamum, ben revell, Minkutei, Alix, swift hunter, Oak Tree Woman, and papaya4.

On aff .net: Narranasa, Prairiefire (I love Sya too!), and Cara (And no I have never lived in Hawaii but I am planning to go there for Christmas vacation with a friend!).

Pronunciations (Previous on chapters 3, 4, 6, 9 to 13, 15 to 17.)

Kenin Ken In
Nemico Nehm Ick O
Dvit Dev It
Phpy Puppy