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Aki’cit slid down into the ravine, his catch weighing heavily on his back as he balanced himself. The boar he had caught reeked of blood and fear still, despite him killing it well over half an hour ago. The stench covered up anything else he could smell, even the scent of his mate and pup, who were in the house at the end of the ravine.
Landing heavily, Aki’cit stomped towards the small cabin nestled against the side of the cliff wall, hidden from the eyes of any oomans that might wish to disturb it. Its stone walls gleamed with the morning dew as a small stack of smoke wafted from the stone tower above. He could tell she was preparing her early meal thanks to the waft of cooking flesh on the air.
Aki’cit dropped his catch by the front door and ducked in to see his mate slicing through thick strips of flesh before offering it to the pup beside her. The little one chirped as he grabbed the bloody flesh in his claws and began to suck on it, using it to teeth as his dam returned to her work.
“Oh, Aki, good morning.” The tall, black-haired woman at range smiled as she turned, her long gray dress swishing around her. She grabbed one of the plates of meat she had left on the table beside her and walked to him.
Aki’cit softly chirred at her as he crouched down, taking it from her. He pressed his forehead into her’s as he softly rumbled at her, as tender a gesture as a yautja could give to an ooman. She returned his affection with a kiss on his lower right mandible, her deep brown eyes softening as she looked at him. He purred before looking at his son, who was still busily chewing on the meat given to him with his still small teeth.
“Don’t worry, I fed him this morning.” His mate, Anita, murmured as she carefully scooped up his well-grown pup and cradled him. He cooed up at her through his mouthful of meat. “He’s been emptying me out every morning.”
“No milk?” Aki’cit asked as he poked at the meat given to him between his claws, noting that it was the bull that he had helped her slaughter a few weeks ago.
His mate had been growing weaker since she gave birth to his pup. As the leader of his clan, he had explicitly chosen her FOR her health and hunting prowess. She lived alone in the canyons beyond the ravine when he found her. He did not choose his female lightly and spent months observing her, taking note of her ability to survive on her own. A trait not often found in oomans in the cities. A trait desirable to the desert clan, who were nomadic by nature.
But what drew him to her was that she wasn’t afraid of him. When he first approached her, she watched him with wide eyes that seemed to be more in awe of him than they were fearing him. The first thing she did after meeting him was offer him a warm meal and a room for the night for him to rest in. He knew oomans were hospitable, but this was a different treatment than his other run-ins with oomans. She was welcoming him into her home and feeding him, a yautja.
This is what pushed him to pursue her as his mate. He was completely enamored with her and could only imagine having that kind of female by his side for the rest of his years. Because, after all, Desert Clan males mated for life.
After courting her and getting her approval as his mate, he quickly introduced her to the change before breeding her. But he noticed she became in poor health on the clanship, so he moved her back to her homeworld to see if that would fix her ailing. It did for a while, but then she became ill again.
The change had permanently weakened her immune system, a rare condition caused by the immune blockers they use to suppress the immune system. She was just unlucky. He should have chosen another female, but his choice was made when they mated in that pond on a hot summer day. He was wholly bonded to her and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“No, I have milk. But it’s. . . not enough, I guess.” Anita sighed as she moved to a wooden chair, cradling their pup as he eagerly burbled around his piece of flesh. Her hand ran over his milk-swollen stomach.
Her breasts were looking a bit flatter than usual. His pup was eating exceptionally well, but it worried him that she wasn’t making as much as she had when she first gave birth to him. It was clear that nursing his growing pup was taking a toll on his poor ooman mate.
“Wean soon, then.” Aki’cit put his plate onto the table before silently moving over to his dear mate, crouching to pluck his son from her arms gently.
He was heavy, fat even.
“But it’s only been eight months.” She muttered, the dark circles under her eyes darker than they had been since a week ago. His mate was ill, he could tell.
A draw of breath told him her scent was souring, becoming laced with infection. She needed his pup off of her sooner than later. Raj’ka can be cared for by the nursery females on the ship while his mate recovers.
The small squirming pup in his palm had frozen when he picked him up, knowing his sire. Aki’cit leaned in, breathing in his scent, a mixture of his and Anita’s. A reminder that this life was the one they created together as a pair.
“Healthy.” Was all Aki’cit said as he softly placed Raj’ka back into his worried dam’s arms. “Strong, good.”
“But-”
He bumped his forehead against Anita’s as he purred at her ardently, letting her know she WAS doing a great job. She had been a fantastic mother, a perfect creature that outshined any female.
His perfect mate.
“Anita need rest. Will take care of Raj’ka while Anita sleeps.” Aki’cit rumbled as he nuzzled her and placed his hand on top of her head.
Her forehead was warm.
She blinked at him blankly before looking back down at Raj’ka, squirming in her arms and starting to get irritated by being held. He was at the age where he was climbing everything and exploring everywhere. Looking around the house, he could see evidence of his pup’s claw marks on wooden tables and stones where he probably had tried to climb.
“Okay. . .”
Aki’cit offered a hand to his mate and helped her to her feet, purring softly as she wobbled. He slid his pup from her arms, tucking him against his chest before leading her to the sleeping pallet.
She shed her dress and outer clothing before slowly laying down. Her body was warm, telling him she was getting close to feverish. He would need to call for the healer soon.
An angry squall from his pup snapped his attention from his mate long enough to make him grunt as the pup bit him with his tiny teeth.
“Go and wear him out. I’m sure he needs it.” Anita’s tired voice spoke from beside him. He glanced over at her, crouching down to gently brush his fingers along her cheek.
“Rest.” He told her as he brushed his lower mandibles against her cheek. “Will be back soon.”
He took his squirming pup outside and away from the stone house.
“Are you sure Raj will be okay?” Anita curled up in Aki’cit’s lap, her warmth seeping into his bones.
It had been a month since he had returned his mate to the clanship and less than a day since he had given Raj’ka to the ooman females in the nursery. This finally gave Anita the chance to relax and recover from her illness. Then, once she was strong enough, he would produce another pup with her.
“Will be fine.” He tore a chunk off an ia’ka leg, a four-legged beast they kept for food, which he had a servant bring to his quarters as he sat back with his mate. He would need to attend a meeting soon to check in on his clan, but he is mainly free now.
The nurses they have are all trained ooman females chosen explicitly for their willingness to help his species. Most were known as ‘nuns’ who thought of helping the pups of his clan as an act of their god’s will. Some oomans, funnily enough, saw the yautja as beings sent by their lords instead of demons, like other sects, seem to think. He was glad he had a group of willing oomans raising his dear mate’s pup.
“I’m worried about him.” She muttered, shaking her head when Aki’cit offered her a fruit.
“Raj’ka yautja, yautja do not need mothers for whole youth. Will be fine.” He knew he wasn’t worried about his pup. Either he lived to adulthood or dies, then one of his future brothers would take his place as a clan leader.
That’s just how it has always been.
“That’s cold Aki.” Anita was sitting in his lap now, hands resting on his stomach as she stared wide-eyed at him. “What if he gets hurt or-”
“He will learn not to get hurt again. Yautja pups are not ooman pups, Anee’ta.” He grunted as he put down his leg and leaned over her, rubbing her cheek with his finger. “Will be ok, Anee’ta. Raj’ka is Anee’ta’s pup, will live, will become adult.”
He purred to soothe her, but he could see hot liquid spilling from her eyes. Tears. Something she did when she was genuinely stressed about something. He had seen her do it when they left Earth and again when she became pregnant with her first pup.
“Will give another pup soon.” He pushed his palm against Anita’s pregnancy-scarred belly, lifting his upper mandibles. “Then worry about new pup.”
“I want Raj.” Anita muttered as she slid off his lap, walking towards the bedroom door. He could see her steps were shaky, uneven—unbecoming of his mate.
But no one could tell him to find another female. He would have to wait until Anita died before he could do that. But he was doing everything in his power to ensure she survived. She was his mate, his perfect creature.
Aki’cit sighed as he returned to eating, watching her disappear through the doorway. He would need to arrange for her to see her pup several times to ease her mind. He was willing to do this for her, despite how odd it was. He wanted his mate’s mind to be at ease.
The following week, he would bring her to see her pup again, and he could almost see the tension ease from her body when she took her pup from the nursing female. She took him to the corner of the room, sat down with him, and rocked him in her arms, humming softly to him.
Raj’ka could only coo at her, clearly remembering his Dam despite the time away. Anita giggled as she peppered his face in ooman kisses and softly spoke to her child. A moment of quiet happiness between the two.
Aki’cit could only stand to watch her, wondering how ooman females could feel so deeply for their pups. Perhaps that was their saving grace over yautja females; they were far superior mothers to most yautja females he had the pleasure of running into. They did not abandon their pups for any reason; even if they were dying or ailing, they saw even the weakest pup worthy of protection.
That is also what made Anita the perfect creature. She loved far more than he had ever seen.
Anita got up, with Raj’ka crawling in her arms, trying to get up onto her shoulder. She looked at Aki’cit with a soft smile on her face as Aki’cit crouched down to see what she was doing.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here. My heart ached terribly for the little babe.” Anita purred as she kissed his cheek when he bent down low enough to allow her to. “Thank you, dear heart.”
She loved Aki’cit especially.
Aki’cit reclined back into his chair, barely listening to the cacophony around him. Being on Yautja Prime never brought him peace.
This was yet another meeting over territory lines with the other clan leaders and the Dark Stalker clan leader, Kzel’ar, was yet again complaining that the Mist Walker Clan were hoarding all of the suitable breeding territories. The Jungle Clan leader, Mel’durn, was egging them both on by playing both sides while the Frost Clan leader, Lo’kiar, just grunted a word here or there while he sat back, clearly not caring just like Aki’cit.
Lo’kiar looked at Aki’cit from the corner of his eye, lifting a mandible like he was amused. Their fathers fought bitterly for centuries, and their sons had to patch up relations between both clans. Most older males from the Desert Clan still hated Frost Clan, but Aki’cit didn’t share the same hatred as them.
Aki’cit grunted at the pale white yautja before he leaned far back into his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he wondered about his female’s condition.
It was slowly getting worse ever since he weaned Raj’ka off of her. She barely left her bed, and even with the Head Healer’s help, she saw the black hunter stalk her. He could hear her whimpering in her dreams, crying out in fear at something he couldn’t see. When she awoke, she would tell him that the black yautja she kept seeing in her dreams was closer this time.
He would not have much time with his mate if she had not fled the hunter.
Aki’cit blinked as he cocked his head, hearing the Abyssal Clan leader, Cth’hul, roaring at the two of them to shut up. He did not have patience, unlike the rest of them. Aki’cit grunted as he began rapidly listing off reasons to Mist Clan why they needed to deal with their pauking c’jit in private. This meeting was to draw new lines, not move old ones.
Both grunted or growled at him but turned away.
A sharp beep from Aki’cit’s communicator drew his attention away from the spectacle. He covertly flipped open his device to see that a message from the healer had been sent.
Anita was no more.
He abruptly pushed himself away from the table, getting a few looks from the yautja leaders around him—especially an inquisitive look from the Marsh clan leader at his right. He ignored them as he left out the door, barking at his warriors to prepare the ship. His mind whirled with confusion as he headed towards the docking bay.
His cape swirled around him as he heard someone bark behind him. It was the Frost clan leader, followed by his pup, who was training to take his place one day. Aki’cit growled lowly as he stared at him, his mind forming a question but his body aching to claw him apart. He wanted nothing more than to tear a body apart, get rid of this confusion.
“Why did you leave, Clan Leader Aki’cit?” Lo’kiar asked as he came to a respectful stop a few feet away. His pup was even further back, arms folded behind his back as he watched his father.
“An emergency has happened that requires my attention.” Aki’cit’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to contain his anger. His mate’s body was cooling while he was speaking to this frozen fleshed yautja!
“An emergency more important than a meeting between leaders?” Lo’kiar asked as he cocked his head, his dreads clanging together.
“Yes. Much more important.” Aki’cit replied, his voice a growl. Pauk the meeting, he didn’t care about it anyway. It was just another way for the other leaders to show off how much power they had and what lands they owned. None of it mattered to him nor the Desert Clan who owned a good-sized territory themselves.
“Well, if you require assistance, do not hesitate to call on me. Our fathers may have fought, but those wars are behind us with the new generation, yes?”
Aki’cit blinked in surprise at the other leader’s offer. It wasn’t normal for yautja to freely give out help like that. It was seen as a slight towards the one being offered the help. But knowing Lo’kiar, he was being sincere in his offer. That male never had a power-hungry motive before. That fool had always been soft-hearted, at least to Aki’cit and the rest of the clan leaders.
“Thank you.” He bowed his head slightly. “But I must leave now.”
With that, Aki’cit continued his march to his ship. A strange disquiet settled over him as he focused on returning to her.
“Listen for once, pup.” Aki’cit barked at his son, irritated by his inability to focus on one pauking task. “The prey got away because you were too focused on watching another. A hunter who sees the next prey before he catches the first catches none.”
Raj’ka jerked on the branch he was crouched on below Aki’cit, bow drawn as he huffed loudly. He let his bow go slack as he snapped his head to look up at his father. Now that he had gone through his second shed, he was starting to look like Aki’cit more and more. However, the defiant look on his face was something that he didn’t inherit from him.
“But that one was larger!” Raj’ka ground his lower mandibles together, clearly irritated.
“It does not matter; the one right below was the closest to us and had a clean shot. You let it get away AND missed the second one.” Aki’cit was glad he took his son out alone. If he brought any other hunter with him, they would see how poor of a hunter his pup was.
Raj’ka had grown well over the years but lacked much refinement that Aki’cit expected out of his prodigy. He was smart, but he lacked focus and had severe anger. Aki’cit had written off his mentor’s concerns, thinking it was just because Raj’ka was young, but he was right. His son wouldn’t survive his Chiva if he didn’t sharpen his skills properly.
His mother had been a better hunter than he. Why hadn’t he inherited at least that from them.
“Come, Raj’ka, we will keep going until you at least catch two prey.” Aki’cit jumped from the tree into the sand below. Around them, a dune forest of deep-rooted trees spreads, covering the area in shade.
In the distance, a herd of two-pronged earth-deer-like creatures stood grazing off low bushes. The two they had missed were already blending into the herd. A few males were grazing outside of the herd itself, but he saw none as big or as fat as the ones that had wandered off.
“If you can’t kill, you can’t eat. If you can’t eat, you die.” Aki’cit barked at his pup as the younger male landed beside him, shoulders hunched.
“But I won’t be required to do any of that! What is the point if I’m just going to be stuck on the clanship most of my life?” Raj’ka snapped back at him, flaring his mandibles at his own father.
Aki’cit felt something snap within him, and he pinned the young male up against a tree, his arm across his throat as he held him up. Raj’ka gagged as he pressed down onto his windpipe just enough to make him feel light-headed without killing his pup.
“A leader who can’t hunt in the worst of times will not be fed in the best,” Aki’cit responded with a hiss before dropping his pup onto his feet, watching as he breathed through ragged gasps.
“I will not allow my son to be unable to hunt for himself. One day, you will also have to take a mate and want to fetch her the best meat you can get your claws on. That means hunting it yourself.” Aki’cit watched Raj’ka rise to his feet, wiping a bit of drool from his maw. He could see the defiance burning in his pup’s gaze as he grabbed his bow off the ground.
But he only turned away and stomped off, moving to climb up a tree to skirt the herd ahead. Aki’cit could only grunt as he moved to the bushes to shadow Raj’ka to see how he fares this time. But in the back of his mind, all he could think about was how this could be his and Anita’s pup. The pup was so ill-tempered, nothing like how Aki’cit was bred.
“Anita, what did you leave me with?” He rumbled softly to himself as he watched his pup pull back his bow and make a shot at another prey.
It hit its leg, and the creature sounded an alarmed screech before running off with the rest of the herd and taking the arrow with it. Raj’ka spat in annoyance as he leaped down from the tree, landing heavily on the ground before pacing back and forth.
“Go get the arrow pup . That is good metal you’re wasting.” Aki’cit barked at Raj’ka, who stopped his pacing and stared at his father before running off after the herd, his short dreads waving in the wind.
Pauking pup.
“So what is Raj’ka doing this time?” Aki’cit couldn’t be bothered to look up from his screen as a nervous-looking Elite Master stood before him.
“Your son disappeared after finishing his Chiva. One of the new bloods said he was leaving camp, muttering about molting Queen Hardmeats.” The Master Elite, who had been training his pup to at least be a proper fighter, began to pace in front of him. “I asked them what he was talking about. Of course, we don’t let queen embryos be implanted into hosts; those embryos are reserved for producing new queens when the current one can no longer produce.”
“So you’re telling me my pup is chasing after imaginary Queen Hardmeats? Did you not attempt to find him?” Aki’cit looked up from his screen, narrowing his eyes at the Elite Master.
“Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you.” The Master Elite responded as he stopped to look at Aki’cit. He bowed deeply before his dreads crowning as he looked at the ground. “We had not found him yet.”
Aki’cit began to speak again when the very pup came stomping in followed by a group of nervous yautja hunters behind him. In one hand, there was a regular hardmeat skull; the other was a partially grown Hardmeat queen. Aki’cit looked at the Elite Master, who froze visibly at the sight of the queen’s skull.
Smugly, Raj’ka tossed both onto Aki’cit’s table before lifting his chin haughtily and raising his upper mandibles. “I passed my Chiva Clan Leader.”
Aki’cit was impressed that he was aware enough to spot the molting queen well before his superiors. But to kill it too? Well maybe this pathetic pup was finally becoming a good hunter. Perhaps all he needed was time away from the ship long enough to learn that he wouldn’t have been waited on his whole life.
Raj’ka had grown into a fine, fit, young male. His musculature had filled out nicely, his mandibles were strong and sharp, and he already had scars from hunts. Aki’cit, for once, had hope for his only pup to be respectable to his people.
“Very good.” Aki’cit rose to his feet, his thoughts turning again towards Raj’ka’s mother, Anita.
After all this time, he still hadn’t taken another mate after her. All other females could never compare to the perfect creature, Anita. None could ever catch his eye. But if his pup grew up to be a respectable leader, he wouldn’t ever have to take another mate. Her pup would have proven adequate.
“Well, I believe you are blooded then.” Aki’cit tapped a claw on the queen skull, looking at the hunters gathered around them. “Anyone disagree?”
There was silence after his words.
“Good.”
He turned to his pup before rumbling, “You’ll be training under me then until I have decided you are enough to be clan leader.”
Raj’ka’s mandibles went slack as he stared at his father. “What?”
“Oh you thought you would just be clan leader? Well, there is far more to that then you’d imagine. I do hope you enjoy literature because there will be a lot of reading it.” Aki’cit lifted his upper mandibles at his pup’s expression of horror.
“No. . . But. . .”
“Training starts tomorrow, pup. I expect you in my office then.” He rumbled as he stared at Raj’ka hard.
Raj’ka’s slender shoulders went slack as he stared blankly at the floor.
Aki’cit sat with Raj’ka in his private bath, relaxing neck-deep in the water as his son stared blankly out into the distance. He could see the thoughts going through his pup’s head as he kneaded the edge of the bath.
“You know, you should go with the next group to find a mate, Raj’ka.” Aki’cit rumbled as he closed his eyes, relaxing further and waiting for his son to snip back at him.
“What, and tie myself down with more responsibilities?” Raj’ka growled as he clutched the ledge harder.
“Ooman females are delightful creatures, Raj’ka. Worthy of all of the effort. If not for them, we would not have any pups born.” He could hear Raj’ka release a low, annoyed growl at that.
“I am not looking to burden myself with more responsibilities than I already have.” Raj’ka finally responded after a few minutes of grumbling.
“Your mother was certainly not a burden nor a true responsibility. A willing ooman female is worth twenty times her weight in meat.” Aki’cit was starting to feel slightly annoyed at his pup. Did he not understand the importance of ooman females?
“What if I want to wait?” Raj’ka grunted. He started splashing water over his face before he got up out of the pool.
“Then that is your choice. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep an ooman pet around for yourself. They’re incredibly affectionate when you choose the right one.” Aki’cit was just trying to entice his pup into getting a female ooman.
“Are you asking me to keep a pet around for sex?” Raj’ka sounded appalled by the suggestion. “If I mate with her once, we would be life-mates!”
“No, but I assume at least a companion would help with your stress.” Aki’cit innocently replied as he grabbed a sponge off the side of the bath tray and started scrubbing down his arms.
Not like the pup would be able to hold back during her first heat.
“All you have to do is choose a willing female, Raj’ka. You wouldn’t find her a responsibility for a single day.” Aki’cit honestly hoped his pup would listen to him. Far too many females are taken by force these days for his liking.
Raj’ka only grunted in response.
“Your dam was a willing female. A very perfect female. She was the one who offered me a place to stay and got me food to eat.” Aki’cit casually mentioned as he sank back down into the water. “Any ooman female willing to show you that much affection is worth it.”
Raj’ka stopped at the door for a long moment, staring at him. He knew what he was thinking. Aki’cit never talked about his dam. He opened his mouth wider narrowed his eyes before shaking his head and leaving.
Aki’cit could only hope his son gained a little bit of knowledge.
Aki’cit wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. But when he got the call, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for his pup. Not only had he slain a new queen, Xenomorph, but he had also proven to be a good male.
His son had left for Earth a few months ago, so join his brethren in the hunt for mates. A sanctuary up north had also been made available to them, so he went there for hunting. But suitable prey wasn’t the only thing his son had found.
A female. His son had taken a mate.
According to him, she was taken by a Frost male at first but then abandoned on their territory. That is when he started to pursue her, and they managed to mate. That meant, at his young age, Raj’ka had successfully found himself a female to bring back. One that had managed to kill a massive Earth predator with a knife.
He wondered how he had chosen said female. He hoped that he had listened to his lesson on the importance of selecting a willing female, but knowing Raj’ka, he did not. But he hoped the female would forgive him.
But then only a day later did he get the news that Raj’ka had lost his female and was chasing after her. He wondered how his pup managed to do that. But it told him he did not mate with a willing female. As much as it upset him, he just hoped he would do the right thing and try to court her like any self-respecting desert male would properly.
Only a week later did he get the word.
Raj’ka, his only pup, the only child of him and Anita, had been killed. The female was missing, and the smell of Frost clan was everywhere on his body.
Aki’cit opened his eyes, the fresh smell of blood wafting over his senses as he down upon the yautja in front of him.
Aki’cit stood before his brother, claws dripping with green as Adoh knelt before him. Behind him, a young ooman female swollen with his pup stared in horror as Aki’cit rapidly clicked his mandibles together. He barked at her to leave but she did not move, only looked at Adoh, who rumbled softly at her.
“No, I’m not leaving him.” The young ooman said as she stared Aki’cit in the eyes, her brown ones blazing. “He’s my mate.”
For a moment, Aki’cit was taken aback by her audacity but then purred, suddenly reminded of Anita’s fierceness when she first defended him against oomans who had come to chase him off. Perhaps he and his brother had the same taste in females. She had too declared him as a lover.
Adoh rose to his feet again, wiping the blood from his face as he stood to stare at his brother's eye to eye. Aki'cit had broken off a mandible and clawed off parts of his crest during their scuffle, leaving his brother rather bloodied. The female quickly joined him at his side, helping him to his feet. She glanced over at Aki’cit before looking back up at Adoh, her hand rubbing his arm.
Adoh softly trilled as he brushed his cheek against the young female’s.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was here ? Or that you had his female?” Aki’cit snarled, breaking the tender moment between them.
How dare they do that in front of him?!
“ Had her, brother. She is back with her male.” Adoh responded as he wrapped his arm around the ooman female, who glared at Aki’cit furiously.
He wanted answers. He wanted to know why Arbitraitor Thorun had killed his pup. His only living memory of his dead mate. He didn’t even want to kill the Arbitrator at this point; he just. . . wanted answers. His lineage was cut short by a single Frost male, and all he had was a dead body to tell him anything.
“Has he left the station?” Aki’cit snarled, eyes searching Adoh’s green ones.
“No, he’s still here. His ship is still reported docked.” Adoh grunted as the young female led him back to his seat. She took a cloth from the pile behind Adoh’s seat and cleaned his cut face with it. “He’s in Docking Bay 27. If you kill him, I want his female back here.”
Aki’cit straightened when he heard Adoh say that. He growled low as he lifted his chin to where he was staring directly into Adoh’s eyes.
“No, because if I kill that male, I will be taking his female. She might not have killed my son, but she was a part of this. Because if I can not have my son, she will give me a new one.”
Aki’cit turned, leaving his words to linger behind him.
This farce needed to end now.