Kennedy & the Yautja

Chapter 2 - Vah'keil

Shining dully in the sunlight, the newly cleaned skull looked pleasing. The empty eye-sockets stared back at him. A jagged crack down the middle of the cranium felt smooth beneath Vah'keil's finger. He trilled with pride, reliving the epic dual with the ooman before he emerged as the victor.

He would show his older mei'hswei that he was a competent sain'ja. He would show everyone how wrong they were. Hunting on N'ithya would prove he was worthy of earning the title Elite. Every Queen kiande amedha skull had been collected. Four off-white beacons of his accomplishment. How hard could it be to hunt oomans? They were a prey species, despite their intelligence. Striking them down had proven easy so far.

Creatures his elders spoke about roamed the crumbling ooman settlements. These Zekes, as he had overheard oomans calling them, were mindless rotting corpses fueled by a parasite that killed the host and took over.

Seeing them easily take out the weakest in ooman hunting parties further proved his dislike for the prey species.

Weak. Pathetic.

Vah'keil's tusks scraped together in disgust. What a joke...

What lesson could possibly be taught here? That oomans weren't to be taken seriously? If that was the case then he had already learned that. Going home and claiming his hard-earned title was more important than a safari on the ooman planet.

Besides...it already looked like the oomans had found a way to off themselves...

S'yuit-de apes, he scoffed mentally.

He stood from his perch atop a roof, securing his new trophy on his belt. The settlement was empty. Being devoid of any new prey, there was hardly a reason to stick around. Instinct, however, demanded he stay. It was the subtle tick in his nerves that told him the boredom wouldn't last. While he scanned the immediate area for any signs of life, other than the avian creatures that rightfully kept their distance, he noticed movement behind one of the rusted transports.

An excited trill echoed in his mask, his tusks tapping together. Could this be worthy prey?

Vah'keil wasted no further time. The young hunter took a running start and vaulted onto the next roof, traversing the buildings in pursuit of his target. Once he was almost on top of it, he stopped to observe.

Down below he watched a large four legged beast prowl through the weeds. It was large and reminded him of a similar beast he once hunted on this planet. Black stripes covered its orange fur, camouflage that wasn't suited for this environment. Large paws that dwarfed his own softly padded over the crumbling concrete. The large beast warded off small rodents, scattering in large numbers to safety. His target swung its large head around, wide, green eyes silently scanning for prey. Snuffles from the beast's pink nose reached his sensitive ears. White framed its wide face and sloped down its chest and belly. A thick black and orange striped tail swished back and forth languidly. A tiger, his database called it.

Good, he thought. A predator that's perfectly at ease, comfortably knowing that he was at the top of the food chain. The beast would have no idea the true apex predator watched from his vantage point high above.

Vah'keil leapt to a tree that grew near the decaying facade of his perch. He landed gracefully on a branch that held up his weight and descended to a lower branch, his claws digging into the white peeling bark. From here he had a better view. At this closer range, he narrowed his sights on the tiger's vitals. The tiger was a male in its prime and would be a worthy opponent; much worthier than these pauking oomans.