Boundless

Of Healing and Bone Carving

[10 months ago]

A methodic, neat and control freak, Ah'kaedh could not step away from the platform where his auxiliary ship docked without taking all steps to ensure everything was in order: checking for opportunistic critters (who sometimes would crawl into ships), setting the cleaning bots up, program the mainframe ai to perform a full review, testing all auxiliary ship the systems and send him a full report.

There was a dressing and store chamber adjacent to the corridors that led to the docks, which whose sole purpose was to allow the hunters to undress, storing dirt and damaged gear until it could be cleaned and fixed.

There was a space for larger carcasses, too, and a vault-like walk-in freezer to safely stash corpses that needed attention later.

There was also an open space for showering because hunting could be a messy-and-sticky business.

"Another skull", Lar'jar stood by the door, watching as Ah'kaedh removed his armor pieces under the stream of water.

Green, mud, saliva, and a multitude of dirty were disappearing down the drain.

"Another loner", the Enforcer grumbled. "That fucker's crew is too divided".

Ah'kaedh removed the plates protecting his legs, leaving them on the floor.

"Ho'kan mentioned they would fight among themselves a lot", Lar'jar pointed.

"Why?", Ah'kaedh winced when removing his chest plate - the wound to his gut was demanding attention through pain. "I suspect a good portion of his band were new. Not young, but new under Rot'gar".

"I suppose you are right. Splitting after a crisis is a sign of feeble ties", Lar'jar pondered.

Bad Bloods were criminals, yes, but still trained hunters that once had earned their clan marks. Assuming their split was simply due to their lack of morals was a grave mistake. There was strength in numbers.

Ah'kaedh had requested all data on the Bad Blood after interrogating and killing the first member of the crew - a disgraced young hunter who had been easy to catch and easy to break.

"Did you have a chance to question this one, brother?"

Ah'kaedh snapped his jaws, shaking his head. The male didn't want to admit it out loud, but the Yautja's purpose for this hunt was to blow off steam. He already had a collection of wounds that would need some days of treatment, the Enforcer had descended to the surface, fully knowing that simply restraining a target would be unlikely, and he would need to use lethal force.

Blow off steam.

The Hunter was already itching to walk back to his Girl's bed, slip under the furs and bathe in her warmth, breathe the same air, drown in her scent. And when his tiny-and-still-under-recovery dazed creature (pumped up with anesthetics that were cooking her wits badly but keeping her pain mostly at bay) reciprocated his (yearning? Need? Desire?) interest, Ah'kaedh would inevitably become (Agitated? Roused? Inflamed?) discomposed. Again. In need to blow off steam. Again.

(The cold-and-stoic Hunter knew the best-and-most-logical course of action would be to step back and allow his older brother to take charge of his Girl's recovery. And yet...)

"I will be waiting on the med-bay. Your gut needs attention", Lar'jar said quietly - a moment later, his brother's scent was gone.

The Enforcer still organized his equipment, left his new trophy to soak - all the while strong-arming his brain to focus on the task at hand. He would get to her.