Child of the Xenomorph

9

The days passed. We began making our way back to the Hive, the trees getting bigger again and the shadows growing longer. Zlis'sa and Oseus mainly kept to themselves, and I didn't get to know them that well. However, my relationship with Tsalken had grown in leaps and bounds.

I didn't understand it, the feelings I got when I looked at him. One day he was lounging on a rock in the sun, his chocolate brown exoskeleton gleaming in the light, and his tubes and biomechanical features looked quite magnificent. I had gotten the sudden and powerful urge to run over and snuggle next to him, and bask in the sunlight. And when he smiled at me...I shook my head. The notion that I had a crush on him was absolutely preposterous. A human-xeno hybrid, loving an eyeless, drooling, handsome...remarkable . . .

I facepalmed myself, snapping back to reality. A wind gust burst through the forest and got black hair in my mouth. Ugh. This day was just the worst.

I must have jinxed it even more, because then I felt blood trickling down my legs. I was confused at first, as I hadn't sustained any injuries. But then I realized.

No, no, no. This could not be happening! I thought I had skipped this month because so much time had gone by, and the transformation had happened. But of course not.

My monthly bleeding was here. The joys of being a woman.

And Tsalken was the first to notice, of course. Worry wrinkled his eyeless snout as he trotted over to me.

"I'm fine, Tsalken," I said before he could open that maw of his. "You don't even have to ask, thanks."

"That's what you said when you were bleeding from the eyes," Tsalken pointed out blankly. "You also said it when you sprained your ankle. I smell blood on you, Shaniya. What's wrong?"

By now, every other Xenomorph I was traveling with had heard. J'Khati looked toward me, and was starting to walk toward me. Zlis'sa and Oseus also looked up from the boar they were eating, mildly interested.

"You need to tell us everything that happens to you," J'Khati ordered. "We need to stay on top of your health. You haven't had an attack in three days. You could possibly be getting better."

I blushed, my cheeks probably turning a crimson red. "Er, it's a human thing," I ended up getting out.

"Because humans just bleed randomly," Tsalken said sarcastically. "Not buying it."

"No, seriously," I insisted. If they were going to try and check me for wounds I swear I would kill myself. I then decided I had to explain what exactly girls went through every month. They all listening, completely enraptured in my anatomical functions. When I was done, I was pretty sure my whole body was blushing in some way

"That's so cool!" Tsalken blurted when I was done. When everyone else gave him curious looks, he took a defensive stance. "What? You try bleeding straight for a whole week and see what happens to you! Human women are tough!"

I laughed. Leave it to Tsalken to make something like a period seem 'cool'.

Now that THAT horrible conversation was over with, I found some absorbent leaves to put into my deerskin harness I wore. I didn't wear anything else, preferring for my long hair to drape over my small chest. The nights were never cold anyways, so I never had a problem with it.

We kept making our way, until finally, we entered the territory of the Shadow Hive.

"We're here," J'Khati said grimly. "I can sense the pain of my Hive. Proceed with great caution."

We crept through the shadows of the trees, using their dark coloration to blend right into the shadows. Key word, 'they'. I was paler than the moon.