Survival

Chapter 2

Wahkan watched the filthy ooman village burn. Good he thought, he'd never favored the species. Ooman's were formidable prey at times, but also dumb. They were spreading amongst the stars rapidly, but still a young and clueless species. Feeling relieved all this was behind him...well almost all of it, he glanced down at the female for a moment before walking into the cave scanning for any hidden serpents or signs of them; it was empty. He had left supplies here with his two comrades he had originally set out with on a mission to clean the hive. He had lost them in the fray, and must have fallen unconscious before tending his own wounds. He growled to himself for being weak and falling into the ooman's hands. He was an Elite hunter and on a mission to become a clan leader, he was determined to finish his mission. This was the last hive to clean out before he could earn his new status. He must collect the skulls of three queens, and clear the hives. Wahkan had been driven to forge his own path, his own ranking, his determination was set.
Turning at the sound of sniffling and footsteps he watched the female enter the cave, he hadn't expected to owe something this small a debt, he dwarfed her by several feet. He was surprised she came back and released him from his prison when she had ran off with the other female. He had taken her for a coward only to be proven wrong. She spent countless times chattering non stop while he was in captivity, she hadn't showed any fear of him unlike the other oomans only curiosity. He didn't mind her so much. She had earned his respect by staying alive and killing serpents herself, his honor wouldn't let him leave her behind.
He watched as she settled on the floor, small sobs could be heard as she tried to huddle in the fetal position. His bio mask showed her body temperature dropping, not really knowing why he should care he squatted in front of her trying to communicate, she needed to take her wet garments off. Startled by his closeness the girl gasped and sat up, staring at him wide eyed not understanding anything. Typical ooman. The sound of her chattering teeth was becoming irritating. He signed to take her clothes off once more, still with no response from the daft woman. Wahkan not in the mood to play teacher and have patience grabbed her wet shirt, he growled in frustration causing her to begin fighting him weakly. Unfazed by her biting nails and slaps he tore her shirt from her tossing it away from her grabby little hands. He reached for her pants, removing the knife she had fastened to them first before she remembered having it. He quickly tossed that aswell, causing her to try and crawl away. Her effort didn't matter much for it made it easier to pull the soaked denim from her; with a hard yank he took the boots from her feet with the pants. She coward from him pulling her knees to her chest sobbing, but he ignored her.
He set a fire to keep them warm, and digging through his supplies he found the furs he had brought, covering her with a few. Sitting far away from her he leaned against the wall looking out at the night sky visible through the mouth of the cave, staying ever so vigilant. Pretending not to hear the meek "thank you" from the ooman girl though he felt her eyes on him, as he always did, making him uncomfortable. Staring was disrespectful in his culture but he didn't expect her to know such things, so he let it pass for now. Occasionally glancing in her direction he watched her body temperature rise, soon she had succumbed to sleep.
Slowly he stood, feeling tired himself from the long evening he set up a pallet of fur to bed on across the fire from her, and secured the entrance with security mines. After his work was finished he laid down himself. Engulfed in thought he sprawled out hands behind his head staring at the roof of the cave. He needed to come up with a plan to clear the hive on this planet and collect his trophy. This hive was thick, it shouldn't have surprised him with the abundance of hosts roaming the planet. He needed a better strategy and this time he had no partners to help. He turned his head and stared at the sleeping form across from him. He'd have to figure out what to do with her, the feeble ooman could be taken home as a slave perhaps, or perhaps... he thought she had proven she was brave. There was a possibility if he could train her, could she could help? He needed to think on it harder tomorrow. With that nagging little thought settled in the back of his mind he shut his eyes for some sleep.