Across The Galaxy By Nori Elan

Practice Part 2

1 Light-year away…….

      Scar couldn't contain his anxiety. Since he'd awaken from recovery, his thoughts were of Lex. From the moment he'd boarded the mothership and was rushed into theater for surgery he was in denial about his departure. He remembers reaching for his tri-dagger and cutting the deadly infant kainde amedha from his stomach. Ripping it out before collapsing and losing consciousness. His last thought was ‘how will she make it to safety in the blistering cold?’

      After his recovery, all he could think of was her. Her bravery, courage, her fearlessness, her agility, her skills in climbing, her hair, her shapely figure, how small in comparison she was to him, her scent, her scent wrecked havoc against his senses and better judgement. He thought of his mark and his claim of her. He wrestled with thoughts of did he honour her because of her bravery or did he mark her as his? His property and part of his clan. Did he mark her as his mate....his thoughts ran in loops. Since his recovery he'd been on 6 more missions and traveled to several planets in the last 9 months since they'd seen one another. He'd killed many more aliens and deadly worthy opponents. He’d killed several kainde amedha on other planets including another queen. This one was 3 times as large as the queen he'd defeated with Lex. Scar had even encountered the 'White Gods'. He'd only killed 1 of them but he had a highly prized trophy. The White Gods were strong and cunning with advanced weaponry that rivaled their own. His older and last living brother Thirg had fought one valiantly, even collecting a prized trophy of his own, one of the white gods heads before he'd succumbed to defeat. They all fled separately. Scar never saw which direction his brother's ship traveled, for Thrig was known for disabling his tracking beacon but Scar knew he’d died because their lifelines were still linked in their comms. For days Scar watched Thirgs lifeline and vitals remain flat lined.

       Now Scar travelled far, reading and studying during the month long journey. He listened to languages and practiced repeating the phrases. He trained his vocal cords and recorded himself speaking phrases. He felt self-conscious about his voice. He didn’t have lips so his speech was impaired and deep. It would improve with practice. He paced, trained and studied. He studied the English language everyday, retaining an extensive vocabulary. He was confused at all the multiple spellings and meanings of English words that sounded the same. His writing was awful! His hands were awkward and large.

      At night he would listen to recordings of Lex’s voice that he’d captured during their time in Antarctica. For hours at a time he paced. He studied art, history and mathematics. He studied pictures of human life and human customs. He practiced his forms and combat skills. His success in his kills and trophies earned him a high ranking position. He was rewarded with a bigger ship. Not brand new but his own ship. He’d made many modifications to the hull and infrastructure. Scar was technically adept. He was always learning. He found it advantageous to be useful and knowledgeable as well as brutish.

       He dreamed of her nightly. He always traced the mark on her cheek. His mark. He wondered how she would react when she saw him. He wondered if she thought of him. He wondered if she had a mate. She had no scent or musk of another male on her when they fought the black serpents on Bouvetøya. The thought alone caused his blood to boil. Those thoughts would make him seethe and pace. His affection and thoughts of her were unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Most Yautja males didn't find themselves feeling deeply. They wanted to mate and hunt. Some would even forego mating for the hunt and trophies but his thoughts of her were intense, intimate and constant. He daydreamed of her, mating with her, tasting her… He couldn’t understand his feelings. He only knew that he wanted her and the feelings he had felt unnaturally natural.

      He continued to study.

4 weeks passed.....