Grace of An Elder

Chapter 4

Tah'kath had changed out his battle armor for a leisurely leather loincloth, performed his nightly hygiene rituals, and was on his way to the feasting area of the home to find something for dinner. His brown eyes widened slightly when he noticed Daih'kea resting in the gathering area with the small human in her arms. A strong fruity aroma filled the air and given her change in garb, he could only attribute it to the fact that his mate had given in and tended to the little one.

"What will we tell Zaiyu?" The elder nearly flinched at his mate's voice. He hated that he had thought she had been asleep; he knew after all that she couldn't stand sleeping on the lounge seat. "He's on a hunting trip with his friends and will return tomorrow. How will we tell him, Tah'kath?"

"Tell him what?"

"About this..!" Tah'kath narrowed his eyes at the female and she rolled her own in response. "Fine then, about her."

"We will tell him the truth. I'm sure if anyone would understand, it will be Zaiyu. After all, he was born from two bad bloods, but we took him in when he was a youngling. Look how he turned out..!"

"She is no Zaiyu." The elder clicked his mandibles in curiosity at his mate, and she shook her head lightly. "You know the others will kill her. She will never be accepted by our clan. She will be beaten for fun and killed for sport. All you did by bringing her here was prolong the inevitable."

"Daih'kea, if I can extend her life for even a few days, then at least I have given her a chance."
————————————————————————
It had been several hours since Daih'kea lay the child on the lounge and covered her with an animal skin blanket before she moved to her own bed.

When she lay next to her mate she had slept deeply, though it had been restless. She walked from her sleeping quarters to the gathering area of the home to find the child awake and sitting upright with the animal skin gathered in her arms. She was carefully running her tiny hands through the black fur before she noticed the larger female watching her. Their eyes met and she slowly placed both hands in her lap and sat completely motionless.

"Do you enjoy the sensation, young one?" As she expected there was no response. "Come," Daih'kea reached a hand toward the child, and she in turn pushed the hide onto the lounge before sliding down and trotting toward the larger female, "we have errands to tend to." When the human reached her, Daih'kea lifted her into her arms and carried the child on her hip as she walked out of the home. "Today we must give you propper tresses, clothing, and footwear. I cannot have you running around looking like some beggar if you will be living in my house."

Daih'kea made her way to the automated lift and upon entering the metallic box, descended to the ground floor before she walked outside with the human youngling clinging to the edge of her red and gold armor for added support. The armor was more for decorative purposes than anything as she was no longer a warrior, but she still wore it on occassion.

It was still early in the morning so they didn't pass many Yautja on their walk, but the few they did come across had no qualms with voicing their curiousity (or in some cases their displeasure) about the odd creature in Daih'kea's arms. She paid no mind to the bothersome Yautja as she made her way along the city streets, but couldn't help but think that the child's wandering eyes only added to the situation. She was awestruck and even tapped Daih'kea's shoulder on occassion to direct her attention at one of the buildings or hovercraft in the area.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination and the larger female pressed a grey button on a communication pad to send a hail signal to the appropriate room of the building they had arrived at. The entrance door slid open and they ascended the seven flights of stairs in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, Daih'kea came to a stop and knocked on the door. A soft voice called out "enter", and the door slid open as the first had. Daih'kea stepped into the home that was decorated in black and white items before looking to an aged cream colored Yautja female who was standing in the feasting area as she munched on a piece of meat.

"What a surprise! What can I do for you today, Daih'kea?" Daih'kea nodded in greeting before turning to face the older female. "Paya, what is that hanging off of you?!"

"From what Tah'kath tells me, she is my daughter."

"Another stray, huh?" Daih'kea nodded again and took a few steps toward the feasting area before placing the child on the ground. She flinched slightly as the cold, metallic floor made contact with her bare feet, but she soon adjusted to the sensation. "And you came to me because you need clothing and shoes, yes?" Daih'kea positioned her mandibles into a slight grin and the aged female clicked in deliberation. "I have a lot of orders to finish up, but it won't take long. I will start on yours as soon as I am done...little one, come here. I must take your measurements." She growled in frustration when the strange creature did not come to her, and Daih'kea walked toward the child.

"She does not understand our tongue, Dayea. I found it rather difficult last night. It is just so frustrating at times, it really is exhausting." She got the child's attention before leading her toward Dayea who now had a measuring rope in hand. Dayea moved the child's arms as needed, and guided her shoulders to make her turn around. The female measured her height, width, and the length of her arms, legs, and feet before typing the numbers into her gauntlet.

"I will notify you when they are ready, Daih'kea. Until then, I have some items that belonged to my daughter when she was young. You are more than welcome to see if they will fit the youngling if you wish." Daih'kea nodded in thanks and the older female went to retrieve the mentioned items. When she returned, she placed a black metallic storage unit on the lounge and opened the lid to reveal numerous dresses, footwear, and a few pieces of training gear from when the daughter had been old enough to begin combat training.

Daih'kea motioned for the human child to join her at the lounge, and she began to lift each dress to the child to see if they were at least close to her size. While she was doing so, the child noticed the combat gear and pointed to the silver plating. Daih'kea paid no mind to the child, and finally came to the decision between three dresses: a red one with black outlining, a solid green one, and an orange one with yellow floral accents. Daih'kea motioned for the girl to choose one, but she pointed to the armor once more. The female growled in frustration and let loose a trill of curses as to why the youth couldn't just pick one of the three items that she'd laid out, but then she felt a nudge against her chest.

Opening her eyes, Daih'kea realized the youngling was now jabbing a deliberate finger into her chestplate. Silence fell between the two as the Yautja tried to figure out what the human was doing, but then the tiny being grabbed her clawed hand and dragged her toward a nearby window and pointed down at the beings walking along the street. "Yes, what about them?" The child again pointed to Daih'kea's armor, the beings outside, herself, and then the storage unit that rested on the lounge. Daih'kea was about to give another enraged outburst but was cut off by the older female.

"Daih'kea, I think she just wants to dress like everyone else."

The younger female groaned as she rolled her eyes for an exaggerated effect. "And here I let myself get caught up in the idea that I would finally have the chance to dress up a girl. Very well, what all do you have of the equipment?"

"Everything but the bio-mask and gauntlets." Daih'kea sighed in defeat before retrieving the fishnet bodysuit from the container and helped get it onto the child. After that task was complete, she began to slip the chest plate, shoulder plates, leg guards, leather boots, and metal loin cloth into place. The child kept tugging at the bodysuit in various places as she obviously was not used to that sort of form-fitting material, but she was otherwise pleased with the new items. Her mouth twisted into a large smile and a strange sound erupted from the youngling's throat. "I'm afraid I will need these back, however. In exchange I will contact the blacksmith and provide him the measurements I gathered. I will have him start on her own set immediately, Daih'kea. And go ahead and take the dresses, they hold no sentimental value for me."

Daih'kea gave many thanks to the older female before motioning for the child to come to her side and they departed. As they were walking along the street once more, she heard the child's stomach growling and decided to take her back home and feed her. Daih'kea would just have to form the tresses herself...something she hadn't done in ages as Zaiyu had been able to form them himself for many years.