Tah'kath was told as a pup that the eyes were a doorway leading to the soul. While responding to a kiande-amedha (xenomorph) attack on a human farming settlement, Tah'kath finds a surviving child whose eyes seem to hold the stars themselves. Against...
Tah'kath sat in the healer's laboratory as he listened to A'ytu present his idea of introducing Dahdtoudi to a human civilization and their customs before administering the first dose of serum that would slow her aging process. He took in the healer's words, his theory that before they made a decision that would give her a more permanent position in their culture, she should at least have a chance to know her own. Tah'kath wasn't fond of the idea, but he knew that it would probably be for the best.
His adopted daughter had been asking more questions about human processes lately, including the awkward and startling topic of mating and reproduction. Although she had made progress in the way of social stance, she was still very much an outcast. T'ahrou, the second-born son of Yahti, had been helping Dahdtoudi with her training recently, and he even convinced her to spend time with himself and his younger sister from time to time.
Tah'kath was silent as he considered his friend's advice, thinking of the best and worst scenarios for both exposing her to the humans and keeping her with the clan. "She may wish to stay with the others..." A'ytu nodded in agreement.
"And she may not. But would it be best to keep her sheltered from the possibility, or allow her to decide for herself where she belongs?" ———————————————————————— The Elder reserved a ship for the trip to the human world, taking with him his son, his daughter, T'ahrou, and his sister Aichu. He decided that since they were making the trip, he might as well take the young bloods on a hunt as practice for their chiva.
He looked from the control panel to Dahdtoudi; she was sitting quietly in a corner with his gauntlet, using its old audio files to listen to the human language. T'ahrou watched her intently from across the room, seemingly unable to comprehend how she could learn a language just by hearing it. "Does it really work?"
Tah'kath nodded, his mandibles contorting into a grin. "Yes, she catches on quickly. When I first brought her home, she was forming basic sentences within three days. By the start of the new week, she was very fluent, only having trouble with past and present tense usage. She currently knows five languages, all she has learned by simply being exposed to them."
"Six." Tah'kath glanced over his shoulder at his son who was sharpening his weapons. "She learned the Elder tongue last month."
Tah'kath hummed approvingly Before retuning his focus to T'ahrou. "Six, then. It will be seven when we arrive at the pyode-amedha planet."
"Is she nervous?" Aichu spoke now, and Zaiyu nodded as he eyed his distracted sibling.
"Extremely. I had to physically drag her onto the ship because she thought we were going to drop her off and leave her there. I think the reason she wants to learn the language now is because she's paranoid and wants to be able to get around on her own quickly if we do abandon her."
The next several hours were spent resting and preparing gear before the Elder announced they were entering the planet's orbit. The Yautja and human moved to watch the viewing screen, and Dahdtoudi returned her father's gauntlet. She watched intently from behind her mask as an image of humans dancing around a large fire came into view. The Yautja voiced their curiosity before equipping their own face masks. ————————————————————————
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When the ship neared the ground, the humans clustered together and watched in amazement as it landed and the boarding ramp lowered. The elder led the group out of the craft with Zaiyu flanking on his left, Dahdtoudi on his right, and T'ahrou and Aichu bringing up the rear. His red cape flowed as he approached the awestruck crowd, emphasizing his nobility and powerful aura.
"Greetings, great gods of the stars..!" An aged man stepped forward to greet the hunters with a low bow. Tah'kath allowed his translater to voice the words in the clan tongue before giving his own response which was also announced from the equipment.
"I am Tah'kath, Elder of the Dark Blade Clan. What is your title?" The deep, monotone voice projected from his gauntlet sent chills along the spines of all who heard it.
"I am Malcom Stevenson of Loriette. I am the mayor of our town. We have not been visited by the gods in many years, my lord...may I ask what brings us the honor of meeting you?"
After a moment of translation, Tah'kath spoke into his gauntlet once more. "The last time our clan came to this area, it was because of an infestation. Before we left, I discovered a young member of your population. Her clan was killed by the dark serpents, and I took her in as my own. Since she is nearly of age among our people, I decided it would do her well to learn of her heritage." Dahdtoudi stepped forward as she was mentioned, and the human leader looked at her in puzzlement. "Dahdtoudi, introduce yourself."
After taking a deep breath, the girl removed her face mask and looked across the group of humans before focusing on their leader. She gave a slight bow acknowledging the aged man and spoke with more confidence than she felt. "I am Dahdtoudi of the Dark Blade Clan." A woman near the same age as the human leader stepped forward and slowly placed her hands on Dahdtoudi's face and stared deeply into her eyes. Slightly distressed, she risked a glance at her father.
"It is alright, Dahdtoudi. Be still." Zaiyu took a cautious step forward but made no objection regarding the unsolicited contact.
"Those eyes...those gorgeous grey eyes...I always knew you would come back to us, Sarah. I-I'm your aunt Rachael. I was your mother's older sister." As she took in the woman's words, the older of the two began to cry. "Your mom and dad both loved you so much..."
"Sarah. This was my name here?" Rachael nodded, the tears flowing more heavily now.
"Yes, yes, your name is Sarah. Sarah Macintosh. Your mother's name was Laura, and your father was James."
Dahdtoudi let loose a trill of uncomfortable clicks before pulling her face from Rachael's grip and turned to face Tah'kath. "Elder, do you intend on leaving me with the pyode-amedha clan?"
"Only if you wish to stay with them, young blood." She focused on the Rachael woman again, a blank expression crossing her features as she watched the human wipe the tears from her cream colored cheeks. "I want to learn about Laura and James, father..."
