Grace of An Elder

Chapter 27

Tah'kath watched T'ahrou take the verbal reprimand from the training master without so much as flinching at the screaming roars. Ochei had long since gone from the arena so the Elder would need to deal with him later. Right now they had to deal with the attacking young blood.

Several minutes passed before the master reigned in his temper and Tah'kath stepped in front of the young blood, craning his neck slightly to meet his gaze. "I understand disputes arise. I am aware that you are meant to push yourself to your physical limits. However you are not meant to throw yourself into a murderous rage and kill your training partners." Again T'ahrou gave no response, and the Elder patiently clicked his mandibles together as he watched the young blood's lack of expression. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

T'ahrou's amber eyes matched his for a moment before scanning the metallic floor. Just as he seemed as if he would speak, his gauntlet rang out in a shrill, beeping alarm. The young blood's eyes widened as he read the text on the screen and he ran full speed out of the training arena.
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The cream colored male with blue speckled markings snuck past Zaiyu with little issue; the Blooded Warrior had acted as if he had sensed something unusual but quickly dismissed the thought and continued out the door while the other crept inside the dwelling. Scent blockers had proven useful in this endeavor, and the Yautja would have to invest in them in the future.

It didn't take long to find the human; the sickeningly sweet odor flooded his senses even with the bio-mask filtering the air he breathed. Disabling his cloaking mechanism, the male walked to the far end of the dwelling before stopping just outside of the bathing area. The female was sitting in an oasis pool with her head leaning back, but she soon lifted it to look at her gauntlet. Now was the time, it was the best chance he would get. He silently rushed the human, and just before he grabbed her, she spun around to meet his masked gaze.

Before she could react he slammed her forcefully into the water and a harsh metallic scent mixed intricately with the sweetness. The water took on a dark red color, and she struggled against his restraint. Her gauntlet began to flash a quick, red light; likely announcing a 'vitals critical' display. It was working.

Her punches and kicks were ineffective and she tried to claw away at the bio-mask in a last ditch attempt to save herself. Again he slammed her, and once more. Finally she stopped fighting. Her arms and legs fell heavy in the red water, her naked body gradually sinking towards the bottom of the pool.

His heart was pounding, his limbs trembling with the surge of adrenaline. He had done it...so simple, and so quick. Humans really were such a delicate species. They really didn't deserve a place among the Yautja. They were meant to worship the hunters, to serve as incubation chambers for the Xenomorphs. He gave himself a moment to examine his work: his data displayed that her heart had stopped, and her brain activity was rapidly decreasing. She would be dead within seconds.

The male breathed a sigh of satisfied relief as he moved to stand, taking in the sight of her nudity. Why were humans so strange looking? For the most part they resembled a Yautja female (from the neck down, of course), but this strange follicle growth over their genital area...this was puzzling.

Another shock of adrenaline pulled him from his thoughts and he knew he must leave. He couldn't risk anything. There was no telling when Zaiyu would return, and he was sure he didn't want to be around to explain the sudden death of the Blooded Warrior's adoptive sibling. As quickly as he came, he rushed out of the bathing area, through the dwelling, out of the doorway, and straight for the automated lift. He had to wait for the door to open, and his heart rate picked up once more. Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell now, and he clicked nervously. Just act natural, he thought to himself, no reason to panic.

Another seemingly endless moment later the hulking form of T'ahrou sped around the final corner of the stairwell and he locked eyes with the masked being. Oh pauk... T'ahrou let out a furious roar as he charged the masked Yautja, slamming him into the wall and unleashing another powerful roar directly in his face. Another set of footsteps climbed the stairs, and a warped voice yelled at the larger male, but he didn't break his sight from the masked intruder.

"Dahdtoudi! Check on Dahdtoudi!!" A mere second passed by before the third being, the clan Elder, rushed past them and into the dwelling. "If you did anything to her, I will-" his words were cut off by a loud, angry, animalistic roar rang out from the dwelling and seemed to shake the very walls of the metallic building. T'ahrou's amber eyes burned with fury at the sound, his pupils narrowing into upward slits as he again slammed the intruder against the wall before throwing him onto the ground and punching his head repeatedly. Five hits, and the bio-mask broke. Another, and Ochei's forehead cracked and began to bleed.

The smaller young blood slashed at T'ahrou's neck with his claws but missed and instead left a gash in his chest. Fluorescent green blood dropped down and began to pool into Ochei's body as well as the floor. "Are you angry, descendant of Yahti?! Are you upset that you were unable to see her soft, naked body writhing beneath your touch instead of mine?!" T'ahrou let out another enraged roar before grasping the small male about the neck and squeezing his hands tightly in an attempt to cut off his airway. "S-she won't get to, now..! H-her carcass is useless t-to you..! Y-you won't know w-what it's like...t-to feel her soft, plump mounds pressed against you..! We will have her life..! Y-you won't get to taste the sweet h-heat that pours f-from her-" T'ahrou squeezed harder, a sickening snap echoing through the cold stairwell as Ochei's body fell limp and lifeless at his feet.

His breath harsh and ragged, his chest rumbled with a deep growl as he struggled to calm himself but it was no use. He slammed his foot into the dead male's face, instantly caving in his facial structure and spraying blood and brain matter in all directions. T'ahrou's chest continued to heave with every breath, and he flared his mandibles as he arched his back, letting loose a deafening roar of victory. As the adrenaline began to fade from his system, the young blood forced himself to take a deep breath before rushing into the dwelling to find the Elder...and thus the human girl.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, the familiar sweet aroma flooded his senses, but it was accompanied by a harsh, salty, almost metallic scent. His mandibles flicked lightly as he tasted the air; he recognized the scent...it was blood...human blood. His adrenaline shot up as he followed the scent through the dwelling before he came to a stop outside the bathing area. The Elder was sitting on the edge of the bathing pool with a naked, drenched human lying motionless in his arms.

T'ahrou didn't recognize this human. It's skin was a grayish-blue color and it's eyes were a soft blue, holding a soft faraway gaze. A thick, red substance trailed from its long brown curls into the ground before mixing with the puddles of water. More of the red substance trickled from behind both shoulders, and a faint trace of the scent of death reached his senses. This was not Dahdtoudi. This dying creature was not his tiny human.