Hunting Games

1

My day started normal. Feeding Halkrath was first on my list. He tugged on my pants as I prepped his food. He about yanked them down. I grabbed the waist and yanked them back up.

"Oye, I'm moving ya knucklehead!" I scolded.

He opened and closed his mandibles. His way of saying he's hungry feed him now. I thought I had taught him better. But I guess not. He continued to grip on my pants as I walked.

"Amedha, I want amedha!" He barked.

"I know, have some patience!" I snapped.

"But I'm hungry! I want my amedha!"

I groaned and placed his food on the table. He scrambled over and started shoving food into his mouth. I huffed and wiped his mandibles off. He growled in protest and tried to push my hand away.

He finished in about five minutes. He turned and looked at me. Then, he started clicking his mandibles together. He flared his lower mandibles at me and pointed to the rest of the meat on the platter. I grunted and placed it in front of him.

"Fine here." I grumbled.

He shoved it all in his mouth. I shivered and rolled my dekna. He had blood all over his face. He looked at me and tilted his head. I walked up to him and snatched him up. I ran up the stairs and charged over to the bathroom. He started shrieking when he realized what I was about to do.

"M-DI!!!!" He shrieked.

"Sei-i!" I replied. "You need a bath!"

"I'm not dirty! I only ate breakfast!"

"Yes, you are! Just look at yourself!"

I held him up to the mirror. He crossed his arms and huffed. I grunted and put him in the hot water. He clicked his mandibles rapidly and started splashing me. I leaned back and grabbed his hands. He let out whines as I began to scrub him off.

After about half an hour of scrubbing and struggling, I picked Halkrath up out of the tub. Then I wrapped him in a towel. He squealed and charged out of the bathroom as soon as the door opened. I hollered and ran after him.

When I entered the hall, I found his towel on the floor. Halkrath stood at the end of the corridor and stared at me. Then he started charging around the house buck-ass nude. I growled as he shot into the kitchen. Then, an idea popped into my head.

I quickly placed his towel on the ground and put a plate of meat right beside it. Then I jumped up on the counter. Halkrath peeked into the room and made a beeline for the food. I sprang down and snatched him up in the towel.

He instantly started struggling against the fabric. I ran back upstairs and into his room. I dumped him on his bed and pulled the towel off him. He looked at me with a surprised expression. I smiled and held up his loincloth and small armor. He pouted and grabbed them from me.

I turned and left so he could get dressed. I walked into my room and changed out of my soaked clothes. I heard a soft knock on my door. I turned and saw Halkrath standing in the doorway. He was stuck in the upper half of his armor.

"I need help, please." He said.

"Well, now that's not how you wear awu'asa, Halkrath." I teased.

He grumbled and nodded. I waved him over. He shuffled over to me, causing me to giggle. He growled and flared his lower mandibles. Or rather, he tried to flare his lower mandibles. He huffed when he realized they got tangled in his armor.

"Oh, you little goofball, come here." I said, kneeling and holding my hands out.

He walked up and looked at the floor. I sighed and gently pulled his mandibles out of his armor. He flexed them very carefully. I adjusted his armor and pulled it over his belly. He chirped happily and tied the straps.

He reached up and placed his hands on my cheeks. He pulled my head down and put his forehead on mine. I smiled and pressed my forehead flush to his. He chittered happily.

I chuckled and picked him up gently. He wrapped his arms around my neck. I walked around and picked up the few belongings we brought inside. Halkrath made a grabbing motion at an old stuffie I own. I handed it to him and readied my bag to go.

"Time to go?" Halkrath asked.

"Yup, we gotta get going." I replied as I strapped him into his harness.

He chittered and adjusted the straps. I clipped the belt across his chest. I made sure he was comfortable before pulling my backpack onto my back. I cut the strap across my chest. I could feel Halkrath kicking his feet as I walked out the door.

"Hey, quit kicking me." I hissed. "I need my legs to walk, not bruises."

He stopped kicking. I could feel him stand up using the crossbar. He started stomping his feet. I groaned and started walking. Halkrath chirped and sniffed the air.

"Hey buddy, what do you smell?" I asked.

"Amedha smells good." He replied.

"You just ate. How can you be... nevermind, I keep forgetting you have a high metabolism. Hey, play hult'ah."

"I am a great hult'ah. I will do a great job."

I chuckled as he stopped moving. He let out a stressed chirp. I paused and looked over my shoulder. Halkrath was staring at a clump of trees. He let out a hiss and flared his mandibles.

"Ooman male, nrak'ytara." He growled. "Kha'bj-te ooman."

"Easy pup, I won't let that ooman hurt you; no need to get ch'hkt-a." I said. "What is their h'dui'se?"

Halkrath sniffed the air and clicked his mandibles. He growled, turned around, and started tapping my head. I leaned my head back and looked at him. He had a smile on his face now.

"Mollie, Weyland-Yutani knows about your little baby." A familiar voice hissed.

"Chief, what are you doing here?" I asked.

He stepped out of the clump of bushes. He had his hands up. A small smile crossed his face. Halkrath held onto my hair as I turned around. I cringed and reached up. I pulled Halkrath's hands out of my hair.

"Stop that; you're gonna pull my hair out." I scolded gently.

He chittered in response. Chief chuckled as I shook my head. He walked up and held up a piece of freshly killed rabbit to Halkrath. Halkrath snatched the meat and gobbled it up.

I grumbled and started walking again. I heard Halkrath belch a few seconds later. I rolled my dekna. He chirped and pulled at my sleeve. I pulled out an old rag and held it up to him. He grabbed it and wiped his hands and mandibles off.

I felt Halkrath turn back around and sit down. He stretched, yawned, and snuggled into his harness. I heard him flip his tarp up to go to sleep. After a few minutes, I heard Halkrath start snoring.

"You are gonna be one hell of a mom." Chief said.

"I am a mom." I replied. "Halkrath is my son; his birth mother entrusted me with his life, which makes him my son."

I continued walking deeper into the woods. Chief walked beside me. I could see his alien letter behind his right ear. Seeing it caused me to rub mine. I could still feel the burn of the acidic blood in my skin.

"You know they won't let you take him back to his people." Chief stated.

"They can try to stop me; I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt Halkrath." I said with a growl. "Not to mention his clan will kill me if I fail my mission; it's like a second chiva."

Yautja Translation:

Amedha: meat

Hult'ah: spotter/lookout

Awu'asa: armor

Ooman: human

Halkrath: shadow

Chiva: trial

H'dui'se: scent

Kha'bj-te: maniac/reckless

Nrak'ytara: guardian

Ch'hkt-a: agitated