Grace of An Elder

Chapter 46

The weeks following Tah'kath's death had been difficult to say the least. Daih'kea had shut herself off from the world including her children, and Dhadtoudi had struggled with something that A'ytu called 'insomnia'.

The Elder's killer had been captured, but before he was executed he had proclaimed that he was only one of the many hands of justice for the Dark Blade Clan. He claimed that there was an entire organization of beings who believed welcoming the pyode-amedha into the clan had been an act of treason, and that the mistake must be wiped from the slate of history. Since that day, Dhadtoudi had been forbidden from leaving the dwelling without either her brother or her mate to accompany her.

"What is it with you and cults?" She frowned at Zaiyu's question as she prepared the afternoon meal for the three surviving family members.

"It's not a cult. If anything it's a terrorist group. They aren't trying to sacrifice me to a deity."

"No, but they are trying to kill you."

"Just like they try to kill everything else that moves. It's nothing special, they're just mad because I'm encroaching on their heritage."

Zaiyu looked up at her from the gathering area floor, pausing in his task of cleaning and reassembling his plasma cannon. "You've done nothing but preserve and follow our heritage."

"I'm fully aware, but thank you for the validation." Her brother clicked in annoyance at her human custom of sarcasm. It was something that had seemed to come naturally to her, or she had known the art before she knew the Yautja language.

"Where is your other half? Shouldn't he have been here hours ago?"

"He is at his apprenticeship today. The blacksmith is behind on orders, so T'ahrou is staying over to help him catch up." The eldest sibling clicked again before Dhadtoudi plated the various meats and fruits for each of them and offered two of the servings toward her brother. "Take one to mother. She is refusing to come out again."

"Why don't you take it to her? You haven't seen her in days." Dhadtoudi said nothing, only continued to offer the food toward Zaiyu. "You don't honestly believe she holds you responsible, do you?"

"Just take it to her." Zaiyu growled low in his throat before pushing himself to his feet and doing as he was requested. When he took the food items and entered their mothers quarters, Dhadtoudi struggled to listen as the two conversed, mostly arguing on whether or not the matriarch needed to skip yet another meal.

"It may be poisoned." She cringed internally at her mother's words. "Your father is dead, and now she is out to kill me."

"She is not trying to kill you. Look, I'll try it first."

"She may have let you build up a tolerance to the poison. Her kind do that, you know. And if not, then you will die now as well."

"You are being paranoid."

"You say that now. Your father said that, and look what happened to him!"

"Father was killed by a Bad Blood! A rogue Yautja!" They continued to argue until finally Zaiyu slammed the food against a hard surface and informed her that he didn't care whether she ate or not, but the food was staying where he placed it. He exited the room with his mandibles flared and chest heaving with every breath. His fiery gaze met Dhadtoudi's for a moment before he turned to go to his own quarters.