You Don't Belong Here

Chapter Thirty Eight

When Dhadtoudi arrived to the Kehrite and tried to ignore the looming form of T'ahrou standing near her, the combat master had chastised Dahdtoudi for her shortened tresses, and he mocked her for being such a poor fighter that she would allow someone to cut them and dishonor her in such a manner. The tiny human had not argued with the master, but T'ahrou noticed his mask display her elevated heart rate.

After the reprimand, the master had directed the 30+ young bloods to practice their various battle stances and weaponry attacks, and they would put the skills to use against one another within the hour. T'ahrou began with his gauntlet blades and then switched to his dagger, saving the combistick for last. Occasionally he would glance in Dahdtoudi's direction and noticed that she only used her combistick. She looks strange, he thought, her form is off.

The hour passed quickly and the young bloods began to claim partners. A female with yellow eyes approached Dahdtoudi as she always did, but stopped a few yards away as the human waved her away. The Yautja jogged toward another female and they began to spar as Dahdtoudi moved to attack a wooden dummy that was placed in the corner.

T'ahrou made his way across the ring toward the masked human, his combistick at his side. She pretended not to notice him as she focused on her task. "Do you mind if I cut in?" She paused briefly before returning to her strikes on the defenseless mannequin.

"You want to practice with the dummy?"

"Actually, I was asking the dummy...I would like to practice with you." She said nothing, only kept up her attacks.

"You could train with the master." He opened his mouth to respond but the human cut him off. "It will hurt your reputation further to spar with me, young blood. You already have enough problems with that since you keep interfering with my fights."

"You will call me by my name. We are equals, Dahdtoudi." He hadn't meant to sound as harsh as he had, but it finally got her attention away from the dummy. His mask registered her elevated heart rate and spike in adrenaline levels.

"I will call you by your title. That is the way, young blood. Do you forget?" Her tone was laced with malice as she advanced on the much larger male. "I don't know what game you're playing, but you need to stop. Whoever you placed a bet with, call it off. We are not comrades. We are not friends. I do not need you to fight my battles. Just stay away from me..!"

T'ahrou closed the distance between them, stopping only when they were less than an inch apart. He glared down at the girl as she craned her neck to look at him. He didn't need to see her expression to know that she was furious. "Make me leave, Dahdtoudi." Before he could register what was happening, the human struck the side of his head with all her might and her combistick connected with the metal of his mask. A sickening CRACK echoed throughout the training hall as his head snapped to the side, his decorated tresses arching through the air with the action. The remaining young bloods were now directing their attention to the squabbling pair and even the master looked on with curiosity.

A low growl rumbled from T'ahrou's chest as he slowly pushed her combistick aside and popped his neck."You will need to do better than that..." T'ahrou lashed out with his own weapon but the small female side-stepped, narrowly dodging his powerful attack before she landed a harsh kick to his abdomen. The male in turn grabbed her lower leg and attempted to throw her off-balance but she pushed off the ground with her opposite foot and connected a quick spin kick with the uninjured side of his face.

T'ahrou unleashed a deafening roar as he released his grip on the human to clutch his bloody brow bone; the way the metal had been forced against his face had been enough to break the skin and he felt as though the bone had actually broken. Dahdtoudi took full advantage of the situation and swiped her combistick at his legs, knocking him flat on his back with a heavy thud before she pulled the serrated dagger from her thigh and pressed it firmly against his throat.