7

I woke up feeling more well-rested than I ever had. In the past, I'd always woken up with a sore back from a low quality mattress, but my body felt amazing. My back felt so warm, like it was being soothed by a heater... a very big, snoring heater. I realised Makane must've been behind me, and was a little unsure what to do.

I slowly sat up and slid out of the bed, seeing he was still fast asleep. I padded down to the bathroom, did my business before returning to the bedroom and Makane was sat up, and watched me walk in.

"Good morning." he said calmly, his eyes following as I walked back to the bed and sat at the edge.

"Morning. Um... thanks for comforting me last night. And sorry I got all emotional, I've just never really had proper clothes for myself before." I replied and he grunted softly. He put a hand on my head, patting softly.

"Do not apologise for a fault that is not yours. You are free here, you may have as many clothes as you wish." he said and I laughed softly. He took me to the side room and showed me how to use the touchpad in there to fabricate more clothes; some shirts I liked, jeans, shorts, underwear and socks. It felt so good to have a choice in my clothing, something that was normal to any other person, but felt like a privilege to me. I tried not to get emotional again as I stared at myself in a simple blue top and black jeans. I really felt like a person now, now just a test subject.

"Come, we will eat then I will show you the clan." Makane said, standing in the doorway. I nodded and followed him to the kitchen area, where I was handed a bowl of odd-looking fruits and what looked like some sort of nuts. I nibbled on a bit, and the fruit was sweet and soft, while the nuts were crunchy and earthy, a very nice blend. I ate enthusiastically before we then left his home and headed outside.

"That is the main clan building. It is where Lu'tekke and his life mate live, and where all counsel activity is held. Over there are the Unblooded living quarters." Makane explained, nodding to the building we were in yesterday, then to a group of buildings on the left.

"Unblooded?" I questioned, unfamiliar with his term.

"Yes, a yautja must complete their Chiva to be Blooded. It is a rite of passage to us, the bridge between being a pup and an adult. The Unblooded live in gender-separated areas until they have been Blooded, then they are given their own quarters and will start climbing the ladder of our society." Makane replied as we walked through the street. He explained the significance of different buildings and events in his culture, all so interestingly different to anything I knew from Earth.

"Lu'tekke would like to see you again. He wants to introduce you to the clan, so we all know you are to be living here." he said, and we headed back towards the main clan building. Lu'tekke was waiting at the door, standing beside a taller female yautja. That must've been the 'life mate' that Makane said about. She was beautiful, this huge strong female who was gazing down at me silently, adorned in what I assumed were traditional clothes for yautja, and she wore lots of jewellery of bones and a gold-like metal.

"Ooman, I see Makane has been teaching you about our clan. You still have much to learn about our people, but that will come with time." Lu'tekke said, his arm around his mate's hips. She chittered softly, still looking at me.

"This is my life mate, Ite'ri. She is the Matriarch of the clan. She will teach you about our society from a female perspective." he said, gazing up at Ite'ri with a fond expression. It was quite sweet.

"Welcome to the Dto Clan, ooman." she said, her voice kind but firm. I nodded and smiled slightly.

"Thank you, and you guys can call me Dee." I replied.

"Dee. Ooman names are so strange. Do you not have certain... letters for each gender?" Ite'ri asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Certain letters?"

"In our society, males have names that end with an 'e', and females end with an 'i' mostly." she elaborated.

"Oh, no, not really. One of my friends is called Pepper and-." I said but paused, remembering sweet Pepper laying there dead in that morgue. I fell silent, and Makane sensed my sadness and came up behind me.

"Shall we proceed to the introduction of the clan?" he said, changing the subject. I felt his clawed hand on my back, pushing me forward as we all walked further into the building, towards the same hall as yesterday. This time, it was full of yautja, and I immediately felt a little intimidated with how many eyes that were on me.

"Do not be threatened. They mean no harm." Makane mumbled beside me, looking forward.

"Is it really that obvious?" I mumbled back and he chuckled lowly.

"No, but I can smell your fear. Most in this room can."

"You can smell my emotions?"

"Yes."

I went quiet, a little embarrassed. What else had he smelt from me?

Lu'tekke introduced me to the clan, and most just looked at me curiously, especially the children. I smiled awkwardly, trying to be polite. Afterwards, Ite'ri took me away to teach me more about the clan. We walked to a different building, and I immediately noticed there were only females there, all young so I assumed it was one of those Unblooded places that Makane mentioned.

"It is quite rare for oomans to live here, Dee. Our clan has never had one but neighbouring clans have. Your kind adapts surprisingly easily, so I have hope you will also. Once you are versed in our ways, you may complete your own Chiva if you desire, and you will be provided living quarters and are welcome to take a mate." she said as we walked through the building. I nodded along, listening to what she had to say.

I could see she was very respected by the way all the young females greeted her and stepped aside for her. We went into an office-like room, and Ite'ri sat down and gestured for me to sit too.