8

"There is much you have to learn about our ways, particularly as a female." Ite'ri said, looking at me. I took a moment to properly admire her as the Matriarch of the clan; she had a deep orange skin that faded to a softer tan, yellow eyes and she wore a black loincloth that matched Lu'tekke's and a black top that covered her chest.

"You will have to complete your Chiva at some point to be Blooded into the clan, Dee." she said, pointing to a scar on her forehead that I'd seen on many others, including Makane.

"So I have to fight something?" I asked and she clicked softly and shook her head.

"Not necessarily. A Chiva can be many things, there are Chivas for Hunters, but many females consider their Chiva as the first time they birth a pup." she replied, gesturing to the stretch mark scars on her lower stomach. "Makane told us that you defeated a Xenomorph, I am impressed. You show strong spirit, I would say you are welcome to complete your Chiva in any way you desire."

"After your chiva, you may take a life-mate if you want, though many in our society have a more casual view of mating, and participate in breeding season." she continued, holding up some sort of calendar and proceeding to explain different significant days.

I spent a few hours with Ite'ri and she taught me the basics of her kind's society, before she walked me back to the Clan building where Makane was waiting.

"Ite'ri has taught you much?" he asked as I stepped forward. I nodded and he grunted in approval. I followed him around a bit as he did some things, duties he had, I guess. I didn't understand what anyone was saying since they all spoke in yautja, but I got quite a lot of curious looks from others as they conversed with Makane. Every so often he'd explain in English what he was doing.

"This is Ek'te, he is the blacksmith of the clan. I am responsible for collecting updates of progress for the Counsel." he explained. Ek'te was even bigger than Makane, and scarily silent as he stared at me. I felt very conscious and just nodded politely at the scary yautja. Makane made a clicking noise as he chuckled and went back to his conversation with Ek'te. I stood quietly, and looked around. The walls were covered in hanging weapons; axes, swords, blade whips, space guns. There was an entire pile of the gauntlet devices that I'd seen many wear on their forearms. The two yautja talked a bit longer before seemingly saying goodbye and I followed Makane out the building and back into the street.

"You will need to complete a Chiva, Ite'ri told you that, yes?" he asked as we walked past some sort of street market.

"Yeah, she said there were different types." I replied and he grunted in agreement.

"The common is clearing a nest of Xenomorph, but we do not expect you to do that as a human. Lu'tekke has informed me you will perform a Chiva that is specialised to your biology so you have a fair chance. You will need to start training soon."

"Specialised? So basically you're making it easier?"

"Correct. You would die quickly in a traditional Chiva. You are quite a weak human."

That was a bit harsh. He didn't seem to be meaning it in an insulting way though, more just stating a truth. They say the truth hurts and I guess it does.

"I can't be that weak, I killed one of those Xenomorph creatures." I said, frowning slightly.

"That was luck. You will start training soon to prepare for your own Chiva." Makane replied bluntly. Ouch. He could've been a bit nicer about it. We walked back to the building he lived in, which I'd found out was kind of like a block of flats or apartments. He lived on one of the top floors, which signified his rank in the clan.

We arrived back at his home, basically a penthouse, especially since I was so used to the small room back at the facility. Even though I'd seen it before, I was still amazed by the interior. Makane walked off to another room, so I sat on the sofa and just looked out the windows.

He returned a few moments later without armour, just in his loincloth, and walked past me to the kitchen.

"I am making stew." he said, pulling a slab of meat from some sort of storage area. I watched as he cut it into smaller chunks with a huge knife, and started preparing vegetables.

The appendages on his mouth moved slightly in concentration as he cooked. He quickly noticed me staring and looked up, his gaze firm.

"Why do you stare, Dee?"

"What are those things on your mouth?" I asked, ignoring his question. He clicked softly before touching them.

"They are called mandibles in your language." he replied, flexing them slightly.

"What are they for?"

"Expression, mostly. You can tell the mood of my kind with them. They are also used in mating quite a lot."

I nodded, glad that I finally had a name for his mandibles. It was getting annoying just calling them mouth things. I continued to watch him cook until he walked over and held out a bowl of hot food.

"Oh, thanks." I said, taking it. It smelt surprisingly good, though the raw ingredients had looked funky. I took a spoonful into my mouth and, fuck, it was amazing. The flavour was rich, and smokey from the meat, and the juices were just amazing. After dinner, I offered to clean up but Makane just showed me how to use this dish-cleaning machine that was similar to a dishwasher.

He went off to another room again, and I decided to head to bed, changing into some pjs and settling down far on one side of the big bed. After only maybe 20 minutes, I felt the bed dip as Makane laid down, clicking softly as he relaxed. As I drifted off, I felt him tug me back towards him like he'd done the previous night, but was too tired to comment.