10

By the time Makane returned, I was in bed, half asleep. I didn't open my eyes or anything when I heard him walk into the room, clicking softly.

"Dee, are you awake?" he asked quietly and I grunted in return.

"Mhm.."

"I would like to show you something. Come."

I grumbled, not particularly wanting to get up, but the covers were pulled off me so I slowly sat up. I followed him out the bedroom, and out the front door and to the elevator, but this time we went up. I was still in my pyjamas, rubbing sleep out my eyes as he tugged me out onto the top of the building. The big dark sky hung high over us, stars twinkling within the deep indigo colour.

"Just wait. It will show soon." Makane mumbled, his hand firmly on my shoulder. After a few minutes, the night sky slowly lit up with soft light; red, purple, orange. It was similar to a phenomenon I'd heard about on Earth, the Northern Lights. I watched as the colours slowly floated around in the sky, creating this beautiful image that was almost magic.

"It is called Bhu'Ja N'ritja-Guan. To you, The Dance of The Night Spirits. Some believe it is the spirits of the fallen, reminding us they are still there." Makane said quietly, watching the sky too.

"It's beautiful." I mumbled.

"Yes... aket'anu." he grunted, and I could feel him looking at me. We watched the lights in the sky for at least an hour before they slowly faded into the darkness again. I was tired at this point, and yawned loudly.

"Come, let us go to rest." Makane said softly, clicking his mandibles as he nudged me to move. I nodded and we walked back to the elevator in silence, his hand still on my shoulder. As we went down to his floor, his hand slid to my back, and he clicked again.

"Your garments are soft." he stated, touching the material of my pjs.

"Yeah... it's so they're comfortable to sleep in." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Yautja sleep naked, we do not require the amount of coverage your kind does."

"We don't require it exactly... people just prefer to cover up. Nudity is a controversial thing on Earth. It's frowned upon to be naked in front of people." I said, recalling times when I was a child and would be scolded by the scientists for modesty.

"Oomans are strange." Makane said and I nodded.

"Yeah... we are."

We walked back into his home, and I shuffled straight down the hall to the bedroom, going back to the spot I was in before and settling down. I heard Makane padding around in the other room, then his heavy footsteps approached the door. His clicking echoed as he walked in, and I felt the bed dip slightly as he laid down on the other side. He let out a loud sigh, seemingly relaxing after a long day.

"It will be the dry season soon. I will get you necessary equipment so you do not get harmed by the sun." he spoke up.

"The sun?"

"Yes, its rays are strong. Yautja skin is thick enough to handle it, your skin is delicate. You will burn."

He went silent for a moment before rumbling quietly and shifting in his place.

"You are cold?"

"I'm okay.. It's not too-."

I didn't have time to answer before I was pulled back against him, and he clicked softly, his mandibles moving against my hair.

"Hush." he grumbled. I did indeed feel warmer already, but I was also getting that butterfly feeling in my stomach again. I stayed quiet, feeling his warm breath dusting the back of my neck. It felt strangely comforting, I'd never had someone so close. It was nice, I felt safe. I sighed softly, closing my eyes. I heard Makane mumble something along the lines of 'sweet ooman' as I drifted off.

—---

I woke up as the sunlight slowly blared onto my face. I opened my eyes, feeling Makane still behind me, snoring. I lifted my head a bit, sleepily looking around the room before scooting to the edge of the bed and getting up to pee. It was peaceful, quiet; very different from what I was used to during my time on Earth. I liked it.

After I came out of the bathroom, I got dressed and went to the kitchen to try and find something to eat. The cupboards were filled with things I had no clue of. Half of it didn't look edible. I glanced around the room, and my gaze fell on the food synthesiser. I'd forgotten about it, and went over. I vaguely remembered how I'd been told to use it, tapped a few buttons and a bowl of Earth cereal appeared. My stomach growled in approval as I picked it up and sat down to eat, proud of myself for doing something here without help.

After maybe an hour, Makane came out of the bedroom. He looked at me, obviously still half asleep.

"You are awake early." he said.

"I am? I can't really understand the timing here." I replied and he grunted.

"I will teach you later. Have you eaten?" he asked and I nodded. He nodded in approval and went down the hall again. He went into his trophy room, but came out shortly after with a few things in his arms.

"These are for you." he said, putting the items on the table. There was a gauntlet device like the one I'd seen many wear, a small backpack, and what looked like a fishnet suit?

"What's this?" I asked, pointing at the weird suit thing.

"It will protect you from natural elements. Yautja wear it when going off-planet so they stay at normal temperature." Makane replied, pushing the items towards me.

"We will start your training soon, and I will have armour made for you." he added, as he put the gauntlet on for me. The device immediately changed to fit my arm with a hiss.

"Woah, this thing is cool." I said, pressing buttons. I made my hand into a fist and suddenly a huge blade shot out, narrowly missing Makane's face. His mandibles flared a bit and he growled.

"It is not a toy. You will not be wearing this in normal life, Dee." he lectured, making me retract the blade. He pressed a button on the underside of the device and it unlatched from my arm. He showed me the backpack after, a small medkit inside.

"Come, we will travel to see Ek'te and request for your armour." Makane said, standing. With a hand on my back, he moved me to the door so we could leave.