23

hey guys... 🧍‍♀️

sorry for taking so long for this update haha, but don't worry, i have some good ideas cooking up and my writers block had finally gone !

look out for the next chapter coming soon, enjoy !

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We sat there for a while longer, before Weri'te got a message on comms that the meeting had finished and we could reconvene at the ship.

"At the ship? Do you think they've come to an agreement then?" I asked as we got up.

"Either that or we're preparing for battle." Weri'te replied gruffly, but not as rude as before. Clearly the fact that we shared a pain experience had caused him to have some respect for me now. He walked alongside me to the ship instead of in front, and didn't glare at me.

I spotted Makane standing with Lu'tekke, Purre'de and Saru'te by the ship. We approached and the desert clan leader glared at me, especially as Makane patted my head.

"We will stick to our terms if you stick to yours." he said to Lu'tekke who nodded. As they spoke, the rest of us walked back onto the ship.

"Were you alright with Weri'te?" Makane asked, glancing at the other yautja who was walking off down the hall.

"Yeah, I was okay. He's not as bad as I thought... I think we're okay now." I replied. His mandibles chittered curiously.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Just... sharing experiences." I said vaguely. He hummed and patted my head again.

"Very well, my Dee. Come, the journey back will be a while. We can go and pass the time." he said, almost purring out the last bit. His hand went to my back, leading me down the hallway to our room.

—---

We laid there together, just basking in the afterglow of the sex we had. Makane's hand slowly went up and down my back, his nails gently scraping over my skin soothingly. I sighed, relaxing more. The hum of the ship added to the ambience, creating this bubble of zen between us. His chest rose up and down, the warm scaly skin feeling nice against mine.

"Are we nearly there yet?" I mumbled and Makane grumbled.

"Yes. We should get up." he replied.

"Mhm... five more minutes?"

"...Fine. Five."

We did eventually get up and dressed, ready to land back at the clan. Makane put a firm hand on my back and guided me down the hall to leave the ship as it rumbled to a stop on the ground once more.

"Come, you will return home and can rest." he said.

"What about you?" I replied.

"I must attend a meeting with the Council. I won't be gone for very long."

I nodded and he nuzzled his mandibles against my hair briefly before letting me walk off. I glanced back as he walked the opposite way with Lu'tekke and the others.

I got back home and took a shower. It was crazy how much the dust and other debris stuck to my skin from the desert, so washing it all off felt very refreshing.

Like he said, Makane wasn't gone very long. I'd only just changed and sat down when he walked in and hung up his armour. He chittered softly and sat beside me on the couch, pulling me closer.

"You showered." he stated, smelling my shampoo.

"Yeah, I was all dusty still. What was the meeting about?"

"The results of the trip. It did not go as well as Lu'tekke desired but Saru'te has agreed to no violence between us for now in exchange of resources. It is the best outcome with how unpredictable he is."

I nodded, agreeing.

"So you've sort of made a truce? Does that mean things are all good now?"

Makane let out a short laugh and touched my head.

"Far from it, my Dee. Saru'te is a smaller threat to other clans. He is more 'bark than bite' as oomans put it... but yes, it is like a truce. It is one less thing for Lu'tekke and Ite'ri to worry about." he said. I blushed slightly, embarrassed by my own naivety. Of course the planet wouldn't be good because of one small truce between two clans.

"He's only a small threat though? They all seemed pretty scary when we were there."

"Tarei'hsan are ic'jit but they follow some honour code... just not much. There are some yautja who are much worse."

"Like the R'ka clan?" I asked. Makane raised his eyebrows, surprised I'd remembered his little lesson on the different clans of the planet.

"Yes, like the R'ka. They are much worse than the Tarei'hsan. Saru'te has some rules for his clan, not many but some. The R'ka clan have none. They are not yautja like I am." he said, looking serious.

"Not like you? What do you mean?"

Makane was silent for a second before tapping something on his gauntlet device. He brought up what looked like mask footage and grunted at me to watch it.

The projective screen showed the perspective of a yautja in what looked like a forest but the trees got thinner. Whoever it was, it wasn't Makane, the clicking sounded different. The yautja kept walking, the trees started to evolve into burnt stumps as he moved.

"Where is that?" I asked quietly as I watched.

"Volcanic lands. Far from here." Makane mumbled.

The video continued, the yautja walked through this volcanic wasteland slowly, looking around. He seemed on edge, gripping his knife and glancing around more. The sky was grey, clouded with ash and smog which limited vision. In the distance though, a huge mass was coming into view. A volcano, one bigger than I'd ever seen in pictures on Earth, and it was smoking heavily out the top.

The yautja growled slightly in the video but stopped suddenly. It happened so quickly, three figures jumped out the ashy fog, attacking with animalistic fervor. The footage barely caught what they looked like as the yautja was speared in the chest and slumped dead.

I stared in shock at the screen before Makane rewinded it and paused it as a particular moment that had a clearer picture of one of the attackers. It was blurry but it was a yautja that looked... wrong. Its features were uncanny, like it evolved wrong.

"That is an R'ka yautja. This is the most recent footage of them." Makane said, turning the screen off.

"Why do they look like that?" I asked, scooting closer to him. The image was a bit unsettling to say the least. Makane noticed and chittered, putting an arm around me.

"Yautja evolve much quicker than other species. They most likely evolved wrong for reasons I do not know." he replied, stroking my side. "I would not be surprised if they evolved using unethical means."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ic'jit do not follow the Honour code, you know that. That includes the basic respect of others... particularly our females." he said and it clicked what he meant. I shuddered, not wanting to think what those sort of yautja might've forced others to do.

"Do not worry, my Dee. They are far from the clan, they do not leave their lands. Yautja here are safe." Makane reassured me, squeezing me gently. I nodded slightly, leaning against him.

"What if they decide to leave their lands? Or they team up with Saru'te or something?" I asked and Makane chuckled.

"They would not do that. Saru'te is too proud to do that." he replied. "You have nothing to worry about. We are safe here."