The First Hunter

Brothers

The strange coloring in the human's face caught Bet-khar's attention. He watched the creature for any signs of sickness, but she assured him it was not the case. For some unknown reason, her facial skin changed color when she saw his chest bare? And when he moved away from her, she seemed insulted? That made no sense to him. Humans were too emotional and had way too many useless traits. 

The human female stayed mostly away from Bet-khar's sight for the next hour or so. Bet-khar didn't bother checking on her. The several vision modes embedded in his biomask showed exactly where she was and what she was doing.  He had nothing to worry about.

Bet-khar's wrist gauntlet activated and a three-dimensional hologram showed four males. Placing a large fist over his chest he greeted Zahraun, Bal-khan, Celtic and Cet-khar. The brothers reciprocated the gesture and Cet-khar stepped forward with a concerned expression, "Brother, we have been tracking you, are you alright?" Before Bet-khar had the chance to reply, his old brother Zahraun spoke firmly, "Your ship could have exploded! What took you so long to leave the hunting ground?"

Bet-khar sighed. How was he supposed to explain that he delayed his departure because of the youngling he found? Hell! How was he supposed to explain that at this very moment she was in his ship, cleaning his armor.  Before he could come up with an explanation, he heard Leanne's light footsteps approaching, "I finished up cleaning your armor, I hope..." Her voice died out when she saw the holographic image of four tall male specimens in front of Bet-khar. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth parted as she stared at the images. Bet-khar was about to explain the situation when Zahraun let out a menacing roar. Leanne dropped the armor to cover her ears and rushed to hide behind Bet-khar. 

Bet-khar spoke rapidly with the furious male while the fragile female hugged his tree trunk thigh, attempting to shield herself from the menacing male. Although the four males were not physically present, the anger was palpable. 

Celtic remained still as he studied the human hiding behind his younger brother's leg. Bal-khan and Cet-khar cocked their heads to one side in curiosity while Zahraun paced back and forth like a caged animal. He finally paused in front of Bet-khar, fists clenching and unclenching, his chest heaving with fury. Leanne trembled and hugged Bet-khar more firmly. Zahraun roared once again but Bet-khar didn't flinch. Bet-khar's muscles were tensed, but he didn't fear his older brother, he knew him well enough and understood his reaction to the human.

"You dare bring a primitive species on board? On whose authority?" Zahraun spat in a guttural language. "The human was alone and unprotected, and within the detonator's range. I could not leave her there to die. That would have been dishonorable for she is a youngling" Bet-khar explained matter-of-factly. The explanation however didn't seem to diminish Zahraun's anger. He clicked and growled directing his gaze towards the human.  Sensing his intense scrutiny, she tightened her hold around Bet-khar's thigh, trying to hide her small frame. Cocking his head,  Zahraun studied the creature for a moment before straightening up and activating his wrist-computer.

The room went silent, Leanne held her breath, watching the angry alien. He was really built and shared many similarities with Bet-khar. His demeanor however was different. Bet-khar didn't seem to have a care in the world while the angry alien clearly wanted her gone. The tick muscles around his biceps looked like he could squeeze the life out of her in seconds. And his massive thighs made the loin cover he wore appear too small for his size. 

Leanne gaped as she noticed the impressive girth showing through the tight leather fabric. While she unintentionally stared at Zahraun's impressive length, she didn't notice that he was now staring down at her. Despite the way her hands shook, she looked up at him. He was a massive brute of a male who looked both powerful and dangerous. Not only that, but he looked like... Bet-khar?! Leanne's eye widen as she realized the similarities. Same skin markings, same body structure... actually, they all looked like Bet-khar. Except for their hair, which were adorned and styled in varied ways. 

Leanne eyes darted back and forth between Bet-khar and the angry alien and found that they were both staring each other down. Nobody moved. Suddenly, Bet-khar covered Leanne's ears with his large hands right before a loud high-pitched sound echoed through the ship. The human female squealed in surprise but didn't move. When the sound finally stopped, Bet-khar slowly removed his hands from her ears.

Leanne looked up at Bet-khar with a concerned expression. Bet-khar pat her in the head awkwardly and spoke "It is all right human. You can detach yourself from me now". As if not realizing that he was speaking in English, she replied "You will have to peel me off your body". Bet-khar shook his head "Strange human". Leanne blinked, "Wait, I can understand you! And you can understand me?" Her eyes went wide in excitement and her lips curled into a smile. "Yes, the sound you just heard was the language translator being installed into my ship's systems. It allows me to understand and communicate with other species".

Leanne eyed the other aliens in the room and asked in almost a whisper "What's going on? Are we safe?" Bet-khar let out a tired sigh, "Yes, human, we are safe. These are my brothers, and we are heading their way". Her smile quickly faded and a panicked expression took over her face, "I don't want to meet this brute", she looked at Zahraun. The alien stared back at her with unblinking intensity. The way his gaze roomed over her body angrily like he wanted to bore a whole in her soul was very unnerving. At lightning speed Zahraun's holographic image appeared right in front of Leanne. He leaned in close and said in a low rumbling voice "Is that so human?" 

Leanne's eyes widen in shock and color flooded her cheeks "What? You... you can understand me", she squeaked. The reply came from Bet-khar, his voice humorous "We can all understand you now, strange human".