Tah'kath was told as a pup that the eyes were a doorway leading to the soul. While responding to a kiande-amedha (xenomorph) attack on a human farming settlement, Tah'kath finds a surviving child whose eyes seem to hold the stars themselves. Against...
The return trip had taken four days, and Daih'kea was waiting on the landing pad when they arrived. Tah'kath was the first to step down the ramp with Zaiyu and Dahdtoudi following behind him, and Aichu and T'ahrou brought up the rear.
Daih'kea greeted her mate by touching their foreheads together and tracing her mandibles against his own. After a moment she shared an embrace with her son, and then pulled Dahdtoudi close to her form. The girl did not return the embrace, nor did she fight it. When she was content, the Elder's mate turned to face the young blood siblings. "Aichu, I can't believe how much you have grown since last we met! And T'ahrou..! I can tell you have become quite the warrior!" He bowed in thanks to the female, and she turned her focus back to the Elder. "So, how was it..?"
Tah'kath clicked nervously as his eyes met with Daih'kea's. "Well, it was-"
"It went well, mother." Everyone turned their focus on Dahdtoudi, surprise covering most of their faces. "Aichu and T'ahrou trapped several species of wildlife, and Zaiyu kept a close eye on us. I learned a lot from the pyode-amedha clan, but I do not agree with their ways of life. Father allowed me to return home when I was content."
Her mother clicked happily as she embraced her daughter once more. "So you will be staying with us, then?" Dahdtoudi gave a curt nod before gently pulling away from her mother and bowed respectfully to the Elder and his mate.
"If you will excuse me, I have something that requires my attention." She walked away, clad in full armor including her bio-mask and Tah'kath turned his gaze to his son.
"Zaiyu, escort your mother home. Aichu, that goes for you as well...I'm sure your father will be glad to hear of your trapping ventures." Looking to the largest of the males, he waved a beckoning hand. "T'ahrou, if you are available, I wish to speak with you."
"Of course, Elder." The young blood followed their leader away from the rest of the group, and the others went off to fulfill their designated tasks. ————————————————————————
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"I'm sorry, but I don't think I heard you correctly...you want me to do what?!"
Dahdtoudi clenched her jaw in frustration as she lay on the exam table. "I want you to try to develop something that will make me look normal."
"And by 'normal', you mean 'like a Yautja'..?" Dahdtoudi nodded as he prepared a large syringe full of dark purple fluid. "Look, I can tamper with genetics enough to slow your aging process all day long...but I refuse to try to play God! I'm not altering your genetic makeup!"
"But A'ytu," The oversized male slammed his claws on the table hard enough to reverberate through her sternum, and she held her tongue for a moment.
"'But A'ytu' nothing! I won't do it, Dahdtoudi! That's the end of it!" She nodded, anger blazing in her eyes, and A'ytu clicked softly as he calmed his temper. "Now then, let's get this over with." He slid the needle into the largest vein in the bend of her elbow, slowly pushing the purple substance into her bloodstream. Nearly halfway through the process, the door to A'ytu's laboratory slid open to reveal T'ahrou standing alongside Tah'kath. The younger of the two was holding a bandage to his hand, and Dahdtoudi rolled her eyes in irritation. "I'm with a patient." A'ytu growled the words, but Tah'kath stepped into the room anyway.
"Yes, I can see that, my friend. We won't bother you, we just need some medi-gel. T'ahrou seems to have cut his hand while he was helping me with my chakt-ra." This peaked A'ytu's attention, and he glanced over his shoulder at the other males.
"You know young blood, despite the name, you don't need a high intelligence level to operate the smart disk." T'ahrou said nothing, only watched as the healer forced the rest of the fluid into the small female's arm. "There, now hold pressure on that while I get a wrap." She did as she was told and a moment later A'ytu wrapped a patch of gauze around her arm to cover the puncture mark. "Leave it covered for two days to make sure as much of the serum stays in as possible, and don't put too much strain on your arm." Dahdtoudi nodded in understanding before sitting up on the table.
The room seemed to move inappropriately for several seconds, but she eventually moved to stand on her own as her father prepared the medi-gel for T'ahrou. The young blood didn't flinch when the gel sizzled against his skin, and Tah'kath clicked his mandibles in satisfaction when the wound sealed within minutes. He looked up to his would-be patient only to notice his pupils were heavily dilated. "What's wrong, young blood?" The scent hit him like a brick wall; it was strong and sweet, familiar but so foreign to his senses. "A'ytu..?"
The healer was in a corner of the room covering his mouth with a large clawed hand. "Well, it seems the modification to the serum worked better than expected, Elder." A'ytu had to stifle a heavy chuckle, and Tah'kath's eyes widened in realization.
