Unblooded

Chapter 6

I curled up in the patch of sun, it's warm rays comforting me as sleep began to abandon me to reality. I could smell leaves and bark, decaying organic matter, and the heavy humidity being swirled about by the warm breeze. 'I must have fallen asleep outside again,' I thought, 'Mom is going to kill me.' I laid there for a few more moments before opening my eyes. I was met with amber irises and mandibles turned up into a sort of joyous expression. "Good morning," the creature told me happily. I screamed and backpedaled suddenly found myself falling. I hit the solid metal floor hard, landing on my back and left me breathless for a moment. I looked back up at the creature which gasped and ran around to where I lay on the metallic flooring. "I am sorry, Elise. I did not mean to scare you," she said pulling me up from the floor. 'Tsrasuna,' I thought and then the memories of yesterday came back along with the memories of the hunt. I could feel hot tears prick my eyes when the moment of my mother's death invaded my vision. The tears rolled silently down my face as I remember that my father also met the same fate. My chest constricted painfully and I let out a strained sob. Tsrasuna stood awkwardly for a moment, staring down at me as I quietly grieved for my now deceased parents. She knelt beside me and wrapped her scale covered arms around my shoulders. She hummed what sounded like a song as she patted my back.

Eventually I stopped crying and Tsrasuna helped me to my feet. "Come on, Elder Gwan-thwei will be here soon to give us our armor," she said, joy returning to her voice. She dragged me behind her as she ran down the bridge to the main platform. Gwan-thwei stood at the platform's edge, a metal casket by his side. With out turning around to face us, he placed the casket on the table and opened it. "Elise," he said holding out a small helmet that was similar to his but it was shaped a little bit differently. I took it from him along with a partial breast plate attached to metal thick metal plating that covered the wearer's shoulder. He then handed me a heavy belt with more metal that would cover the outer thighs when it is worn. He pulled out a pair of metal bracers and armor that covered the calf and shin but ended in a sort of leather sandal.

Gwan-thwei handed Tsrasuna the same exact items. The only difference was the shape of the mask helmet. She looked up at Gwan-thwei, were small mandibles spread open slightly in awe. 'She is very expressive,' I thought idly, The adults do not show their emotions as much.' I thought to the cold emotionless manner of Azhla-dki. 'The only emotion she displayed never travelled out of her eyes.'
She gently placed her prized gifts onto the etched metal floor before launching herself at Gwan-Thwei. She wrapped her thin scaly arms tightly around his midsection. He stood in shock for a brief moment before gingerly removing her vise like arms. He awkwardly took a step back before speaking again.
"You begin training tomorrow," he looked at me and pointed to the helmet, "Wear until you learn language." He looked down at Tsrasuna and said something to her quickly before turning abruptly. He snatched the casket, walked quietly to the platform's edge, tapped on the control panel attached to his wrist and he disappeared almost completely, leaving only a shimmer in the air before that too disappeared.
"Do the adults normally jump forty feet to the ground?" I asked looking to Tsrasuna for an answer but just received a looked of joy and pride. "Tsrasuna? What is it? Was it something he said?"
She grinned, "We need to get started on your lessons," she said excitedly. She grabbed my arm and pushed me until I fell back clumsily on to the metal bench encircling the fire that was still smoldering from the night before. She bounded up the pathway to her living quarters. "Tsrasuna! What lessons?! Tsrasuna!" I yelled. I groaned when all I received in response was her distant laughter on the warm breeze.
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I stared at the red hologram before me. Words scrolled down the screen but I was having difficulty reading the language. Tsrasuna was kind enough to put the language in my alphabet but the bright crimson words were giving me a headache. I sighed and rubbed my pained eyes. "How are the honor codes coming along?" Tsrasuna clicked happily, looking up at me from where she sat. She had been polishing her armor religiously for almost four hours now. I glared at her. "Not well then," she stated turning back to her armor.
"It doesn't help that you taught me the basics in little over an hour," I growled turning back to the hologram.
"I believe in....oh, what is the saying you humans have.......trial by fire? By having you read and understand the honor codes in my language, you learn the honor codes as well as my language." She got up with her armor piled precariously in her thin arms and patted my shoulder as she passed which almost caused her to drop all her coveted leather and polished plating. "Don't worry I will work with you every spare minute after our training," Tsrasuna promised as she easily walked away. I turned my attention back to the god awful crimson words that floated mockingly. 'Alright, Elise,' I thought to myself, 'You have killed a bad blood, saved an apparently highly respected elder, watched your mother die, living on an alien planet and became an accidentally hybrid species. How difficult can it be to learn a new language.' I stared at the words and started to pick out some of the words that Tsrasuna had taught me. I began to form partial sentences but nothing that could make any sense. The only thing that I could make out was that the document was about prey. I swiped my hand across the hologram and it shifted more red text. 'Boundaries,' I thought as I swiped it again. 'Clans'. Swipe. 'Trophies'. Swipe. 'Punishments'. There was one that was just simply labeled 'Death'. I shook my head and sighed. None of it made sense. I pressed a button on the table and the hologram faded. I got up and stretched before walking up to my living quarters. Some of the cloths covering the wall openings had been rolled up to allow it to flow through. The breeze had cooled off and had become quite pleasant compared to the warmth it was earlier today. My gaze landed where my helmet lay on the shelf next to my armor. I picked it up and placed it on my face. It fit tightly to my face and made a high pitch whining before everything lit up dully. I shrieked and stumbled backwards, my feet tangling together. I fell onto my rear and sat there as I watched as everything came into focus. Warnings lined my vision but I could see everything perfectly, save for the fact that everything seemed to be in infrared. "Wow," I whispered quietly. A thin bar came up in the bottom of the "screen". It could register my voice. I looked out one of the openings. There was movement in one of the distant branches. A red triangle glided across the screen and stopped where the movement was. It widen, zooming in onto the area. It was a small fur covered animal that dated away before I could get a good look.
I placed my hands on either side of the mask and tried to pull it off only to find that it was firmly secured to my face. After struggling with it for a few moments, I sat dejectedly on the floor. With a heavy sigh, I walked back to my hammock and climbed into it. I will figure out how to get the helmet off in the morning.