When Archer and Roxeanne came from deeper within the cavern Nadia looked at them. A grin spreading from ear to ear. "What?" Roxy questioned. "You know... Cavern walls echo." Claire said. Roxy just stared. "And what's your point?" she asked again. "The point is we heard you." Marissa said. It took Roxy a moment to process what they were saying. When she finally comprehended it she turned bright red as her dark eyes widened. The entire group started laughing and she quickly hid her face. She couldn't believe they had heard everything. Archer remained as cool as a cucumber. When they were done laughing they pulled her aside and started whispering. "So details." The group pressed. Roxy giggled her face melting to cloud nine again as she recalled it. "Best I ever had. Which I don't get because he told me he was a virgin. But I came with only his fingers and his tongue." She told them. The girls all glanced at each other intrigued. "You didn't go all the way though?" Marissa asked. Roxy huffed in disappointment. "He said if he went there it would be as life mates or whatever. He said he didn't want just a good time he said he wants a lifetime." Roxy replied, Nadia sniffled and they looked at her. "That's just so sweet though..." She responded. "Yeah it's sweet but I don't know if I'm ready for that level of commitment. Even he very openly said I wasn't ready for it. But I thought he was just bragging about the size of his dick." She grumbled and the girls all laughed. "And... The size?" Claired nudged. Roxy frowned "I didn't see it because he didn't strip completely." She continued with a smile then, "But I felt it... And it's exactly what you'd expect from an 8 feet tall alien." The girls all squealed and nudged her suggestively. "Should make the commitment just for that." Marissa teased and Roxy's cheeks turned pink again. "If he is anything like his brother you should attempt with your Blaze." Roxy whispered to Nadia. Nadia turned bright red.
Blaze just stared his brother down with an arched brow. Archer shrugged and spoke in their language, "Don't regret." and Blaze nodded. A little later into the evening Blaze sat down with the skin of the canine beast Nadia had killed. He had the skins of other beasts he and Archer must've killed as well. She scooted over to him. "Whatcha doing, big guy?" she questioned. "Blanket." Nadia smiled. "Can I help?" she asked and Blaze nodded. He lined the skins up and looked at her before asking, "Good?" Nadia tilted her head as she looked at it. "Is what good?" she replied. "The shape of the blanket." he said and she nodded giving him a thumbs up. "Hold here." he said as he pinched two edges of two different skins together. Nadia did as he said and held them together. Meanwhile Blaze pulled out a relatively intimidating looking needle, threading it with some sort of material. It looked thick like their wires, but it was soft. She tilted her head. "What's that?" she asked. "Finely woven human hair." he replied bluntly. Nadia almost regretted asking, but it was fascinating. When it was threaded, he went to work sewing the hides together. The pair repeated the process of Nadia holding the skins while Blaze sewed. "Can I try?" she asked at one point. Blaze nodded and passed her the needle and thread. She took it as he held the skins together now. Following his same technique she attempted to sew them together as well. There was more resistance than she thought though. She couldn't get the needle to go through and she looked at him. "Push harder. Animal skins are much tougher than your human skin. Besides, they can't feel anymore so press with purpose." he instructed. She did as he said and soon enough was able to push through. She grinned and looked at him in excitement. He bowed his head which she knew was their way of respect or praise and approval in some cases.
Now that Nadia had a rhythm, sewing the skins together was easy. She also felt a sense of accomplishment. The largest skin, which was of the beast she had killed, was at the center. Not only had she contributed some of the material, but she was now helping to stitch it up as well. This was also the first time Blaze had let her sit so close to him without her being "in distress" as he always said. He was behind her and sort of leaning over her as he held the skins together, so her back and the front of his torso were touching. Also his arms were pressed against hers so he could guide her hands if needed. Basically he was her oversized silhouette, or perhaps her shawl. She could feel his warmth, steady breathing and strong heartbeat. It was very soothing and calming. The group was watching them. They all agreed they looked like newlyweds on their honeymoon somehow. They also agreed that they shipped it, especially Roxy. Nadia sewed the last stitch and she smiled brightly. "All done." She said proudly. Blaze nodded as he stood. Archer was also standing at this point and Nadia stood with them, confusion written all over her face. Blaze folded and rolled the blanket, but it seemed to be in a particular almost ceremonial way. After he was done, he presented it to her. She reached out and took it from his dark and clawed hands. Once she had taken it, or rather accepted it? Archer and Blaze both bowed their heads. This time she knew for sure it was respect and acknowledgment. She smiled at them and slightly dipped her head as well. She wasn't sure what it meant to them, but their eyes seemed to light up at the gesture.
"How much further do we have to go?" Claire asked. This was the first time since meeting them that she spoke directly to the hunters. When they looked at her in unison she was reminded why. They truly were terrifying to see. She'd never understand how Nadia and Roxy were so comfortable with them. "As long as none of you get hurt again..." his gaze glanced to every human and they all nervously smiled. "You will arrive by evening tomorrow." The grey one, that Nadia and Roxy had so affectionately been calling Archer, replied. Claire nodded. "Wait what? Tonight is the last night?" Nadia added. Blaze and Archer nodded. Tears immediately filled her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. The tightest she had hugged him since they first met. Blaze responded by returning her hug. One of his arms around one of her shoulders with his hand resting on her back. His other arm was around her second shoulder with his hand cupping the back of her head. She buried her face against the bottom of his chest. She didn't want to leave them. In fact she wanted to go with them. Even Roxeanne seemed upset, as she was pouting while she stared at Archer. "So we've gathered a few extra things for you all to eat tonight." Archer said and the group nodded.
What they meant by a few extra things was fish, some sort of vegetable soup, even vegetable kebabs, and a very colorful variety of fruit for everyone's dessert. Marissa was happy that she had something besides raw vegetables, and more fruit than the usual selection. Everyone else was glad they were having more than just meat. Once everything was cooked the group dug in. The Yautja however still chose not to join. Nadia chose to cling to Blaze instead. Roxy looked at Archer. "Last night and you still refuse to eat with us?" Archer nodded. Blaze took a piece of the canine meat and offered it to Nadia. Nadia turned her head away. He tried a piece of fish and she stuck her nose up. Next he tried a kebab. She took it from him, but only to pass it to Eli. Lastly he tempted her with a piece of fruit. She took it from him, and placed it back with the rest of the fruit. "I don't want food I want you." Nadia said, her voice muffled by how tightly she had her face pressed into him. Blaze just stayed quiet. She looked up at him. "I'm a female." Blaze nodded, but confusion flashed through his eyes. "And I choose you." Again Blaze just remained silent, staring at her as if he was calculating something. Finally she just admitted, "To be my mate. I know I'm not one of you so I might not have the right. But I don't care. To me, you've already proven yourself, and I don't need to fight you to be sure." She stated. Blaze continued his silent stare. However, this time his face, even his eyes were unreadable. Nadia held her breath, tears began stinging her eyes at the thought of this hulking alien rejecting her. "You were one of us the second you killed Kiande Amedha." He said. "...You mean you will choose me too?" Nadia said. When Blaze nodded her eyes lit up. She wrapped her arms around his neck holding onto him even tighter. The rest of the group cheered and Archer nodded in approval. "Are Kiande Amedha those coyote things?" Nadia asked. "They are the serpents." Blaze corrected. Nadia smiled and hugged him tighter. "Is that why you've helped us?" Roxy asked. "It is." Archer replied.
Now that Blaze had agreed to be with her Nadia decided to eat everything. The vibrations from his chest letting her know he was amused. She offered him some vegetables and he shook his head no. "Do you only eat meat?" Nadia asked and he nodded. She offered him a piece of meat then. She smiled when he not only ate it, but ate it from her hand. After eating and having cleaned everything up the group huddled together for the night. Nadia of course was with Blaze. But this time she sat in his lap with her arms around his broad shoulders. Roxy was sitting beside Archer. "If we have to say goodbye tomorrow how am I going to be able to do that again?" she frowned. "There are millions of males in your race." he said matter of factly. Roxy scoffed, "I meant with you, you big bastard." Archer chuckled, his eyes brightening in amusement. "Go to sleep. There is still a long walk tomorrow." he said and Roxy huffed. However she did lay down and quickly fell asleep.
They had arrived at the camp site finally a little bit after dark. But it wasn't what they were expecting. It was quiet, too quiet. Not a single sound or sign of life anywhere. To make it creepier, the red moon was the largest one in the sky. Drowning out the other two. Archer and Blaze scanned different fields of vision. The humans looked at them expectantly. They had a bad feeling. Both of the hunters were tense and cautious, expectant. It was never good when that was their body language. Archer pulled up the 3D hologram, looking at their surroundings and zooming outside of the planet to where their space ship should be. When Archer finally found it even the space ship was dark. This must've been a bad sign, as Archer and Blaze both looked at each other. Blaze pulled up his own hologram, typing a few things into it. The hologram then showed their heat signatures. Eight of them, but after he zoomed out there were more, many more. Archer growled and began rapidly typing into his gauntlet. He sent out a distress signal. After that he typed some more. "What's going on?" Marissa questioned. "Your crew is dead. Including the ones that never set foot on this planet. If we don't get you out of here, you will not be leaving at all." Archer said. "What!? How can they all be dead!" Claire squeaked. "Kiande Amedha." Blaze said. Marissa and Claire regretted asking. "But how is that possible? You guys blew up that pyramid where they were, didn't you?" Roxy questioned. "It is possible there is more than one queen if there is more than one hive. Or that the one we killed was only a decoy to prevent us from finding the real one... Our mother ship will be here within the hour. We just need to stand our ground until then." Archer said. "But if those things come... Will we live long enough?" Eli whispered, and Alec rubbed his back. "Our mission is to return you. Now that we can't return you only this far, we will return you all back home." Archer replied. The group nodded. While Archer tried to reassure the humans, Blaze was watching the Kiande Amedha. So far they hadn't moved. They weren't alerted to their presence yet. This was a good start. "I recommend you humans move into one of your shelters. There will be scouts. If they see you, our time to wait safely will significantly drop. Keep quiet." Archer instructed. They nodded an quickly took shelter in one of their trailers, all hunkering down. While the group hid, Blaze and Archer turned on their cloaking devices.
A scream randomly erupted through the silence. The hunters whipped their heads the direction of the scream. Blaze and Archer looked at Blaze's hologram. The serpents were now alerted and making their way to them. Archer growled as he went inside of the trailer it came from. His cloaking turning off. The group of humans were huddled together and looked at him as he came in. Roxy and Nadia were both standing and trying to quiet down a random researcher, the source of the screaming. The researcher was swinging an axe at them wildly in pure panic. Roxy was trying to talk her down, while Nadia was shushing her. She shoved passed them and sprinted out of the trailer. A ground shattering roar sounded, echoed by shrill shrieks and again the screams of that damned extra human. They could no longer wait safely. The serpents had arrived.