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Maybe I won’t. Maybe it was all a mistake.
My mind shudders to a halt. Or maybe it’s a skill the alien female is using to trick me into wanting to bond with her. An illusion of sorts.
I shake my head in confusion because somehow that explanation feels wrong. It feels like an underestimation of the intense sensations that flared to life within me in those moments. I do not understand what is happening, but I know what I felt in that moment when I spotted her. When her eyes seemed to meet mine.
But my brain tells me that it cannot be a coincidence that these aliens have come to our planet. Especially now. Yet, my instincts and the flutter in my chest tell me something else, and I do not know which to trust at this moment.
The night has grown later and based on the lack of any bumps or murmurs coming from the vessel, I can only assume the females have settled down to rest until morning. I should do the same, but I do not. I still have a duty to my tribe to try find out any information I can about the Xeniiv and Tussoll tribes and what they have planned.
The cover of darkness would be the ideal time to do that, but I am oddly reluctant to leave the females alone – well, one female in particular. I think of the soft smile she flashed towards the kitling and my chest tightens as I long for her to smile at me in such a manner.
I shake my head in disgust.
You are an honored warrior, winner of your tribe’s last two strong games and Chief Daggir’s First Warrior. You are in charge of all of the warriors in your tribe. Stop longing after the strange female and do your duty.
With that thought firmly in my mind, I decide to use darkness to my advantage to travel to the Xeniiv’s village. Their village is not far from my current location, if I use a shortcut that I learned during the games when I was a kitling, and I can make it there before the moons have reached their high point if I run. Hopefully without being seen by any of the tribal members.
If I see any signs the Xeniiv are building up their forces or preparing for an attack, then I can relay my findings back to the chief. Chief Daggir will not be pleased that I have taken on this task without his knowledge, but we need to know if there is any truth behind the rumors.
I am determined to find out the truth tonight. As soon as that is done, I will make my way back here to continue my study of the alien females. It will be many busy hours of no sleep, but I am used to getting very little sleep when out on a hunt.
This is a hunt of sorts, but for information instead of food.
I should gather my rations and set out before it gets any later, but still I linger. A strange sense of hesitancy fills me at the thought of leaving the female behind. A thick knot in my gut makes me worry over whether she – no they – will be safe while I am gone. It takes all of my strength to resist the urge to stay and guard her. I remember the female’s delicate, unarmored flesh and slight frame. She looked so fragile compared to females of my species. So vulnerable to danger.
But the females are quiet and resting and they are most likely well-protected inside the ship for now. Nighttime is always the safest time to be in the jungle as most predators are themselves fast asleep. No, they – she – will be safe.
I tell myself that I am only concerned for the aliens’ safety because if they perish now, then I will never know what ulterior motives they might have for being on our planet. I am only doing my duty as a warrior who has promised to defend and protect my tribe.
I take one last glance at the clearing, and with my determination mustered, I quietly set out on my journey to the Xeniiv village.
****
I arrive on Xeniiv territory just as the Big Sister moon has nearly reached its high point in the sky with the smaller blue orb that is the Little Sister following closely behind it. The chitter of nocturnal insectoids is quiet as I soundlessly creep towards the other tribe’s village. My skin flickers until I blend into the surrounding foliage, and I call on every hunting skill I have learned to keep my presence hidden.
If their tribesmen knew I was here creeping about their territory, it would worsen our relationship with the tribe. While there has been no violence between us, yet, there is always the potential the tension could boil over and become violent. I would easily meet any aggression from the other tribe, I do not want a war with them. I may be a warrior, but I am not bloodthirsty.
And there is the chief of my tribe, too. I do not wish Chief Daggir to know what I am doing just yet. The chief is a courageous and shrewd leader, but he is also a little too honorable and stubborn at times. Instead of finding out the answers to his questions in the most unobtrusive way possible, he would probably march into the village during the light of day and demand answers of the Xeniiv.
As much as I admire my chief, I do not think his way will lead to anything other than an actual skirmish between our tribes, and that is a fate I would rather avoid.
The trees begin to thin as I near a sentry who has been placed at the entrance to the village. His slim, rangy build and lack of prominent defensive ridges marks him as a hunter – one who has not yet undergone his warrior trials. Unfortunately for his tribe, he has not yet acquired the skills to be an effective guard. He releases a loud yawn and I watch as his eyelids grow heavy as I quietly skirt around him.
Hugging the outer, wooden walls of the village, I stop and study the assembled huts and buildings. Everything is still and quiet, the only sounds that of the young hunter as he hums to himself in an effort to keep himself awake. There are no fires burning to chase away the darkness. Even still my eyes adjust to the darkness allowing me to see that there are no other guards patrolling the grounds or stationed anywhere that I can see.
I shake my head in confusion. The Anuriix would never assign such an important task as guarding the entire village during the night to only one sentry, let alone such an inexperienced, young male.
What could Chief Aarixon be thinking? Why would he take such risks with his tribe?
Even though most of the predators we must be cautious of sleep at night, that doesn’t mean there are no risks. Such as the Pugj.
Something is wrong here.
My nose twitches as I draw in a deep breath of the balmy air.
Very wrong. Not a single hint of smoke or charred wood lingers in the air, which tells me there are no fires burning in the Xeniiv village, possibly not for a while. I stealthily move closer to the center of the village where a large fire pit should still have warm embers smoldering from the evening meal.
A ring of stones encircles a large ring of blackened ground, but when I reach down and touch the charred bits, they are cold. Small sprigs of seedlings have begun to sprout in the fire pit. There has been no fire here for some time.
