Jason chose to dodge rather than bring his gun up, reasoning that even if he managed to kill the animal with a snapshot – which was unlikely – he’d still have to contend with six-hundred pounds of dead animal dropping on him.

Skittering to the side, he heard a loud thump from behind him and the sound of an enraged roar that didn’t quite manage to drown out the low hiss that immediately preceded it.

Glancing back - even as he backpedaled - he saw that Yaro had apparently foregone her weapon entirely, choosing instead to use her claws.

Something he was kind of thankful for, given that the creature had landed between them, and there was a non-zero chance that any shot from the Rakiri could have over penetrated the animal and skewered him as well.

Unfortunately, that meant he had the same issue as he watched a true battle of the titans play out before his eyes.

Despite being taken by surprise, Yaro was the first to strike, closing the distance between her and the guntra with a single step, throwing all of her weight behind a vicious swipe that was aimed at her opponent's face.

Blood flew through the air, splattering against the white snow.

The guntra barely flinched. One of it’s long limbs came round, claws like steak knives ready to disembowel the Rakiri – who danced aside at the last possible moment, the whistling claws cutting only the front of her top. Still, from the way his hunting partner’s eyes had widened, he could tell that even that was closer than she had expected.

Jason moved about, trying to get a better angle on the two brawlers without endangering Yaro. Alas, the melee was so fast and fierce, he couldn’t see an opportunity to get a good shot in. Or at least, one that didn’t unduly endanger Yaro’s life. It was a gamble he wasn’t willing to take - not least of all because if he missed and wounded her, there’d be nothing stopping the massive guntra from coming over to murder his ass while he tried to reload.

The guntra advanced, it’s claws lashing out with such speed that the wicked talons little more than a blur to his eyes. Yaro was on the defense her entire focus on evading. Which was the smart move in Jason’s opinion. Wounded and starved as the creature was, it probably didn’t have much stamina to spare. The longer the fight went on the more likely the thing would stumble or Jason would get an opportunity to get a shot off.

Of course, the animal had to show a level of intelligence at odds with its bestial form.

It feinted.

Yaro yowled in surprise and pain as another blow came in from an unexpected angle, her last second dodge only sufficient to keep her from being disemboweled as the long claws raked across her stomach. Once more, vivid red blood splattered across the pristine white snow of the clearing, only this time it was from the Rakiri.

Jason got ready to take a shot, figuring that a small chance of hitting Yaro was better than the reasonable decent chance of her getting savaged in the next few seconds.

Only the creature didn’t move to finish off Yaro. Instead, it turned and charged toward him in one fluid motion.

Evidently it had decided he was the easier meal, his battle with Yaro a mere attempt to get her out of the way so it could pursue it’s real target.

Something Yaro realized too, as she clutched at her bleeding gut, vaguely Russian accent coming out in full force as she yelled at him to, “run!”

Jason would have rolled his eyes if they weren’t currently focused on the task of sighting down the massive were-bear from hell bearing down on him.

Fortunately, he’d made sure to keep a good distance between them, even as he’d tried to get a shot in on the melee. There was a good five meters between him and the creature when it had started running towards him.

Which gave him all the time he needed to line up his shot on a target moving in a straight line.

Just like a boar really, he thought as he gently squeezed the trigger.

There was no bang. Just like when he’d fired off a few practice shots earlier, there was barely even a hum as the coilgun unleashed its payload.

The only proof that he’d fired at all was the way the guntra jerked slightly, it took another step before it stumbled, a look of almost comical confusion on its face as its legs seemed to give out beneath it. Finally, it slumped down into the snow.

Right at Jason’s feet.

Dead before it hit the ground, Jason reasoned as he stared at the steaming corpse.

Though he was outwardly calm, his heart was pounding almost painfully in his chest. It was one thing to blast a boar that was charging straight at you, quite another to kill… one of these. Still, different species not-withstanding, the actions had been the same. Its quadrupedal gait meant that his shot had taken it in the face, and likely filleted it from lungs to anus.

Textbook.

“You ok, Yaro?” he asked, stepping around the corpse and moving toward the downed Rakiri.

Well, he thought she’d been downed. Apparently, she’d gotten back up in the intervening moments between her last cry and him shooting. That seemed to be all she’d done though. The alien looked almost frozen in place, one hand still outstretched.

“Ah… I…” she said lamely, holding the other against her gut.

Jason looked at the wound, which was bleeding less than he’d have expected. “Do we need to get you to a hospital?”

That seemed to snap the alien out of her fugue, as she finally lowered her arm. “N-no. I should be fine.”

He couldn’t help but notice that her vaguely Russian accent was back again, still cultured, but with none of the pitch perfect enunciation of her Shil’vati.

“You sure?” he asked. “It looked pretty nasty.”

“Rakiri are quite hardy,” she said as she shook her head, moving her hand away. “It has already stopped bleeding, see?”

He couldn’t, what with all the blood matted fur in the way. Her pristine white fur was coated with it. Still, he figured it was best to take her word for it.

“Well, we got him,” Jason said, gesturing to the corpse.

“Her,” Yaro corrected, almost absentmindedly, as she stepped over to the corpse to examine it. “And I suppose we did. Though I’d say the bulk of the credit goes to you.”

“Hardly,” Jason scoffed. “If you hadn’t kept it distracted when it first dropped, it’d have filleted me then and there.”

“A joint effort then.”

The woman sounded distracted as she spoke. Jason moved over to see what she was looking at.

“Is that a laser burn?” he asked, seeing the all too familiar patch of discolored flesh and missing hair.

Infection had clearly set in on the wound, but the underlying cause was still easily recognizable to him. They’d certainly been a common enough sight in the opening years of the invasion and not something he was liable to soon forget. It looked like the guntra had been skimmed by the beam, leaving a long streak of burned tissue along it’s side.

Jason glance down at the weapon in his hands. “I thought you said your people used coilguns?”

“When hunting,” the Rakiri allowed, standing back up again. “When it comes to matters of self-defense against other sapients however, we are far more practical. Some homesteaders have Shil’vati firearms in case of pirate attack.” She glanced at the weapon in his hands. “Shil’vati arms are also cheaper than those made on Dirt.”

Jason turned his attention away from the downed animal. “I’m sorry, did you just say ‘Dirt’?”

“Yes?”

“That’s the name of your homeworld?” he chuckled.

“Yes?” The woman paused, cocking her head at him. “Is that strange?”

Jason actually paused, his laughter dying in his throat. Did he really have room to talk? Earth was called Earth after all. Dirt by any other name was still dirt.

“No,” he conceded reluctantly. “I suppose it’s not.”

The Rakiri’s head was still cocked as she stared at him, but eventually she turned back toward the downed guntra. Slowly she reached down, and with a smooth motion, pulled out one of the beast’s long canines.

“Here.”

Jason stared at the proffered fang. He wasn’t usually one for trophies. He was a guy that hunted for the experience, not really to catch anything. Not that he begrudged a man a nice set of antlers on the wall.

Still, he supposed as he reached out to take the offering, a tooth wasn’t a bad memento. The thing was as long as one of his fingers and surprisingly heavy in his hand.

“Rakiri place great value on hunting trophies,” Yaro said, sounding pleased.

The woman reached under her slightly shredded top and pulled out a necklace. Jason hadn’t even realized she was wearing one. Her white fur covered up the string.

“That’s a long ass tooth,” Jason said, staring at the fang that was easily twice the size of the one in his hands.

The Rakiri practically preened under the compliment. “It was taken from a shelkat. An ocean dwelling predator on the homeworld. It was the product of many summer’s work on my uncle’s fishing boat as a teenager in order for me to afford a place on a hunting expedition.”

She glanced down at her trophy. “It was worth it though. It brought me much awe and envy from my peers.” Her attention turned back to Jason’s own. “As should your own bring you. Bringing down a guntra is no small feat.”

Jason smiled up at the Rakiri, before pocketing the tooth. “I think we can save the adoration for another day. Right now I’d settle for a shower and a mug of something hot.”

Now that the adrenaline from the hunt had worn off, his body was reminding him of how the cold was biting into it and how sore his limbs were. Trekking through the snow might have made for some picturesque scenery, but it was murder on the joints.

“I would concur,” Yaro said, before looking sheepish. “However, I would beg some more patience of you, Jason. Given my current… state,” she gestured to the blood that amply covered her. “I fear that setting off now would forever more stain my vehicle.”

Jason nodded. No one enjoyed getting blood out of their car’s seats.

The Rakiri paused. “There is however a spring nearby. I have gone there often, and I can assure you that the warm currents have a suitably rejuvenating effect.”

Jason stared at the Rakiri who seemed totally matter of fact. A small suspicion bloomed in his mind but he quickly snuffed it out. He was just being paranoid.

“Lead the way.”

One would think, given Yaro’s fur, her stripping out of her shorts and top would be a boring experience.

One would be wrong.

“Are you ok, Jason?”

Jason deliberately tore his eyes away from the alien’s svelte curves, the way her delicate pink nipples poked through the downy soft white fur that covered her chest.

“Fine,” he not quite squeaked.

One of Yaro’s ears twitched slightly, but other than the tiniest smirk at the corner of her lips, made no other acknowledgement of his blunder as she stepped out of her discarded shorts and stepped gracefully into the steaming pool of water she’d lead him to.

Jason deliberately didn’t look though, instead turning his gaze to the stalagmite covered ceiling above. The pool was just inside a cave entrance, and thus was sheltered from the wind. Between that, and the steam that billowed from the water, the interior was positively humid.

“Are you not going to change?” a voice asked from below.

Recognizing that he was putting it off – for reasons he was trying not to read into – Jason set about unzipping his jumpsuit. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice that Yaro hadn’t turned away. The Rakiri was watching from the pool, and while her gaze wasn’t particularly lecherous, their was no mistaking that their was a certain intensity to her gaze.

Nude as the day he was born, he ignored her and stepped toward the water. Part of him was tempted to test the water first with his toes, but his pride as a man wouldn’t allow it. Seeing little recourse but to step straight in, lest his courage be called in to question, he stepped into the water. Fortunately for him, the water was pleasantly warm. Not hot, just warm enough to be pleasant.

“Nice, no?” Yaro prompted.

He looked up to agree, only to have his words catch in his throat. The rakiri’s fur was slick with water, perfectly adhering to her form and showing off every inch of her chiseled physique. From her toned stomach to her perfect tear drop shaped breasts, the alien woman looked positively sensuous as the steam curled tantalizingly around her generous curves.

“Amazing,” he murmured, before coughing. “I mean, yeah, it feels great.”

Yaro’s smile only grew, but she said nothing, moving over to sit beside him. The move surprised him, but he didn’t complain as he found himself sitting shoulder to shoulder with the woman, her sodden fur tickling against his skin.

“It is nice to finally be able to show someone this place,” she murmured, leaning back, which did all sorts of interesting things to her breasts, as water trickled across them to drip into the pool. “Shil’vati have little interest in hunting. I feel they believe it beneath them. Even tried to curb it when they first conquered our world.”

Jason was curious about that. He knew of similar things going on with Earth.

While the Shil’vati seemed pretty content to let most things go on ‘as before’, they had a habit of constantly poking in and changing things. On a local and national level. He remembered a newscaster likening it to trying to change an engine while the car was still running. In essence, they were trying to take control by usurping the existing structures of power, rather than letting them fall into a vacuum. It was easier to control a stable society than a fractured one after all.

“They succeed?” he asked.

The woman scoffed, still leaned back. A strange sound coming from the normally sophisticated alien.

“They gave up when they saw how much resistance they were getting. In the end it wasn’t worth the trouble for them. Which they were wise to do. Hunting is as integral to Rakiri society as…” She paused. “I do not actually know what the comparison for a human would be?”

She turned a speculative eye on him and Jason was half-tempted to say promiscuity. He was pretty sure that was the answer a Shil’vati would give if asked about humans.

“We don’t really have one thing,” he admitted. “Humans seem to have more differences than commonalities. Different societies have different values. Hell, the only thing humans all seem to have in common is that we’re belligerent as hell.”

Rather than laugh like he expected, Yaro just nodded as if he’d made a pithy observation.

“Yes, from what news we have received out here on the fringes of the Imperium, your race does seem to have a great affinity towards rebelliousness,” she smiled at him. “I well imagine there are a number of Shil’vati analysts right now who are tearing their hair out as you all keep throwing off their projections.”

Jason didn’t know what to say to that. To be honest, he hadn’t been keeping up with news on Earth. Not least of all because doing so would only serve to make him homesick, but also because he hadn’t really had the time between basic training and getting deployed.

It wasn’t like it mattered. He couldn’t do anything about what was happening on Earth, and given his current employment, he’d be seen by many who lived their as a traitor. Which he was, even if he hadn’t had much say in it.

“Today’s been nice,” he said, trying to change the topic of the conversation.

“It has,” Yaro said. “While I did not intend for it, the addition of the guntra was welcome. It added… spice to the encounter.”

Jason noticed that while she was talking she had moved closer even closer. Her sodden fur pressed against his arm and her hand was now resting on his thigh.

That same look was in her eyes as she gazed down at him. "I must admit, I did not put much stock in suggestions of human openness. When I suggested we come to this pool, I will confess that I was mostly joking. I was… surprised when you accepted.”

Jason felt some stirrings down below as the alien looked down at him, but he moved to push her hand away.

“Sorry. I can’t,” he said regretfully.

To her credit, Yaro took the rejection with aplomb as she backed off. Jason tried not to wince at the loss of contact.

“An interesting choice of words: can’t.”

Jason shook his head. “I have a girlfriend.”

“A human? On Earth?” Yaro nodded. “That must be difficult.”

Jason chuckled. “A Shil’vati, actually.”

Yaro perked up, her ears turning toward him like little radar dishes. “Yet you are monogamous?”

“Not exactly.” Jason frowned a little. “Just… dealing with some human hang ups.”

He knew Raisha had no issue with him seeing other women. She’d said as much. So long as her ‘place’ in the unit was assured until they met again she was happy. To be honest, it seemed unfair to him, but she’d laughed and just said that was how Shil’vati did things. She’d also pointed out that it wasn’t like she’d be meeting any guys while at the Aviary.

“So the issue here is honor… not one of attraction?” Yaro asked.

It definitely wasn’t one of attraction. Sure, the Yaro was a hell of a lot more ‘alien’ than a Shil’vati, but Jason could admit that he was enough of a xenophile that that was no issue for him.

Quite the opposite.

“Nothing quite so noble,” he assured. “And yes, you are very attractive Yaro.”

If the alien could flush, he was pretty sure she would. Instead, he couldn’t help but notice the way her tail whipped languidly through the water behind her.

“If you are trying to dissuade me from continuing my courting Jason, then you are doing a poor job of it,” the Rakiri murmured, a hint of huskiness in her voice.

Jason just laughed, causing the alien to smile back.

“Though I have no intention to pressure you,” the alien said, her tone becoming serious. “I have made my desires known. I believe you feel the same.”

Jason glanced at the ceiling. Did he want this?

Yes. He definitely did.

It just didn’t feel right that the thing he wanted was also the correct answer in this situation. Wasn’t the noble option supposed to be the difficult one. Instead, he felt like he was just rationalizing it all away.

The problem was, it was the rational answer. Raisha had consented. He was interested. Yaro was interested. Nothing else needed to be said.

Finally, he came to a decision.

“Fuck it.”