Going forward with chapter 11.

Mark twirled around, launching one of the two shurikens he was holding with lighting quick speed.

His aim proved true as the deadly weapon curved it's trajectory to impact against one of the numerous drones flying around him, causing it's destruction.

He didn't have time to slow down as he dodged a diagonal slash from Kyiv. The elite arbitrator pursued him unrelentingly, attacking from all possible angles and directions.

The human however continued to ignore his aggressor, not bothering to counter.

He focused on moving and improving his already impressive skills with throwing weapons.

The ground around him was wet with both his blood and sweat, but it mattered not to him, what mattered was the fact more and more drones would replace the ones that were destroyed, making it endlessly more difficult.

This training exercise was both agonizingly painful as it was brutal. And Mark has been trying it for days now.

It was meant to simulate a worst case scenario in the Chiva, where he would have to effectively dodge xenomorphs along with their acidic blood.

His flawless streak came to and end when the Yautja feinted a stab and punched him in the gut instead.

The marine was sent sprawling to the unforgiving floor, letting out pained gasps, before coughing up blood.

Kyiv knew that he had pushed his apprentice beyond his limits, and was pleased by his performance.

He kept the unblood down, while giving him a reassuring praise: "Take your time Mark, breathe... your eye and limb coordination have improved massively. Good job."

Mark merely smiled as he touched the ground with his forehead, gritting his teeth to hold in the grunts of pain that wanted to escape his throat.

It had taken some time but he had managed to adapt to the Yautjan air.

He had only recently discovered that the arbitrator secretly putting solutions and pills in his food.

Under other circumstances he would have been enraged; but Mark had taken it as a sign of friendship and loyalty, assuring the enforcer that he didn't hold any resentment for the shadowy activity.

"I believe I have beaten Gruvin's all time record, have I not?" he asked; Kyiv wore a proud face: "You have, as a matter of fact, beaten mine as well. I have never been able to keep up this kind of pace for more than three ooman hours."

The rutting season had arrived, and under direct orders from the matriarch, Mark was to stay within the residence of the esteemed arbitrator.

Kyiv had taken the opportunity to bring the training to extreme levels. Even though the soldier's body was covered in dark blue bruises, he had made leaps ahead with his skills, and was all but ready for the Chiva.

Mark knew that a he would have to wait a year before being able to participate, but he wanted to be in the best shape possible.

He realized that he was now close to being a superhuman in terms of physical prowess, but he still strived to be better, almost feeling consumed by the need to do more.

He also wanted to keep his image in Mhei's best opinion, as to not lose her interest.

Kyiv had informed him that the primal hunter would use her position of power to learn all the matter of talk and gossip about him. She would be informed of his every victory and defeat; theoretically speaking that was.

When his lungs stopped burning and he was sure that there was no internal bleeding, he looked back up, and his heart nearly stopped: standing behind Kyiv was a titanic figure, clad in black armor and robes, radiating darkness and death. The room dropped to a freezing cold temperature. Mark started to choke, the air having seemingly disappeared.

Those black eyes seemed to trap his view , rendering him unable to move and at the unknown individual's mercy.

Dark spots began to creep around the edges of his sight, quickly multiplying and rendering him blind.

Mark panicked, sensing the obscure presence move closer.

He then felt a large hand grab his shoulder, and crushing it. It's claws cleaved into his flesh, ripping it open. The pain was horrendous as it flared across his entire being, somehow bringing back his worst memories. The unfamiliar touch started to burn, only increasing the cruelty of the inhumane torture.

""

He quickly closed his eyes and reopened them, free from the trance.

Kyiv was worriedly looking at him; the figure was gone and oxygen was pumped back into his system.

His shoulder was no longer mutilated, but he registered a small amount of discomfort.

"Are you alright? You froze for several moments and stopped breathing."

"I... I... y-yes, I'm good-d." he got back to his feet, averting his gaze and keeping his mouth firmly shut, and commenced the next training exercise refusing to tell Kyiv about the strange person he had just encountered.

The elite had realized that the navy seal didn't want to talk about it, since whatever he had seen must have had deeply disturbed him.

That much was obvious by the large amounts of stress, worry and fear that had dominated his scent for those brief moments.

Looking back at him, Kyiv took note of a seemingly darker bruise on his right shoulder blade that had seemed to appear merely minutes ago.

He found it intriguing to see that the shape of the mark was almost that of a circle.

Switching the visual mode of his mask from the ooman vision to the thermal one, he started to theorize a possibility of what might have happened to him, but he would have still needed more proof to confirm his hypothesis.

Until then though, he would keep silent on his questions.

He would however keep an eye out on his student.

Kyiv had left his grounds, having instructed his most trustworthy and loyal guards to notify him if Mark were to show similar behaviors like the previous one.

He had arrived at the luxurious dwelling of his fellow elite arbitrator Y'rall.

Getting to this part of the clan's territory had been particularly difficult: dodging the amorous attentions of several females was no easy task, what made it worse was the fact that almost every single male he had crossed roads with wanted to challenge him.

By the end he had arrived a bloody mess, but he was obligated to come anyways, as tradition demanded.

It was no surprise to him that his female counterpart wanted to bear his seed once more.

They had coupled numerous times in the past mating seasons, and till this day Kyiv viewed Y'rall as the best female out of all his mates.

She had raised numerous sons and daughters, teaching them the honor code and the ways of their race, and all of them had grown to be noble and honorable hunters.

Soon enough he was standing in her personal chambers staring at the huntress.

Y'rall was clad in a very revealing robe; her musky scent clouded the room, and Kyiv had to restrain himself from not taking her right then and there.

Such an action would have been suicidal as well, for the warrior would have immediately killed him for the dishonorable behavior.

She approached him, until their bodies nearly touched.

The larger yautja studied his dirty state, and gave a couple chirps of curiosity.

"I was confronted by a few hot headed hunters, please forgive my appearance."

The female arbitrator merely chuckled: "Always honest to a fault, my dear friend. The look suits you... it reminds me of why I have chosen you to continue my bloodline."

Kyiv puffed out his chest in pride, feeling honored by her compliment.

"There is a reason if I have favored you as the bearer of my sucklings, and that is because you are the best arbitrator I have ever had the honor to meet and work alongside." it was now her turn to receive recognition and praise, giving a purr of approval.

She unhooked the clasps of his armor, letting the various protective metal pieces slide down to the floor until no article of clothing was left on his form. She was purposely testing his willpower, wanting to see for how long he could keep his primal instincts at bay.

Once a reasonable amount of time passed, she deemed herself satisfied with his resolve, and took of her ornate dress, exposing her naked skin to his eyes.

Kyiv could smell the arousal generating from her core, and his member started to harden with blood in response.

He maintained her stare, still in hopes of pleasing even more her with his self control.

Ever so slowly, she placed her palm on his chest, this formal sign indicated that she was ready to rut.

He took in a deep gulp of the air intoxicated with her scent, and his loins ached painfully with desire.

With a lust filled growl, she roughly pushed him onto her pelt covered bed, intent on completing her "hunt".

Mating Y'rall was a laborious task, but in the end, it had been worth it.

He truly felt spent after mating a dozen times, but was proud to see he had tired out his seasonal mate.

His libido matched her stamina, and this had all but ensured that his seed would fertilize her eggs, promising the birth of a strong pup.

Now though, it was best to leave: Kyiv knew that females possessed a mighty temper, which was heightened during the rutting season.

The act of mating itself could become potentially lethal for a male if a huntress didn't properly restrain her strength, but the real danger came after the amorous act, for a female yautja would likely not tolerate the presence of a male of the same species in her own chambers. The superior sex of the yautja often did not desire physical touch, and only saw sex as a way to procreate.

And so the arbitrator wasted no time in leaving, but was abruptly stopped when a large hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back on the bed.

Y'rall placed herself on his body, almost as if it to claim it as her own.

Kyiv tensed up, preparing for the worse, before calming down when the female started to gently grasp his sensitive dreadlocks.

"You have nothing to fear, my mate, I would never harm you. Besides: who could best satisfy me, if not you of all warriors?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Are sure that my stay- "Your company would honor me Kyiv ar'khan, you may rest and regain your energy." with her permission he fully leaned back, closing his eyes in bliss.

The huntress placed a large thick pelt over them, before shifting her position so that she could pull him closer.

Kyiv gently nuzzled her neck, enjoying the heat clouding her reptilian skin.

The warmth of her large frame alongside the soothing touch of her fingers stroking his tendrils gave him a sense of security. Her chest started to vibrate with the thrum of her purr, relaxing him further and lulling him to slumber.

Kyiv soon fell asleep, comfortably laying in the hold of the powerful huntress.

Y'rall lovingly stared at her mate.

By letting him rest in her grasp she was symbolizing her trust and devotion towards him.

The thought of another female coupling with him brought a rush of protectiveness and jealousy, hence why she held him close.

Her purr intensified in sound as she closed her eyes as well and snuggled closer to him.

Soon she too entered the realm of Lilka.

And that was chapter eleven.

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