Max let out a small gasp and dropped the practice spear to the floor, holding his burning forearm and rubbing it with his fingers.

The Primal Huntress in front of him watched impassively as the child soothed his pain. She tapped the spear with her own one, motioning towards it, "Pick it up. Again."

With some effort due to the aching pain all over his body, Max did as she commanded and kept the weapon perpendicular towards the floor.

He blocked the first three strikes, but faltered on the fourth as it drove him slightly back, causing him to lose his guard, leaving him exposed to the overhead hit.

With a yelp he thrust his arms upwards and blocked that too, straining against the strength of the blow. And then he let out a small cry when the female yautja mercilessly swatted the exterior of his thigh.

The sharp sting was enough to make fall and only then did the red colored huntress stop.

Max groaned from the pain, knowing full well that a black bruise would form over the beaten skin.

"What was your mistake this time?" Mhei asked as she glared down to the boy. Max thought about it for a moment before replying, "I exposed my leg?"

She gave him a click of approval, "Sei, you overextended the limb when you dove to counter my attack." Her explanations were short, but to the point and always direct.

"Again, get up pup." With a groan, Max did so.

However, after doing this except use several times, there was no denying his exhaustion: his limbs were trembling from the strain and he was sweating profusely.

Plus, that was without even counting the numerous black welts that covered his form.

Once more, the huntress barely moved her arm to direct her attacks and though they were immensely slow and predictable, they were more than a much for the ooman boy that was sparring against her.

Max grunted with each block as his arms became heavier and heavier, feeling like lead, but when the huntress' staff impacted against his arm he yelped and dropped the practice spear again.

This time he had simply been overwhelmed by the number of strikes.

Finally, the huntress relented. "That is enough." With that, she deposited the spears back on the rack and walked back to him. "Come pup, our training is over."

Holding in the groan, Max briefly struggled to follow the huntress as she exited the kehrite.

The dark bruises over his body ached painfully with each step that he took. God, it hurt so much... it was horrible. Whenever he trained with his father's mate, Max knew that he was going to be in for quite a lot of pain.

He quickened his pace so that he walked closer to her, as there were some royal guards patrolling the halls and he did not feel comfortable with walking with them.

The huntress moved to another room.

"M-Mhei? Where are we going?" He timidly asked as they stopped in front of a door which opened once she was scanned.

"Keep quiet pup, I need to find the needed instruments." They entered into one of the healing rooms and Max stopped for a moment, briefly chiding himself for forgetting so easily.

Mhei easily picked him up and placed him on one of the tables while slipping on a mask an switching to different visions. Max waited patiently for her to finish as she examined him, asking him to hold out his arms and legs and lightly prodding over them.

It had become a sort of routine, which she would always do after they trained. Once she was done, she told him to get off and to follow him.

He recognized the path by heart now, after living with his father for a couple of months... she was bringing him to his room.

Silently, she motioned towards the bathroom and Max went there, stopping in front of the very large bath... which was more of a pool in its massive size.

He heard Mhei close the door behind him and turn around. "Go on." She simply stated.

Max began to lift his shirt off from himself and then did the same with his pants, setting them in a neat pile.

Unsurely, he looked over at her, going a little red in the face. The huntress clicked her mandibles and placed her gaze elsewhere, the gold rings on her tendrils lightly.

Quickly, Max took off his underwear and got into the pool, sighing when he descended into the warm water.

It was now that Mhei came forward and sat on the edge of the bath, so that the boy's back faced her. "Is the temperature to your liking?"

The child nodded his head and allowed her to push him under the water, setting his entire being. With a trill, Mhei reached to her side and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. She squirted some of it on her plan and rubbed her hands together.

With practiced ease, she threaded her fingers through Max's curly hair and began to gently soaps his scalp, leaving no place untouched.

The experienced warrior felt the boy relax under her hold and soon, the comforting thrum of her purr began to fill the room.

Max hissed a little when her finger passed over the side of his neck and Mhei stopped.

"It hurts?" She asked. "A little." She lightly touched him on the shoulder, telling him to get up.

While his modesty was still under the water, she had access to the rest of his body.

This time, using a sponge, she utilized the soap to cleanse his body from any filth that was left from the training.

Max would wince every time that she would rub too hard or would pass over his bruises. It went on like this for a little time, before eventually she was done.

"You may bathe." She said as the boy descended once more under the water before coming back up.

Mhei handed him the sponge so he could handle his own privates, though she did find it strange how oomans could be so skittish about their bodies.

So while he did that, she gathered the metal jar and opened it, peering in to it to see the yellow cream that it contained.

Max got out of the bath and used the towel nearby to dry himself, even if it caused him discomfort to touch his bruises.

When that was done, he put on his underwear and called to the Primal Huntress. She picked him up and placed him on one of the small beds that these chambers had, bringing the jar as well.

In silence, as they always did, Mhei gathered some of the cream and began to rub it onto Max's small body, covering the black bruises. Max sighed and shivered at the contact with the cold substance... it was something that he still hadn't gotten used to, even after all this time.

The female yautja was patient with how she applied the cream, knowing that if she was too rough, she would hurt the boy.

Oomans, and ooman pups especially where very delicate... it was not the same as with yautja.

"Can I put on my bottom pjs?" "Yes." She nodded while still putting the cream and covering the welt on his back. "You may also put on the rest of your night covering."

She was finished with the cream so she placed the jar on a desk and rinsed her hands of the substance.

Once more, she motioned to him to follow as she went to his bedroom, laying down on the bed and waiting for him to arrive.

"Come Max." She called to him and watched as he briefly struggled to get on the bed, still wincing from using his bruised muscles.

When he managed to get on top, she pulled him onto her stomach, letting her warmth pass onto him as her purr returned.

Max sighed and cuddled into her more, simply enjoying her closeness and the feeling of ease and security that she would always bestow upon him in situations like this.

It was a normal process... Mhei was... closer to the ooman child. She was a much closer than she had been at the beginning of the month.

"Where did we last left off pup?" "You were talking about the Purity Wars, and how they started." With a nod, she wrapped her arm protectively around him whilst her other allowed the wrist computer to display the hologram.

Max twisted over a little bit so that he could properly watch the recording that she was showing him. "It was all due to an initial misunderstanding between the Eclipse Clan and the Dark Blade Clan," The Primal Huntress began to recount the tale of the Blood Wars, using the advanced engineer technology to physically show him the battles from centuries ago.

The boy would ask the large female many questions, to which he would always receive a satisfactory answer.

"I'm glad that you decided to spend some time with him." That was the sentence with which Mark had started his conversation with his mate.

The towering huntress looked down on him, red eyes resting on his form.

"He is... a particular pup... and a good one at that."

The moment of silence dragged on for some more until the human decided to end it.

"Look, I know that I said this before, but I'll say it again. I'm sorry for adopting Max without telling you first... it was a stupid decision on my part, I'm not going to deny it."

The female let out a small chuckle and click with her mandibles. "It is alright my mate... even the way in which I initially acted was in the wrong, but all is done now."

With a sigh, the Primal Huntress cupped his face and kissed him. "I will help you raise him to be a worthy and honorable hunter, as it is obvious that he is a good person, much like yourself." There was a tone of doubt in her voice though, "But... I will not do it under the conditions that he is my pup... I am sorry about this Mark, but I simply cannot accept it... not yet at least."

He understood her completely and gave her a peck on the neck, reaching up with his tiptoes. "Thank you. What you are doing is already more than enough for what I could have hoped."

When a few more moments passed, they both looked outside from the view of their personal quarters. Miles down from the mountaintop, were stationed the massive ports, their reinforced gates being sealed shut.

Ever since expanding more of the base, Mark had taken to create a portion that would be reserved for his mate's fleet.

Of course, the vast majority of it was still in orbit, only her flagship and most armored dreadnoughts were currently docked... so to make company with his new class of yautjan warships, the biggest vessels that had been put to construction since the dawn of the old age were such titanic endeavors were more common.

"You are thinking something my mate." Mhei pointedly stated as she turned her head to gaze at him.

He gave a nod, "Yes... I'm thinking about a new class of warships." He heard her snort, "Even bigger than the last? Surely there must be a more efficient project to pour our resources in."

"Yes, I do know what you're saying and I agree. This is why the new ships will be much smaller... think of them like a... super heavy cruiser or something, bordering on being a proper battleship, but still retaining the speed and agility of the smaller vessel." "Such hybrids already exist." "Yeah, but these ones will be better than those, I assure."

The female barked a laugh and pulled her mate close, holding him against her.

So, sorry for the delay.

I've found a summer job and I'm working as a waiter in a hotel... the issue is that I'm constantly occupied so updates will be much slower from now on until at least september