"And you can climb those trees?"

Zeri let out a small trill of amusement at Max's amazement: "Why yes pup, it is something that is very common for a Yautja to do." He gaped at that, still very much impressed.

Her large taloned hand gently settler on the upper part of his back as she leaned down a little, "Do not worry though; soon, you too shall learn how to do so, for I will take to teach you myself."

"Really? Thank you! That's super nice about you!" But he stopped then, "But... I have nothing to offer you in return..."

The towering female Yautja smiled in adoration of the small ooman pup, for he was already displaying a correct stance on the use of Honor and justice within even simple manners that would be encountered in a day.

"It is alright Max, everything is alright the way that it is. I would be gladdened to teach you, if my bearer and your sire don't do so yet." That was another important detail: an entire month had passed since he had last seen his father and his mate.

They had gone hunting or something, but they were going to be returning today, or at least that is what his dad had told him through the messages that they shared on a daily basis.

He had slowly grown to like Zeri and to feel comfortable around her. His dad had assured him that he could trust her and that she was someone who would always be good... and he could not deny it. In the time that they had spent together, she never had made him feel uncomfortable in any way... even if he barely made it past her knee when standing up.

A couple of weeks ago she had begun to take him out on these daily walks, moving away from his father's palace to enjoy the lush greenery of these public grounds. He had been extremely nervous in the beginning, fearing every single yautja that had even been partially near them, but slowly that fear eroded away alongside some of the other worries that he carried.

Max was just more comfortable in general, he was more relaxed with everything and with Zeri by his side, he even felt safe.

"Would you care to come see the river? I am sure that we will be able to catch some fish, with patience and diligence of course."

"Can we? I would like to do it, but that sounds like so much more work; you don't have to do this for me!" Again, the huntress was touched deeply by his general worry for other people's preferences and happiness.

"No it is not Max. I have fished, cleaned and cooked the particular meat more times than I can count. I know the method of doing it very well. Perhaps, if you want to learn, I can teach you." "Thank you Zeri! I would like that very much" And with that they began to slowly walk away, towards another portion of the jungle.

Max made sure to walk close to her, not wanting to be without her for a single waking moment. For her part, the towering female walked right besides him, head tilted to the side a little so that one red eye could watch him constantly.

There weren't that many other hunters, or it would have seemed to be that way to Max, for he hadn't even notice the rippling in the air of the trees that rose high above the ground.

There were a couple of yautja that were currently cloaked standing in top of some branches, though they were alone and were minding their own business.

The ground was a bit curated to permit a relaxing opportunity to walk, so she did not have need to pick Max up in order to avoid him getting slowed down or even trapped in the thick construction of bushes and vines that were common in other portions of the green oasis, though that did not even count all of the creatures that were lethal to him, a small, defense less ooman pup.

That was another thing that she had taken to do: continue with his training to become a fully blooded hunter. She had taken over the duties of her bearer and had continued with where she had left off with the training of the basics.

Naturally, this needed some change on her part, as that as well as Zeri had to adapt herself to sparring with an opponent who was much smaller than her, for even pups his age were near twice his own height.

"Here we are, it is beautiful is it not?" He eagerly nodded his head at her, watching the flowing water.

"There is indeed prey here. Come, let me show you how I hunt Max." She picked up a branch and unsheathed a small knife, using it to sharpen one end of the wood.

With practiced ease, she constructed a spear and flipped it around so that the pointy end faced the ground. "Now, it is all a matter of being patience and having good reflexes and control over your own body."

Zeri stood rick still, arm raised and holding the spear as she gazed into the river. Max silently crept up next to her.

He managed to spot a fish, and to not startle her, he whispered his next words: "I can see a fish over there, it's coming." She gave a trill of praise, "That is good. But it is too far away. We will wait for another one."

A good two minutes passed and Max continued to wait patiently, trying to see if he could notice any more of the aquatic creatures. And then, he jumped back when Zeri suddenly stabbed the spear downwards and a smudge of blood came from it, washing away with the rest of the water.

She reared her arm back up to show him the trashing red fish on the end of it. "Wow! That was so fast!" The huntress gave him an amused bow of the head, "While thank you young one, would you like to try as well now?" "Sure!"

He was a little bummed out.

Max had not been expecting to be great or a master at fishing, but he hadn't even been able to catch one!

The boy was tired now, exhausted really. His arms ached and so did the rest of his body for standing still for so long. At a couple of points, he was nearly going to fall into the river had it not been for Zeri's quick reaction to hold him back.

Now though, she was still doing some fishing and she had told him that he could walk around a little bit.

He was doing just that now, though he still within her immediate proximity of a few dozen feet. Max did not want to stray off, he really didn't want to.

Right now he was simply looking up to the skies, already seeing a few faint stars as one of the twin suns had begun to set, marking the arrival of late evening. Soon, he would have his daily nap and rewake later to train and learn some more, as he had always done.

However the boy was very much startled when he saw a Yautja appear out of the corner of his eye. His first instinct was to run away, but he remembered what his father had tried to teach him and consequently remembered the proper things that he was supposed to do.

"H-Hello honored h-hunter." He heard a trill and cast a quick glance, realizing that the hunter was in truth a huntress and that this was an arbitrator.

"Oh! S-Sorry arbitrator! I did not notice you." He heard a deep chuckle and surprisingly, the female answered back in English.

"That is quite alright pup... but what are you doing here? Are you alone?" He blushed for a moment, "Uh- n-no, thank you. I'm with someone."

"I understand, do not be worried to ask for help if you need it pup." He looked up at her and gave her a small smile, feeling more calmed now that he saw that she wasn't being aggressive at all.

"Well, I'm going to go back now, thanks for everything arbitrator!" He had just begun to jog back when she suddenly called out to him. Max stopped and turned around just as she came closer.

"Wait a moment pup." There was something different though, her voice wasn't as warm as before. She grasped his arm none too gently and brought it closer to her masked faced.

Maybe she was smelling him? He didn't know what was happening, but he yelped when she let out a growl and stood up.

"Why are you here ooman? Who is your sire?!" The arbitrator was squeezing his arm and it hurt.

"Ow! Please stop! You're hurting me!"

"Who is your sire pup? Answer me!" She barked out and Max felt petrified with fear as he began to breathe at a rapid pace, almost on the verge of crying.

But it was not to be that way, for behind him, a furious growl emanated and something slammed against them.

Max let out a cry but was left shocked as he felt a large clawed hand hold him tight to a body much larger than his.

Zeri openly roared at the female arbitrator, mandibles bared and eyes narrowed, posture stiff and aggressive.

She moved Max so that he was behind her as she glared venomously at the other huntress.

Max could not understand what they were saying but he was afraid... he had never seen Zeri look so angry before, but she was protecting him... he understood that very well now.

A few moments passed as the two continued to speak to one another, but eventually, the arbitrator huffed and left with a hiss.

Zeri finally relaxed a little bit and kneeled down in front of him, holding him by his arms, "Did she hurt you? Is there anything that stings?" He shook his head no, but was still under shock.

"I... why d-did she do that? Aren't arbitrators supposed to be good?" The female Yautja sighed, "I understand that you are worried Max... let us return back to your sire's dwelling. It will be best that way."

He did not stop her from doing so and was only as convinced to go forward with the plan.

"You know, I must say that it was true pleasure to make those arrangements with the High Matriarch Z'uaya, she really is a noble and honorable matron." "I most certainly agree with you my mate, it is also refreshing."

Mark took off his shirt, briefly looking at all of the scars which adorned his chest.

"Still, it is good to know that the Wounded clan has pledged allegiance to us, that's one more clan on which we can count on."

It was late, and they were simply heading off to sleep. But then her wrist computer beeped, signaling a message.

Mark felt her mood change in a moment, he could smell the scent of wrath which clung to her. "My Queen," He asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Zeri wrote to me, an arbitrator almost attacked Max." His blood ran cold, "What?"

"He is fine Mark, Zeri protected him, he is merely shaken by the experience." "Good, but who the fuck touched him? With what fucking reason?"

"From what Zeri has written, it appears to be the arbitrator with which your were former friends."