"Augar, are you sure about this?"

"I am, the serpents shall exit the hive from that opening." Max shook his head with a fond smile, "You misunderstand me: I mean to indicate if you are sure about this approach that does not require the aid of the other hunters."

The albino rose from his crouched position, silent as a leaf. One would have not expected them to be capable of balancing themselves in tandem on top of a branch, and yet there they were.

"The serpents shall attempt to flank the other group. We will have prime pickings and good trophies shall come from them." Max nodded.

"Yeah, I can see what you're thinking. I agree with you." "And I am glad that you do." A small grin broke out on his face then, for Max had come to recognize Augar's dry and reserved sense of humor.

"Why am I not surprised?" But the atmosphere quickly shifted back to being serious as all thoughts about jokes and laughter left them as they concentrated on glaring at the opening.

Any minute now and the Kiande Amedha would appear. From the corner of his eye, Max watched as Augar took out his modified bow. In his hand he held a small, thin, cylinder that quickly elongated into a sleek black arrow.

He had learned that the albino was a tinkerer, in fact it was a common sight for Max to see that his friend was invested with modifying and upgrading his gear. He was undoubtedly sure that Augar had an entire collection of bows somewhere in his ship, and that he kept switching out bits and parts in order to best suit the situation.

Briefly, he wondered how a completion between and his father would turn out, for Augar was very good with landing his shots. So much so that he considered him to be the best hunter that he had ever seen using that weapon. Perhaps even better than the Primal Hunter.

"Are you ready Augar?" "Of course." And he had the concentration to match his skill. When the Yautja became determined, he really did become determined.

"Alright. Think I'll be able to beat you this time?"

It was a small running joke, the one that they were often to tell each other before beginning a long and arduous hunt. They would race each other to see who was capable of earning more trophies.

Usually, Augar was the victor of such friendly competitions, but Max has managed to snag a few wins here and there. He was slowly getting better though at matching the albino.

"We shall see." "I'm betting a thousand credits that I'll win." Had he not been expecting a response, Max would have missed the quiet snort that came from him.

"Two thousand that I shall be the one to win." The human grinned. "Oh, you're on."

There was a slight amount of stress that came from the anticipation of hunting and battling serpents.

It was not the kind of hunt that both he and Augar participated to often, so there was always much excitement.

And just then, a hiss was heard coming from the opening. "There they are those dirty fuckers." He gripped the combistick in his hands and tensed the muscles in his leg. Augar rose up and drew his arm backwards, preparing to let his arrow loose upon their prey.

"Come on now."

And just after he muttered those words, there was a rustle and a collection of swift, shrieking forms of black emerged from the hive. Max was already moving forward, throwing the combistick towards the first of the group with all of his might and a loud grunt.

Already, three of the Kiande Amedha were felled by Augar's arrows that quickly perforated their necks and brought death upon their pitiful existences.

His spear caught a warrior directly in the chest, breaking through the hard and durable exoskeleton to pierce the soft organs underneath.

Hisses and roars of anger arose as acid blood was spewed left and right.

Max dove towards the group just as his companion began to follow him, bearing his wrist blades and openly challenging the serpents.

This was were his adrenaline began to take control, enhancing his physical abilities and pushing him to achieve greater feats of strength. This was were he would dance along the fine line that separated the worlds of life and death, of Lilka's and Cetanu's domains.

With a roar, he engaged the first serpent, swiping his arm at its neck and cleaving two fine lines within its ebony flesh. Max quickly proceeded to attack the next serpent, and he could hear Augar behind him who roared and went off to murder the abominations.

The fight was not one that was meant to last long, so they finished it in under five minutes or so.

"Well, you got nicked." Max pointedly stated as he looked over to his companion.

Augar was in fact sporting a cut along his forearm, but it did not bother him that much, as he merely shrugged, "I did not defend myself well enough. I shall have to be better next time." Then it was his turn to look over the younger hunter.

"You are wounded." "What? Don't tell me your joking." "Max, there is a gash on your back. It is bleeding." Confused, he turned around and cursed, "Fuck, I didn't even feel that. Guess I was high on adrenaline. Better have this checked out."

He removed the part of hunting gear that covered his vulnerable back. There was indeed a clear cut in the metal. "Fucker got me good yes, fucker did get me good..." Augar came to tend to the wound, to disinfect it and to dress it with a temporary wrap.

"We should return to our ships." "Yeah, you can say that again." Max agreed with him, and took the opportunity to look at the dead corpses of serpents.

"...five, six, seven... yup, I got seven in total. How about you?" There was a moment of pause as Augar counted his own kills, "Seven as well."

The human let out a low whistle as he began to systematically cut the head of a drone. "It's a tie then." "Indeed it is." The albino had taken his own skulls and had placed them within an acid-proof net. He offered one to Max as well and he gave him a small thanks.

Together, they walked together back towards their ships, briefly crossing paths with the other group of hunters that had come to the same hunting grounds. Max noticed his friend still and walk back to the ships in a hurried pace after one of the females of the group offered a flirtatious purr.

He shook his head and let out a sigh, as this had become a routine for them. The young man had come to learn that Augar was... shy, around huntresses.

The albino always seemed to become embarrassed and anxious whenever he was in the presence of one, so much so that he would have preferred to spend an evening alone in his ship instead of participating to one of the communal feasts.

On one hand, he found it quite hilarious, but on the other, it saddened him a bit, for Max heavily suspected that Augar refused such advances because of the complexion of his skin.

Honestly, he would have just told him to go with it, because it couldn't be that bad right?

But it wasn't his responsibility or authority to decide such things, as they would affect only Augar himself.

"Well, this was a productive day. Wouldn't you agree?" "I do Max." "Alright then, let's get this shit checked over shall we?"

They were using the small medical quarters of his ship, as they would often do.

"Thanks man, for helping me with this." The albino clicked his mandibles, "It is no problem Max. Hold still, I must close the wound." Max winced a little bit when he felt a stinging sensation going over his back.

It did not take long however, and Augar had finished in record time, being efficient in his work. "Yup, feels so much better already. Perfect, now we can have dinner. Who's offering though? We ended this hunt in a tie."

And here came a real problem, deciding who would need to bear the duty of procuring a worthy dinner.

"What if we both take on the task then? It would only be right, given that we have both obtained the same number of skulls."

Max let out a small curse, "Dammit, and here I thought that I would be able to relax..." But it was still done in a good and joking nature.

"Come then, I shall prepare a meal that is culturally tied to my clan. I am expecting you to do the same." "Oh, I'll do you one better, you're getting chicken wings. I'll finally see if I've mastered my dad's recipe." "Chicken wings?" "You just wait and see, we're eating them with the hot sauce!"

Augar and Max are hanging out like buddies.