Caught Up

The thing that stood out to me the most was her bright coloration. What I'd seen of Wolf's clan and this one so far, everyone was various earthy tones. She, however, stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness with her white, scaly skin. Even her tresses were pale.

She paused in her approach and then spotted me. Her mandibles spread with excitement and though she started toward me, she lurched to a stop.

"Elder Uzule," she greeted, then turned to Wolf. "Arbiter Sha'ktil-ar."

Both males returned her greeting with differing measures of amusement—Wolf seemed a bit more exasperated, as if his last encounter with her had really been that exhausting.

With nothing else standing in her way, that same excited countenance that she'd had when first laying eyes on me returned.

It was a bit intimidating, being regarded with anything other than muted curiosity or feigned indifference.

"You look so much better, little one!" she crowed. It was kind of like having a huge, happy dog come barreling toward you.

Looking at her, I couldn't immediately notice anything that would indicate she was "sickly", as Wolf had said. She was almost as tall as him, maybe a smidge taller. Also just like him, she looked like she could wrestle a bear and come out on top. In fact, I didn't notice anything inherently different about her at all: if I didn't already know she was female, I never would have guessed it.

Which would explain why I thought I hadn't seen any females on Wolf's ship. I probably had and just didn't realize it.

"Thank you—" Anything else I was gonna say just became a surprised grunt as she swept me up into a bear hug. I swore I heard something crack.

When she let me go, I stumbled and Wolf caught me by the arm, helping me stay upright.

"I am Mhalu. I met with Sha'ktil-ar when he brought you and I helped with some of your procedure," she said, taking one of my hands in both of hers and shaking it.

A hug, a handshake . . . she really was into human culture.

My head was spinning. Up close, I finally realized why they would consider her sickly: she wasn't merely leucistic like I originally had thought.

She did have predominantly white skin, but there were pale yellow swathes blended throughout, with some equally pale greenish-gray distortion around the edges of her head, where her tresses met with her skull. All of that mixed with the dull, gray-green eyes set into her face could only mean one thing.

She was albino.

If I hadn't already been aware that yautja blood was green and not red, I would have missed it.

Albinism would come with a host of problems, probably—the least of which was being unable to leave the ship. Most albino reptiles didn't make it in the wild because they needed to be out in the sun, but it also burned them easier.

I didn't know much else about the condition, though, but it seemed to be bad enough that they largely ignored her. Though, Uzule didn't seem to mind.

"|Uh,| you can call me Ast'ni."

Her eyes narrowed and she rounded on Wolf. "Did she pick that name?"

He averted his gaze. "I have been calling her that since we met."

Frowning, I asked, "Why?"

Mhalu huffed and said, "Did he tell you what it meant?"

I shrugged. "That it is a flying creature known for its stubbornness."

"Of course," she scoffed. "It is better known for something else, though. You should tell her, arbiter, since you chose it."

Wolf grimaced and said, "I would rather not."

Okay, now I had to hear it.

"No, Wolf, tell me," I said in a fake, sweet voice.

Uzule took that time to say, "I will leave you all to catch up, then," and left with what I saw as immediate haste.

The escort said nothing and left with him, but I could see him snickering.

Was this what they'd been so amused with when I'd introduced myself? I'd assumed it was because of my poor eloquence, but apparently, I had assumed wrong.

Both Mhalu and I waited expectantly for Wolf to explain.

When he made it apparent he would rather stand and pretend neither of us was there, Mhalu let out a snort and turned to me, saying, "An 'ast' is an extremely noisy creature from our home planet that squawks all day long."

I made an affronted sound and Wolf was quick to defend himself. "It was when we first met. You made so much noise while you were stomping around and you mouthed off quite often. You still do but I find it less annoying now, more endearing. You chose to name me after one of your native creatures so I figured it was fair!"

Disgruntled, I threw my arms up. "|Yeah, but I picked out a cool, edgy, predatory animal! You named me after some sort of annoying chicken!|"

Mhalu gave me a reassuring pat. "It is not anything like a chicken. It is fine, though, as you can pick your own name if you want. You are not stuck with it. What is your human name?"

"Nichole," I said with a pout. "|I can really just pick whatever name I want|?"

She nodded and Wolf said, "Yes. I was waiting for your language skills to improve, but I was going to let you pick your own sain'ja name if you so desired."

"|But you weren't going to tell me what my name really meant|," I huffed.

He scratched his neck in embarrassment. "I told you the good things about that creature."

Nearly bursting at the seams, Mhalu interrupted our lovers' quarrel with an exclamation. "Was that English you are speaking?"

Somewhat startled, I nodded. I hadn't even really noticed that I'd been switching back and forth again in my outrage.

I was relieved that I wouldn't have to be known as "noisy bird" for the rest of my life, at least. I would really have to think hard on this whole, "name yourself" business.

"|English was the third language I taught myself|!" Mhalu announced proudly, giving her head a smug toss.

Her accent was rough and her pacing a bit stilted, but it was actually a pretty good job.

I forgot all about Wolf's slight and brightened up considerably. "|You're pretty good at that. Wolf's only said, like, five words in English since I've met him and all of them were monosyllabic|."

"|Wolf is the name you gave him? He really did not pick an equally nice name|."

"|Right? What's that about!|"

Wolf harrumphed and said, "Since you two are getting along so well, I will go and catch up with the serfs to see if the meat is sufficient enough payment and then procure more traded goods. Will you be fine alone with this one?"

Before I could answer, Mhalu did.

"I will see to it that she is well taken care of," she assured him, pressing a closed fist to her chest. "I can give her a tour of the ship. When we are finished, I will bring her back here."

Wolf was looking at me expectantly, so I figured I should answer.

"Yes, I will be fine," I said.

"As you say. Enjoy your tour," he bade.

I waved at him as he left and then Mhalu said, "Do not be too mad at him. He was concerned about your welfare the entire time you two were here. He may have chosen an ungainly name when you met, but I do believe he means well now."

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, I know. I am not that mad at him."

"Good." She pressed her mandibles together in a grin and then motioned for me to follow her. "Now, come! I will show you my home."

We left the airlock area and as we moved on from that set of corridors and into the ship proper, there were even more yautja out and about than I had expected. I watched them carefully, keeping out of the way and my head low. Mhalu largely ignored all of them, but gave them a wide enough berth.

Some of them stopped to stare, others offered nothing but spare glances. Chatter was picking up, but no one stopped us as we navigated the strange ship.

Within the corridors and hallways, the ceiling was comfortably low. However, as we moved into what I assumed was some kind of main hub considering how many yautja were present, it vaulted high above us. There wasn't anything special about it despite its huge, open design, though. Metal walls, metal floors, metal tables, metal chairs . . .

And it was all so dark.

Everything was a drab gray basked in the typical ambient red glow of the heat bulbs. That ambient red light was enough for me to see, but I wished there was some white light so I could make everyone out better.

Utilitarian to the last detail. The only thing that stood out to me was an embossed symbol taking up the majority of the leftmost wall—what I assumed to be the clan's symbol.

A fine mist curled about our feet to create the high humidity they preferred, and I wished I had worn my mesh suit: the heat and humidity was oppressive.

Since the ship interior wasn't much to look at, I watched the various individuals taking residence upon it. Some seemed to have jobs to attend to: moving big crates around and doling out orders to others. Most were either talking amongst each other or showing off, and a larger group by a set of tables and chairs was rough-housing.

Most didn't seem to notice us, but those that did openly stared.

I felt like I was a child again, following around my mom in an unfamiliar location. I stuck close to Mhalu, wondering if she would be enough to keep people away from me until I had a chance to adjust to so many of them being around.

"This is our central hub," Mhalu said, stopping off to the side where we wouldn't be in anyone's way. "You can get anywhere on the ship from here, the second deck where all of the socializing happens. We come to spar, train, eat, and gather."

So, my assumptions had been mostly correct. I was maybe getting the hang of this.

"I know this means nothing . . ."

Mhalu trilled in laughter and said, "You may speak English around me if you are more comfortable doing so."

"|Oh, okay. Well, I was just gonna say it's really dark in here, though I know that doesn't matter to you guys,|" I said with a shrug.

She nodded knowingly. "Right, you are a light-centric species while we rely on heat. If it is any consolation, I too have some difficulty navigating my way sometimes. I do not see as well as the others . . . It is all a bit blurry."

"|Because of the albinism|?"

Head canted, she said, "The what?"

I made a vague gesture toward her and said, "|Your skin and tresses are lacking the same pigmentation that the rest of your kind have and your eyes are pale green. On Earth, people and animals with that condition are called 'albino'.|"

Her eyes widened. "Are they sensitive to light and suffer vision problems?"

"|Among other things, yeah I guess|."

"|Albino|," she repeated, testing the word out. "We do not have a name for the condition itself and since we do not see in colors like you, I had no idea about the physical signs. I was always told I was of weak sight and sun-sensitive. If I want to leave the ship, I have to do it when the sun has set on a planet. It made me smaller than most females."

"|So, females are bigger than males?|" I inferred.

She nodded. "Generally, yes, though there are variations. I am on the small side not because of genetics, though, but because of my condition."

"|I see.|"

Though she was about to say something else, Critter suddenly came bounding over. He slid to a stop when he realized I was with someone and nearly prostrated himself to be shorter than Mhalu, who was giving him a curious look.

"Ast'ni fine?" he chirped.

I grimaced at the name but said, "Yes. This one is showing me around. What are you doing?"

"Get trade things for master," he said.

"Who is this?" Mhalu asked, her disposition still jovial.

"One of the serfs that lives on the ship with us. His name is Critter," I said. "The other one back there pretending not to see us is Creature."

Indeed, Creature was standing nearby waiting for Critter. He was casting us only the most furtive of glances, otherwise keeping his eyes forward. All the while, he kept himself low the same way Critter was doing so it didn't look like they were trying to challenge anyone—though they easily stood three or four heads taller.

Mhalu said, "Creature and Critter! Did you decide those names?"

"|Yeah.|"

"They suit them!"

Creature had enough and skittered over to grab Critter. "Must go. Master waiting."

Critter let out a noise in protest but followed along all the same. Mhalu and I watched them disappear down the corridor we'd come from and then she perked up again.

"Oh, that is the first deck. All of the airlocks are down there. Some of our members have their own ships they dock, and some are escape pods in case of emergency. Then, there is the one you and your arbiter used. The bridge is there as well, where we navigate and the elders and clan leaders gather for important meetings," she explained.

I didn't know how to respond to that so I just asked, "What other decks are there?"

"There are five in total. The third deck is where we rear the young, tend to the sick and injured, and where sleeping quarters are. The fourth deck is where our weapons, armor, and textiles are made. The fifth deck has the machinery that keeps the ship going," she recited, counting them off on her fingers.

My eyes widened. "|You have a nursery|?"

Her brows furrowed knowingly and her mandibles twitched into a smile. "Oh, yes. Would you like to see? Our clan does not allow males in unless they are visiting their own offspring, but you and I can go and see the infants."

"|I would absolutely love that,|" I said in a deadpan voice.

She laughed and then showed me the way to the third deck, giving me little tidbits of information here and there along the way. I was only half paying attention, strangely fixated on the idea of seeing a little baby yautja for the first time.