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A Union of Convenience (Formerly ‘Alone’)	By : Keen Category: M through R > Predator Views: 13009 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Predator movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Ali’shir stood in the doorway,
cautiously and stealthily looking left to right. There was no one on the docks,
they could slip out unnoticed yet again if she would just hurry up. “I-sis!” he
hissed over his shoulder.
“Give me a break, Ali,” she grit, slowly
rounding the corner back first, the muscles in her back and arms straining.
“These things are heavy and some of us aren’t as strong as you are.”
Ali’shir stalked toward her and took
the kill up with one hand, tossing it over his shoulder. “And do not forget
it,” he nodded smugly, reaching for her.
Isis
swatted his hand away and pushed off the floor on her own. “I am not that weak,
you big show off.”
“Just cover up and keep quiet,”
Ali’shir laughed, tossing his cloak at her.
Isis
draped the thing over her shoulders, hiding the torn and ragged clothing she
wore underneath. As per their agreement, Ali’shir took her hunting and there
would have been no other viable explanation why her clothes and appearance were
all ragged and stained as they were, if someone saw her. So she bundled up in
the thing as she skirted ahead of him toward the doors. She was the lookout,
making sure the coast was clear before flagging him through and moving up level
after level. The stairs were less conspicuous, so they trotted up flight after
flight until they reached their floor and up the service walk to their room.
Ali’shir thundered inside first, shelving their kills to be properly
cleaned and treated later while Isis shut the door and moved to draw a shower.
She was already inside it when he entered the bathroom and then jumped in
behind her. She paid no attention to him as he did, only turning to hand him
the soap.
Ever since they cemented their arrangement, arguments were few and far
between. They were friends, equal and thick as thieves. The isolation and
ridicule from the Elders made them realise all they really had was each other
and that that was not so bad. Isis seemed to
be completely at ease with their arrangement and Ali’shir had to admit he was
as well. Even when they showered like this, he barely looked
at her as anything else other than a companion…barely.
Ali’shir quickly raised his head, noticing Isis
was turning. “I’m done,” she said patting his shoulder as she passed.
Ali’shir nodded and continued lathering his neck, dipping his head
under the spray so to not see her bottom as she walked around the glass panes
of the shower stall. Isis didn’t even notice
his eyes following her as she moved to the bedroom.
Pavi, well meaning but sorely mistaken, gave them a
suite many rooms in the hopes of seeing them expand their family. Isis could
have told her she was wasting her time but instead she smiled and nodded
appreciatively as the Elder Female toured the space with her and showed her how
the beds became cribs in a few steps.
There were a total of four rooms in the new Elder suite, a master
bedroom and three additional, each one furnished and quite beautiful, but Isis
and Ali’shir still slept together in the one. Ali’shir didn’t even bring it up
for discussion, plopping her stuff as well as his own down on the floor when
they settled in, not that Isis minded at all.
She was rather embarrassed to admit she slept better when he was there and
would not want it any other way.
Isis strode past the bed on the elevated
platform to the small passageway on the right, travelling the warmly lit hall
to the closet. She didn’t have much to fill her half, but she took her time,
perusing the few dresses Gi made for her to pick one
for today’s last meal as Ali’shir walked inside. She was always the first to
leave the shower, but he was always the first to dress and leave. Today was no
different.
He came to his side of the closet and picked whatever was near and put
it on with haste, strapping his weapons on last. “Where are you going in such a
hurry?” she asked.
“You ask the same question almost every time, Isis.”
“Yeah, I keep forgetting the answer.”
Ali’shir shrugged. “I am going to a meeting. I will only be a moment,”
he said, walking outside. “Do not wait for me.”
“Ah yes, a meeting,” Isis nodded
knowingly.
There were no meetings before dinner for the same reason there was no
one to see them when they snuck in from hunting, everyone was preparing for
last meal. He was obviously lying, but Isis,
like she always did, let him go without question…until her curiosity grabbed
hold of her. Of all the things they shared, why were these secret meetings
something he chose to hide?

Ali’shir took a breath and paused, tasting the air under his tongue.
He looked around the large stone complex, watching the shadows on the
cream-coloured walls, listening for sounds to echo in the basement’s long
halls. There were none, which told him he was alone here, but the scent would
not leave him. Then there was a scratching down the corridor he faced near the
doors.
Ali’shir kicked his seat away from him as he stood with a growl, his
hand on the blade at his hip. “Come out or I will find you.”
“Easy, it’s just me,” Isis said,
striding from around the corner.
Ali’shir eased but he was till angry. “Minding your business is part
of being a good mate, Isis.”
She made a face and spun in place. “Ali please, who is here to see
us?”
“No one but my son,” he said, patting the wall at his back.
Isis moved closer and was surprised to see
the heavy slab wasn’t really a wall but a door. Long green fingertips gripped
at the bars at it’s base, yellow eyes peered at her
from underneath. Strikingly familiar yellow eyes. Ones
she had only seen once before, a long and horrible time ago.
They sent a fearful shiver through her but still she went closer, her
curiosity piqued. She squatted at the bars, trying to place those haunting
yellow eyes but as soon as she neared they were gone. Widening and then
retreating into the dark of the cell.
“She is Isis?” Yash’in said with
disbelief.
Ali’shir’s was shocked to hear his son’s voice but
Isis, unaware of his quiet nature, simply smiled and scooted closer. “I am,”
she said reaching for his hands.
She held them only a moment before he ripped them away. She stood as
the door shook, the male inside pushing away from it, dragging the chains that
bound him across the stone floors. Ali’shir let out a groan and rubbed his
neck, staring at the ceiling. It seemed as if whenever he made a step with his
son, there was always something there to knock him back two.
“Now he will not come to the door for another two weeks,” he sighed.
Isis bit her lip and apologised. “I didn’t
know,” she said. “Can I ask, what is he in here for?”
“I-sis,” he hissed.
The woman held up her hands to stop him, she could hear the reluctance
in his voice. She could imagine it was a sore subject for him and if when he
wanted, if he wanted, he would tell her the details. “I’ll start that minding
my business part right now,” she said patting his shoulder as she moved.
Ali’shir grabbed her hand, his thumb pressing the centre, fingers
curling over hers. “I will be there soon enough,” he assured.
Ali’shir knew she hated bearing the scrutiny of the Elders alone, he
did too. He also knew it would probably be worse than usual because Tu’shar
called a special dinner meeting and would hold it in his private dining
quarters. It was anyone’s guess what argument would erupt among the esteemed
group and if he and Isis, as they usually were, would become the brunt of their
jokes.
Isis squeezed his hand and nodded as she
moved to leave. Ali’shir watched her vanish down the dark and quiet halls and
then turned his attention to the door again.
“Does it surprise you that she lived?” he asked his son. Yash’in said
nothing, but Ali’shir continued on as if he said ‘yes.’ “It was a surprise to
me as well, but she is rather strong. A little too strong at times,” he
chuckled. “But she is mine.”
Ali’shir’s hopes fell hearing Yash’in turn over in
his bed with a squeak, silent as a stone. It was a bit discouraging but he
continued to talk, he had promised his son this time and would honour it, even
if he wasn’t listening. He had broken enough promises to the boy to do anything
less.
Ali’shir continued to recap the
events of days past until the call for last meal interrupted his thoughts.
Slowly he stood, “Unfortunately, I must go but I will return tomorrow. Good
night, Son.”
“Good night, Father.”
Ali’shir paused and slowly turned in
place. He was tempted to rush back to the door, to say something else, just to
hear his voice again, but he thought better of it, knowing Yash’in only talked
when he wanted. It had been that way since the pup was small, long before he and A’rah, the boy’s Aunt, captured him.

Kai watched Isis’
daily ritual, twisting a lock between her slender fingertips. Every meal the
woman set the table like it was a task, one she would be graded on, before
sitting down and quietly waiting for Ali’shir to arrive. It was truly tiresome.
“I do not know why you bother,
human. It is not as if he is coming,” she said, crossing her legs with a sigh.
“You cannot really depend on males. Especially Elder males,” she said narrowing her eyes at Fushel.
“Only the ones that have patience
for your games, Kai,” he growled.
“Only the ones who are weak and
unsuited for the task, Fusel”
The male stood promptly at the
insult, tossing his seat. “I am not weak nor unsuited
for the task,” he growled. He leaned across the table, scenting the air, with a
dark prattle. “Even your body says you’re lying. You go into heat just from the
memory of me inside you.”
Isis
watched as the male strode away, glaring at Kai with satisfaction as he perched
on a seat at the bar. It was no suprise the two were
having an affair, but the fact that they were fighting was and even more of a
surprise was the fact that Fushel was winning. He had
ruffled Kai’s feathers to say the least, the female
swallowed and reclined in her seat, obviously flushed. She caught Isis staring, watching intently as she raised a trembling
hand to brush the locks from her face.
“Like I said, you cannot depend on
them,” she clipped, indignantly.
“Perhaps the ones you choose,” Isis replied.
“You think Ali’shir is different?”
“I know he is.”
Kai gave a scoffing laugh,
“Different looking maybe, but he’s
just like the rest of them. Worthless.” Isis gripped
the napkin in her lap, winding it in her fists, struggling to keep silent. “It
must have been fate that the two of you found one another,” Kai continued. “The
deformed reject and his inadequate mate,” she sighed. “And you do know you are
inadequate, right? Despite this little change, I know you are and so does he.
You are not his equal. You will never be.”
Isis
tossed the napkin on her empty plate, ready to come across the table again when
Kai’s eyes snapped wide. She took up the napkin and scented it, crushing it in
her fist as she looked at the woman.
“What is your business with my son,
human?”
“Your son,” Isis echoed with shock.
“The boy in the cell is your son?”
“He is,” she snapped indignantly.
“And if you know what is good for you, you will not go near him again or else-”
“Or else what?”
Isis said, slapping her hands onto the table.
“Kaian I swear, I will pluck the top of your head smooth as the top of this
table if you keep fucking with me.”
Kai stood casually, her eyes
flicking coolly over the woman. “Please. You are not worth my time, creature.
Unlike you, I have someone waiting for me,” she said moving toward Fushel and the bar.
“Then get moving,” Isis
snapped.
Watching the female’s hips twist on
her incredibly long legs, Ali’shir’s unnatural
fascination with Kai finally made sense. She was the reason he came to hate Get’an, the female that drew the rift between Ali’shir and
his only family, the mother to his children.
Isis
held her rolling stomach, the idea of Kai and Ali’shir
made her so angry she felt physically ill and lightheaded,
like something was tightening around her throat. Isis
reached for her neck and was surprised to feel another hand against hers.
“I am surprised to see you here by
yourself, Isis. Where is that mate of yours?” Joi’en purred, massaging her
neck.
Isis
stepped back. “He is on his way.”
“Then let me keep you company until
he arrives,” he said moving a chair from his path to near her.
Isis
looked toward the bar. “I would worry about my own mate, if I were you.”
Fushel and Kai had
made up apparently, her legs twined with his and her arms draped over his broad
shoulders. She fed him fruit, piece by piece and he licked at her finger tips,
prattling low and deep in his thick chest. Joi’en didn’t seem the least bit
concerned however. He calmly turned his back and joined Isis
in sitting at the table, taking Ali’shir’s seat.
“You must know Kaian and I enjoyed
an open relationship way before it was fashionable or sanctioned by Council,”
he said dispassionately. “She has her males and I have you.”
Isis
shook her head. “You never had me,”
she corrected. “And before you say it, almost does not count.”
“It would have not been either if
you came back like I told you to,” he said stretching his arm around her. “Like
you wanted to,” he purred against her
neck.
Isis
crossed her legs and looked away. She didn’t want him but she could not deny
she liked the way he made her feel. Wanted, adored, coveted, things she wished
Ali’shir genuinely felt for her.
Isis
sunk her shoulders and hugged her sides. “Leave me alone, Joi’en.”
He breathed deep, his head above her
lap, and shook his head. “I know you don’t want that.” Isis
pushed him away but Joi’en fought with her, pulling her against him. His hand
tightened around her neck and she stiffened, the pain commanding it. “You are
in no position to refuse me nor do you have the right,” he hissed. “You are
human, prey, mine to do with as I wish because I am a
superior being.”
Isis
jammed her thumb into his eye, not enough to damage, but enough to hurt. Joi’en
took his hands from her and put them on his face, he turned with a scowl to the
female, ready to grip her throat when a low rumble froze him. Turning in seat,
he saw Ali’shir bearing down on him with his fists clenched.
“Get away from my mate.” Ali’shir
wanted to tear the male in half, but he rested on his restraint as he knew
Tu’shar was not far behind him. Otherwise, he’d rip those twitchy mandibles
right out from their sockets.
“Goodbye, Elder Joi’en,” Isis smiled.
The male stood with a dry,
humourless, chuckle and rapped his fist on the table. Isis flinched but
Ali’shir stepped forward, pushing him out the way with his body and taking his
seat beside Isis. He laid a possessive arm
around the female as he did; hugging her close to him in blatant display of
ownership just in case there was any question.
Joi’en had gone away, mingling with Bahdri and Navin across the room
when Isis finally turned to Ali’shir, patting
his thigh. “Good timing.”
“I am sorry I was not here sooner,”
he said letting his arm fall around her waist.
“So am I,” she breathed. She
shuddered to think what could have happened if he did not show up when he did.
Ali’shir turned his head with a
groan, “Isis, I have apologized. What more do
you want from me?”
“Please spare me the theatrics, Ali.
It wasn’t meant to be a swipe at your expense.”
“I never know with you, Isis. The
littlest things seem to set you off.”
“I could say the same thing,” she
huffed, raising her eyebrows.
As if anyone could see it through
his mask, Ali’shir stamped on his amused grin and cleared his throat. “Elder Tu’shar
has arrived. Come let’s stand.”
Isis
did not notice the male still hugged her there until he tightened around her
waist, pulling her to her feet.
Tu’shar entered the room and all the
members of the Council crowded to their places at the table, bowing to greet
the male and his females, including a very pregnant Jessa.
At the meal’s end, while everyone sipped on their flavoured drinks, he revealed
the reason he called for a special dinner.
“I have been summoned by Go’meh,” he said proudly.
Murmuring swept over the table and Isis leaned toward Ali’shir. “Who the hell is Go’meh?” she whispered.
“Our Clan Leader.
The Leader of all Elders, the head of Ge’tan and
every other ship, the honoured and most high, the greatest warrior of us all,
the-”
Isis
patted his leg again, telling him to calm down. “A big fan
are we?”
“Of course,” Ali’shir nodded.
“Growing up, we all heard stories of Elder Go’meh.
When I sparred in the hall I pretended to be him. For Tu’shar to be summoned by
the male it is a great honour.”
“Or a trap,” Navin
countered, speaking so that all could hear him. “The Clan Elder is known for
luring yautja to his side only to tear out their
throat. So one must really ask is this truly a good thing?”
“Or bad?”
Joi’en said, glancing at Ali’shir.
“Good. All of it,” Tu’shar insisted. Go’meh
heard of their last ditch effort to correct their population losses and its
booming success. “He wants me to advise on the Clan Council while they create an official
policy on multiple partners.”
“So, that is the reason for this
meeting?” Fushel asked.
Tu’shar shook his head. “The reason
for this meeting is to announce that all the males seated here are candidates
to be my replacement once I have gone.”
“All of us,” Joi’en shouted
incredulously. “Including Ali’shir?”
“Yes, all.” Tu’shar nodded.
The table fell into murmuring again
and then stopped as Bahdri slammed his heavy fists on
the table. “This is unacceptable, Elder. I agree with
Joi’en, Ali’shir is not fit for the nomination. He is a disgrace, a former badblood. There is no way he could unseat me or any other yautja here for the honour.”
“Bahdri,
your impetuous anger unseats you. Your solution to everything is violence. A
Lead Elder needs to demonstrate compassion as well as adherence to our laws. He
has repented and earned our forgiveness, Ali’shir is as worthy as any of you.”
Bahdri sat
down with a growl but Joi’en was relentless. It angered him that in such a
short amount of time, Ali’shir-disgraced for abandoning his family and his clan-could
come back, earn redemption and sit as his equal. “Elder, surely your amusement
with this creature will not allow you to jeopardise this ship,” Joi’en said.
“Surely your hatred of him will not
allow you to question what I do,” Tu’shar roared.
The male had spent a great deal of time labouring over this decision;
he examined every single member of his Council several times over. And every
warrior seated before him had his flaws. Navin’s
wisdom was his strength but he was too cautious, labouring over the correct
choice of action too long to make an effective decision. Bahdri
learned Clan relations and law watching over Go’meh’s
shoulder as a member of his personal guard but that in itself was both his
strength and weakness. His experience made him too cocky to let another advise
him, it was his way or no way, regardless of the facts. Tu’shar could easily
see a situation in which he brushed aside more informed Council opinions for
his own and the disastrous results.
Fushel, a former badblood and
the only Council member not to be born in Ge’tan, had
a shrewd and logistical mind. He also was a formidable and threatening warrior
but too much so. Giving power to a male with an established and known lust for
both violence and sex also had the potential to have disastrous consequences.
Tu’shar would have more confidence in him had he taken a mate or several as he
instructed him to but the male steadfastly refused calling the mated lifestyle
‘male slavery.’
So that left Joi’en and Ali’shir, both of whom
where prime candidates for Lead Elder. Although they came from two vastly different
backgrounds, they were both equally sharp-minded and strong. They both
recognised the value of taking that precious moment before making a decision to
analyse all their choices in a timely but thorough manner. However, Ali’shir
lacked the diplomacy and tact that Joi’en, a social creature by nature, wielded
with ease.
As Lead Elder, Joi’en would have an easier time organising and
eliciting response from his people, which would make him the automatic choice
for the position if not for the creature that sat, curled against him. Tu’shar
would put Joi’en in charge but Kaian would rule, he knew that for a fact. There
was no doubt in the Lead Elder’s mind that if the clan were not in such a
desperate need for breeders, she herself would come to this table as a
candidate instead of pushing her mate to the task.
“I have put far more thought
into this than any other decision I have made for this ship, so do not question
me or my methods,” Tu’shar hissed, clasping his hands behind his back. “You all
will be notified of my choice in time, until then, not another word will be
said about this, understood?”
Everyone at the table nodded, whether they agreed or not, and Tu’shar
helped his mates stand, taking Jessa on one arm and Pavi on the other.
He left the room, and, true to their word, everyone held their tongue
although Isis could tell the argument seethed
just under their skin. She looked at Ali’shir who sat with his arms folded, his
light eyes narrowed, staring off into space while his jaw furiously worked.
“What are you thinking, Ali?”
“I need to hunt,” he ground out, standing. He took a few steps away
from the table before he paused. “Are you coming, Isis?”
She nodded and took her napkin from her lap, setting on the table. Kai
watched her as she moved, bouncing her crossed legs with an amused trill as she
left the table. As soon as the doors closed behind the couple, the female stood
and excused herself, moving quickly to the lifts and pressing the button for
the Lead Elder’s floor. She would make Elder Tu’shar see that Joi’en was the
only choice for Lead Elder.

Ali’shir fell against the ship on his back, his naked chest rising and
falling with his ragged breaths. He hated this part of hunting the most, the
point where he hit a wall and physically could do no more. Ali’shir forgot the
problems of his conscious mind when he gave himself over to instinct and
impulse. All that mattered was that instant and the split second decision to be
made then. It was nice to have the path already laid out for him and not to be
found, like it was with so many other aspects of his life. Especially now, he groaned, staking his spear into the snow beside
him.
As if settling A’rah’s
debts, pretending to be Isis’ mate, protecting the female more often then
naught from herself, trying to salvage his relationship with his son and keep
out of the scope of his mother, were not taxing enough, Tu’shar sought to lay
the well being and safety of a multitude on his shoulders. He could have chosen
e a more inconvenient time or unwilling soul to try and push off this
responsibility on. However, Tu’shar refused to listen to reason; he went as far
as blocking all communications Ali’shir sent him.
“Stubborn old fool,” he grit,
banging an angry fist against the hull.
“Stop talking about yourself that
way.”
Ali’shir opened his eyes and saw Isis walking down the snow-capped hills, dragging her
kills as she always tended to do. She smiled at him, her white teeth shone
against the maroon blood she was slathered in and Ali’shir took a breath, calm
suddenly welling inside him, loosening his knotted stomach. She looked
genuinely happy to see him, almost as if she would run to embrace him, if it
were not for the Vy’cas she dragged to his feet.
Isis
fell to the ground and washed herself in the snow, rubbing the fluffy stuff all
over her face and hands, wiping away the creature’s blood. Ali’shir inspected
the kills at his feet, surprised at the number.
“This is a truly memorable hunt for
you. This will be the most you’ve ever retrieved on a single hunt.”
“I know. I can’t wait to get them
cleaned and in the case.”
Ali’shir shook his head. “I already
have six myself and that is all the case will hold.”
Isis
saw the solution easily. “Then I should have my own case.”
“We have already settled on the
issue of demands, Isis. Besides how would I
explain your trophy case when you are not even supposed to be hunting.”
“Fine. I’ll
make my own case then,” she said standing up and dragging the pair of Vy’ca into the hull.
Ali’shir strode inside and pulled
them out, flopping them onto the ground. “You only took pictures with A’rah, if
that.”
“So you’re going to follow instead
of lead, is that it?”
“No. I am going to do what my sister
could not and tell you ‘no.’”
“Pfft. She
told me ‘no’ plenty of times,” she laughed marching back to her kills. “It just
never stopped me. Aw…you cracked this one’s skull. Now I only have one.”
“Isis,
put that down and get in the damn ship!”
Isis
looked toward the open hatch where the male stood with legs apart, arms folded.
“Fine,” she tossed down the rope and stalked back to him, pausing at his side.
“But I know you’re going to take those with us because leaving it here would be
a waste and you know it.”
“Get inside,” he grit.
She went but hissed at him as she
did, a trait, he noticed, she picked up from him and tossed in his face at
will. He moved to close the hatch and looked at the steaming kill discarded in
the snow. Damn you, Isis. Leaving it
to freeze over in the harsh winds would be a waste…and one he could not allow.
He cursed the female as he trotted back into the whipping cold and picked up
the one salvageable carcass and brought it inside.
Isis
heard the thump from it being heaved on the pile and then his angry tromping as
he stalked his way to the cockpit. She turned to hide her smile but he caught
her anyway.
“I did not do it for you. It would
have been a waste, plain and simple.”
“Oh I know,” she said, struggling to
keep a straight face. “But thank you anyway.”
Ali’shir groaned and took the
controls, preparing to fly off. They rode in comfortable silence until Ge’tan slowly came into view. He mashed at buttons instead
of simply pressing them and was way too curt with security when he asked for
permission for re-entry.
Isis
studied his masked visage a moment before asking, “You don’t want to be Lead
Elder, do you?”
“No.”
“Even though you’d
be good at it?”
“I am good at seeing what needs to
be done and doing it. I do not like working with others,” he grit. “I do not
work well with others.”
“Like that’s some big revelation,”
she laughed. “But even so, you would be good at it.”
“But you do not want it for me
either,” he said, glancing over at her. “It would keep us here, indefinitely.”
“Here is not so bad,” she said,
surprised at the truth in that. “As long as I don’t have to
sit at the Elder’s table.”
“Well we would have to sit at the
Elder’s table, live on the floor above them, and invite them over from time to
time. Is ‘here’ still sounding that good to you, Isis?”
“Not particularly.”
Ali’shir snuck a glance at her and
let out a sigh, “Speak female. I know something weighs your mind and do not
tell me it does not because I see you chewing at your lip.”
Isis
stopped, buttoning her mouth before letting out a sigh herself. “What are you
going to do with me when he chooses you? You can’t refuse.”
“Why are you so certain Tu’shar will
choose me?”
“He favours you and you know it.”
Ali’shir did know it, which was the
trouble. He took a long breath and set the ship into a docking sequence. “If he
chooses me,” he began, focusing on his task. “You will still be with me. I
don’t see why that should change,” he said glancing at her again. He saw her
lips start to turn up in a smile and he quickly snapped his head to front.
“Besides, you still have that spawn in your chest so I cannot, in good conscious, leave you to your own devices.”
“Of course,” she said, a smile
tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Ali’shir cleared his throat, “That
reminds me, have you taken your medicine?”
Isis
raised the syringe pen and twisted it between her fingers. “Yeah, I’m good for
another day.”
“One less thing to
worry about.”
“Indeed,” she nodded.
Ali’shir parked the ship without
issue and Isis readied them to move, opening
the hatch and tying up the carcasses for Ali’shir to carry. She helped him heft
them onto his shoulders and then hopped out in front of him, opening the airlock
that lead to the metal gangplank. She nearly slipped there, blood that soaked
its way through her layers of clothing pooling at her feet, but Ali’shir caught
her with his free hand, snickering.
“It is a wonder you keep returning.”
“Says the male with the talon in his
back,” she said hinting to his left shoulder. “What happened? One of them try to lift you off the ground?”
Ali’shir looked where she motioned
and hissed, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Isis?”
“Because there is nothing we can do
until we get back home, your kit was damaged when you fell from that tree.
Besides,” she shrugged, “You didn’t seem to mind.”
“I did not mind because I did not
know,” he corrected, crisply.
She put her hands on her hips. “So
you want me to pull it out now? Because I will. I so feel like inflicting some pain on you
right now. Just say the words and I’ll rip it out right here,”
Ali’shir slumped
his shoulders to hide his chuckling, she was so easy to rile. “Just get the
door, Isis,” he said.
“Gladly, Ali’shir.”
So
easy, he laughed to himself, noting she now used his full and proper name.
He followed behind her, up the narrow walk, until he bumped right into her,
sending her tumbling to her hands and knees.
“Do not blame me for that, Isis. I could not see you and you stopped in the middle
of the walk way,” he said, twisting the load so he could look down at her. “Why
did you stop, anyway?”
Isis
motioned with her head to across the hall, the adjacent gangplank. Ali’shir
turned and nearly dropped the stuff on his shoulder. Elder Tu’shar stood on the
other walkway, legs apart, arms folded, his face in a
scowl. He glared hard at the both of them before turning and striding up the
incline.
Isis
shook her head. “We are so fucked.”
“That would be an understatement,”
Ali’shir said, helping her stand.

A/N: Thanks to LovyDovy,
midnighteyes,
chancelor22 (Thanks a-million for
catching that!), Jazz, shortest_warrior,
Ajestice, Allspark and Sagikamikazi.
You guys make writing this even more fun! And Sagi,
I’m sorry about your keyboard.
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A Union of Convenience (Formerly ‘Alone’)