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A Union of Convenience (Formerly ‘Alone’)	By : Keen Category: M through R > Predator Views: 13010 -:- 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
- 5
- 6
- 7
Completely revised and reedited as of 22/02/2008,
voice your opinions and criticisms at will.
-Cam

            Isis and Ali’shir entered the suite.
As soon as the guards left and the door clicked shut, she pushed his arm from her
shoulder. Ali’shir gladly moved away with a hiss, darting around the room,
opening doors and long cabinets before he turned back to Isis.
Satisfied they were alone, he finally spoke.
                        “You talk entirely too
much, female! Why did you not wait for me to answer the communication?”
                        “Like I said before, you
were knocked out.” Isis shouted back, “I
waited until they left eleven messages. Eleven!
The last one said that if you didn’t respond they were going to ‘remotely
detonate your self-destruct device.’”
            He held his head, feeling his
headache return. “We would have been better off if they had,”
                        “I know you have a death
wish, but I don’t.”
                        “Well your desire to
live got us into this mess,” he replied.
                        “No, your temper is what
got you into this,” she corrected. “No body told you to kill him. In fact they
told you the exact opposite, but would you listen? Noooo…”
                        “I would not have had to
if you just stayed where I put you!”
                        “Don’t you mean where
you chained me like some animal?
Thank you for that by the way, my wrists are still aching.”
                        “Good,” he roared.
Flopping into a nearby seat, Ali’shir tore of his metal mask and
massaged his temples, shifting the cloth mask he wore underneath. Isis mirrored his anxiety. Her crossed legs bounced
nervously as she bit at her lip. Fighting, although somewhat stress relieving,
was not going to fix anything. It was time for a solid plan.
                        “What are we going to
do?” she asked.
“Pretend of course. It should not be for too long
and no one will be the wiser,”
            Isis
shook her head. It was difficult growing accustomed to him when it was just the
two of them, now there were others to think of? “This is a bad idea,” she said,
“A’rah always knew exactly when I wasn’t telling the truth.”
                        “Part of what made my
sister a good Arbitrator is that she was exceptional in perceiving lies. It did
not help that you lived with her as long as you did, I am sure I will learn to
tell when you are lying as well. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.”
                        “What’s that supposed to
mean?”
“You had me fooled you were totally oblivious until
you opened that big mouth of yours,” he snapped. “You will learn to keep it
shut while we are here.”
“Will you be learning tact then, because you
insulting me all the time is not going to work out. It’s probably why Elder
Joi’en hates your guts.”
            He tilted his head, “How do you know
he and I-”
                        “Hate each other?” she
finished. “If you really want to keep it a secret, try not snarling every time
he looks at you.”
                        “If only it were that
simple,” he mumbled walking to the door.
There was a
knock and he went to answer. Sliding the door back, he was surprised to see a
large female filling the door way. Her tall and athletic frame knocked him to
the side as she invited herself into the suite.
                        “Ali’shir,” she said
with a trill, her eyes surveying him with mock fright. “Time has not been kind
to you, at all.”
                        “Mara,” he said tensely.
“How nice to see you. Why are you here?”
            She clapped his shoulder, sending him
stumbling. “Mask, I know you’re not happy to see me but I bring a message from
Elder Tu’shar,” she said handing him a tablet. “That and I just had to see for
myself who you chose this time. I have heard it is a human. Where is she?”
            Isis
groaned as Ali’shir pointed to where she sat on the couch. The female zeroed in
on her like a missile and moved just as fast to hug her, wrapping her muscled
arms around her and squeezing for all she was worth. Mara dropped her, letting
her fall and bounce on the overstuffed seats below and Isis
hopped to her feet. Just in case she tried to hug her a second time, she would
be ready to break free.
Mara instantly recognised her posture as a stance, “They told me she
was fighter,”
                        “She can hear you,” Isis said.
                        “And feisty,” Mara
trilled. “You any good?”
                        “I can defend myself, if
that’s what you mean.”
                        “Then we should spar,”
                        “Yeah right…” Isis laughed. The female was a giant; surely she saw that
it wouldn’t be a fair match. “You just name the time and place,” she scoffed.
            Mara turned back to Ali’shir, “Well,
not that you asked for it baby brother but you have my approval. I am glad you
got rid of that empty headed stick.”
                        “I am not your brother, Mara.”
                        “Not by blood, but A’rah
was like a sister to me so that makes us close,” Mara’s teasing expression fell
as she stepped closer to the male, “Does Yash’in know about her yet?”
            Ali’shir grabbed Mara by her arm
then, dragging her to the door. Mara knew he preferred not to think about
Yash’in but she told him he had to. “He is all you have left now and for him to
you have to step up to the task.”
                        “It is too late for that
now” he answered. “I have already failed him.”
            Mara shook her head, “It is not too
late and it is more important now than ever.” Ali’shir pushed her through the
door but she held to its edges, keeping it open. “Just because A’rah is dead
does not mean you are off the hook. You will see my face everyday if the guards
don’t tell me you’ve been by to see him.”
                        “Well we would not want
that,” he growled, shoving her out into the hall.
                        “Hey human, you and I
will meet in an hour for that spar, ok?”
            Isis
sat upright, “What?”
                        “You said name the time
and place,” she said. “I just did.”
            The woman shook her head with a
nervous chuckle, “That was a joke, I wasn’t serious-”
                        “Nonsense. She will see
you there,” Ali’shir said shutting the door. He turned around in time to catch
the pillow Isis whipped at him.
                        “Are you out of your
damn mind?!” she yelled.
                        “Relax. It is only one
fight and once it is done, you will not have to do it anymore.” He said
reattaching his faceplate.
                        “I won’t have to do anything anymore because I’ll be dead. I
mean, did you see how massive she is? She makes you look like a pup,”
Ali’shir struggled to hold in his laughter. He had no intentions of
letting Isis fight Mara, but he would not tell
her that just yet. He doubted she could hold her own against the female as
well, so he would do her the favour of letting Mara down easily after his
meeting with Tu’shar. But for now he would let Isis
twist. He hoped her fretting about the next hour would keep her preoccupied and
out of trouble.
“We will discuss this when I return, in the
meantime, might I suggest you practice?”
                        “Get out before I
practice on you,” Isis snapped, shutting the
door behind him.

            Isis
wandered through the small and sparsely furnished space, lying down in the only
bed. Closing her eyes she hoped to wake and find this all a dream. A’rah would
be alive and they would be on some new adventure, far, far from Ali’shir and this place. Isis
started to believe it was really so and then the call to last meal sounded,
blasting her out of her sleep.
At first she did not know what it was for. She thought it was an
emergency signal, hearing bodies hurriedly milling about outside the room.
Opening the door, she found herself swept away by the drove. She managed to
brace herself against a wall when a hand grabbed at her. Fearing it was Mara
coming to collect on her invite Isis spun
quickly away from it and turned with fist raised.
            Immediately the hand let go, “Oh!
Hello!” the female shouted over the alarm, startled as the woman was. “I heard
you scream, are you ok? You look lost,”
            Isis
regarded the female in front of her. She had milky white skin and arresting blue
eyes, flanked with heavy and snowy lashes. She looked like an ivory sculpture
come to life, even her hair was the same bone colour and brushed with wicked
curls about her slender shoulders. She was not a threat; her face wasn’t even
fixed in a frown. Isis let her fist fall and
did her best to look appreciative.
            She thanked the female for her
concern and admitted she was indeed lost. “I don’t even know what that was,” Isis said watching the last remnants run though the hall.
                        “The dash for chow,” the
female smiled, “That happens twice a day, first and last meals. Usually I just
wait it out, ten or so minutes after the call then the halls are empty like
they are now.”
                        “Smart move,” Isis chuckled. “I have a lot to learn. I have no idea
what’s going on,”
                        “That is obvious,”
            Both females turned to see a slender
pallet of violet and yellow saunter towards them. Isis
recognised her from the council meeting, she did not like her then either.
The white female took a knee, “Elder Kai.”
            Kai came to stand over the kneeling
female with a smirk, she chased it away when she saw the human took notice.
“Dressmaker, I tire of waiting. Do you have my wrap or not?”
                        “Of course,” the
kneeling female sang happily.
She produced a slender yard of beaded fabric and draped it over the
Elder female’s shoulder. It complimented the female’s daring dress which looked
to be made of the same shiny silver coloured fabric. The stretchy material held
her heavy chest and plentiful hips tightly, showing almost every inch of skin
in between. Isis wondered why she even
bothered covering her shoulders with the shawl.
“I was on my way to you when I bumped into Isis here. She was lost and I wanted to help her before
coming back to finish your fitting,”
            Isis
was surprised, she hadn’t heard her name spoken in so long it sounded foreign,
“How did you know my name?”
                        “Everybody knows your
name. Your Ali’shir’s mate and he was-”
            Kai rudely parted the two with her
hands, stepping between them. “Gi, I think you are
boring the human with your story. At least I know I am bored,”
            “I wish everybody would stop
speaking about me like I’m not even here,” Isis
said loudly.
            Kai turned to face Isis, “My
apologies, human. We usually don’t converse with prey.”
                        “Elder, just because our
mates don’t like each other, that means we have to hate each other too?”
                        “Stupid human,” Kai
laughed, “You really don’t have any idea what’s going on do you?”
            Isis
stepped closer, her fists clenched. “No I don’t. How about you school me on a
few things since you know every damn thing.”
Gi gave a nervous laugh, trying to ease the rising
tension. “Elder Kai, surely your presence is missed in the hall. Do not keep
them waiting,”
Kai broke her stare with the human to turn her head to Gi. She gave a breathy sigh, “You are right, dressmaker. I
should not keep them waiting.”
Kai left and Isis let her fists
loosen. “What the hell is her problem?” she asked.
                        “I does not matter,” Gi said standing behind her. She took the woman’s hair up
into a ponytail and then a bun. She was determined to make her a little more
presentable, “Elder Kai is the second most powerful female on this ship so
don’t get on her bad side. It’s hard at first but you’ll get used to it,”
                        “I doubt that,” Isis snorted.
                        “You will,” she smiled, brightly.
“I’ll help you.”
Gi grabbed her hand and led her to the dining hall.
On the way she explained why tonight’s last meal was more special than others.
Warriors were coming back from hunting and some of them had been gone for
almost a year. On such a special occasion, it was important that the females,
especially those in heat, were there. Males fresh off a hunt were often very
aroused and eager to be with their mates and eager to choose one if they proved
themselves honourable.
                        “Usually that stuff
happens after we eat. While the meal is going on, we are needed to wait on
them. Get their food, pour their drinks, tend to them. Show them we are proud
of them,”
                        “Get their food?” Isis echoed. Gi nodded and Isis pivoted in place. The idea of handing Ali’shir a
plate and cutting the food on it made her stomach turn, “You can forget that.
I’m going back to bed.”
            Gi grabbed
her arm, clinging to her like a starving child. “No, please! Isis
darling, you can’t leave. Don’t make me walk in there late by myself,”
            She looked up at her with big wet
eyes and Isis felt incredibly awful for even
thinking about leaving her. She hated it but she gave the female her arm,
“Alright,” Isis sighed, “Lead me.”

            Ali’shir found the council meeting
irritating. Immediately he was reminded why he refused to be an Elder and hold
a place on council. Politics, with its polite untruths and civil arguments, was
something he could barely stomach. He preferred blunt honesty and plain speak
but there was no room for such things in Clan Council. Everyone was jockeying
to be next for Lead Eldership and because of that, they were more interested in
doing what made them liked rather than doing what was necessary.
            Being liked was no longer a concern
for Ali’shir. Even now as he walked through the hall, the dirty looks shot his
way were expected and did nothing to dissuade him from finding a seat. As he
took a seat at a sparsely populated table, those few that were around him got
up, protesting his presence. It suited him just fine. It meant he would be left
alone and there was nothing he wanted more, with one exception.
            She walked in to the room and he
found himself transfixed. Kaian, both the bane and reason for his existence
looked as radiant as ever as she sauntered to the dais. She sat in Joi’en’s lap, cuddling him close, nipping playfully at his
neck and shoulder. This was the reason he had to leave Ge’tan.
He could not bear to watch such public displays of affection, especially when
it was not with him.
Kai was a poison but a sweet one, and her taste would not leave him
even now. Despite the fact she had
repeatedly humiliated him in public with her numerous liaisons and words, he
still wanted the female. For all her faults, she was the only one who truly
knew him and although she hated the human half, of him, she loved the other
half and for Ali’shir half was better than nothing. Their relationship was a
strained one but there was a measure of comfort there he doubted he would ever
find again.
                        “Ali’shir!”
The male looked up to see his childhood friends cutting their way
through the labyrinth of tables. He could say with confidence that these were
his true friends as they were the only ones who still acknowledged him after
his disparaging fall. Ka’jal and Say’der
took seats across from him after clapping him about the shoulder. It felt like
old times to Ali’shir who listened to his oldest friends joke and laugh, even
at his expense.
                        “Here’s to Ali’shir,” Say’der announced, raising his glass. “The only male among
us dumb enough to take a female twice. Let us mourn,”
Ka’jal and Say’der
bowed their heads in solemn respect. Their grave faces broke as they fell into
laughter, snorting and cackling, mandibles twitter.
                        “Believe me when I say
this time will surely be different,” Ali’shir said.
                        “Because she is human?” Ka’jal asked. “If anything that will make it worse. She
will never understand what it is to be yautja. You
will always have problems,”
                        “Will the two of you
stop being so negative?” A stranger asked, taking the seat next to Ali’shir.
                        “It is the truth,” Ka’jal said. “And besides, you cannot be objective since
you’re mated to a foreigner as well.”
                        “And you cannot speak
from experience since you are not,”
                        “So because you are a mingler, you are an authority,”
The stranger reached for the blade at his waist, the insult sparking
his anger. “Watch your tongue Say’der or I will cut
it out of your mouth. Do not think to insult my mate like that again.”
Say’der cleared his throat and gave a nod before excusing
himself to get more drink. He needed something to fill his mouth other than his
foot.
The male turned to face Ali’shir who lazed in his chair, his head
limply held by the back of the seat, body worn from a hard day. The male
incorrectly thought it was because Say’der and Ka’jal teased him so,
                        “Do not pay them
attention. Get a little drink in them and they rattle all sorts of
foolishness,”
                        “I could care less what
they say,” Ali’shir sighed.
The male’s face read disappointment, “Even about your female? Surely
you’ll stand for her?”
                        “She will live,”
Ali’shir grunted. She will probably out
live me, “Besides, we’ve been this way since we were small. I have not
changed, I do not expect them to either.”
The stranger gave a knowing nod of his head, “You are Ali’shir then?”
                        “I am,”
“I am Heron, transport pilot. It is an honour,”
            Ali’shir returned the greeting,
stating his occupation as an instructor. Heron seemed delighted to learn he
was. “I have heard you were quite the fighter when you were here, I hope my
eldest son will join your class next cycle.”
                        “There will be no next
cycle for me,” Ali’shir replied.
            Heron nodded his head, confident he
knew the reason why he would be leaving, “My mate doesn’t like my job as well.
She is upset that I am away so much, but it makes the reunion that much
sweeter.”
                        “My mate is not my concern.”
                        “She ought to be, or she
may become the concern of someone else.”
            Ali’shir could barely contain his
laughter, “If only.”
            Heron shook his head, “Well, mind
what you say, here they come.”
            The male pointed out his white
haired mate in the line as they weaved between the tables, holding the plates
of food in each hand. “She is mine. Where is yours?”
                        “Oddly enough, attached
to yours,” Ali’shir said seeing Isis follow
close behind her. He purposely left her
in the room by herself with the hope she wouldn’t find her way here but once
again, she defied him, coming to stand next to him.
Heron stood as Gi neared, bending down to
brush his cheek against hers. She returned the caress, brushing her fingers
over his scarred cheek and down his mandibles.
                        “I have missed you,” she
said with a sweet sigh. He moved her hands from the plates and put them on his
chest, needing to feel her.
                        “I have missed you
more.” He purred.
Isis and Ali’shir watched their display with apathy and then looked at
one another. There was no way Isis could feign
a tender moment like that but she remembered she was to pretend. She tossed a
plate in front of him and gave a forced smile, fluttering her eyes mockingly
like Gi.
                        “I missed you too,” she
said.
“Will you just sit, female?” Ali’shir growled at
her.
Isis laughed quietly and took the seat he
pulled for her. Ka’jal and his mate Ny’ima joined the table. Say’der
brought his latest female and the group enjoyed light conversation. Say’der and Ka’jal resumed
teasing Ali’shir.
                        “Tell me human, have you
seen your mate’s face this week?” Say’der asked.
Isis hid her smile with her hand. She
noticed Ali’shir’s unnatural attachment with his mask
and was glad she wasn’t the first one to mention it.
                        “I’ve never seen it
myself. So you are in good company” Say’der laughed.
Ali’shir had enough. He aimed to put an end to his amusement, right
now. “Tell me Say’der, who is this lovely creature
you’ve brought to dine with us?”
                        “My soon to be,” he said
taking her hand and giving it a nip.
                        “Yes, but what is her
name?” Ali’shir baited.
The table waited silently for an answer with eyes focused on the male,
but none more intensely than the female whose hand he desperately clenched now.
Say’der swallowed thickly before speaking. His date
turned in her seat and gave him a sweet nip on the cheek before dumping his
dinner into his lap. He guessed her name and he was wrong.
The entire hall erupted in laughter as he followed after her,
apologising furiously. For a moment, it looked as if they were on the road to
reconciliation when he guessed wrong again. She punched him hard, screaming at him
to leave her alone but he still followed, rattling off every name he could
think of as they disappeared in the hall.
Isis leaned in her seat, speaking low so as
not to be heard. “So it’s not only me you like making miserable.”
                        “Of course not,” Ali’shir
grunted sipping from his drink. He tipped the cup, shaking it upside down. “I
am in need of a refill.”
Isis nodded continuing to eat, “Looks like
it,”
                        “You
should refill it,”
                        “Are you sure you’ll
like what I put in that cup for you to drink?”
                        “Stop with the empty
threats and refill the damn cup, mate.”
Isis looked away, pretending not to hear him
but he pushed the cup in her face, reminding her it was important that they
pretend to at least like one another. Reluctantly Isis
started to take the cup but slender lavender fingers covered his hand, holding
it steady as his glass was poured full.
Kai purred at him, shaking her hip as she eased the vessel from his
still hand and set it in front of him. She leaned against the table, her heavy
breasts level with the eyes of his mask, her fingers twirled in his locks.
                        “I missed you,
Ali’shir.” she whispered. “Did you miss me?”
            Ali’shir’s
mouth was dry, he could not speak. His breath hitched with the rise and fall of
her chest, the slow up and down motion of her breasts.
            Isis
snickered, seeing him almost fall out his seat to follow her movement. It drew
Kai’s attention. “I see you have brought your little female. Is she damaged?”
                        “No I am not,” Isis said.
                        “Then why are you not on
your feet as I am, attending to your mate’s needs-”
                        “As you are?” Isis finished. “Where is your mate?” she said, looking
around for Joi’en.
                        “He is over there and
his cup is full.” Kai growled throatily, continuing to seduce Ali’shir with her
eyes.
                        “Well you should be there
to make sure it stays that way,” Isis
muttered.
                        “You presume to tell me
where I belong you filthy, ill dressed, inadequate little-”
            Isis
was on her feet, her hands balled into fists but Ali’shir barked at her to stop
and yanked her back to his side. “We cannot afford this kind of attention Isis,” he reminded with a hush.
                        “Staring at her tits
keeps you quiet; perhaps it will work for me as well,”
            Ali’shir was taken back, embarrassed
he was so obvious. If they human knew his desire for the female had not died,
the yautja around him certainly knew. Ali’shir stood,
“Try not to embarrass yourself or me, again.” He said walking to the exit.

            Ali’shir thundered into the hall, he
didn’t even hear Mara until she grabbed his shoulder. He whipped his arm away
from her and she immediately took a defensive stance. She knew him to hit
everyone and anything when he was like this.
                        “What happened?” she
asked.
                        “Nothing,” he lied
letting his arms fall, “What do you want now?”
                        “I wanted to know where
your female was. She missed our date in the gym. I was hoping she was still up
for a spar,”
            He groaned. In his anger and arousal
he almost forgot his plan to protect Isis from
Mara. Mara stood a solid foot over him, her muscle frame eclipsing his own. She
would break the woman in half.
                        “Isis
will join me in our suite after dinner and you are not to approach her about it
again as I have forbidden it,”
                        “Nonsense,” Kai scoffed,
stepping from behind him.
            She had been eavesdropping and licked
her canines at he idea of Isis being crippled
by the warrior. “It is all your human can talk about. I think you would upset
her if you did not allow it, Ali’shir. You would certainly upset me,” she
purred.
            Kai was lying but the damage had
already been done. Mara, always eager to challenge herself, was already gone,
off to find Isis. She did not even stop when
he repeatedly called her name. With a defeated groan, Ali’shir turned to face
Kai, crossing his arms as he bore down on her. She looked up at him innocently,
twisting playfully with her hands behind her back like a happy child.
                        “If she is hurt, you
will be sorry.” Ali’shir growled.
                        “Will you be the one to
punish me?” Kai purred stepping closer, brushing her breasts against him.
            Ali’shir took a slow step backward,
his mind opening to a moment of supreme clarity. He saw the female for what she
was again. The vile, manipulative liar that ruined all who stood in her way.
She had her sights set on Isis and he wouldn’t
allow it. He had given his word, not only to protect the human but himself.
                        “Kaian, you have made
your choice quite clear. You have your Elder and he will soon be Lead Elder.
Leave me be and leave my female alone,”
                        “What if I have changed
my mind?” she purred, sliding her hands against the broad planes of his chest.
                        “It does not matter. I
have not,” he said, plucking her hands from him.
            He turned his back on her and left
for the dining hall again, hoping to find Isis
before Mara did. Kai watched him go and trilled absentmindedly, welcoming the
challenge. She would simply have to change his mind back for him.

            Ali’shir arrived too late to
intercept Mara. The warrior already issued her formal challenge to Isis and they were already on their way to the hall on
the upper level. The entire dining hall had left to watch. Stepping into the
massive room, he struggled to wade through the crowd towards Isis
who stood, biting her lip. It seemed the cards were stacked against her. Her
opponent aside, the crowd clearly favoured the yautja
warrior over the foreigner. They chanted Mara’s name, feeding her ego with
their hype.
            The Elder female tied up her yellow
locks and took up the axe at her feet with graceful ease and strode to the
centre. Mara clicked the weapon with Isis’
spear and the roared in challenge. The sound stunned Isis
for a moment but she ducked just in time as Mara swung the heavy axe by her
head, rolling on her side and hopping back to her feet.
                        “You are a quick one,”
Mara boomed, swiping at her again.
            Isis
darted a second time and realised something about her heavy handed opponent.
She was strong and wielded her heavy axe with a lot of force, but it left her
chest open every time she did. It also drained the female a great deal to swing
it. Isis crouched again and backed up, drawing
Mara with her.
            Time passed and Isis
hadn’t hit the warrior once, nor had she made a single attempt to. She only
moved, baiting Mara to swing at her again and again and she did. Mara roared as
she pried the axe head from the stone floor, sweat pouring from her face as she
hoisted the heavy weapon above her head and swung again and again.
            Ali’shir watching from the crowd’s
edge, let out a snort of amusement. He knew this strategy very well; she had
used it on him once. She was wearing the female out; making her so tired Mara
lost not only her strength but her speed and agility. Isis
walked the female around the ring at least ten times and the warrior’s usually
crisp and forceful form deteriorated with each lap. Mara lunged at her with sloppy
and haphazard swipes but Isis easily dodged
each one until the Elder did the inevitable.
            Splaying her mandibles wide, Mara
roared and then lunged with full force at Isis.
Her wildly swinging hands caught Isis on her
midsection but she knew better than to fall. Isis
scaled the female’s chest and off her shoulders, kicking the back of her head
as she slid down her back. Mara, satisfied that she had finally connected with
her opponent, rolled over to finish her off and met with the tip of Isis’s spear.
            Pushing her head to the floor with
her foot, Isis moved to drive the spike
through her open maw when a bark stopped her mid thrust. Ali’shir moved from
the throng of motionless bodies to stand in the ring, his body set in a
disapproving stance.
            Isis
moved her foot and backed up towards him, letting the male ease the spear from
her hands. Ali’shir looked at the female with surprise and trepidation. Isis’ mouth and brow were rigid, her eyes pitiless,
intense and unblinking as she watched Mara struggle to stand. Mara’s violent
swipe made her turn. It made her see the fight was as serious as life and death
and she fought like it, giving herself over to instinct and training. Even now,
with the threat over, her fists clenched as Mara approached.
                        “You are an excellent
fighter,” the female said. Ali’shir nudged her out of her stupor and Isis gave a curt bow, returning the compliment.
                        “I am glad you got a
chance to make up with A’rah before she passed,”
            Ali’shir blinked, “What makes you
say that?”
                        “That was her style of
fighting. I would know it anywhere,” she turned to Isis
and clapped her shoulder. “How long did you train with her?”
                        “A while,” she replied,
watching Ali’shir walk away. “Will you excuse me?”

            Isis
opened the suite door and he was there, his head hung resting on his folded
hands. His mask discarded and at his side. Taking the seat across from him she
summoned the courage to ask him what drove a wedge between him and his sister.
A’rah mourned their separation and now it was obvious he did too.
            “It seems that all
you two needed to do was talk and things would have been better,”
Ali’shir groaned, scratching at his the fabric mask, “Leave me be
female.”
                        “What if I promise to
never ask you again?” she said taking a seat.
                        “Leave!” he growled.
Isis nodded and began to stand, “Fine, I’ll
just ask Mara, but I doubt I’d get the informed truth from her.”
He groaned again, surprised he was even tempted to tell her. No one
really asked what happened between him and his sister, at least not with out
already having the conception that it was mostly his fault.
The story was fairly simple. When Ali’shir left, he had no intention
of leaving his children behind but it was far too dangerous to have them with
him while the Clan hunted him. So he left them with his sister for safe
keeping,
                        “I entrusted her with
their care and she gave them right back to the ones I tried to protect them
from,” he said angrily, “She did not even fight them or tell me until it was
too late and they were back with their mother,”
                        “She knew you’d get
yourself killed trying to stop them. She was trying to protect you,”
                        “I did not ask her to
protect me. I asked her to protect my children and she failed,”
                        “And what good would you
have been to your children dead?”
He was not a great deal of good to them alive. If he was dead he would
at least have an excuse for not being there for them. It was one of his
greatest regrets, along with not ending his silence with his sister sooner.
When they united again to intercept Isis’
ship, he wasted the opportunity to make amends. He called her for help but did
not make an effort to part on good terms with her,
“If I had known that was going to be the last time
I would have seen her alive…” he quieted, not wanting his voice to break.
Sadly, Isis knew exactly what he
meant and felt. If she knew her brother Vane was going to die that day on the
Whistler, she wouldn’t have spent the entire week giving him the silent
treatment.
                        “You not talk?” Ali’shir
teased, “What did he do? I must know.”
A bemused smile curled her scarred lips, “Funny how I can’t even
remember it now,” she said. “Shows just how important it was. It looks like we
were both fools,” Ali’shir growled at that but Isis
continued. “You knew A’rah couldn’t stand between a children and their mum. She
was honour bound.”
                        “I would like to think
blood is thicker than water,”
                        “Still, you shouldn’t
have made her choose like that.”
                        “The choice should have
been easy. What would you have done if Vane had asked that of you and someone
came to take your nieces and nephews from you?”
            Isis
knew what he was getting at but he had to understand what she would do and what
A’rah would do were two different things.
“I wouldn’t have let them go,” she said quickly. “But A’rah was honour
bound. She always followed the law,”
                        “Not always,” Ali’shir
raised his head slowly, “Or else you would not be here.”
            Isis
swallowed. She could see the contempt in his quicksilver eyes, “Is that why you
tried to kill me?”
            He shook his head, “I wanted to give
you an honourable death.”
                        “A what?”
            Ali’shir remembered his thinking
clearly. Her body bore telling scars.
She endured much at the hands of their most prized prey and some of their most
gifted warriors and survived. “You deserved a better death than what that thing
in your chest promised you.”
            Isis
was in awe of his stunted reasoning, “So blowing my ass off was a better than
trying to get someone to cut this thing out of me?”
            Ali’shir shrugged his shoulders, “I
knew they would not be able to remove it. It had been too long.”
                        “You didn’t know that.”
                        “Its still there, is it
not?” he said smugly folding his arms.
She would most likely never see a day when that thing was gone and her
body was her own again. Hard meats had been known to lay dormant for many
thousands of years; it would only stand to reason their spawn could do the
same.
                        “Shut up,” Isis stood and walked into the bedroom, locking the door
behind her. “I hope you like that couch!” she yelled.
                        “I do!” he yelled back,
flopping on the cushions.
            Ali’shir kicked off his amour and
rolled on his side. He was not as angry as he sounded. It was just an easier
way to part yelling and screaming than it was to kindly wish her good night. It
made him feel odd, especially after talking so candidly with her about his
sister. It unsettled him that he had that conversation and it unsettled him
even more that he couldn’t imagine another person he would have it with.
Ali’shir closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. It was ok that he human
was his closest confidant, so long as she did not know it.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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A Union of Convenience (Formerly ‘Alone’)