"So...How did it go?" Father asked when I boarded the ship.

"Uh..." I wasen't sure how to answer.

Father chuckled and said, "Somehow, I knew you two would get along like that." He placed his heavy hand on my shoulder and lead me further inside.

"How?" I asked.

He chuckled and said, "Because its how your mother and I came together!"

"Really? So that's why you never come to the celebration." I said to him.

"Well, your mother wasen't a warrior like M'icli-de. She was alone. I met her and danced with her to that same music. The only difference was she was much older than M'icli-de, and I was much older than you! But don't get excited. The gods like to make things like that, but some of them like to destroy them just as fast. It's all in the hands of fate, and you." He said, smiling.

Days went by, I learned more about being a teacher, and discipline as my father trained this handful of new bloods. The second blooded was much younger than me, but had plenty of skill. After 2 weeks of training, we made it to the Lom. Father deployed a Lou-dte Kalei and had it lay eggs. We waited for 3 days, and then came down to hunt Kainde' Amedha. We stayed in 3 groups. Each was led by a blooded, with 3 students. The three students I had were eager, but rowdy. We faced 7 Kainde Amedha, being a leader, I attacked without a burner. This was not to encourage them to not use their burners, but for the thrill. Sadly, 2 of the students didn't use their burners correctly, and it cost them their lives, and their mistakes took the life of the third when the thwei of Kainde' Amedha showered his body, and killed him. Their mistake also cost me my own Burner when the thwei hit mine. Without students, I had to find my Father and assist him. On the way, I found the corpses of the second blooded's group. They all where killed by Kainde' Amedha claws, not thwei. When I counted the number of corpsesof Kainde' Amedha, both the ones I'd killed with ym group, and this group's, there was too many Kainde' Amedha, which ment one thing...

Tie'mo. (Queen.)

I found my Father at the entrance of the hive. He'd lost 2 students. It was only him, myself, and the student named Mahnde'. They had their burners, so I had to make sure I stayed with them, Carriers cannot impregnate a Yautja with his helmet on, but they can sophocate him! IT didn't take long to find the Queen chamber, it wasen't a large hive, but she'd already produced too many eggs. It was time to exterminate them, and her!

"My son, Kill any carriers that emerge before we shoot their eggs, understand?" Father said.

"Aye." I replied. Father and Mahnde began firing, eggs exploded violently as they were bombarded with plasma. The Queen screamed in rage. Mahnde fired at her, and destroyed her egg sac. In the queens fury, she stood up off her sac, and charged at us! Mahnde had destroyed the last egg, when he looked up, just to be killed with a single swipe from the queen! It backhanded me and Father away. I leapt up to my feet as Father did. Father's burner had been destroyed when he landed. The queen hissed at us both, unsure of whom to attack first. I drew my twin chirugais, and through them both at her neck. They sliced her hide open, but not her neck. She turned to me and began to charge, when my chirugai's returned, cutting her again! I caught both Chirugais I leapt to the side to avoid her enormouse claw, with a tuck and roll, I threw my chirugai's again, this time, they missed and embeded in the wall of the hive. Father threw his own at her, catching her attention. The queen turned and charged at him. At first I thought Father lost his mind, but I quickly saw his plan. He ran straight toward the queen and slide between her legs when she was close enough, causing her to slam into the wall behind him. Father got up and armed himself with his H'sai-de. He and I went into Hiju, and waited for the Queen to return.She did not charge this time, insteed she stomped toward us, roaring. Father and I moved away from each other, we were going to attack at the same time at different angles. Once she was in range, we attacked. Sadly, she avoided me well, and I had to retreat to avoid her foot. But all hell broke lose when I heard my father scream in pain!

"NYEEEE!!!!" I screamed as I saw the queen lift her tail up, with my Father dangling from its barb like a piece of meat on a fork! Rage filled my body from head to toe! I crouched and leapt straight up, before the queen could react, I spun and thrusted my spear through its head! It screamed in agony and threw my father into a wall. I fully extended my wrist K'cte-pa's, and double backflipped up to its head, and began slicing at it, it shot its arms up in atempts to stop me, but I was so full of rage I didn't even notice that I sliced its hands off! I shived the spear further in, causing it to scream even louder! It flailed its arms around, spraying acid all over the place, I had to act fast to survive this, so I leapt straight into the air, and when I landed, I thrusted my K'cte- pas as far down as I could, with a final scream, the queen fell over, throwing me off. I got to my feet, and watched it die. I looked at my K'cte-pa's, they'd melted down to my knuckle point. But that didn't matter, my father did!

"Father!" I said as I ran over to his side. He was paralyzed.

"Taraka...take my mask off...and yours..." He said.

"But you'll die!"

"Nothing will stop that. I just want to look apon you one more time." He said. He began wheezing. I removed my own mask first, and then removed his. He smiled as he looked apon my face. "I'm very proud of you, my son." He coughed thwei onto his open wound. He contined, "I want you to never forget what you've done here. You've slain a Tie'mo, with nothing but blades, no Yautja has ever done that before. You have become the legacy of the famly,what I'd hoped you would become. I'm only regreting that I will not be there to see it." He said.

"Father, you can't die...YOU CAN'T!" I said.

He looked at me and said, "Take care of M'icli-de" and with a final gasp, he was gone.

I ROARED out of pure emotional pain. The only person I knew my entire life was dead. After I sliced the queens head off with my father's H'sai-de, I took his body out of the hive, and cremated him, keeping his ashes in a small container. All I wished to do now was go home.

*****

The ship landed, and the ramp lowered. I stood, holding the Tie'mo skull in one hand, and my father's H'sai-de in the other. I closed my eyes and walked down the ramp. Yautja's greeted me with roars and claps as I raised up the skull of the Tie'mo. But their happyness died when I lowered it, and raised up my father's H'sai-de. Accross the crowd, I heard a few Yautja-de's cry. It was a familier sound of a mother weeping over her lost son. The only person to mourn my father, was myself. I finally openned my eyes when I lowered his H'sai-de, and came face to face with M'ilci-de. I didn't speak. I walked past her, through the crowd, and to my home. I mounted the Tie'mo skull on my wall, and placed the H'sai-de on my table. I took the container with ym Fathers ashes to the small stream with the waterfall. I enjoy bathing in it, but I wasen't there for that reason. Instead, I poured his ashes into the water, and watched them drift away. I pounded my chest one time, and let out a final roar, for my father's Usl kwe'. (Final Rest.) I then knelt down and watched the water. I felt nothing but sorrow. I was going to miss the one person who I had my entire life. I did what I could to fight tears. I never liked crying, and I wasen't going to allow myself to without a fight. As I watched the water, I saw the reflection of M'icli-de. She knelt down with me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I didn't look up at her, I just reached and held her hand. She then wrapped her arms around me, and we held each other.

"Don't dispair." She whispered to me. "He died with honor. And I can assure you, that most of that honor came from your prescence. He died while hunting with his son. Not alot of Yautja have that happen." I still didn't speak. I just continued to hold her. Eventually she let go, and took my shin mounted dagger, and cut 1 tress from both sides of her head. She gently placed them in my hands, and left me. I stared into the water, but my stare quickly turned from the water, to the gift M'icli-de gave me.

"Take Care of M'icli-de." My father's last words were. I closed my eyes one last time, and left.

****