M'icli-de and I went back to the ooman planet. After we hid the ship, we scaled up on of their enmourmouse rock like huts. They toward over the land, and between them we solid roads where small carages with sleek metal covered them. There were more oomans here than either myself or M'icli-de had ever seen. Plus, it was much harder to find worthy prey. The only oomans that carried weapons werent aggressive, and there wasen't alot of violence. It wasen't untill the next day we discovered prey. We followed a group of corrupt oomans to a metal hut, larger than any hut I'd seen back home. We followed them inside, and ther was another group of oomans. By the way they were speaking and babbling, I could tell they were corrpt. The corrupt of any speacies was always the most dangerouse. M'icli-de and I positioned ourselves on opposite ends of the room. I started our assault by throwing my spear into the crowd, killing 3 of them. They all turned and fired their sticks at me, except these had disks between the grips, and they rapidly fired in my direction. I moved aside to avoid being hit, and M'icli-de threw her disk, killing 4 of them. When the oomans stoped and tore off the disks on their sticks, we leapt down. I attacked using my wrist K'cte-pa's, and M'icli-de attacked using her spear. I killed four, and she killed 3. We were tied. Suddenly a loud BANG got my attention, as an ooman off to the right stood with a stick that he pumped. I looked at myself to see multiple wounds, M'icli-de had them too. I smiled through my mask. I would kill this ooman for her. We both uncloaked and charged at the ooman, but M'icli-de was faster than myslef, and leapt up, and landed infront of the ooman.

But I wished she hadn't done that.

Because the ooman panicked, and fired his burner, and watched in horror and anger, as M'icli-de's body was ravaged, and her insides sprayed the floor and myself!

"NYEEEEE!!!!!" I yelled. She hit the floor hard. She was still alive. It seemed as if time had slowed down, watching her gasp, and lift up a dying hand, the ooman was pulling back on his burner and releasing. As he raised it up to me, I felt the rage that powered my long ago. I leapt up, avoiding his fire, and landing infront of him, with a swift motion, I sliced his weapon, and his arm off! I pulled my arm back and impaled him on my K'cte-pa's, and when I retrackted, I decapitated the ooman, and in my rage, I rippeed his lifless body into a thousand peices!

"TaRaKa..."M'icli-de sturggled to say. I turned around and knelt to her side. I quickly took my mask off, and then her own.

"You win..." She said, with a smile.

"M'icli-de, I am so sorry! I'm going to get you out of here." I said as I reached down to help her, but she grabbed my wrist.

"It's too late. You cannot save me..." She coughed, thwei sprayed upward.

"M'icli-de, I wont leave you. You mean too much to me!" I said.

She reached up and touched my face. "I know you wont, and I will never leave you." I held her hand and she touched my face.

"Please dont leave me!" I said to her.

She coughed again and said, "I'll greet your father in the afterlife....I will always...be there....I love...you..." and her hand dropped. She stared liflessly up at me.

"M'ICLI-DE!!!!" I yelled. But there was nothing I could do. The person I loved, was gone.

*****

The ramp openned, revealing the clan waiting for me below. I walked out, carrying M'icli-de's lifeless body. Everyone's expression of happyness turned to sorrow. Tokoma openned his mouth to speak, but no words came out. I looked at them all, and walked past them, Before I was more than a few feet away, I was standing infront of De'ki-de. He had an expression that ment, I told you so. I glared at him as I walked past him, taking her to my home.

I layed her body in the grass, a built a small wooden slab from logs. Once I made sure it was sturdy, I placed her body on it. It stroked her tresses once more, before kissing her mandible. I moved back, and took a lighter. Once it was aflame, I lit the base of the slab. it slowly went aflame. I held the 2 tresses she gave me long ago in both hands. Watching the flames dance on her body, I rubbed my eyes, fighting as hard as I could not to cry. I started to sing alloud, spirits within. And before I knew, I was weeping. I called her name out a final time, before continuing to watch her body burn. I prayed to the gods, to keep her in good hands. I could only hope I would see her again in my after life. After a while, I realised the answer to the question I asked long ago.

This is how my father felt when my mother died.

Once her body was finished, I gathered her ashes into a container, and walked up to the stream that she and I bathed in. I stared up at the night sky, tears still filling my eyes, and with a final cry of her name, I dumped her ashes into the warm water. As with my father's Usl kwe, I knelt down and watched the water, except this time, no one came to comfort me....no one. After watching the water for several hours, I took my dagger, and butchered my own treses down to my neck point. And I tosses them into the water. After watching them drift away, I stood up, annd went inside my home...

*******