[Unusual Predator] 3 – Training

How many years have passed? Five? Ten?

However, many years passed, and every day always seemed to be the same as I spent my day training and learning under the Weapon Master and our 'Mother,' the female Yautja in charge of teaching us whatever we needed or wanted to know and the one in charge of my...group? My...class? Whatever word that would describe our group of unblooded.

I was far from being the biggest or most skilled, but what I did have over my kin was my thirst for knowledge and cunning.

From the 'Mother' and Weapon's Master, I have been learning how to maintain and modify my weapons.

After the first week where the Mother taught-no, indoctrinates us about their Gods, History, and way of life, only three others of my group stayed to continue learning from the Mother; the rest continued to train all day with the Weapnon's Master, honing their skills and instincts.

I was learning all I could from the Mother, and after showing her my intelligence, she taught me more advanced concepts.

From what I learned, very few males were as academic as I was at my age; those that were typically didn't survive the Blooding Ceremony, but I needed an edge against my kin, as strength and honor were the most important things in Yautja society.

I had plans and didn't want to be stuck as a 'Grunt' in this clan.

So, I wanted to make my own.

"Mother Vi'da, I have a question," I respectfully asked after walking into the chambers where the Mother taught us.

"What is it, child?" Mother Vi'da asked, looking up from her wrist computer.

After a few moments of silence, I sighed and decided to be direct, "I wanted to know something. How are new clans formed?"

She looked at me with an appraising eye.

"First, a Yautja must have completed his Blooding Ceremony. Next, they'd have to find two Yautja willing to form the Clan with them, but that's not all. For a clan to be made, the Yautja must complete a hunt of renown," She explained, knowing full well what my intentions were.

"Such as the hunt of a Kiande Amedha Queen and the complete destruction of a Hive the proper way. That is not the only way; however, two other methods exist. The second would be usurping the leadership of a clan, typically by challenging the Clan Leader to a Duel under the eyes of the Black Warrior. The Yautja who remains shall lead the clan. The third and last method is the most difficult and nearly impossible. You must prove yourself worthy to the Ancients," She explained rather calmly, making sure that her point got across.

There was a lot of information that I had to process.

The Kiande Amedha, or 'Hard Meat,' was the name for the Xenomorphs and the fact I would have to hunt down a damn Queen?

Normally, multiple Blooded Yautja have to work together to take on a Queen, and even then, most of them are bound to die or survive near-lethal injuries. Only the most skilled of Yautja are capable of taking down a queen by themselves, let alone an entire hive.

Of the three options she told me, the first was far more likely for me to complete, which meant one thing: I needed to get stronger and learn more, and I couldn't become stronger without experience.

Bowing, I thanked her, something she found highly amusing as I was the only one in my group to ever give 'Thanks' to her teachings, though I doubt any Yautja has ever thanked her, especially one as young as me.

Leaving her chambers, I navigated my way through the labyrinthian corridors that made the Shi'va stronghold.

Soon, I reached the training hall where my kin were training under the watchful eye of our Weapons Master.

Walking into the room, I began walking over to Ehta.

"Weapons Master?" I spoke up from behind him, though he showed no outward reaction to my words before suddenly asking, "What do you want, whelp?"

"I want to hear about the Kiande Amedha; what are their weaknesses? What should I expect when I hunt them?" I asked, much to the surprise of the Weapons Master.

"Why do you not ask your Mother?" The Weapon Master asked, confused.

"Because I want to hear it from someone who has hunted one. You have the experience, and that means that I can learn from you more than I already am," I explained, much to the growing surprise of the Weapon Master.

"Hmm, fine. I can share some tales with you, but not just you," He told me before suddenly looking towards my kin, "Listen up whelps! I've been asked to share some tales of my experiences with the Kiande Amedha, so gather around!"

Thirty pairs of eyes snapped toward us, and my brothers immediately swarmed the Weapons Master, eager to hear and listen.

It was the most I have ever seen my brothers pay attention.

It was frankly surprising, especially since they only cared about fighting and training.

"One hundred and eighty-eight cycles ago, I and two others had our Blooding Ceremony on a planet named 'Siccaro,' a planet with a planet-wide Jungle with a race of primitive humanoid avians that are separated in Clans across the entire planet. This planet has many worthy prey for any future hunts, but we lost the rights to the planet a century ago to a different clan from a challenge," He explained.

That caught my interest; they lost the...rite to hunt on the planet from a challenge. Does that mean clans can challenge one another for specific planets?

Then there's the race, humanoid avians? So...bird people? Could they fly? What would Xenomoprhs look like with their DNA?

Due to the parasitic nature of the 'Aliens', aka the Xenomoprhs, their host DNA determines their shape, size, and traits. Does that mean the Xenomorphs would have feathers? Wings? Would they be able to fly?

That got me curious: what would happen if Xenomorphs could have multiple strands of DNA? Like, let's say...a Yautja, Human, and bird?

As shown with the PredAlien, I assume such a Xenomorph would have the Strength and Mandibles of a Yautja, the cunning and intelligence of a human, and the wings or feathers of a bird.

Either way, I found it fascinating.

"As you all should have learned, the Kiande Amedha evolve and change based on the local prey," He explained before being interrupted by one of my brothers in the crowd, "Does that mean they get all of the strengths and weaknesses of their prey as well?"

"In some cases, they do and don't, but for my Blooding Ceremony, the Kiande Amedha evolved to have wings, making them far more dangerous in the Jungle we hunted them in," He explained before gesturing towards a large scar that stretched across his torso, "I got this scar from a Kiande Amedha ambush, not only did we have to pay attention to the surrounding shrubbery, but the sky as well, I was given this scar and tackled to the ground, but I managed to kill the Kiande Amedha with my Kombi-stick, one of my packmates for the Ceremony were not so lucky, as the Kiande Amedha used their secondary mouths to pierce through their skull," He told us seriously.

"Secondary mouths?" One of my brothers asked.

"Yes, within their mouths, they have a small mouth from which they can launch and use as a short-range surprise attack. If you ever find yourselves pinned, that is their preferred method of ending their prey," He explained.

Suddenly having a bright idea, he stopped and raised his arm, tapping his wrist computer.

Silently, a hologram appeared above it, showcasing a strange Xenomorph, far different from anything I had ever seen in the movies.

Its body was slender and small, being the size of a large dog; it had large wings attached to its back, and its short legs were adorned with large talons that would easily shred through flesh.

God...I couldn't imagine having a swarm of these things; it seemed that the Weapons Master deserved more than earned the respect I've given him, especially after losing one of his teammates early on in the ceremony.