9. Chapter 9
Chapter nine
~Kitari~
I had not intended to follow the human omega so far away from home. When I headed for the clearing where the human ship sat, I swore to myself I was only going to sit and observe. If I just so happened to catch a glimpse of the human omega, smell his sweet scent again, then that was just a happy coincidence. The compulsion to feed my curiosity was too strong.
I sat in a nearby tree, staring at the shimmering, almost-not-there dome for some time. I had not seen any humans coming or going, and I was debating returning home when the distant bellow of a pachaelion drew my attention.
What were the chances that my— the human omega was out there already? And what were the chances that he was in danger?
In a second, I was on the ground and racing towards the noise. I could have followed it with my eyes closed, and when I found the trail of destruction, it led right to a cliff. I arrived just in time to see an armor-suited human running full tilt towards it, then disappearing over the edge. Without his scent to guide me, I could not logically be sure it was the omega, but down in the pit of my stomach, I knew it was him.
The creature was so set on pursuing him that she was going to go over as well. It wasn’t uncommon for matriarchal pachaelion to kill themselves while defending a herd of newborns. Without giving myself time to think, I flung myself in front of her. Her rolling eyes focused on me as I threw my arms up, making myself as large as possible, using my spear at full length. She reared, four legs wheeling in the air, and I dove to the side. Her feet landed with an ground-shaking thud as she pivoted towards me, close enough to the cliff edge to send a shower of scree down. Now with her attention entirely set on me, I drew her away, keeping ahead of her bowed, thorny head. I swung up into the trees, out of her sight. Pachaelion could only focus on what was directly in front of them. Without a target, she would run until she realized there was nothing to chase, and then head back to her herd, happy in the knowledge that she had defeated the intruder. I leaped between the branches and circled back around, while she thundered on below.
Back at the top of the cliff, I found the spot the human had gone over and climbed down. It was steep and loose, and several times I had to recenter myself so I did not end up tumbling down. But I had to make sure the omega was unharmed. The bushes were dense at the foot of the cliff, there was a chance he was lying somewhere gravely injured.
But when I reached the bottom, I had to dive back for cover as I suddenly came upon the human standing there. I watched as he dusted himself off, before setting off along the base of the cliff. I smiled to myself. The omega was tough.
I tracked him, but remained hidden. I would ensure he remained safe and then leave him.
I kept my distance, until I saw as clear as day the signs he could not; the silence of spooked animals. The round, green droppings on the ground. The smell.
Horror dawned as I realized he was a few footsteps away from stumbling upon a sleeping ahk-bkèlearino in its den. This was not a lumbering giant like the pachaelion —half blind and simpleminded. This was one of the most dangerous predators in the jungle; fast and deadly. A creature capable of tearing a grown Aldar in half with ease. He would not stand a chance against it, even in his armor suit. I clutched my spear. I could not reveal myself, but I could not just stand by and watch while he got himself killed.
Perhaps I could draw him away. I hefted a sizable stone and tossed it. It sailed behind his head in the opposite direction, landing with a crash somewhere unseen. He spun towards it, but did not approach it as I had hoped. Instead, he kept on moving towards the den, backwards now. The gap between him and certain death grew smaller and smaller. Why must he be so oblivious to what was around him? I silently screamed for him to stop, to use his senses. Could he not smell it? Not feel its presence? And yet still, he drew closer.
I could not reveal myself.
But I could not let him die.
He was an omega, it was in my very nature to protect him.
Three more steps and he would be dead.
Two more.
Stop.
One.
I threw myself out of the undergrowth at the human.