Maeka- The Pain

It was the cold season. The winds howled their dirge of chill and snow, the trees and fruits upon withered and died, and the great Kal-lo-Ra, the shining guide in the sky found it difficult to stay above for as long as he should. Lu-hin-Ra’s power waxed during this time, as it always did, causing night to lengthen, and foodbeasts to hide, and his jealousy reached its peak as he tried to do away with all of that his brother had made. Many were the unfortunate clan to suffer for it were they ill-prepared; a small, one person hut, far away from any true clans of Kai-Ai, would surely have little to no chance of surviving all on its lonesome.

And yet. Yet she was still here. Through her many and myriad creations, somehow she had managed to forage here and there, despite her sickliness. Her gifted food pile had ran out cycles ago, back when the plants were still green, and the forest alive. However her state now, though, the start of starvation had forced her hand into trying foraging. She was not strong enough to last long enough to harvest a great bounty, certainly not without her body giving up on her, but by simply worrying about surviving day-to-day, she had managed to acquire a little bit of food in the way of plants and fruits. Hunting game was quite impossible for her, and although she loathed the lack of meat, she nonetheless managed with what she had, though no day went by that she did not lament the fact. While on rare occasions she saw others from her own Clan, she did not try to reach out to them- for two reasons. One was that they wouldn’t respond anyway. The law was that for anyone who knew that someone was seeking the sun, they were barred from communicating with them, lest they ‘distract from their sacred sojourn’.

The second one was something far more visceral and black. She was angry. Angry at them for making her do this. Angry at them for not understanding, angry at herself for trying even. She was angry in general, and what made her the most angry was that she had no real outlet to vent this. Should she fly into a rage, yelling and screaming and trying to strike out at anything in her reach, she would be doubled over, out of breath, and then sprawled on the floor within moments thanks to her weak constitution. That was another thing she was angry at. Her body. Perhaps if it wasn't so weak, if her voice wasn't so raspy and filled with coughing, perhaps if her legs weren't spindly and bony, perhaps if her fur was even and lush…

“‘Perhaps’ is a powerful word,” she said to herself in roiling, painful thought. She had taken to talking to herself in order to ease the burden of loneliness, and it had happened at least once that a clanmate- or former clanmate, she supposed- had noticed her talking to herself as she had managed to stumble into a foraging spot that someone else had already claimed. The look on his face was bewilderment and uncertainty, and she had seen him treat her with the caution that one would normally give a wild animal that they did not want to engage with. Only making her more incensed than ever, she had let out a yell of frustration which had sent them fleeing. That day, the pickings were lean, and she had little for her evening meal but to swallow her own disgust.

Today was looking similar. The weather was far too loud and far too cold for her to truly risk going out, and as cold as she was already, she would likely be taken by the chill were she to stay out for too long. However, that would mean another day of going hungry, and already her stomach was stinging, and inflicting its own unique brand of pains on her frail body. To die of starvation or to die of freezing… even as late as it was, with her trying to sleep through the days, she was still fond of life, and so decided.

“Damn the Elder,” she murdered, slipping on the few raiments that she had, and her plucking tool. “Damn the clans, damn their ignorance, and damn Kai-lo-Ra! I will not surrender to their idiocy!”

With that heartfelt proclamation, and her bones already protesting the trial they were to be put through, she stepped out of her hut and into the snowy wild. Perhaps there were still yet a few shoots and berries that had survived… if she were quick, perhaps she would be able to get something in her belly this night.

So distracted she was by her own worries, she failed to notice the bright light in the evening sky through the treetops, that seemed to grow larger and larger, before vanishing just over the horizon in the direction she was headed, where the moon was just beginning to show itself.

And as that light came closer to the planet and the shape of the clearing became more detailed, Captain Louis Barker of the United Systems ship ‘Starchaser’ felt hope that perhaps this wild goose chase wasn't so wild after all.

“Down there.” The young human said, resting his hands on the ship’s console and smiling at the beautiful scenery. “Somewhere down there lies the next great boon for humanity.” It was picturesque, and as the redheaded human activated his exosuit, he hoped that the planet could truly offer all it seemed to.

“Here’s hoping. Landing site clean,” the navigator said easily, his smooth baritone catching the captain from his musings. Dusky fingers flew across the touchboard as he adjusted settings rapidly. “Preparing final approach.”

“Steady on, Rodrick.” This was what he lived for. Discovery. Exploration. The new. And if those scans proved as accurate as they'd hoped, they could mine enough Cordilium to make them all rich to boot.

The landing was smooth as always, and before long, the 12-person crew had donned their exosuits, prepped armaments and scanning tools, and prepared to disembark. “Alright, folks, standard scan pattern. We all know the general lode points. Anything interesting aside that, you radio it in. Nancy, point defenses set?”

The tall, short haired blonde nodded. “Sure are. Nothin’ without our biosignature is getting close.”

Always good to be safe, and Louis nodded his approval. “Fantastic. Alright, move out, people!” He was the fastest to step out into the winter wonderland, and as he moved, he had visions of fantastic new discoveries of minerals and who knew what else dancing in his head. He had his crew at his back, had his goal, and had his wits.

Some distance away, hounded by the cold and wind like nothing before, Maeka the Kai-Ai had only pain.

Pain running through her legs, having pushed them through the thick snow. Pain broiling in her lungs, for her deep gasps for air that brought only icy needles in her breast. Pain in her stomach, for the starvation that ate her alive. Pain in her eyes for her desperate attempts to seek shelter. And the worst...the absolute worse. The pain in her heart, its rapid beating stinging her chest nearly, and causing her shuddering steps. Pain. Pain within, pain without. Only her mind kept her going, a single mantra echoing in her head.

“I refuse.” She should have been dead.

“I refuse.” Perhaps she already was.

“I refuse.” But she could not submit. To submit would be to have her life mean nothing, to have been naught but a burden on any and all around her. She would not let that be her legacy. She would not let herself be a mere tale of folly, and so she told herself, again and again.

“I refuse.” One step. Another. Nothing mattered now but shelter. Sustenance. Something. Anything. The night was well-lit for once, Lu-hin-Ra doing his level best to imitate his big brother, and in a fit of spite, she found herself thanking him. The night could have been completely blackened, with no way for her to see, but his light, although paltry compared to his big brother’s, was more than adequate enough for her to utilize her sight, in defiance of the biting cold. Despite all the tales, and curses, and legends, she found herself for a brief moment musing with bitter irony over this development. Kai-lo-Ra had brought her nothing but hardship, while Lu-hin-Ra had at least given her this much. Such thoughts were stifled, however, when she heard a sound in the distance. Something she recognized as snow shifting. Had something moved?

Her initial thought was elation, but that soon gave way to anger and frustration… and then confusion. No smart Clan member would be out in such weather unless absolutely necessary. What was it then? Perhaps a lost beast? She felt her hopes rise again. If such was the case, then it was doubtful that it would be in any shape to oppose a Hunter, if perhaps not already close to death regardless. However, that left the trouble of actually getting to it. Maeka felt her resolve harden further; she had made it this far, she could convince her tortured body to move just a bit longer. She could not stop here. She wouldn't.

She refused.

And so she walked on, step by step.

Louis had seen many things. Had traveled many worlds, seen a surprising number of extraterrestrial creatures. Aliens weren't quite new to him, not anymore. Strange creatures that sometimes baffled scientists. Others that would probably fit in well on Earth, their physiology so similar to known creatures that some figured that maybe Mother Nature had just not bothered. And those were just the non-sapient ones. Although they took quite some time for them to find, intelligent extraterrestrial life turned out to exist. Communication, however was relatively sparse, if at the very least cordial. The only two spacefaring species that humanity so far were rather keen on simply agreeing to the occasional trade of science, technology, and some business. If nothing else, it had managed to improve technology to a great degree, along with greatly enhancing humanity's understanding of biology. While Lucas was personally a bit disheartened that they hadn't agreed to any kind of formal coalition, he couldn't deny that such a thing so soon was a bit of a fantasy. All that said, he wouldn't deny that every time he landed on a new planet, he was eager to see what new kinds of life were on it. Although it being clearly winter, he knew that it would be some time before he could indulge in that, not to mention he was on task right now.

A sudden sound to his right caused that fact to come to the forefront once again. Tempting fate was not his idea of a good mission, and quickly angled his personal defense weapon, a small pistol that still shot physical projectiles. Cheap, and fairly effective against most fauna, as opposed to the plasma weaponry that would be needed to pierce most other personal defenses. No reason to bring out the big guns on such a planet just yet...although right now wondered if perhaps maybe he should have anyway.

Carefully, he started to strafe in a perpendicular direction, never straying his eyes from where he had heard the sound come from. If something was coming for him, he didn't want it to get a direct line on him. It was certainly taking its sweet time, though...and wait, those sounds? Whatever it was, it sound alike an animal's cry. Too measured, and he could absolutely make out some sort of word. Suddenly, his pulse raced. Could it actually be...? Blinking twice, he decided on his course of action, and carefully, but quickly, made his way towards the source of the sound.

"Oh, wow..." what he saw left him breathless. It was bipedal, absolutely. Large ears, humanoid, had some kind of garments, even. Female, possibly, if the standards of male and female held true and those lumps on its chest weren't for another reason. At least, that's what he could surmise at first glance.

What he could also surmise was that whatever it was, it was clearly struggling. It could barely walk and it seemed to be chanting something to itself for some reason. It was walking right where he was previously, as of now, he was hidden behind a tree; careful and considering whether he should engage this being- or at least offer it some kind of help.

Before he could mull over the legalities and certain ramifications of such a thing, the alien collapsed to a knee, and his mind was made up for him. 'Damnit, no way I can just leave something clearly intelligent out here to die. Well, worth a shot.' "Hey!" he called out, his voice strong enough to clearly carry over the winds.

It looked at him, and his gaze was captured by the strange black depths that were its eyes. It may not have had any pupils, but he could see that the being, in that moment, knew not what to do. So he would have to do something.

He stepped forward.

Maeka was lost, and she knew the fact, yet refused to accept it. She refused to think further on that statement, still yet forcing her overtired and undercapable body to yet work; following the sound was the only recourse she had left, when she arrived at where she thought it may have been, only to find nothing? She refused to accept that as well. Perhaps it had taken another path... In another direction she would-

Suddenly her legs buckled, was forced to a knee. It was in this moment that she knew that she would die in this place, and although she refused to accept it, it would happen nonetheless. A thousand thoughts raced through her head; her anger, desperation, pain-

And then yet another noise. She turned her head, and was struck dumb by what she saw. It was no Kai-Ai; indeed, it was not anything she had seen before. It vaguely resembled a Kai-Ai in posture, perhaps, but...but FAR taller. And its body was immense! Thrice as thick as the mightiest Hunter she had ever seen, perhaps more, and yet seemed to lack fur anywhere- its body was a smooth and brilliant thing, the color and creases reminding her of...something...perhaps lizards, or even some of the great beasts that she had had the misfortune to see once. In fact, it seemed as though it reminded her of many and all creatures all at once, and further still, in several places it seems to glow with strange and hypnotizing light. And its eyes... its eyes were like nothing ever witnessed before. At once she saw the sky, the forest, and the night within those eyes. What were they? What was it?

So confused by this new development she was, she did not feel the bite of cold any longer. The pain of hunger receded, for a brief few moments her eyes were clear. She was warm, calm, content. Whatever this thing was, it brought peace with it, and as it seemed to approach her, a single unusual word coming out of its mouth, she felt a deep desire to rest. Her world tilted on its axis, and she heard more strange vocalizations come from the being as her vision began to leave her. She felt her body rise, and briefly she could see the strange being's face, much, much closer, its own look superimposed onto the sky, and behind it...

At once she realized what she was reminded of, as the moon shone down on them both. 'How suitable,' she supposed, and as her consciousness left her, she found herself grateful that she felt no pain anymore.