Joint POV-

The egg chamber echoed the quiet cries of one girl and the somber silence of another until a small troop of Yautja entered the room. Its leader was several feet taller than the newly blooded Yautja around himself as he was an observer on this day like Kweide had been. He glanced around at the carnage and waved some newly blooded to smash any remaining eggs, the rest he pointed to the Queen to make sure her ovipositor was entirely destroyed and to collect its most prized trophy pieces.

Kayla grunted loudly as she crushed an egg beneath her boot. Her head turned up, looking for other untouched eggs, the expression on her features somewhere between rage and exhaustion. When her eyes met the leader briefly, her expression fell into something akin to relief. She gave him a dip of her head before turning back to her task.

The leader had dipped his head in return, a gesture of recognition before he moved towards the fallen Yautja on the stone and the human who clung to him. She made no noises as he approached but the closer he got the more he understood why. Her heart rate was slowing down, the wrap on her leg had slowed the bleeding greatly but if they didn't get her back to the ship she'd be dead in a relatively small amount of time. He had no choice but to squat before her so she could see his face, his hand quickly came to rest over his chest, "I am Vahyu'da, under other circumstances I would blood you here and we would all return to the ship but you do not have that time. I must pass you to another Yautja in order for me to carry him home with the rest of us."

She looked up at him, eyes empty for a moment before she seemed to bring herself back together at least enough to unhook herself from the wrist gauntlet and roll off of Kweide although her hand clasped his clawed one tightly.

Vahyu'da's stare zeroed in on the wound, dark green eyes scanning him before turned away to assess. Kweide was not considered worthy of a ceremonial burial when the other young were not either. He could not go home although he would be among the honored. "Seeing his wounds he will not be returning with us. You may say your goodbyes." she looked up at him dumbfounded as he stood, "it is not our way to take the dead home who have not exceeded standard code, I am sorry but he will be buried here amongst the others. Take from him what you wish, he will have no use for these items as he hunts alongside Paya". His words were short but not unkind or cold, he was merely speaking facts although some part of him pitied her as she burst into a new wave of tears. She kissed Kweide's face again, pressed his palm to herself and nuzzled him. It was so affectionate and so tender he could only walk away. Feelings like that were rare among Yautja and deserved privacy.

Instead he walked to the other human female and watched as she continued her work. "Congratulations on your survival and the kills you have made." And they truly were quite something to congratulate. An alien queen, albeit sickly, had been taken out by two lone humans. This would be the most honored kill of the hunt, even surpassing the praetorian three of the other young had killed.

Kayla forced herself to pause, her hands pressed against her thighs to keep herself stable. The ache in her leg had grown unbearable, but she could weather it, they weren't out of the woods yet after all. "Thank you." She breathed, truthfully she hadn't expected to hear congratulations till they returned to the ship.

"You are welcome young warrior," He gave her a nod before dipping down to look at her leg, "is your wound well enough to run?" The swelling concerned him but he knew it would heal in time with proper care.

She grimaced, her gaze following his, she had been on this leg too long. "Depends on how fast you need me to run, if it's like I have one of those things-" she gestured to the dead queen, "at my heels, then no sir."

"I'll have to carry you then, this temple must be destroyed." He looked around at the young and noticed them all lining up in preparation, pressing on their gauntlets but waiting for his call to start the countdown. Few stood with various trophies strapped to them that belonged to the girls, one even carted the queen's jaw. "Do you have any other trophies you wish to take before we leave"?

Kayla looked around the egg chamber, her eyes falling onto one of the dead face huggers on the ground. She bent over and picked it up, a specific idea popping into her head for its skeleton once she had gotten the help cleaning it. "This," she had wanted the tail from one of the hard meat she had killed, but now wasn't the time to go back and find it. She turned back to look at Skylar, a frown pulling over her face as she approached her. Based on how the others were acting, it was time to go.

Vahyu'da did not stop her and instead wandered a slight distance away so they could speak in peace. "You do not have much time, make it quick if you can".

Skylar was staring at the ground, curled against Kweide's chest again, wrapped in his arms and gently clasping his hand in hers. She couldn't leave him to be burnt away in a mass grave with almost nothing to remember him by. She had his necklace but that would never be his touch or his purrs or his scent. When she left this room she would lose every part of him she could still hold. Her hands curled tighter on reflex, there had to be a way to bring him, something she could do. Right? She looked up at Kayla as she approached, panic filling her chest at that frown.

"Skylar," her voice was uncharacteristically gentle as she knelt beside her friend. "Skylar it's time to go, we need to get out of here and get you and me patched up." She would drag Skylar out if she had to, despite her bad leg. She didn't want to lose her friend.

"They're leaving him behind Kayla, how can we allow that?" Skylar's voice was raspy and nasally from mucus.

"It's not up to us," Kayla wished it was, for Skylar's sake. "We can still hold a funeral for him if you want, but we need to get out of here first."

"So that's it?" Her eyes hollowed, that's all they could do? He would be left in a place where he would barely be remembered. Skylar considered staying for a moment. The relief of being able to spend every last moment with him would be so soothing. What if nothing she did ever mattered like it already felt like it didn't. If no one needed her then maybe she didn't need to force herself to get up at all. There was Ferdinand, but he had been fine before she came. There was Luar'ke, but he was constantly dealing with the mistakes she made. There was Kayla, but Kayla was moving on with her life... But what about their father? She had to get up for that, she owed him so much. But she was so tired of it. Tired of giving everything and being left behind. He could be dead and she would return home to nothing. She didn't want to be alone.

Vahyu'da came over, lifting Skylar into his arms as she reached for the broken pieces of Kweide's face mask. She said nothing, no acknowledgement to anyone as she laid her head down, holding those pieces to herself and stared down at Kweide's body propped up against the egg. "Come, I will lift you with my left arm, can you hold onto me?" Vahyu'da adjusted his right arm to support just Skylar and kneeled down for Kayla to slide into his grip.

Kayla nodded as she slipped into his arm, she felt guilty for not demanding they take Kweide, but who was she to make such demands? She would do as she said, and ensure they held some sort of service for him. Skylar, and he deserved that much. "Thank you," She said to the Yautja holding her and Skylar.

"You are welcome," Vakhyu'da replied quickly before he carried them over to the group. "Set your bombs and then follow me, the pyramid is unarmed now and I will lead you out but we must hurry or your victories will not get the chance to be celebrated". They'd all very much be dead if they didn't manage to leave in time. A friendly reminder of it couldn't hurt. As he left he slowed for just a second as Skylar's eyes turned back from their waypoint behind him and stared glass eyed into nothing on his chest. "I have a hologram of the lower temple but my vision is limited with you in my arms and I'll need one of you to guide us out once we reach the upper temple structure." He ran at a face pace, so fast it seemed disproportionate for his massive size. Winding left and right and right again through the tunnels.

"Yes sir, I can handle this." Kayla's eyes darted as she tried to regain her bearings, once she had, the rest fell into place. She only hesitated a few times while they were in the corridors of the pyramid. They were so similar that finding the differences in the rock carvings took a breath or two. It wasn't until the sun hit her skin that she became more sure of the path they needed to take.

The trees looked the same from all sides, but she could see the jagged stone that jutted from the dirt. She pointed to it, leading the group straight from the marker to where the broken pillar was. "Slight right." she commanded.

A few more moments later she was worried she led them wrong. Panic began to set in until her eye found the turned over tree. Though Kayla didn't let out a breath of relief till the crocodile formation came into view, followed by the entrance of the cone.

The group headed like a perfectly synced pack towards the ship, not a single one looked back save for the humans who turned to witness the destruction the Yautja technology could do. Both watched with Horror as the ground consumed the roughly thousand year old temple. The structure crumbled as it was sucked into the gaping sinkhole their bomb had created with only a few straggler creatures escaping the fate of becoming one with the mass grave. Most of the survivors were avians who could fly, no more than a handful escaped across the ground. If there was one thing Skylar had learned it was that Yautja and prey could both become no more than ash.

Vahyu'da ran them back to the ship, his memory of the above ground just enough to keep him on a sharp trajectory and the occasional word from Kayla made sure they arrived in less than 15 minutes. The Yautja were not visibly tired but all let loose one click or another of relief as they took their seats and strapped in. Kayla and Skylar were strapped together in the chair where Kweide would have sat as they waited for the ship to take off and bring them back to the mothership.

"Kayla I feel cold", Skylar shivered, rubbing her aching fingers across her arms. She could barely feel the sheen of sweat on her skin as she was too focused on her racing heart. She bit her lip to ground herself as she tried to take calming breaths but her heart wouldn't slow down.

Kayla looked around them, her eyes darting for something to help keep Skylar warm, but she couldn't seem to locate anything. She scooted closer, using her body heat to keep her warm. She was worried about what it meant, considering the sweat said something different to how Skylar was feeling. "It'll be warmer on the big ship Skylar, everything's going to be okay."

"Okay," Skylar leaned on her friend, her shivers kept her from being able to be still as her heart pumped the blood into her body harder to make up for the lost heat and oxygen. Her fingers were growing numb and the only reason she knew was because when they took off she couldn't properly clench onto the safety belt as she jostled forward. Her heart rate wouldn't slow and her chest ached so much she couldn't help but rub a hand over it helplessly.

Kayla kept her eyes on Skylar, "It's going to be alright," Was all she could think to say, even with the jostling of the ship, she did her best to remain at her friend's side. When she felt the ship finally dock, and saw the doors begin to open, a breath of relief left her lips.

Vahyu'da unbuckled himself and then the girls as he lifted Skylar into his arms. He passed the young and the group of Yautja waiting to greet them with a dip of his head and a nod to Elder Lar'ja Luar-ke who watched them pass with an intense stare although he did not stop them much to Vahyu'da's relief. The new warrior in his arms would be a dead one if he could not get her to the healers.

Skylar shivered, her body fell back because the effort of clinging to Vahyu'da was too much for her. Instead she limply hung in his arms, dazed eyes careening around the room until they landed on Luar-ke, he was spinning, or she was. Yeah it definitely had to be her. Everything but him was moving and in free fall. He was the only thing still enough that she could focus on, her arm swung loosely, but it wasn't a strong enough movement for anyone to interpret except him. She knew he knew she wanted him there. But he didn't move. He looked softly at her and gave a proud thump to his chest. That's all she was going to be able to get from him when his duty was to acknowledge the blooded. She was all alone.

Vahyu'da ran faster as she passed out, rushing into the medbay and depositing her onto the nearest operating table. He could only blink in surprise when he noticed their Clan Leader depositing Kayla on the floor behind him and pushing past him to grab a medic from the back. He nodded to Kayla, curious about what was happening but did not delay in leaving the females behind in order to return to the other young warriors. May Paya help them both.

Serious panic was starting to settle in Kayla's chest seeing Skylar passed out. She attempted to get to her feet, placing her hand on her knee to push herself up. It didn't work though, the pain in her ankle made her fall to the floor again. "Just because we're here doesn't mean you can die on me now, Come on Sky. Please be okay." There was no guarantee her friend could hear her but she wanted to try.

Footsteps pulled her attention away momentarily, seeing H'chakde in the doorway, he looked just as panicked as she was. Though his was surprisingly better veiled than hers.

Lar'ja-thwei entered the room eying them both before he nodded for a younger Yautja to approach Kayla as he grabbed Skylar up and took her away. The doors closed shut and Kayla was now alone in the medbay with just herself, h'chakde, and this new younger Yautja.

Kayla remained still, allowing the young medic to begin patching her visible injuries. The cut at her side, arm and even a few shallow scratches on her skin. When he had finished, she informed him of pain in her ankle.

H'chakde stepped in, lifting Kayla onto one of the inspection tables for him to begin checking for the exact cause of the pain. Kayla remained silent, her eyes drifting to the door where Skylar was. She had thought the hardest part of the day would have been the hunting, it was now she knew she was sorely wrong.

Waiting to see if Skylar would make it, was surely harder than the creatures she had faced.

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Skylar gritted her teeth as she hobbled after Kayla, they'd given her a purple liquid as soon as she had woken from the temporary fix they'd done on her leg. It wasn't full invasive surgery like she wished they'd just gone ahead and finished but they told her it couldn't be done until after the ceremony. Getting her publicly blooded before she would be out of commission for weeks if not months was a gravely important matter so a little pain killer (a very heavy one it seemed since she almost didn't feel anything at all wrong with her leg besides the fact she had to drag and limp on it) was all she got. That and having to do her best to walk by herself into the small group of other fresh warriors. Only about five of the original eight Yautja, humans not included, had survived. Her eyes burned as she stared at Vahyu'da, there was one less watchman too.

She didn't stop the tears that poured from her eyes as she got in line but she didn't sob or flinch either. They just fell, dripping down onto the floor in silent splashes like a leaky roof. She stood straight as she could, letting Kayla's presence be the only thing that kept her knowing where she was. She could not bear to look anyone else in the eye.

A familiar Yautja appeared in front of them all, adjusting their stances and lining them up one by one. She recognized the female and in a fit of anger she turned her gaze up from the floor and stared straight into her eyes. M'kreeta adjusted her, confusion rippling across the yautja's face as she grabbed Skylar's jaw and tilted her head back further for the ceremony. She could see Kayla through her periphery. She owed her at least a peaceful ceremony, this is what she wanted after all and Skylar would give what little of herself was left to ensure it was a better part of this memory. Skylar closed her eyes, breathing in deep and calming down.

When everyone was at last presentable Elder Luar'ke entered the room, a chorus of, "welcome clan leader", and various respectful bows and nods followed him as he came to stand in front of the first to be blooded. He dipped his head to Kayla, amusement in his eyes as he spoke in a teasing and hushed voice, "I knew you would do well, but to kill a Queen, young Kayla? I should have known you would aim to outdo any of the young bloods who came before you. Even if she was a sickly Queen."

"What can I say? Go big or go home." Kayla couldn't help the smile despite her aching and tired muscles. As excited as she was at this moment, she couldn't wait to just flop down on a mattress and sleep.

He let out a quiet but amused sound and did the best he could to hide the humor from his voice as he loudly spoke, "We welcome you young warrior. This ship and these Yautja will be your home and allies, from this hunt until your last.Will you carry on our ancestors' glory and honor before joining them in the eternal hunt by Paya's side?"

"Yes Elder." Honestly Kayla wasn't sure how exactly she was supposed to respond, but this sounded right. Hands moving up to grab the collar of her top, she pulled it down just enough that her upper chest was visible. Her muscles tensed a little as she braced herself for the marking.

He lifted a gray bowl, it lacked beauty, but it was strong enough to withstand the burn of the alien's blood and its ancient and intricate carvings held a beauty of their own. He held his hand over the bowl and slit the back of his arm, neon blood dripping into the Kiande Amedha's before he mixed it with a claw trophy. The blood hissed momentarily as it swirled together. "You stand as a warrior among us today". And then the burning hot pain touched Kayla's skin as he delicately carved the marking onto her chest.

The Yautja around them cheered, their stomps and roars echoing as he finished their clan symbol and moved onto the next new warrior, Skylar. She frowned, eyes roaming from the bowl to the sore looking mark on Kayla and back to Luar'ke. She almost refused. But that would cause more trouble than it was worth. What would a little more pain today cost her, right? She stared at Luar'ke when he opened his mouth to speak and held his amber gaze with her own. She hoped he could see the tiredness behind her eyes and just get this procedure over with.

"I am unsure what words to give you Skylark... You do not intend to stay."

"Just say them, I don't care if I'm lying." She shrugged against his surprised gaze and answered him as he spoke the same words he had said to Kayla and would repeat to the rest of the Yautja being marked. She let him burn her where he picked so he would move on down the line. Her eyes glazed over as the crowd jostled and cheered for each of them until the last was marked and they all rushed toward them to congratulate the new warriors. She pushed away from the group, limping now as she headed back for the medical bay. She heard N'kai call her name, maybe someone else as well, but she ignored it in favor of getting far away from the massive amounts of Yautja and any form of celebration. Today was the end of her world, not a beginning.