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Unresolved Paths

Three

Darkthunder could notice that he was walking. He could feel the rhythmic movement of his legs, the intermittent sensations of soft soil and grass on the underside of his feet, and that objects ahead in his path approached and then went past him and the two elders next to him as he advanced. Yet the terrorclaw felt that, even as his mind knew which direction his body was taking, his legs were not moving by his own volition. As he followed Riverpath towards their destination, however, it was not his conscious mind in control of his legs, but rather any feelings of duty to his pack.

Behind him, he heard the lamentation of an armorback, a deep, bass-laden voice crying to the winds the sorrow of a heavy loss.

Darkthunder wanted to go back. More than ever, he wanted to be hold tight by the thick, strong arms of his muscular archosaur. Just the armorback's close presence, and the touch of their bare skins, was enough to bring feelings of pleasure and companionship that he never felt otherwise. Sitting together, talking, or just sleeping next to each other in their ship quarters - even when there was no sex involved - made Darkthunder feel complete. Grell never hesitated to proclaim that he was the happiest archosaur in the galaxy whenever both saurians spent their time out of duty together. Time had only made the armorback's words stronger, his love more faithful.

The armorback's strong love and fidelity now lied broken, turned into immense grief and sorrow.

Somehow, Darkthunder felt he was being unfaithful to Grell, even when he was mating with a terrorclaw female out of his feelings of obligation for his own pack. Still, any feelings of infidelity paled when compared to the idea that he would have to let Grell go.

Please forgive and forget me, my dear armorback,_Darkthunder said softly to himself in the archosaur language. _I never meant to give you such pain.

His mind returned to reality as he heard loud snorting ahead. Riverpath seemed upset at hearing words that were not of the pack. At that moment, Darkthunder could not care if the elder was upset.

The dark terrorclaw turned to look slightly behind him as the soft voice of the elder female reached his ear holes.

"Why did you do it, Darkthunder?"

Darkthunder cocked his head slightly to the right. "I do not understand the question."

"The leaf eating archosaur. Why did you take him as your t'kre'k'k?_ Why did you choose him as your companion, when you knew you had to return to the pack someday?"_

Darkthunder sighed and trilled with sadness. "The words do not exist in our language for me to say why. I wanted the archosaur out of my pack when I was first knew about him. After our paths crossed, something in his smell incited strong and strange feelings in me - I felt a strong desire to let the leaf eater mount and mate me in the way archosaurs mate. Those desires grew stronger the more I had to fight and hunt with him at my side. Then, one day... he saved me from others that really wanted to hurt me. I knew I could not hate him any more after that, but I was still confused. Soon after... he asked me if I wanted to be his t'kre'k'k_. Right then, I knew he was the one for me."_

Riverpath snorted. "And you mated with him. In the way of the archosaurs."

"We mated, yes, but not until we had walked the same path together for some time. He wanted the moment to be as if we had found a special prey." Darkthunder paused, thinking of that moment, near the emerging planetary system. "Our matings have been... intense." Darkthunder realized he spoke the last word in the archosaur language. His terrorclaw speak now felt extremely inadequate and lacking. It did not even have provisions for foreign words like archosaur names. Grell was far more than a simple "he" or even "archosaur."

"It seems you were taken more out of desire than really wanting him as your companion. Such is the way of the archosaurs." The male elder snorted in apparent disgust. "How could you lead a pack and give yourself to a leaf eater at the same time?"

Darkthunder snarled, baring his teeth slightly in anger at Riverpath._ "I would not have given myself to the archosaur if we had not felt love for each other! He... he may be archosaur and he may mate as they do. But he really wants me as his partner. I would have never allowed him to mate if I did not feel this to be true. I may have learned to think like an archosaur so I could live among them, but I am still terrorclaw!"_

Riverpath let out a loud screech of disgust. "A terrorclaw that does not want to be like one of his pack. You were not like that before you left! You were a dominant and rowdy hatchling, much true to your name. There were many who thought you would challenge Nightmarch for the rule of the pack. After you left for the stars, we found out that the night before you sneaked out of the commune with a female. And you mated with her before your sire could test you." The old male snorted with contempt, seemingly spitting his next words like a hunter biting an unappealing piece of their meal. "Yet you choose to be defiled by a filthy archosaur, and a male at that."

Darkthunder hissed. He felt the respect he had for the elder eroding. "It is not good to speak badly of the other archosaurs. We are archosaurs as well."

"That is their deceitful speak! They want you to think as they do. They turned their backs to the natural ways, and renounced to their true voices so they could walk where the good Mother never intended us to live. Theirs is a hideous path that no true hunter should desire to thread forever!"

Darkthunder stopped. His crest shot upwards in anger. He tried to contain the desire to challenge Riverpath. "Pack hunters, ourselves, are living in a territory where we were not born! And where have our ways taken us? Archosaurs hate us! They think we are traitors for refusing to join their packs and hunt alongside them! I had to fight and prove myself, and show them that I was not only a great hunter, but even better than most of their hunters. My archosaur leader saw this! He chose me to lead one of their strongest packs, in an honorable vessel, after the archosaur's enemies killed the vessel's lead hunter. And even then, I was still hated by many who waited for me to snap back and behave like the primitive hunters they always see in our kind."

"And yet you still want to stray from the path of your pack, wanting to follow their hunters more than those of your own blood. And you became a mating toy to one of them."

"There are other hunters that are not archosaurs, wanting our territories and trying to poison us! I fought them! I fought to keep both terrorclaws and archosaurs safe! Because if the archosaurs fall, then so will the packs once those mammals find us."

"Are the archosaurs afraid of little rodents on the ground? They aren't brave hunters, then."

"Those were not small rodents! They are big, and walk on two legs and speak just like we do."

"That is not our fight. Let the archosaurs fight them."

Darkthunder let out a loud trill of frustration. Their conversation would certainly continue in a circle, and he was already weary from arguing. He resumed his walk, already certain where the elders had been taking him. "I cannot ask that you step on my path or smell the prey as I do, Riverpath. I will not fight the pack if they feel it is my duty to sire hatchlings. But know that the leaf eater... even when he goes back to the stars, he will always be my t'kre'k'k_. I only wish I could keep him and hunt by his side."_

Sunstalker trilled; her voice was calm yet still holding a tinge of anger and contempt for the younger terrorclaw. "There never will be a place for leaf eaters in our pack, Darkthunder. That archosaur that you claim as yours cannot hunt. When he gets old or ill, he will only look like the prey we hunt. That could be his destiny. You want to condemn him to it?"

"The archosaur is strong." Darkthunder did not want to voice that some of Grell's strength was due to the drugs he took. Inside the pack, he would have no access to chemicals to hold his strength and muscular mass, and would need far more exercise to keep both. Perhaps it would be best if Grell did not live with the pack. "He can kill without the tools archosaurs use. And yet he had nothing but kindness for me once he became his t'kre'k'k."

The dark male trilled with sadness, already missing those strong arms around him, and the vibrations of Grell's chest against him as the armorback lowed with happiness every time they were together.

"That is not the prey you should chase once you return completely to the pack. Your path will once again lead you to hunt with your kind."

"I did not say I will not follow the pack's path. I have accepted that the pack wants me back. I just need time to see and smell where my path will take me."

Darkthunder decided he would not get anywhere by arguing with his elders. He did not want to voice the thoughts that were forming in his mind. He knew Grell's seemingly indomitable spirit. He knew the armorback most probably would try to come up with something to continue his fight, whether staying in the terrorclaw homeworld to argue with the pack, or the fight to the Alliance to get Darkthunder back. Whatever it may turn out to be, it would be best if his pack remained unaware of it.

Sunstalker turned to look at Darkthunder. "We cannot ask you to renounce being two spirits, Darkthunder. But inside the pack, you will have the role that we expect you. That means you will breed with a female. You can find another male that you can have under your tail as well if that brings you the satisfaction you wish. There are many males in the pack that would like to have you."

Darkthunder paused. He did not need to spend any effort searching for anyone who could take Grell's spot in his mind and his soul. "Our pack is great, but I will not find one like my archosaur."

"Are you even giving up the hunt before finding your prey?"

"It would be a fruitless hunt. No one in the pack is as large as he is. He... makes me feel safe. I cannot explain it."

"You will have to forget him, good Darkthunder. Your mind cannot continue to walk that path."

"But why cannot the pack accept my own path? Why cannot Nightmarch, or Stormclaw?"

Riverpath stopped to stare at Darkthunder, his eyes narrow with anger. "You will not change the ways of the Ssresh-Mah'ren!_ If you are so insistent on fighting the ways of your pack, then why you did not renounce to it?"_

The words were harsh. Riverpath had never spoken like that to Darkthunder. Darkthunder could not imagine himself being without a pack of his own species, even if he had chosen to live elsewhere. Feeling defeated, Darkthunder cast his eyes to the sky at the same time he exposed his throat to Riverpath in a signal of defeat. He could not expect his pack to accept his feelings without a conflict, and he was not in the right frame of mind to fight them. Darkthunder did not speak one more word for the rest of their walk as Riverpath and Sunstalker led him to one of a few huts standing on a small hill some distance from the rest of the commune. Unlike those the huts constructed for the traders that visited from the stars, the hut that he looked at was no different from those used by the pack, except for a curtain to give the occupants some privacy. Darkthunder knew they were set apart for when a female wanted to keep herself away for some time. While the pack was free to go anywhere they wanted in their territory, it all males were expected to respect any female's desire to keep herself separate from the rest of the pack, even if her scent was strong.

Traces of a scent reached his nostrils, one that had never affected him since he reached adulthood. Instinct, however, make it clear for Darkthunder the origin of the smell - his phallus began to pulse in reaction to the smell.

A female in first stages of her heat.

Riverpath stopped, and pointed to one of the huts at the top of the hill. "She waits inside. Now take your place among the pack and take her as your female. Sunstalker and I will wait here until you are finished. Your smell should tell us you mated with her. After that, you will have to continue until she has eggs in her."

Darkthunder could not help growling softly in anger. "You speak of wanting me to return to the pack, yet I am forced to mate apart from the rest, like an outcast?"

"Keep walking that archosaur path that you crave, and you may well be one. Once you do your obligation to the pack, then we will have you back among the rest."

Darkthunder said nothing as he continued to walk alone. He pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the softly lit hut; a small fire in the center was the only light source. The air was heady with the strong scent of the female's rut.

"Welcome, Darkthunder."

The male terrorclaw recognized the voice and her body scent well before his eyes adjusted to the light. Both triggered memories long buried inside his mind. Of one particular night, when he left the commune with one female - his one and only mating with one of his kind. The same scent and voice that had greeted him. His eyes fixated on a light brown female sitting at the opposite side of the small hut. Her markings were just as he remembered - a dark stripe ran from the tip of her snout, splitting before reaching her eyeridges, and below the eyes. Several mottled patterns ran down her neck, chest and belly. Similar patterns continued through the length of her tail. At the top of her head, between the soft, blue eyes that stared back at the male terrorclaw, was a light gray patch, which was the source of her name.

"Moondream!?" Darkthunder shouted.

The female let out a short, loud trill of delight as she smiled. "You still remember."

"Yes... yes, I do!" the male terrorclaw said as he nodded fiercely._ "Why are you here? Where is your mate?"_ Even as he uttered the question, Darkthunder realized he knew the answer.

"He stands right in front of me. Or he will be, after this night walks down its path and day arrives. Like all the ones that walked down before today, down the path to that first night."

Darkthunder's feathered crest rose to its fullest, upright position. Moondream did not need to speak any further for the dark male to understand. "You... your paths... you did not hunt for a mate after that night?"

Moondream shook her head slightly. "There was no need. I had already found that hunter."

"You knew my path among the stars would keep me away from the pack for a long time. You should not have waited." Darkthunder could not bring himself to say he had all but forgotten her. The memories of that night had disappeared, drowned by the delightful times he had spent with his loving armorback.

"The one night we shared, our mating... you made me feel like a female. Our night together did not produce hatchlings, so I wanted to wait until you returned. The wait was longer than I thought. But I was delighted when Sunstalker told me your path would bring you back to the pack."

Darkthunder sat on the ground, on the side of the fire opposite to the female. "We made no vows to join our paths that night. You should have hunted for a strong male! There must be many in the pack that could have given you good children. I thought you were mated already, and we would eventually share the happenings of our hunts."

"There were some good hunters who wanted to join their paths with mine. Nightmarch asked many times why I still waited for you. But I could not answer. I do not know. But your path has finally brought you here." The female ran her claws over Darkthunder's chest and arms, seemingly admiring the dark male's physique, much more muscular than any other male terrorclaw. "Your path among the starts has made you strong. Our hatchlings will be as well."

A strong feeling of guilt washed over the dark hunter at the pain and sadness he may had caused, even inadvertently. He could not help feel he was to blame for all the years Moondream had spent alone without a companion hunter. If Darkthunder had not taken her in mating that night, she would have had her own hatchlings already, and those would had been old enough already to begin learning to hunt large game. Possibly worse, Darkthunder never remembered her even as he was agonizing over his return to the pack back in the Tarrakhan, much less sought her after he was back in the pack.

"Kretek akz'dar._ I did not think of looking for you when I returned."_

"I wanted to look for you, but when I was told you would return... I became ready for eggs. So much that Nightmarch asked me to wait here, away from the pack. Many males were beginning to get too eager."

Moondream's smile faded somewhat. "Sunstalker told me earlier that you arrived with an archosaur, a male leaf eater. She said that you called him your t'kre'k'k."

Darkthunder could not help feel even more sorrow for the female. Even as she smiled, he could feel the pain she was trying to conceal. "Yes. He is."

"I will understand if you wish to spend all your time with him while he visits with the pack. And once Starhunter returns, if you were to leave again... to follow your t'kre'k'k..." She did not finish the sentence. Instead, her eyes locked onto those of the dark hunter.

Moondream nodded softly. "As all hunters know, sometimes it is better to let the prey live if it was not meant for us."

Darkthunder moved to sit closer to her. "My brother Starhunter cannot be found. That makes me the eldest of my blood, and Nightmarch wants me to take my place as sire. The archosaur will return to the stars without me. I have returned to the pack."

The answer seemed to please Moondream. "I wish to give birth to strong, good hunters even if I never become your t'kre'k'k, Darkthunder."

Darkthunder remained silent. Her love for him and her anguish over the uncertainty of Darkthunder's path were noticeable. Deep inside, he knew that, even if Moondream would never fill the spot that Grell held in his mind, it was impossible not to want her in his life as his true mate among the pack. The hatred he initially felt at not being allowed to choose his own female had ebbed out, replaced by affection and desire for the female. The same feelings he once had for her before Darkthunder left for the stars.

He bobbed his head a few times while moving quietly to stand behind Moondream. The more rational part of his mind realized the primal nature of his head movements - it was one of countless behaviors that his species maintained by refusing to live among all other archosaurs. His primal terrorclaw side relished such primal instincts, feeling delight as he gently rubbed his snout against hers. Moondream trilled softly as Darkthunder continued rubbing the underside of his lower jaw and neck against the right side and back of her neck. It was the terrorclaw signal that he wanted her as his companion for siring hatchlings.

Moondream trilled again as he propped herself on the ground, standing on her hands and knees. Darkthunder rubbed the underside of his jaw over her back and the top side of her tail as he trilled. The female moved her tail up and to her right, allowing Darkthunder a clear view of her genital slit and her anus. Down at his crotch, the male terrorclaw felt his phallus pulse and harden in anticipation of the task it was about to perform.

Moondream began to speak the words to their vows._ "As we walked the pathways of the pack, we join our paths, to walk as one. Rejoice, hunter, for your search is over, and today you pierce the flesh of your pack mate and place inside her your gift of your white blood."_

"The paths we marched," Darkthunder continued as he ran his hands over Moondream's tail, "today join into one. Fear not, brave hunter, and receive the gift of life. We come together, and as souls and bodies are bonded, the pack celebrates life, for the circle continues."

The male terrorclaw paused. He allowed the pheromones to work on his mind. His desires grew as a partial primal trance took over his mind. Darkthunder pushed Moondream's tail aside with his body as he worked his hips while his fully erect and hard phallus pulsated, seemingly eager for the female's warm entrance as the male hunter's mind flooded with intense desire.

Moondream growled as Darkthunder penetrated her with one hard thrust.

Feelings and memories rushed inside the male terrorclaw's mind. Back to that night, to the first time since Darkthunder had felt the hot, moist flesh of a female's body around his phallus. Back to that one night, surrounded by darkness and the light of the planet's moon and the noises of the night creatures, when the same female had given herself to him.

Holding tight on Moondream's hips, Darkthunder began to thrust. Slowly at first, he buried almost his full length each time, relishing the sensations that each movement elicited on his hard phallus. Slowly, the pressure in his groin grew as Darkthunder continued mating the female. His movements grew faster as he went deeper with each thrust, far more intense than he had seen any male in his pack ever mate with a female. As a youngling, Darkthunder had seen his parents mate for pleasure, and other adults breeding to make hatchlings. None had done it with the same intensity at which he now was taking Moondream.

Moondream trilled and barked; Darkthunder recognized the sounds as the same ones he made whenever Grell would take him. Her mating screams became louder. He knew that despite the force at which he was taking her, Moondream wanted it. Darkthunder continued his strong movements, which became faster and stronger as the dark male became more determined to make the mating worthy of her long wait, even if it left both of them without strength for an encore.

The female growled, then screamed one last time as she climaxed, several heartbeats before Darkthunder did, who kept pumping his phallus in and out of her, his sweaty loins smacking against her rump. Holding firmly onto her rump and tail, Darkthunder pushed his phallus completely into Moondream one last time, and screeched as his white blood burst forcefully from his phallus and into the female.

Tired and exhausted, the terrorclaws panted and growled as they remained together for some time. Finally, Darkthunder felt his legs weaken to where they had trouble keeping him standing. The male terrorclaw pulled his spent phallus out as he sat down on the ground, pulling a bit of his semen out with it.

Darkthunder could not help a feeling of extreme pleasure at having climaxed inside Moondream's body, yet also sad that the same had never had happened in all his matings with Grell. The big armorback would not allow anyone to top him, and Darkthunder had always been more than pleased to give himself to Grell every time, whether by taking the big male's cock under his tail or inside his snout. It was a feeling Darkthunder understood completely; Grell would not accept being submissive after the brutal sexual assault the armorback received many years before both met. The time when the mammalian drug runners managed to capture Darkthunder could not compare to the ordeal Grell had experienced. But Darkthunder had overcome the horrible events without resorting to the same anger and ways as the armorback had. Perhaps his primal hunter nature had something to do with it; Darkthunder had weathered part of the abuse while his primal mind was in control, shielding him somewhat from the pain. However, the terrorclaw wondered if maybe it was time for Grell to change.

It was perhaps too late to get Grell to reconsider. He and Darkthunder would soon part ways for a long time. Perhaps forever.

"Darkthunder," Moondream said, her voice soft. "You... mate hard."

"Apologies. I still seem to think and act as archosaurs do."

The female let out a faint smile. "Then you learned something good from them. This hunter wants that to continue... many more times."

Darkthunder trilled and nuzzled her. "Whenever you want. Now sleep, my beautiful mate. Take the first white blood I have given you. We will mate again, until new life begins inside you."

The female nodded, falling into deep, seemingly blissful sleep. Darkthunder stood next to her for some time trying to gather his strength. He watched her breathe calmly. He could not see her dreams, but could feel that she was sleeping happily now that her long wait was finally over.

Darkthunder felt torn. He was now destined to forget everything he had learned and enjoyed from the archosaurs. Against his will, he was forced to abandon the one saurian that had given him the

But she would never be like Grell.

He got up and walked out and away from the hut.

* * *

Grell stared at the tablet in his hands as he sat on the cured hide of one of the creatures that terrorclaws had referred as spikebacks. The fact that it was the skin of some feral, distant relative did not disturb the large herbivore. Far bigger and more disturbing thoughts occupied his mind as Grell swiped his fingers across the device's screen, as the armorback searched for anything that could help him pass the time. Eventually, he turned off the device. His mind was not really into it.

He could not sleep. The humid and intensely hot air was partially to blame, but he had gotten used to some of it after Darkthunder insisted to keep similar conditions inside their room aboard the Tarrakhan. Then there was also the fact that he was in the middle of a mass composed of thousands of terrorclaws. Grell could not dispel the lingering, ingrained fear - as an herbivore - that some of those primeval creatures were really waiting for the right opportunity to feast on him. Darkthunder had insisted many times that terrorclaws were no different from the other archosaur carnivores, and no longer sought to eat sentients. Although Darkthunder never promised his kind had not considered rescinding that thought.

Death by terrorclaw was perhaps preferable to the one thought in his mind that really kept him from sleeping.

The armorback had heard some familiar screeches. He did not need to live in the commune before to recognize the sounds of terrorclaws in the act of mating. Grell tried to tell himself that the sounds could have been anyone in the pack. A few other, similar noises sprung from other places in the pack commune. After all, just because these hunters still lived by following their favored primeval ways, it did not preclude them from also having carnal desires, just like any other intelligent archosaur.

He heard the soft steps of one terrorclaw approaching. He turned, his tail ready to strike, until a familiar smell approached. Mixed with another.

"Grell," Darkthunder said softly as he crossed the entrance to the hut.

"Good Maia!" the armorback said, pleased to see the one terrorclaw he had the pleasure of having shared company with for years. Getting up from the floor, Grell rushed to hold Darkthunder in a tight, loving embrace as he carried the terrorclaw inside the hut. Grell lowed softly several times, unwilling to hold the tears from flowing down his face. "My beautiful terrorclaw. I miss you so much!"

Darkthunder did not fight the strong displays of affection, even when he was somewhat displeased.

"You smell like..." Grell did not finish the sentence. It was the same smell Darkthunder had whenever he and Grell mated. Except that now he carried another terrorclaw's smell with him. "It is done, then?"

Darkthunder nodded, then closed his eyes and rested his head in the armorback's massive chest, holding the big armorback in an embrace as he wailed softly. Grell lowed and wrapped his massive arms around the terrorclaw, holding him just as he did sometimes aboard the Tarrakhan, when Darkthunder felt highly stressed from his duties as ship commander and the tragedy of some battles having gone wrong.

"I'm sorry, Grell," Darkthunder said after a couple minutes.

Grell lowed as he rocked gently his loving terrorclaw. "Sorry? Why so?"

"For breaking our bond and mating someone else... again."

Grell kissed the terrorclaw's head a few times before stroking gently the area around the feathered crest. "Hush, my lovely predator. I would never blame you nor love you any less that you mated with someone else. Your pack ordered you to do so. I know you would not do this of your own."

Darkthunder turned to look directly into Grell's eyes. The armorback could see the pain inside the hunter's mind. "I mated with her before... the night before I left the pack. And now... it is as if I had never left. I... I really liked her then. And I find myself wanting her now."

Grell sighed softly. The revelation hurt him somewhat. The stress of their fight against the mammals and traitorous archosaurs had tested their relationship. Friends had been lost or gone missing in action in what seemed an unwinnable combat against the drug runners and their backers. And yet Grell could not relinquish the small, dark hunter that had brought the peace and joy that had been missing in his soul - not on those hard times, and certainly not at that particular moment. "Well... I can see where that would be different. But you will always be _my_terrorclaw, and I would like nothing more than for you to be happy. If you have to break our bond, then my last breath will be made in peace, knowing that you will not be alone."

The terrorclaw trilled, seemingly uneasy at the sound of those words. Darkthunder twisted his head and neck to look at Grell with only his left eye. "What do you mean?"

Grell smiled. "Don't worry about it. If there is something I regret, is that I was not there to see your lovely female. I'm sure she's as comely as you are. I would have enjoyed watching my beautiful male mating his new partner."

The hunter snorted softly; he pulled his upper lips up as his feathers drooped in embarrassment. "You seemed pleased watching me that day in Starhunter's ship, when his winglizard mate offered herself to me."

"I had seen all of my close comrades from my old syndicate have sex several times, whenever they brought whores into our compound. Dhere'k was the worst - he is nowhere close to what we have heard about General Zaron, but he was quite the horny bastard. When the winglizard offered her body to you, and I saw you mating someone other than me... I can't explain it, but I felt quite pleased." Grell lowed a few times in laughter. "And don't worry, I will not tell anyone that my hunter committed a crime by mating with a protected species."

"Please... don't think of me as yours anymore. When the pack says you must leave, we..." Darkthunder could not finish the sentence.

Grell lowed softly as he held Darkthunder in another tight but gentle embrace as the armorback stroked the feathered head again. "I don't care what your pack says. They may force us to live hundreds of light years apart, but until both of us breathe our last, you are and will always be my t'kre'k'k. My Kreh'ta'rrhnn."

Darkthunder's crest shot upwards as he turned to look at Grell, surprised to hear the armorback speak his terrorclaw name.

Grell smiled. "Your pack's guide was insistent on using it instead of the archosaur translation. It is beautiful. Maybe you should have used it when you were in the Patrol instead of translating it."

The terrorclaw said nothing. He leaned his head again on Grell's chest, obviously pained at the situation. Grell could feel which path the terrorclaw's heart really wanted to thread, and the life of the pack was not it. The pain was certainly harder for the hunter than the larger armorback. Grell rested his head on the feathered crest. "I just wish we could go somewhere where I could show you my love a few more times before we part."

"We can't. They will know." Darkthunder's voice came in soft and quiet, as if the hunter had accepted defeat. "The smell won't go away fast enough."

"Do you think they will mind if you sleep with me tonight, even if we don't mate? I will keep my loincloth on."

Darkthunder nodded. "I don't see why you could not. Moondream said she would not object to me spending time with you... before you have to leave."

Grell turned to lay on the ground on his right side. He gently coaxed Darkthunder to lie in front of him, with the terrorclaw's back to the armorback's chest; the armorback then draped his left arm over the terrorclaw's side, his hand pressed gently on Darkthunder's chest. As he did many times before, Grell felt the hunter's sharp claw tips on his skin as Darkthunder grabbed hold of the massive arm and hand, just like every time both had gone to sleep in their quarters in the Tarrakhan.

"Sleep well, my lovely hunter," Grell said softly. "This big armorback will keep you safe, now and forever."

The muscular herbivore waited until Darkthunder closed his eyes, and the terrorclaw's breath slowed down and became rhythmic. Satisfied that sleep had finally claimed the terrorclaw's mind, Grell laid his head on the ground so he could get some rest of his own.

Grell could recall drifting into sleep as dreams began to form in his mind. These were interrupted as the armorback woke up startled, as he felt some movement around him and Darkthunder. He turned to look at Darkthunder, who continued to sleep peacefully in the herbivore's powerful embrace. Even with the humid heat in the air and the smells drifting from the terrorclaw commune, one particular scent wafted to Grell's nostrils.

The armorback did not move a muscle to try to find the source; he did not need to, nor did he deigned himself to spend even the energy to turn his head to look for the intruder. He closed his eyes and thumped the bony tip of his tail twice against the ground to signal his displeasure at the terrorclaw seemingly spying on them.

Grell heard the soft noise of bare feet walking on grass and soil as Stormclaw turned to walk away.

* * *

The female terrorclaw hid in the vegetation as she looked at the five hunters sitting on the ground some distance away. Downwind from their location, she picked up their scents. Three males and two females. One of the males and one female were noticeably older, both about same age; mated pair, from their smell. The female trilled softly with interest; the oldest male had very unusual coloring, and a beautiful crest and tail. Perhaps she could wrest him away from his group, join her own. Scents told her that the oldest female in the group was near the peak of her rut, so it would be difficult to make the male interested in a different female.

All five hunters seemed to have finished having their fill of a large running beast they had caught. Part of the beast's meat filled its bones. The hunters had even cut the reminder into pieces, perhaps for easier sharing on their next meal. Near the female, her two younglings warbled, eager for some of that quarry. All three were hungry, but they would have to plan their actions carefully. She did not expect those hunters to act different from those that she had found before in all other pack territories. If anything, the smell of a rutting female among their midst could keep the males from wanting to give her more eggs.

The female looked back in the direction she and her youngsters had come. There were many paces between her location and that where she had smelled the markers of the large pack's territory. Not a very long distance to run, but she still studied the distance for some time before committing to a plan. Her options were few. Scavenging other hunters' kill would not teach her young hunting skills, but it was still valuable and preferable watching them starve. She could not hunt without attracting the attention of the small pack. The hunters would force her and the younglings away from their kill before any of her hatchlings could eat.

The female looked at one her youngsters. "Walk right. Stay downwind. Wait for us to move."

The youngling trilled softly before moving away from his mother, soon disappearing among the vegetation. The female waited many heartbeats, to give her youngling enough time to move into position. Finally, she turned to her other youngling.

"We challenge."

Bursting from their hiding place, the female and her youngster raced towards the five adult hunters.

As expected, all five hunters rushed to meet the challenge as soon as they noticed her and the hatchling. The mated pair moved quickly to the front of the group. All five bobbing their heads and necks, arms arched and stretched to their front as they screeched.

"Not your territory!" the large, dark male screeched as he assumed an aggressive posture by tilting his torso forward. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, which made his phallus sway. "Run away! Out of our land!"

The lone female trilled and screeched in response. "Only walking! Not hunting in your land. Please! Need food for young!" She chirped, trying to get the male's interest. "You are strong. Very beautiful. Make any female want. I also strong. You can help."

The dark male paused, seemingly eyeing her with slight interest. The male was certainly strong. His body screeched with strength, for it was larger than that of any other male she had seen. The intruder female did not drop her guard despite her interest and the male's curious looks - the male could be looking only to find any weak spot to launch his attack, either to kill or to use her for mating. She could only hope he would really find interest in her.

The other two males had stayed behind the older pair, still ready to attack or chase the intruders away. One of them, however, raced towards the front.

"Walk path back! Food not for those not of our pack!"

The dark male screeched at the other male, in a gesture to reaffirm his leadership. The hunters' attention was distracted for a brief instant, and the female saw the opportunity to execute her plan. She lowered her front body, causing her tail to rise upwards; she then waved it three times up and down in quick succession.

The other hatchling saw the signal. Dashing from the vegetation with a powerful burst of speed, he raced towards the remains of the running beast. His hands and jaws clamped onto a chunk of the remaining meat, and then ripped it away with two strong jerking motions of his body, then quickly began to race away. The younger female hunter sensed his struggle, and turned towards this newest intruder, one that her pack had failed to notice.

"No! Not for you!"

Her scream made the other hunters turn their sight away from the intruding female and towards the youngling racing away with part of their kill. Without hesitation, the female raced in the opposite direction before turning towards the remains of the hunters' quarry. She quickly grabbed one piece in her jaws and a larger one in her arms before darting away from the hunters and towards the edge of the pack's territory, followed very close by her two younglings. The actions seemed to confuse the adult hunters. By the time they realized they had been tricked, the female and her hatchlings had gained a good lead.

She paid no attention to the angry screeches of their pursuers. She was not worried that her hatchlings would not able to keep up with her - they had already grown to an age where they possessed both strength and speed to stay ahead of other adult hunters. Also to their advantage, the five hunters showed signs of being weighed down by the food from their recent kill, and as such were slower than the female had estimated. The lead the intruder and her young had gained would be enough for them to move past the edge of the pack's territory.

As expected, the adult hunters stopped their chase. Unwilling to leave the territory, they screeched with anger, bobbing their heads and bodies in threatening gestures. The males paused to walk as they urinated to mark again their pack's land.

"Stay away!" the dark male shouted, his screams echoed by the other hunters.

"You are strong male!" the female shouted back, again trying to get the male's interest. "Strong, beautiful male! Can sire young with fast female, also strong! Do not need pack!"

The male barked before moving to stand behind the older female of his group. The intruder female snorted with slight anger as the large male mounted that female and began to mate her hard, a clear signal he wanted to keep her.

The female did not stay to watch them as they continued mating while the younger hunters still screeched in challenge. She had managed to obtain some food for her young. She dropped her catch next to the one carried by one of her younglings.

"Eat."

She kept guard over her young as they ate most of the pilfered catch, even if it left very little to calm her own hunger. Her young were more important. She probably could find other small game to make up for it.

It did not matter. She and her young would live for another day.

* * *

Darkthunder trilled softly. He sat on the wet soil, warm rain falling around him as he looked at his siblings. The younglings also stood under the copious rain, letting it wash dirt and the bloodied remains of their last meal away from their nude bodies. To his left, Moondream lifted her snout up; jaws open wide, she let rainfall collect into her mouth. She swallowed the water before repeating it a few times more to sate her thirst. The life of the pack was just as Darkthunder remembered it, even when different pack mates surrounded him.

The dark terrorclaw looked upwards, towards the moisture-laden clouds that unleashed the strong downpour onto his small pack. The simple life of his kind, blissfully unaware of the happenings in the stars surrounding their world, all inside a vast galaxy that extended far beyond what their minds could comprehend. Terrorclaws knew nothing about fighting against outsiders and traitors within, working together to destroy the archosaur ways. The hunters banded to hunt and kill spikebacks with their naked bodies and thoughts and ways born millions of years before - while completely oblivious to the millions of archosaurs crossing interstellar distances, pathways taken through alien universes, using technology far more complicated than what the minds of those in the pack cared about.

Darkthunder could not decide if he would miss it all. The life of the pack would seem primitive and dull to the other archosaurs. Somehow, Darkthunder welcomed his return to his old life. The terrorclaw relaxed, and let the calming water wash away his concerns just as it did the dirt off his skin as he welcomed the return to his old life.

One feeling, however, remained as strong as the day he found out he needed to return to his pack. One last link needed to be severed completely. Darkthunder tried not to think how his pack could make it happen. Even worse, he would be the one forced to do so.

He heard footsteps behind him, then a loud snort. The voice of one of his brothers followed.

"You defended the pack well," Stormclaw said. "You seem like a strong hunter. You managed to scare those intruders, even if they left with some of our kill."

"Thanks,"_Darkthunder replied, surprised to hear what seemed like a compliment. He noticed the young hunter's speech was slurred slightly, a signal that Stormclaw still held to a slight primal trance. _"You are a good hunter as well."

"Maybe you still have some true hunter nature in you. That could help you to survive in the pack."

Darkthunder snorted, annoyed. It was obvious once again that Stormclaw was not complimenting as much as testing the older hunter. "I never held doubts that I could take my rightful place. I walked a different path, but I am still terrorclaw."

"Are you? You wanted to turn your back on us again, and hunt with those big hunters you claim to have followed."

"It is different now. The path of the pack lies ahead of me, and I feel again as a hunter in his rightful territory." _ He turned his head to look at the youngster. "I will not leave."_

"Maybe you should think if that path is the right one. The big leaf eater would be happy to have you back. He certainly longs for a place to seed his white blood."

Darkthunder hissed with displeasure. "I know why you are upset, Stormclaw. That prey is quite in the open and upwind from me. I may have had doubts before, but I have smelt the prey that is in my path now. And I do have the claws, teeth and mind to chase it down." Darkthunder paused as the stared directly into Stormclaw's eyes. An odd sensation suddenly sprang in his mind. The last time he felt it was when he was still a hatchling, when Darkthunder played with Starhunter and other hatchlings of their same age.

A territorial challenge.

Back then, it was just play, yet it also honed their skills to take their place in the pack, and possibly challenge their elder for dominance of the pack. This time, however, it was not a game. He could feel the young male wanted to challenge him, possibly right there and then. Only because of Darkthunder's apparent strength and age was Stormclaw holding his hand.

Darkthunder frowned slightly. He knew he had to assert his authority right then, just as he had always done whenever difficulties appeared in his life as ship commander. Standing up from the ground, the dark terrorclaw spread his legs slightly as he lowered his torso, arms spread slightly apart as if to warn an intruder or challenger. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other a few times to reinforce his aggressive stand. "I will fight any obstacles I may find in my path, whether prey or anyone from our pack."

Stormclaw hissed as he backed down two steps, apparently intimidated by Darkthunder's display._ "Do not speak of obstacles, brother, when you have become one. Do you have the mind to understand that you took the prey of another hunter?"_

"I hunt the prey Nightmarch asked me to chase. I did not choose it."

"Then do more than keep the eyes on that prey, hunter. There are other hunters around."

Darkthunder snorted with slight anger as Stormclaw turned and walked into the bushes. He could understand the anger from his younger brother. He had experienced some of it in the Patrol, albeit archosaurs showed it in a different way. Whether rising through the ranks, or at helming the Dak-Tarrakhan, carnivores and herbivores alike coveted the path that Darkthunder had forged for himself.

He heard softer steps approaching. Darkthunder turned to see Moondream approaching, her hands held together in the terrorclaw gesture of non-aggression before she stopped to stand to his left. The male terrorclaw nuzzled her to reinforce he welcomed his presence. Almost immediately, he noticed the change of her pheromones. The reaction in his phallus was instant.

"You smell... different."

"I feel the peak of my rut has finally arrived."

Darkthunder stared at her, not saying one word. The idea was ingrained in him when he was a youngling, and had evaporated all but completely as he lived with the archosaurs. Now it returned, and the feeling was strong. His place in the pack would be complete with that last step. Moving to stand in front and facing Moondream, the male terrorclaw presented his crotch, his phallus already hard and upright.

Moondream picked on the display, and immediately moved to standing on all fours, her tail up and to her right, stating her receptiveness. She hissed as Darkthunder stepped behind and grabbed firmly to her hips. He let only a loud growl of pleasure as he buried the full length of his phallus into Moondream with one firm push.

His mind drifting into primal territory, Darkthunder still thought how archosaurs always looked for odd and exotic ways and positions to get pleasure from their sex. When it came to mating for hatchlings, terrorclaws only went for that which seemed to reflect their desire to stay as primal hunters. The variety could had been lacking, but it was more than made up by the hunters regressing their minds during the act just enough to derive intense feelings from their matings.

He continued mating the female with renewed vigor and utmost desire. He was mating not only for the desire her pheromones incited - he was mating for breeding. He worked his hips faster and faster, once again taking Moondream as his sexual partner. Even as Darkthunder continued for yet another climax, part of his mind knew this would be it. Only one outcome would result once he would shoot his seed inside the female. He held into Moondream even more tightly, moving in and out of her faster, rocking her entire body with each thrust. Until eventually he could not hold it anymore - Darkthunder let his semen burst out of him with force as both terrorclaws screeched, announcing to the forest around them that their deed was complete, and the offspring of one dark-skinned hunter would eventually arrive to strengthen the Ssresh-Mah'ren.

The rain was still falling as the terrorclaws finished, cooling their bodies as they remained together for many heartbeats. Once separated, Moondream laid down to rest on her side, while Darkthunder sat down to her side. The realization finally hit him, and he felt exhilarated as well as confused. It was a matter of time before Moondream laid her eggs, and then he would finally become their sire.

The dark terrorclaw looked at two of his younger siblings as they approached quietly now that Darkthunder and Moondream finished. They had stepped upwind of the pheromones to give Darkthunder and Moondream space, and had watched the older terrorclaws mate. Darkthunder felt a bit uneasy, but he dismissed the thought almost immediately as just a result of his life with the archosaurs. Terrorclaws still considered sex as a completely natural event, both for procreation and for the adults' pleasure. Neither terrorclaw seemed aroused or affected by having witnessed the act. Even more reassuring, they did not show any of the same animosity he had seen in Stormclaw as both approached with their snouts and claws pointing down in a gesture of non-aggression. If anything, both trilled with delight at having witnessed the mating. Darkthunder did not go looking for Stormclaw even as Darkthunder knew the other male must have been somewhere, looking at the couple as they mated.

Despite born to the same parents, Darkthunder felt somewhat removed from his siblings, in age and upbringing. Darkthunder had not been present when they hatched, nor ran by their sides during their first hunts. Even when he felt both Airscale and Skyclaw should have a stronger allegiance to Stormclaw, the reality was the opposite -his two siblings had grown very close to their older, dark skinned brother. Most likely, they saw him as the undisputed, strongest hunter in the pack, and maybe among all other terrorclaw packs as well. Darkthunder wondered if they expected him to challenge Nightmarch for the role of pack leader.

"Our bloodline will continue," Airscale said, trilling with happiness as she nuzzled her older sibling first, then Moondream. "Thank you, brother!"

"Our pack is much stronger now that you have returned to give your white blood to Moondream," Skyclaw said, also trilling with apparent excitement. "I cannot wait to see the strong hunters that you sired, and to chase after their prey and hunt by their side! Other packs would envy ours!"

"It will soon be your turn too, Airscale. And Skyclaw." He meant to include Stormclaw as well, but Darkthunder finally noticed the other male watching from a distance, visibly upset as he watched the prey he had chased for some time finally race away towards escape. With a loud snort and trill, Stormclaw turned to walk away, soon disappearing among the vegetation.

Moondream lowered her snout as she addressed Darkthunder and his siblings. "I'm sorry if I have made your brother upset in any way. He was looking at us after we chased those intruders."

"It is not your fault, Moondream." Darkthunder trilled with pleasure as he nuzzled her snout. The male terrorclaw had indeed more than gotten used to her presence. Even if Moondream would never take the place that Grell once held, he still loved her - she was his mate and he wanted her as such. "It is I who he sees as looting his quarry. But it is what the pack and Nightmarch wanted, and he will have to accept his place now. I do not wish to chase him off if he continues."

Skyclaw snorted. Darkthunder could not determine if Skyclaw was upset about Stormclaw's reaction, or indifferent. "We wish for Stormclaw to join us in this. But we cannot force him. If he cannot accept it, you will have to decide his path, Darkthunder."

Darkthunder hissed. The thought unnerved him. He could not imagine forcing his brother to live the life of an outcast, like that female and younglings they had chased away. The more he thought, however, the more it seemed like there could be no other option. Grell would certainly be a much better option for the pack. If his kind could accept an herbivore living with them. Had Grell been a deathjaw, or even a snoutcrest, he surely had been more than welcomed.

"It is a lonely life, Skyclaw. I can only imagine how hard it is for that female we chased away." It was the way of the terrorclaws. He did not want to think why an outcast female had been caring for the two younglings. Most likely, a pack caught her intruding inside their territory while she was on her rut. If so, one or more of that pack's males had mounted and forced themselves on her as a penalty for her intrusion before they chased her away. Without a pack to support her and her hatchlings, all three had to fend for themselves, roaming through various territories in near constant primal trance, living on whatever small game they could catch. It would continue until they died or a pack decided to welcome them into its fold.

Living with archosaurs made Darkthunder think that the ways of the packs were sometimes brutal. Yet, as a terrorclaw, it was not up to him to change the ways of his pack by welcoming the lone female into the Ssresh-Mah'ren.

"The pack would be stronger if my archosaur could join it."

"He is not a hunter," Skyclaw said.

"And he does not have a pack name," Airscale added. Darkthunder knew she did not mean it as an insult. Archosaur names sounded strange to terrorclaws, just as the name "Darkthunder" sounded primitive to the other archosaurs when he was in the Patrol.

Darkthunder sighed and trilled. "He is who I found. I wish the elders could step in my path and know why I feel this way."

"We can see your path, Darkthunder. And we wish you could keep him walking with you and make you happy."

Darkthunder turned to look at Moondream. The female seemed slightly upset, perhaps thinking that she would never be able to capture the prey that was Darkthunder's love. He turned to nuzzle her again, trying to reassure her. "You are also my prey, Moondream. This hunter is not going to let go of it."

Moondream smiled, even when her eyes seemed to say otherwise. "You know your claws would still long for that other prey. You always liked spikebacks."

The dark terrorclaw said nothing. There was no intention to shame or upset him. It was the honest thoughts of a hunter of his pack, just as Stormclaw did not hide his anger that Darkthunder had upstaged him. "You have given me something that the archosaur never will. In my life with the archosaurs, I never saw a path where I would sire hatchlings. But I cannot not lie and say that I will not miss him. He will be my t'kre'k'k."

The younger terrorclaws sat on the ground. "The elders will not accept someone who cannot hunt and provide for the pack."

Darkthunder smiled. "I wish they could have seen him when we hunted together in the stars. He may be a leaf eater, but he hunts and kills better than many archosaur meat eaters, even when he was much younger, before I met him."

"But not with claws. You said that the archosaur packs in the stars use tools to do so. Even the other hunters as well?"

"Yes. And I used them, too. Even without tools, my archosaur can be as dangerous as the adult spikebacks that we hunt, even if he is much smaller. Maybe even more so, because he thinks like our pack does. He will kill. I have seen what he can do with just his arms."

"But he is still a leaf eater. He cannot focus his mind and hunt like us."

Darkthunder stopped. His eyes opened wide as he felt the skin around his feathered crest prickle - had his feathers not been completely wet, his crest would had risen completely. "What did you just say?"

"His mind. He is not a hunter."

The dark terrorclaw remained almost completely still as thoughts raced through his mind. Some archosaur scientist had theorized that all species would be able to tap into their primal minds, even herbivores. The plant eaters had turned to depend more on technology and intelligence to get an edge over the carnivores, and as such, their brains had become far less attuned to their primal needs. However, the capability was still there, if they were to tap it.

Darkthunder focused on the other hunters around him, who were already looking at him with curiosity. "That... is what he needs! If somehow... If I could get my archosaur to focus into a hunter's mind, perhaps the elders would have a better disposition towards him!"

"But that still would not make him part of the pack. He is not a terrorclaw."

"I do not need him to be part of the pack. I just want the elders to understand he could be a good friend of the pack. And hopefully they would let me follow him back to the stars."

Moondream responded quickly, sadness creeping into her voice. "Follow him? Do you really want to leave again? Your mate, your siblings, and your children?"

Darkthunder trilled. He was caught between two worlds. Much like he was two-spirits, he also felt the need to be in two places. The galaxy and its countless stars, however, spoke louder than what his pack could ever do. He could not deny which territory his legs wanted to trod and explore.

"I was born in the pack. I am grateful for what it has given me. But I cannot help feel that our ways are limited. Our elders want to keep us living as we have done since terrorclaws were first born. I feel we cannot continue this path. My life wants to be elsewhere, and I wish you all would want to join me."

Airscale looked at Darkthunder, concerned. "But what would become of our pack if everyone wanted to leave?"

"I will not ask the rest of the pack to follow me. But I want to follow my own way. Perhaps it is time for some of us to begin hunting for new territories, so that our pack can walk where we could be stronger."

Moondream sighed softly. She nuzzled her strong male. "I understand which path your mind wants to travel. I say you should try. You are too strong to go hungry if that prey escapes. Your pack will always be here."

* * *

The armorback waited.

Sitting in the pilot seat of the shuttle, the large, muscular herbivore ran a checklist for all the onboard systems, ensuring that the ship was still in excellent conditions to depart right at that moment. He stopped short of starting the engines for a full takeoff. Even when the ship still had the energy reserves for a few flights, it made no sense in wasting any of it needlessly. Grell did not have any plans of departing any moment soon, nor there would be a ship waiting to pick up the shuttle for days. It helped him pass the time as he waited patiently for the shuttle's communicator to establish a link to the Patrol.

It had been some time since he had initiated the link. Sending the call was not an issue - there were several surveillance and communication satellites spread across the planetary system that served as home for the terrorclaws. The low power of the shuttle's transmitter and the lack of urgency of his message meant his request was of very low priority among the countless transmissions that flowed at any given point in time throughout the worlds of the Alliance. Satellites could send only a few signals through sub-tachyon space without exceeding their power capacity. Grell did not mind the wait at all. He was glad for the respite the shuttle gave him from the oppressive, humid heat and the smells of the terrorclaws. It also gave him have a private spot for him to leave his body wastes instead of any of the communal spots terrorclaws gathered to leave theirs.

Outside the shuttle, the armorback could see a few members of Darkthunder's pack walking about some distance away, either out in the open or along the tree line, as nude as the day they hatched from their respective eggs. The majority of them looked quite young. Most likely, they had noticed that Grell had walked away from their commune and had followed him out of curiosity, or perhaps as a way for them to practice their tracking and hunting skills. Grell had stopped worrying that any of them wanted to make the armorback their lunch. Every terrorclaw knew of the relationship between the armorback and the dark hunter who had returned from hunting in the stars.

Grell stared impassively at the few who seemed brave enough to get really close to the shuttle. The carnivores stared and sniffed at the large, metallic object inside their territory, mostly out of curiosity for the machine than any predatory or nefarious desire against the armorback inside. Some even touched the shuttle. Once it appeared that their curiosity was satisfied, the terrorclaws trotted away and into the forest, back to whatever tasks their naked, terrorclaw lives carried out for the good of their pack.

Grell wondered what thoughts went through their minds. Terrorclaws only chose to live a primal life as hunters; their species was as capable of understanding and rational thoughts as any other archosaur - both Darkthunder and his brother Starhunter were more than sufficient proof of this. The creatures now roaming around the shuttle certainly knew enough to realize there were other species living among the stars they saw at night, but the idea of starships and shuttles that lifted off the ground was a concept quite alien to their simple, sheltered lives as primal hunters.

The armorback still felt unused to the idea that thousands of completely nude terrorclaws surrounded him. Even when nudity was not offensive to archosaurs, virtually every one of them had chosen to spend most of their lives wearing various types and amounts of clothing. Grell wondered how it would feel to live an entire life without a single strand to wear. The thought only made him curse the tight loincloth he was required to wear. At least inside the shuttle he could darken the windows to prevent terrorclaws from looking inside while he allowed his massive genitals to hang out for a while.

Grell wondered how many terrorclaws would leave their packs and roam the worlds of the Alliance if their elders only gave them a chance.

A light turned on the shuttle's navigational console at the same time it beeped intermittently to get the armorback's attention, signaling that the connection was complete. Grell looked at the console and noticed he only had an audio connection had been established - the video portion was declined as Zaron accepted the call. The reason was apparent immediately as Grell heard the low growl from what sounded like more than one deathjaw - in the background, he could make out the faint rumbling of another of the large carnivores. Grell recognized it as a female deathjaw. The growls were of satisfaction, clear indication that something very pleasant to both carnivores had just happened in whatever room both were sharing.

Only one guess as to what kept the old bull very busy to respond, Grell thought.

"Lieutenant Grell?" The deathjaw sounded surprised, obviously not expecting a call from the armorback. "Your call is unexpected."

"Hello, General Zaron. My apologies if I interrupted anything, sir."

Somehow, a vision sprung in Grell's mind of the deathjaw answering the call while still sporting a powerful erection, the carnivore's massive phallus dripping with the deathjaw's seed as well as the female's vaginal fluids. Knowing Zaron, that was a very distinct possibility. The old stud certainly was far from being finished with all the ways he may have planned to spend his time with her. His female was certainly eager for more, if she wanted to carry and deliver eggs fertilized by such a powerful male of their species. Some female archosaurs still seemed to live close to the tenets of evolution, wanting to mate and breed with the strongest males. Zaron was more than happy to oblige for those of his species.

"I am just... resting from my current task. What can I help you with?"

Grell let out a soft snort, already imagining what said "task" had been. If anything was unusual of Zaron's mating deeds was how Maia had gifted the old deathjaw with not only the sexual strength and vigor that would make other young deathjaw males growl with envy, but a large and powerful equipment to attract the females. His constant matings - and the sheer number of his offspring he had sired - were as much from his desire to keep his species alive as well as the intense pleasures he certainly derived from such frequent sexual activities. Grell was sure the old deathjaw had left his seed in places other than inside the genital slits of the females that mated with him.

In some small measure, Grell envied the deathjaw. Zaron had no desire to keep any ties to any other archosaur. For all the constant fucking that the deathjaw enjoyed, he would never have his soul suffer from the pain of a broken relationship. In many ways, Zaron acted just like his old friend Brakkus did, although the deathjaw was also looking not only to engage in his enjoyable pastime, but also father more children as a result. But was it worth a life empty of the warm, loving touch of another archosaur?

Grell recalled how often he would wake up to find Darkthunder already alert, waiting for the armorback to wake. The armorback would always draw his terrorclaw close, to feel the warm skin of his predator against his own, which Darkthunder also enjoyed. They would remain like that for some time, talking about anything. The conversations and mutual caresses sometimes would lead to sex - and when Darkthunder was in the mood, the sex would be heavy and rough; the kind Grell liked the most. No matter the intensity of their matings, sex between Darkthunder and Grell was culmination of an already wonderful relationship. It was the company and affection what Grell had cherished the most.

No. Not had. The armorback refused to leave it all in a past. He would continue to have his terrorclaw while as much as he had one breath left in his lungs.

Grell rumbled, clearing his throat from the painful thought of losing Darkthunder. "I believe I have five days left before the Tarrakhan is scheduled to return_,_ sir. I would like to request to have my stay extended."

Zaron paused, and then growled softly. "That is something that I cannot give lightly. Could I speak with Darkthunder?"

"The Commander is not anywhere near at this moment. He's out somewhere in his pack's territory, in one of the patrols his pack does. I believe his siblings are with him."

"Siblings? I never knew he had any others besides Starhunter."

"He didn't know either, sir. We found out almost as soon as we arrived. The pack wanted Darkthunder to take care of his lineage and breed hatchlings of his own. Apparently it is now his obligation after their sire died."

The large carnivore let out a soft rumble before he spoke again. "It is all clear now why the pack requested his immediate and unconditional return. From what I know of his species, this request means his stay will be permanent. I will make sure that Darkthunder is discharged from service with high honors."

"Discharge?" Grell tried to speak, but found not only extremely difficult for words to exit his throat, but also to keep his composure and try to sound as if it did not affect him. "General... isn't that quite premature? I mean... I... we have no idea if the pack will -"

A loud snort from the deathjaw interrupted the armorback's hesitant words. "Are you still deluded, soldier, or completely in denial of the situation? Either way, you should snap out of it and accept reality."

"Sir?"

"You do not need to try to mask your objection to my decision, Lieutenant. It is clear you are refusing to accept your loss. I would have been surprised if you had not reacted to my words."

"I did not say -"

Zaron growled, louder this time. "Do not seek to insult my intelligence, Grell. You knew_this would be the most likely outcome from when Darkthunder broke you the news. I could have warned you about going to the terrorclaw homeworld. I should had listened to my instincts and ordered you to stay in the _Tarrakhan and let the events unfold without your presence. The distance and your inability to be there to experience the pack's decision would have perhaps mitigated the pain. I guess I was also a fool for not wishing to lose one of my best officers, and thinking your presence would perhaps help sway the pack into allowing Darkthunder to continue his life with the Patrol. My apologies if that has only worsened your feelings over your breakup."

The deathjaw paused for several seconds before his emotionless voice announced his decision. "I will have to deny your request. If you need time to let this pass, I will allow you to take a medical leave. Although away from the terrorclaw world."

Grell lowed with displeasure. "Sir, this is not fair."

"Fairness has nothing to do with it. You are still under obligations to the Patrol. And right now, the Alliance needs you more than you need the terrorclaw."

For an instant Grell was glad the old deathjaw had disallowed the video portion of his call. Grell could feel his face twisted in complete contempt for his superior. "Please, General - I wish you walked a much different Path so you could understand how I am feeling about losing my partner!"

Zaron let out a loud snort. "For your own sake, I will assume you did not intend any disrespect, soldier. Just because I have chosen not to form a bond like the one you had with Darkthunder does not mean I do not understand or that I am oblivious to your feelings towards your former partner. After all, I was more than pleased that you two chose me as officiator to your marriage ceremony."

"I do not want to think in the past tense, sir."

"Maybe you should. Darkthunder once mentioned a saying of the terrorclaw packs, about abandoning prey they had fought hard to earn. As another hunter like him, I quite understood the meaning. I believe you should as well."

"I had the same mentioned to me by another of his pack. But... sir... you yourself said Darkthunder is one of your best officers. After everything we went through and did for the Alliance, I cannot understand why the Patrol cannot keep him. The Alliance continues to go to great lengths to keep these terrorclaws safe and hidden from whatever dangers someone thinks they may be under, and we get nothing in return!"

"We have gotten more than a fair share out of it, soldier. The entire mess that you and Darkthunder went through with those drug runners and their backers ultimately has kept the Alliance together. If it costs me losing my best ship commander, then that is a small price for keeping all archosaurs safe from possible extinction."

"But why can't we keep Darkthunder this time? He would be much more useful to the Patrol than whatever he can do with his pack. Let his siblings have as much terrorclaw sex as they want and sire the hatchlings their pack seems to crave!"

"Don't you think I would have chosen to keep Darkthunder if that path had been available? Despite how great our actions may have been in benefiting the Alliance, when it comes to matters dealing with terrorclaws, the voice of the Alliance does not speak as loud as that of even one of their packs. The accord between the Alliance and the terrorclaws means their species will walk their paths as they see fit. I can only thank Darkthunder's pack for having loaned such a good hunter to the Alliance."

"Loaned!?" Grell shouted, as he found almost impossible to contain his anger and grief. "Darkthunder is not a museum piece to be repatriated to some misbegotten owners demanding every fucking piece that they claim is their heritage! He is an archosaur like you or me!"

"Yet he is still a terrorclaw. If the pack wanted him back, we must oblige. We cannot force terrorclaws to accept any decision they have not made themselves."

"It is his renegade brother who should be here, but the Alliance finds no problem in allowing him to walk free and continue having carnal relations with that winglizard primitive as well! Both a hypocrisy and a crime."

Grell heard a rather loud rumbling from the deathjaw. Perhaps taxing his patience, but even more so when Grell was keeping him from going back to what Zaron certainly wanted to do the most. "It would be best if you start minding your words, soldier. That was the accorded deal to help us strike a blow against those funding the mammal drug runners."

Grell scoffed. "That deal smells as rotten as a nest of abandoned eggs. Looks like a repeat of the past - why should the Alliance care of the deals it forges, as long as it gets what it wants and keeps the interests of its citizens safe? It is just like when the terrorclaws got only a planet and scorn from the other archosaurs while the Alliance -"

The shuttle's console vibrated as the deathjaw let out a furious, thunderous roar. After regaining his composure, Grell heard the concerned growls of the female deathjaw. He then realized Zaron wanted not only to silence the armorback, but also to drown the words and keep other ears from listening.

"Seems like someone has talked where he should have not!" Zaron said, his voice loud and full of the fury other archosaurs knew that deathjaws possessed. "Perhaps that terrorclaw should consider staying where he is right now if he does not want to face a court martial from his superior officer, and the Archosaur General!"

Even when separated by thousands of light years, Grell could not help but feel fearful at the deathjaw's tone. It left little doubt that both Grell and Darkthunder would have to face the now furious General, if they returned. "Please excuse Darkthunder, sir! He really refused to talk about it at first. We had... a bad fight aboard the Tarrakhan. He finally thought it was necessary for me to understand why his pack required him to return."

Zaron growled. His voice was more subdued when he finally spoke, but the anger was still noticeable. "If he spoke to you of this, then you certainly have an oath attached to it."

"He did, sir."

"Then you better beware of any intentions to break said oath, soldier. I will not speak of the consequences, but the pain will be much greater than the loss of your partner."

"My apologies, General. I am sworn to my oath and duties to the Patrol, despite my pain. I forgot in my emotional state that you are not alone. I am ready for any discipline you wish to administer, if you deem punishment is necessary. But I wish to state that this fight for my terrorclaw... is one I cannot give up, sir. Just as I did not give up and saved the Commander before from a certainly horrible fate at the hands of those drug runners, I wish to save him... for my own soul."

Grell only heard the heavy breathing and rumbling of the deathjaw for several seconds, as the General seemed to contemplate his next words. His voice seemed normal, even if there was still a slight tinge of anger.

"I will have to admire your tenacity and dedication to that soldier, Grell. But as admirable as your feelings are, your duty is now misplaced." There was a long pause before Zaron continued. "Do you have aspirations for a higher rank, Lieutenant?"

"I don't understand the question, sir."

"I did not become a General by clinging to everything I held dear. All soldiers must realize that sometimes giving up and retreating from a battle is the best course of action, despite the losses we may suffer. Sometimes, that includes abandoning some of our brave soldiers if they go missing in action. I am fully aware of the horrors some of them are still suffering at the hands of those mammals. The accursed fur pelts have sent us some of the recordings they made to recruit more of their own to their hopeless cause. It pains me to see those hideous creatures forcing themselves on both archosaur soldiers and civilians alike. Some of our brave and strong soldiers were reduced to mindless husks from this constant abuse, and yet they continue to be used as unwilling whores by those dregs of evolution." Zaron let out a loud growl of pain and anger. "I knew personally some of those soldiers."

The armorback remained silent. He could imagine that mammals would not treat captured soldiers with respect. Without a doubt, that certainly would have been Darkthunder's fate if Grell had not found and rescued him back at Sethria Six. Large tears welled in Grell's eyes, as the thought of his beautiful terrorclaw sharing that gruesome fate sent strong shivers down his spine. "Sir... why... how can the Alliance allow that to continue?"

"The mammals' territory is still too vast, and we do not know the location where these atrocities are happening. Even if we did, any attempt at a rescue would prove extremely costly for our forces. Hopefully, one day that vermin will be eradicated from this section of the galaxy." The deathjaw paused. "Do you see what I'm trying to make you understand, Grell?"

The armorback sighed. "Yes, General. But I still stand by my decision."

"By the First Egg, soldier," Zaron roared in frustration. "Your hard head is much more than a natural defense the Good Mother gave you. Why do you wish to continue this fight, when you know you will lose in the end?"

Grell did not hesitate in his answer. There could only be one decision when it came to his terrorclaw. "I refuse to accept defeat, General. Not without fighting for what I hold dearest."

The deathjaw growled, most likely from exasperation. "You are as stubborn as you are tenacious. That may have helped you before, but you would do better this time if you assessed your combat situation carefully, soldier. Not because of the terrorclaw that you will lose. Regardless of whether I would grant you an extension to your stay, the terrorclaws could decide that you need to leave their homeworld. And even if for some impossible reason they welcomed an herbivore into their fold, you still have a duty to the Alliance."

"The Archosaur General pardoned me of the charges regarding my criminal past after the events on Sethria-Six."

"True. But he did not discharge you from service. Disobeying orders from your superiors would be a crime against the Patrol, not the Alliance. I'm afraid this old deathjaw will not grant you the same leniency. I do not need to remind you the prison planet that was to be your original sentence never has a shortage of hands. Your strength certainly would be of good use there. And it would be a few good years before you would even have a chance at a parole hearing, if you survived that far."

Grell heard the loud, impatient growls of the female deathjaw, calling to her sexual partner. Without doubt, she was eager for lots more of the sticky mess and hot and heavy pounding that Zaron had placed between her legs before Grell interrupted them. Zaron's voice turned unintelligible as he turned to address the female, his voice aimed away from whatever he was using to communicate with Grell. The armorback fought hard not to voice the thoughts forming in his head - right then, the soulless bastard could not care any less for anything other than the female he had been busy fucking.

"On the other hand," the deathjaw said as he turned again to speak with Grell. "If you still refuse to leave, the terrorclaws would claim complete ownership over you. If that happens, the Alliance will revoke your citizenship and leave you with no recourse to appeal. Terrorclaws normally will not eat sentient archosaurs, but there's no telling what your fate would be. They may decide you would be a challenging prey for their best hunters - your own partner included. Maybe they would think you are not worth the hassle and dispatch you with a swift bite to your throat. The Alliance would not dispute their decision or even request permission to pick up whatever would be left of your corpse." The deathjaw paused, perhaps allowing the thought to sink in Grell's mind. "Is that clear enough, soldier?"

The armorback nodded, even if the gesture was futile. "It is, sir."

"Good. Now, unless you have further questions, I would like to end this call. I have something to finish, as you may have noticed."

Grell scoffed. "Don't let me keep you, sir. I'm certain it is very important, and you're quite willing to oblige."

The deathjaw growled, recognizing the mockery. "Mind your thoughts, soldier. Do you wish to add disrespect to your list of offenses?"

"I did not state anything that has not become common Patrol knowledge, General. Disrespect was not in my mind."

Zaron snorted. The old deathjaw was certainly aware his sexual activities were far from a secret. One of his own offspring may have been the most likely archosaur who set the prey out in the open for all the other hunters to pounce upon. Yet the revelation had only worked for Zaron to make almost no effort to hide what had made him somewhat infamous. "Report to me when you have a reached a decision."

"Yes, sir. And may you and your partner have a pleasant fucking." Grell turned off the communicator in the middle of the last word. He did not care if Zaron understood, but not implicitly stating it to his superior allowed him to dispute any disciplinary action the deathjaw felt compelled to make over some perceived disrespect. The penalty of a possible desertion would be far worse than mocking his superior's sexual proclivity.

Grell remained in the pilot's seat for several minutes after the call ended. The armorback felt nothing but contempt for his superior for several heartbeats. He found it hard to believe the old carnivore could be so callous and indifferent to Grell's plight, or even the lives of those missing soldiers. Meanwhile, he thinks nothing of mating countless females in his desire to father as many of his kind as possible before his heart finally gives out. Maybe during one of said matings. He still had to admit the deathjaw was right about something - the logistics of any rescue mission would be daunting, and next to impossible without any intelligence regarding where those soldiers could be located. Grell uttered a quick word of thanks to the Good Mother that neither he nor Darkthunder were among those lost.

The armorback closed his eyes, letting thoughts form in his mind as he visualized possible outcomes to all the paths he felt he had open. He knew most of those paths would not end up well - his own life would end up at the end of said paths. Even if the outcome of his decision was not completely clear, his choice was clear.

The armorback fitted the thick loincloth back around his crotch before he stepped outside the shuttle. The ship's door closed after the armorback walked a few steps again into the hot, humid world.

Maybe I could get used to living here,_he thought. _If my bones still have living flesh attached to them.

CONTINUED