Minerva tried to remain still as Nallia's hands continued to work on her muscles. Despite a sudden sharp pain, Nallia work quickly made the pain fade completely away. It was simply amazing on how quickly Nallia was able to make the pain fade away.

However it when Nallia explaied her species, Minerva paused. The description of the males, matched an encounter she had a little while ago with an alien. That encounter had not gone so well on that remote wooded planet. In fact she really didn't stand much of a chance.

As Nallia explained more about the Kaji the entire encounter suddenly made alot more sense. Of course Nallia own explaination of herself made Nallia alot clearer to Minerva. Ah I see. It is good then I chose not to strike you there. Believe or not your not the first of your species I have enocuntered, although I would never have realized you two are the same species. On a previous mission, I had met a male member of your species. Now I understand why you have such trophies around.

Nallia had shifted her weight back and settled back on her knees, giving her a stable base. Something she needed when she heard Minerva had encountered a Kaji hunter. Her tone was amazed, although that amazement quickly shifted into thoughtfulness. You encountered a hunter? Than how come your still aliv ... No it must have been Yautja. That's the only explanation that makes sense. Any other hunter would have claimed your skull for a trophy at the end of the hunt. He is the only one who figured out that humans give off the same pheromones as Kaji females do. I still owe him a lot, he trained me, gave me the technology, weapons and armour I use to hunt with. And most crucially gave me a chance to be something ... not some lust crazed animal with brief period's of sanity in between orgasms.

Nallia went silent as she regarded the room, and the trophies inside it. You mentioned now it makes sense that I have so many trophies around ... Does that mean you saw Yautja's trophy room?

Ah, so his name is Yautja. Minerva pronunciation of the name was horrible, but with practice she would get it. Her ability to learn and adapt was her strongest attribute and she was sure she would lear more about the Kaji. Yes, he did hunt me and let me go at the end after taking some of my hair. It was quite clear that Kaji hunter was him.

Minerva sat up when go the chance. Yes I did. It was the only part of the ship I was allowed in. I even was able to use one of his weapons for the final battle between us. He could have killed me at any point during our encounter with ease, but instead he kept testing me.

I think you left out the bit where he removed his mask and fucked, I think that's the word, you. But otherwise that matches what I remember of Yautja whenever he hunted a human. As for the trophy room ... I think that particular aspect of the Kaji hunter culture definently needs to be explained. To a hunter their trophies are everything, they are the proof of your deeds, your skill, your history. To let someone see it shows you honour them by revealing to them your history, and by letting them in the most precious thing to a hunter. Even the slightest scratch on a trophy means it must be discarded ... and as such hunters do not usually let people see their trophies. Even I do it, in fact this room is trapped in a number of nasty ways that would leave most beings dead in a heartbeat if they triggered one.

As for the weapon ... even being loaned a Kaji weapon is a sign of respect. Nallia drew her own Katana from behind her in a single graceful movement, the blade suddenly held between Nallia and Minerva before the red haired agent had even realised Nallia had moved. This was a gift for when I completed my first solo hunt. Nothing I have ever done since than has ever truely compared to what I felt when Yautja made this, and gave it to me... Nallia's eyes look, but don't seem to see. Almost as if she is looking at a memory, at something not quite there.

Minerva blushed, Yeah I did leave that part out, didn't I. Minerva really didn't want to admit what happened that time she met Yautja. Ah I see, I guess I was smart not to touch any of the trophies. They are a bit weird to me, but the way they were arranged made me believe they were to be looked at not touched.

Minerva flinched a little when she saw the Katana appear out of nowhere in front of her. She didn't expect anything like that. So he made that for you, huh? I guess you must have done well in your first hunt? Did he lend you weapons for that?

Nallia smiled and patted the pelt the two were sittting on. He had already given me my armour by this point, and he lent me a full face visor because the world was in the outer reaches of a solar system and was pretty much a frozen block of rock and ice. As for weapons ... I was unarmed when he dropped me off, going up against something wwith claws designed to cut into ice and muscles that could support it's entire weight on a single limb. Considering it was just an animal a fair hunt. Skill against power, strength against speed, inteligence against animal cunning. It's been a while since I have had a hunt as good, but I just can't go off and do such a fun personally satisfying hunt when there are so many Shuro out there, praying on your species. So instead I simply have to make do with whatever comes up, and hope that on a mission there is at least one thing nearby that is worth actually hunting.

Nallia lowered her katana until the naked blade rested across her knees. She looked down at it, apparantly admiring the blade. But that was just an excuse, in reality Nallia knew her eyes were shy. Even here, even alone with someone and in her den, her trophy room, she was too embaressed to ask the question she wanted to ask.

Ahh I see...so he gave it too you as an equalizer so you can have a fair hunt. I guess I am starting your people a bit. Anyways I am glad you are on my side helping us against the Shuro. We would have a much harder time without you. You definitely have skills we that we can't hope to match. Minerva looked up to see Nallia staring silent at her blade. It looked like she might be admiring it, but Minerva wasn't sure. Is there something wrong?

Nallia laughed at Minerva's statement. You misunderstand me Minerva. I got the blade after the hunt. I took this down and claimed this trophy unarmed. I had to use one of it's own claws to skin this pelt off it in fact. Hunting such a creature with a blade like this would be unfair and dishonourable.

However at Minerva's question Nallia's laugh and smile faded as she shifted uneasily. Her mind was working, trying to come up with a way to say what she wanted to say. You said you found the trophies impressive ... would you like to have any of them? Nallia asked nervously. She hadn't really explained that to the Kaji hunters if a female accepted the offer of a trophy, or trophies, they consented to sex. Even if Minerva accepted Nallia would have to explain that particular aspect ... and do so before she removed her nose plugs.

Oh wow, really. You took it with your own bare hands. That is even more impressive. She had clearly misjudged Nallia, she was even more skilled than the red headed agent had given her credit for. I couldn't imagine having to fight one of those things bare handed.

Minerva was surprised that Nallia had asked her for if she wanted to any of the throphies. Really, you want me to have one. I don't know what to say. I really don't know anything about them. Minerva looked around the room and try to get a better idea of the what existed in the room.

Well technically I didn't. I started with my bare hands, and brought it down through a series of traps and baits that drew it into a pit of ice. The front was completly ruined from the impact with frozen cones of ice with razor sharp points ... I'm not sure what the human word is for them. But the back was fine, and is what I claimed for the trophy since the skull was badly damaged by the fall. But I have since found the pelt to be far more practical and useful a trophy. There are times when it gets cold I simply use it as an extra blanket. It is very very warm wrapped up inside it. Despite her modest statement Nallia beemed at the praise, her mind already shifting into that of a hunter trying to impress a potential mate as to her skill, and as such worthiness to mate.

If you want I could explain a few of the trophies, and what they came from and any other details of the hunt. Or you could simply point to a trophy and I will tell you everything you want to know about it. Nallia smiled proudly as she made her offer. In her mind such a question meant Minerva was interested in getting one, Nallia just had to find her a good gift. Or number of gifts as the case may be.

Ah so you used hardened icicles, that is very clever. That is definitely a good use of terrain to your advantage. I will definitely have to remember it for future ideas. You are very clever hunter. As for the pelt, it is pretty soft and warm. It does definitely is a nice trophy. Minerva smiled at her mentor.

Actually I wouldn't mind just listening to your stories about how you obtained the trophies. They are quite interesting and provide great insight on how to subdue a foe.

Nallia couldn't help but beem proudly when Minerva praised her use of terrain, when she praised her trophy. Of course the moment Minerva said she simply wanted Nallia to explain her trophies and how she got them Nallia quickly scanned her gaze across the room, her yellow eyes glancing at each trophy quickly as she scanned for a good trophy to start with. Her eyes settled on a Negalli skull. The skull itself was fairly impressive, nearly a foot long and half that tall it had two curved spikes extending out from each side of it's jaw, adding a couple of inches to it's bite reach. The skull itself was solid, the bone structure quite thick. The Negalli were a species that the ADD had never encoutered before, well until one of Nallia's missions had brought her onto a world where a Negalli lurker had been stalking on. She pointed at it, waiting until Minerva had followed her pointing finger and was looking at the skull before talking.

That is a Negalli skull. They are highly adaptive ambush predators, with a very rapid evolution and reproduction rate. Armour plated, and strong enough to crumple the armour of a tank with a charge. They are fast as well, almost as fast as me in fact, and those jaws can puncture through armour plating like paper. They have four limbs they use for movement, and when fully grown like that one was they are about as large as a small car. Extending from the back is two 'wings' that evolve and change as the Negalli grows. When they are young they are used for movement, when they get older the wings membrane is canabalised, and the bone structure is modified so that they can be used as two several feet long blades that have a blade along one side and can be used in a whip like manner. They prefer jungle enviroments, although they have been known to enter cities and thrive in the sewers, picking off anyone who comes down or who ventures near their various surface access points. The skin changes to match their enviroment, and they are capable of remaining motionless for weeks at a time in an ambush position. They are capable of adapting to any planet they find themselves on, and can even survive brief exposure to space.

Both me and the Negalli are primarily ambush predators, although they do have the ability to take on almost any possible prey, sentient or not, in a straight fight. When I learnt one was on the same world as my mission target I ended up stalking it thorugh the sewers of Birragi II. Although through that entire hunt I was never quite sure who was stalking who ... if I was the hunter, or the hunted. In fact I almost became another set of bones in it's lair, if it wasn't for the fact it had relaxed because we were in it's den, and some other alien had fallen down into the den through a tunnel it had dug and was splashing around I would have died. As it was I managed to sneak up behind the Negalli, which has senses nearly as good as a Kaji I must add, and sliced through the spine cluster.

Nallia couldn't help but shiver as she finished, although she clamped down on the brief flash of fear she felt. That particular hunt had been the closest thing she had ever came to dying, and the Negalli were a terrifying thing to fight. Especially considering if they didn't eat you they generally used you as an incubator for it's young. That particular fight had been less about using the enviroment and more about exploiting an oppurtunity, and in the ability to remain hidden. To use the fact that things assumed they would never be attacked in their home. Hopefully the tale of just how terrifying they were, and of Nallia willingly stalking it into it's own home, would impress Minerva.

Minerva listed intently at the Nallia's story about Negalli. The creature sounded absolutely dangerous. They were fast and had tremendous strength, not to mention heavily armored. And the fact they are ambush predators, means they choose the terrain in which to fight. Nallia was really lucky to have such a distraction arrive when it did. It gave her the opportunity she needed to dispatch the Negalli. Wow that is really impressive. For the first time, Minerva saw Nallia shiver when describing the opponent. Obviously this was a very dangerous foe for even a Nallia.

Nallia smiled shyly at Nallia, blushing at the praise. Inside her soul did a loop of joy. That was clearly a good start. In fact Nallia was quite proud of taking one of those down, even fully trained Kaji male hunters were cautious around them. The first time she had seen the twelve Negalli skulls that Yautja had in his trophy room she had wondered just what sort of creature had a skull like that. For the most part though, she was glad she had seen it. The occasional nightmare, waking up sweating with fear making her heart pound in her ears, was worth the honour that such a trophy brought.

Next Nallia pointed to a skull of a Xelmorras. The skull was rounded, and extended quite a fair distance back. Large portions of that skull was jaw, and teeth lined every inch of those jaws. Two small indents lay near the front of the skull, the location of the eyes, as well as two long very thin slits in the bone structure, where the scent glands of the creature had been.

That belonged to a Xelmorras. About the size of a horse the Xelmorras has six limbs, four used for locomotion and the other two to grab, or claw. Each limb ends in claws, and if it needs to move quicker than normal it drops down and uses all six limbs to 'sprint'. It's body shape is something that shifts between an L sort of shape when it is fully upright to just a flat, rather thick and muscular, line when it is on all six limbs. Their entire body is covered with a glistening black carapace, and they are surprisingly fast, strong, and very good climbers. They have a barbed tail that is laced with a paralysing poison, and thirteen tentacles. And to top everything off as a defensive measure their blood has very high kipai... urr I'm not sure what the english word is, their blood melts through things.

They do share one thing with the Negalli, they are a constructed species. Although I have no idea just what made the Negalli, or why, I know full well who made the Xelmorras, and for what purpose. They were designed just after shuro first discovered humanity as a terror weapon to be deployed against earth. When the shokushu treaty was established they were supposed to be destroyed, but of course many groups were still interested in things designed to terrorise and rape humans and as such a significant number of them 'escaped', and the data on their creation vanished.

I got that particular trophy on Gejorn XI. The world was nothing but a frozen block of ice, it's atmosphere was almost non-existant and it was further away from Gejorn's sun than pluto is from Sol's sun. A group of slavers had a couple that they had purchased. I was sent to take the group out, but once I discovered they had established a small colony of about two dozen of them I just had to test them. On paper they seem fairly powerful, and against most humans they probably would be. But their scent glands were bad, and the thin atmosphere combined with me having a fully contained suit to mask the one sense they had that could detect me. It took me about an hour to kill all of them with my blade, and I took the largest one's skull as a trophy to prove it.

Minerva makes a note of Nallia blushing, she seemed very proud of that kill. Of course judging by the opponent, there was a very good reason to be proud of that kill. Minerva listened intently as Nallia explained the next skull it was a Xelmorra. It was disturbing that someone would create a creature for the sole purpose to terrorize and rape. The very idea repulsed her. Even worse many had escaped and now seemed to roam the galaxy. However Nallia had managed to make sure there a dozen less of the vile creatures in the universe. Well, taking a dozen in hour is fairly impressive. You are definately a skilled warrior.