"Ready," I tensed up and stared straight ahead
"Set," my heart sped up as he paused
"Go" I took off running.
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My feet pounded against the dirt as I ran as fast as I could, I knew I was loud and I needed to be quieter, but I couldn't stop now. I needed to get far enough away from the male and then make my way back to camp without him seeing me or hearing me
*Easier said than done* I thought as I jumped over a log and skidded to a stop, suddenly thinking of something.
*Wait, he can see my body heat. He can see body heat from anyone. That means...if I conceal my heat, then it will be hard for him to see me* I thought.
I scanned the area me, it seemed like day to me because of my vision. I could see Nightblood coming if he didn't cloak himself, but if he did cloak himself, I would have to rely on my other senses to survive the night.
*Mud. That will conceal my heat just enough, but I would need to get enough of it to cover my body, the only place where there's enough mud is the waterfall, and that's close to camp* a frown on my face.
While I was thinking, I had already started making my way to the waterfall, keeping low and quiet. It's like a game of cat and mouse, I, the mouse and Nightblood the cat. Being quiet wouldn't really matter if he can see my body heat. I tensed up at every little sound and I swear I could feel eyes on me as I made my way to the waterfall. It seemed like forever, but I finally made it, the sound of the water made me feel relieved and I walked over to the pool of cool water.
I saw the mud and I made a disgusted noise but I as I bent down to begin putting it on, I heard a twig snap behind me and I spun around. Of course, I didn't see anything and that put me on edge, yet, I could smell everything and the smell that stood out to me the most, the smell of Nightblood's musk.
All males have that musky smell, some smell gross, other's smell good. Nightblood's musk smelled amazing, he also had a scent of fresh rain and pine trees-which was odd, but not unpleasant. *Fuck, he's here already? It hasn't even been that long yet! * I thought and quickly began putting mud all over my body, hopefully, this would help long enough to get away.
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When Jane took off into the jungle, Nightblood could hear her loud and clear and even see her body heat. He watched as it moved farther and farther away from him and when she stopped, he moved. He activated his cloak and it seemed like he disappeared but as he moved, there was a disturbance in the air and there was a faint outline of his body
*Time to catch her* He thought with a small chuckle as he made his way through the jungle and saw Jane making her way through the dense trees and bushes.
He saw that she's keeping low to the ground, it seemed that she thought if she kept low, he wouldn't see her. She's wrong of course but he felt satisfied that she finally was trying to take this seriously, he then paused and saw that she's making her way to the waterfall and he felt a little confused, why would she go there? That's farther away from the camp. He followed her anyway, making sure to keep quiet and he did see her tense sometimes at the sounds that came from the jungle.
It must be a lot to take in now. The sounds, smells and even the sights. Jane's new senses must be distracting her, he was born with the heightened senses so it wasn't hard for him. But for her, she was human until he gave her his blood and her once average senses became more, it had to be terrifying for her. But as he watched the female, he saw that she was focused and even though she jumped or tensed up at some things, she continued to be quiet and kept moving. *She's doing good* he thought.
They both eventually made it to the waterfall and he saw that she moved over to the mud and it finally clicked *Oh, she's smart* he thought and purposefully stepped on a twig, it snapped loudly and the sound made the female spin around, looking all around her. He heard her heart speed up and he watched as she quickly turned back around to put the mud on her.
Now, his mask could see different temperatures, the area that surrounded the female were cooler than the bright yellow and red that came from the woman. But as soon as she put the mud on her, he couldn't see her and he cursed quietly. Now he had another vision that would let him see in color and in turn, Jane herself. But he wasn't going to cheat, that's shameful, so he would keep the thermal vision.
He couldn't see her, he looked all around but, there was something that he could hear. Her heart beat, it seemed farther away, meaning that she already left this place and he chuckled. He turned and made his way back into the dense jungle
"Clever girl."
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*Well, at least the mud cooled me down some. It won't last long but I can get farther with this on. * I paused in my thoughts as a glob of mud fell from my side and splattered onto the jungle floor below and I frowned *hopefully.* I had climbed a tree and was now jumping from branch to branch.
It took a few tries and I almost screamed out the first time but now I was jumping with ease. My reflexes were faster so if I did lose my balance, I could quickly catch myself, although, jumping from tree to tree was making the mud fall off me faster but I knew I was getting closer to the camp, I could see the glow of the fire.
I stopped a few times to put more mud on me before I left the waterfall, I had quickly made a makeshift bag from large leaves, it wasn't stable and a lot of mud did fall out but, at least I had some mud to keep myself concealed. I looked down in the bad and cursed softly, I only had a handful of mud left so I grabbed what was left and smeared it on my waist, face and the rest on my arms.
*It's not much, but it will have to do* I thought as I stood up and with a small grunt, jumped to the other branch. "almost there" I whispered, but I stopped as I heard something behind me and I turned to look over my shoulder, not seeing anything but it looked like a certain spot in the trees looked to be...warped.
My eyes went wide as I saw the warped space move, it's Nightblood! He jumped over to another tree, it was the one right behind me, it seemed he didn't even see me and I quickly jumped to the ground, landing with a roll. Now, I knew the mud was really gone, but I didn't have time to check because I got up and ran. There was a loud roar and I knew the Yautja saw me and I cursed loudly while vaulting over a bolder. *Almost there!!*
Everything seemed to go in slow motion, I could see the camp in front of me, it was so far yet so close. Then it happened, my body felt like it was hit by a train, the world seemed to tilt and I saw the ground getting closer and closer until I was slammed into the dirt. I wheezed out, the air was sucked from my body and I saw black dots in my vision.
I groaned as I was rolled onto my back and my arms were pinned above my head. My head was spinning and I was trying to get air back in my lungs, but my lungs had a different idea and it seemed like I wasn't getting enough air as I saw Nightblood over me.
His large body was covering mine and I felt panic but I soon calmed down when I saw he wasn't going to do anything.
"Didn't I say," he paused and I focused on him "to not get caught, Jane?"
My heart felt like it would burst out my chest. "Y-yes" I stammered out. He made a short humming sound.
"What did you do?" my breath hitched as he ran his hand down my side, all the while keeping my wrists pinned with one hand.
My cheeks were a dark red "Y-you caught me" I breathed out and saw him tilt his head to the side, I didn't even know if he was looking at me.
"Correct. What should I do to you now?" his voice was light but I could hear the amusement as well as something dark...maybe even primal and I swear my whole face erupted into flames with how hot it was.
"I-I...uh" I couldn't get a single word out, I was so embarrassed as well as flustered.
His hand kept going up and down my side slowly and goosebumps covered my whole body as a shiver went down my spine.
"Hm" he reached up and I saw him move some hair from my red face. He smelled so good, the musky scent of his skin as well as the fresh rain and pine that soon followed. *Good lord, this man is going to kill me* He then reached down and grabbed my thigh and I sputtered out. He chuckled darkly and finally got off me
"You'll do two-hundred push-ups as well as catch our breakfast for tomorrow." He said and I stared at him with shock and disbelief as he walked to the camp and I let my head fall back onto the ground with a groan.
"Why does he do this to me? Does he get pleasure in making me suffer?" I whispered and covered my face with my hands. I soon got up and slowly walked back to camp, my body was still throbbing a little from the tackle. I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair as I passed the camp fire, the warmth from the flames warmed my legs for a few seconds and disappeared.
I didn't see Nightblood but saw that the curtain to the hut was moving a little like someone had just gone in there. I walked over and called the male's name, he answered
"Come in, Jane" his voice sounded clearer and I pushed aside the curtain.
"Nightblood are y-" I stopped as I saw he sat on the bed. My eyes widened slightly as I looked at his face. My eyes flicked to the mask he always wore, laid on the bed beside him.
*Ba-thump...ba-thump...ba-thump* I only heard the beating of my heart as the Yautja looked up at me.
"Hey" his voice sounded much clearer and I just stared at him, fixated by his eyes. They were like molten gold, intense and so beautiful. The rest of his face...well, it was interesting, to say the least. His skin looked reptilian, it was a deep brown mixed with yellow, he didn't have a nose and there were mandibles on his face, they almost looked spider-like when they were close together. The mandibles also had sharp fang-like teeth, maybe, on the tip.
He made a clicking noise and the mandibles twitched a little and I could see that he had no lips, just a row of very sharp teeth, like a piranha. He was quiet as he watched me and I blinked a few times and stepped forward before making my way over to him. I stood before him and hesitated as I reached out, but I carefully put my hands on his face, looking at him with awe and wonder.
"Took you long enough" I finally said with a grin and it seemed that the tension in him vanished and he slumped forward, putting his head on my stomach and I looked down at him with amusement.
"I thought you were going to freak out" He muttered and I felt his mandibles moving as he spoke.
I shrugged "I'm weird. Seeing your face isn't going to make me freak out." I reached up and ran my hand over his dreadlocks, they were soft, and felt like coarse hair. I felt him nod.
"You are weird...holding me like this" his voice soft. It was quiet as I stood in front of him, holding his face to my stomach.
"Why?" I asked feeling confused yet honored at the same time and I watched him lean back, making me let go of his face.
"Why what?" he asked and watched as I sat down beside him. The bed dipped under the added weight, for a second, I was scared it would break. But it held firmly under the both of us.
"Why did you show me your face?" I inquired as I held his mask in my hands. I ran my fingers over the dark visor, it was smooth under my fingers. I wonder if it's made from glass or from something else. It felt heavy in my hands, I don't know how he has this on all day.
"Because you proved yourself to me. Even if you didn't make it to the camp, you came close and you used the environment to disguise yourself from me. You even learned how to be quiet and made it far" I looked at him with shocked eyes as he lowered his head and eyes to me.
"You have made me proud, Jane. You will make a great warrior, I can already tell" He said and I watched him, shocked yet honored that I made him proud even though I didn't make it to the camp.
"T-thank you, Nightblood. I feel honored that you are proud of me." I mumbled, feeling my cheeks grow warm as he chuckled lightly.
"Try not to run out into the open next time." He said and I nodded my head, a smile in my face but I soon I frowned and looked back at him.
"Do I still have to do the push-ups and get the breakfast?" I asked and he laughed and took his mask from me. He stood up, the cot creaked lightly and clicked the mask on, I heard it hiss lightly as he secured it on.
"Oh yeah, I did say that if I caught you, you would be punished. That's your punishment" He said and my mouth dropped as I looked at him.
"Oh come on!!" I whined out and fell back onto the bed, groaning as he laughed and I heard him leave the hut.
"No fair!!"
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Well, what did you think? Jane finally saw Nightblood's face! :D and there was an intimate moment between the two, but of course, Nightblood had to ruin it lol. But yeah, that's this chapter, stay tuned for the next chapter! Bye-Bye!