9: We hunt
When Camille turned towards the voice, she wasn't sure what scared her more; the enormous Draygonian male towering over her or the creature approaching her.
It took just a split second for her mind to register that the creature wasn't something she had seen before and it was the size of a large dog. Instead of fur though, it had smooth skin like a snake. Thick muscled legs gave way to giant paws that looked like they belonged on a tiger or lion. The body was similar to a dog with a broad chest, thick neck with what appeared to be gills that opened and closed with each breath and a long thick tail that flicked like a cat's tail would. Its head was equally unusual. Camille had never seen an animal like it. It was similar to the head of a komodo dragon but much larger and the maw was a little stubbier. Two black eyes watched her curiously as the nostrils flared to take in any scents sitting in the air. Whatever it was was a sandy colour with darker spots much like a leopard.
The sight of the alien beast along with its sharp teeth and equally sharp claws was enough to elicit a scream from Camille who scrambled away quickly to put space between them. The creature was surprised by the noise but suddenly bowed like a dog wanting to play as a sound similar to a tiger growl escaped its mouth. Its thick muscular tail swished and flicked behind it playfully.
"Hunter, away from her." Jag's voice was calm but held a level of authority that had the strange beast lifting its head towards him.
A soft squeal like the chirp of a cheetah left the monster, one giant paw lifting as if to take a step towards its prey.
"Hunter." Jag warned.
The creature let out a displeased huff at having its fun spoiled, head bowing as it padded towards one of the couches and disappeared behind it no doubt to sulk.
Camille watched the exchange with wide eyes, her heart was still racing in her ribcage. Her eyes flicked from the blue warrior still towering over her to where the strange and terrifying creature had disappeared to. What the hell was that? And why was this man here? Was this his office? Oh god, it was, wasn't it? Movement from the corner of her vision forced a whimper from her and she flinched away from it only to realise it was Jag moving towards her.
"Hey, easy there, it's just me." Jag held his hands up in a sign of peace. There was a rare softness to his features when he realised he had started the human, his movement slowing a little. “You’re safe.”
"Wh-what was that?" Camille stammered.
"That is Hunter. Don't worry, he's harmless." Jag replied gently. "He just gets excited when he meets new people."
Camille couldn't say she was convinced that Hunter wasn’t harmless but Jag's golden gaze on her was oddly soothing. Her heart began to slow and that feeling she recalled experiencing the first time they met began to radiate through her like the warm rays of the sun. She hesitantly took his hand when he offered it to her to help her to her feet. The warmth of Jag's skin surprised the blonde and she bit back a gasp, cheeks flushing pink as she tried not to make a fool of herself. It seemed nearly impossible especially when her heart started to flutter again like the wings of a hummingbird and butterflies filled her stomach. She felt the pang of disappointment bloomed like an ugly cloud inside of her when Jag dropped her hand. The alien hesitated, his eyes burning into Camille for a moment as if wanted to say something or grab her hand again or more…
“What happened here?” Jag finally broke the silence, glowing eyes travelling to parts still scattered on the floor and then the part still in Camille’s hand.
“I-I’m sorry,” Camille looked at the pieces then the male before her. “I was cleaning and knocked it over. It was an accident and I promise I will pay for it–”
“Leave it.” Jag cut in, voice low and dismissive. “I have an important call about to start so please can you leave?”
Camille frowned, mistaking Jag’s dismissal at the broken statue to be dismissal of her explanation. Shame crept in, sending heat licking up her neck, cheeks and ears until it almost hurt. Of course he would be upset she broke something of his but did he really have to be so harsh about it?
She then remembered Charlotte had warned her Jag was known for being an asshole.
“O-of c-course, sir.” Camille nodded, grabbing the cloth and bottle of polish she had dropped on the floor.
“And Emma?” Jag glanced up from his desk. “Try not to break anything else on the way out.”
"You said what?" Kal barked, eyes flashing with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"She broke something that wasn't hers." Jag replied calmly, watching Kal pacing.
"So?" Kal retorted.
It had been a little less than an hour since Jag had walked into his office to find their blonde female on the floor with parts of a gift from his nephew around her. He sighed tiredly as Kal continued to pace like a mad man while the door opened sending Hunter scrambling off the couch he was lazed on. The copper-headed taego let out a shrill that dropped into a deeper growl as he greeted Sid.
"Hey big guy!" Sid chuckled, giving Hunter's muscled back a pat. "What's going on here?"
"Well Jag here basically sent Emma running for the hills." Kal grumbled, shooting Jag a glare.
"Huh?" Sid frowned in confusion, collapsing into a seat and letting taego sprawl out on his lap.
"She broke the statue Nez bought me." Jag shrugged. "And I didn't scare her off. I had a meeting so I had to ask her to leave. I also suggested she be more careful when leaving."
"More like scaring her death."
Sid snorted at this and shook his head. "Trust me our female might be small but she has a fighting spirit under all that shyness. Also you hated that thing so what if she broke it? She was doing you a favour."
"Wait, what do you mean she has a fighting spirit?" Kal stopped his mad pacing and raised a powdery white eyebrow at his friend.
"I was teaching a self defence class she was in." Sid shrugged. "Turns out she used to practise one of the human fighting disciplines and she was pretty good."
Jag had remained quiet not because he was avoiding the conversation but to process the information Sid had casually shared with them. He wasn't embarrassed to admit he might have been a bit angry about someone he barely knew being in his space but while there had been annoyance in his words, he had very much been aware of how Emma's skin had felt against his. He had seen a shift in her aura when they touched. The suffocating blackness had receded for a few long seconds as the air around Emma seemed to brighten and shimmer brilliantly. It had been further proof to him that Emma was indeed his female. Her aura had opened up to him like a delicate flower unfurling in the summer sun only to shrink away when the dark clouds returned. It was obvious the blonde human held secrets that Jag wanted to pick apart until there was nothing left to hide but it was impressive to know that despite her willowy appearance, Emma was a fighter.
"Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about broken gifts." Sid announced as Hunter let out a small roar and rolled on his back for a tummy scratch. "I've just come back from a debriefing with Delta unit. They were carrying out a routine reconnaissance mission but they came across evidence that the terrorist groups have gotten hold of information about several of the Arks and certain weapon schematics."
"Goddesses, just what we need." Kal grumbled.
"What they found was old information about the Arks." Sid continued calmly. "And even then the information wasn't anything important. There was no potential breach in security because of the files found---"
"But there is a potential breach because someone has given the files to known terrorists." Jag finished. "You said something about weapon schematics being found as well."
"Yeah and believe it or not, that was the strange part." Sid replied. "It was for the weapons guarding the rings and satellites."
"Okay but we all know that those guns are designed not to hit Draygonian technology. The failsafe was put in so they could never be used on us." Kal finally sat down, arms resting on his knees. "It's not a secret either. So it makes no sense why they would have that stuff.”
"I think the bigger issue right now is that someone has gotten hold of this information." Jag pointed out. "The question is, do we have a traitor in our ranks and if so, how?"
It wasn't a thought that Jag wanted to have but they needed to find out how information like this had landed in the hands of terrorists. It was a huge breach even if the data stolen was now obsolete.
"So what do we do?” Sid asked.
“What Draygonians do best,” Jag stood, walking to his desk to start making calls. “We hunt.”
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