Takhal grimaced in disgust at the poor recovery Korvahn made after completing his strike.

"No!" Takhal growled. "Just because you have successfully hit your opponent does not mean you can relax your guard. A downed foe is the most dangerous adversary you can have. That is when they will forsake their honor! You must watch them closely at such times."

"Honored Takhal has the right of it. A downed or defeated opponent will often forsake their honor to win or survive. When they are down is when they are the most dangerous." Kwei Hult'ah added solemnly.

"I understand Elder." Korvahn replied evenly.

"Good! Never underestimate your opponent! Even if they prove to be less skilled than you are, they may still know something that you do not. A single strike or maneuver can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Unless you know they are dead, never let your guard down!" Ne'Tahl replied seriously.

Kwei Hult'ah nodded appreciation of how the four females worked together as they trained the pups of other Clans. In the four lunar cycles that these females had been teaching others their combat skills, he had seen that the training was altered for each individual pup. It was something that hadn't been done before. Because of the unique training that each pup received, it was clear that every pup was being trained to their fullest potential. There was almost no preference shown to anyone! Ahman'Dha received the same harsh criticism as the others, but he had also noticed that the ooman girl wasn't commended anywhere nearly as often as other trainees. Still, it could not be denied that there was a notable improvement in the skills displayed by all of the trainees.

"You have all been progressing properly with most types of weapons. Now you will begin to learn about thrown weapons. This is not a skill that is easily mastered. Some… will have a natural skill for it. Ahman'Dha is one of those who have that ability. I have yet to meet anyone… even an Elder who can match her skill or speed with a thrown weapon and many in our Clan have tried!" Takhal stated clearly.

"Ahman'Dha, you know better than anyone else what you need to improve in that area, so you are to go do so." Kre'Gel said before gesturing at a distant field. "Proceed to the most distant target and begin your practice."

"The rest of you will accompany us to another target field. Where we will begin to teach you to use these weapons." Ne'Tahl commanded.

"Why does Ahman'Dha practice alone?" Korvahn asked sullenly.

"Because her skill with a thrown weapon exceeds that of everyone here, and I readily include myself and the other Elders in that!" Gre'Cham replied sternly.

As the large group of students followed the instructing females to another field, Kwei Hult'ah decided to follow the lone ooman. He tilted his head in curiosity when she stopped more than two and a half times the normal throwing range from the target. His eyes grew large in surprise when she took up a ready position and prepared a knife in her right hand. This was most unexpected! That was when the little ooman blurred into action. The knife almost seemed to teleport from her hand into the exact center of the target because her throw was just that fast! Now he clearly understood why he had never seen the ooman being trained with a thrown weapon.

Kwei Hult'ah remembered being told that the speed and skill of the ooman could not be matched and now, he had just seen the proof of it. That pup of an ooman could defeat anyone with a thrown weapon!

Ahman'Dha was quite pleased with her skill at thrown weapons. Her Elders, Mommy, and Grandma had praised her skill many times, but she was still determined to improve. Mommy and many of the Elders in her Clan had taught her how to throw many of the weapons that she was now perfectly comfortable in using.

Ahman'Dha knew that she had to be careful about her speed though. Granted, she was a lot faster than everyone else, but she wasn't as strong as the Yautja who surrounded her. It made a difference in that she could swing a sword or spear much faster than they could, but she would never be able to block a strike from a Yautja opponent.

As time passed, Ahman'Dha grew stronger under the watchful eyes of Kre'Gel. The Yautja Huntress guided and instructed Ahman'Dha in the use of weights to build and strengthen her muscles. She made certain that her ooman Clan member grew as strong as possible under her guidance. Although she was constantly amazed by the incredible speed that Ahman'Dha possessed, Kre'Gel continued to be annoyed by the low strength Ahman'Dha had. At ten and a half years of age, the little ooman was positively covered in bulging muscles! The muscles of the pup were more prominent than any four Elders could display. The little ooman was proud of what she'd accomplished, because her skill with sword, spear, and wrist blades now relied on her speed to deliver lethal strikes that were too fast to be blocked. The same thing occurred with her unarmed fighting. She would deliver a series of strikes against an opponent and then move around them so swiftly that they simply could not keep up. Kre'Gel couldn't help but smile at the thought of how Ahman'Dha would perform on her Chiva.

BREAK

Ne'Tahl looked Ahman'Dha up and down very carefully! She couldn't stop the proud smile that spread her mandibles. Her daughter had passed the Chiva. At a mere sixteen years of age, Ahman'Dha had proven her worth as a Warrior! Her daughter had collected seven skulls from the Hard Meat, nineteen tail blades from drones, and no less than ten tail blades from Praetorians! There were scores of teeth and claws, but that one skull of a Praetorian along with six skulls from drones was something some Arbitrators would have difficulty achieving!

Ne'Tahl proudly pulled her ooman daughter into a firm embrace. "You've done very well, but I see that you do not have your plasma caster with you. Why not?"

"I let that get destroyed when I got surrounded by a lot of drones before I had made a single kill. I had to either accept an injury or sacrifice that piece of my equipment in order to kill enough of them to get some distance. I allowed my plasma caster to take the damage, so that I didn't! Once that one drone was stupid enough to make that attack, I was able to start killing the others. I actually got four kills with my wrist blades before they melted from the acid." Ahman'Dha replied.

"How did you manage to become surrounded?" Takhal demanded sternly, although she was very impressed with just how fast Ahman'Dha had proven to be. She knew that the Hard Meat blood began to destroy metal the instant contact was made. One kill was possible, for two to be made some one would have to be exceptionally fast, but Ahman'Dha had made four!

"I… I was overconfident in my abilities Elder Takhal. They were able to sneak up on me, and it's a mistake that I shouldn't have made. You helped train me better than that." Ahman'Dha admitted sadly.

"Everyone makes a mistake during their Chiva! Some learn from that mistake, others do not survive to learn from it." Takhal said seriously. "That you know what mistake you made, and are uninjured, shows that you heeded the lesson you learned from it."

"That I did, Elder Takhal. It's a mistake I will not be making again." Ahman'Dha said seriously.

"Good!" Gre'Cham said in approval.

Ahman'Dha was quite proud of herself. She knew that she was barely more than a third of the normal age of a candidate for a Chiva, and yet she had prevailed! She had survived and triumphed where many others tried and died.

Ne'Tahl was quite pleased with this situation. In a little less than ten years, the ooman pup had successfully completed her Chiva. Technically Ahman'Dha was still a pup because of her age, yet the little ooman was now considered a Youngblood because of what she'd achieved. She would readily admit that she had not wanted to serve as Ahman'Dha's mother in the beginning, but the little ooman had been persistent. Now, it was a complete reversal of her previous position. Ahman'Dha's courage and bravery as the ooman strived to be like her was beyond compare. There was no way that she'd give the ooman up for any reason!

"You have many tail blades from Praetorians, but only one of their skulls with you… why is that?" Kre'Gel asked sternly.

"I do not have the strength to carry all of my trophies Elder Kre'Gel. I could have claimed three more skulls from drones or two more skulls from the Praetorians, but if I brought back three Praetorian skulls, I wouldn't be able to carry anything else. If I had brought only the skulls of drones, I would have a total of nine skulls. The combination that I chose displays the quality and quantity of my kills." Ahman'Dha answered respectfully.

"It seems that you made an admirable choice. What did you do with the other skulls?" Ne'Tahl asked.

"I had to destroy them Mommy. I will not allow someone else to take credit for my kills." Ahman'Dha said sadly.

"That is often the way of a hunt. Sometimes you must choose what you will claim and what must be left behind. Only with the Hard Meat is this allowed! With anything else, you must claim all of your kill if it can be eaten or used." Takhal instructed.

"Of course Elder Takhal. If it is for food, never hunt more than is needed. If it's for trophies, claim as much as possible so that you do not waste an honorable kill. It shows disrespect to a worthy opponent." Ahman'Dha replied seriously.

"Good. You need to go tend to your awu'asa, your trophies, and your weapons. We are already traveling back to the grounds of the Clan. Congratulations on your achievement Youngblood!" Kre'Gel stated.

"At once Elder Kre'Gel!" Ahman'Dha answered before she left.

Ahman'Dha couldn't have felt more proud. She had struggled to learn every combat technique that each one of her Elders showed her. It had taken some time, no where near as much as normal, but she had mastered every combat method she'd been taught. She still wasn't any thing close to being as strong as her Mommy though. That was something that she knew she'd never achieve, but she still did her absolute best to make her Mommy proud of her. It was something that meant more to her than anything else… Mommy's approval.

Ne'Tahl watched her ooman daughter leave to tend to her trophies and equipment. She was more than well aware that Ahman'Dha was far below the normal age for taking a Chiva. Ahman'Dha had prevailed in spite of her youth and her smaller size. It was something to be proud of, and she was very proud of her ooman daughter. She knew that her mother would be just as pleased with the results of Ahman'Dha's Chiva.

When the ship had returned to Yaut and landed, Ne'Tahl was proud to carry the skull of the Praetorian. Takhal, Gre'Cham, and Kre'Gel each carried the skulls of two drones, while Ahman'Dha carried the teeth and tail blades in a bag. Her daughter was a Youngblood now, even though she was also a pup. It was a strange situation that had never been encountered before, but then no ooman pup had ever been trained before.

Guan R'ka remained silent as her ooman granddaughter emerged from the ship and appeared to be uninjured. She noted the females, her daughter among them, who carried the ooman's trophies while noting that each female carried at least one skull while most carried two. Six drones and a Praetorian! Ahman'Dha had done extremely well on her Chiva. Although she was immensely glad that Ahman'Dha had returned safely, she was saddened by the loss of the other two candidates even though they had been from other Clans. It was the reasoning for the Chiva. Only the most skilled and intelligent would survive to become adults.

Da'Nan flared his mandibles in pride when he saw Ahman'Dha walk down the ramp leading from the ship. It was clear that the little ooman had been victorious while taking her Chiva. That was when he noticed that she didn't even appear to be injured. He could see that his efforts to enhance the little ooman had worked. All of his hard work, combined with Ahman'Dha's determination had paid off. He was more than pleased with the result, even though it was definitely something that he would never attempt again.

Chakak saw the skulls that the females carried and couldn't help but feel somehow responsible for such a feat. The ooman pup he'd rescued so many moons ago had now passed a Chiva in such a way that no one could doubt her skill. He knew that if he'd decided to do nothing, that Ahman'Dha would now be dead. What he saw leaving the ship made him very glad that he'd decided to get involved that night.

Hulij-bpe Thwei was stunned. That little ooman he'd once threatened had just become a Blooded Warrior of impressive skill. He couldn't blame the ooman for his current position, because he knew that he had truly been at fault that day. That most certainly didn't stop him from hating the little ooman though. With the sole exception of the trophies he'd earned, the home he'd once had and everything in it were now hers. That galled him to no end.

Kwei Hult'ah looked at the scene before him in approval. It was going to be many years before another student from his training camp would be qualified to take the Chiva. Even though he was not a member of her Clan, Ahman'Dha had received much of her training at his camp, the Elders who taught there and from him. He'd known that the ooman was treasured as soon as he'd seen her. The way she'd been dressed had boldly declared her status to all who bothered to look. Now the little ooman had made a triumphant return from her Chiva and it was plain to see that most of her Clan was proud of her achievement.