Even though Zuri had been a pain, Keta-ki was glad to have her back. She had been selfish, irresponsible, and foolish, but those were ooman traits and a part of why he liked her over the yautja females he was used to. Keta-ki could see why other yautjas disregarded them as mates, and thought of them only as prey though. After all, in the beginning of their relationship, she had tried to kill him in his sleep after he'd saved her life. In the end, Zuri had made the right decision though, and all was forgiven.

Still, that didn't mean that things were perfect between them. Zuri was still just as combative as ever, but she was working on it. It took several minutes to convince her that the baby would be fine alone. The hound was there protecting the house, they weren't traveling far, and a band around Meketre's wrist relayed his movements to Keta-ki's wrist controls. He finally got her out of the house, but his new vehicle had her unnerved again.

She stared at the sleek two-wheeled vehicle, and murmured, "It's not even your child and your having a mid-life crisis?"

Keta-ki tilted his head at her and merely responded, "Get on." Keta-ki easily swung his leg over the shiny metal construction and situated himself in the seat, with his arms on the rests and his fingers at the controls.

"Oh no, I'm not getting on an alien motorcycle. They're beyond dangerous."

The engine surged to life, "It is safe. Get on."

Zuri crossed her arms, "I wouldn't even get on a moped with you."

"Trust me."

He could sense her growing fear, but she took in a deep breath, and hoped up behind him. Zuri locked her arms around him, and he could feel her rapid heartbeats. As the engine roared and the vehicle jumped forward, she dug her nails into him. The vehicle gained speed, zipping through the streets, and leaning at every sharp turn. Zuri hid her face against his back.

When they came to a stop, Zuri asked, "Are we there? I have my eyes closed."

Keta-ki purred softly, "Yes, and you are safe."

Because of how the events unfolded, Keta-ki had a debt to settle with the merchant. He helped Zuri off the bike, then walked her into the market. Theft was uncommon, as it was dishonorable, and so the vehicle was left parked on the side of the road without worries. At the trial he'd thought to beat the male for turning Zuri in, but now he had different plans. As soon as they reached the booth, the yautja male recognized Zuri.

He was instantly defense and drew out his wrist blades, "It was the ooman that changed her mind. I was going to honor the agreement."

"I don't wish to challenge you."

He didn't retract the blades, "Then why are you here?"

"You took Zuri to Earth without receiving payment or goods. I would feel dishonorable without offering you something in trade."

Finally, the male relaxed and put away the wrist blades, "I don't require any reimbursement from you. The elder at the trial rewarded me with honor, and invited me to a banquet with many highly ranked females. We are even."

Keta-ki gave a nod of thanks, and then it was back on the motorcycle.

Back home, Zuri had an admission, "They made sure to make it seem like I didn't leave the ship, but that was actually a lie. After I changed my mind, I ran to go get something first...I had them deliver it to the house and when we got back I hid it before you saw it."

He curiously watched Zuri go into the bedroom and get something out of one of the in-wall storage bins. She hid it behind her back until she walked back to him, then handed it over. Weapons were a yautja specialty, and Keta-ki immediately recognized it as an ancient atlatl-type weapon. It had a long wooden shaft used for throwing darts, and was a very accurate and fast primitive weapon. At one end, a small crocodile was carved out of the wood.

"My grandmother gave it to me. It's called a hul'che. Supposedly, my ancestors used it...but I know how yautjas like weapons, and you have a few other obsolete weapons and collectables, so I got it for you. Do you like it?"

Keta-ki examined the artifact. Zuri could have left the ship and gone to see her friends one last time, or said goodbye to her family. Instead, she had run to her house to get him a gift. A gift from a female was a rare and very honored occurrence to his species. Keta-ki had never had the privilege of gaining a gift from a female, until Zuri.

"I will set it among my best trophies."

Zuri beamed up at him happily. She was working up to be a devoted mate, but they still had many issues to work through. The yautja that had pushed Uri into crime had been positively identified. The problem was, the yautja could not be caught, and had disappeared along with a handful of experienced bounty hunters that had gone after him. Keta-ki was offered the full status of arbitrator, if he could find the perpetrator.

To do that, he would have to leave Zuri and Meketre for periods of time. He already had someone lined up to take Meketre in case something were to happen to him, but he would need someone to look after Zuri as well. Meketre would need to be trained too. To become an arbitrator was what Keta-ki had always striven for. He would only be gone for weeks at a time, then could return to his mate. When he mentioned finding Meketre a training master though, Zuri became distressed.

"I felt like I was making the hardest decision of my life, leaving him, and then I couldn't do it." Her fingers went into her hair, "Now, you want to hand him over to a stranger, to be trained? I don't get this alien culture!"

"On Earth, your pups attend school."

"Yea, but it's just for part of the day, then they are back. You are talking about some sort of military school, and he's so young!"

"We can have as much involvement in his training as we wish." Some pups were handed over as infants, then didn't return until after their chiva. However, with Zuri, he knew things wouldn't be that simple.

"How often can I see him?"

"Once a week should be enough."

"...I'll only be able to see my baby once a week?"

Her eyes were glazing over, but Keta-ki tried to remain firm, "Once a week you will see how strong your pup has grown, and see the skills he has learned."

Zuri held in tears, but he could tell that at any moment the dam would break. So he said, "We will discuss this later."

Keta-ki knew very well though, that he would not be discussing it later. Zuri was not stable enough for him to dictate how Meketre was raised. Becoming an arbitrator could wait, and he'd allow Zuri to keep this one pup. When she became pregnant again, offspring of his blood would be sent off to be trained. Until then, someone else could go after the badblood.

~Das ende~ (German for "the end")