Relations

                                        

                                              
The two aliens trailed along after the retreating figure, Tokala panting in pain as the stump  of his arm bled faster with exhertion. He held a sealing pad to teh stump to cauterize the wound. A wave of nausea hit him as he felt the flesh sizzle and burn shut. He kept in the moan of pain by biting through his lip. His face stretched out into a muzzle. His charge, Nahuel kept a firm grip on his Mentor's arm and in turn was held in a solid grasp by the alien leading them.
                              
The Pantharni found it hard sometimes to get a proper grip into the cement with their claws. The alien leading them seemed quite fleet of foot, having a better time gripping hte ground in strange looking shoes. They fit closely to teh foot with a designated area for each toe.
                              
Behind them crashed the massive form of the albino Aeyeay. It brushed the ruin walls, scraping the ichor away and scoring flesh. They were scuttling down a covered walkway. It had once been the garden walkway of a city park, the flowers long over taken by weeds and ivy. The slim figure ahead of them dodged through gaps in the plants as if assured they would remove themselves from the way forward. And yet they never tripped, never tangled up; somehow their guide kept them clear, trusting them to keep up. Nahuel would never have assumed an alien would have been able to out chase two Pantharni hunters but somehow this one did.
                              
Each bend and twist through teh strong, hanging vine slowed their attacker, dragging and grasping at it until it slowed. They fell into darkness as their guide had them switch into a stoned in, narrow hallway. Their hunter slammed on past them, unaware that it's prey had escaped away. The three of them didn't stop though, chasing their own echoes as they dashed towards safety. After nearly ten minutes of sprinting away, their guide slowed finally, allowing all three to regain their ragged breath.
                              
"Master, how are you faring?" Nahuel asked his Mentor. Tokala was pale under his hair, eyes dull and breath gasping.
                              
Tokala held up his now cauterized wrist. "I'm fine, just need to catch my breath." he panted.
                              
Their alien guide strode ahead of them, hushing them from talking. They watched thier guide's cautious progression as it seemed to be looking for markers along the way. Eventually all three had to crawl/slide their way through a narrow tunnel, the Pantharni forced to push their bags along in front and feel the close scraping of the tunnel wall on their large shoulders. Tokala's tail swished in tension, slapping the walls and indicating his discomfort. Finally they emerged out into a larger room.
                              
Immediately they noticed several primitive weapons pointed at them. They were old but they looked effective, so both aliens stood absolutely still, hoping that their guide was a persuasive talker.
                              
"I bear news and have guests, let me bring them through and speak to Daniel." their guide commanded, language still indescipherable to to the larger aliens. Thankfully their armour was still in passive mode so they appeared unarmed. The guards stood watching them, threatening and alert. Their guide was silent, waiting with required patience until two of the guards parted and allowed them through.
                              
Once more the Pantharni followed silently behind, no longer hanging onto each other. Every soul they passed in these upper tunnels were masked, cloaked against the sneaking mist. It was thinner here, blocked away by stone walls and ceilings but it wasn't until they were escorted through a sealed stairwell and entered a deeper level that the mist fell away completly. Finally the Pantharni were able to see the alien species without concealing protection.
                              
The aliens were flesh faced, bearing two eyes, a flatish nose and a mouth that bore no fangs. Nahuel recognized them as matching the description of the Human race; aliens known to have been advanced and cunning colonizers until a civil war forced them away from this quadrant of space. They hadn't been seen in generations, and it surprised the Pantharni greatly to see so many of them here.