Thorned Sea Star
Disclaimer: Gundam Seed Destiny and its characters belong to their respected owners.
Notes: Phantom Pain mood.
AuelxStellar The first time I met her, she punched me –When Auel Neider met Stellar Loussier, he found the dangers and charms of the golden-haired sea star.
The first time I met her, she punched me…
He truly didn't say much, only enough to aggravate her.
To put him at fault for that was nevertheless reasonable, though the captain of the force intended to sway it aside as an "experimental factor". After all, this was the first time the members of the Extend force met, despite the fact that they had been with each other in the same lab throughout their entire life.
Auel Neider had said it casually. It was only a few words that he didn't care about. It wasn't even towards her. He couldn't even remember exactly what he said then. It was only something along the immature lines of Neo being a loser for taking the Phantom Pain.
He couldn't understand why that made her this way.
But in any case, Stellar Loussier became a whole new person after his remark.
She swung a punch at him. It hit him with full force, making him stumble. He blinked and processed the situation. Being one of the top experimental Extends, he had never been caught off guard. In that place, if you're off even by a little, you're considered a failure. Failures are not tolerable.
He glared and gave a battle cry before tackling her. This was the response of an Extend: kill or be killed. The surrounding Alliance squads surrounded the two in panic. Heavy vests and guns were no help at this point.
They didn't even manage to touch them when the blond-haired Extend kicked him off, throwing him into the unsuspecting arms of the soldiers. They immediately restrained him to refrain him from attacking again, finding it hard to keep the seemingly teenage boy steady.
She cried and lunged at him, grabbing his throat and shoving him down with her weight above him. The nearby soldiers lost grip of the blue-haired Extend and were forced to regroup. Their strengths combined were barely enough to tear the screaming girl away from Auel.
Only a few bothered to hold the choking teen as he recovered. The rest of the crew was having a much more difficult time restraining the female Extend. She had a dangerous glare that spelled death fixed upon the blue-haired boy, who only glare back in return.
"All right, that's enough."
Everything ended only after the new captain of the crew appeared, demonstrating his authority in the situation. The soldiers holding the two relaxed when they felt the tense muscles of the Extends loosen. Although the death glare from the blond-haired girl did not diminish.
Auel jerked his arms away from the soldiers. They watched him uneasily as he dusted his shoulders and turn his face away in an arrogant manner. She had demonstrated her power to catch him off guard. He was alert and aware, but he was also undignified. To make the best of it, he spoke coolly, "You should just go and die."
There was a brief pause of silence.
He turned away smugly and was beginning to walk away until her heard whimpers. Half curiously, he glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to find the girl, the same girl who had fought him a moment ago, the same girl who attacked him off guard, the same girl who dealt damage to his pride, with her eyes wide and mouth ajar. She shook violently and emitted strange, high pitched squeaks.
At first he thought it was funny, and though she looked pathetic like that. He was about to walk away again when she started screaming.
He turned.
She trashed around, screamed, and shouted words: "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I'm afraid!"
His eyes opened wide when she began to throw those retaining her aside with powerful blows, Things got rough, and he could only stand in surprise while the soldiers around her condensed in order to keep her down. The captain himself had to go to her. He stepped away. A group of experiment team arrived to the top floor and rushed past him, bringing machineries of different sorts along.
Auel found himself standing next to an unknown green-haired male. He had been observing all this time with his arms crossed. Noticing the blue-haired Extend, he scoffed, "Now you've done it."
On the first day, Neo Lorrnoke reported that two of the Extends engaged in physical combat without order, and a block word had been coincidentally activated in one of the two.
-0-0-0-
He didn't want to see her, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. He wasn't apologetic, far from it. He had no regrets for the words he said. It was her own fault for reacting that way. No one punished him for that either, thus he felt that he had done no wrong. They only told him to never say die to her, if possible, ever.
Auel shrugged. He didn't care. But he was aware of his situation, he was fully aware of the dangers. He wouldn't he caught off guard twice. So he looked for ways to avoid her, to escape those glowing eyes of hers. A star is beautiful, but it was burning hot to the touch. He didn't want to be near it. He didn't want to be a part of it in any way.
That was why he was shocked that day.
A missed bullet couldn't have hit her, she would've avoided it. Even if she didn't, it would've only cause minor damage. Or if it did cause damage, it wouldn't have been his fault. It would've been none of his business. He came from the training ground. One of the soldiers had misfired, causing a loose bullet to fly overhead.
Stellar was sitting on the edge of the ship, gazing at the sparkling ocean without much thought. Auel coincidentally came out to the same deck. He saw the flying bullet. It came toward the oblivious golden-haired girl as time slowed down for him. In a usual case, he would stand his ground, or if it was coming towards him, dodge. But this time was different, this time something triggered a memory.
It was memory of a long-haired woman with kind eyes. Her pale blond hair blinded his vision momentarily.
"Auel!" Her voice rang clear in his mind. An unfamiliar flashback shot through him. There was a misfired shot was coming towards him, the small blue-haired boy stood still, unable to process the situation. A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the warm and protective arms of the pale-blonde.
He ran. He grabbed her surprised wrist and pulled her to him, brushing her soft cheek to his bare chest, for he had never felt the need to fully button up his shirt. He held her so they pressed against each other, pushing her down, shielding her. A stinging jolt hit his shoulder, followed by a spurt of blood. He didn't notice it.
The two landed on the hard floor. Neither said anything.
Auel picked himself up and looked away from their uncomfortable positions. Stellar blinked. Her golden hair spread on the floor along with her long white sleeves. She blinked curiously, unaware of what was happening. She only began to understand when the two sat up. Auel took off his uniform jacket to look at his bleeding shoulder. Finding the wound, he shrugged at the small damage it inflicted.
"Why did…Auel save Stellar?"
He look at her strangely, his blue eyes uncertain of his response. The only thing he could make was an awkward sound
He was about to put his coat back on when she held his wrist and dabbed his bloodied wound gently with her sleeve with such gentleness that he could never fathom she withhold. She ripped a piece of cloth and bandaged it.
Patting her work softly, she murmured, "Stellar thought…Auel hates Stellar…"
He looked away, his blue eyes cast towards anywhere but her. He didn't want to give in to the unfamiliar feeling rising to his cheeks. He shrugged casually, or as casually as he could, that is. He pulled his jacket over his shoulder and stood up. Taking quick steps in order to distance himself with her, he spoke, purposely using a scoffing tone.
"I don't hate you."
Thinking back about the time she wounded him, he halted. For a moment he wanted to make another remark at her, to put himself higher. But another part of him simply stood out of the ordinary. He looked up towards the sky, fixing his eyes on nothing in particular. Casually, he said, "We're having target practice. You're coming in too right?"
He felt a hug from behind. He blinked. He had not expected this.
"Stellar is glad…Auel doesn't hate Stellar."
She released him after the brief half-hug and danced towards the entrance to the ship. Her long white sleeves flowed with her movements, creating ribbons around her, ignoring the tear by the edge of one sleeve.
Not being the first time, he thought back to the first day, the day that didn't make a lasting first-impression. He felt humiliated, but she did not deal with it any better. Softly, he said. "Sorry."
"Is Auel coming?"
She was a star of the sea, a thorned sea star that was forever bound to the water. Like the ocean, she was dangerous, but she had beauty and charms as well; Charms that captured the attention of Auel Neider.
"Yeah."
-Fin-