Author's Note: Here is another one-shot in response to my previous origins story, "Caboose's Origins." I was asked to do more, and even try to do one for each character. So here is one for Grif, the lazy orange one of Red Team.

A pair of siblings crouched low behind the fence. The older brother peered around to see the UNSC troops looking for him. The Great War was a full human effort, and the older brother was being drafted. But he didn't want to join in the war, as much as he hated aliens. Ever since their mother left for the circus, he has been responsible for his little sister. There was no way that the military would take him away from his family.

"Hey, Dex," whispered the sister from behind him. "Is the coast clear?"

"No, KaikaIna," replied Grif. "There's still a few soldiers around there." Grif's orange shirt didn't blend in well into the city, but Grif was surprisingly agile despite his weight, and he had been running from the army for three years.

"Can we go? I don't like it here, Dex," said KaikaIna worriedly.

Grif peered around the fence again. The soldiers were facing the other way, so Grif grabbed his sister and sprinted off in the opposite direction, toward their current motel hideout.

xXx

Dexter and KaikaIna Grif practically leaped through the door to their hotel room. KaikaIna quickly shut the door behind them. "Holy fuck," said Grif. "That was a lot closer than I wanted."

"I know," said KaikaIna. "But I appreciate your efforts." She smiled weakly. It hadn't been easy being on the run without parents.

Grif reached into his pockets and pulled out the candy bars he had swiped from the gas station. They didn't have money, so food was only available by stealing. Grif sure as hell wouldn't allow KaikaIna into prostitution, no matter how well it paid or how much KaikaIna wanted to do that.

KaikaIna immediately reached out for a candy bar and ate it. Grif sat down and ate his much more slowly. Even on the run, he appreciated the times when he could relax.

xXx

Ever since the Covenant found Reach, the Grif siblings were more on the run than ever before. UNSC troops were everywhere, and the two Grifs were having significantly more trouble. They largely remained separated during the day, making them much harder to catch. They only saw each other at night, when they retreated to a new motel hideout, which changed every night at random.

Dexter Grif found himself in a particularly sticky situation. Surrounding him were UNSC Marines, all searching for him. He had been losing weight because of starvation, so he rolled himself underneath a trailer and lifted himself up. He heard one soldier peer under the trailer where he was hiding, so Grif soft thud. The soldiers didn't hear him and they walked away from Grif's hiding spot. He rolled out from under the trailer and sprinted off.

Grif ran about five blocks before he saw his sister on the street corner. She was wearing her slutty clothes, big surprise, but was just standing around and talking to the various men that passed by her.

"God fucking damn it!" he shouted. "KaikaIna! What the fuck did I tell you?! Don't embarrass the fam-"

A UNSC soldier tackled Grif before he finished yelling. Grif was handcuffed and was pressed into the concrete. "Dexter Grif, you are hereby under arrest for draft avoidance. You are to be detained and immediately conscripted into the UNSC," said the soldier on top of him.

"KaikaIna!" shouted Grif. "Take care of yourself. DON'T EMBARRASS THE FAMILY!" Grif was dragged a way to the transport Warthog.

xXx

Grif walked out of the building where he took his final exam after basic training. He purposely bombed the test, hoping his low test scores would send him back home so he could resume caring for his sister.

xXx

Grif wore his new orange armor on his way to his deployment. He was pissed off beyond belief. "Fuck this shit, man," he said.

"Can it, Private," said the commanding officer.

"You know what, Sergeant? You can suck my dick. This is total bullshit. I failed that test, I shouldn't be here," replied Grif.

xXx

Grif looked up at the Red Base in the canyon. "THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT!" he shouted to the commanding officer.

"Private Grif, shut up!" called out Sarge. "You're here for a reason, and that reason is to kill some dirty Blues!"

"Shut the hell up, old man!" replied Grif. "I'm not doing anything here. I shouldn't be here in the first place!"