On a dark and positively dreary day at the Yeerk pool, the young human host Aurora Brownfield sat miserably in the metal cage. It would be her only free time for three whole days, what with the cursed slug in her. She wanted to believe that she hated Armine five-six-eight more than anything else in the world. But the truth of the matter was, Armine wasn't a particularly cruel Yeerk. She didn't taunt Aurora very much or torture her by replaying horrible memories (not that she had very many). Mainly she just left her alone, ignoring her.

Perhaps it would have been easier to hate the Yeerk if the Yeerk acted cruelly towards her.

Aurora sighed and glanced at her watch. Ten more minutes. As boring as it was to just sit in a cage for two hours, being able to do almost nothing to entertain herself, what would come next would be worse. There was nothing worse in her fourteen year old mind than reinfestation after two hours of freedom.

Again, she looked around at the cage. Looked for a means of escape. It was relatively empty. One human boy was sitting next to her, sobbing. He looked like he was about eighteen or so.

Could she use one of her hair pieces to pick the lock?

It was certainly worth a try.

But just then, the Hork-Bajir guards opened the door and grabbed at her. As usual, she put up a fight, resisting as much as she could. Anything to delay infestation for a few more minutes. She screamed, yelled, cursed, hissed, and spat at the Hork-Bajir, but, of course, they won in the end.

They always did.

They dragged her into the line and pushed her head into the water. She struggled as much as she could. She tried to move her head out of the way, tried to put her hands over her ears to prevent that vile Yeerk from entering her head.

Of course, it was pointless as usual.

Armine entered her head and slowly paralyzed the young girl, until the only screams that were head were the ones in her head.

Tiresome girl; Evil worm, the host and Yeerk thought at the same time, each heard by the other.

Had the two been members of the same species, this perhaps would have been the cause for laughter. Aurora only mentally clenched her teeth and fumed inwardly, ignoring the slug.

Armine sighed.

Must you always carry on like that? It makes reinfestation much more painful than it needs to be. Armine spoke as though she were a parent scolding a four year old.

So says the body snatcher.

I realize that I am not your favorite person in the world, Armine continued, but what have I done to you, aside from infest you, that was so terrible? I haven't even looked at all of your memories yet. I haven't tortured you once. Many would be glad to have me as a Yeerk. Didn't realize I should feel so grateful. Excuse me, o mighty Yeerk.

Armine sighed.

We'll be back here tomorrow night, Aurora

Why's that?

Innis captured the escafil device. We're going to be made morph capable.

I'll trap myself.

I wish you wouldn't. Armine sounded wistful. We'd have to stun you every three days, and I know how much you enjoy your temporary freedom.

And whose fault is that?

Aurora saw her Yeerk as the enemy. Tolerate it, fight it, don't give up. Never stoop down to being any more civil to it than absolutely necessary unless they do something to earn this. After all, a host still controlled his/her thoughts, his/her feelings. Therefore why should he/she give them up, sink to lower than the Yeerk itself by making the Yeerk's task easier? Maybe hosts chose to be involuntary simply because of the hatred the involuntary hosts had of the voluntary ones.

Yours, if you're going to act that way. At least consider it.

Aurora turned away.

Aurora, is it really that bad? Armine questioned. I don't harm you. There are those that would. I haven't tried to take your family yet.

You still have me.

Armine didn't particularly want to join the peace movement (aka the rebels). While she didn't enjoy infesting an involuntary host, she had no severe qualms about doing so. One would argue that this was because of her Yeerk training, her environment. She disliked the fact, for example, that Aurora hated her and wished that she was dead. She would have preferred to have Aurora, or any human host for that matter, be willing and agreeable.

But this point of view probably came from infesting a voluntary twenty year old male, who understood the advantages of having a Yeerk inside one's head that had not even occurred to Armine until she thought them over.

And then she had been reassigned to Armine.

Armine thought back again to the days of her other human host. How well the two had gotten along. Armine had expected the worse, had been warned about the potential host rebellions and the unending screams. But the host's mind had been filled with innocent inquiries, none of which were accusatory. No anger was in his mind, though there was some anxiety at first. Mainly the host had been curious. They had never fought. The host was content to merely watch the world, and whatever word he spoke towards Armine was a decent one.

Yet Armine knew that the human had changed something in her, had made some part of her less cruel, less ready to break a host's mind without problems. Armine and the host had shared something resembling a friendship, which was much closer than most Yeerks became with hosts.

Armine began to imagine, began to picture what might have happened if Aurora could understand. The human boy knew the Yeerk perspective so well that Armine thought he must have been a Yeerk nothlit before. But he hadn't been- he had just been a regular boy.

I wish it didn't have to be like this. I wish- I wish that you could understand. I don't like this. I didn't- didn't use to mind. But that's all over now. It's too late, for better or for worse, I understand humans now. I don't feel resentment, anger, envy, hatred, or anything like that to your kind. If only I could tell you this. If only. . . were the Yeerk's thoughts, nowhere nearly as organized as they were collected here. Nowhere near as comprehensive, for Armine only knew scatters of what she wanted. She often imagined being free from a host, but she knew that even the morphing power she would receive the next day would go to her host, not her.

She was a pawn.