A/N: Re, om'a ei! (For all you non-Sangheili speakers, it means Hey, it's me!) Hope you're all enjoying the story so far! I'm very happy with the follows and the review, it's all helping boost my author morale! Anyway, here's the next chapter. If you noticed I bumped the rating down to T, don't worry, I have plans… Thanks! Ei slee hwah…

Avery sat, resigned to his thoughts, in his now empty cell. It had been only a few minutes since his fight with the Elite, let alone a female. At first, he felt shame at the fact that he was almost killed by a woman, but turned more to confusion, wondering if the Covenant military was more like his own. He thought back to the few battles he has taken part in, recalling the gruesome details of his teammates being torn apart by alien species, or of himself firing endlessly at hordes of them. How many of those, those things were female? He questioned his own ethics, knowing now that he broke his own code to never hurt a woman.

As his mind raced, stress building, Reyo returned with two trays of… red meat. He had half expected some neon, glowing creature still alive squirming about on a plate. Seeing how he was wrong, he sighed, seeing the door click open.

"I have returned as promised, Specialist Av-eary O'Shay" He couldn't help but chuckle at the pronunciation of his name.

"Avery." He corrected, "Thank you for the… the food. I didn't think you Covenant would even bother to care for your prisoners."

The Elite looked up at him, having sat on the concrete across the drab room, "We have to keep you alive, at least until you have served your purpose to us." The coldness of her comment caught him off guard.

Reyo picked up the cut of meat, something similar to a lamb chop, and wrapped her mandibles around it, using her sharp fangs to pull at the food. He took his own serving in his hands, looking it over, smelling it, half expecting it to be different in some way from the meals he has come to know.

"It is Colo. The animal is common on my homeworld. It will not harm you, despite what you may think." She took only a moment to reassure him before continuing to eat.

The marine decided to give in, taking a small piece of the meat to taste it. Chewing slowly, he found it both sweet and savory, and took another mouthful. After a few moments he even found himself smiling, taking bite after bite before he cleaned the bone.

"I see you find it quite appealing!" His guard exclaimed.

"More than appealing, it was fantastic! I was surprised to be honest, I expected it to be a completely foreign taste to me…" He grinned again, looking down at the plate, hoping there would be more there for him.

"Are you… are you smiling?" Reyo asked, suddenly looking at him quite puzzled.

Glancing at her with his own puzzled look, "What kind of a question is that? Yes I'm smiling…" He cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what she meant.

"The Prophets tell us your kind has no emotion! That your only purpose is to kill us and end the Covenant…" She seemed taken aback by Avery's ability to feel.

Suddenly turning red with anger, "Lass, your kind attacked us! We even tried to make peace with ya! Instead, you all decided to bloody murder millions of men, women, and children as well as burn our homes! You think OUR only purpose is to kill… how goddamn ignorant…" The man's subtle Irish accent coming out more in his moments of 'rage'.

His rant calmed him down some, and as he took a deep breath he looked up at the Elite's face through the blue armor. What he saw made him feel regret, the sight of tears welling in her eyes. Her head sank into her hands, lightly whimpering as the tears dropped slowly to the floor. He sighed, blushing lightly with shame, putting a hand behind his neck before finally speaking again.

"Look, I…" Choosing what to say carefully, "I'm sorry. I have so much built-up fear, sadness, grief, that I just took it out on you. I didn't mean to, I promise that."

Turning her head towards him, her cheeks flushed purple, embarrassed for showing such emotion to the human, she retorted, "You think I want to take part in the killing? I hate myself every time I end another life. I only joined for the respect of my peers, but I would never murder in cold blood! No matter what our Prophets say about your kind, I regret ending life. As for the young, I would personally never harm them! I just… cannot do anything to stop the others…" She found herself tearing up again, and she hid her face once more.

Again O'Shay found himself in a tough situation. His mind raced once more, debating with himself what he should do. He knew upsetting her wasn't his intention, but he wanted to try and make up for it. He finally settled on what to do.

"Reyo, listen," He started, "I understand what you feel, I feel the same way about this war, but I have to defend the lives of my people…" His hand reached out to her shoulder, resting on her pauldron, an attempt to comfort her. "I still have nightmares about…" Voice trailing off, Avery eventually came back from his memories. "I have an idea, why don't we both tell each other the good things about our races. It can help keep our minds off of the conflict…"

"Sure, human. Let us talk" She said simply, gesturing for him start.

The captured marine began with a smile. He didn't mention he was from Earth, so she wouldn't get any clues, but he described to her the farmlands, green hills, beautiful streams and nearly ancient architecture. He told her about the flavors of his favorite foods and drinks, how he loved cooking before the war. He mentioned his family, art, music, and movies, anything that came to mind. He spoke for what seemed to be hours. All the while the guard sat quietly, listening, even making something like a smile appear on her face.

"You have had an intriguing life, human. Your culture is much more advanced than I had ever imagined…" The Elite chuckled softly.

"Now I think that makes it your turn Reyo." Avery told her with a small laugh of his own.

The soldier watched her mandibles move gracefully as she spoke, telling him of her home. She mentioned a keep nestled in a mountain range, with rock formations as old as time. The female continued with pride as she described how her family was a powerful one in the keep, and how she had to work very hard to become a warrior. Like him, the Elite explained traditions of her species, more of the food they ate, how they were proud leaders within the ranks of the Covenant. What seemed most important to him, though, was how she talked of her love for travel. Aside from combat, she kept close memories of the beauty of each world she visited, human or Covenant.

"I think I could say the same thing as you, the Eli- erm… Sangheili have quite the history…" He sat for a moment imagining her home, as she had done for him.

"Unfortunately, Avery, I must return to my duties. My superiors would become suspicious. May I come back tomorrow? I would lov-" She stuttered catching herself, "I would be honored to learn more about you."

As she stood, he caught her slip, smiling, "As would I, thank you, Reyo." He told her, as she blushed purple yet again, turning away and walking out. He watched her go, and caught his eyes drifting to her hips as she moved. What are ya doing man? She's an Elite for God's sake! No matter what his conscience told him, he smiled as he lay on the small cot, drifting off to sleep.