Ok, hello everyone!

Sorry about the long gap in updates; I've been quite busy lately. Hopefully updates will pick up again at the beginnning of the school year.

Anyways, little to say here; on with the show!

And now, we return to our feature presentation...

Tira sat by R'vek's bedside, gently holding his hand in hers, her delicate fingers wrapped around his palm. He was a pitiful sight; a baglike mask was wrapped around his face, a long tube leading from it to an oxygen tank, and various needles and monitors were all over his body. His many wounds were covered in bandages, and his skin was pale, almost white from lack of blood. The battered Sangheili's muscled chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing, swelling largely every so often.

"R'vek…" whispered Tira, staring at her mate's battered form. "Don't die…" Tira shut her eyes, choking back tears. What did we do to deserve this? She thought, angry. Why must R'vek always bear such a burden? Why must he be always be so tormented? Tira opened her eyes, and saw that her knuckles had whitened in her anger. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up; the Demon stood next to her, his orange visor looking down on her face.

"Don't worry," he said, his voice rough and calm. "He lived through a battle with me in it; this won't kill him." Tira smiled at him, and looked back at R'vek. "Your husband is a very brave man," said the Demon, and Tira smiled, stroking R'vek's cheek softly.

"He always was."

R'vek groaned as he woke, his eyes opening slowly. As he opened his eyes, his vision was incredibly blurry; all he could see were a group of vague, blurred white shapes.

"Where am I?" he groaned, and to his surprise, his voice seemed distant and quiet. "Am I dead?" R'vek looked around, still unable to see. He tried to sit up, and felt a searing pain in his gut. R'vek clutched his stomach, slowly lying back down. "Didn't think I could hurt while being dead…" As he lay back down, R'vek's vision began to clear. He was in a white tent, lying in a white bed with similarly colored sheets draped over his body. As his mind cleared, he noticed that something was clasping his hand. He looked around, and saw Tira sitting at his bedside, her slender hands wrapped around one of his. She had fallen asleep in her chair, and sat slumped over, her mouth slightly open as she breathed rhythmically in and out. R'vek smiled, and sat up, removing the mask from his face and gently stroking Tira's face. She smiled lightly in her sleep, unconsciously leaning into his hand. R'vek drew her in closer, gently lifting her into the bed with him, being careful not to wake her. She moaned softly in her sleep as he lay her down, and R'vek drew the covers over her, enveloping her in a warm embrace. The Sangheili warrior smiled, and slowly slipped into blissful sleep.

R'vek ran through a grass-covered field, holding Tira's hand with her following close behind them. They were naked, and the sun felt amazing on R'vek's skin. Here, his war-scarred body was a memory, replaced by a smooth and whole form, and his mind was, for the first time since the War, was at peace.

As they ran, they reached an orchard of fruit trees, ripe, red melons hanging from their branches. Tira laughed, and the pair stopped, plucking fruit from the trees boughs, and biting through the juicy rinds. Pink-purple juice dribbled down their necks as the succulent fruit passed down their gullets, and Tira walked towards R'vek slowly, her hips swaying slightly, her naked body glistening in the sunlight, She wrapped him in a hug, and pressed her body into his, resting her neck on his shoulder. R'vek returned the embrace, closing his eyes in bliss.

Suddenly, the sky darkened. R'vek looked around, and saw that the orchard had spread around them, the trees now sinister and menacing. Something flashed in between the trees; the chair of a Prophet; and a sinister cackling was heard throughout the wood. R'vek felt Tira's body part from his, and his head whipped around in surprise. Tira stood 10 feet from him, her skin shifted in tint to a slight brown. Her eye sockets were empty, and black liquid dripped from them. R'vek's eyes widened in terror, and he stared at the walking corpse of his beloved.

"You didn't save me, R'vek," she said, her voice sad. "Why? Why didn't you come for me?" R'vek stumbled back in terror as two gaping wounds appeared in her chest, and her hearts melted before his eyes.

"No, this isn't right, this can't be!" shouted R'vek in anguish. "I killed Mortis, I did save you, Tira!" R'vek fell to his knees, and a Prophet emerged from the trees, hovering close behind Tira's body. A strange Brute followed him. The Jiralhanae's flesh was mottled and brown, but not deformed like a normal Flood form. Half of its face was scarred and burned, and as R'vek watched, the flesh melted away, revealing raw, red flesh with a melted eye dribbling down its cheek: Mortis. R'vek backed away, and tried to run, but more Flood forms shambled out of the jungle. As he looked on in horror, R'vek began to recognize them; Zek, Jyn, R'tak, Ir'kas, and others whom he had fought alongside. He backed away in horror, and the terrible apparitions drew closer.

"Why, R'vek, why?" said Tira. The Flood closed on him, their hands outstretched, and –

R'vek sat bolt upright in his bed, unleashing a feral scream from his chest. Tira shouted, her body going rigid under the covers next to him, and she shouted in surprise as her eyes snapped open, almost tumbling out of the bed.

"R'vek, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned for her mate's health. "Are you hurt?" R'vek panted, closing his eyes tightly before opening them again. The muscles in his body were rigid, and his skin was coated in a lather of cold sweat.

"I… I'm fine…" he panted, trying to calm down. "It was just… just a nightmare." Tira hugged R'vek, and he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her body against his chest, pushing his fingertips into her back, his arms tight around her, as though he was afraid that she would vanish.

Tira patted R'vek's back, gently rubbing her delicate hands in small circles over his scarred flesh. "Hush," she whispered soothingly, "I'm here. Everything will be alright." Suddenly, the door-flap of the medical tent was flung open, and Zek stumbled in, panting.

"What's wrong? I heard a shou-oh," he said, finishing his sentence awkwardly as the pair of young Sangheili in the bed turned to look at him. Tira blushed slightly; this was not the most comfortable situation. "Look, if you two want a moment alone, that's alright," stammered Zek, as he backed out of the tent, "just try not to be so loud! It's not like the whole camp needs to hear what's going on in there!" Before R'vek and Tira could correct him, Zek was gone. R'vek turned to look at Tira, and holding hands, they stepped out of the bed. As they did, however, Tira's eyes went wide, her glance slowly flitting to, and away from, R'vek's groin as she blushed deeply. R'vek looked down, and his cheeks flushed a deep purple: the blanket had fallen when he had gotten out of bed. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, except for one thing: he was naked.

Tira turned around as she heard the rasping of the tent flap opening behind her. R'vek stepped from the entrance to the canvas structure, smiling and wearing a new suit of armor that had been brought to him earlier. His old suit had been utterly destroyed in his battle with Mortis and the other Jiralhanae in the tower while he was rescuing her, and was unable to be repaired. For now, R'vek would have to do with an entirely new set of armor, and one that was missing the cape he customarily wore. At his side hung a plasma rifle, three plasma grenades, a pair of frag grenades, and a plasma pistol; typical gear for a Sangheili soldier. R'vek smiled as he saw his mate in her new clothes; it was comforting to see her out of the bloodstained and shredded rags she had been in when he had rescued her. Now, she wore a thin dress that came down to just above her knees. It was of a faded pink material, and had a single band around the waist, holding the garment tightly to Tira's form, the fabric flowing gently over her breasts and around her hips, accenting her female form wonderfully. R'vek hugged Tira and lifted her from the ground, twirling her in the air before setting her back on the ground once more, affectionately pressing his forehead against hers.

"You look beautiful," he said, truly stunned by his mate's appearance. "Where did you get the dress? I didn't know we had any such cargo with us." Tira smiled, rubbing her hands over R'vek's strong chest, sliding them across his armor and onto his back. She grinned, realizing the truth: R'vek was, quite literally, her knight in shining armor.

"Some of the Guardians brought extra clothes from home. One of them had this sent to me." R'vek's eyes grew distant, and Tira sensed something troubling him. "R'vek?" she asked, worried for him. Lately, there had been more pain in his life than there was happiness; was it taking a toll on his psyche? "R'vek, what's wrong?"

"Home…" he muttered, his voice distant. Tira looked up into his eyes, concerned.

"R'vek… what aren't you telling me?" R'vek looked into Tira's eyes, preparing himself for the news he was about to deliver.

"Tira…" he said, his voice stern, "Sanghelios is dead." Tira's eyes widened and she took a step back, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Sanghelios, our home, is dead, and it's MY FAULT!" R'vek spun around as he yelled, tearing a strip of cloth from the tent in his rage. Tira looked at him, unsure of what to think.

"R'vek, what do you mean?" she whispered, shocked at the news. R'vek turned to face her, tears budding in his eyes.

"I failed, Tira," he said, his voice quivering. "I failed. On my mission, I… I couldn't contain the Parasite. It was too much for my men and I; we were overwhelmed. I was the only one of the twelve Sangheili who returned alive that day. Because of my failure, the Parasite swarmed across Sanghelios, our homeworld, consuming us, weakening our defenses, and forcing us to flee… right into a waiting fleet of Jiralhanae." R'vek paused, his voice shaky. "They knew, Tira. Nay, they more than knew; they arranged the situation! The Jiralhanae shot down civilian transport ships, killing billions!" R'vek paused, and turned away from his wife, unable to face her any more. "At the end of that dark day, only a few precious thousand Sangheili left our world alive, likely never to return." Tira stared at him in shock, unable to absorb the terrible news. Tears budded in her wide, terrified eyes before flowing freely down her face. She ran towards R'vek, and collapsed into his body, crying, weeping openly for the loss of her home, and of any chance she and R'vek ever had to return to even some vague semblance of a normal life after her ordeal. R'vek held her close to his body, trying to comfort both her and himself. They were two souls lost in the galaxy, made utterly and completely alone by the trauma and the terrors they had faced. Now, Tira had learned that her home, and with it, the life she once knew, was gone forever. Suddenly, the paid heard footsteps approaching, and they looked up, trying to regain their composure. A Guardian clad in crimson armor adorned with small ridges and with a long, black cape attached to its back with a gold insignia woven into the fabric.

"R'vek Kehrim," stated the red-clad Sangheili, his posture military. "You and your mate must come with me. The Grand Arbiter wishes to speak to you."

Gasp! What could the Arbiter want R'vek for!

Find out in the next installment of... The Ring!

lolz, first chapter without any real violence.

The winds of time blow on, shifting the sands of reality into ever shifting patterns.

- Baeowulf