Chapter 10

Derek's POV

One Week Later

"…Okay I'll bite," Mi said as she studied the object being passed around, "What is it?"

"It's a football," Johnathan said as if it answered everything.

"Geometry wasn't my best subject," Knott said as he carefully held the odd shape in his hand, "but I'm pretty sure a football is round."

"No, not that football," Johnathan shook his head. "The football from the continent of North America."

"Ah," Knott said as he gave the ball to Tray next.

"That explains everything now. Leave it to the North Americans to botch up the geometric system."

"Oh come on," Johnathan said angrily. "The word 'football' has nothing to do with its shape. Besides, this sport was a national pastime, some regions still play it on Earth."

"How exactly did they kick this?" Tray questioned as he put the ball on the floor and carefully tapped it with his foot, making it spin on its side. "Doesn't look like it rolls very well."

"You throw it, not kick it," Jade explained.

"Then why is it called football?" Derek asked, finding the whole thing to be strange, especially considering the football he read about in history class did indeed include a lot of kicking.

"I don't know I didn't make it up," Jonathan said as he scooped the ball up, "So, who wants to play?"

"Excuse me?" Mi asked, sounding offended. "You want us to play a sport we know nothing about? Where you no doubt will have the advantage of superior knowledge and skill?"

"Plus the shape is freaking me out," Knott added, "It's like we entered the twilight zone or something."

"Well it's better than doing nothing, right?" The sergeant asked and was met with silence.

True to his word, the others were doing nothing but laying in their cots and complaining about anything and everything. It had been a week since Alasha's visit and thus had brought Derek's torment to a near close. Without that form of entertainment, everyone was left to their own devices; re-reading books, gambling with sticks and stones, and maintaining their gear. They were just about to heckle about how pushy the ambassador had been lately when Johnathan came in sporting a box he had received from home.

Initially, everyone first thought that Johnathan had gotten a special treat (like cookies) and he had come to share. The last thing they expected was a 'football'.

"Is it safe?" Knott asked, "It looks like it could poke someone's eye out."

"That's what makes the game fun," Johnathan countered, "Now, do you want to go out and throw a few?"

"But it's wet," Tray argued and pointed outside.

Last evening the marines had witnessed rainfall on Rahnelo, not the first of the season, but it more or less flooded the base. The afternoon was still full of grey clouds but no rain yet. Regardless, the land had become soggy and mud now reigned supreme.

Mi wasn't exactly all for this new sport, but she nevertheless gave Tray the stink eye.

"And you never got wet during boot?" she demanded.

Tray was silent. She had a point, during training marines were forced through a lot of strenuous obstacles, one of them being crawling through muck and gunk while live rounds were being fired over their heads.

Now that Tray thought about it, playing in the rain doesn't sound too bad.

Knott just sighed as he stood.

"Alright, I give in." He said with a stretch.

"So…how do you win?"

#

"Fumble!"

"No! He dropped it!"

"What's the difference!"

"What am I supposed to-" Derek's question was cut off when a large body slammed into him and they slid a clear two feet on the muddy terrain.

"You're supposed to run," Johnathan said with a sad shake of his head as he gazed down at his teammate. Knott, who was on the other team and just had tackled the unfortunate private, jumps back to his feet.

"You know," Knott says with a grin. "I think I'm starting to like this game. Helps get rid of my pent up aggression."

"Lucky you," Derek gasped as he slowly pulled himself up.

This had to be the fiftieth time he got tackled, his olive green shirt was starting to look brown while the splatter in his hair had begun to harden.

He quickly shook some excess mud off of himself before returning to his team's formation.

Jonathan was playing 'quarterback' as he called it. To his understanding, he was the only one allowed to throw the ball or pass it. Derek believed it to be stupid but followed anyway.

Due to his relatively average frame, Jonathan assigned him to catch the ball and run it down the field, a task that was much easier said than done. Derek couldn't even begin to count how many times the ball either slipped from his hands, soared past his head or ended up in the hands of Knott. Maybe if he had just-

"Ready…"

Derek was pulled from his thoughts by Jonathan's booming voice.

"Hut!"

Derek made a mad dash across the field, not really sure of what to do except to try and make himself a good target for Jonathan to throw at, all the while being chased by a very rowdy Knott.

"Imma get you Heath!" he yelled, not too far behind.

"Like hell you will!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Derek caught a glimpse of something extremely shiny, almost to the point that it could be blinding. He was almost distracted by it to the point that he almost missed the football whizz towards him.

He knew that he was just too slow for its trajectory, so he had to…

A brief moment of weightlessness sprung in his gut as he reached for the ball with all of his might. Feeling the wet leather in his touch, he grasped the ball and pulled it close to his chest.

"Hey! I caught it-"

His brief moment of wonder was cut short as he felt his feet touch the ground once more, he just needed to start running. However, that didn't happen, seeing as his feet gave out under him.

Derek fell to his knees and slid a few yards before coming to a stop face first in the mud, football still in hand. He pulled his head out from the ground with a resounding pop before wiping the dirt off his face.

"Hey! That's your first touchdown!" came Jonathan running up, clapping momentarily before picking Derek up.

"You could have thrown it to me and I would have been able to do the same thing, minus the falling like a buffoon part," an annoyed Mi added.

"I needed to give the private a shot, ya know?"

She only rolled her eyes before running back to where the rest of the people playing were.

Derek chuckled before looking around for the object he saw as he was running a moment ago. It didn't take long at all to spot what it was, a sangheili donned in ceremonial gold armor, which could only mean one person.

"Alasha."

He felt a heavy hand slap him on the back before Jonathan laughed, "Hey Derek, looks like your girlfriend showed up to watch you play."

Derek blushed before he dismissed the sergeant and ran off to see her.

Alasha's POV

Alasha shivered under the gray sky, her heavy plate doing nothing to keep her warm. She usually enjoyed the rain and the atmosphere it created, but that opinion came from when she spent her time inside. Soft droplets pattered occasionally on her ceremonial armor, not enough to warrant shelter but noticeable at the very least. While mud caked at the bottom of her feet, she did not mind.

Watching the humans play around in said mud was off-putting, to say the least.

After a week since their 'dance', as Derek had called it, Alasha had only visited him once to inform him that the courtship would need to continue on for a while longer. She did it to try and protect him of course, but without his company, she felt strangely lonesome. She yearned for the human's presence, and she had without him long enough.

That was why she was at the camp, to meet with Derek once again and talk. About what though? Certainly, a lot could have happened in the span of a week, at least for him. The only things that Alasha had done were her duties while father was gone and keeping a close eye on Busras' activity, the latter being an especially large thorn in her side.

It was risky for her to visit her suitor so openly like this, but…

She watched as Derek caught an object before falling to the ground. She didn't understand what he was doing, but it most certainly was a good thing as his allies cheered him on. A brief smile formed on her face.

As he got back up, he seemed to notice her. She waited patiently for him to finish talking to another male when he started jogging towards her.

"Hey, Alasha!" He yelled with a wave of his hand.

Alasha returned the favor before clasping her hands together in front of her.

Derek finished running up to her, face reddened and panting lightly.

"H-how are you?" he said as he stood up straight.

She lightly snorted, "I'm doing fine, although I'm feeling a little cold. How about yourself?"

"I'm…"

He looked down at his mud-covered body and clothing, the latter being attire she had not yet seen him in. Dirt was soaked into his short-sleeve shirt as mud covered his exposed kneecaps. It wasn't the most attractive condition, especially for someone of nobility such as Alasha.

"In relatively good condition. Legs kinda hurt from the fall."

Alasha gazed at the game going on in the distance, the humans running around, tackling each other over an oddly shaped object. It was different for sure, but she understood that Derek might have the same feelings about her culture. Speaking of him...

She turned her attention back to her suitor, only to find him looking back at her. They stared at each other for a moment, watching each other's eyes.

"Um…" Derek broke the silence, "What have you been doing for the last week?"

"Nothing noteworthy. Just my usual duties such as monitoring trade, directing visitors," she changed tones, "Keeping my eye on troublesome individuals; I'm sure much has happened with you, no?"

His first response was to laugh, only to calm down and return to a more neutral expression, "Nothing at all actually. This little game we are playing is the first stand out event since forever. We've spent most of our time beating our heads against the wall."

Alasha frowned, confused to why humans would risk brain injury as something to do. She felt the urge to ask but came to the conclusion that it might have been another 'figure of speech', as Knott had called it.

"It sounds like our lives have been pretty boring, wouldn't you say?" asked Derek.

"I'm inclined to agree," Alasha responded as the humans in the distance started yelling at one another.

Derek squinted off into the distance, "Looks like Mi didn't get the ball again," he hesitated for a moment, "Alasha, I was wondering-"

Alasha spoke for him, "If you wanted to spend time together some more?"

Derek blushed before nodding his head, "Yes, that."

Her mandibles formed the sangheili version of a smile, "I would be happy to."

"Yeah, what if you came over… I don't know, tomorrow night and we walk and talk for a bit?"

"Holy shit, are you guys this awkward when talking to each other?"

They turned to see Knott standing next to Derek, equally covered in mud, grinning ear to ear. Neither of them knew exactly how long he had been there, seeing as they were busy focusing on each other's eyes. His presence garnered a blush from both of them.

Knott giggled before speaking again, "That wouldn't be a bad idea, Derek. Tomorrow night is movie night, and I'm sure Ms. Alasha right here would love to see some human films."

Alasha cocked her head to the side, "What is a movie?"

"It's a form of entertainment, it's like a story being told through video if that makes sense," Derek explained as he scratched the back of his head.

"I would certainly like to partake in such entertainment, I am sure there must be great stories that I have yet to hear."

Derek put his hands on his pockets before quickly taking them out, a disgusted look on his face appeared before dismissing whatever he felt in his pocket. As he looked back up at her, she noticed his face was still resonating light hints of fear, something she had come to expect from her suitor.

"So, it's a date?" He tried to sound as confident as possible.

"Yes, I will try and arrive shortly before dusk."

"Perfect! And I was worried-"

"You don't have to worry about me," she stated clearly.

"Why wouldn't I be worried about your well-being?"

She sighed, quite annoyed now, "No, not that, I mean-"

Derek had once again moved his hand to the back of his head to scratch it, but to his horror, a decent amount of mud flicked off in her direction.

Alasha watched as the wet dirt was flung at her, hitting her square in the chest and splattering all over. In a moment of thoughtlessness, she growled loudly at her nearly pristine armor being sullied so carelessly.

Derek quickly scrambled to find something to clean the stain off, repeating, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Without thinking, she reached down to the ground, grabbing a handful of mud, and chucked it right at Derek. The mud struck him straight in the cheek, covering his face in brown gunk.

Derek's POV

'Oh no oh no oh no,' was Derek's only thought as he looked for something to wipe his mistake off of Alasha.

He could use his shirt, but it was already dirty and would worsen the problem. What about his pants? Even worse. His panic increased tenfold when he heard how pissed off she sounded.

Would she pull off his head like a plunger? Bisect him with an energy blade? Snap his femurs like a stick?

The possibilities swam through his mind at the speed of sound before something quite unexpected happened.

He felt a sudden smack of cold against his right cheek. Catching him off guard he reached up to feel what had hit him, looking down at his fingers only to see mud.

She had thrown mud at him, confirmed by the substance dripping from her right hand.

A very risky idea appeared in his mind as he looked back up at Alasha. A devilish grin plastered itself to his face as he crouched down.

"I just need to be a little bolder," he muttered to himself.

Alasha, seeing this, began to look increasingly concerned, perhaps even worried about what he might do. In one swift motion, he scooped up more mud and threw it at her. The sangheili looked down in subdued horror at her now even dirtier armor.

"Oh, that's how we are going to do it? Alright," she said as she bent over again to grab more mud to throw.

Derek tried to dodge the next projectile, only to fall over in the mud and still get hit. He couldn't help but laugh as he took two more fistfuls of mud in his hands and threw it back at her.

Likewise, Alasha dealt and received blows while giggling her heart out.

The passage of time was lost as they continued to dirty each other in the sprinkling rain. It eventually got to the point that they could no longer stand on the ground they had been plucking from, causing them both to end up on their rears laughing like maniacs.

Their laughter ended soon after as they shifted their focus from each other to the large crowd of marines that had gathered to watch. It was probably the last thing Derek wanted for his chagrin.

#

Alasha's POV

Guisha's mandibles were splayed widely as she stared at her friend, dumbstruck. She gestured at her armor with her hands wildly and loudly asked, "What in the gods' names did you do!?"

Alasha looked at her blankly, then peered down at the armor she was wearing, still covered in mud from her visit to the human base. She turned back to Guisha and said, "It was… well, a fight of sorts…"

Geisha crossed her arms with an amused huff, then asked, "So, the first thing you do with this human suitor of yours after a week of absence, is fight?"

With a dismissive wave of her hands, Alahsha shook her head and said, "Of sorts, as I said. Despite my original distaste of having my armor degraded, it was…"

"By the lack of anger in your eyes, would it be safe to assume you somehow enjoyed rolling in the mud with this human?"

Alasha spun at her friend, who was either amused or disgusted by the idea, whichever it was she wasn't showing.

Alasha let out a small snarl and said, "We did not roll in the mud, it started as an accident anyhow."

Guisha released a snort, then paced past Alasha, "I doubt that, but whatever makes you more at ease. Just remember, this is an alien, one you are using to escape that pompous fool, Busras."

Alasha wasn't entirely content hearing Derek called simply an alien, but what Guisha was saying was true, even if she didn't like it. At the moment, Derek was her friend, one who very kindly agreed to continue courting her. When the charade would end was something Alasha wasn't sure of, but for a strange reason, she didn't have any fear that Derek would grow impatient. He especially didn't seem to dislike it.

Feeling she must inform Guisha of her plans tomorrow, Alasha straightened her back and said, "I will be returning to him tomorrow as well. We made… plans."

Guisha's slow pace came to a halt as she turned her head to stare at Alasha. There was a mix of confusion and disgust painted on her, but Alasha didn't get the chance to ask as her sibling walked towards her and asked, "You mean you are going out of your way to spend time with this human?"

Alasha slightly turned her head away from her friend and said, "As I've said, he is nice to speak to, I don't see why I…"

Guisha grunted, interrupting Alasha, "You are making it harder and harder to believe you simply see this human as an ally, a belief I already do not subscribe to."

Alasha softly growled, "We are not doing anything strange. Simply watching human… movies, as they call them."

Guisha's head tilted to one side, then she asked, "Movies? What are those?"

Alasha pushed her hand out, gesturing at nothing in particular, and said, "Video storytelling, apparently. Human tales we watch instead of reading. The idea is… interesting."

Her friend turned back around with a loud huff, then said, "Sounds like a waste of resources when you could simply inscribe it."

Alasah removed her helm, sitting it down, then said, "Either way, the humans didn't seem very appalled by the idea, so I believe they consider it an enjoyable pastime."

Guisha spun her head back towards Alasha, then said in a serious tone, "Just remember, these humans aren't to be fully trusted. I only want you to stay safe."

With a sigh, Alasha walked over to Guisha, placing her hand on her shoulder, and said, "I'm glad you care, but trust me, these humans are not planning anything hostile."

"I'll believe it when I meet them."

A/N Quack: Bam! The first "new" chapter for y'all. When I mean new, I mean it was partially written (everything after Derek getting tackled was brand new). If this chapter seems short, I apologise, seeing as the outline we were going with didn't have much to work with. But, I can promise the next one will certainly be much longer. Merry Christmas you filthy animals.

A/N RedRaptorWriting: Hi