McArthy's eyes slowly fluttered open, a loud yawn escaping his mouth as he tried to move his limbs out to stretch. His movements were interrupted by something's grip pulling him back, making McArthy freeze in a perplexed fear. His eyes didn't need to lower far for him to realize what it was, and his fear quickly vanished.
The fear that disappeared from McArthy was abruptly replaced by nervousness and embarrassment as he stared at the feathery forearm draped over his chest. His cheeks turned red as he looked at the arm, then he felt Mim's hot breath against the back of his neck.
She must've been really cold last night, cold enough to do something like this. What was important was that it kept them warm, but it was definitely going to cost McArthy some mental comfort. McArthy could've sworn he had grown past the fact that she was an alien at this point, yet he still found himself almost dying of discomfort when the time to simply press their backs to each other at night came. Any other reason for being discomforted by it would just be childish, things an ODST shouldn't be bashful about.
It slowly struck McArthy that this was probably the first time he'd woken up before Mim, and he was quickly put on edge. Why would he have woken up first this time? Maybe something woke him.
McArthy was quick to throw that idea out the window and let the edge dissipate. If there was something to be woken up by, it would've surely woken up the bird with heightened senses.
He was tempted to remove himself from her grasp and get up, but he couldn't move his body. He didn't like the idea of disturbing her sleep, with all the work she was going to have to do she needed her rest.
Unfortunately, he couldn't control the loud growling of his stomach. Mim's eyes ripped open at the sound of the growl, and McArthy listened as she opened her beak up and let out a long yawn. After a moment, she blinked a few times as her vision focused, only to find her beak almost touching the back of McArthy's neck. Her eyes slowly traced him to see her arm wrapped over his chest, then squawked and pulled her arm away, spinning her back to him in a flustered state.
Chuckling, McArthy raised himself and took a seat, grinning at Mim as she pulled herself up as well. After a few silent seconds passed, Mim rubbed her beak as she stared downward and said, "Sorry."
With a chuckle, McArthy shook his head and said, "It's fine. You gotta keep warm, right?"
Mim gave him a slow nod, still not meeting his eyes, when McArthy stomach grumbled again. She looked up at him, then he sighed and said, "Guess we need to get something to eat."
She tilted her head, then asked, "We?"
McArthy, confused, slowly nodded and said, "Yeah, we. What, do you think I'm a bad hunter?"
Mim didn't reply as she stared at him, then a quick chuff of amusement escaped her as she stood up. McArthy stood up as well, then crossed his arms and said, "Come on, I'm sure I can kill one of those deer lookin' things. You're the one who didn't want me to be left alone, remember?"
He watched as the bird froze in place, thinking back to the day before. After a moment of silent thinking, Mim softly crooned and said, "Fine."
Smiling, McArthy strode over to his armor and said, "Yeah, this'll be fun! Hunting one of the few things I was able to enjoy in my childhood."
With a squawk of curiosity, Mim asked, "Bad childhood?"
McArthy froze with his armor in his arms, then nervously laughed as he sat the armor down and said, "Oh, ya know, as enjoyable as most peoples'. It doesn't matter, let's just…"
He trailed off as he looked around, then he brushed his hand down his pistol and turned his head towards the smg. He grunted, then said, "Right, no rifle."
Before he could say another word, Mim huffed and walked over to one of the Covenant crates. He watched her open it, lifting a beam rifle out of the case, then she tossed it towards him. He wildly caught it between both his arms in a hug, his face showing his confusion. He gestured to the lamp with his head and asked, "What about the power?"
Mim shrugged, then walked towards the door and hovered her claws over the panel. Her clawed fingers were hovering over the button, then she squawked as she pressed on it. The door creaked as it slowly opened up, eliciting an elated trill from Mim as she bolted outward. McArthy chuckled to himself as he strapped his armor on, watching Mim excitedly pace around outside.
Once his armor was secured onto his body, he shouldered the beam rifle and followed her outside, shutting the door behind them. Once he was next to Mim, he raised his finger to the end of her beak and said, "Ok, you get to find us something edible with those enhanced senses of yours, then I'll blow it's brains out so we can have some breakfast."
Mim's amber eyes stared at his finger hovering inches from the edge of her beak. After a few seconds of staring, he pressed his finger against her beak with a chuckle and said, "Don't stare at me like you're gonna eat me."
He moved forward away from her, but she was stuck staring at the end of her beak, the feeling of him gently pressing his finger against her nose catching her off guard. She slowly raised her hand, then softly planted it on her beak.
McArthy turned to notice Mim hadn't moved, then called out, "Mim, we going?"
She squawked with surprise, then spun around and raced next to him. The two made their way through the base's broken fencing and slowly wandered into the forest. McArthy fell in line behind the skirmisher as she began trying to pick up some sign of prey. The ground was covered in a fresh sheet of snow from last night, and ask McArthy raised his head to look up into the sky, he could tell more snow would roll in soon, but the clouds didn't seem too extreme.
As he looked up, he caught another glimpse of the Covenant ship far in orbit, sending a chill down his spine. In the back of his mind, he knew that ship could destroy him, Mim, and everything within a mile of the two in seconds from where it was. It was a fact that stuck in his mind no matter how hard he tried to refocus.
Suddenly, Mim stopped next to a tree, grabbing onto it with one hand as he lifted her beak into the air. She nodded forward, then said, "Keep close."
With that, she bolted forward into the white forest, McArthy quickly picking up his pace to keep her in sight. It wasn't long before she froze behind a bush, keeping her eyes trained past it as McArhty caught up, panting as he slowed down next to her.
With a sigh of relief, he hung his head back and said, "Jesus, why does it feel like I'm getting weaker after doing nothing but working my legs out constantly."
Mim turned to him, softly raising a finger in front of her beak to silence him, then she pointed over the bush. McArthy peeked his head over and saw the alien creature standing in the snow not too far away. He raised the beam rifle over the bush, then looked through it's holographic scope and leveled the reticle over the unaware animal's head. He squinted and gave his head a light shake as he adjusted to the sights, something about them feeling very off to him.
A small shuffle caught his attention and McArthy turned to see Mim moving away, quietly making her way through the trees. He didn't know what she was doing, but he had more important things to focus on. Breakfast.
The animal's head slowly rose up and looked around, it's skittish nature ever present in the flicky movements of it's head. He hovered his finger over the would- be trigger, then squeezed down on it… only for nothing to happen.
His head whipped down to the weapon, seeing his hand too low on the weapons handle. He shifted the weapon in his hands, but in the motion rustled the bush he was hiding behind. His head shot up at the rustling to see the animal spin around, about to bolt off. Before it could go anywhere, Mim suddenly leaped from the forest and landed on the animals side, clamping her jaws down on it's throat as her weight tripped the animal over.
With a loud screech and tear, Mim raised her head with a large, furry chunk between her beak. The animal's legs were moving on it's side as if it was running, their strides slowing down as more blood poured from it's new wound.
McArthy approached the animal, Mim quickly turned to see him approach. She stared at him for a moment, then stiffened as she spat the chunk out of her mouth. She quickly turned her head away and wiped at her beak, making McArthy begin to chuckle. She stopped her movement as she turned back to him, her head slightly tilted.
With a laugh, he gestured to the animal and said, "Don't worry about giving me a spook or something. While I admit the display was… grisly, I can handle it."
The two stared at each other silently for a few seconds, then McArthy patted her shoulder and said, "You do what you gotta do. It won't bother me. You got those jaws for a reason, right?"
With a small nod, Mim stepped away from the body and said, "R...right."
With that, McArthy lowered himself to the dead animal. He held it by the face and shifted it's alien head, then pulled the knife from his belt and began cutting into its neck. It was difficult, but after ten minutes of cutting and bone breaking he was able to chuck the head away with a grunt of disgust.
He turned his head to see Mim staring out into the forest, once in a while raising her beak to try and catch a scent. With a cough, he caught her attention and said, "Can I get some help? I want to drag this to a tree and hang it so it can bleed out faster."
Her head slowly tilted, then she nodded her head with a chirp of understanding and grasped the animal's left hind leg as McArthy grabbed the other. The two dragged the animal next to a tree, then McArthy swung his back sack around and removed a rope he had found and slowly unrolled it. He tied the two legs together, then looked up for a strong enough branch. Unfortunately, the only one strong enough was a bit too far up for him, and he wasn't much of a climber.
Mim chirped as she took a step next to him, then asked, "Problem?"
He pointed up the tree and said, "I can't get to that branch. Maybe-"
He was cut off as Mim grasped the rope he was holding and leaped up into the tree, not even touching it and simply landing on the branch he wanted. She looped the rope over the branch and dropped the end to McArthy, who gripped onto it and heaved the animal's carcass upwards. Mim watched as he raised the body up, blood pouring out of it's wound far faster now. Once it was a good height above the ground, McArthy grabbed onto it and held it up. Mim dropped down, taking the rope out of his hand, then jumped back up to the branch and properly tied it.
Now that the body was secured to the thick branch, McArthy took a step away from the corpse and let out a sigh of relief. Mim landed next to him, then squawked and asked, "What now?"
With a chuckle, McArthy took a few steps towards the closest tree, clearing the snow away, then sat down. Mim slowly sat down next to him as he pulled his back sack around. He opened it up and said, "Well, we have to wait for it to bleed out, then we drag it back to base. That'll take some time, thought, so until then…"
He then pulled the journal and pen from the bag, "...we get to continue our lessons."
Mim trilled at the sight of the journal, then grabbed it and said, "More…"
With a laugh, McArthy held out the pen and said, "You really like learning 'bout my language, huh?"
Mim nodded her head as she opened the book, then she slowly said, "E-e-enjoya-able. Time with… f-friend."
McArthy's cheeks heated up as she said that. He smiled as he dipped his head a bit, thinking about it. A friend, it wasn't too long ago he had none, his only friends dying in the frigate's destruction. Now, though, he realized he did make a new friend, something to care about. Purpose.
He quickly shook his head, then turned his attention back to Mim and the book. With a sigh, he began teaching her again. He still didn't see himself as much of a teacher, but he definitely found the lessons enjoyable too. Though, he owed that enjoyment most of that to Mim's excitement.
They sat there for 30 minutes when a snow softly began to roll in. As McArthy expected, it wasn't very strong, if anything it was actually quite pretty. These past days, McArthy never stopped to enjoy the scenery. He didn't blame himself, given the dire situation he was in, but now that all they were doing was sitting peacefully, he could take in its beauty.
As he let Mim find words she didn't understand, he looked out at the snowy wilderness. Not too long ago when he began fighting on the planet, the trees were lush with green and thick leaves. Now, the leaves were fewer or completely gone, some trees looking dead. The snow softly coated the landscape, then a quiet chirp turned his attention away from the forest.
He turned to see Mim softly poke at his armored shoulder, then she raised the journal and pointed at the words. There were less words written now, and her writing had improved a fair amount.
The two carefully went over the words, Mim slowly pronouncing them in front of him after he showed her. Her first few times were always very raspy, though fortunately she had past experience, though minimal, which let her more quickly adjust. At this rate, she should be speaking english normally by the end of the month.
McArthy was in the middle of explaining a word when the sound of creaking came from above the two. They both shot their heads up, then a branch broke and a chunk of snow fell on top of the two. McArthy reflexively held the book out of the way as the snow fell onto the two, saving it from any damage, though they weren't as fortunate.
McArthy put the book down, chuckling, as he wildly brushed the snow off his shoulders and helmet. As he brushed, he turned to see Mim thrash her head back and forth, snow flying off her head. Much of it flew right into McArthy's visor, blinding him for a moment as his chuckling grew.
Mim squawked as she watched the snow fly into his visor, then she carefully wiped at his helmet and said, "S-s-sorry."
McArthy snickered as he brushed his visor off too, then said, "Oh it's fine."
He noticed a good amount of snow still stuck on her feathers, naturally reaching out and combing his fingers through them. It only struck him as he pushed his fingers into her plumage that she might bite at him again, but this time she stayed silent and simply looked down at their snowy legs. Confident she was ok with it, he brushed his fingers through the feathers, clearing the snow from her red tipped plumage.
Mim softly crooned as he moved his hand away from her feathers, then he brushed his legs off and picked the journal up. Mim shook the snow off her body, then McArthy planted the book between them to continue. Before he could speak, Mim froze for a moment, her feathers twitching on her head. Suddenly, she jumped up and stared off into the forest.
After a few seconds of silence, the faint sound of humming could be heard in the distance. In an instant Mim grabbed onto McArthy's arm and pulled him onto his feet. He stumbled up, shoving the book back into his back sack as Mim pulled the shotgun off her back. She awkwardly tried to pump the shotgun, then pumped it successfully the second time as she gestured for McArthy to follow her.
The two ran behind a couple trees with bushes sitting between them, then crouched down. McArthy pulled the beam rifle off his back, properly placing his hand in the right spot time, then watched Mim raise her head over the bush. He followed her, but was unable to see anything. Mim pointed more leftword, making McArthy turn and zoom in with his HUD. That's when he saw the source of the humming.
About 60 yards away, hidden behind bushes and trees, he could see a single grunt piloted ghost hovering through the forest. It wasn't long until a squad of 5 elites walking with it came into view as well. Leading the group was a single jackal, it's head tilted upward into the air.
He ducked his head back down, then watched Mim follow suit. They weren't very close to their current shelter, maybe a 45 minute journey, so they couldn't know where they were hiding. But, McArthy silently cursed as he realized the jackal must be following the bloody scent of their kill. It's not like he could help it, at least he didn't bleed it out back home.
He chuckled a little at the thought that now, like some wild animals, they'd have to fight to defend their food. Unless…
Before he could finish his thought, Mim softly chirped and said, "I d-distract. You pick off."
McArthy weighed the beam rifle in his grasp, then asked, "You sure splitting up is-"
Mim chuffed and said, "Stay far."
Without another word, Mm bolted off from their cover. McArthy raised his head to see the approaching group. The area they were in wasn't very dense with trees, the ghost would be a threat.
Not like five elites already aren't.
With that, McArthy readied the beam rifle in his arms. He looked down the holographic sight, his eyes once again adjusting to them, then lowered the reticle on the ghost. Unfortunately, he had no line of sight on the driver, so he changed to the closest elite. It was a major clad in red armor, while the rest wore blue. An elite major, by the looks of it.
Suddenly, small arm plasma fire began peppering the leading jackal, making them all swivel to the right as the jackal fell. McArthy squeezed the trigger and watched a bright beam punch through the major's head. The rest of the elite dove out of sight as the ghost raced off, most likely going after Mim.
McArthy jumped past the bush, sprinting up the small incline ahead and stopping at the nearest tree for cover. He peeked the tree with the beam rifle, seeing Mim leap up and over the ghost as it tried to slam into her. McArthy watched as the four blue minors aimed at Mim and opened fire as she bolted off, the plasma crashing into the trees she ran past. McArthy looked through the scope, leveling his reticle on one's head, then pulled the trigger.
The beam punched through the minor's neck, a large spurt of blood gushing out as it fell over. It's three allies quickly spun around to him and began opening fire with their plasma rifles. McArthy squeezed his body behind the tree, listening to the plasma eat away at the bark and zoom past. Once the firing stopped he bolted away for new cover, their plasma fire tracing him. He was about to slide down the incline he ran up when a plasma shot crashed into his beam rifle.
The force of the impact sent the rifle flying out of his grip and made him stumble down the incline. He rolled through the snow until he came to a stop, then pushed himself to watch the elites quickly sprinting for him. He pulled his pistol out and pointed it forward at the closest elite, but before either of them could fire, a loud squawk filled their ears.
Mim suddenly leaped from the small hill, landing directly onto the elite's shoulders. It roared and stumbled to the left, then Mim presse the shotgun's barrel into its neck and pulled the trigger. The blast tore through the elite's body, purple blood painting the shotgun's barrel as the now dead lite fell over.
Mim rolled over the fallen body, spinning around and firing at the last two elites. McArthy joined in as the two pairs fired at each other. Mim was quick to weave away from their fire, but McArthy's tumble left him slightly dazed. A plasma shot skimmed his knee pad, making him topple to a single knee. He had to roll away to avoid getting hit anymore times.
Both of the elite's shields broke as they were struck with a charged shot from Mim's plasma pistol, then McArthy leaned up and fired at them with his pistol. The shots punched through one of the elite's skull while the other jumped away and hid behind a tree.
With a grunt, McArthy reloaded his pistol and stood up, watching as his feathered friend let out a loud caw and continued firing at the hiding elite. He was about to limp towards her, his knee still burning a bit, when the sudden sound of hovering came from their left. He turned his head to see the ghost racing right for Mim while she was preoccupied with the elite.
His pistol whipped up and he fired as many shots as he could, one of them luckily hitting the grunt driver. But the body simply slumped forward on the controls and made it race towards her faster. They were here because of him, he wasn't letting his friend die. Ignoring the pain in his knee, he moved in a full run and yelled, "Jump!"
Mim turned to him, confused, when he crashed his body into her and shoved her forward. Suddenly, a terrible pain struck him in the side, and everything went black.
Mim let out a squawk as she tumbled forward, then spun around to see a ghost ram right into her human ally. His body flew forward, crashing into a tree, and limply fell onto the ground.
She froze at the sight, her beak opened ajar. He had just pushed her away from that ghost, she would've died.
She didn't get to process the information as a plasma shot struck her in the back armor. She quickly bolted to the side, releasing a grunt of pain and letting out a roaring sound as she raced for the sangheili's cover.
Before the sangheili knew what was happening, Mim was right beside him. She shot him directly in the knee, making the sangheili roar in pain and fall to a knee. Before it could retaliate, Mim stuck the barrel in its mandibles, pumped the shotgun, then squeezed the trigger. The irritating jolt into her shoulder was well worth it as she watched the explosive display of the human weapon.
The brainless corpse fell over to it's side, Mim panting with heavy breaths as she pumped the shotgun and put it on her back. She looked over the corpse with pure satisfaction, then it all disappeared as she froze in place. Her heart sunk as she spun back around to look at McArthy. He was still limply laying where she saw him, making her heart skip a beat.
In seconds, she was next to his body, slid the last couple feet, and grabbed a hold of his helmeted head. She shook it, squawking out, "M-McArthy!"
No response. Filled with distress and fear, she spun her head around as if looking for help. She had no idea how to check if he was alive, human anatomy was beyond her. With desperation, she began wildly feeling around his unarmored body parts, trying to find some way to see if he was still alive. He had to be alive. She couldn't let her only friend die because of her ignorance.
Luckily, she didn't have to look any further when she saw his chestplate rhythmically rising and falling. She fell onto her rear out of relief, raising her head and letting out a long sigh. Something wet started to roll down her cheek, a feeling she wasn't used to. She let out a snort at the idea of tearing up for a human. Though, thinking back on what the past month has been like, it wasn't surprising.
She raised his head and pulled his helmet off. There was blood coming out of his nose, but other than that he seemed fine, just unconscious. She held his head in her arms, staring at his face. This was someone who threw their life away to save her. Mim wasn't used to that, all of these new feelings swirling in her as she cradled the human's head.
One thing was certain, she had to move him back to their shelter. Staying out here was risking getting caught by more patrols. Her gaze then turned to the hanging animal body, would she just leave it? No, she'd come back once she knew McArthy was safe. He was her priority at the moment.
She slipped the helmet onto his head, then lifted his body and held him in her arms. She looked down at the unconscious human, then crooned and ran off, heading for home. The faster she went the better, and the snowing will cover any tracks she left if more come.
It was 30 minutes later when she came upon the human base, squeezed through the broken fence, Carefully making sure nothing poked McArthy.. As she approached the door, she froze in front of it as she realized she had no way of getting inside. Thinking back to when McArthy had opened the door, she remembered watching him pull something card-like out and pressed it against the panel.
She carefully snaked her clawed fingers around the many pockets, nooks, and crannies he could be holding that card when she pulled it out. She recognized it as the one he used, then enthusiastically pressed it against the door. Nothing happened, though, eliciting a snarl of frustration from her. She balled her three fingers into a fist and slammed it into the panel, watching it faintly light up.
Mim pressed the card against the door again, then it slowly and loudly creaked open. With a sigh of relief, she slipped into the base and carried McArthy to the wall. She carefully laid him down next to the wall, then slipped his helmet off and sat it on the table.
Silence settled into the room as Mim sat next to her friend. She carefully looked over him again, his still rising and falling chest filling her with relief again. She felt a sudden wave of emotions as she looked down on her only ally, someone she thought she lost for a minute. With a shuddering sigh, she held his shoulders and laid her forehead against his chestplate.
Never again, never again would she let someone hurt her human.
Her eyes opened as she kept her head pressed against his chest and she noticed a glint around his neck. Curious, she raised her head and moved one of her hands to his neck. She hooked her claw around the glinting object, then tugged and pulled a chain from his neck. She lifted the chain, seeing a small tag at the end. She pinched the tag between her claws and looked at it. There was a familiar name on one side, but before it was something unfamiliar.
The dog tags read "Jacob M. McArthy"
With a tilt of her head, she moved herself back to a crouch as she looked at the name. He said his name was McArthy, a fact that had stumped her. At first she found it strange, believing human's only had single names, but now it seemed like he simply left the rest out. As to why, she had no clue. Maybe, when he first introduced himself, he wasn't completely trusting of her.
But that's changed by now, it must have! An excitement grew in Mim as she looked down at the tag, an idea forming in her head. She quickly tucked the tag down into her belt and moved to the doorway. Before she could do anything, she needed to drag that kill back into one of those rooms. For a moment she wondered if she should use the time afterwards to continue fixing the power, but she pushed it aside. She didn't want to fix something right now, right now her human was hurt.
It took some time and frustration, but she was able to drag the carcass into one of the garages. Luckily it was bled out by the time she got to it, so she didn't leave much of a trail, and any trail she did leave would be buried under the falling snow. She made sure the body was safe from the elements and wouldn't rot by safely wrapping it in a tarp she had found in the empty armory, then quickly made her way back to McArthy.
As she entered the room they had claimed as the living space, Mim carefully crept towards her unconscious friend. He was exactly where she left him, fortunately still breathing. She crooned as she lowered herself next to him again, quietly watching him breath.
She didn't know what to do to check him for injuries or such. He was still breathing, and no more blood had escaped his body, so she assumed he must be fine. What she saw may suggest he'd be unable to do much traveling for a few days, but that was fine with her. It kept him out of danger.
Mim flexed her claws as she looked down at him. Her only friend, her only companion. When she found him, she realized he was her only chance at an ally. She was fortunate he was so understanding, and very observant, for a human. Unbenounced to her until now, she had grown quite… attached to him. But that was only natural, they only had each other.
With the turn of her head, she looked at the chair sitting not too far. With a huff, she stood up and wandered over to it. She slid it closer to McArthy, then took a seat, trying to keep her legs comfortable. She pulled the tags from her belt, dangling the chains and looking at her human's name on it.
A croak escaped her throat, then she slowly said, "J..j-j-ja-a…"
Instead of the name, a raspy caw came out, making her shake her head with a snarl. She sighed, then raised the chain again and stared at his name. Mim knew she'd get it down, just like all the other words he was teaching her.
Leaning her body back into the chair, Mim clutched the chain to her armored chest and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't going anywhere until he was conscious, and since there was nothing she could do to heal him, all she could do was wait.
"Jacob," she rasped, content as she watched her human slumber.
Alright, time for a note here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you to all those who faved, followed, reviewed, and read. This story has already gotten bigger than I could've ever hoped for.Important question for you guys, since you are all the readers. Do you want a lemon?Well, thats it, enjoy yourselves! I'll get my feathered backside out of here!