Braxi woke with a comfortable weight on her arm, it was warm and firm. Opening her eyes, she saw at the border of her vision, a dark brown with a tinge of red. Recognizing now she was holding and being held by the human made her mind think of what her family would do if they found out. She tensed her body to move, but thought better of it. It was comfortable… Thinking back, she had no idea how this situation came to be, she remembered screaming, her rushing in, and then this embrace.

Moving her head back a few inches, she looked at the male in the face. No armor to cover him, his features bare for her to see. Braxi had seen his face a few times, but never truly had the chance to study him. His hair stopped midway down his wide forehead, a thick brow held thin eyebrows, which overhung his near black eyes. Deepset, they weren't as wrinkled as they were when he was sparring. His nose was short, with wide nostrils.

She remained that way, then she felt herself grow drowsy once more. Leaning forward, Braxi again lay her head around the human's smaller head, her neck covering the top his head, and her own head laying on the base of his neck. Curled around, her neck was tickled slightly by the thick coarse hair.

Closing her eyes once more, she fell back into slumber.

Six didn't remember the last time he had felt so comfortable. He didn't know what was covering him, but it was warm. It was smooth, like a baby snake he had once held on Reach. He moved his head closer, half-asleep, Six couldn't place the smell that greeted his nose. It reminded him of rain on cement. Softer, there was a layer that smelled more like petrichor. Enjoying the clean smell, he dug his nose deeper.

He heard what sounded like… like a cat purring? Surprised, his mind woke up, and he opened his eyes. What greeted him left him confused, there was an expanse of grey skin, warm against his face. Looking farther, he recognized the crimson of Zealot armor. Blinking, his mind went back to the events of the previous night. Nightmares plagued him, worse than he had ever experienced before. He remembered nothing but fear, and throwing a punch at whoever woke him. His face went red with embarrassment when he realized who he had punched. Knowing he would have to apologize, he sighed. Trying to move his arms, he realized he was pinned.

Instead of trying to get out from the heavy mass, he instead dug his arm deeper around, and found a more comfortable spot. The top of his head was shifted slightly, and he assumed it was the long neck of his sleeping partner. Too comfortable to really care about the odd situation, he pushed himself closer and sighed in contentment.

"Are you finally awake?", the soft voice originated near the back of his head.

Not moving much he gave his reply. "Yeah, but I kinda want to go back to sleep".

"Only this once, Spartan", she hummed above him.

He chuckled slightly, glad it wasn't as awkward as he had dreaded it would be. "Never thought I'd end up like this", joked.

"Me neither, I didn't know your kind had fur", she replied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what happened earlier. I've… never been like that before", he said, turning seriously. Even with his head hidden in the crook of her neck. He felt like a child again. Scared the Covenant would knock on his door again. The fear he had felt when he was young, of escaping Harvest.

She hummed, still processing the past day. They had been in close proximity for the past few weeks, as the ship went from Reach, towards Sanghelios and then finally for Earth. It was an odd circumstance, she felt. After waiting a moment, Six felt uncomfortable that she didn't respond vocally, instead she had just hummed.

Sighing, he eased his way out of the embrace. He knew he had to have been mentally unhealthy. In his life, Six had been touched only by medics, or the enemy. He barely remembered his early childhood, one of his first memories was being held by his sobbing mother, as they fled towards a ship. He never saw his mother again after that.

Avoiding eye contact, he leaned away from the head that was draped over his own. He turned his head. Uncomfortable at the idea of how much intimacy he had shamefully basked in. Thinking of other matters, his mind drifted to how the war was progressing. Hopefully, with the Arbiter being named, Shipmaster 'Rodamee taking his fleet out of the Covenant, and the Prophets relying more on Brutes, he hoped the war had lost momentum after Reach.

With a hand laying itself on its shoulder, he turned to face Braxi. She looked serious, to Six, Sangheili always looked serious, but he knew Braxi's facial expressions a little better than other Sangheili.

She sighed before she spoke. "I'd like to keep this between you and me. My brothers would try to kill you if they found out. I don't know what Father would do…", he told him.

Nodding, he understood. Already meeting one of her brothers, he had no intent on disrupting family waters. "Of course. I feel the same way. If the UNSC found out, they'd most likely brand me a traitor", he agreed easily.

With that, both stood, she watched in fascination as he began the long task of putting his armor on. Piece by piece, he put on first his steel boots, his calf armor, upwards then his wrist and bicep armor. Finally came the chest and shoulders. Six purposefully did not put his helmet on, instead he kept it in the crook of his elbow.

He looked towards the taller Sangheili, who had already had most of her armor on. "I guess I'll head to the bridge. I am sure negotiations are ready to start", he announced.

As he strode from the sleeping quarters, past the open area, and out through the portal, he heard steps keeping pace with him. Questioningly, he turned his unarmored head.

Seeing the look, she responded. "I am still your guard", she said professionally. A slight joking edge entered her voice.

Nodding, he continued walking with her beside him. She usually kept a half pace behind him, but he felt more at ease with her in his vision. With a steady course to the bridge, they kept a brisk pace.

At the bridge, B-312 was surprised to see more UNSC ships than he had originally expected. Now, his breath truly caught. Before him was the ship his team had sacrificed everything for. Looking damaged, but still feasible, was the Pillar of Autumn. He wondered how long it had been there. Standing still, Braxi turned to see his feet planted. She shrugged and walked back to stand at his side. She kept noticeably closer than she had previously. A small detail that did not evade Six. Lost in thought, he stayed there a long moment.

"Spartan! The Shipmaster calls you to his quarters!", a rough Sangheili voice proclaimed. Looking, he saw the one yelling was the communications officer. He never learned his name but knew he was close to the Shipmaster. Also not knowing where the elder Sangheili's quarters were, he looked towards Braxi who walked off with a nod of her head. Following, he let his eyes travel. At first it was the walls around them, but slowly he found himself studying the Sangheili. From the way her head bobbed slightly, to the muscles in her form as she walked, to the way her armor flashed in its crimson depths. Catching his eye with her own she stared questioningly.

"Is there something on me?", she asked.

Coughing, he looked away. Wishing to have had his helmet on, he felt foolish. "Nothing, just looking at your armor", he half lied.

Humming in response, she continued on the way to her Father's quarters. She didn't know what to think. Reaching the portal, Gabriel took a small moment to place his helmet on. Seeing he was ready, they marched into the room. Firstly, Six noticed there was more than just the Shipmaster. There were two other males, one he recognized as the youngest of Braxi's siblings. The other one still looked young, but bore a striking resemblance to the Shipmaster, Another of her brothers, I assume Six thought. One more Sangheili was there, this time he was curious as it was an older female. One, he realized, looked very similar to Braxi.

Standing, the woman hastily strode towards Braxi. Stopping before her, the elder Sangheili woman looked intensely at Braxi, as if scanning for wounds. With a lift of her mandibles, she relaxed her posture.

"It is good you are safe, Daughter. Perhaps with this war closing, you will return to the Keep?", she asked.

Happy seeing her mother, and distraught over her idea, Braxi kept her lesser emotions hidden.

"Maybe Mother, maybe. How has the Keep been?", she inquired of her Mother's greatest pride.

Braxi regretted that when she saw her Mother look down-trodden. "The Prophets have long since dwindled the supply of workers. We were struggling, there weren't enough women to manage everything. Males off to war, we had little choice", her Mother said stoically.

Often thinking of her own species, she understood one of the main issues was their over-reliance on warrior culture. Wars can not be fought without armor, without food, without many things. She knew that's what the Prophets had wanted; a species loyal not only out of principle, but out of need.

Shoving those well-worn thought patterns, Braxi turned her attention back to her Mother.

"Mother, this is the Spartan Gabriel", she introduced the human.

Ignoring the angry guttural noise that emitted from the youngest, B-312 bowed his head in a gesture of respect and following the customs he had read, thanked Braxi's mother for her hospitality.

Looking pleased, the elder smiled towards him, then frowned towards her youngest son. She was getting ready to admonish him but was beaten by her eldest son. "Xiun, mind your words. Do not make me tell you twice", he told his younger brother.

Standing, Six noticed he was indeed a large Sangheili. At his full height, he was a few inches taller than his father. " I am R'tsan. Eldest behind Braxi", he said simply. Studying the Spartan without hesitation, taking in his armored form, his stance, anything that could help him get a reading of the human's strength or feelings.

Realizing now she would miss her chance to properly introduce herself, the Mother of all the Sangheili present drew herself up properly. "And I am Naya, proud Mother to these three warriors", she said with her chest puffed out slightly.

He swore he saw Braxi almost roll her eyes, he allowed himself a small laugh at the thought within the confines of his helmet. Not loud enough to be heard.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am", he said politely. He noticed R'tsan still standing. Six noticed the large Sangheili wore a disgruntled look.

Ignoring the Spartan, he glanced towards his only elder sibling, then moved towards her. Sniffing, he huffed and returned to his seat. Six was confused at the odd display. He didn't voice his curiosity. At that time, the portal behind him opened. In strode Set 'Rodamee. The Shipmaster of currently more than twenty battleships and cruisers, and two Supercarriers. Nodding towards the Spartan, he walked past and sat at the head of the table. Closest to him was R'Tas on his right, and his wife to his left. All seated now except the lone human, the Shipmaster gestured for him to take the seat before him.

"Negotiations have begun, and the UNSC are demanding you be relieved of your current armor. You will be there for a ceremony of sorts, they say", Set informed him.

Six nodded. "And why couldn't they tell me directly?", he asked the Shipmaster.

"I wanted to ascertain your position. I apologize for the slight withholding of information, but I again wanted to make sure you would help cement the relationship between our two species", he explained.

Gabriel thought for a moment. "I will explain the story as it unfolded, respecting your hospitality, I will not reveal anything of importance on the layout or structure of your ship. Furthermore, I will request to stay on this ship" he said. He knew ONI would seed their own ambassador. They would do nothing but create a rift between the two parties. ONI would, in Gabriel's mind, destroy everything they had fought for in the past two decades.

Confused, the Shipmaster raised his brow. "Don't you want to return to your own people? Why stay with us?", he questioned pointedly. Genuinely not understanding the human. Is this a trick? A ploy?

Six removed his helmet, not wanting his face to be hidden in such an important talk. "I refuse to let my hard work be undone by some ONI asshole. ONI is the Office of Naval Intelligence. Do not trust them, they will take whatever they can from you, trust me on that. I know how they function, they have committed too many atrocities, too many wrongs" he said with venom. ONI treated him as a dog, one they had thrown into many suicidal positions. They had lied too many times.

Gabriel looked the Shipmaster in the eyes, sincerity burning in his eyes. "I want to help your people. I want you to help my people too, and we can't do that if we don't try to understand each other. I hope you will let me stay", he said with confidence and a clear resolve.

Set never liked liars, and worse, he hated liars who said things with false promise. He felt no deceit in the human, but his mind still kept alert. " I will house you here on this ship, on my honor. Braxi will be your retainer during your stay, she will guard you day and night, and help you to learn more of our people. I am trusting you, Spartan, and I do not trust easily. Many Sangheili will be against this, but I believe we can overcome this with perseverance. I grant you access to any part of this ship, while you are here, you are guaranteed protection. Together, our species will flourish in a new age", then he looked towards his daughter. "Is that acceptable to you, Daughter?", he questioned his Daughter customarily. Such a large duty should not be forced, but be accepted.

She nodded, and raised her hand to her chest. " To my dying breath, this human shall fall to no harm in my presence", she spoke solemnly. A death promise was not often used as a show of agreement, but it pleased him nonetheless.

Standing, everyone took to their feet. The Shipmaster looked over the human with a serious expression. "If you fail us, my people will lose faith. Faith in me, and faith in the humans. I pray for the success of our negotiations", he said and left the room.

Next was R'Tas, he walked past the table and stood before the Spartan. He laid his heavy hand on his shoulder, "I am looking forward to our future, Spartan. Many have my kind have been killed by you, let us see how many lives we can better together. For Sanghelios, for Earth. Go with steady feet, wherever you tread", he spoke. It had almost spooked Six that he would go as far to extend a token of friendship like that. Rarely do Sangheili engage in physical contact, rarer so with another species. Behind him, the youngest brother simply looked past the Spartan and exited behind his elder brother.

Naya approached him, folding herself into a deep bow, she raised her head. "On the blood spilt by our fathers, and the blood to spill from our sons. I pray the past may be swept aside in favor of a bright future", she spoke optimistically and then followed the path her husband had taken towards the bridge. Alone, Braxi and six eyed each other for a second. Moving closer, she shrugged one arm with one palm facing upwards. " I guess that's that. R'Tas is friendly enough, listens to his elders. Mother seemed to enjoy your presence, Xiun will not change his opinion quickly, as block headed as he is", she spoke conversationally.

"That was smooth. I liked them", he said and cut off the conversation as he stared towards the ground in thought. It was a habit from childhood that had not been shaken. Whenever he was in thought.

"I guess you'll have to keep watch more often now, huh? Sorry about that", he said lightly.

She nodded and smiled playfully. "If only I didn't reek of you, maybe it'd be slightly better", she said. "Come on, let's go back to the quarters", she said and walked off.

Turning around after a few feet, she looked at the Spartan. He smelled the pit of his arm, "I don't reek, do I?", he said. He had yet found a way to work the odd showers. And the gel of his suit could last up to several months. It was microbial and defended against filth. With a roll of her eyes, she again began to walk. This time with the faster, lighter steps behind her own. Soon enough, they caught up. "Could you teach me how to use the showers?", he asked.

With a scoff, she eyed him, "It's been what, how long now? And you still don't know how to use it?", she said in disbelief.

"It's been a long, long past few weeks", he weakly defended himself. Soon enough, they made it to their quarters. Weird to think like that, 'ours'. This sounds more and more like a badly written joke. He mused to himself. Passing various Sangheili would rarely pause to render a salute, more accustomed to the sight of the once-known demon. Now, as a more common occurrence, he thought it was almost odd how adaptable the lot was. None greeted him directly, but most still saluted the Zealot beside him.

They reached their quarters, and Six headed towards the equivalent to the bathroom. A toilet like device was in there, set up near the shower area. It was a large square shaped area that could easily hold three or four of his own large frames. Maybe two large Sangheili. Water fell from the ceiling, blistering hot he tried to find a way to turn it down. After a few moments of mounting frustration, Braxi entered hearing the odd human words. Trying her best to ignore the bare skin visible, she asked what the problem was.

"I can't find a way to make the damned water any cooler", he said in a huff. Annoyed at the overly complex device.

Placing her hand on the device's control, she moved her fingers twice, and the steam from the shower dimmed some. Reaching towards the water, Six became satisfied with the heat.

Braxi turned towards him, and showed him how to alter the settings.

"This button will lead to the temperature, this one pressure, and this one I think changes from how many holes it will come out of", she quickly ran him through the different settings.

"Thanks, I appreciate it Braxi", he said. With that, she turned and exited the bathroom, leaving the human to his own devices. He spent a few seconds changing the pressure, now it would pound against his skin, just shy of leaving markings.

Six stayed a long time in that shower. He let his thoughts go, running through random thought processes, let random memories surface. Six let go control of his mind, letting his subconscious tell him what was most wrong. He always believed in letting your subconscious tell him what was wrong, and after finding the root of negative emotions, process them so he may have better control over himself. It never failed him. Even at his lowest points, it had not failed him. Now, he wasn't as certain.

Six, that lone wolf stuff stays behind, clear? He laughed to himself in the shower, letting the noise block it out from anyone else that could be listening. Carter had spoken a prophecy then, and didn't even know it. Reach has been good to me. Time has come to return the favor. Don't deny me this. And he hadn't. He gave Jorge the death he wanted. Oh, and don't fall in love with my voice. The closer you get to a jammer, the worse the reception is going to get. Kat's sarcastic voice echoed in his chasm of a breaking mind. Gabriel had always found solace in that sarcasm, no matter the situation. Even early on in training, before ONI had taken him to be a headhunter. Being on the same fireteam as her, was to him a small allowance. Each of their spirits echoed in his mind, each soliciting a pattern of negative emotions he felt he would never unwind. The one that always hit him the hardest was Emile. Gabriel never liked Emile, seeing him go the way he did was the nail in the coffin. In the bottom of the shower, he curled up. Knowing he could do nothing, he let himself cry. It wasn't Spartan to do. He knew it, he felt shame in it. He also knew he would soon be combat ineffective if he didn't eat the emotions.

He fell into that pit. That pit was so dark he couldn't open his eyes. He imagined his very identity loosening and falling into nothingness. He felt that pit open in his stomach, and knew he was back where he was so long ago. A place he felt he would never be reduced back to. All right Six… this is it. That was the turning point, he felt red hot rage boil within him. It didn't fucking matter! The entire goddamn Covenant fleet was there! What the fuck were you going to do Emile?! It should have been me! You took that from me… my last escape… his jaw quivered and shouted his grief.

Almost all his life, his career, it was the same. He was nothing more than a suit of armor and a killswitch. Who am I? He thought. He didn't want to be. Why am I here? When my entire team is waiting on me… and what am I supposed to do? He asked himself pointedly, interrogating himself.

A loud knock resounded on the locked portal door, he froze. Six had no idea how long he was in there, or how loud he had been. Standing, he rubbed the snot from his face. Making sure his eyes were washed out, as to not appear to have been crying, he removed himself from the shower. He turned it off and toweled himself off. He opened the portal slightly, to see Braxi's eyes gazing back into his own. They held no question, only a burning look that seemed to paralyze him.

"Are you alright, Gabriel?", she asked. Braxi already knew the answer. She wasn't exactly sure of the depth, but knew it was deep. Catastrophic was on choice words.

He fixed his face into a cliff of apathy, "Yeah, what's up?"He tried his best to sound at least somewhat normal. The roughness of his voice gave it away too easily.

Her brow dropped into a look that seemed to say, 'Are you a dipshit? Or down right retarded?' and he quickly found he was caught.

He sighed, "I'll tell you about it when I get dressed, alright?".

She nodded, " It better be truthful, don't waste my time with making things sound less serious than they are", she told him with a dose of authority he was unused to.

Six closed the portal and took his time putting his gel suit on. He felt like a lamb to the slaughter. A deep feeling of dread took root. Never have spoken about his problems, he felt terrified at the prospect. He hoped the Sangheili wouldn't dig too far.

Outside, he found the Sangheili female had laid out two cups and a pitcher. Seeing the signs, he felt it would be a long torturous talk. One he felt would drain him more than his time in the shower.

She stared up at his approach. Braxi was almost nervous, she had planned a discussion with him since his last breakdown, but had little idea how he would respond to a straight and clear cut battle. Knowing the kind of injury he was nursing, she knew he would fight her. Much like a fisherman, she laid out the simple bait. Two cups of water. It would immediately get him into the idea it would be a long talk. The second thing she did was make sure no one would bother them, and even went as far as to lock the portals. Braxi felt some discomfort at the fact she was maneuvering so aggressively and in short trapping the Spartan. She took refuge in knowing that pulling this splinter now would hopefully stop the future infection.

" You spent more than two hours in there. Almost a third of it screaming or yelling. What brought that around?", she asked after he had seated himself a distance away from her.

He riveted his eyes to the floor with his elbows on his knees. Thinking about the reason, he was lost in thought. "I don't know. It just… came out", he said at length.

Nodding, the Sangheili thought about her next move. "And the night before, you were screaming about being left. Do you know anything about that?". She saw with small satisfaction and a great deal of worrying as the human's eyes shot wide, and his breathing nearly stopped.

Having a moment of realization, he spoke slowly. "I… my mother left me. She uh… she put me on the last transport of Harvest. I remember her shoving me in, and her turning with a smile", his jaw quivered but he was sick of crying, of being weak. He steeled himself. "I can't even remember her face. I remember her screaming in fear, the way she smelled, the way she smiled at me… But I can't even remember my mother's face. What type of son am I? To not even give her that. I don't even know her name, Braxi", he said in a rush. He knew he wasn't stable, he knew all too well how close he was to losing himself. He knew deeply of the damage he took in his life. That knowledge alone paralyzed him.

The Sangheili was thrown off guard by the leap in logic, but quickly threw together her next question. "How does that make the emotions you just experienced in the shower?", she asked to get him on the right path.

He sighed. It was a painful torture. "I was a headhunter for a long time. Braxi, I've killed more of your kind than are in this entire armada. I have killed more Sangheili, than I have talked to my own people", he told her with a small hint of guilt.

Braxi's mind halted. To kill more Sangheili than in this entire armada? That's twenty ships… thats… she did the rough math in her head. Thats… that's in the tens of thousands… maybe a hundred thousand! That's not possible… unless it was him! For years, the Sangheili ships were sabotaged, blown to bits in a miraculous unknown way. An infiltrator had bounced ship to ship nearly the entire war, with no repercussions several Super class ships were blown to bits… it was this Spartan? No man could do that… not a Spartan, not a Sangheili, not the first Swordsman of Sanghelios… what is he? That's not possible… she thought to herself in a rush of thoughts. She had to know.

"Gabriel… was it you? Were you the Spirit?", she asked. The Spirit became a legend, a story to tell young Sangheili to scare them. Often telling them if their guard was down, the Spirit would gut them from behind. It was the bogeyman.

Gabriel stared at her, a grim smile on his face. "Is that what I was called? I thought I was another demon", he said with a dark tone.

Her mind reeled. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea. One Spartan, A single man killed enough Sangheili to keep the war going for years… and he stands before me a broken mess.

She stared at him for a long time. "Is that why you screamed 'it should have been me'?", she asked. He shrugged.

"I never wanted to kill. All my life has been killing, doing this, doing that. Never to create, always to destroy. Destroy. What am I but a destroyer? What am I to do but be destroyed?", he asked.

Braxi barely understood what he meant. "Now you have a chance here. You can turn the tide, and lead the negotiations to benefit all of us. We can destroy the Covenant together", she told him.

"After what I did? I shouldn't be here. I should be on Reach", he said.

With fury she looked at him, "And do what?! Do nothing? Be a corpse in a sea of glass? Let the whole galaxy fall into chaos? To stay in chaos?", she exploded.

He eyed her with a glassy look, "There are plenty of better people, plenty of others to do the work. I did my part Braxi, I did it well. By God, I did it to the very end. My story ended on Reach, with my team", he said with conviction.

She calmed herself, "But it didn't. No, now you're hovering over Earth. Ready to help turn this age of dark, towards an age of light. Of regrowth", she said.

Six thought for a moment, taking in her words. He closed his eyes, and put his palms to his face. "I'm tired, Braxi. I'm just tired", he said in exhaustion.

Sitting, she smiled. She knew now there was a chance. "And you can be. You are allowed to be tired. You're allowed to take breaks, but you have to keep pushing, Gabriel", she said optimistically.

Nodding, he digested those words. " I didn't know you were a therapist. I thought you were a Zealot", he joked. It delighted her to know even in his place, he could find a way to twist it into humor.

She hummed, "I am many things, when it is called for", she said. Afterall, she was the eldest sister to more than five brothers. It didn't happen often, but she still had to lead them every now and again. Braxi felt closer to the human. She had picked his brain, and she was pleasantly surprised that he didn't fight nearly as hard as she had anticipated. Maybe locking him in here was a tad overkill she thought to herself.

She looked towards him, "You said you were tired, tired enough to sleep?", she asked.

He nodded, "I could sleep for a week", he said as he stood. He scratched the back of his head, feeling both foolish and naive. "I know you said only once, but could… could you sleep with me again?", he said, feeling very small.

Braxi blinked once, "I wouldn't mind", she said as she stood. Together, they walked towards the sleeping quarters. He avoided her eyes and layed down on the bed. He was only in his gel suit, but he waited for Braxi to remove most of her crimson armor. In fascination, he watched each piece come off, easier than his own MJOLNIR armor. Underneath, she wore strips of black material akin to leather. It wrapped around her forearms, her shoulders, chest and around her hips down to her knees. Her figure was slim, yet he knew she was stronger than almost any Spartan. A fact he found himself greatly appreciating. He knew it was odd, but brushed it off. He had too many thoughts run through his mind today. Done, Braxi met his eyes, and he quickly avoided them. She too felt suddenly vulnerable, and not one to be vain, strode quickly to him to get under the covers, away from his prying eyes.

Under the covers, Six kept himself at the far side of the bed, pressed into the corner with his shoulder against the wall. Looking up, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the alien in his bed. Knowing he was being petty because of his discomfort, he forced his eyes shut and kept his hands by his thighs. He felt the bed shift and smelled her clean scent. A lighter smell that reminded him of linen on clotheslines, out after the rain. An earthly smell.

With her beside him, he felt himself grow drowsy. Yawning, he rotated his body to face towards the Sangheili beside him. He jolted seeing her so close, she was facing him, and was less than five inches away from him. Instead of looking away, he began studying her face. She had an odd, angular beauty. Her face was more narrow, similar to a bird of prey. Braxi in turn studied him, his eyes were darker than any Sangheili. Nearly black, the lines around his eyes deep and shrouded. There were lines around his mouth too. She rotated her eyes upwards, his brow was wide, a large forehead, and hair that reached halfway to said brow. It was dark red, nearly brown. She liked the color, it seemed to switch in the lighting. Now in near darkness, it looked brown.

Closing his eyes first, she continued to study him. She caught herself comparing him to other Sangheili she knew. He had more battles fought than almost any other, more deaths at his hands. Yet, he had more compassion, a larger drive to create than many. She eyed his body, he had scars too. From his face alone, she counted more than a dozen, she expected it was from shrapnel of some kind. Not much could through their armor, she knew. She then dragged up memories of the dead humans she had seen. He was broader than them, as they weren't of the Spartan breed. Even out of the Spartans she had witnessed, he was broader in the shoulders, not the tallest by any means, but for his size, he had wide arms. The way his muscles in his neck moved fascinated her.

Soon enough, she too closed her eyes. Six felt her eyes on him for a long while, but eventually he fell into a decent sleep.

Six didn't know how long he slept, but when he awoke, he felt gratification. While asleep, Braxi had moved herself closer to him. To his chest. His chin was on the top of her head, although her body was longer than his, she had curled herself against him. His arms were around her, and he enjoyed the way her breaths sounded lightly in the dark room. I could get used to this… he heard himself think. His thoughts took a dark turn, But when I do, it'll hurt all the more when she goes.

Brushing the thoughts aside, he shimmied himself closer. She was warm. At least a few degrees warmer than him. Her skin felt good to his hands, to his biceps. It was smooth, like warm marble with the suppleness of flesh. Breathing stone he thought.

He found himself rubbing her forearm with the hand under her shoulder blade. She moved a little, and he felt her come awake. "What is it? What time is it?", she asked sleepily.

He hummed, "I don't know. It's nothing. Go back to sleep", he stopped rubbing her arm.

She purred like she did before, "That felt nice, keep doing it", she demanded him.

How bossy he thought with a small internal laugh. He kept it going until he felt her breaths even out, and he felt himself grow sleepy once again. That night, he had no terrors, they were snuffed out by the unlikely person beside him. He felt something in him waking up, slowly he felt warmth returning, fighting the coldness of apathy. He heard Jorge's voice again. Tell them to make it count.

I will Jorge. I will make every death worth it. Or die trying. Gabriel, Spartan B-312, Noble six, vowed to himself. Whatever it takes, whatever pain may come, I will surmount it all. For Reach, for Harvest, for every life lost. Human and Sangheili.