Imma say it here, I apologize for any quality issues. I don't know if it's true, but this one didn't feel as good as it could've been, but I didn't know how to fix. I've been busy with a lot of things lately, hope you can forgive me. I hope you enjoy either way.
The morning was cold, colder than the last few. The injured ODST grumbled as he turned over, finding himself alone again. He grunted as he tried to move his right arm, quickly moving his left hand up to grip his shoulder. He leaned forward and let out a yawn, still gripping his bandaged shoulder.
The lamp sitting next to him was glowing brightly, radiating a comforting warmth. The waking man weakly reached for the lamp, grabbing it and pulling it close to his body. He was very slowly getting used to the cold, but he definitely was not a fan of it, especially now.
After some time of silent hugging the warm lamp, the sound of soft tapping came from the cave entrance around the corner. Instinctively, McArthy grabbed onto the pistol holstered on his thigh with discomfort and spun it to the bend. After a few seconds of tense waiting, he watched the familiar sigh of Mim walk around the corner, relieving the ODST. He watched her pause and stare at him, specifically his hand. That's when he realized he hadn't lowered his gun yet.
Seeing the misunderstanding, he quickly put the gun on the ground, then slid it away from him. He went to raise both his hands, only to grunt and wince at the pain in his shoulder. He moved to grab it, then slowly slid himself back down, taking deep breaths.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the bird continue into the cave, carrying two things in her hands. In one hand was an alien creature being held by it's hind legs, couldn't have been bigger than a rabbit. In the other was a more recognizable object to the soldier, an M45 shotgun. Where she got it, he had no clue, and he doubted that he'd be able to pry that information out of her with her current grasp on English.
He watched her walk to the end of the cave and carefully lean the shotgun against the wall, definitely the most care to a weapon he's seen from her. The strange animal in her hand suddenly twitched, prompting her to squawk something and slam it against the wall, raising it up to get a better look. McArthy winced at the sight of her slamming it into the wall, not exactly how he'd make sure his prey was dead, but it worked.
Once she was sure it died, she proudly placed a fist to her hip and presented it to him. The two stared at each other for a moment, then McArthy sat up. He sorely stood up, then pulled the buck knife from his sheath. He carefully took the animal, then looked around the cave. There were a few sharp pieces of metal lying around, what he needed. He grabbed a piece, then retrieved his pistol.
He walked outside the cave, his body shuttering as he felt the cold. He walked up to the closest tree, then turned his head back to the cave. He could see Mim curiously watching him from inside, it striking him that she seemed to like her meat raw. He squat over the ground, placing the animal flat out on the ground, then raised his knife. He moved it over the animals leg, then began cutting. It wasn't long until he had the leg cut off, then he turned around and raised it in the air.
Almost like a puppy, Mim shot forward from the cave and swiped it from his grasp. She spun around, putting her back to him, then tore into it. Before McArthy could go back to the animal, he noticed a leaf sticking in her feathers. Without thinking, he reached to grab the leaf. The moment his fingertips touched her feathers, Mim spun around with a threatening squawk and clamped her jaws over where his hand was a moment ago, the ODST being fast enough to pull it back.
He stared at Mim, seeing the anger and fear in her eyes quickly dissipate, then she let out a soft snort and walked off towards the cave. As she walked, McArthy apologetically waved and said, "Sorry, got a little carried away!"
Her head slightly turned back in acknowledgment, then she disappeared around the bend in the cave. McArthy let out a sigh as crouched back over the animal, not knowing exactly why he reached for that leaf, but he almost got bit for it. He definitely wasn't going to do that again.
McArthy returned to the animal, cutting into it's neck with his buck knife. Once he had it's head off, he put the knife down and grabbed the sharp piece of metal. He stabbed the animal in it's foot, then placed the foot against the tree. He pulled his pistol out, then placed the butt of it against the metal. Using it as a hammer, he bashed the piece of metal into the tree, hanging the animal, letting it's blood drain from his missing head.
He swiped his bloody knife from the ground and wiped it off on the animal's fur, then sheathed it. Once the animal's blood was gone, he could properly cut it up and cook it.
As he turned to return to the cave, he could see Mim walk back around the bend, clutching the journal. McArthy softly chuckled as he watched her display it outwards with a burst of excitement, then waved his hand and said, "Calm down now, we can start. Got nothing else to do."
The two turned around the bend of the cave when McArthy noticed something. Mim was ever so slightly shivering. Was the cold getting to her now? Not even he was shivering, and she was the one with the feathers and skin tight suit.
They took a seat on the ground, McArthy opening the journal and flipping to where they were last. As he did, he used his foot to slightly push the lamp closer to Mim, avoiding her attention. Once he was on the right page, he put the book on the ground and spun it around.
Mim intently stared at the page, then McArthy pushed his finger over a paragraph and said, "Pick out each word you don't know, and we'll go over them."
She looked up at him, tilting her head, then he sighed and grabbed the pen. He flipped to an empty page, then wrote down, "Pick unknown words."
He watched as her almost glowing eyes stared at his words, then she nodded her head and pushed the pages back to where they were. As McArthy watched the alien read the page, he rested his chin on his fist and wondered how he got here in the first place, teaching an enemy how to speak English.
His thoughts immediately went back to the sight of the frigate he fell out of exploding in the distance. Everyone he cared about in this universe was gone, in an instant. Any hope for a message getting out of his stranding was gone, though he doubted the UNSC would give a rats ass.
He was barely paying attention to the words Mim was scribbling down as he began to think back to his friends. His family. All the things they'd gone through, all the fun they had, everything ripped away from him in moments. Given his less than lovely childhood, they had been the best thing he ever really had.
After a while of being stuck in his own thoughts, he heard a strange cooing. His eyes flicked upwards to see Mim had stopped paying attention to the book, and was now focused on his face. He felt himself redden a bit, confused as to why she was paying him mind. He watched as she placed a claw under her eye, making him follow suit only to feel...
Tears.
McArthy quickly wiped his armored forearms across his face, rubbing his eyes, then sighed and said, "Don't mind me, I'm thinking, is all. Now, let's see what you…"
He attempted to spin the book back around to look at the words she wrote, when her three fingered hand planted itself on the book. He looked up to face her, watching her tilt her head and let out another coo. She was curious, she knew something was up, but McArthy didn't know if he should share it.
He shook his head and said, "No, I'm not gonna waste our time with baggage, let's just…"
Once again, he tried to spin the book again, but her fingers stayed firm on it, her head slowly nodded, prompting him to explain. After a few seconds of silent staring, he moved his hand away from the book and let out a long sigh.
McArthy picked the pen up, then spun the book around. Mim let him to, seemingly knowing he decided to share. He flipped to a page, then wrote the words, "Family died."
He spun the book around and showed her, placing the pen next to the book. He watched as Mim looked at the words, then her head slowly looked up at him. Her eyes seemed to look him up and down for a moment, then she picked up the pen and wrote, "Ship exploded?"
Once she wrote it, she pointed upwards. McArthy sighed as he nodded his head. He looked down at the floor, his eyes feeling watery, then he watched Mim's hand slowly reach over and grab his shoulder.
He looked from her hand to her face, then watched her slowly trying to work a word out. After a moment, she softly said, "Sorry."
McArthy's body was shifting, and despite tears forming, he cracked a small smile and said, "You know, when you speak correctly, you sound quite nice."
Suddenly, Mim seemed to pause, her feathers erecting outwards some with a shake. She quickly shook her head, smoothing her feathers down with her hands, then chirped and flipped the journal back to her written, unknown words.
McArthy chuckled at her flustered reaction, but decided against saying anything about it. She clearly wanted to move on to the lessons. Something he happily obliged as he began going over the words with her.
As usual, the process was quite sluggish, but slowly and surely Mim seemed to get a better grasp of each word he went over. McArthy could tell it would probably take months of these daily lessons before she had a proper grasp of the language. But would they be here in that much time?
As it struck the ODST, this probably was where he was going to spend the rest of his life, at least how it seemed now. Maybe they'd get access to a ship, maybe the UNSC would come back, or maybe the Covenant would simply glass the planet and kill them. Whatever happened, they definitely didn't have any control over it, so it seemed the coming days would consist of them simply trying to stay alive. A plan that leaves plenty of room for lessons such as this one.
#
It had been a few hours, and McArthy certainly felt the mental exhaustion. Mim, on the other hand, was just as enthusiastic as she was when they began. But, she was a lot quicker to pick up McArthy's facial cues than he was to hers, or at least that's what he guessed when she ended the lesson herself.
McArthy looked up at her curiously as she shut the journal between them. He held his hand out questioningly, only for Mim to stand up and gestured out the cave. He turned his to look, then slowly brought himself up, grunting as pain shot through his shoulder.
He dared a glance at Mim as he gripped his shoulder, seeing what he thought was a hint of concern in her eyes. McArthy turned back, then winced as he tried to move it. The feeling of getting shot by a needler was far more akin to getting stabbed than shot, which the ODST was slightly glad about. He had far more experience getting stabbed in his past than getting shot.
As he exited the cave, he turned to see the animal he had posted up seemed to be drained of blood, given the large puddle of blood below it. He pulled his knife from the sheathe, then grabbed the creature and pulled it off the tree. He sat next to a rock, propping the animal's body on it, then began cutting it the best he could.
After some time, he had all the edible meat cut and sitting on it's skin. There wasn't as much as he hoped, he didn't want to chance adding in some kind of poisonous piece, so he tossed away most of the more unusual pieces. It still left him with quite a bit, enough for the day. Still, even in the midst of war, McArthy wasn't too accustomed to such a minimal diet. The stomach pains were something he'd need to get used to.
He very carefully carried the meat inside, watching as Mim sniffed the air for a moment, then spun around to face him, licking her chops. He nodded towards the meat as he walked over towards the lamp, watching as she walked up to him and carefully pulled a piece away to eat.
McArthy placed the meat down on top of the skin, then cranked the lamp's what up to cook it.
He watched as the lamps glowed brightened, then heard the sound of sloshing. His gaze turned upwards to see Mim holding his water canteen out to him, shaking it a bit. He was surprised as he took it, she had filled it herself. Though, as he unscrewed the lid, he shouldn't be surprised. She has been out here quite a bit longer than he has, and last he checked, all animals need water. Then again, human stomachs seemed to be pickier than most.
He took a swig of the water, then nodded after he swallowed and said, "Thanks, Mim."
Her head nodded, then she seated herself against the wall across from him and started to eat the piece she took. As McArthy waited for the lamp to heat up, he couldn't help but stare at Mim as she sat down. Jackals were one's he always found curiously familiar, given their bird-like appearance, but skirmishers took that to a whole new level. Mim was a bit short for her kind, but maybe that had to do with her gender. He was more knowledgeable about them than the average marine, but he wasn't that familiar. Other than that, she had all the other defining traits of her kind. From this distance, he could see the power in her legs, and after watching her kick an elite in the face and break his mandibles, he would definitely remember to be wary around them.
McArthy suddenly felt shame wash over him as he stared at her, averting his gaze back to the glowing lamp. Before, he observed her kind and other Covenant as if they were zoo animals, but with her, he simply felt rude staring at her. As he moved a piece onto the lamp to cook with his knife, he let out a sigh of relief she didn't notice.
He watched as the meat cooked on the lamp, making sure it didn't cook for too long. From the corner of his eye, he could see Mim curiously watching him every now and again. As it seemed, she hasn't seen someone cook before, or at least that's what it looked.
Once his food was done, McArthy stabbed it with his knife and began eating it, finding the meat far more tender than whatever he ate before. He cooked and ate until all the food he had cut was gone, for once in a few days feeling full stomach.
As he finished, he noticed movement coming from Mim. He turned his head to see her swipe the shotgun off the wall. What he didn't expect was to see her pull out some buckshot and attempt to load the weapon with shells.
In a flash he rose to his feet, not fully understanding what she wanted to do. He had enough trust to know she wasn't going to just execute him, but the loading put him on edge. She was still an alien, there was so much he still didn't know.
Her attempt paused as she saw his sudden movement, then she shook her head, raising the weapon, and said, "Test."
Her one word was enough to let McArthy know what she meant. He rubbed the stubble on his chin, then asked, "You ever shoot something like that?"
He watched the bird's head look at him, then back down at the shotgun she was trying to load. After a moment, her head shook, leaving McArthy to let out a sigh. He leaned over, grabbing his helmet, then slipped it on as he stood up.
He approached her, then gestured to the weapon and said, "Well, I have. It's not friendly to newcomers, so I'll try to help you."
Mim stared at him for a moment, trying to process what he said. After a few seconds of silence, McArthy gestured to it again and said, "Help."
This time, she instantly nodded her head, then raised a shell to him. He watched her wander the shell around the gun's frame, unable to find where to insert it. After another failed attempt, she looked back up at him and quizzically squawked with a tilt of her head.
The ODST held out his hands for her to hand the weapon over, which she carefully obliged. McArthy looked the weapon over for a moment, pulling the pump back to make sure it wasn't loaded. Once he knew it was clear, he gestured for her to follow him.
He led her outside of the cave, then held out a hand and asked, "You got ammo?"
He watched as she stroked the underside of her beak for a moment, then lit up and reached behind her. She pulled a small pouch from her back waist and dropped it into his hand. He poked it open to see it was full of ammo for the weapon. He took one, then shifted the gun so Mim had a good view.
He raised the shell and said, "This thing gets loaded on this top part. Make sure the shell is facing this direction."
He slowly moved the shell over the top piece of the shotgun, then loaded it in. He made sure she was watching, then pulled more out and said, "It only fits six at a time, remember, six."
He watched her trying to pronounce the word, then held out both her hands and looked at her six fingers. After a moment, she held them out and said, "Six."
With a soft chuckle, McArthy nodded and said, "Six, yes. So, you try to load the rest."
He held the shotgun out, Mim carefully taking it from his grasp. He placed the five shells he took out into her free hand, then gestured to the weapon. After a moment of looking, he watched her slowly copy his movements, sliding the ammo into the shotgun as he did. Once they were all in, she pointed the weapon up in a flash and pulled the trigger.
The swift movement of the weapon made the accident experienced ODST jump back a step, then he watched as she yanked the trigger, only for nothing to happen. After a few more pulls of it, she let out a sad drone and turned to him. McArthy couldn't help but chuckle, making Mim tilt her head curiously.
McArthy moved towards her, naturally moving his hand over Mim's where the pump was, then said, "You have to pump this every time you want to shoot. Like this."
He froze for a moment, remembering what happened last time he tried to touch her. He turned from the weapon to look at Mim, who was only half looking at the weapon, seeming more intent on staring at the ground away from him. At least she wasn't biting him this time. Now confident she wouldn't attack him, he made sure she had a solid grip on the weapon and got it pointing in a safe direction, he gripped her hand and made her pump the shotgun. Once it was pumped, the sound was enough to perk her attention up to him and the weapon.
He took a step back, prompting her to turn to him. He gestured to the gun and said, "Now you can shoot. I trust you-"
His sentence was cut off as she whipped the shotgun barrel up again and pulled the trigger. The second the blast went off, her entire body stumbled backwards with a shriek, Mim quickly losing her footing and falling on her back. The shotgun landed flat on her chest as she landed with a loud crash.
McArthy skipped away from where the barrel of the gun was pointing, then looked down at Mim. After a moment of no movement, her head poked upward and looked at him, dazed. After that, the ODST couldn't help but break out in laughter, bending over as he held his knees. It was as he laughed as heard an amused chuckle come from Mim, then looked up to see her slowly rising up.
McArthy quickly calmed himself, still snickering as he moved towards Mim. She awkwardly held the shotgun up, looking to him for some direction. He held up a fake shotgun of his own, pumping it, then nodded towards her weapon. Mim nodded, then carefully pulled the pump back on her, a spent shell flying out of the top. Mim almost dropped the gun as she tried to dodge the shell.
The ODST quickly rushed forward, planting his hands on the weapon so it couldn't discharge in an unwanted direction, then said, "No, no, that's normal. That's good."
Mim turned to look at his helmet, then turned to the spent shell sitting on the round and asked, "Normal?"
McArthy nodded his head and said "Yeah, that's supposed to happen. Now, you're ready to fire."
After a moment, Mim nodded, then lifted the weapon once again. She didn't fire this time, simply holding it up in her arms. McArthy quickly grabbed her attention with a wave of his hands, then said, "No, you're holding it wrong. Like that you'll get dropped on your ass again."
He watched her head turn to him at a tilt, then he sighed and held his hands out. After a few seconds, she let out a small huff and placed the weapon in his grasp. He pointed to it, then properly pressed the stock into his shoulder and said, "You gotta get this here, then footing is important too…"
He gestured down to his legs as he spread them into a proper stance, then aimed the shotgun forwards. He pulled the trigger, feeling the stock dig into his shoulder. He let out a loud grunt of pain as he shot, instantly remembering his wound. He paused for a moment, almost chuckling to himself. He had gotten way too sucked up into this teacher role. Still, he needed to show here the proper techniques, so he fought through the pain. In an almost robotic movement he pulled the pump back and fired another shot. In discomfort, he looked into the tree he fired at, observing it's shredded bark, then turned back to Mim.
She was gazing at him, then he held the weapon out and said, "You're turn."
The bird's hands carefully grasped the weapon, then she attempted to copy his positioning. McArthy watched as her head moved to look down the iron sights and her feet shifted into the same position his was, then she held the gun up. She pushed the stock in her shoulder, then pumped it. After a few seconds of standing in that position, she pulled the trigger, the sound of the blast filling their ears. The barrel flew upwards from the recoil, something she didn't seem too used to dealing with.
Once the barrel was back looking forward, she pumped it again and waited a second to pull the trigger. McArthy was impressed, she was quick to learn the position, and it was obvious she was more than strong enough to deal with the kickback now that she was using the gun properly. As she shot again, the ODST had to admit she was doing better than most marines he'd see using it in a shooting range. Or in combat, unfortunately.
After Mim fired the final shot, she dispensed the last shell and pulled the trigger again, this time nothing happening. She pulled it again, then lowered the gun and turned to the pouch McArthy was holding. Her eyes quickly went from the pouch to his visor.
McArthy put his hands on his hips with a small smile, then asked, "So, you like it?"
It took a moment for her to understand what he said, but she quickly nodded her head. She pumped the empty shotgun again, then held it to her side and moved towards him. McArthy held the pouch out and said, "You know, I don't know if I should be happy with how well you got used to human weapons, or sad with how badly we get used to yours."
He watched as she moved the shotgun behind her back, then it magnetically clipped onto it. He let out a curious huff as he dropped the pouch into her grasp. It was weird to see a skirmisher come to like a shotgun, given them usually being sharpshooters. Though, this skirmisher was far from like the other's he's seen. This one saved his life.
Mim dragged her claws through the inside of the pouch , seemingly counting what was in it, then McArthy said, "I wouldn't try and use that thing in combat just yet. Some more practice will do you well."
She turned to him as she placed the pouch on her waist, then tried to process what he said. After a few seconds of thinking, she scratched her chin and slowly said, "Prac...tice…"
He nodded and said, "Testing. More will be good."
Her head nodded enthusiastically as she began walking into the cave. McArthy could guess she wasn't interested in practicing further given how many shells were in that pouch. As she walked into the cave, the ODST turned his head to look out at the forest. The shotgun was loud, but he highly doubted anything out here heard it. The distance between here and the Covenant base was too far for him to worry about it.
McArthy turned back to walk into the cave, only to see Mim was facing outwards, sniffing the air. The sight made the hair on his neck stand on edge. He knew her kind had a great sense of smell, so the fact that she was catching a whiff of something unusual didn't look good. After a few sniffs, Mim walked out the cave and past McArthy, walking over to the tree they shot up.
He watched as she crouched down and observed the puddle of blood sitting at the bottom, sniffing the air above it. After a bit, she shot up and stared out into the forest, her golden eyes cutting through the foliage like lasers.
McArthy naturally reached down for his pistol, only to find it missing from where it was usually holstered. Mim chirped, then quickly paced into the cave, tapping McArthy's shoulder to follow. He gladly turned and followed her into the cave, moving to where he dropped his pistol. He picked it up and looked it over, then heard the sound of metal movement. He turned to see Mim opening one of their stolen cases up, pulling a beam rifle from inside.
She held the weapon in her hands, then gestured at the bend with her fingers. McArthy nodded, knowing what she wanted. She knew something was going to happen, and the blood was an important reason as to why. The ODST felt stupid for a moment, he had completely forgotten about what bleeding something out could entail. A jackal could probably pick that up from a good distance away, and even if a little blood shouldn't mean much to a soldier patrolling a forest, McArthy wouldn't put it behind a jackal to check it out of curiosity.
He grabbed the armor he had sitting on the ground and quickly began strapping it on, watching Mim take aim out of the cave from the bend. Once his armor was on, he held his silenced pistol close to his body and leaned against the cave bend next to Mim. She stared outward silently, seemingly waiting for something to show up.
McArthy was expecting a wait, but he didn't expect it to be so long. At this point, they had been waiting there for over an hour, and nothing was yet to happen. The ODST had grown tired of his tactical crouch, and was now sitting against the cave wall, holding his pistol over his knee. He would turn his head every now and again to look at Mim, who somehow kept herself perfectly still, staring out of the cave. The only giveaways that she was still alive was the sight of her hot breath leaving, and the slight shivering of her body.
With nothing yet to happen, he was about to ask Mim a question, but was stopped cold as the sound of alien shrieking came from outside. Shooting up, McArthy gripped his pistol and moved behind Mim, peeking over her shoulder. What he saw was a jackal with his snout almost buried in the bloody puddle. From what he could see, there were three other jackal's behind the first one, all scanning the forest, each one equipped with a carbine.
The jackal sniffing the snow immediately shot it's head up, staring into the cave. Before it could make a noise, the sound of Mim's beam rifle cracked and a long beam tore through the jackal's skull. McArthy jumped past Mim, raising his pistol, then fired at the jackals. He caught two of them in the head, dropping them, but the last one yelped and stumbled through the trees, avoiding his shots. The crack of the beam rifle went off once again, but he could see the shot only skim the jackals head.
McArthy was about to run after the jackal, but he only heard the sound of Mim throw the beam rifle down, then watched her shoot off into the forest. McArthy slowly jogged out of the cave, watching her red armored form disappear in the direction of the jackal. It only took a few more seconds until he heard a distant blast.
The ODST couldn't help but grin at the thought of her using a shotgun to kill the jackal. Though, any positive nature he had disappeared as he watched Mim return with a sour look in her eyes.
She paced past McArthy, dropping something between them with a growl. The worried ODST looked down, only to see a familiar Covenant com link sitting between their feet, static coughing out of it. He froze as he stared at the device, the jackal was able to call for help, and now their cave was compromised.
McArthy spun around to see Mim walk into the cave, then hurriedly jogged into the cave after her. As he rounded the corner, he saw Mim placing the beam rifle she used back into the crate. She grabbed the two crates they had left, then turned to him and nodded her head at the lamp. McArthy nodded his head, then jogged past her. He swiped his SMG off the ground and placed it on his left thigh, then looked around until he saw the book and pen sitting on the ground. He quickly grabbed them and shoved them into his back sack, then picked the lamp off the ground and cradled it in his arms.
When he turned back around, Mim was standing around the bend, waiting for him. She seemed on edge, obviously wanting to get as far from here as possible. Given the situation, McArthy had to agree.
The two left the cave in a swift pace, Mim quickly taking up the front and leading McArthy away. It wasn't long until their brisk pace slowed down to a walk. After walking through the cold forest, Mim came to a halt next to a tree and slowly moved her head left to right, looking through the forest.
McArthy carefully set the lamp in his arms on the dirt ground, then leaned against a tree and took deep breaths. He had no idea where they were going, or where they would go. The only safe place he's been to is now going to be swarmed by Covenant, all except for…
His thought was interrupted as Mim paced backwards and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him down behind some bushes. He dragged the lamp with them, then peeked around the bushes side to see what spooked Mim. The reason was clear as he watched two white armored elites carrying plasma rifles come strolling through the forest, glancing around every so often. Following behind them was a golden armored skirmisher, one with a scarred and aged face. McArthy pulled his head back behind the bush and held in his breath, his grip on the lamp tightening.
The two ultras didn't stop and walked out of sight, but the skirmisher paused for a moment and looked around the forest. The sound of their sniffing was loud in the silence of the forest, and McArthy moved one of his hands down to his pistol, feeling they would be found. However, the skirmisher was stopped in their tracks as one of the elites called out to them, prompting the golden bird to let out a small squawk and jog away, disappearing from sight.
Mim and McArthy both sat next to each other, waiting a while longer behind that bush. They waited until they were both sure the group had moved on, then Mim pointed off in a direction and said, "Safe."
McArthy looked off to where she pointed, seeing more forest, then back at her and asked, "You have a plan?"
He watched her head slowly nod, then she rose to her feet and began walking off. With a grunt, McArthy stood up with the lamp and followed behind her. If McArthy was getting better at reading her emotions, she wasn't pleased one bit, and he couldn't blame her. What has probably been her home for quite some time was now gone, and McArthy couldn't help but blame himself.
She would still have some kind of home if she hadn't helped him, he wouldn't be surprised if she just up and left him. She's certainly done more than help him these past few days, and now all that selflessness came back and bit her in the ass.
McArthy became swamped in these thoughts as the two trekked through the forest, not even paying attention to where they were. He was trapped in his own minds until the sound of a splash and the feeling of wetness broke him free. His head shot up to see Mim walking up a small slope, then looked down to see his foot in water. With a step back, he turned and saw a stream with bodies lying around.
He knew this place too well, then looked back up at Mim. She had paused and was looking at him as he processed where they were. After a moment of staring at the corpses around him, McArthy nodded his head and hopped over the stream, following Mim.
As the two silently walked up towards the abandoned base, McArthy thought over whether it was safe. Given his past experience with it, he wouldn't have given it a chance himself, but Mim obviously thought otherwise, and he had grown to trust her. He just hoped no more Covenant would prowl around the area.
The courtyard through the gate was as silent as ghostly as ever, the same corpses as before still lying about. McArthy couldn't help but gaze at the bodies as he walked across the yard. After some staring, he heard the sound of metal creaking and turned around. Mim was gripping onto the door to the building, trying to pry it open, to no avail. McArthy put the lamp down with a sigh, then reached into his waist and pulled out the keycard to the door. He was glad he held onto it, despite his assumptions of never returning here.
He walked over to the door, then gave Mim a light tap. She turned around and looked at the card in his hand, then took a step to the side. He stepped towards the panel next to the door, noticing Mim's eyes locked onto him, then gave the panel a small knock. The faintest glow appeared from the panel, then he placed the card against it. After a moment, the sound of hissing came, and the door began very slowly sliding open.
Once it opened with a creak, Mim slipped in and walked over to the counters and consoles. McArthy walked in to watch Mim swat a pair of computers off the counter, then she dropped the crates down onto it and lowered herself to sit, leaning her head against the counter. The computers crashed into the ground and skidded across the floor, shattering.
McArthy carefully placed the lamp on the ground as the door slid shut behind him, then sighed as he looked at her. He felt guilty, he couldn't leave her like this, at least without saying something.
After some thinking, he slowly approached her side and crouched next to her. Her eyes were shut as her head was angled upwards against the counter, her body slightly shivering. He reached his hand out towards her shoulder, only to see her eyes open and stare at him. He froze for a moment, his hand floating in the air, but Mim didn't make a movement nor sound.
Feeling he had to, McArthy moved his hand forward and laid it on her shoulder. Her head shifted to look directly at him, eyeing the hand on her shoulder. After a sigh, McArthy lightly squeezed her shoulder and said, "Sorry."
They stared at each other silently for some time, then Mim bobbed her head with a short coo. McArthy moved his hand off her shoulder and watched as she tightly grabbed both of her arms, obviously cold. It was cold for McArthy too, but he wasn't shivering himself. Maybe her feathers and tight suit didn't help her with the cold as much as he thought they would.
He moved from her side to the lamp, then turned it on and slid it towards her. Mim looked down to the lamp, then to him as McArthy lowered himself against the wall to sit. Her hands slowly grabbed the lamp's edges, then she pulled it close to herself.
The ODST grabbed his helmet and slid it off his head, dropping it to the ground beside him. He leaned his head against the wall as he rubbed his eyes, feeling exhausted. His hands lowered from his eyes to the stubble on his cheeks to see Mim eyeing him, though her gaze quickly averted from him.
He didn't question for a second why she would be looking at him, he was as alien to her as she was to him. This was probably the closest she's been to a human in her whole life.
McArthy turned his gaze to the frosty window on the wall, watching as darkness slowly began to settle. With a huff, McArthy moved his hands onto his body and began unstrapping his armor, gaining Mim's attention once again. He carefully placed the armor next to him, wearing only his heavy fatigues over himself. He lowered his back onto the cold floor, feeling a shiver run up his spine.
He let out a long sigh, then said, "I'm gonna get some shut eye. Don't kill me in my sleep, eh?"
With a small grin he moved his head to look at Mim, doubting she even understood his comment. At this point, the only bright light was the lamp held tightly against her body, but her golden eyes glowed through any darkness. Her body shifted forward as she pushed the lamp away from her body, then softly chirped at him.
She was driving him to do something, slightly confusing McArthy. He rolled onto his stomach and rose up, watching as she laid down onto the ground, still looking at him. He could read a softness to them, and she wasn't exactly moving in a confident manner. She almost seemed… embarrassed. At least that's the best word McArthy had for it.
He was still lost on what she wanted, but it clicked the moment she removed the armor from her chest and slid it aside. Her shivering made it extra obvious, though the idea still made McArthy nervous. He slid towards her a bit, then rolled onto his side. He heard the sound of shuffling as his cheeks reddened, then felt Mim's back press against his.
Mim slid the lamp close overhead of the two as they laid against each other, still as tense as ever. It was only to get colder the later it got, so he knew they needed to do this, but that fact didn't help the awkwardness go away. Despite their tense beginnings, the last two nights were surprisingly… peaceful. While he still had to sleep on a hard surface, the feeling of someone else against him helped give him a strange feeling of security, a feeling he was more than happy to have during these trying times.