The Rabbit and the Wolfe
Sorry about the long wait time for an update. The semester at school is finishing up soon, and as usual, the projects are being piled on. I will try to keep up as best I can, but until school lets out for the summer, I will be slow to update. Not really much else to say. This is kind of a fluff chapter before some action. Enjoy!
04: Burying the Elephant
November 26, 2561
UNSC Infinity, S-deck
0800 hours
Soft thumps echoed down the metal halls, like drips from a faucet. Peeking around a corner, curious eyes spotted a familiar figure enter one of many identical doors lining the hall. Looking behind her, she quickly observed the halls were empty save for the constant hum of the ships powerful engines. Creeping silently along the wall, a shrouded hand reached for the access pad when a voice caught her.
"What are you doing?" Roland asked quietly. Robed arms rushed to cover the squeak that pushed itself out of her mouth.
"I-I-I." She stammered, a lavender blush dusting her cheeks at having been caught sneaking.
"You know you need to be under the care of an adult, remember? No roaming around the ship. Captain's orders." Amber puffed out her cheeks, annoyed, and gave the ceiling the fiercest glare she could muster.
"That isn't fair. I'm six years old!" She whispered harshly, stomping her hoof for emphasis.
"Six years old? Wow. You must be suuuuper smart then." Roland replied sarcastically, ignoring the low growl from the young Sangheili.
"She is older than you, though. You're like her smarter, younger cousin." A calm voice rumbled behind her. His massive frame took up most of the doorway, curious green eyes stared back into her surprised golden ones. The AI grumbled something neither of them could hear before quieting once more. They stood awkwardly in the hall for a few moments before Fred cracked a smile.
"Roland did have a point. The captain would not appreciate you running around the ship unsupervised. You could get hurt." He looked either way down the corridor, but it was empty save the two of them. "Where is Dr. Cassidy or your…" Fred trailed off, uncomfortable, though Amber failed to notice.
Amber wiped her nose with the sleeve of her robe. "Muver and mommy are asleep and the doctur lady is boring. She makes me sleepy." Fred chuckled, which only perplexed the young alien further.
"Doctors can be boring, no doubt about that." Fred stepped aside, "Come join the fun!" He added cheerily, ushering Amber into the rather larger room. The room was sparse, with only a few metal chairs, footlockers and tables, one of which had a red-headed Spartan hunched over it, obscuring whatever she was working on.
"Aunty Winda!" Amber squealed, rushing over to the sniper, nearly tripping over her robe in her scramble. Her head shot up from the workbench at the sudden interruption, slamming into the lamp above her. Muttering silent curses, she turned with a frown as Amber jumped into her arms. Fred laughed at Linda's obvious discomfort as the child crawled all over her, eager to investigate her dark red tresses. The woman looked like she was debating whether kicking the alien away like a live grenade would be a smart idea. In the end, she gave in. With a loud, defeated sigh, she let go of Amber, allowing the alien to crawl into her lap, getting lost in the blood red locks.
"Looks like you have an admirer, Linda. Hope you don't let it go to your head." Linda shot Fred an obscene gesture before returning to her work, Amber occasionally peeking over her shoulder. Fred busied himself with a game of solitaire. As usual, John was nowhere to be seen. To him, John seemed much more relaxed these past few years. Though he still kept a professional distance as Blue Team's leader, he did spend more time between missions with them. Just yesterday he played a few rounds of poker with the two of them before something else dragged him away. And I have a pretty good guess as to why. The hiss of an opening door drew his attention away from the cards.
Cortana drifted into the common area, eyes glued to the data pad in her hands, fingers rapidly tapping away.
"Fred." She gave a pleasant, but succinct greeting as she made her way to one of the few unoccupied chairs.
"Ma'am." She paused in her work, but didn't look up. Something in his tone was different. She recalled John using the same one before to direct her attention to something without showing any physical movement. It was one of the ticks she had picked up from being the Spartan's eyes and ears for so long. Calmly placing the pad in her lap, she met his gaze. Every few seconds his eyes would snap to the other side of the room for just a second, an obvious gesture in the Spartan handbook. What does he want me to look at? The ex-AI was still somewhat unnerved by her lack of senses as an organic. When she was in control of a ship, she could pinpoint anyone onboard instantly. The lack of such digital enhancements left her feeling aggravated with herself as she struggled to complete tasks that took a conscious effort. Silver-blue eyes scanned the room curiously, coming to rest on a wide-eyed pair of golden orbs. The little Sangheili's jaw was moving to form syllables, but none reached her ears. Most of her gray skin was covered in a purple and white ornamental robe which seemed a size too large for her frame. Though she was largely curled around Linda, the sniper seemed oblivious to the intrusion, performing delicate maintenance on her precious rifle.
"Well hello there, little one. What's your name?" Cortana said gently, giving the saurian a small smile. In truth, she didn't know if the young alien understood her, she was just trying to be friendly.
The child stared open mouthed at her for a few moments, flabbergasted before she responded. "I Amber. Why you blue? Did you fall into paint?" A laugh erupted from the ex-AI's lips, soft and sincere, one she tried to cover behind her hand. The innocent, clueless response was a welcome reprieve from the strict mentality of engineering, a place she found herself in most of her days, lending her brain where she could. It was a place she could lend her skills in an environment more suited to her new existence. While certainly challenging, and Aura was a great help, it lacked the closeness she had when inside the MOLJNIR armor…inside John's armor.
Amber cocked her head at the strange woman. She didn't understand what she was laughing at. "What's funny?" She questioned.
"You are adorable." Cortana offered, pulling a stray blue lock behind her ears. Amber's maw pulled into a smile. "But no, this is not paint. This is my natural color." Amber looked to the side, as if contemplating something.
"Oh! Mother told me about you! You're the wrobit lady!" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "You don't look like a robot though.
Cortana chuckled at Amber's grasp of the world around her. "No, I'm not a robot. I was an AI…once." The young Sangheili blinked, puzzlement clear in her face.
"An A…I…? What dat?" Linda swatted one of the child's hands away as it came dangerously close to poking her in the eye.
"Do you know Roland?" Amber's blank looked failed to change so she tried another approach. "The voice around the ship?" That got a reaction. The young girl glared angrily at the ceiling and made a retching sound, almost as if she was on the verge of throwing up.
"He a meanie!" Linda snorted in amusement. Cortana merely smiled and returned to her work as Amber climbed off a relieved red-headed sniper and roamed about the room aimlessly. Fred returned to his game of solitaire, casting a glance towards the young alien in their care. He felt a shiver creep down his spine at the thought of anything happening to the little munchkin. That was not a place he ever wanted to find himself in. He rubbed his chest where Sandra's 'swords' ran him through three years ago. Fred did not want to be the target of a live vivisection. With such a vivid thought pulsing through his mind, he quickly gave up his cards and settled into his chair, determined to keep a close watch on Kelly's kid, lest something unpleasant happen to him.
"Ms. AI lady?" Cortana looked down from her data pad to Amber beside her. "Mother always said to be nice. She told me the best way to do dat is to learn names. So, what yours?" The ex-AI rubbed her head gently, earning a soft coo for her menstruations.
"I am Cortana." Amber gave her a toothy smile, one she returned. It looked almost feral, but Amber pulled it off beautifully. "So, who is your mother?"
Amber giggled and patted Cortana's knee, like she was a small child. "Why do grown-ups ask such sillwy questions? Mother is mother."
"You got me there." She conceded, pulling Amber into her lap as the young alien tried to climb up her legs. "So, where is your mother?"
"Sleeping with mommy, where else?" Cortana was glad she was not in a Marine barracks. That could be interpreted so many ways, most of which were not suitable for the ears of a small, innocent child.
"Who is your mommy?" She tried again. Amber sighed.
"You know, for a robot, you're really un-smart." Cortana gritted her teeth as Roland's laughter filtered inside the room.
"Wow, Cortana, you want some biofoam for that burn?"
"Roland." She growled out. "You don't disappear in the next three seconds, I will have Aura install your matrix into a toaster!" The AI's laughter instantly cut off. Much better.
"Well then, why don't you show me where they are?" Amber nodded rapidly. Cortana stood up and bid farewell to the two Spartans as they left the room.
"Who knew you could pull off cute and innocent so well?" Sandra offered as she nuzzled into Kelly's warm body behind her. Reflexively, Kelly wrapped her arms tighter around her lover. Sandra giggled lightly. "Your so cute when your flustered." Kelly muttered under her breath as she breathed in the smell of her pup's hair. They lay in silence for a few moments before Kelly asked something that had been on her mind since last night.
"Sandra, why is your gear here? You were assigned to Oasis." Sandra's shoulders drooped slightly; she knew this was coming. Shifting her weight, she tried to roll over, only to find out she couldn't.
Rolling her eyes, she looked back as far as she could. "Could I roll over please? Believe me, I am not stepping out into that icebox anytime soon." A few seconds passed before Kelly's arms loosened enough for her to look her scout properly in the eyes. Sandra flashed a small smile before placing a kiss on Kelly's inviting lips. "Much better." She leaned in again, greedy for another smooch, but was stopped with a finger to her lips and a mild glare from her partner.
"Answer the question." Kelly stated firmly.
"Then kisses?" Sandra responded.
"Depends on your answer." Sandra pouted as her scout's tips twitched up at the ends.
"Well," She snaked her arms around the taller woman's waist, pulling her close. "I got into a bit of a 'disagreement' with Spartan Starr."
"Somehow, with you, I doubt it was that simple." Kelly replied flatly.
"Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?" Sandra responded, playfully swatting at her arm. "No, I guess not. Adjusting to civilian life was…difficult. Switching back was even harder. I guess I didn't realize how much I changed. Imber proved that. I don't know why I wasn't thrown into the brig, but I am certainly not going to complain. But I was kicked out of Oasis. Pretty sure they don't want me back anytime soon."
"Why do you have to be so complicated?" Kelly wondered, mildly annoyed. Sure, she wanted Sandra to behave herself, she was notoriously good at not doing so, but it warmed her heart that the blonde's first thought was to come to her.
"Uh, because simple is boring? If you wanted a ditzy, simple girl, guess you'll just have to look elsewhere."
"I don't want anyone else. I want you." Kelly replied simply. Sandra, surprised at such a simple declaration, bathed her scout in a brilliant smile.
"Oh? Is it because of my awesome southern accent? My amazing muscles? The fact that I keep you on your toes?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.
"One, that accent, although occasionally effective is forced. Two, my musculature is much more complete and well-defined than yours." Kelly leaned in, kissing away the pout that formed on her pup's face. "And the third reason you listed? Well…I would rather have you on your knees." She whispered seductively. If Sandra had been eating, she surely would have choked to death. Her mouth opened and closed uselessly as she struggled to form a complete sentence. Her face flushed scarlet as she stared, shocked, at the woman curled up with her.
"W-w-w-w-w-w-where did you learn t-that?" She stammered out.
"Spartans are very resourceful." Kelly 's chuckles rumbled through the air as Sandra slowly drew the sheet over her beet-red face, shocked and embarrassed.
"For a Spartan, you have a naughty mouth." Came Sandra's response, slightly muffled under the sheets.
"We adapt. Always have. Always will."
"What about Chief and the others?" She asked, doubt creeping into the blonde's voice.
"What about it, Blue 5?" Sandra was silent for a few moments. Kelly was about to peek under the sheets to see if her love had fallen asleep when she was lightly poked in the side. She squirmed uncomfortably for a second until a blonde mane poked out from the sheets.
"I love you, you know that?"
"Yes." Kelly replied, a hint of a question poking through her voice near the end.
"Good. Now that's settled, can we have kissy time?" Kelly rolled her eyes as she tilted her head down to meet her pup's lips. They molded into one another with practiced ease as presented their love for each other. They broke away, breath slightly deeper as they stared into one another's eyes.
"Only you would give it such a juvenile name."
"Oh, shut up and give me another one! I'm greedy!" Kelly snorted, clearly amused, but inclined her head nonetheless. It was perfect, like the last one and the one before that. It was liquid gold…perfect. But like all good things, it must come to an end.
"Momma!" The voice echoed around the small room, like a grenade shattering glass. Kelly inhaled sharply, nearly swallowing her lover's tongue. They rapidly broke apart, not caring about the string of saliva connecting their lips together. Sandra was just as quick to act, drawing the sheets that had pooled around their bare waists, reforming their cocoon of fabric. They stared, dumfounded, as Amber waved happily from her spot in Cortana's arms. The ex-AI's brows seemed to disappear behind her long bangs and her eyes twinkled mischievously like clouded sapphires.
"Are we…interrupting something?" Cortana asked cheekily. Kelly shot her an icy glare while Sandra tried her best to melt into the mattress.
"What are we inter-intra-messing up?" Amber struggled out. Kelly would have given her daughter a huge kiss for trying her best, if she wasn't mortified. Not to mention completely naked. Cortana gave her a supportive smile before giving her parents a slier version.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask them?" Amber turned to face her parents, eyes shining with intense curiosity.
"Mommy? Mother? What were you doing?" Cortana watched with glee as the two Spartans exchanged a series of gestures and hand movements in silent conversation. A dark glare from Kelly stopped Sandra mid-gesture and the blonde gave a reluctant nod. Seemingly satisfied, Kelly shifted her glare to the blue woman.
"Not a word. Understood?" Cortana just continued to smile as she placed a curious and rambunctious Amber on their bed, who immediately snuggled between her parents, missing the fact that they were completely naked underneath the sheets.
"Seems someone finally caught you, Kelly. You make a cute couple." Cortana gave them a sly wink and left the room, the veteran's glare following her until the ex-AI closed the door behind her, sealing them in silence. The familiar hum of the engines reverberated through their bones, providing the surprised super soldiers with some comfort.
"I like the robot lady. She nice." Amber spoke, cooing softly as Sandra rubbed her head.
"Yes, she is." Sandra concurred, but quickly amended her statement at the nonverbal behest of her love. "Most of the time."
Kelly threw uncomfortable glances between Amber and the bed, almost screaming 'I am not sleeping naked!' Sandra nodded understandingly. Although she considered herself adventurous and quite playful, she had her limits. Taking a careful hold of the sheets, she bent down and gave her daughter a kiss on the head.
"Can you do your mother a big favor?" She asked sweetly. Amber's eyes lit up with intense joy at the thought of being able to help her parents.
"Uh huh! Uh huh!"
"Can you get me some water from the bathroom?" Amber nodded resolutely, as if this was the most important errand in the universe. She crawled off the bed and walked into the bathroom. The door didn't even fully close before she turned to Kelly and hissed 'Move!'. Kelly couldn't remember a time she had moved faster than standing stark naked in an unlocked cabin with her daughter, her very curious, innocent daughter on the other side of another unlocked door that could open at any moment. Needless to say, she was not even remotely ready for whatever questions Amber might ask. Hell, there were probably some questions she had never thought to ask herself. How was she supposed to answer questions she didn't even know to ask? No mission objectives, indeed.
Amber came walking out, water in hand, and her mandibles drawn back in a smile. Passing the cup to her mother, she walked to the other side of the bed and raised her arms, her universal sign to be picked up. Kelly smiled and effortlessly hoisted Amber into her arms. She looked down at her lovingly, placing a tender kiss on her leathery skin. Without really realizing it, she began to scratch around the pale scales on the back of her neck, causing Amber's eyes to close in joy as she uttered soft coos and nuzzled closer to her mommy.
Sandra was, once again, taken aback by the sheer love and joy held within that twitch of a smile. Over their time apart, Sandra would often offer snippets of Sanghelili culture or biology, just in case the Spartan would ever have need of them. One of the tidbits she gave her scout was that the skin around the pale scales was somewhat sensitive for a year or so, as the body pondered what to do with them. Eventually the scales would fall off, leaving the neck bare. Sandra had wondered if she should encourage Kelly to do some of her own research, but knew how…uncomfortable it might be, even if it was for her daughter. She didn't have the best relationship with Elites, even in a diplomatic sense. It was easier to put a softball-sized hole in their chest then ask them about foreign policy with other species, but at least she was trying. Though Raha did still hold a small shred of resentment towards the older veteran for almost blowing her away when they first met.
"What." Sandra smile goofily as Kelly caught her staring fondly at them, curiosity ringing strongly in the undertone of her voice.
"You make a great mother." Sandra's sincere tone was enough to make the older Spartan look away, embarrassed.
"T-thank you, Sandra." It was always exciting to see the softer side behind the soldier.
"Is it nap time?" Amber asked, struggling to keep her eyes open. Kelly's smile grew a bit larger and she placed the lovable little alien between them.
"Yes. Only for a little while." Amber nodded her head lazily before entering the world of dreams. With nothing more to do until their shifts started, and their alone time having been…interrupted, the two Spartans nestled down beside their daughter, cocooning her within their warm embrace.
UNSC Infinity, S-deck
1300 hours
Linda snarled as, once again, her round landed off-target. She knew it wasn't her rifle that was the problem. She had calibrated it herself after all. No, it was the operator handling the weapon that was the primary issue. Questions swirled around in her mind like a whirlpool of black ink, slowly but steadily drawing her into its depths. Her inability to reach perfection, especially behind the scope, was really starting to piss her off. Placing her rifle back on the bench, she took deep breaths through her nose, a trick she had picked up along the way. It helped quiet her mind.
Fred's voice rolled through the shooting range. "What has you so riled up?"
"I'm not."
"Your groups are always perfect. That last batch was a quarter inch too far to the left." Linda silently cursed how observant Fred and the others were. Linda was a perfectionist in everything she did. From carrying out her orders to cleaning her rifle, she always did everything one hundred and fifty percent. Anything outside of her control left her feeling helpless and frustrated, or in this particular case, confused and angry. Thoroughly emotionally trembling at this point, she shoved another four rounds into the magazine with jerking, unsteady movements. Aiming down range, she pulled the trigger three times in succession. Fred's hand quickly invaded her scope, gently pushing her sniper towards the floor, causing her to pause.
"That was almost five inches apart between rounds. Go cool off. I can't have our best sniper miss her targets out there." She gave him a nod and removed the last round as he made his way over to another lane. Linda gave a small sigh.
"I'm not angry. Just…frustrated, I guess." Fred chuckle was powerful enough to be heard between the booms of his DMR.
"I know. If you were truly angry, you would have taken my hand off." Linda ignored his jab at her obsessiveness over her sniper rifle and took her leave of the shooting range, after stowing her precious Nornfang safely, of course. Her boots stomped along the titanium as she made her way back to her quarters to relax for the next few hours before her next shift started.
"Spartan 058, I have received a message for y-"
"Unless it has a priority, ignore it." Linda cut through Roland's announcement. Megan. Her mind and body had waged a bitter civil war inside her for as long as she had known the woman. Her pulse would quicken whenever the woman left her a message or talk with her. But her mind had more bitter thoughts. Not directed at Megan herself, of course, but at what she represented. A different life, an intricate one, filled with things she had been denied all throughout her own. Recently, the aqua-haired woman's messages had started to change. It was slight, but Linda saw it. What these changes entailed were unknown to the sniper, and that scared her. How was she supposed to complete an objective she didn't even know existed? Or avoid completing it.
"It does, Spartan."
"Fine. Put it through."
"Already there." Roland replied, a smile evident in his voice, before quieting once more.
Linda quickly made her way to her quarters. She booted up her terminal as she changed, determined to get a workout in before she had to report for duty. A she pulled her top over her head, a voice caused her to momentarily freeze.
"Linda!?" Megan's voice rang out, surprised, and clearly not expecting to be connected. Tossing the used one to the side, the sniper donning another one from her footlocker. Modesty was never a big deal to begin with, as ever since she was little privacy had never been an option. Megan, not used to such openness, gawked as the sniper's tone musculature rippled underneath the shifting fabric. No! Bad Megan! Bad! She mentally slapped herself, vigorously shaking her head to clear her less-than-faithful thoughts. She had a boyfriend after all. She went back to applying her makeup, trying very hard to keep her mind on the task at hand and off the abs staring her in the face.
"Megan," she began, keeping her voice clear of any emotion. The teacher was clearly preparing for something, as her state of dress seemed more extravagant then when they usually spoke. "Why do you have a higher clearance level?" Megan paused mid-brushing to answer the sniper.
"Uh, I have the same clearance level I have always had. Why?" Anger flashed through her features at the woman's confused response. Aura. The Knight had always been a pain, but this last act was too much. She would need to have a serious talk with the Forerunner AI about bypassing security clearance whenever she felt the need.
"What?" Megan asked, shying away from the withering glare of the redhead.
"Nothing." Linda responded succinctly. "Why are you dressed like…that?"
She contentiously adjusted one of the breast cups on her dress. "Like what?"
Linda gestured vaguely at her friend. "That." Megan's smile slowly flipped upside down as she couldn't seem to grasp what the Spartan was hinting at. "How are you supposed to fight in that?"
Megan chuckled. "Fight? No, it's for a date." Linda's mouth twitched downward in a frown at the familiar anger welling up inside her. She was Megan's protector. She had the necessary skills to keep her safe like she had done so in the past. It was her job, no one else's. The sniper glared at the lipstick the instructor was applying to herself, seething in silence.
With a sigh, Megan put down the stick and looked straight into the sniper's piercing green eyes. "Alright, what gives? You have been avoiding me for the past week and a half with no reason as to why, and when you finally get a chance to talk you glare at me like I killed your pet dog."
"Nothing is wrong. I h-"
"Don't give me that, Linda!" Megan interrupted. "I know something is bothering you, I wish you would just talk to me!" She looked down at the counter before continuing, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm your friend, Linda. Or at least I hope I am. Why do insist on pushing me away?" If the veteran was surprised by her friend's outburst, she didn't show it. Megan waited for a response, her blue eyes pleading, hoping her friend would open up. But Linda remained silent, keeping her emotions in check, like she had been taught. The perfect soldier.
Megan hovered over the button to disconnect the transmission, her hand shaking like a leaf. Tears welling in the back of her eyes, she looked into the sharp green eyes one last time, praying for any kind of response. Linda returned her gaze evenly, her emotions hidden behind a mask of professionalism. "Fine." She hissed bitterly. Her small jaw clenched repeatedly as Megan tried to search for the right words to express her frustrations. "I have a date to get to. Someone who is willing to respond to my questions. Goodbye." Linda watched bitterly as the connection was ended and she was left staring at a diagnostic screen. Breathing through her nose, she felt that some close quarters combat was needed, relieve some of the pent-up emotions that had been building inside since Imber.
Earth, Sol system
Sydney, Australia-Oceania
1930 hours
"Raugh!" Megan screamed indignantly, launching another one of her pillows at the wall with a dull thump in the hopes it would meld with the metal. She was let down once again as it slid slowly to the ground as gravity pulled it back down to earth. Overcome by emotion, Megan found herself sliding down next to the object of her brief bout of anger, salty tears ruining her hard preparation for tonight's festivities. Curse you Linda! What are you doing to me?!
In truth, she was angrier with herself than anyone else. Her friends and coworkers would tell her time and time again, although she fell in love easily, it was often empty and she ended up worse because of it. And she hated it. Her past relationships often crumbled because she saw something, some connection, that wasn't there, destroying her friendships in the process. She couldn't help herself: it was part of her personality. Too trusting, if you asked any of her past friends. Like. Infatuation. Love. Those where all words she was intensely familiar with, yet lacked any true understanding of what they actually meant. It was like she was in primary school all over again: she could solve the equation, she knew why, had a fairly good understanding of how, but was unsure if the answer she got was correct or not. And with professor brain and heart teaching the class, who knows what the answer might be?
Linda was…different. It was not her sharp green eyes, nor her unnervingly pale skin, or even her impressive muscles. And she does have a good set of muscles- wait. Focus Megan. Surprisingly, it was not her physical appearance that drew her attention, nor anything else that she knew about the sniper. it was what Megan didn't know. The woman was an enigma. She had the emotional range of a rock, yet comforted her whenever she felt down, even if it was extremely awkward. The redhead hardly spoke, but when she did, she conveyed exactly what she wanted to say. But Linda was a Spartan. Megan had done some research. Much of it was alien to her, but she understood that they were different than normal soldiers, or even the UNSC Marine Corps special forces, the ODST's. Yet for all her strengths, Megan also saw weakness. Not in the physical sense, but she could see something behind the wall Linda put up whenever they spoke, something in her eyes. Pain. Guilt. Anger. Loneliness. Megan could see these things, and her heart told her to stop and help, however she could. But Linda needed a friend, not a lover, so Megan was determined to be the best friend the Spartan had ever had, even if she had to be as stubborn as the veteran.
Which brought her full circle to the predicament she was currently in. Those treacherous feelings of something stronger were sulking about in the back of her mind and she was trying her best to flush them out and smother them before they could do any real damage. Okay. Okay, I can do this. Linda is my friend, I just need some time to cool off. She glanced at the clock on the table nearby. I still have another twenty minutes to get ready. I just need to reapply my makeup and enjoy this date! Oh! I have some vacation time lined up. Maybe I should take some time off to destress. It has been a while. Maybe go the big, off-world mall I keep seeing advertisements for? What was it called again? Humanity Mall, that's right! With a smile on her face, Megan stood to ready herself once again, this time with a skip in her step. After tonight, things would never be the same.
Come Back Next Time!
Just four words: damn you writer's block! Besides school, I had trouble trying to write this last part. I liked the way it turned out, but let me know what you think of it! I have taken a new approach to writing my chapters and I hope they will allow me to produce better ones or at least come out quicker. Don't forget to follow, favorite and review!
