Apologies if this seems sloppy, haven't had much time updating. I now have a job so updates are slow plus I am now starting my life so I am trying to get everything settled
The Date: Part One
"Are you touched in the head!?"
"Hush Guisha," Alasha chides her lightly, "do not alert the guards."
"Do the guards even know of this arrangement?" Guisha demands, but this time in a much calmer voice.
Alasha sighs as she shakes her head in response as she looks at the various garments within her wardrobe, "I prefer to tell them tomorrow when this madness is over."
Guisha hisses but crosses her arms and leans against the far wall with squinted eyes. She has come to be well known within the Keep for being fierce and destructive. Alasha knows deep down though that Guisha is actually kind, but the female prefers not to show it, particularly to any males.
Alasha toys with the thought of introducing her to Derek but dismisses it. He doesn't deserve such a fate…that is unless he starts becoming as arrogant as the many other males she has met in recent years.
She stiffens a groan at the thought of the human. Today is the day of their…courting.
She growls lowly at the thought but tries to think positive despite the fact that she is having trouble finding a bright spot in the matter.
The morning has barely begun and she is already stressing over the coming event. She hardly slept the night before and now she is regretting it as it is making her feel more irritable. In a desperate attempt to calm herself she requested Guisha's presence, hoping her secret sister would help her to relax.
This proved to be a terrible idea, now the younger female is standing beside herself with rage after hearing of Alasha's plight. She might not know of their family connection, but in her eyes Alasha is a good friend and she will kill any who tries to take advantage of her. Not that was often since most of her past suitors were males of high stature so she couldn't attack them.
Now here they are, Alasha going through her clothing while Guisha glowered.
"What do you think I should wear?" Alasha asks in an attempt to get Guisha talking.
"Body armor complete with a Plasma rifle and grenades," is Guisha's answer, "maybe your father's sword if he left it here."
She pauses in her search to give Guisha a brief glare.
"I'm not going to war Guisha," she hisses, "I'm going courting-"
"With a human," snaps Guisha, "hasn't it occurred to you that this alien is luring you into a trap since your father is away?"
Alasha actually smiles, coming close to laughing really, "Guisha, believe me, the group of humans I met aren't the most qualified of warriors, I believe I can handle myself even without my armor."
Guisha doesn't say anything but the scowl on her face speaks volume.
The older female turns back to her wardrobe in an attempt to hide her fueling anger.
"You're ceremonial robes."
She pauses and turns back to Guisha before saying, "pardon?"
"You should wear your ceremonial robes," Guisha repeats, "it isn't too formal and the metallic cuffs could double as a weapon in hand combat."
At the mention of a potential battle Alasha is prepared to disregard Guisha's suggestion but then pauses.
Her ceremonial robes…why not? Meant for special occasions, not too flamboyant, but also not too informal either. The fabrics are a bit colorful and are completed with two gauntlet's forged from precious minerals. Would the human be embarrassed courting her while she wore this? Probably not, he might not even know of its significant or purpose.
"Guisha," she says softly while her mandibles forms a small smirk, "you'll either be an ideal house mistress or a great general."
"Spare me," Guisha huffs as she looks away with a mildly embarrassed look, "since when has there been a female general?"
"Since when has a human decided to court a Sangheili?" Alasha asks in turn, "With the way the Arbiter is speaking it makes me wonder if such things are possible now."
"Maybe," Guisha admits, "but this human must either be out of his mind for deciding to court you," here she pauses to glance at Alasha, "or maybe he is looking to take advantage of your bloodline and the Keep."
Alasha tries to keep herself from snarling as she replies, "if he does he won't be the first."
As said female removes her ceremonial garments from the wardrobe it has become noticeably quite in the room, a feeling of sullen in the air. Guisha just now realizes what kind of affect her words have had on Alasha and hastily thinks of a way to counter them.
"Still," she says lightly as Alasha lays her clothing out on the bed and looks over them, "you said that he was respectful and didn't smell too bad."
"Aside from the fact the he is a human and that he is utterly terrified of me, he could be a good suitor," comes Alasha's answer.
Despite herself Guisha smiles, "and what's that like? Having a male fearing you?"
Alasha pauses for a moment and thinks before saying, "It is…strange…one moment I am waiting for him to say something brash about himself and the next I am surprised when he jumps in fright if I so much as look at him."
Guisha chuckles at this, "well it certainly sounds entertaining."
"True," Alasha says with a small grin of her own before it gives away to a frown, "but it will be in the presence of other aliens," she gives a heavy sigh, "a lone Sangheili being courted by a human."
"All I can say is he better remember his place, or else," Guisha ends with a snarl.
"He will," Alasha ensures her secret sister as she glances outside as the evening is starting to set in, "if anything, he'll probably faint."
Derek's POV
"Kid, if you keep staring at that mirror I swear I'll glue it to your face," Knott threatens.
"Shut up," came Derek's automated reply as he looks himself in the mirror for the twentieth time that night.
'And I thought I was nervous on my first date,' Derek thinks as he bites his bottom lip, 'then again she was of the same species that I am.'
The first thing that Derek did that morning was shower. Did the standard PT for an hour with his platoon. Then showered again. Did his job of the day by making sure each defensive position on the base had munition. Showered again. Ate lunch. Showered once more. Around three he all but pushed de Cruz into the galley so he can begin making dinner. Lastly he begged Mi for half an hour until she finally took pity on him and surrendered her last bottle of shampoo since he ran out of his after his last shower.
Now here he is in his dress blues with his few ribbons and medals on, cap held in hand as he looks at himself from multiple angles. Truth be told part of the reason he joined the Marines was just so that he could wear the snazzy suit, this would be his first time wearing it to an event.
"You look stunning," Jade says as she walks up behind him, already decked out in her own suit. She begins to lightly rub his shoulders, "you're young, dressed well," she pauses to lean against him and take a long whiff, "and smell like a basket of fruits."
Derek is unsure if this is good or bad as he shrugs out of his crazy squad mate's grip and look at the people within the barracks. Like him they are all wearing their dress uniforms since it is the only formal thing they had packed. On a side note though, some of the younger Marines were quite ecstatic to be wearing such stylish clothes. Derek would have been among them but not now as he is unsure if Alasha would approve of the human ware.
Knott has told Alasha that Derek would be picking her up before the sun was to set and will return her to the keep before it was midnight. Derek for his part was appalled by this since the only vehicle they had that he could pick her up in was a combat ready warthog.
"Sorry," Knott had said when Derek first exploded upon this realization, "but we had no limos in the carpool, and besides," he quirks an eyebrow at him, "maybe she'll find a machine gun turret in the back bed sexy."
Derek could have sworn he changed fifty shades of red at that moment.
He walks down the line of bunks before stopping in front of Tray's where the young man in question is currently sitting. His fellow PFC may be as naïve as Derek is, but he is the only one who hasn't teased Derek of his current situation…at least not by much.
Derek held out his arms and asks, "How do I look."
Before Tray could reply Mi shouts from across the room, "You do know you're completely identical to everyone else on base so I don't think there's any way you can make yourself any prettier!"
Derek only blushes in light embarrassment but he couldn't help it. If this date doesn't go well he's dead. If he offends Alasha he's dead. And even if he survives the night and everything ends well his social life will be pretty much dead. It's a lose-lose situation all around, he knows it's only inevitable but why is he working so hard in trying to make sure the date will go smoothly knowing full well it'll probably end horribly for him.
"Ah-hem."
Almost everyone turns towards the sound and sees that it's Peterson who has walked in the door. The tall stoic Marine looks good in his uniform complete with a chest full of medals but when he looks at Derek with a rather wide grin the young man dreads what is about to be said.
Peterson steps aside so that the entranceway is open and gestures outwards, "You're chariot awaits sire."
There is a few snickers at this but Derek tries his best to ignore them as he walks outside to see what it is they're cracking up about this time. He steps out into the cool evening and looks around briefly.
One of the two suns has vanished while two of the three moons are about to make their appearance, but some stars have already begun to shine and sparkle down upon the camp. There are already Marines coming out and meeting their "dates" as they steadily congregates towards the galley where the so called ball will be hosted. Everyone looks ready for a poster picture but despite the fact that this supposed to be a fun event certain "activities" were still prohibited, anyone breaking them will be subjected to severe punishment.
"Not unless you got connections to Sangheili royalty," Knott has said in response to the command, earning another round of laughter from almost everyone in camp.
Everyone except those who knew Alasha will be attending.
As far as Derek is aware, only a few individuals are aware of the Keep's daughter impending arrival. This includes his squad, de Cruz, the doc and the head officers on base. Aside from them everyone else on base still believes it to be nothing more than a funny joke.
Finally Derek turns his sight to whatever it is that Peterson has brought him out to show him and isn't really surprised by what he sees. It is indeed a warthog, but it has obviously been polished recently, giving it a rather shiny gleam as the suns continues to set. The turret on top has likewise been washed and is shining, looking as presentable as any weapon does in a magazine. The gas cans, water bottles and crude smell of oil that usually accompanies the vehicle are absent and there's even the smell of an air freshener present within. The appearance of the vehicle exceeds Derek's expectations and he feels immediate gratitude towards the Sergeant when he notices something.
"Why is the gun loaded?" he asks as he points to the belt of bullets that are already inserted into the turret.
"Oh you know," Peterson says with a shrug, "in case things get too crazy and you need a fast get away."
Derek isn't sure what is being implied and definitely doesn't want to know so he walks out and enters the car. He starts it up, buckles his seatbelt and gets ready to drive but hesitates.
Is he really prepared to do this? Go on a date that will destroy his reputation and life and not even be worth it? His parents will probably be embarrassed of him should they ever hear about this, about their son and his terrible mistake that will haunt him to his grave. The ridicule he is experiencing now will be nothing compared to the humiliation he will no doubt be subjected to afterwards. He honestly wonders if he can just run and hide before Mi's words from the previous day came back.
He isn't the only one who will suffer, Alasha is in the same boat as he is and she didn't do anything to be in this mess. Can he really just leave her in an even worse predicament if he chooses to back out now?
He finally sighs wearily. He might as well hurry and get the thing over with, take the punishment like a man just as his father taught him to; make a mistake then you ought to live up to the consequences.
With that he begins the car and moves it forward.
The warthog comes to a rather squeaky halt as Derek beholds the sight before him.
"Oh man," he says quietly to himself as he looked the Sangheili Keep over. Sure he saw it before, but always at a distance, out of gun range. Now that he is up close the immense size left him in awe.
It wasn't tall and made of dark cobblestone like old human castles, but more like a fort created out of material that seems similar to that of adobe with some sort of style that is completely alien to him. He couldn't really see over the walls, but he is sure he sees a large structure towards the rear and guesses that must be where the palace is, or wherever it is that the Keep family lives. It's easily over 3000 kilometers wide and who knows how long it is lengthwise. He couldn't even begin to imagine the number of Sangheilis that are inside, least of all their warrior's strength.
The thought of upsetting Alasha and in turn her releasing all of that firepower on him made him feel nauseas again.
He exits the vehicle and walks to the front before leaning against grill as he waits. He crosses his arms and stares at the ground as he thinks once more. Knott didn't give her a specific time to expect his arrival so he doesn't know if he's late or early. He doesn't even dare tries to knock since he has no idea if the guards are expecting him or not.
He briefly wonders what she is going to wear, all his life he has seen Elites in nothing but combat armor. She certainly looks intimidating in her golden suit, will she have weapons? Great, the third date of his life and it's with a girl who carries a plasma rifle instead of a purse.
He grinds his teeth a bit as his nerves gets worse with each passing second. So many things can go wrong, it's a one to a million chance that everything will go to plan and nothing bad will happen. Just eat and mingle, the process can take just an hour and half, nothing bad can happen in that time right?
Who is he kidding? He's taking an alien to a dance full of Marines who have access to weapons and a deep grudge that can't possibly go away in just one night. If he lives through this he'll never drink again…or maybe not since he may want to forget that this night ever happened.
His head jerks up upon hearing the sound of a heavy door swinging and he turns just in time to see Alasha walk through it.
His eyes widen at what she is wearing. Far from the suit of armor he imagined her to be dressed in she instead is wrapped in a robe. It clung tightly to her slim waist and legs, giving her a sort of an hour-glass figure but he knew that she is stronger than she looks. The robe themselves reminds him a bit of the ancient Japanese kimono that he seen in history text only more free flowing due to the Sangheili's larger frame. The color of the clothes is a mild red with a green lines curling around on top of the crimson shade as it forms into a variety of geometric shapes and authentic designs. The cloth covers her from ankles to neck and have dark obsidian metallic cuffs ending around her wrists on both hands.
It is then that he fully takes in her face since most of it was obscure by her helmet when they first met. He sees the familiar orange eyes as they look him over, but instead of them being hard and cold he sees that they are alight with a bit of curiosity. Her head is bare, but it seems to be slimmer than her male counterparts, a suggestion to her gender possibly? Her fangs are large and visible, reminding him of that of a shark, however he tries to look past them and her never closing mouth as he tries to focus on her face and nothing else.
After a while he realizes that they are just standing there, gazing at one another, is she waiting for him to make the first move? Probably seeing how he's the one who asked her out in the first place.
Trying his best to remain composed, he stands up and moves forward, careful not to get too close to her. He stops about a foot away from her as they continue to gaze at one another before Derek nervously coughs and holds out his hand.
"Hello Alasha," he says and gives her a small smile, "you look wonderful tonight."
She blinks and seems a little…surprise maybe. Was it his comment earlier or him holding out his hand to shake again?
After a moment though she moves past it and accepts his shake. He thought about kissing it like during formal meetings, but decided against it, he didn't want to do anything that will agitate her.
"Greetings Derek," she says in kind and lightly bows her head, "you appear well furnished as well."
Derek couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that as he felt relief flooding through him. He was afraid she would find his look unacceptable, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Thanks," he says with a new found confidence, "I'm glad you like it."
Again she seems confused, but about what he has no idea. Finally he gestures to the Warthog and asks, "Shall we?"
Alasha POV
She silently walks towards the strange vehicle, she is trying to complement all that has already surpassed when the human startles her again.
He rushes in front of her and before she could ask what he was doing he opens the small door for her before gesturing her forward.
Now she really is surprised and a little confused. She wasn't sure why but she had been mentally preparing herself for a courtship similar to her previous ones where the males didn't really care all that much about her.
However ever since he first arrived Derek has complimented her, greeted her respectfully and hadn't tried to touch her in anyway. He probably figured she would kill him if he does such a thing, but she is being caught off guard by his eyes. They aren't dark nor do they glow with pride, instead there is nothing but honesty and a bit of warmth.
Now he's opening doors for her? Does he believe her to be not competent enough to know how a simple contraction works?
That is removed from her mind though when fear momentarily shows on his face before he says, "Um…ladies first," he finishes with another wave into the interior.
Is this how humans pay respect to their females? Opening doors and complimenting them further? Or is there more to it then she is seeing?
She tries to press this to the side of her mind though as she carefully slides her frame into the rather small transport vehicle. She just barely fits into the snug space, but it shouldn't be too bad if they aren't traveling too far from the Keep.
She looks to the human and softly says, "Thank you."
He gives a brief nod before he carefully closes the door and hurries around to his side, all the while being surveyed by Alasha.
He gets in and starts the machine. It shook and made sounds that she hasn't heard before, but trust its travel worthy.
With that her human partner uses a lever that is wedge behind the steering device and they proceed forward. He turns them into a circle and proceeds down a beaten path that she knows will lead to the human base.
She turns her gaze outside momentarily, watching the trees and shrubs pass by while the sky turns purple before ultimately becoming the color black. She looks up at the moons as they shine down upon them. The scene looks so calming and beautiful but secretly her mind is in turmoil.
Before she thought she knew what to expect from the human, to always be fearful of her and respectful at all times. Well he certainly gives her respect and though the fear is present it isn't as all consuming as it had been when they first met. Has he grown some measure of bravery since then? Or is it all a part of a human courtship ritual that she is not familiar with?
She gives a heavy sigh. So many questions and not a simple answer. Perhaps there is a way for her to ask the human about all of this, or will he find it insulting? What will he do if he is annoyed at her? What does she care for that matter?
"Something wrong?"
She jerks her head back a bit at the sudden voice and turns to the source of it.
Derek is keeping his eyes forward but he then give her a brief glance and she can see the anxiousness on his face.
"I said is there something wrong?" he asks again, "am I going too fast? Do you need anything?"
She is quiet for a moment. She can say her questions now but…maybe she can find a less severe way of asking them.
"I am merely wondering," she says carefully, "is there anything…specific that a female needs to do on a courtship?"
Now it is his turn to look surprise as he take turns looking between her and the road as he tries to focus.
"What do you mean?" he instead asks, "specific how?"
It seems her question is lost on him, however she forces down her irritation as she tries to think of a way to further elaborate.
"Is there a way for me to act?" she asks, "anything that I need to do during a courtship?"
"Oh" he says as he looks back forward before he shrugs his shoulders, "I guess you just need to act yourself."
This comment stopped her short. Act herself? What did that mean? Act the way she does when she is with Geisha? Or when she is alone? What if it's unacceptable though? What if she said something wrong? What if her true self isn't good enough? All her life she acted the way her father wished her to, she hardly allowed her inner being to be shown to the world. Is she ready for that? What should she do?
She felt a moment of panic threatening to take over when bright lights catches her attention and she sees that they are approaching their destination. For the first time since she had agreed to this mad scheme, she now feels dread threatening to move in on her.
Derek POV
Out of the corner of his eye he notices that Alasha has become a little fidgety; her hands are formed into fists and she looks like she is about to have a panic attack or something. Her eyes are huge and he is sure he can hear her breathing rather loudly.
Seeing what is happening, he slows the Warthog and pulls over to the side of the road, coming to a halt.
Alasha seems to snap out of whatever it was that was scaring her and turns to look at Derek as he stares back with a steady gaze.
"Alasha if this is too much for you we don't have to go," he tells her, "we could just…drive around and just say that was the date, no one has to know about it."
Her eyes somehow grew wider at these words before she asks, "truly?"
"Yeah," Derek nods but on the inside he really is nervous. He is unsure of how the short-noticed date would backfire on them in the near future and no doubt his squad would be enraged for forcing them through all the trouble they went through to help him only to have it all thrown out the door in one go. But right now, sitting here, he is more concern about Alasha.
He remembers Mi's words, it's his fault she was here. It's also probably his fault that she has that fearful expression on her face, an appearance that didn't suit her at all. He didn't like it, he most certainly doesn't like the fact that it's most likely because of him that she has that look in the first place. He didn't want to be the one causing people pain, especially people who didn't deserve it.
Alasha really appears to be considering his offer as she looks down at the floor. She is silent for nearly a whole minute before she looks up.
"You aren't fearful of the shame that may befall you for ending this courting before it even begins?"
He doesn't really have an answer prepared so he decides to be honest as he turns half way in his seat so that he can come close to looking her in the eye as he replies.
"Right now I'm more concerned about you," he can't believe he is saying something so cheesy but he continues, "I don't want to force you into anything you're uncomfortable with."
He has to be a complete idiot. Of course she is uncomfortable with this, she's uncomfortable with the very idea of courting a human, an alien!
She seems to be thinking along the same lines as she emits a tiny snort before looking away once more. He wonders what it is she is thinking of, perhaps believing he is some sort of lunatic for doing all of this and he wouldn't blame her for such thoughts.
However when she finally looks back she has the same air of confidence that she wore when they first met as she says, "I wish to proceed with the courtship."
Alasha POV
She waits calmly in her seat, barely registering the haggling happening between Derek and the base's current watchman. The guard seems mortified that she is there and is constantly demanding to know why, refusing Derek's claims that she is his "date."
During this time she reflects some more on the human.
He is an even larger enigma than she had first anticipated. He appeared to be nothing more than a withering coward, someone who she wouldn't associate with and would only find as an annoying nuisance. However on more than one occasion this evening he had offered her more good grace than all of her past suitors combined.
They weren't all terrible men, but Derek actually seems to be going out of his way to try and make sure she will enjoy herself. He certainly scared her when he told her to be herself, something she has never done in public, but for some reason when he offered to stop the courtship simply because she was briefly scared, not giving a second thought to his reputation, she found some measure of calm. This whole time she believed she was alone in this situation that if worst comes to worse she would have to fight on her own. Instead Derek appears to be willing to fight alongside her if necessary. Was she too quick to judge him? True he is an alien, but he has proved to be a more valuable asset then even the most powerful of males who had courted her.
She is jousted from her thoughts when she feels the vehicle moving once more and turns to see that they were leaving the checkpoint, with the same guard watching them go with a twisted look on his face.
She glances at Derek and sees that his face is red once more and appears to be a bit appalled.
Feeling her piercing eyes on him, he turns to look at her before he offers a rather timid grin and shrug before saying, "Just…forget everything that guy said."
That is a simple request seeing how she missed the conversation entirely. Still, she gives a nod of acknowledgment as she takes in her new surroundings.
She has been here once, but that was to carry her suitor to see a doctor. The day was still bright and there were other humans walking about in their odd military guise. Now however the camp seems unusually barren with the lack of activates, the moons shinning on the oddly shaped structures and the general alien odor filling the air.
They came into a rather large clearing and comes to a halt in front of a structure that is larger than any other building that they had previously passed. In regards to being larger it's a good deal louder as well, it sounds as if an entire army has taken up residence within. For all she knows that's probably what happened.
The vehicle is powered down and like before Derek jumps out before quickly making his way around to her door and opens it for her. He then holds a hand out to her. For a moment she is perplexed and wonders if he is trying to shake her hand again despite them already greeting each other. Hesitantly she takes his small hand and felt his fingers tightening around hers in a firm grip. Before she could ask he tugs at her on her arm, prompting her to come out. It is then she realizes he is trying to help her exit the vehicle, but why? Another unknown ritual? Most likely.
She obliges though and steps out with his assistance. She then glances up at the structure. With the sound of the vehicle gone the sound of this engagement sounds much louder than before.
However they pause before the entrance way as Derek looks at her asks, "Ready?"
She gulps feeling nervous all of a sudden, unsure of what she should say.
"Last chance to back out," he adds as an afterthought.
This comment that she suppose is meant to be seen as helpful actually had the opposite affect. Instead to her it sounds as if Derek had asked a challenge that she now feels determine to meet. She then remembers her early days of ruthless training, she may not have been intended to be sent to fight on the front lines, but she was still made to be a warrior and she won't back down from anything, not even an alien social event like this.
She meets her suitor's eyes and nods her head, she is ready.
He looks a little concerned but that was it. At least she knows he won't faint…for now that is.