I'm dedicating this chapter to Catherine Yao, a Junior at my high school whose suicide I was informed of as I was writing this. That's real tragedy. Rest in Peace.
They walked several yards ahead of him, and he was mindful to keep his distance as the child, whose name he did not yet know, was still extremely nervous around him. She clung to Aureleth's hand, taking short, quick steps to keep pace with her longer strides. Andron's eyes separated from them and resumed darting back and forth, quickly scanning every window, shadow, crevice, opening, and potential hiding spot for any signs of danger. They had passed through six more of the concentric ring streets, and were able to just barely see where the city ended rather abruptly. Only a mile or so and they would be out onto the plains.
The din of war still echoed from far off to their left, and had grown slightly louder since the previous day, indicating that Eldar forces had possibly been pushed back by a small margin. He had no idea how an encounter with the Eldar militia would proceed, though he had no desire to find out. They would stay hidden whenever possible, their only goal being to get to the transportation hub in the south end of the plains. His mind returned to the girl. The mere thought of her plight filled his heart with pity and sorrow. To have one's life utterly shattered and burnt at such a young age was something that he would only wish upon humanity's worst enemies. He silently huffed; according to his superiors, he should have been wishing such a fate upon the two souls in front of him. His mind rode that tangent and found itself settling on a feeling of hurt. He felt remorse, and hurt at the fact that his mere presence put the girl on the edge of panic, and that the only way she stayed sane was by clinging to Aureleth. Why did he have to be viewed as something so horrifying, so evil? He meant no harm. He knew why, though, and the answer was extremely obvious in reality. He wondered if it was selfish of him to feel that way. He would have to make amends with her, somehow. It was not going to be easy — that much was evident. He noticed her steal a quick glance back, stiffen at the sight of him, and then lock her eyes on some point ahead of her, quickening her pace just enough so that he was able to notice. He sighed quietly. Scanning his surroundings, there were a few damaged buildings that he was able to see through the gaps between the homes they walked between. He thought he saw a few prone masses off in the distance, sprawled on the ground next to each other.
They passed through yet another alley before being dumped into another concentric street. It was at that point that they quickened their pace, so as to spend as little time in the open as possible. They were halfway across when a low rumble rolled over to their ears. It grew in volume quickly, and it quickly became a familiar sound to Andron. Valkyrie drop ships were approaching, and fast. Out in the open, they would be seen, and it was likely that a gunner would try to take a shot at the three figures running across an open space.
"Get to cover, now!" He began running, Aureleth following, the girl in tow, still attached to her hand. He had seen the girl's eyes widen with fear at his sudden activity, again reinforcing just how afraid she was of him despite his efforts to remain as neutral as possible. They sprinted across the road before he slid under an overhang from a roof with them quickly coming in behind him. The area of ground covered was small, so they were huddled quite closely together. The first Valkyrie screamed overhead mere seconds later, its speed likely preventing the pilot from spotting them. It was followed a split second by several more. They were not heavily leaden with weaponry, and were most likely scouts, as the sound of engines was still growing from the direction they had come. Several seconds later, almost a dozen, slow-moving dropships passed overhead. They were traveling slow enough to have seen them, and a gunner could have hit them had he fired. He held his lasrifle at his side, careful to not allow any part of his body to protrude from under the cover of the overhang.
A sudden realization filled her mind. He was right next to her. She could feel him against her arm, his dirty uniform scraping against her. She felt the heat radiating from his body, hear his breathing, and see his filthy, cut and calloused hands gripping the primitive weapon he held. Everything about him was so alien. He had hair on his hands, arms, and stubble covering his face. His ears were short and rounded.
He was one of them…
Her mind began to descend more and more quickly into a state of intense fear like she was seeing it for the first time again. She began to squirm, attempting to put as much distance between him and her as possible, small whimpers escaping her lips through clenched teeth.
He felt something pressing into his side, moving, accompanied by quiet whimpers and looked down to see what it was, though he was already thinking of how he would deal with what it likely was in order to avoid panic. He found himself staring, as he suspected, at the young girl, wriggling in between Aureleth and him, trying to get away from him. She stopped as soon as she noticed his eyes upon her, and stared back, frozen in place. He could honestly say that it pained him to see such fear of him simply because of what he was. Though he knew it was perfectly rational, and she had every reason to think he would try to kill her the first chance he got, it made him feel almost as if he were evil; something he would never even dream of. He reached out, his palm facing her in a passive gesture, and bade her to calm down. The instant he raised his hand, however, she yelped quietly and buried her face into Aureleth's upper arm.
Aureleth looked down at the cowering child attached to her shoulder before turning her attention to Andron, who simply responded with a sad smile and a shrug before resuming watching for danger. She turned again to Eruwen. That would not do. They would have to do something to foster trust between them, otherwise their journey would be exponentially harder if not impossible. She also felt sympathetic for Andron, to see him distraught over being seen as something akin to a daemon.
The only thing keeping her from sprinting as fast as she could away from him was that she was with Aureleth. Though the mon'keigh was still right next to her, she felt at least slightly secure with her there. She just wanted the human to disappear. She couldn't even dream of resting, let alone sleeping until it was so.
"They're landing," his ominous statement broke their bubble of silence, Eruwen's sniffling being consumed by the sound of jet engines winding down. They remained on the ground for nearly a minute, the sound of voices faintly reaching them amid the din of turbines before they spooled up again and the dropships took off. Andron followed the aircraft as they departed for the Plains of Ildanesh. "They dropped troops. We'll have to move extremely carefully now." He adjusted his grip on his lasrifle before continuing again. He stalked up along the alley until he reached the next street outward and leaned out around the corner of the house he was against. Several dozen guardsmen were making their way up the main road from the center of the city from the point at which they had been let off of the Valkyries. They appeared to be a strike team designed to deliver precise damage quickly. They would most likely be flanking the Eldar lines from their rear, which meant that they would go in the opposite direction he had planned to go himself once they reached the plains. He held his hand up, palm facing Aureleth and Eruwen, indicating for them to stay put. They waited several moments as the troops had advanced one street outward ahead of the trio before he decided it would be a good time to move. He whispered for them to follow as he sprinted across the street and slid to a halt, back against the front face of a home, rifle raised.
Aureleth picked up Eruwen in her arms and bounded across the street with speed that easily exceeded his own. She was beside him in seconds, and placed the girl on the ground before moving her hands to her sheathed and holstered weapons. They continued again, slinking into the alleyway and making for the next concentric street outward. They only had a few left until they reached the plains. The sun was beginning its descent, leaving several hours of light before nightfall. Shadows began to cast themselves across the alley. Looking to his left, Andron saw that the column of troops had cleared their row of houses and was breaking into two smaller units, one heading along the main road and the other turning left. They were no longer at risk of being seen from the main road, and Andron seized the opportunity to move farther away from them.
"Come on, let's go right," he indicated the alley that ran all the way down along the same path as the street, separating all of the houses' rear facing ends. They moved down past several homes, putting distance between themselves and the column of guardsmen that they were leaving behind. They turned left in between two houses and were about to make for the street when they stumbled upon a body. It was old, several days old, and whoever it was had most likely died at about the time the girl's parents had. Several events took place within the next two seconds.
Her family looked like… that? She had never seen a corpse before, and Aureleth had covered her family so that her last memory of them would not be one of horrific disgust. What she saw before her, however, though she knew it was someone she had never met, had their faces. It would take a long time for the realization that she was alone to set in, but the corpse in front of her only served to move it further. It was dirty, and bloody, its eyes glassed over, staring off into oblivion. She stared into them, and saw nothing. The corpse in front of her was absolutely empty. She remembered their soulstones… they were gone. They were truly gone, with not even the Infinity Circuit to go to. She couldn't bear seeing it. It was too much for her, all of the significance it had.
Andron had seen bodies more times than he wanted or cared to remember, so the one in front of him was no different. He realized too late, however, that to the child behind him, it was life altering. He heard footsteps. They came from behind him and off a short distance to his right. They were also from two different sources, one the light padding of small feet on the ground, and the other the staccato rhythm of the heavy boots of armed soldiers marching toward battle. He quickly turned around in time to see Eruwen run back in the direction they had come before turning left and running down the large alley that ran between all of the homes. They would hear her. He spun around on his feet and made to pursue her, but was thrown off balance by his pack as he tried to shed it, causing him to stumble into a wall as it fell from his shoulders. He quickly regained his footing and sprinted after the girl. They were getting closer. He prayed to the Emperor that she would not turn left and run into the street. She would be right in front of them, the best that she could hope for being a relatively quick death. He was gaining on her quickly, and was only a couple of yards behind her when, as he hissed through clenched teeth and felt his blood run cold, she turned for the street. He reached the rear corner of the home, using it as an anchor to slingshot himself around using his momentum as he grabbed it. It gave him just enough speed to reach her. His right hand covered her mouth as his left drew her in. He felt hot moisture condense on his palm as she screamed into it, thankfully muffled. Their momentum carried them within inches of the end of the walls. Anyone who had been looking directly at the alley from where the guardsmen were might have seen two barely visible shadows nearly engulfed in darkness cast by the setting sun and a few strands of hair floating for a split second past the edge of the wall before being whipped back to their owner as their momentum was depleted.
Andron spun back, the girl in his grip and molded with the wall, pressing as far into it as he could, quietly sliding back deeper into the shadows, the girl having gone from screaming to wide-eyed, silent shock, the occasional quivering intake of breath barely carrying through the air, her stomach pressing with oscillating amounts of pressure on his impassive arm as she straddled the line of hyperventilation. He could feel hot tears pooling along where his hand met her face before trickling down onto his wrist. All of her weight was being born on her stomach, his forearm pinning her to him. She was probably having difficulty breathing due to how he was holding her. They had advanced only a few feet back away from the end of their cover when the first guardsmen passed by the opening. Andron held deathly still, not daring to move a muscle. He could feel the child stiffen in his arms, her hands grasping onto his arm over her mouth. He saw that she was staring at the other guardsmen as they passed by, clearly at the end of her nerves in the presence of so many of his kind. They remained like that for nearly a minute, neither daring to move.
It was too much. She could not continue in the manner she was currently. She was being held by a mon'keigh again, his hand over her mouth, his arm crushing her against him making it hard for her to breathe. Only a few feet away were more of the savage brutes that had destroyed everything she had known. If she were to be seen, she knew she would die. Eruwen was simply overwhelmed by all of the stress she was experiencing. All she could do was hold still so as not to be seen. Through the dense fog that is fear that surrounded her judgment, however, she realized that while the mon'keigh that were passing by would not hesitate to murder her, or worse… her family flashed before her eyes again, the one holding her seemed to be different. He could have let her run, could have killed her, could have caught her and brought her to them. He hadn't, though… but the same beings had also brutalized and slaughtered everyone she loved. He always kept himself in front of them, she thought.
Andron exhaled as the last of the guardsmen passed by. He had been holding his breath for an excessive amount of time. As his lungs deflated, so too did his posture, and he slid down the wall on his back into a sitting position, the girl still in his arms, his hand still over her mouth. He had to be sure that she wouldn't scream when he let go of her. He tried the only thing that he could think of. He leaned in, his mouth close to the side of her head.
She stiffened as she felt hot air flow over her ear, accompanied by a hissing sound. The hand slowly began to move from her mouth, the arm around her torso also loosening. He wanted her to stay quiet. The arms separated from her, and she scrambled, though with nearly imperceptibly less vigor than before, away from him, her back against the opposite wall. She held eye contact with him for a moment, as he still sat on the ground. He sat, not moving, only staring back. She searched for hostility in his gaze, but was surprised and confused to find none. What was this mon'keigh? Why… Eruwen averted her eyes downwards. She heard the softest of footsteps to her right, and turned to see Aureleth standing in the alley with them. Again, Eruwen sought solace in her presence, running to her side and resuming her task of keeping Aureleth between her and Andron, her traumatized state showing itself through her expression and body language as her breathing slowed from a pant to its normal rhythm.
He figured that it didn't really matter what she thought of him. As long as he could protect her and that her fear of him would not get in the way of his ability to do that, Andron didn't mind. She had every right to be, he thought as he looked at what little of her head protruded from behind Aureleth's profile. He wanted to tell her what he had meant no harm, and hoped that she realized that as a result of his actions. They were losing daylight. They had to move. Aureleth broke the silence.
"The Plains of Ildanesh are nearby. If we move quickly we will arrive by sunset," she stooped to retrieve Andron's pack and handed it to him. They began walking, his balance slightly off as he adjusted it to fit him.
The monotony of walking through a war-torn city was ironically all that was keeping her from losing her composure utterly. It gave her something else to focus on, not allowing her reality to fully set in for the time being. She wanted to walk forever. The corpse she had seen was something that she knew would follow her to, or even beyond, her grave. She silently wept at the memory of her family's faces flashing before her eyes as she stared at it. She had never seen a dead person before. She had never needed to contemplate death, as she had always thought that she would have centuries of life ahead of her. With her current situation, however, the concept of death and the necessity of dealing with it came roaring into her life, consuming everything. She didn't know why the mon'keigh had attacked them, or why they were killing them, but it was the grim, dark reality of what might very well be the rest of her life. Her little bubble of happiness and peace was gone, incinerated in the furnace of war. She thought about the mon'keigh walking a few yards off to her right. She had tried to forget that he was there, but he kept making his presence known and not in subtle ways. She felt her skin crawl so much as to hurt when his hand covering her mouth as his arm wrapped around her stomach flashed through her memory. She again had thought that she was going to die, and again she had not. It was so confusing to her. She had seen her home destroyed, her life shattered, everything decimated by them, yet Aureleth allowed this one mon'keigh to tag along. Why, then? Why did Aureleth let it follow? Was it out of pity? Out of necessity? Why were they even running? She would have to ask her when she got a chance, she decided. Out of phobic habit she leaned forward and peeked at the human walking on the other side of Aureleth, she being the only thing that stood between them. What did it want if not for her to suffer?
Andron's mind drifted as they walked, the smell of foliage beginning to reach them over the buildings. It quickly returned to the previous night. He remembered, with vivid clarity, every instant of that event. Never had he felt so much happiness, so much passion, so much warmth… so much love. He stole a glance at Aureleth, the mere sight of her lifting his mood. Not only was she physically angelic, but her soul was just as beautiful to him. He then felt a pang of sorrow as he recalled how she had wept in his arms for so long. He could feel the pain radiating off of her as they held each other tightly, her head nestled against his chest and neck, their bodies and souls sharing every aspect of themselves with each other. Her tears had flowed down his skin, what he hoped to be her angst being taken with them. He was glad he had been able to be there for her as the thought of her having to deal with such a thing alone wrenched his heart. As he thought about it, he realized that she had had to do so for over a century. He then pondered the future, realizing that there was no way in the warp that he would, or could, return to the Imperium. He was stuck there. He would spend the rest of his life on the craftworld, be it sixty years or sixty seconds after the war was over and that was assuming that they survived and that the Eldar emerged victorious. Those times would surely be interesting. He hoped that the Eldar were more open-minded than his own.
He jumped to another thought he had had that night. Had he taken advantage of her? Had he known her underlying emotions at the time he would have behaved differently, at least he believed he would have. What vexed him was that he did not know if he would have done so. She showed no signs of remorse or regret about what had happened, and she had made it obvious that she loved him, even in the face of what his kind were capable of, but he would still not feel content until he asked her directly. He felt eyes watching him, and turned to his left, looking roughly at waist height. Two brilliant green orbs quickly concealed themselves on the other side of the woman he loved, accompanied by a small, high-pitched gasp. The two smaller legs on the other side of Aureleth's stiffened. Andron leaned forward enough to see her with her eyes cast to the ground, biting her finger, her elongated canine visible as she nibbled on it. He chuckled quietly to himself. He had no idea how he was going to handle her. He would think of something, however.
Aureleth looked down at the orphaned child walking next to her. That development had greatly complicated matters. She and Andron could have held their own in a combat situation given that they both were warriors, however the addition of a traumatized child was a massive variable. She glanced at Andron, noting the forlorn expression he wore. He appeared to still be hurt after the preceding events, a lot having happened to them even given the scale of the war they were trapped in, and she could see that many old wounds had been opened, and many gauged anew in his soul. Seeing such horrors committed by one's own kind, and then having to walk with the victim who feared him as one would a daemon surely burdened him greatly. Every time Eruwen had shrunk or scrambled away from him in fear she could see that he was unable to completely hide his true feelings about it. Like a child trying to gain the trust of a stray gyrinx and being rejected, that natural reaction was only compounded by his knowledge of why she was in her current state. She would show Eruwen that Andron was not a beast to be feared. Not unless one meant harm to them. He would lay down his life for them in an instant, she knew. It touched her deeply to know that he loved her that much and was willing to go so far for her. He had already condemned himself to exile and death if he were to be captured simply by sparing her, and he had made it clear that he would have done nothing differently; that being with her made it all worth it. She smiled. She was infinitely grateful for the privilege of someone to confide in, and even more so that it was him. She turned her eyes to Eruwen and inwardly sighed. War had taken everything from her. She only had Aureleth. She hoped that Eruwen would grow to trust Andron. The three of them would likely only have each other for a long time to come, and there was no room for fear between her and Andron.
Her mind continued to wander, eventually falling upon the future. She had no idea in the slightest what they would do if they were to survive the war. If the Eldar won and they were not killed before that point, what would they do afterwards? How would she be seen, having fallen in love with a human? The warriors they had come face to face with in that home seemed to have been not necessarily approving, but not fervently determined to see them dead and destroyed either. She had no idea how the situation would be handled. It would be the strangest of circumstances, an orphaned girl, a warrior and a guardsman who was part of the force that had ravaged their craftworld. She had heard of human-eldar relationships once, on exodite worlds, so it was not unprecedented… she hoped that they would survive to have to worry about that. They would discuss it as they rested.
The sun was hovering just above the horizon, the view of space from the ground stunning. Due to the presence of an atmosphere that was just thick enough to have some of the visual properties of that of a planet, the sky quickly turned from a deep red and orange on the horizon to a darker purple before fading into blackness and stars as they looked straight up. The curvature of the dome above the city also lent an otherworldly appearance to the star around which they were orbiting.
The trio passed the last row of homes, finding themselves standing on a small artificial plain of white stone that merged seamlessly with the grassy fields of Ildanesh.
"Where do we go now, that way?" Andron indicated his right, the Plains of Ildanesh extending far off into the distance, green rolling hills glowing a slight orange from the deep colors of light being cast on them.
"Yes. We will be unable to reach the transportation hub by nightfall, however. We will need to find somewhere to rest. I would suggest that we distance ourselves from here, first."
"Well, no use in just standing here," he scanned the fields ahead of them. At least their journey would be scenic. He looked to his left, the black columns of smoke ominously rising above the hills a reminder of the reality of their situation. They began to walk, leaving a city, empty lasrifle cells, parts of their souls, and loved ones behind.
They had been walking for nearly an hour, the cool breeze keeping them comfortable though they could feel the temperature begin to drop. Andron and Aureleth scanned the hilltops and horizon for any signs of danger as Eruwen tagged along, still with Aureleth in between her and Andron. The only sounds they could hear were their footsteps, breathing, and the distant thunder of guns. A familiar sound made itself barely audible to Andron. It would be seconds before it rose to an earthshaking roar as the machines that made it soared overhead.
"Valkyries. Gak, we have to get to cover! There's no way we'll be missed out here," Andron frantically searched for anything that would block them from aerial view. He did not have to for long, however, as their cover came in a different, and moving form. From behind, as he was looking in the direction of the Valkyries, a small phalanx of Eldar interceptors screamed overhead on a path towards the transports, the thunderous roar of their engines shaking the ground and resonating in their chests.
Immediately, lasbolts and gunfire began spewing from the front and sides of the ships, creating a cloud of projectiles and ionized death between them and the fast-approaching interceptors. The incredible agility and speed of the Eldar craft, however, were easily able to overcome the Valkyries which were slow and lumbering by comparison as they rolled around the gunships' lines of fire. Brilliant white lances of energy drew instant paths between the nimble craft and their targets in sharp contrast to the red of the Imperial lascannons.
The leading Valkyrie was struck directly in its cockpit and exploded into a ball of fire as it was speared through and through by the scorching beam. Following its destruction, two gunships to either side of it were hit with glancing blows, streaks of their hull being vaporized by the Eldar energy weapons. One of the gunships was hit in an external fuel tank which combusted, engulfing the left wing in flames, ejecting debris forwards before it was sucked into the intakes on the front of the craft, shredding the delicate turbines inside and causing the engine to tear itself apart, weakening the wing enough for it to become shorn off of the ship entirely. It began a roll to the left as it pitched downward, impacting the ground with a massive thump followed by a great plume of thick, black smoke rising from behind the hill where it had crashed. A few pieces of debris skipped over the hilltop and came to a rest on the fields at its base.
The second Valkyrie that was hit received only minor damage and continued to fly as it returned with a salvo of lasfire in conjunction with a tight turn to keep a line of fire on its target. The Eldar aircraft was grazed by a red lance of energy and began to trail smoke before its attacker was destroyed in a hail of shuriken from another fighter. Two of the craft peeled off and gave chase to the other gunships who had continued on their course. Sliding into position behind them, airbrakes deployed in order to bleed off tremendous amounts of speed, they fired, shuriken pounding into the engine nacelles of the Valkyries. The gunships came apart mid-flight, pieces of them falling to the ground in a long trail as they spiraled into the fields below with dull thumps off in the distance as the only indication of their demise followed by black plumes of smoke shortly after.
"Throne of Terra…" Andron returned to a standing position, his lasrifle at his side. "Are you okay?"
"We are unhurt," Aureleth stood with a trembling Eruwen clinging to her legs and had placed her hand on the child's head.
"Some of them went in the direction we are headed. We will have to be careful as there is a small chance that someone might have survived. I don't want to rusk us being seen by anybody. Is there anywhere we can go that will keep us mostly hidden or are we going to have to simply run through the open?" Andron turned to Aureleth, hopeful that they would not have to remain in the open for their entire journey, though looking around indicated to the contrary.
"Unfortunately, no. We will simply have to use the terrain, and any differences in elevation to our advantage," She scanned their surroundings contemplatively, Eruwen still by her side.
Andron grunted pensively. Their trek would be dangerous, and they might even have to resort to moving by night if they were unable to outrun the front. He looked in the direction they were headed. They would cross near the crash sites of the Valkyries. Hopefully everyone would be dead or gone when they got there as he didn't want to be in a situation where they would be in danger especially with the child now in their midst. They continued, keeping a wary eye for any potential dangers.
They walked for a short time longer and came within what Andron guessed was roughly a kilometer of the downed Valkyries that had passed over them towards the hub. They had burnt themselves out mostly, only a barely perceptible orange glow being emitted from the area around them. They chose to rest in a shallow dip in the ground that was surrounded by small hills, a meter or so high, that made them able to stand without being seen from the surrounding areas. The sun had dipped below the horizon leaving only a dim orange glow for light other than the equipment that Andron had. He lay down, supported on his pack as Eruwen remained close to Aureleth against one of the small hills several meters from him.
He looked over to the girl, who snuggled into Aureleth as the temperature dropped to the point where her dress was no longer adequate to keep her warm. He had been issued with a small blanket roll, though nobody ever used it except for a pillow when they were not sleeping on their packs. He removed his kit and searched through it, drawing out the still rolled blanket that he had forgotten even existed until then.
"Here. For the girl," he held out the blanket.
"You do not yet know her name?" Aureleth was surprised.
"Well… no. We've been running or hiding ever since we found her. What is her name?" His mood lifted at the prospect of something that would help his efforts to befriend the child, who was nestled against Aureleth, starting to visibly shiver.
"Eruwen," at the same time the child's eyes and Andron's jumped to Aureleth.
He smiled. Even their names were elegant still, a far cry from his own which sounded clumsy and guttural when compared to theirs. He took what he hoped would be the first real step towards building trust with her.
"Eruwen."
Her name coming from the mon'keigh's mouth startled her, and her eyes darted over to him. He sat, the very last of the sunlight bathing him in a dim orange. His hand was extended, and her first reaction was to shrink away from it, even though there was nowhere to go to. Upon looking at his hand a second time, however, she realized that he was holding something. He was offering her something.
She shrunk away from him at first; again causing him to feel that melancholy pang of rejection he had become used to with her at that point. After a few tense seconds, though, she stopped her meek, and nearly comical if not so pitiful efforts in trying to become embedded in the shallow hillside behind her. He had her attention, and she seemed to not be on the verge of panic, so he continued his push.
"Are you cold?" He rubbed his upper arms with his hands for emphasis, crossing them in front of him. He felt like a fool, but it was all he could think of at the time. He offered the blanket to her again. "Here," he unfolded it, in case she didn't understand what he was holding. "I'm not going to hurt you, Eruwen." He looked to Aureleth, who smiled.
He was making some progress, she noted with a smile. She didn't want to interfere too much, though, so that their relationship would be almost totally created between them with little outside help and therefore stronger. She sensed that there might be a need for some intervention though, and she nudged the process along literally.
Eruwen felt a slight nudge on her back, very gentle but enough to be noticed. She felt herself directed slightly towards the mon'keigh offering the blanket to her. Aureleth trusted him, but…
He hadn't told her his name. Surely he would be more personable if she had a name to call him by. There was no seamless way to integrate it into their interaction, so he simply told her outright.
"Andron," she jumped the slightest bit at his voice breaking the silence. He spoke again, pointing at himself with his free hand. "My name is Andron." What was the mon'keigh saying? She couldn't speak Low Gothic. She was cold. The thought interrupted her suddenly, drowning out everything else she had been thinking. She regretted not bringing anything in the way of extra clothing with her. She was stuck, only one viable option available to her. She was nervous, but the fact that Aureleth encouraged her was just enough to give her the confidence to inch her hand towards his. She leaned forward, her legs crossed, hand held out to take his offering. As she drew closer, she kept her eyes fixed on his, looking for any signs of hostility of malevolence. Again, she was unable to find any. Did he really mean well? The only mon'keigh she had ever seen were the ones that… her mind seized up upon the memory, not wanting to revisit such a horrendous place. Luckily she was too preoccupied with more immediate issues to dwell on it for the time being. The haze of fear clouding her mind began to thin ever so slightly, giving way to understanding. She felt a scratchy surface on her fingertips, and stiffened at the sudden touch. Looking down at her hand, she saw that she had reached the blanket. She wasted no time in hastily taking it and retreating back against the incline opposite Andron, the offering coming with her. It itched and smelled of gun oil, smoke, and human, but it was warm, and she wrapped it around herself before leaning against Aureleth once again. Looking back at the mon'keigh, she saw that he had leaned back onto his pack again, and wore a large, warm smile.
It wasn't an outright declaration of trust, but the seeds of a bond had been sown and he would do everything in his power to ensure that they were not lost. He and Aureleth were all she had left, and he didn't want one of the two remaining people in her life to be an object of fear. He could never give her back her family, or her innocence, or her world that lay in ruins, but he could give her someone to feel safe near. It was the least he owed her…
Aureleth felt her heart warm at the sight of the first inklings of a relationship between the two. It was tiny, but it was there. Hopefully Andron would be able to cultivate it into a deeply rooted trust both for their safety's sake and their personal sake. She'd seen Andron's nearly hidden facial expressions, his reactions to her numerous rejections. He felt guilty, even though it wasn't his fault. She knew he only wanted to help Eruwen. He had only wanted to help ever since she met him. She smiled. There was not a single person she would rather be with than him, and not a single place she would rather be than their little bubble of serenity in the middle of the lush green fields of Ildanesh. She sat up from her reclining position against the grade behind her, careful not to disturb Eruwen who had immediately fallen asleep, and sat down again on the opposite side of their little pit next to Andron.
"You are a gentle soul, Andron Jarek," She leaned in, whispering the words into his ear so as not to disturb Eruwen. They were effective in being heard only by him, but as an unintended side-effect caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end and his heart rate to increase. She was not yet fully aware of the effect she had on the young human, though she knew very well how he made her feel. She heard him take a deep breath, and after a second's pause, he spoke.
"I can't fix it. I know I'll never be able to right what's been done to her, but the least I can do is give her someone else to confide in." He paused, staring pensively at the ground. "I still can't believe all of this… So many places I could have been. I could have not joined the Guard, could've been deployed elsewhere… I could have even been killed." He chuckled. "But here I am, in the middle of a field on an Eldar Craftworld having fallen in love with the person that nearly killed me years ago, with a child under our care. And why? Was it chance… or fate?" He sat and thought for a moment, unable to come up with any kind of answer. "I'm just glad that it happened, that I'm right here. I've had enough of war. Whether my people have or not is their decision, but I have had enough. I've felt that way ever since Auraxis."
"Do, it,"
Andron's hands shake. He cannot disobey his Commissar.
"B-"
He feels cold metal pressed against his neck, a circular imprint the size of his eye socket. He has no choice.
His lasrifle is on full auto mode. He shuts his eyes, grits his teeth…
He let out a long, drawn out sigh. Sometime during his flashback she had placed her hand on his shoulder. He smiled. She was still so timid, despite her superficial personality traits and their past intimacy. There was most likely a part of her that was still nervous. If the situation were reversed he would not have hesitated to wrap her in his arms. It ironically warmed his heart. "It all got me here with you," he drew her in, eliciting a small sigh of contentment from her. "I couldn't ask for anything better than that." He stared into her emerald green eyes glinting orange in the sunset. He really couldn't have asked for anything better than her. Together, they leaned in toward each other, and he softly kissed her on her lips, their warm, tender forms gently pressing against his. They laid down holding each other, sharing their warmth before drifting off into sleep in each other's arms, the very last of the star's orange glow fading into a cool blue light that dimly lit the still green Plains of Ildanesh.
Sorry this took so long. Next chapter on its way, don't worry I haven't forgotten about you guys :D We'll get back to action (the killing kind) soon enough, probably within 2-3 chapters after this. Anyway guys, thanks for reading and please review.