Sorry I take so long with these, but you have no idea how meticulous I am with making sure it's the best it can be. I've literally spent ten minutes trying to find the perfect combination of words to improve flow, make it sound better, add more emotion, etc. Even little things like punctuation and where you interpret pauses in the sentences I can take time to decide on. I again apologize for taking so long, as three weeks is quite some time, however these are much longer than the ones I used to do in a week or few days. Right now, my rate is about 12,000 words per month. Speaking of which, as of three days ago, those of you with me from the beginning have been following this tale for five months. I thank you from below the bottom of my heart for your dedication, and I hope for another long, fruitful five months in the future. Anyway, here it is, Chapter 14 "Second Thoughts"
He had been wrong… very wrong. He almost wondered if it would have been less painful to have never known and let the boy… Grohm Harkin, die. They would never have known that one of the few good souls left in the damnable world had perished. Ignorance truly could be bliss. With a heavy heart, he thought about such things as he held Aureleth in his arms, still rocking gently, comforting her. Harkin was like him. He saw the world with eyes unclouded by blind hatred and indoctrination by an ignorant war machine. There was another, and even if it was only one, that meant that there could be even more. His resolve to find them still paled in comparison to his resolve in protecting the only two people who truly mattered to him anymore. A choked voice came from her, pulling him away from his thoughts.
"He knew, Andron. He was… like you. He shouldn't have had to die." She looked up over her shoulder, turning her head and then her body slightly in his arms, and he had to look into her sad, green eyes, tears pooling at the edges, following those that went before them down her cheeks. He took his arm from around her stomach, the underside quickly cooling to the ambient temperature after departing from contact with her, and placed his hand on her cheek. In a familiar motion, he brushed away a ponderously falling tear with his thumb, not breaking eye contact. She smiled sadly, placing her hand on his.
"I certainly agree with him," Andron said.
"In what way?"
"You're an angel to me." He hoped he could at least try to move her mind elsewhere. Seeing her upset pained him so much. He felt her cheek grow hot under his touch. All he wanted was for her to be happy again, but a part of him wondered if she had ever been truly happy after they had met, or even before. He would do anything to make that a reality, to usurp the darkness that loomed over them constantly, no matter how much they tried to shut it out. She turned around completely and pressed herself into his embrace, resting her head and hand on his chest.
"The thought of being alone in this terrified me," she said. "It still does, but having you with me..." the only way she could express herself was to wrap her arms around his chest. He responded in kind, holding her tight yet again. She found words to express herself. "So are you, to me." What had happened was likely too profound for either of them to fully comprehend, but a ringing message was heard above the rest: there was still hope. Aureleth voiced her thoughts.
Andron thought, still holding her. "There's still me," he said, the solemnity of his voice making itself heard despite his attempts to sound somewhat cheerful.
"Indeed there is." She sighed. "I couldn't live without you." She leaned off of his chest, staring up at him as he smiled. His face was dirty, his hair disheveled, and the stubble along his chin and jawline was beginning to take on length that put it past just a shade on his skin. Most Eldar would probably think of him as a barbarian, and even the most poorly groomed of her people that she had seen were comparable to the best-kept of humans. Even so, she was deeply, deeply attracted to him. She had known little of love and attraction before fate put them together, but what she felt for him was more powerful than anything she had experienced before. It soared in intensity above everything else. Aureleth was in fact madly in love with the man in whose arms she rested. Her feelings for him were only reinforced when she felt his lips on hers. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden intimacy, the feeling of his arms pulling her body to his coupled with the sensation of his lips upon hers made her mind run blank. After a few seconds she relaxed, beginning to grow more and more used to the idea and feeling which, despite the previous night's experience was still in a way foreign to her. She was growing to love it more and more each second she experienced it, however. Aureleth felt no pain, emotional or physical, their love for each other flooding their hearts with nothing but a want to be together forever.
The feeling of her soft lips against his threw his mind into a warm ocean of happiness, the two of them constituting the entire universe as long as they stayed connected. He held her to him, the graceful curves of her body contouring to his stomach and chest as his hands and arms explored her back. Her breasts, large, and soft even under the stiff mesh and lightweight plates of her armor, pressed into his chest. He felt intense heat radiating from her face onto his own as they kissed. They remained connected for several seconds before slowly, with hesitation, they pulled away from each other. Their eyes locked again, and they both smiled as they held each other. Andron spoke first.
"We should sleep. We haven't gotten much tonight."
Aureleth looked at the reason for their lack of sleep, sadness again creeping into her heart, held at bay by the after effects of their moment together. "Yes, we should."
Andron looked over to Eruwen, who appeared to be fast asleep, and smiled. He would win the little girl's trust. It might prove to be harder than fist fighting an Ork, but he would succeed.
"Will you lay with me?" Her voice took him from his thoughts. "It is cold." She blushed slightly, appearing to have a hint of trouble in maintaining eye contact.
He smiled and drew her in for a short kiss before they laid down, her back against Andron's front, her body fitting with his, in his total embrace. In his tunic, he hardly even felt cool, and he doubted that she felt uncomfortable in her armor. It was just as well, however. He reached behind him and blindly felt for the lamp before extinguishing its light. They were cast into comfortable darkness. Had they listened very carefully, they might have heard the occasional, almost imperceptibly quiet sniffle or whimper from under the blanket only a few feet away.
Eruwen needed someone. Aureleth had always been imposing seeing as she was a warrior, and Eruwen felt slightly nervous around her, as any child would with a recently met stranger, let alone her life being shattered and Aureleth being a warrior. In her current state, approaching her with Andron right next to her was not an option. At least, she thought, they should be able to be happy together. She had already suffered so much; it wasn't like it could possibly grow worse for her. She buried her face into the blanket which was beginning to become saturated with tears where her face was. Why was she crying for a mon'keigh? They had done this to her. Still, watching the young man die was a terrible and strange experience. She replayed in her mind how he interacted with Aureleth. He had been blind, she was sure of it. There was no way until the very end that he could have known that Aureleth was in fact not one of his kind. There was no anger, no panic… he just let himself die peacefully, as if he no longer cared for living. As loathe as part of her was to admit it, it had torn at her heart to watch. She had seen the pain on their faces as the man died. They felt sorrow and sympathy for him. She began to realize that maybe she did, too. Her mind rife with conflict, trauma and agony, Eruwen quietly cried herself into an uneasy sleep, which did little to ease her pain.
Andron awoke to the far-off sound of an Imperial cannon firing. Holding still so as to not disturb the woman who slept in his arms, he examined his surroundings. The sun was about halfway above the horizon, a deep orange glow permeating throughout the sky before again fading to black as he looked farther up. They were still a day or so away from the transport hub. What would happen once they got there… he still had no idea. He decided he would worry about one endeavor at a time. He lifted his head and admired her as she slept, a look of serene contentment on her beautiful face. He reached up with his arm that had been holding her against him and brushed a lock of hair that had fallen in the night onto her face away. The slight touch caused her eyelids to flutter while remaining closed as she awoke. Her eyes opened, the shining green orbs taking in their surroundings before she angled her head to look up and came face to face with him. She immediately smiled, causing him to instantly do the same.
"You look beautiful," Andron smiled.
Aureleth's smile only grew, becoming infinitely brighter to him than the sunrise illuminating the plains all around them.
They remained like that for several seconds before he leaned away to sit up, and she did the same.
"We are roughly a day's travel from the transport hub," she spoke, her voice reflecting that she was not yet completely awake. They needed to start moving. They could continue expressing their feelings for one another at a less urgent time. Her acute sense of hearing told her that the front had in fact moved closer. What the fate of the other Eldar forces on Yul'Te was she did not know, but the Imperials ran the risk of allowing themselves to be surrounded if they focused too heavily on the Plains. Whether or not the entire craftworld was engaged at the time was also a mystery to her.
"You should get her up," Andron indicated the sleeping Eruwen.
She knew that he was aching terribly to befriend the young girl, in the back of her mind knowing that he felt almost responsible for what happened despite her insistence to the contrary. Aureleth decided that she would try to help him in earning the child's trust.
"I believe you should," she said.
His mouth worked in small motions as he attempted to think of a reason, any reason, to not have to do so, but nothing came. They didn't have time for her to panic. She had grown less afraid of him, but he was certain that after the events of the previous night and the past days that she was still a long, long way from trusting him, especially enough so to not panic at him looming over her as she woke.
"Do not worry. You are gentle, she will come to accept you," she comforted him. She began to occupy herself with inspecting her chainsword and shuriken pistol. He was on his own.
Without a word, he approached the sleeping child before kneeling down next to her. She was curled up under the blanket he had given her. He made sure to not be directly over her, and tentatively reached out. As he did so, he was trying to decide exactly what he would do, and settled on a simple nudge to start with. She stirred under it, and he heard a muffled, soft grunt.
"Hey," He received only another meek grunt from beneath the cover, and a mumble in her poetic tongue. He couldn't spend the entire day trying to wake her, but his earlier concern of not inciting panic still stood strong in his mind. He reached out again and peeled the cover off of her face, exposing the side of her head and cheek. Her cheeks were red, as were the areas around her eyes. "E- Eruwen," he half-whispered. He gently shook her shoulder, and her eyes fluttered open. He thought he saw a glimmer of hope in them and with horror realized that she likely would think for a moment that the horrendous events of the past days were a dream as the last night was likely the first time she had slept since the invasion. His grim suspicions were confirmed when he saw her eyes scan her surroundings and she sucked in a gasp before beginning to whimper.
A glimmer of hope was stomped into oblivion inside of Eruwen's soul when she realized she was lying in the bottom of a grassy divot in the middle of the Plains of Ildanesh; an orphan. The entire time, a part of her had hoped that she was just stuck in the most horrific nightmare imaginable, and that it would pass as she slept. Now even that far-fetched shred of hope was gone. She looked to her left which, due to her lying on her side, was towards the sky. The human hovered over her. Fast, brutal snippets of the past day flashed through her mind, cruelly reminding her of all that had happened. She was again nearly overcome with grief. She made eye contact with the human, biting back tears, not wanting to shame herself by letting them see her cry again. Her sister would not have wanted her to cry; she would have said to keep going. It was just so difficult, though. She scanned his face, holding his gaze longer than she would have liked to, as she felt uncomfortable around him, still. He looked upset, and saddened. He retracted his hand from the blanket and leaned back, giving her room. He called to Aureleth.
"She's awake," He wouldn't press further, not as she tried to accept her reality, which most would rather die than come to peace with.
She looked over to him, seeing that he appeared to be nearly afraid to approach her. The child sat, the blanket held at her chest with both hands, her face turning a light red. She sniffled a few times, bouncing each time she did. Andron frowned. She wouldn't last long mentally if they couldn't help her. Still, their first priority was staying alive. He'd do whatever he could whenever possible, though. He approached her, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible, and knelt in front of her. She stood a few inches taller than he as he knelt. Smiling, he held out his hand. "I'm going to need that back for now, or would you like to keep it?" he asked gently.
Eruwen stood, the blanket still clutched in her hands right under her chin against herself. He wanted the blanket back. She was nearly ashamed to admit to herself that she had found comfort in it. It almost made her feel like she had somebody to hold her, to comfort her. Reluctantly, feeling an immense void in her heart that had partially filled grow empty again, she handed it to him. As he gently took it, she kept her fingers on it as long as she could.
He felt like he was taking a child away from its mother as he reclaimed his field blanket. It literally pained him to see the look on her face as she tried to hide her feelings. As he took it, he noticed that the blanket felt damp on his fingers. She had been crying. He felt a massive pang of guilt wrack him. While she had cried herself to sleep, he had been comfortably with Aureleth. Then again, he thought, what good would approaching her in such a state of mind have done? She still did not show many, if any signs of putting very much trust in him. They had to get moving. Though it pained him, he put the thoughts away to address at another time. First he would have to make sure that Eruwen was alive for him to apologize.
He finished packing the blanket into his pack, and stood. He turned to Aureleth, who was inspecting her greaves, ensuring that the mesh armor plates were secured. She stood fully and gave him a smile before nodding, indicating that she was ready. Her chainsword was at her side as was her shuriken pistol. He nodded back.
Eruwen stood, her hands at her sides, unsure what to do with herself. She was unable to fight, and so was only a burden to them. She half-shuffled to Aureleth, who took her hand, offering a warm smile down to the child. Eruwen felt slightly less lost with someone at her side. Aureleth was kind, she knew, but she almost felt as if Aureleth were lost as well, in a way. Eruwen squeezed her hand.
"What about him?" Aureleth's voice was quiet, befitting the subject of her question.
Andron shifted his eyes to the corpse of Grohm Harkin. He laid silently, his hands resting on his chest. He wore one of the most peaceful smiles Andron had ever seen. "What about him?" He walked over and knelt beside the corpse, which was coming out of the final stages of rigor mortis, coming limp again. He leaned over the man to remove his tags, but glimpsed something in his breast pocket as he was doing so. Andron lifted the flap covering it and carefully removed its contents. In his hand, he held a small figurine depicting the Emperor. It was bloodied, the fluid having long since dried into a dark red crust. If the blood was Harkin's, he would have cleaned it. He likely had to do some of the things Andron himself was forced to. He sighed, placing the visage of the Emperor in his chest pocket among the other significant objects he carried. He removed the young man's tags, and placed them in a dump pouch on his vest. Standing, he turned again to address the other two.
"We remember him; immortalize him through what we do. We know what he wanted at the very core of his being. It is also what we hope for. For ourselves, and for Grohm Harkin, we will survive. That's all we can do." He stooped and retrieved the lantern off of the ground, removing his pack and stuffing it inside before donning it again. The three of them shared a moment, preparing together for the coming journey. "Let's go."
The walked up the short slopes of the grassy pit, and continued their journey towards what they hoped would be a better chance at survival. In reality, they only marched deeper into uncertainty, and though they knew that, they continued on. They would survive. They would live.
They had been walking for several hours. They had stopped a few times on the way to rest, if only for the child's sake. They traveled in the same manner they had through the city, with Aureleth in between Andron and Eruwen, and he occasionally felt eyes on him, barely catching her retreating back behind Aureleth when he turned to her. He took a moment to scan their surroundings. Looking around, all he saw were green plains, extending as far as he could see. He thought about the events of the previous night as he looked off to the horizon. He would have left Harkin to die. Harkin had said that he felt as if he was more than just another cannon fodder as he lay dying. He hadn't known that Andron had in fact thought of him that way. He grimaced. He had been at the end of his sanity when he found Aureleth. He wondered what he would have been like as he walked had he not found her. He quickly forced himself to stop doing so after only a moment.
Aureleth's mind jumped between several trains of thought. In one was her plan of action once they reached the transport hub, the other contained her plans for a time farther into the future. She thought again about what they would do when... if, she frowned slightly, they lived through the war. She turned her head to look at the orphaned child who walked next to them, almost radiating nervousness. Her youthful face had a few small streaks of dirt upon it, proof of the physical hardships she had faced, though they paled in comparison to what she had experienced emotionally. Eruwen's eyes shifted occasionally from the ground to look at the horizon, sky, and she even sometimes curiously stole glances at Andron, peeking around her at him. She turned to Andron whose eyes were panning back and forth over the plains ahead and to the sides of them. She smiled. He was constantly watching, even though there was little if any chance that there was a single other soul anywhere near them. Her thoughts jumped back to their previous track. What would they do? She had thought of it before, but while it was a far-off matter, it was still of great importance. Could they start anew? Who could she even speak to of such a thing? She was still unsure, and likely would be for a long time, she thought. She set to planning what they would do once they made it to the transport hub. They could find someplace that was yet untouched by the war, or move to a stronghold. Only time would tell, and their options and destinations could change at any moment.
Andron's thoughts followed a similar path. He pondered the implications of their relationship and the possible consequences, arriving at a similar conclusion: he did not know. He looked at her and the child they had taken under their care. They resembled a family. The temperature of his cheeks rose a fraction of a degree at the thought. He smiled; the idea was almost surreal to him. He would do anything to ensure that they could live in peace, wherever that may be. Still, he harbored concerns about how Aureleth and Eruwen might be received by the rest of the Eldar for their association with him. Certainly their view of humans had been turned to nothing save for anger and, though he knew it was be in small quantities if at all, fear. The idea of having to leave them in order to ensure that they can live happily drove a red hot dagger into his heart, but if it was the only way, he would do so. He'd certainly seen people suffer worse fates. He then wondered if that was actually true. They simply died. He would have to endure the pain that losing them would bring, knowing that they, or at least Aureleth at that point, would feel the same. He resumed scanning the horizon, always watching, and ready to protect them with his life.
The walking had kept her mind off of everything. In it she had found a strange sense of numbness that helped keep her thoughts away from the horrors of the past days that she found out had in fact been real. The human was close by, and she could see the faint undertone of nervousness in his features as he scanned the horizon. Looking at him, her mind drifted to the past day, where he had pulled her back into the alleyway. She shuddered at the thought of the man grabbing her the way he had, jerking her back and covering her mouth as she felt she would be crushed as he nearly squeezed the air from her lungs. It had been so sudden; she'd been beyond terrified, fearing for her life. Then he just held her tightly as the other Guardsmen passed by. After that, he let her go. He had saved her life, and risked losing his in the process, as they surely would have killed him, too. Why had he done it, then? She was sure she had taken a moment before to ponder that question. All she could remember was that the answer had been unclear to her, as it was while she walked through the Plains of Ildanesh next to the only one of her people that she had seen alive in over a day, and one of the men who had invaded her home, and then saved her life from his own people while risking his. She began to feel more curiosity rather than fear when she thought about him.
They continued walking, the sun following its ponderous arc from one rim of the craftworld to the other, hovering over their heads, watching the trio as they walked onwards. While it would have been soothing at any other time, the silence was nearly suffocating them. All that was heard was the gentle plodding of their feet on the rich soil and vibrantly colored grass, as well as the wind as it drifted by, playfully tugging on blades of grass and wisps of their hair as it passed. It was by any standards a beautiful day, though a look towards the docks towards the bow of the craftworld indicated that it was in fact far from such. The smoke columns had spread. More were rising, and the smoke they sent into the atmosphere was beginning to drift. A low rumble in the distance was followed by the distant roar of a jet engine. Another small force of Imperial Valkyries was being sent behind the Eldar lines. Andron thought with distaste about how they would continue to do so, throwing men and resources at the enemy until they cracked, wasting countless lives.
"Aureleth," Andron hissed, as if shouting would reveal their position to the inbound craft.
She had heard it at about the same time he had, and was already searching for somewhere that they could hide. "I hear it." She uttered what he assumed was a curse as she resumed looking. There was nothing save for rolling hills and green grass in a 1 kilometer radius. They had nowhere to hide, and the drop ships were fast approaching. In the distance, against the blue and white of the sky dome blocking a portion of the star's radiation and light, Andron saw three black dots begin to grow in size proportionally with the volume of the still thankfully distant roar. They would be seen, as the Valkyries were low in an attempt to avoid Eldar sensors. They also could not trust that Eldar interceptors would inadvertently save them again.
"There's nowhere for us to go..." Andron was thinking at a frantic pace.
"Are you sure that they will turn from their objective in order to attack us?" Aureleth had seen human cruelty, and she knew that from a moral standpoint it was entirely possible. However the strictness of military code that they maintained might have been enough to stop them from doing so.
"Am I absolutely sure? No..." He spoke the vow he had made silently to himself and them. "But I will not risk either of you for anything. I can't." As he spoke, his mind revolving around the two he had sworn to protect, a sliver of a memory entered his vision. Eruwen slept, curled up under his olive drab field blanket, the fact that it was massively oversized made even more evident in the way it nearly enveloped her. He realized that it was their only chance. He quickly unslung his backpack, removing the blanket that would have been utterly forgotten to him had he not needed to use it the night before. He unfolded it, its area roughly the same as the amount they would take up laying down and creating as small a footprint as possible. "Here. If we hide under here we'll blend in."
She looked at him, almost incredulous. The idea sounded both absurd and brilliant at the same time.
He saw her expression and comforted her. "It's just like a camo cloak. There's an entire regiment that uses things like this."
The craft would be over them in less than a minute. There was absolutely no option other than for the three of them to huddle under the old and utterly unprotecting thing.
"Here, lay down." Andron tried to display as much confidence in his almost comical plan as he could.
Aureleth turned to Eruwen and whispered to her in Eldrish. The child nodded, and they both lay down, Eruwen nestled in the contours of Aureleth's body. Andron took one last look towards the incoming craft and estimated that they had thirty seconds before they would be over them. He threw the blanket over Aureleth and frightened girl and then, without thinking, lay down on the side nearest to him, which placed him face-to-face with the already shaken girl. Time, however, would not wait for him to address a concern that was petty compared to the present issue, and he drew the blanket over himself, covering the three of them. The blanket filtered a sizable portion of the sunlight, and what light did penetrate the fabric was tinted green. It immediately began to heat up inside, growing uncomfortable, however the light breeze finding its way into the space inside and circulating cool air negated some of the stifling feeling that was building up inside.
She felt like she was suffocating, pressed in between Aureleth and the human. Eruwen was face-to-face with him, closer than they had been even when he tried to restrain her in her home. The memory of home sent a pang of sadness through her before she resumed her thoughts. He smelled of smoke, sweat, dirt, grime, and even blood. She tried to keep her eyes fixed on a point anywhere other than straight ahead of her so as to avoid staring directly at him. She found her eyes drawn to his breast pocket. She noticed that it was quite full, and there were two imprints in the front face from the inside. She did not recognize one of them, which was most likely a representation of a human deity. She had learned little about humanity, though she did know about their fanatical devotion to their God-Emperor. She gave it little more thought, as it was likely because of who that trinket represented that her world was in a state of war. Her eyes flicked a few degrees to focus on the other impression. They then widened as she instantly recognized what she was looking at. It was a tiny figurine carved from wraithbone; he carried Isha with him. She swallowed, nervous at the implications of him having a piece of Eldar artwork, no less one that could be carried on somebody's person. Had he killed someone and taken it? Did Aureleth know that he had it? Her hands were clasped together at her chest, at the level of his breast pocket. She was drawn by the tiny effigy of Isha in the human's pocket.
The drop ships would be upon them in a matter of seconds. Andron looked straight ahead, into Aureleth's eyes. She smiled, as did he, and they held each other's gaze, reassuring each other without saying a word. He reached across Eruwen and placed his hand on her arm. His arm rested on the girl as she remained between the two of them. He could almost feel her trembling, but whether or not that was from her fear of the incoming drop ships or the fact that she was pressed against him was a mystery. The low rumble of the approaching ships quickly built into a deafening roar that shook the ground. As they passed over, the sound was so intense that he felt as if the physical force would rattle his teeth out.
It was the second loudest noise she had ever heard. As the Valkyries thundered overhead, her acute sense of hearing was pained tremendously. She was again terrified, her only protection a blanket. She screwed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth as the shaking of the ground overpowered the shaking of her own body. Like screaming demons of ruin, they passed by. Then they were gone.
Andron had kept his eyes fixed on Aureleth's for the entire duration of the incident. They laid there for several more seconds, speaking volumes without uttering a word. In the almost equally loud silence that followed, he heard the sound of quivering breaths being sucked through gritted teeth. He angled his head down and saw Eruwen. She lay on her side, her eyes squinted shut, her hand clasped onto his breast pocket with the force of a power claw. He frowned sadly. The child was terrified, nearly hyperventilating. Out of impulse and his want to comfort her, he placed his hand on hers, engulfing her smaller, fragile hand in his. He almost felt as if she would shatter if he was not careful, which in a way was true.
Eruwen gripped the figurine as if letting go of it would mean death. Her head was buried into... she'd forgotten as the craft screamed overhead, the sound erasing her thoughts, but she felt slightly less afraid there; someone was with her. Some of the fear was taken from her, made not hers to bear any longer. It smelled of gun smoke, ozone, war, and someone else's pain. Eruwen felt a hand engulf hers, gently holding it to the human's breast pocket. Her eyes widened before she felt a wave of calm flow through her, and her breathing slowed marginally. Her mind clearing, her heart returning to its normal pace from the frantic beat it had been pounding in her chest, she took note of the hand on top of hers. It was gnarled, large, and felt grimy. It wasn't Aureleth's. Her eyes widened again and she gasped as she wriggled her hand out from under his, and rolled around to face Aureleth, holding her hands clasped at chest level, and thought about what had just happened. She'd felt the same as she always had when she was near him, but never before had she felt safe, or not afraid. Had she known it was Andron, or had she mistaken him for Aureleth? A voice in the back of her head that had been too quiet to hear finally grew louder than an imperceptible whisper.
He let the girl go, not wanting to push what little trust she'd given him, and swallowed the all-too-familiar sense of rejection he felt as she turned away. He looked back up again, to Aureleth. She was not familiar with children either; possibly, Andron realized, even less so than he. Still, he almost envied her natural ability to comfort the child. He assumed that the fact that she was a woman played a role in it. Even a deadly warrior such as herself, whom he had seen firsthand kill numerous people, could be as loving and gentle, possibly even more so, than his own mother. He hoped he hadn't gone too far with Eruwen. He knew that it would hurt him deeply if he were to completely alienate the child. When she had turned away, there was little sign of the near panic he had come to expect from her when they came in close proximity. He allowed himself an inward smile; he was making progress, he believed.
"It's been about a minute. They should be pretty far by now," Andron said just above a whisper. His voice sounded loud in the confined space they laid in. He sat up, the blanket rolling off of him, cool air rushing over them, evaporating the thin sheen of sweat that had begun to grow on their skin. He took a moment to enjoy the sensation. The sound of the engines had since faded out of earshot. He stood, as did the others.
"That was... an interesting idea," Aureleth mused.
Andron retrieved it from the ground. "Nobody said I had to sleep in it," he quipped. He finished folding it and placed it into his pack before securing it shut. "How much farther, do you think?"
She stood, peering off towards the horizon. "If we continue, we will arrive there by the end of tomorrow, I believe."
"If she gets tired, I'm sorry but I don't think I can carry her," he nodded towards Eruwen who stood, eyes fixed on something, sometime, or someplace far away.
Aureleth smiled, understanding. "I understand. Hopefully we can overcome that if not only for my sake."
"Well..." he gestured in the direction they needed to walk before the three of them continued, silent in thought.
It was several minutes after they had started walking that Andron realized that the sound of the once far-off explosions sounded to be slowly approaching. He never thought he'd come to a point in his life where the sound of approaching Imperial forces would strike worry and dread into his heart. A second digestion of that thought revealed to him that part of him always had, due to their indiscriminate way of war. He turned to Aureleth and the child walking on the other side of her again. His mind drifted to his memories of years passed. It settled on that of the only woman... well, he thought, she had been only a girl at the time, he loved. They had had dreams of starting a family, buying a hab, and living a happy life together. He smiled a little at the memory. He tried to remember her name, but realized with a pang of guilt that he couldn't. Their relationship had been short, before he joined the Guard, and it would have fallen in the category of a typical youthful relationship, never meant to last, only to serve as a stepping stone as they tried to discover themselves. Maybe the fact that he could not recall her name was a sign, an indication that the first real love he had was in fact Aureleth. She had been the only one to stir those feelings within him since that girl those many years ago, but the intensity of those emotions was infinitely more powerful. She was like nothing he had ever seen before. Like the first few times he laid eyes on her, he was again lost in admiration of her angelic beauty. He smiled.
He then saw Eruwen, plodding along next to her, a perpetual undertone of nervousness on her face. Andron thought about the event that had just transpired as they hid from the Valkyries. He'd looked down, and her hand had been on his breast pocket as she clung to him, of all people. He hoped his gesture of comfort hadn't ruined his chances of gaining her trust, but thinking back on it, she had not recoiled from him in a manner that showed panic. Rather, she seemed almost... embarrassed. He was making progress, he thought. Little by little, she was realizing that he was not like the rest of them.
Eruwen tried to keep her mind fixed on something other than the horrific reality she found herself in. She ended up deep in thought about what had happened as they'd hid from the Imperial craft. Why had she clung to him? It was almost painful, how much she was processing the question. She just couldn't see what had made her do it. Was it just the figurine of Isha? Then why had she buried her head into his chest? Her cheeks, just under her eyes, turned red. He'd saved her life, protected her, gave her that blanket when she'd been cold... she certainly had been cold, she thought. The only other humans she had met other than he and the other one had... she quickly stopped the train of thought. But maybe... maybe he truly only wanted to help.
Aureleth had seen what happened between Andron and Eruwen. How embarrassed Eruwen had looked when she turned away from him, eyes cast down, cheeks red. She smiled. The girl appeared to finally be growing more trusting of him. Aureleth knew how much it pained Andron, the rejection, and she'd seen it as they laid in hiding, that look of hurt. She looked at the child, who was padding along next to her, and appeared to be in thought. She would not force her to accept Andron. That was no way to handle such a thing. He would have to gain enough of her confidence so that Eruwen would come to see him the way that she did. The girl was afraid, her life decimated in an instant by humanity, but Andron made it clear, perhaps even almost too clear, that he would have nothing to do with them any longer. In time, she thought, they would grow a bond that would be just as powerful as the one she shared with him. The instincts of a father were strong in him, she could see. That ushered in a thought that had never really occurred to her before. They'd fallen in love, and then took a child under their care. That made them almost like... a family. She had always thought that her life would be spent consumed in following the Paths. Few Eldar were lucky enough to be blessed with a family, even if most did not desire it due to the ways of their society. Though it was by no means conventional, their love for each other was more than real. It surpassed everything she had ever experienced before, and their love for Eruwen continued to grow, Andron already proving that he was willing to risk his life for her. She blushed at the thought of performing the Rites of the Eternal Bond with him. It would surely be unprecedented.
They saw nothing save for the occasional flower, an insect, or other flora and fauna that punctuated the flawless green expanse. The breeze softly flowed over the plains, and had it not been for the faint rumble of war, or the pillars of smoke protruding over the horizon, they would have easily been taken for a family out on a leisurely walk, enjoying each other's company. They found solace in each other, but their journey was by no means leisurely. War was approaching, and they would have to avoid it if they were to survive.
The sun was several degrees above the horizon, having yet to begin to hide itself behind the rim of the craftworld as the three travellers stopped for a moment. It was beginning to grow cool, the sky starting to darken and turn orange, purple, and red as its light was refracted by the atmosphere.
"At this pace, we will be there by the end of tomorrow," Aureleth's voice eased its way through the silence.
"Should we rest? I don't see any chance of the front reaching us anytime soon." Andron could go on for much, much longer, but Eruwen was likely physically and mentally worn. She would need rest.
"Yes, I believe that to be the best course of action. Once we get there, we will likely not have much time to rest. If any other Imperial ships have made it there, then we will be facing much more difficulty than we are currently. We should take any opportunity that we have to do so." She was unsure if any other Imperial forces had in fact made it to the transport hub, or if there were any Eldar forces there. All that she was sure of was that if either was there, they would have to remain hidden, and that meant being constantly on alert. She worried, however, for how that might affect Eruwen. It would not be devoid of stress.
Off in the distance, a fifteen minute walk from their current position, sat a large tree atop a small hill, silhouetted in the brilliant sunset. It would be the perfect place for them to seek shelter. Andron pointed it out to Aureleth, who agreed with his conclusion. They would rest there.
They arrived atop the small bulge in the terrain, the shadow of the tree cast for a long distance behind them. Andron stretched and sighed as he removed his pack and let it fall from his fingertips onto the ground with a thud, the sound of buckles and other metallic objects clinking together accompanying it. He flexed his shoulders, back, and arms, trying to work out all of the cramps that had accumulated from carrying such a heavy kit. He turned to Aureleth, who was farther away towards the sun from the tree than he was, adjusting her armor likely to loosen the fit slightly to allow for more comfort. Preventing himself from getting lost again, he lowered his lasrifle onto the ground before sitting and going about removing what they would need for the night.
"Will you eat? We have some of my rations, and…" he removed a pouch of what appeared to be large seeds, each nearly the size of his thumb, "these. There's some other stuff in here, but I'm not sure if we have to cook it as I've never seen it before."
She had not eaten in over a day, and while she was trained to last longer without food, nearly relying on the sweet taste of victory for sustenance, she would not needlessly starve herself. "Yes, thank you." She turned to walk towards him, her back facing the sun before she stopped. She stood and watched.
Eruwen stood in front of the tree, staring at it. As she had approached it, the possibility she was coming to peace with had entered her mind, as there were not many trees situated alone in the Plains. Still, she'd had difficulty believing it. Part of that could have been because of the intensely bittersweet memories that it would bring back.
—1 Year Prior—
Anhariel gasped. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Holding the gift in one hand, she drew her younger sister into a tight hug.
Eruwen grinned, absolutely elated that her sister was so pleased with her gift. She returned the embrace. "I thought you would like it," she said sheepishly.
"I love it, Eruwen. You're the greatest sister I could have ever wished for." They rocked back and forth for several seconds, basking in their affection for one another before and idea entered Anhariel's head. She took a knife from the assortment of utensils they had brought for the small party and returned to Eruwen's side. "Come with me."
They stood at the base of the tree, admiring its smooth exterior. Eruwen was curious as to what her sister was intending. It only grew when Anhariel handed her the knife.
"Put your name right here," she indicated a spot roughly at eye level.
"Are we—"
"Do not worry. It will survive," her sister reassured her with a hand on her shoulder. "This is a runewood, so its almost meant for doing this."
Eruwen raised the knife and after a moment's hesitation, carved the runes for her name into the bark of the tree. The wounds she had inflicted remained open for several seconds before she saw them begin to be grown over with a thick, darker material. She watched as the tree repaired itself, and her name became etched into it for eternity.
"See? Now it's my turn," she received the knife from her smiling younger sister and did the same, etching the elegant runes that symbolized her identity into the side of the tree, right under her sister's. She then surrounded them with one large rune, its lines encompassing the smaller ones that represented their names. It stood for love. While their love was not the kind between their parents, it was just as intense, if not more so. She and Eruwen were as close as they could imagine themselves becoming, their sisterly love for one another burning as intensely as the star that illuminated their world.
"Now, they'll always know. You and I are together forever." Anhariel placed her hand on the timeless mark they had just created.
Eruwen placed her hand on top of her sister's, her fingers nestling themselves in the spaces between Anhariel's. They smiled, looking at each other with loving eyes. In Anhariel's eyes, Eruwen saw that she had meant it. Her sister wrapped her other arm around Eruwen's shoulders, and drew her in. She giggled, their hands remaining intertwined on their little act of love that would remain until the end of time.
Eruwen opened her eyes, and saw only her own hand through the tears that flowed freely down her face. She traced her fingers over the elevated bark that their carving had left. It was still there, just like she had said. Why then? Why had she been taken away? She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore. Only a few days before, her life had been wonderful. She was reminded of all that was lost, all that she would never see again. She was reminded of the fact that she would never feel her sister's loving embrace, hear her jubilant laugh, see her shining smile ever again. The last she had seen of Anhariel was as she was torn away from her, tears in her eyes, trying to hide the petrifying fear that had been wracking her heart. As she stood in front of the old runewood tree, her hand placed on their names carved together, all she could do was weep.
Andron had turned around and was also watching. It did not take long at all for him to realize what was going on. He didn't even need to look at the pict that rested in his breast pocket to know where he sat. He felt nothing but pity for the poor girl, who was constantly reminded of what she had lost. Andron supposed that the uncertainty of not knowing whether or not his family was still alive could be a blessing. He had no reason to think that they weren't, so he did not worry much. Eruwen had nothing. All that remained of her life was despair, lost love, lost opportunity, and lost life. He wondered if she would ever be able to recover from such a thing… if even he would have been able to if such a thing happened to him. He was tempered in the furnace of war, but a human mind… any mind, can only bear so much before it is crushed under the weight of hopelessness, agony, and sadness. He wasn't trained for the emotional aspect of war. All he'd ever been taught was how to kill and survive. Anything else was unnecessary. At least, his superiors would have thought so. At that moment he felt that being able to help her was the most important thing he could possibly do. Alas, he was just as helpless as she was in a sense, unable to stop her pain, unable to give her solace. All Andron could do was sit and behold the bitter, rotten fruit of his kind's labor. He clenched his teeth and swallowed, not remembering the last time he'd needed to do that. He didn't have the luxury that Eruwen did. He couldn't allow himself to break down.
Aureleth stood and solemnly watched Eruwen mourn for her lost loved ones, knowing that there was nothing she could do to end the child's suffering. She herself had lost a lot, too. As far as she knew, her friends, and family were likely dead as well, or locked in combat that may very well end their lives. She thought she would have been one of the few beings lucky enough in the galaxy to put war behind her. Even that, she thought, was too much to ask from an unforgiving, ruthless world such as the one they found themselves trapped in. War had come to find her, and it brought her back into its hellish jaws along with everyone around her. She quietly sighed, the sound barely escaping her lips. It was all she was able to do.
The sun had started to retreat below the horizon, and the sky was a deep, brilliant mixture of orange and red that faded to purple and then black as one looked up. The massive orange orb watched, unnoticing of the lives being lost under its gaze. Eruwen's silhouette was a black figure against the slowly darkening sky, wisps of her hair being picked up and flowing in the breeze that continued to blow over the hills. The figure's head bowed, the hair forming a black curtain against the setting sun, and orbs refracting the light passing through them, shining like falling stars, descended from its face.