Prompt: 022 murmur

Character: Shadow Blade

Enre made his way through the keep, ignoring the gossip and murmurs of the sangheili around him. He didn't care what they'd heard from forth party sources, he would go directly to the one person who would know the truth.

He reached her door and knocked quickly, speaking loud enough that she would be able to hear him. "Ahwu, it is Enre. I wish to speak to you."

There was a pause and he waited, fighting the urge to pace in front of the door. Finally it slid open and he stepped in, not waiting for an invitation. Only when the door had slid shut did he turn to look at her. His questions of how the meeting had gone were all answered with one look at her. Her jaw was spread in a sigh of agitation, muscles tense as though ready to lash out at whatever might be in her way, and there was an angry spark in her eyes that he'd only see when she was showing up a fellow sangheili who questioned her skill.

"They did not grant you permission." Enre's words came out as a growl. Sometimes he questioned why they let the elders who were stuck in the old ways lead. The young could be just as strong and be willing to move forward.

"They are fools, Enre. They deny me my right to serve simply because of my gender. Old fools, all of which I could beat from one side of the Keep to the other with just my fists." Ahwu started to pace, huffing every once in a while as she ranted. "They refused to even allow me a chance to prove myself. They said there's never been a female warrior from our Keep and there's no reason to start now."

"So they refused you a chance because they have refused all before you? Such thinking will leave our people stuck in old ways. We cannot advance and become stronger if we don't allow change." Enre turned toward the door.

Ahwu's hand on his arm was the only thing that stopped him. "Don't do that, Enre. You'll only get in trouble and that will only make problems." Ahwu pulled him away from the door and he allowed it. She could do it by force but it was less painful to cooperate.

"I can't let them get away with this, Ahwu," Enre argued. "They let Yors be a soldier but they deny you because of out of date tradition." He allowed Ahwu to pull him toward the window. "We want to change our people, don't we? Then taking a stand is what we must do."

"Enre there is a time and place for standing for what you believe in. Now is not that time and not over this. We will help our people break free from these ancient ideas a different way."

Now she had Enre's attention. She would only let this go if there were a backup plan. "What is our next step?" Enre asked.

Ahwu's hand moved from Enre's arm to take the male sangheili's hand. "Our next step is marriage as we always planned. I heard that some young sangheili was assigned to a special squad of soldiers. Handpicked by the prophets."

Enre took her other hand in his free one. "I heard that as well, I believe the rank was Zealot." Enre leaned a bit toward her. "Think that's a high enough rank to take a wife?"

Ahwu stared at him, stunned. "They made you a Zealot? That's enough for several wives. Why would they increase your rank so much? Are the prophets now allowed to disregard our rank traditions just because they are prophets?"

Enre was a bit amused by the way she was always sable to turn the conversation toward her dislike for tradition or their religion. "I am not in a normal Zealot position. We are now at war with some other species, and as I understand it their planets may contain relics that are considered holy. The team I am a part of is small, will drop onto the planets and try to find any sign of relics and retrieve them or mark their location. I realized why it was that they were chosen."

Ahwu huffed, not happy with the war as it was a religious war and all the more because she wasn't allowed to fight. "Why were you chosen?"

"Because we can see, have little faith in the gods." Ahwu examined him, not understanding what he meant. "We are going to be the first to reach artifacts, have to be willing to sacrifice smaller ones for larger finds and do things that might be considered defiling holy ground. Those who are faithful could not do such things."

"I will admit the prophets aren't complete fools," Ahwu conceded. "Very well, let them help us on our path to growth." It was Enre's turn to be confused by his partner's words. "You have rank enough that you can spread your strength and wisdom on to the next generation. Fight this pointless war and destroy the enemy swiftly. If you do well, are honorable, then you are sure to become Kiadon. Once we control the keep we will change things, save our species from stagnation."

Enre grinned in that slightly creepy sangheili way. "Then I have a different reason to visit the Kiadon tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why delay?" Ahwu asked.

"Because today I was promoted. I would like to spend it celebrating with my closest friend and future wife." Enre squeezed her hands lightly. "Come, we will watch the light fade from the day." With that he led her out of room to find a nice place to watch the sun set.