Seela

Streets of New Mombasa

12 Hours After Rupture

"Here we are," the Major said, the two of them rounding the edge of the block, approaching an awning built into the face of the building. There were two medkits mounted on the wall beneath the shelter, Seela clutching at her bleeding waist as the Major picked one up and opened the lid.

She took a seat on the bench nearby, the thing so small she worried she might fall off the thing. They had walked a good distance from the spot they'd dealt with the Hunters, but the exhilaration was still fresh on her mind, and her appreciation for his earlier words had only grown since. She had slain the Covenant's fiercest warriors with a weapon she shouldn't ever be in possession of, who else among her kind had done something so glorious? Had she really considered death before? What was the point of dying for honour's sake when she could live, and push the limits of her potential?

She watched him unpack the kits and set the empty casings aside. No longer did her reservations about him being an alien, Imp or Human, bother her. His words were as comforting as his presence was, and as long as they were stuck in this mess, it mattered little what species he was.

"You would make a fine Sangheili, Major," she said, looking up to watch the rain splash against the glass awning. It felt like she'd been constantly soaked through this whole night, it felt nice to be able to take a second to dry off. "Minus the whole… throwing your life away part."

"Thanks?" he said, seemingly unsure how else to respond.

"You are what I first imagined my brothers in arms would be like," she continued, the Major taking a seat next to her. "Stoic, honourable, fearless. Despite all my blunders at sneaking, all our fights that could have been avoided, you've never complained, just accepted it all and adapted."

"Here," he said, passing her a packet of gel in the following pause.

"My thanks," she said, squeezing the gel onto her palm. She slathered it over her wound, dipping her hand underneath the fabric of her bodysuit. "It feels good to travel with you," she continued, her blood congealing on her hand. "At first, I called you Heretic, alien, but I haven't appreciated the benefits of that until now. You have no expectations of me, you do not know of Sangheili standards. It is so… refreshing, to be with one who expects nothing from me."

"I expect you to watch my back," he noted.

"That is an unspoken need between squadmates. That's what we are, yes? A squad, and a pretty good one if I say so myself."

He nodded at that, a few minutes of silence following. He eventually broke it, gesturing at her injury. "Seela you've got to push the gel in deep, won't work otherwise."

"I'm weary of gutting myself with my nails," she explained, holding out her hand. Each digit was tipped with a triangular nail, almost as long as his fingers were, the tips shining as they caught the light. "Unless you have a file on hand, I must be careful."

"You file your nails?" he asked.

"Of course, I do not let them grow long and wide like the males do."

He seemed to find this revelation amusing, producing the other gel packet as he chuckled. "I'll do it, if you want. I don't have claws."

"True," she said, noting his nails were blunt and circular, rather than ending at points. "Very well, you may touch me."

"Not gonna lose my hand if I do? I remember you said nobody touches you."

"For you, I will make an exception."

"Alright…" He dripped a portion of the medigel out, cupping the white glob with his fingers. "Turn around," he said, and she did, her back facing him as he placed his hand on her waist.

A flare of pain came and went as he slipped his hand into her was a strange sensation, she could feel his fingers wriggling around next to her organs, hot pain chasing each sudden shift. She needed to distract herself, his intrusion causing more of her blood to spill and her eyes to water.

"When I was in the Covenant, I did everything I could to earn the respect of my kin," she said, lifting the handle of the sword from her belt and looking at it longingly. "My status became my identity, yet when I earned the title of Ultra it mattered little, hardly any of my kin wouldn't listen to me, only the Unggoy and Kig-Yar were tolerant of a female warrior, and that was only out of fear of discipline. Now, it is different," she said, turning her head to the Major with excitement blazing in her eyes. "I travel with one who does not care what my rank or gender is. I can wield this sword without fear of judgement from you."

"What more could I ask for than a sword-swinging Sangheili at my back?" he asked. He was still spreading the gel over and into her wound, he was a good listener.

She felt a flush spread over her face, Seela turning away before he noticed.

"Your shoulder's bleeding, too," he continued, Seela glancing at it. It must have split when she'd smashed into that monument, but she hardly felt it, which shouldn't surprise the Major by this point. "How'd you get this one again?"

"Spike grenade," she answered, her head tilting as the Major stood up on the bench, as he was too short to access her shoulder if they were both seated.

"Nasty cut," he noted, squeezing out more gel. He didn't ask for permission this time, the odd scent of the gel filling her nose as he did his work.

"You fuss over me like my mother," she chuckled. "I can take much more punishment than you can, Major."

"Still at risk of infection, just like the rest of us. Hold still."

"Never thought I'd let myself be healed by an Imp," she murmured, the way the Major's hand caressed her shoulder sending shivers down her spine. How could the touch from another feel so different from her own hand? She bristled as his other arm came to rest on the base of her neck. A simple way to balance on his part, but to her, he might as well have electrocuted her.

He continued to mend her wound for another few moments, Seela's eyes lidding as the medicinal properties of the gel did its work, his soft fingers tracing the edges of her cuts. The process went on for minutes, did the gel really need to be rubbed in for this long? Perhaps was he taking an interest in her body, masking his curiosity behind the act of healing. She didn't really mind, his skin was so smooth without the gloves on…

"All done," he said, jolting Seela out of her lull. He shuffled away from her, placing his hand out in the air and letting the rain wash the grime away. He wiped his now wet palm on his leg, tilting his head at her. "Ready to go?"

"In a moment, I wish to rest for a while."

"Alright."

She smirked at him, shuffling closer so that their hips just barely touched. She had to hunch her head to look down at him, the Human's helmet at roughly the same level as her chest. He was looking straight ahead, but she suspected he was watching her movements, and if he had any complaints about her closeness, he didn't voice them.

"At first, I thought your small stature was a weakness," she began, reaching out to run her fingers over his forearm. The sleeve was missing, his flesh exposed to the air. "But, there is a certain dexterity to you that I can appreciate."

She moved down to his wrist, noting that his pink flesh was layered in very fine hairs, too spaced apart to provide much insulation from the cold, yet his skin radiated a welcoming warmth all the same. She turned his hand over, the Major letting her open his fingers with her own. She placed her palm on top of his, her fingers dwarfing his own as she brushed his flesh with her nails, careful not to cut him.

"Only the one thumb," she mused, like she was taking notes. "How strange."

"To me, having two thumbs is the strange thing," he replied, and she gave the pair of thumbs on her hand a wiggle, wrapping them over his palm and demonstrating their flexibility. Her blue skin contrasted with his rosy flesh, their difference in biology intriguing purely for the sake of it.

"So warm and smooth," she murmured, interlocking their fingers. "I know you are warm-blooded creatures, but the air is so cold…" Despite his soft hide there was a pleasant firmness behind the tissue that pushed back when she prodded, and she wondered how developed he looked beneath the rest of that armour. Simply because she was curious, of course…

"I didn't thank you earlier," she started, blinking down at him. "You saved my life after that Chieftain gutted me, and all I did was accuse you of doing something wrong. I will fix it now," she said with a nod. "Thank you for saving my life, Major. I still am not quite sure what I did to earn your compassion, but I respect your decision."

"I need you, Seela," he said. "that's all there is to it."

"If only everything was so simple," she replied, trying to sound as casual as he was, but failing when he gave her hand a little squeeze with his own, that strange feeling in her chest growing more and more distracting.

They peered into the street for a while, the rainfall adding an odd touch of serenity to the surrounding destruction. She remembered how he had said he wasn't good at doing nothing, but she smiled when she noticed he wasn't tapping his foot, not pulling away from her. She didn't want to point it out, afraid that bringing any attention to it might spoil the moment.

Soon she drew away, a warm, tingling feeling lingering on her hand, as though she could still feel him touching her long after his fingers had left her own.

"Let us press on," she said, placing her hand into the trigger guard of her carbine. "Do you think the Brutes have found the dead Mgelkgolo yet?"

"Probably," he replied, taking his usual spot at the lead. "Hopefully it'll take them a while to find some replacements."

"An excellent thought! Drop a hundred more in our path, they won't be able to stop us."

"Not what I meant," he grumbled, turning to glare at her, one she responded to with an innocent smile.

The Major

Streets of New Mombasa

12 Hours After Rupture

The air temperature plummeted, helped in no small part to the monsoon roiling in the skies. His hands were shivering as he swept his shotgun from side to side, his sleeveless BDU doing his skin no favours as water dribbled down his arm. Seela fared no better, the tall alien grumbling under her breath about how she was freezing. She had told him she was not used to such periods of rainfall, but rather than complain out loud, she turned to small talk with him.

"Will you tell me a little more about this objective of ours?" she asked, splashing into a puddle as she strode by his side. "Where it is, or what resistance you expect, for example?

"ONI will have my head if they find out I shared intel with a Covvie," he replied, giving her a thoughtful glance. "But screw it, think you've earned the right to know a few things. The weapon's being held below one of our facilities, we as in ONI. Before the drop we had reports that the Covenant were looking to do the same and were closing on the site. Know anything about that?"

"They did not tell me much," she replied, scanning the skies for a moment. "I encountered a Zealot which had some implications, but all I was told was to hunt Heretics while the Covenant redeployed somewhere beyond the city."

"Redeployed, huh? Interesting. What kind of implications?"

"Zealots are only sent to the surface of a world if Forerunner artifacts have been discovered," she explained. "but from what I know of your role in your military, you likely already know that, don't you?"

"You Sangheili aren't very flexible," he replied. "Makes you easy to predict. Well we're not after any alien artifact, just to get this weapon out before the Brutes get to it. Have to assume they're ahead of us, since they've got dropships and the numbers, but I can't get more specific than that."

"It sounds very important," she noted. "Why send only your team then? Why not say, three teams, or four?"

"We did send a group of ODST's earlier in the day," he explained. "Imps you'd call them. But ONI lost contact with them almost immediately after they dropped. Maybe they got killed, maybe they're still around, but we couldn't sit on our hands and wait, so they sent my team in to finish the job. This place must curse Helljumpers, cause now I'm the one stranded out here by myself."

"You have a new team now," she said with a grin. "You know, I have heard that some of my more influential kin have tried to absorb your race into the Covenant, but the Prophets have been hard to convince. What I would have given to have you and me in a squad much sooner."

"You're better than most Marines I've worked with in the past, too," he replied. "Can think of a few situations I could have used your… direct solutions."

They continued on for a while longer, the Major wiping his visor clear as they rounded what seemed like the hundredth intersection he'd seen this night. Soon he felt her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see she was glancing at the sky again.

"I must stop," she said. "I am cold and soaked through, my aim will be of no use if I am shivering. If only my shields protected me from water…"

There was an apartment complex just across the street, the Major leading the way as he walked over. They couldn't wait around forever, but he'd do anything to feel dry after hours of walking in a storm with no breaks.

It only became more apparent how drenched they were when they moved inside. He could feel water sloshing inside his boots, making little squelches each time he took a step, the carpet in the foyer ruined as soon as he stepped into the apartment. He turned around to see Seela was even worse off than him, the amount of water sloughing off her armour could have filled a bathtub.

"Look at the state of me," she mumbled, looking down at herself. He knew what she meant. Her blood had failed to wash away near her more grievous wounds, leaving stains on her armour. Her arms were tinted orange from when she'd ripped apart that Hunter, and the back of her legs were caked in dirt and dust, a result of when he'd dragged her out of the garden. "I shouldn't expect to be clean in our current situation, but being a mess irks me."

"Think I can help you with that," he said, Seela cocking her head in a silent question. He waved for her to follow, the Major turning into the main hall of the apartment and peaking inside each doorframe, grumbling when the first few just led to bedrooms and living areas.

"What are you looking for?" Seela asked, peering curiously over his shoulder, the alien so large she practically plugged the hallway, her helmet and elbows always in contact with something. "Are we on another food hunt again?"

"No, I'm looking for the… here we go." He nudged open the final doorway with the stock of his shotgun, Seela ducking so she could look inside. Half the room was occupied by a raised section of plastic, flanked by waist-high pedestals where a number of body wash bottles stood in a messy group. It was divided from the rest of the room by a glass wall, the Major spotting a showerhead through the stained window.

"That's a shower," he explained, pointing. "We haven't got forever, but if you want to bathe, you can take five."

"This device shall grant me ablution?" she asked. "How does it work?"

"Okay I refuse to admit you know what ablution means, I've never heard anyone say that word."

"It means to wash oneself," she said, following him inside and watching as he slid the divider open. "How does this 'shower' work?"

"Well, these taps give you ablution, okay? It's exactly like the ones we used at the sink, you turn them and the water comes out of that head up there. I'll find some towels while you-"

He glanced over to see that Seela had already set aside her shoulder pauldrons on the nearby sink, and she was pulling at a zipper built into the front of her bodysuit, dragging it down the front of her chest, the Major nearly dropping his shotgun in surprise. Her breasts had not gone unnoticed during their time together, and he caught a glimpse of her cleavage as she dragged the zipper even lower, exposing the insides of two smooth, blue mounds.

"I'll… leave you to it." He spun round and gunned it for the door, Seela watching him curiously as he brushed past her with his head firmly locked in place. He could hear her placing more and more parts of her armour aside as he closed the door behind him.

He felt… odd, to say the least, like his chest was sucking up against his lungs, what was going on? He didn't see her in that kind of light, did he? He had only met Seela this very night. And yet, she had rubbed off on him in the hours since their encounter in Kikowani. That was his own fault, of course, she was his only form of conversation out here behind Covenant lines, and people always had a tendency to bond during a crisis.

He got moving before he could think about it too much, beginning his search for towels, as he hadn't seen any in the bathroom. After a bit of scrounging, he found a wardrobe full of the things, stowing two under his arm, then picking up a third after a bit of consideration. Seela would probably need them all due to how big she was.

He returned to the hallway, a voice calling out through the bathroom door. "Major? You there?"

"What is it?" he asked, raising his voice a little as he approached.

"How do I make the water come out?"

"I-I just explained it," he sighed. "Those two dials on the wall are the taps, you just turn them. Red is hot, blue is cold."

"… Which one is red?"

"It's the…" He faltered, how did you describe colour to an alien, or describe it at all for that matter? "I'll show you," he added after hesitating. "I'm coming in. Are you… decent?"

"What kind of question is that? A warrior must always strive to look their best."

The Major shook his head. "I meant are you covered up?"

She didn't answer, and the Major gave her a few more moments before he turned the handle, heading inside. More of her white power armour was laying in a pile on one side of the floor, her helmet and breastplate the largest pieces in the bunch, but fortunately Seela was still wearing her bodysuit when he turned his gaze over to her. The zipper was still dragged down, however, the mechanism hovering just above where the belly button would be on a human, and he got a full view of her front as she turned to face him. That thing was tight enough to cut off circulation, following the curves of her lithe figure like a mould, especially around her hourglass hips. His eyes were drawn to her exposed flesh, the zipper revealing a V-shaped slice of her cerulean hide, his gaze unavoidably drawn to her cleavage.

"Show me how to use this shower," she said, her statement making him aware of how much he was staring. He moved over to the sliding door, placing the towels on the sink as he pulled the handle, his boots clicking as he stepped onto the raised plastic.

"This one is red," he explained, turning the tap on. From the showerhead came a tiny dribble of water, the Major shutting the stream off after a second. "The more you turn it, the more powerful the water come out, got it?"

She put him in her shadow as she leered over his shoulder, the Major turning to see she was stood right behind him, but she wasn't paying attention to the taps. Her striking, purple eyes were locked onto his, and he felt oddly vulnerable having her look down at him, while he had to crane his neck.

"I cannot remember the last time I let my guard down around someone," she began, leaning on her knees and pressing her bosom together with her biceps, making her cleavage enticingly deep. He was thankful that his helmet was still on or she would have caught him getting an eye full.

"We are always on the move, always fighting, or fleeing from the conflicts that chase us," she continued, locking onto his eyes even through his visor. "I want to stop running," she blurted, looking at the floor in dejection. "The way I am right now, it no longer pleases me as it once did. I want to slow down, just for a little while and… live in this moment. What say you, Major?" she asked after a pause. "Will you… stop, with me?"

He'd have to be a fool to not see what she was getting at, but he still hesitated as he met her reptilian eyes. As much as she was an alien, he could see where she was coming from. Tonight could be his last night alive, and here was an opportunity he would never get again, a chance to just live in the now, rather than always looking to the future. And bleed off some stress while they had time, that was always a plus.

"I will," he said, Seela's tone turning sly as she leaned closer to him.

"Then, you will no longer need this…"

She placed her hands on either side of his helmet, slowly lifting it away until their eyes met in earnest. She dropped the helmet to the ground, where it rolled to a stop atop the bathmat, Seela taking him by the shoulders and leaning even closer.

From between her mandibles emerged her tongue, the tapered tip draping down towards his neck. He shivered as she dragged its moist surface over his face, from his chin to between his eyes, leaving a shining layer of mucous in its wake. She was sampling him, he realised, Seela slurping her long tongue between her mandibles and lathering it with her teeth.

"The sweat from your pores, it tastes like salt," she sighed, leaning in for another taste. This time he opened his mouth when her tongue traced his lips, meeting her organ with his own. Her eyes went wide as their tastes mingled, but they soon lidded as she wrapped her tongue over his own, constricting it between her moist flesh and lapping at his gums, his cheeks bulging as she smothered his palate.

She drew back, subjecting him to doting licks as she soaked his lips with her saliva, then plunged in again. It was unlike any kiss he'd ever experienced before, if one could call being licked a kiss, the way she alternated between licking him like a housecat and plunging her tongue down his throat making him weak at the knees. Her four mandibles came to rest on his cheeks, splayed wide so that he was aware of the little knots of teeth lining them.

After what felt like a minute of kissing, she slowly pulled away, making him aware of every inch of her tongue she had piled into his mouth. Her purple eyes filled his vision as she connected her forehead to his with a quiet tap.

"Your armour, take it off," she said, her voice commanding. "Wouldn't want you getting uncomfortable when I put you on your back."

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" he chuckled, starting with his arms as he unclipped the gauntlets.

"Why waste time when we both know what we want?" she countered. "Now hurry up, I want to see all of you…"

Under her hungry gaze, he set about removing his gear, placing pieces of armour aside with more care than Seela had with his helmet. He could feel her eyes playing over his slowly revealing body, his BDU going last as he pulled it over his shoulders, soon wearing nothing save for his underwear.

He'd never been a self-conscious person, but there was something about Seela that made him feel anxious. Maybe it was all that height she had that made him feel… small. Her piercing eyes drank in his skin, her gaze soon stopping on his waist.

"Are you taking that off, or am I?" she challenged.

"We got time, Seela, no need to go rushing in," he replied. "Besides, you said you wanted to use the shower, right? Come here."

She stood by his side as he reached for the red dial, turning the water on. Water jetted from the showerhead above them, raining down and splashing Seela right in the face.

"Woops," he said, smiling as she flexed her mandibles, spitting some water out.

"You did that on purpose!" she accused, but there was a certain air about her that betrayed her amusement. "Ah, this feels good…" she sighed, angling her head below the warm water, as relaxed as he had ever seen her. Without her armour on, he could admire her in earnest, her suit fitting her body like a glove a few sizes too small, the fabric so thin every contour of her body leapt out at him. She had the body of an athlete in her prime, thin enough to allow her the agility and grace she'd displayed throughout the night, while also being packed with muscle, especially around her thighs and hips to allow her tall, powerful figure to stay upright.

He reached over to close the shower door, upping the water temperature a little more, the panes quickly misting as the heat built up. There was just enough room that he could stand back and admire her as she let the water cleanse her muscles of tension. She seemed to remember she was still wearing her bodysuit, grumbling under her breath as she plucked at the material, still soaked from the storm outside.

She flashed him a seductive glance as she pinched her zipper between her fingers, dragging it down slowly so she could tease him. Inch after inch of her flawless hide exposed itself, his eyes inexorably drawn to her torso as the zipper trailed down her stomach. She did not have a belly button like a human did, nor did she have abs, but that didn't mean she didn't have a powerful core. Her stomach was all muscle, the subtle curve of her tummy in line with her athletic build, her frame both dainty and powerful at the same time, her curves making his erection jump tent the fabric of his underwear.

She stopped just above her waist, shrugging the bodysuit off her shoulders one at a time, her delaying only enticing him all the more. Her suit peeled away like a banana, Seela freeing her breasts from the garment after a moment of struggling.

Two boobs fell free, so firm and pert they wobbled only a little as they spilled out from the constricting material. Like the rest of her, they were covered over in her blue, leathery hide, water washing over them to give them a reflective sheen. He noted that her boobs and underbelly were slightly off-coloured compared to the rest of her darker hide, almost like a discolouration.

Her nipples were erect and pink, contrasting with her aquamarine hide, swaying in time with her deep breathing. He noted that there was a collection of scars running down the sides of her midriff, as well as a few burns and bruises, her body an artwork of prior battles.

She caught him examining the numerous scars and chuckled. "Admiring your own handiwork, hmm?"

She traced one of her wounds with a nail, no bigger than the length of his finger. He remembered the solitary hit he'd scored on her during their first meeting, but Seela didn't harbour any resentment, if anything it was the opposite, the way she caressed the scar coming off as distinctly sensual.

"You were fearless with that tiny knife. Do you still possess the same spirit as you did then, I wonder?" she mused, her waist tilting as she planted a hand on her hip, the way she leaned on it only accentuating her curves.

He knew a challenge when he heard one, Seela's eyes tracking him as he moved closer, the hot water oozing the knots out of his muscles as it poured over his back. He was captivated by her bosom, the way the water cascaded down the muscular channels of her torso drawing his eyes to her alien anatomy. Despite being so lithe and nimble, she was still soft in all the right places, her breasts creating an admirable curve to her chest, her torso tapering into an hourglass waist, her muscles flowing down to a pair of powerful thighs packed with the strength that allowed her to be so agile.

His eyes lingered on her chest, her expression shifting from confidence to curiosity as she watched him raise a hand and fill his palm with a breast. It felt like he was pushing his fingers into cake batter, her flesh melting around his digits as he sought out the more sensitive tissue beneath her leathery skin.

"Oh!" Seela gasped, a delicate sound that was so unbecoming from the death-seeking companion he'd come to know. He squeezed his hand, and she moaned again, she mustn't be used to a lot of touching if this was all it took to get her going. "P-Perhaps you do…"

He took her other breast into his hand, kneading her supple bosom in his hands like he was shaping clay. They maintained their alluring teardrop shape each time he let them spring back, gravity making them jump, her soft flesh so malleable beneath his fingertips. They were just a little too big to be perfect handfuls, and that might make her not so well endowed to other Elites, but to him she was plenty of woman for him to work with.

He pushed his face into her cleavage, brushing his thumbs over her nipples as he took in a lungful of her aroma. She smelled of that distinct, leathery scent, the kind that follows stretched leather everywhere, her exertion adding a spicy afterglow that drove him wild for more.

"What are you doing?" Seela asked, bristling as he breathed warm air on her boobs.

"You smell wonderful," he said, leaning more into her cleavage. Her breasts were like two soft pillows caressing his cheeks, Seela's bust quivering as she chuckled at him.

"I do?" she asked, tilting her head. "But, I am covered in plasma and blood, how could you…"

He interrupted the thought as he brought a nipple to his mouth, sealing it round his lips and biting down on it. There was a wet slap as Seela snapped her thighs shut, the sudden pleasure making her shake like a leaf. He couldn't believe how sensitive she was, she could take down a Hunter with a sword, but just a little touching was setting her off? He mouthed at the nub of flesh, alternating between doting on it with his tongue and clenching it with his lips, Seela's flesh wobbling around his head as his attentions made her shiver.

"You continue to surprise me," Seela cooed, wrapping her arms around his head, drawing his face deeper into her shapely bosom, her soft body enveloping him from all sides. Her scent came down stronger now that he was sealed from the air beyond her, and he could have stayed that way forever. He reached out and linked his hands on the other side of her waist, Seela slim enough his hands could meet just above her haunches as he returned the hug.

He switched to her other boob, Seela gasping as he mouthed at her nipple until his jaw ached. When he was satisfied he'd given her bosom enough attention, he tapped at her arm, Seela begrudgingly releasing him from her bust, the Major blinking his eyes clear as he surfaced from her breasts like a diver breaching water for air.

"What a peculiar display," she said, laying her arms on his shoulders as she peered down at him. "Male Sangheili hardly ever notice them, yet here you are… scenting them."

"They're missing out," he said, Seela's snout flushing a creamy red. "Doesn't bother you, does it?

"Gods, no. I enjoy the… tenderness of your tongue. It is so smooth and warm, like the rest of you," she added, gently clutching his head between her fingers. "Keep going…"

He sealed his lips obediently around her engorged nipples again, her hips flexing against his own as he made her dance on the spot with his organ. He trailed his lips lower, planting a kiss on her stomach, lowering to his knees as he mouthed at random spots on her smooth belly and hips.

He could feel her core pushing back up to meet his kisses wherever his lips roamed, his touches sending shivers through her lithe body. He placed his hands on her flared hips, the beltline of her bodysuit riding low on her waist, Seela's violet eyes glinting in the light as she watched him bring her face level with her mound.

"A-Are we not going to mate?" she asked, a surprised look on her face. Her mandibles opened as she made to continue, but her voice trailed off into a low rumble as he planted a kiss on the spot just above her mound. Sangheili must not do a lot of foreplay, if she hadn't already guessed what he was about to do.

"I got a few ideas before we get to that," he said, putting on a mysterious front to hide his growing enthusiasm. He pulled her bodysuit over her thighs, extending the zipper as far down as it could, the Major coming face to face with her nethers.

His gaze fell on a pair of thick, pillowy lips, not so different from a human woman's, except far larger, as flawless and smooth like the rest of her. They were covered over in her navy blue, reptilian hide, a mesmerising slice of pink buried between the two folds. Her lips were wet and shining, but whether that was because of the shower or her own fluids, it was hard to say.

"What… ideas would that be?" she asked, her breathing growing long and irregular as his face neared her mound. He didn't answer her, peeling back her suit so that they draped over her knees, Seela stepping out of them and kicking the fabric over the glass wall, where it joined the rest of the pile of armour and clothing.

At this angle, having to look up at her to admire her form, it was like she was a giant statue carved from marble, her completely bare body so svelte and lean, hammered into shape by a lifetime of combat, her curves only exaggerated by her size.

He slid his hands from her backward-facing calves to her upper legs, blinking when his fingers sank up to the knuckle when he ran them up her inner thighs. They were as big as tree trunks, but covered in a supple layer of enticing fat, the bundles of muscles flexing beneath it when he dug a little deeper.

Her skin here was a lot thinner, thus more sensitive if her fidgeting was any indication. He left a lingering kiss on her left thigh, her cold hide brushing his cheek, Seela shivering as he sampled her flesh, travelling his lips up towards her entrance.

He wrapped an arm around her soft leg, hovering his lips over her mound, dragging his tongue across her vulva in one slow stroke. It was definitely more than just the water making her slick down there, her juices splashing over his lips as he nipped at her delicate folds of flesh with his lips. That leather smell was here in full force, coming on so strong he had to blink his eyes to stay focused.

"Gods!" she cried, rolling her hips as he mouthed and kissed at her entrance, his nose wet with her leaking fluids. He could hear her breathing morph into hard pants, her spine bending in a slight arch as his tongue probed into the beginnings of her tunnel.

He glanced up to see she was covering her mandibles with a hand, in some vain attempt to muffle the little growls and moans she was making. He laughed at her, the air he breathed making her tremble as he pushed past her silky walls, the alien shuddering as her muscles viced around his exploring tongue.

His tongue swept upwards, brushing against something small and hard, and Seela snarled, a noise that would have been concerning, had he not had his face up against her sex. He stroked the little nub again, cocking a brow as she thrust her hips forward, as though she was trying to fuck his face.

"There!" she said. "Right there! Lick it."

It was more an order than a plea, but he obeyed her all the same, pursing his lips around the protrusion and flicking his tongue over its smooth surface. It was like sampling a ball, her g-spot much more exaggerated due to her larger body.

She suddenly lost her footing, the Major looking on in alarm as she stumbled back, hitting the wall of the cubicle with an audible thunk, Seela's butt sliding against the tiles as her legs turned to jelly. He pulled his head back, water and fluids linking his lips to her vagina as he watched her tremble.

"You okay?" he asked, her head a little taller than his own as she propped herself up. Her eyes were facing different directions, he realised, Seela blinking them back into focus after a moment.

"W-When I was in training, it was drilled into my mind that I must be ready for anything," she said. "I must expect any attack to come from any direction. I can say with certainty that I was not ready for that."

"You're usually so intense," he said, shuffling over the plastic floor and rubbing her thighs with his hands. "I've seen you take out entire squads of Covenant, but a bit of licking and you're out. It's pretty adorable."

"I-I am not used to such attentions!" she snapped, her expression turning just a little meek. She was probably chiding herself for sounding so defensive. "No other Sangheili has ever been so… creative, with me."

"Then we'll just have to make up for that now."

He delved between her legs again, Seela's eyes locked onto his head as he leaned over. Now that she was closer to the floor, it made things a bit more comfortable, the Major half lying on the floor between her splayed legs as he resumed his ardent licking. He picked up the pace, exploring every inch of her vulva, switching between mouthing at her walls and her swollen clitoris, her juices filling his mouth with an odd taste of leather and copper.

He could hear her hindquarters squeaking against the tiles as she rocked her hourglass hips, her movements lining up with the strokes of his tongue. He reached over her waist and cupped her bountiful cheeks, delighting in the way her flesh moulded around his fingers like melting wax. Her cheeks were as pert as her breasts, shifting muscles flexing beneath her hide keeping them in that mesmerising peach shape he had admired from afar.

He felt her fingers delve into his hair, her hands so large that they nearly encompassed his whole skull. Her sharp nails scratched at his scalp, a pleasant shiver running down his neck, the feeling so distracting he paused in his mouthing to relish the sensation. Was his scalp really that sensitive?

"Do not stop," Seela growled, using her hands to push his mouth back into her sopping entrance. "I am getting… so close."

She grumbled as her hips began to ground into his face, the Major resuming his work. He drew back a little to catch some air, bringing up a finger and slipping it inside her twitching opening. Heat and wetness engulfed his digit, and despite her oversized entrance being just that, there was a surprising tightness as her tunnel contracted around his probing finger. It must be her amazing pelvic muscles, allowing her such fine control over her velvet-soft walls.

She was constantly in motion, putting her flexible body on display as her upper body moved independently from her hips, like she was twisting on the spot. He was distracted as her abs, or whatever equivalent of abs Elites had, her stomach flexing just above his nose, her waist writhing as his mouthing reduced her to a squirming mess.

He felt her thighs close round his head as she began to tense up, and for a moment he was worried she might crush his skull, her muscles all the more obvious now that they were pressing against his cheeks from all sides. Yet she was being careful of his human limitations even in her mounting ecstasy, her legs applying just enough pressure so that he couldn't move away, but not enough to hurt him.

Her thrusting became more violent, and just as he worried she might throw him off with her movements, her orgasm rocked her body, Seela shivering as though the running water had been turned from hot to cold. Her thighs flexed around his face as a cascade of her fluids spilled into his mouth, the Major pulling back alarm, or at least he would have if her thighs hadn't locked his head in place.

Her gooey nectar leaked down his chin as he kept up his relentless attentions, drawing as much of her emission out as he could, Seela crying out something in her native language as another shiver roiled through her body. Her walls clamped down hard enough he worried he might lose blood flow to his tongue, but gradually her muscles began to relax, her violent thrusts subsiding into slower, placating shifts as she came down from her high.

He slid his tongue and finger out of her, her thick fluids dripping to the tiles below, the water quickly washing it away. Seela's ass had raised off the floor during her climax, and now she let herself collapse, her eyes glossed over as one last pang of pleasure chased her into her afterglow.

He rose from his prone position, nearly slipping as he shuffled over to her, his right arm touching her left as he leaned against the wall with her, wiping his chin clean of her fluids with the back of his hand.

"Your dexterity extends to other places, it seems," she muttered, her breathing deep and irregular, like she'd run a marathon. Her bust wobbled a little as she turned to him, her eyes tracking a rope of her pearly liquid sticking to his cheek. "Give me that tongue again."

She pinched his chin between her finger and thumbs, drawing him in for another of her kisses, her tongue constricting round his own. She didn't seem to care tasting her own juices, tilting her head to deepen their connection. He found himself sinking into her body, the act so sensual and dizzying as her tongue enraptured him. She pulled away so very slowly, slurping her long tongue out past his lips like the world's biggest strand of spaghetti.

"I have definitely warmed up now," she said, glancing up at the showerhead, then down at her messy crotch. "As for ablution, that is another matter…"

He reached up and fumbled with the dial, changing the setting to widen the spray so that the water rained down on both of them. "Can't believe you didn't know how to use this after I showed you, what, twice?" he asked, Seela chuckling at him.

"You really are a fool, aren't you? Of course I know how to work the taps, I just needed an excuse to get you back in here. You ran off so quickly I thought you did not see me as… appealing. Your magnificent tongue has put those thoughts aside, of course."

"There's a lot more I can do if you need more convincing," he said, smirking up at her.

"I am so used to fighting for what I want," she said, draping an arm over his shoulders, her breast squashing against the side of his head. "Yet you give me relief willingly, both in mind and in body, allow me to return the favour…"

She eased him down, her massive weight leaving him no choice but to let her flip him onto his back, Seela following him down. When his back met the wet plastic floor, the side of his ribs touching the drain, Seela caressed his face with her hand, then with her tongue, smearing his face in her saliva.

Leaving its muscular tip hanging out, she trailed it down his neck, pausing there to grasp his flesh with her mandibles, her teeth pinching the skin. She didn't bite him hard enough to draw blood, but just enough for him to notice, his back arching in reflex as he struggled in vain against her weight. She wasn't straddling him, she was too big to sit inside the shower, instead she was kneeling over him in a sort of crouch, one of her digitigrade legs draped over his torso, his raging erection rubbing against her shin through the fabric of his underwear.

She held him by the shoulders as she travelled south along his body, exploring and testing his muscles just as he had to her, leaving wet trails of her drool that were quickly washed away by the water. She had such fine coordination, rubbing circles on his pectorals with her palms while leaving love bites on his stomach and ribs.

"The sweat from your pores, your musk," Seela groaned, closing her eyes and letting them roll, as though she had just sampled the finest meal in her life. "The typical males who attempt to court me have scents worse than a Jiralhanae adolescent, but yours… I cannot seem to get enough of it."

She soon reached the waistline of his remaining clothing, Seela's gaze turning coy as she slipped a finger beneath the fabric, peeling the elastic down to expose his member. Her eyes were so intent on the tenting fabric it was almost like she was trying to see straight through it.

His member bounced free, Seela sliding his underwear down his legs, throwing it over the glass panes, never taking her eyes off his crotch. He didn't know how big Sangheili junks were, but Seela didn't seem the least bit bothered by his raging erection, her eyes running up and down his length with interest.

He lurched as she gave his tip a single lap with her tongue, his waist rising off the floor. Seela planted a hand on his stomach, holding him down as she cooed at him.

"Perhaps my tasting problem will be short-lived…"

His head was running circles as she dragged her velvety tongue over his tender glans, a flutter passing through his heart as her violet eyes drank in his reaction. She was gauging where he was most sensitive, those eyes staring directly into his soul as she painted his member with her spit.

She coiled his shaft inside her damp flesh, her warm breath washing over his length as she began to lap at him more greedily. Her mouth wasn't built for sucking, but the way her wet flesh flicked across his glans and shaft was just as exhilarating, his thoughts turning to mush as she grabbed the base of his rod with her massive hand, giving him a tentative squeeze every now and then so he could never be quite sure where the pleasure would come from next.

He bucked as Seela swirled her tongue around his tip, the alien holding him down with her free hand. She gave him an especially harder pump, the movement peeling back his foreskin to expose his most sensitive flesh, Seela quick to dart her tongue in and continue her tastings.

The pleasure coursing through him as she circled his glans was so intense, the vulnerability as she pinned him down only adding to the stimulation. There was so much warm water and damp flesh around his loins, his impotent thrusting becoming irregular as she licked and slurped.

He lurched as he was suddenly reoriented, Seela hooking her arms round his legs and hoisting him up, his butt leaving the floor as she shuffled onto her knees.

Only his upper torso was in contact with the ground now, the Major looking down his chest to see his legs were resting over the top of Seela's shoulders, the alien cupping his cheeks in her palms as she supported his weight. Apparently she had more access to him in this position, the alien getting creative with the lack of space in the shower.

Kneeling between his parted legs, she wasted no time in plunging her face back into his erection, redoubling her efforts as she stroked his organ with her soft, wet tongue. She found that there was a spot below his glans that was extra sensitive, Seela dragging her flesh across it, her drool sagging down to make her ever pumping hand slick, the duelling sensations making his toes curl.

Seela moaned around his shaft as she plunged his tip into her throat, the ends of her mandibles touching his belly. She couldn't take him much further into her throat, her mouth wasn't designed that way, but she seemed to want to try anyway. The pulsing flesh of her mouth smothered the head of his member, leaving the underside open for her tongue to continue its relentless stroking.

Only the tip of his dick entered the warmth of her mouth before she could take him no further, his glans encased in wriggling flesh. A blissful tightness surrounded him, Seela swallowing around his tip, the lewd sound of her dry-gulping making his cheeks warm.

She held him there as long as she could before pulling back, but as she did, her mandibles pinched his length as her throat retreated, dragging up the spine of his shaft like four smooth fingers, his breathing punctuated by a grunt as the sudden sensation caught him off guard.

Her eyes flashed as she caught his reaction, and she repeated the motion, the Major whispering a curse as her teeth left pinpricks of pain over his shaft, yet he moved his hips anyway, seeking out more of the sensation. How could something that hurt, feel good at the same time? Seela was making a mess of him, and she was enjoying it, the alien resuming her cruel licking, his cock covered in a sheen of her bubbling saliva as she increased her pace.

There were too many sensations to keep track of, her roiling tongue, the strokes of her mandibles, the seizing of her throat. A sweet ache began to rise up his body, aligning with his rapidly approaching peak, Seela sensing his need and upping her tempo, drawing back to use her tongue like a brush and swirl it around, trapping his length in a vortex of moving flesh. He couldn't hold her stare for more than a few seconds, his position and her attentions too much for him to take, his head meeting the floor as he relaxed in her grip.

His abs began to seize up, Seela sensing his limit and pulling him tight against her mouth, sliding his tip into her throat. To his hypersensitive body, her mouth was no different from a lovers loins, his climax coming down harder than he could hold it back.

She met his eyes with her purple ones, her intense gaze the last straw as he erupted. A jolt of pleasure forced his eyes shut, the first rope of his emission splashing against her waiting throat, the Major gritting his teeth in a vain attempt to suppress a noise he'd be embarrassed to make under different circumstances. He arched his back as much as he could in this strange position, barely a moment passing before the next wave chased the first, Seela's eyes widening as he bucked into her mouth.

He made another humiliating grunt as Seela began to swallow around him, drawing out more of his seed through force alone. He could feel her tongue stroking the underside of his shaft in a sort of come here motion, the sound of Seela gulping audible even over the running water.

He covered his face with his hands as his partner held him like that, each pang of his climax followed by a lurch as Seela drank down his fluids, easing out a few more surges with her tongue until he felt utterly spent. His afterglow blanketed over him, his breathing reduced to pants as he watched Seela gently lower him down.

His dick bounced out of her mouth with a pop, Seela's mandibles and snout conspicuously free of his fluids. She had swallowed all of it down, not wasting a single drop, his heart fluttering as she raised her head so he could see her neck. There was a conspicuous bulge in her throat, and she forced it down, her tongue lashing out to lick her mouth and jaws clean.

His expression must have been amusing, because Seela laughed at him when she returned her eyes to his. "What? I told you I love a brackish taste, and you are the very essence of salt."

He propped himself up on a quivering elbow, leaning against the nearby wall, his faculties gently returning as his euphoria oozed away, the warm water making him feel utterly relaxed for the first time in what felt like years. When was the last time he'd been with someone and released some stress? This war had left hardly any time for finding a woman, he hadn't realised how pent up he'd gotten.

"You look so cute when you are tired," Seela chuckled.

"I'm an ONI operative, I can't be cute," he replied, glaring at her.

His words only seemed to amuse her further. "But you have such delicate features and soft hair, not to mention your smooth skin."

She brushed her nails against his leg to illustrate her point, his muscles twitching reflexively. As he fought to steady his breathing, Seela spoke up again. "Is the operative too exhausted to carry on? There is not enough room in this cubicle for me to lay on you, if you could even handle that."

Not about to let her have the last laugh, he rose to his feet in defiance, Seela watching him covetously as he readied for their next round, his member still hard as a rock despite his orgasm, its length still wet with her spit.

She matched his movements, standing to her regal height, her purple eyes flashing as the light reflected off them. Her hips rocked like a pendulum as she strode forwards, the heat of her loins washing over his dick as she paused next to him.

"I am as ready as I ever will be," Seela purred. "Do it, enter me."

It wasn't as though he was about to do otherwise, the Major reaching down and angling his dick towards her sopping vent. There was a slight problem, however, and he wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it before. He chewed his lip, contemplating on a few ideas for a second, Seela glaring down at him impatiently.

"Why do you delay?" she snapped. "I'm not getting any wetter than this."

"Problem," he said, motioning at their hips. They were out of line by at least a foot, her vagina too far out of reach of his member, no matter how much he angled it upwards. "Think there might be a stool or something in that cupboard, hold on."

"I grow tired of holding on, I need this now," Seela growled, seizing him by the shoulders. His feet left the floor, panic making his stomach lurch as she carried him over to the wall, his back compressing against the panes as Seela positioned him so that their genitals lined up.

He hooked his hands over the top of the glass walls of the shower in alarm, looking down to see Seela wrapping a forearm round his midsection, holding him in position as she splayed her legs a little.

"Christ Seela, warn me before you pick me up like that!"

She answered his complaint with her version of a grin, her gaze slowly lowering until she was watching their waists. The wisps of steam were making it a little hard to see, but he could feel as much as see her crotch slowly connecting to his. Her lips glided against his glans, their flesh so slick his cock angled towards her opening without a hint of friction.

She slapped her hips to his, a small ripple travelling down her soft thighs as she impaled herself on him. He plunged into her squirming passage after a moment of resistance, her liquid excitement letting him slide the rest of the way inside with ease. They both growled in unison as her mound kissed his belly, her flesh tightening around him with a surprising strength. She was so muscular the size difference of their bodies hardly mattered, her abs flexing as her tunnel squeezed into the shape of his length, the Major aware of every twitch of her walls as they stroked his flesh.

Points of light danced before his eyes, her vent felt like it was lined with a hundred tongues, each one moving independently of each other, flexing and roiling just as Seela had done with her mouth. He was almost afraid to move, every inch of his dick constantly in contact with her roiling flesh, making him aware of even the slightest movement on either of their parts.

He mumbled a curse as he felt like he was melting from the waist down, the hot water and her even hotter tunnel making his thoughts a mess. Seela pushed herself harder against him, grinding her hips up and down his pelvis as though she was using his dick to scratch at in itch deep inside her. Despite her brawn and taking-charge approach, he could tell even she was having trouble keeping focused, her thighs quivering as she planted her hooves in different spots, trying to keep herself balanced as she supported his weight.

Confident she wouldn't let him fall, he placed his hands on top of her head, stroking randomly since she had no hair or ears, just a smooth head and a long neck. She growled appreciatively as he drew figures of eight on the back of her skull, the water and sweat making his fingers glide against her hide.

After staying mated for a few moments, Seela pulled her hips back, a wonderful tightness seizing around his member as inches of his skin became visible. Her pearly fluids were clinging to his length in long strands, more of it gushing out after a particularly violent flex on his part. She paused when only the tip was still inside her, and then she pushed him back inside, the Major aware as the rings of muscle travelled down his length, the sudden explosion of raw pleasure making his legs go numb, it was a good thing she had him suspended.

She put them in a heavy, slow rhythm, Seela completely in control of their pace since he could not push back with the wall behind him. He could imagine Sangheili would want things going hard and fast, they were giants compared to humans, but she was being considerate with her pace and weight, pushing just enough of it onto him so that he could appreciate her brawn.

Each time she rose off his shaft, her insides clung to him, like her tunnel was trying to stop him from pulling away, the pressure lighting up his nerves like a switchboard. He wanted so badly to meet her thrusts with his own, but Seela was in control of this, perhaps wanting to make their coupling last. He wondered if he could survive a night in the sack with Seela in a proper bed, perhaps after all this was over he could find out…

His fingers roamed down to her breasts, cupping and mauling them just as he had before, Seela's insides narrowing around him as he flicked one of her nipples with a finger, her little groans like music to his ears as she pushed her face into his pectorals, her tongue occasionally lolling out to sample his sweat.

Her silken walls slid up and down his length, the Major so aware of the wet sounds as her loins sucked on his length. Every flex of her walls, every throb of his member, sent a shock of pleasure through the two of them, the lines between their bodies blurring as they mated in earnest.

He could feel a rising need surge from his loins, but he gritted his teeth as he tried to stave it off. His glans were being constantly caressed by her alien walls, which never seemed to stay still as she pushed him into the glass, her love tunnel spiralling from left to right as Seela rocked her hips with a rising need of her own.

He placed his hands on her heaving flesh, reaching lower to cup her bountiful cheeks, admiring them as he looked down the length of her back from above. As he'd admired earlier, her ass was shaped like a cut peach, the cheeks filled to capacity with muscle and sinew that tensed when he copped a generous feel of her. Her butt had more in common with a statue than any living thing he knew, so round and perfect she might as well have been carved from stone.

He tried to slow down her growing pace, holding her by her soft hips and encouraging her to ease back, but Seela wasn't having it. She brought a leg up, planting a hoof onto a shelf built into the wall just off to the side, bottles of lotion falling to the floor, her thigh now within arm's reach. The movement caused the texture of her narrow tunnel to swirl around his shaft, the feeling making his eyes roll into the back of his head.

He could feel himself reaching much deeper in this position, Seela putting her agility on show as she alternated between hilting him and gyrating her hips, rocking and circling against his waist as though she was dancing to a beat only she could hear.

His hands couldn't get enough of her lithe curves, his fingers roaming over as much of her body as he could reach, her springy muscles and her firm contours no end of admiration for his palms. The soft parts of her were like foam, the subtle layer of fat on her leathery hide giving her just the right amount of femininity to complement her musculature.

Seela made sure no two thrusts were the same, the Major never quite getting used to the intense pleasure as she bucked him into the glass. She was starting to lose control of herself, her thrusts becoming hard enough to leave bruises, the glass creaking and bending as their combined weight put it under strain.

She rested her head on top of his, pushing her chest out so he could access her boobs with his tongue. He mouthed and kissed, her leather fragrance coming back now along with the scent of her excitement, something about the blend of her aromas driving him wild.

Like when she walked, she began to rock her hips from left to right, the pressure growing each time she reached the peak of each swing. Her insides wrung him in a constant spin, their coupling growing too much for him to bear.

"Seela," he growled. "I… can't take this much longer."

She began her reply with an oddly girlish mewl. "Th-Then come for me," she panted, angling her head down until her eyes filled his entire view. "Do it, make me feel alive."

His body seized up, the orgasm he'd been staving off threatening to spill, Seela burying his aching cock as deep into her tunnel as it could reach, her walls twisting in a tantalising motion, one lust thrust on her part all it took to force him over the edge.

All his muscles relaxed, his strength sapping out of his aching cock as he shuddered, his come erupting out of him to splash against her most intimate reaches. Her passage tightened harder than it ever had before, her hips stopping abruptly as she sucked in a gasp of air as his seed filled her spasming tunnel.

A second splash of his emission came shortly after, her velvet walls drawing on his length like she was trying to milk more out of him. Seela reached her peak right after, her slim body tensing up, then relaxing as her passage vibrated around his length, his partner loosing a heavenly moan as he thrust his hips forward, plunging his fluids deeper into her quivering vent.

Their climaxes just kept going, the two reducing to heaving messes as they locked their foreheads together. The lurid blend of their fluids spilled out of her as she was filled to capacity, making a mess of their thighs as the pearly fluids flowed down their legs.

Seela mumbled something in her native language as she trembled against him, her sensitive walls twitching as his cock throbbed inside her, her nectar spilling over his impaled shaft in waves. It felt like his dick was covered in warm glue, and it was a divine sensation.

Slowly, their reactions began to lose their intensity until their bodies had nothing more to give, Seela leaning more of her weight on him as she lidded her eyes as though suddenly tired. He gave her a gentle tap, motioning for her to put him down. She eased him to the floor, and he was almost afraid to move, the blend of their combined fluids was still plugged inside her, hot and thick, his rigid member the only thing keeping it from spilling.

Seela eventually pulled away, the disconnect making them both sigh as a final pang of pleasure coursed through them. The pearly mix of their emissions draped out in sheets, slapping to the floor where the water washed it up. He didn't think he could come that much, he must have been more pent up than he realised.

He could have drifted off to sleep then and there, her delicious scent all around him, the warm air making his afterglow as sweet as honey, but he had to remember they were still technically in a warzone, and he fought against the complaints of his body as he resisted the urge to rest, the high of their encounter soon fading into the back of his mind.

"I was looking for incentives to escape this city," Seela suddenly said, her voice breathy. "Now, I have found it. I'm glad I decided to keep you rather than kill you."

"I'm… glad, too?" he asked, Seela laughing at his confusion. She got to a knee so that their eyes met, the alien almost toppling over as her balance hadn't quite returned yet. The Major shifted on the spot as a long silence followed.

"Tell me," she began. "What is your name?"

"My…? I thought 'Major' was more than enough?"

"It is," she replied. "But, I would know it all the same, if that is fine with you."

"Y-Yeah, it is," he said. He had been addressed by rank for so long it was starting to feel like his actual name, he had even been reluctant to tell it to his latest squad. Another defence mechanism, he supposed. "It's Andrew."

"Andrew," Seela repeated. "Nice to meet you, Andrew. As much as I wish to ride you until the sun rises, urgency insists that we should be moving on," she said. "but first…"

"Ablution?" he asked. She nodded.

"It would not be appropriate to fight with our coupling all over us. Let us clean ourselves, we still have your mission to complete."