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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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"Slow Steps"

March 14 2528 - Hour 0822

[FORMER - Field Master] Thela 'Vadamee

Io Station, Orbit near Jupiter

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Human culture is... something complex.

Then again, Thela was sure all cultures tended to provide this effect to 'newcomers'. Yet, to the female Sangheili, she found humans to be so similar and yet so different from Sangheili. Books were provided in her room for her to read, with some of the topics drawing her away from those texts, while others attracted her in the realization of one thing: her early assumptions that humans once valued honor was quite spot-on.

Knights and Samurai were among those war-related units that wandered the world with duty to heart. Some less than others, but they worshiped a zealous code of conduct that allowed them to be shaped into the finest units at their time. This was, however, long before mass armies were conceived. Long before weaponry evolved to render the human way of the blade obsolete.

To the Sangheili this never happened as they just followed the needed steps to upgrade the blades themselves rather than drop them as their main source of combat. It was true that Sangheili preferred guns in combat, but it was the blade that made their valor known to others.

Which is why Thela felt the Japanese culture was the closest to what a Sangheili still believed into. While their terrain and peculiar government traditions may set them close to the 'Middle Eastern' cultures, Thela knew that the warrior culture exhibited by the Bushido was equal to what rules a Sangheili soldier should abide to.

"So, are you going to speak or something?"

Holding back a grin, Thela kept her full attention on the book. Having been quite 'forward' in previous interactions, she knew that suddenly pulling a stop on her attentive mood would instantly gain a reaction. But not an aggressive one, not yet. She had to play... according to plan.

The Sangheili had plotted this visit for a while, keeping mental notes, further studying the human inputs over Logan's own attitude around others and, hopefully so, gained a full understanding on what she had to do to get somewhere with her seemingly-hopeless endeavor.

"I am sorry. I was studying your culture some more. How are you, Logan?"

Many would think she would have exploited her chance to have 'taken the bullet' for her love interest to claim some 'affection point', but Thela was doing it carefully. It was clear the notion of a romance with a former enemy was not an easy subject, and it had to be played like a battlefield.

Up to this point, she had been hammering his defenses for good, making sure he was 'weary' but also quite defensive. So, expecting an offensive from her, he was ready for some more forwardness. This was further expanded by his current outfit. While she wasn't completely sure Logan was one that tended to leave out his armor in most non-combat situations, the fact he came in with his armor on and nothing lighter despite the lack of potential attacks meant he was trying to shelter himself from her.

Some may find it childish, but it was instinctive. It was an effort to stand out in a 'dominant enough stance' to not be bothered by trouble as he didn't look for any in this circumstance. Which is where the next step took him off-guard: she would behave quite 'neutrally'.

Not too withdrawn, but not as forward as she used to be before this very encounter.

"I am well. I heard that you were trying out... chocolate?"

Thela beamed at this. Despite her plotting, she couldn't ignore the tastiness of such a delicious treat.

Due to the hostile lands of Sangheilios, it was easy for such a sweet thing to be amiss in her homeplanet. And, much to her delight, chocolate was something her species could consume without repercussions. Well, beyond the usual ones of acquiring too much food at once.

Despite that, Thela loved chocolate and it was quite easy to appear quite smitten to it.

"Yes! It's such a delightful thing and I have to say I am quite jealous that you had this to live with from the very moment you were born."

He frowned at the proclamation. "Well, babies can't eat chocolate," Logan remarked, but that didn't dissuade her from smiling at the topic.

"Still... ah, to think that you humans were blessed with so many good food due to your planets," Her mood depleted a moment as she prepared for a big hit on his resilience. "We didn't... have too much."

Sadness for sympathy. Pity was never something a warrior would look for, but a lover had to know when to be more emotional towards someone. To bare some of the truth out in a naked light so that the other may reciprocate in some manner.

It didn't have to be a full acceptance early on. Only 'opening up'.

And while Logan appeared tense and restrained, he allowed a slow nod.

"I suppose your life on Sangheilios was quite intense. Even though you are considered a noble there."

"At times titles matter not within geographical issues that hits all. It's not the worst, but it would be foolish of me to take pride of rocks and sands over a verdant paradise that your species seems to come from."

Thela hadn't been told much about where Earth was, but she was given a world-wide geographic book in regard to its terrains. It was rather curious how those were distributed, but she found the overall reading worthwhile. The rest of the interaction was tame, out of an effort to lure the man into a false sense of security. Or, at the very least, somewhere close to it due to his instincts.

Then, it was time to hit him hard one last time before he left.

"Actually, there's a question I wanted to ask you before you leave, Logan. The nurses were quite wary to reply to. It is related to a strange comment made by one of the medicated patients I passed by while they moved me around with the wheelchair."

The human frowned but nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"What is a 'Dommy Mommy'?"

Thela already knew. She had gotten hold of a phone for a while and she had been browsing over this sort of things out of curiosity. She wasn't utterly certain the meaning was indeed one of 'crass amusement' in a way to depict a strong woman as a 'sensually-dominant lady that was stern and yet kind', but Logan's brief moment of shock and awkwardness caught in wide eyes and a red tint by his cheeks was enough to confirm it.

She was going to slowly seduce him, with victory just there for her to claim eventually.

AN

Next time, in a non-canon (and I repeat, Non-Canon) chapter, a superior and his explosive Spartan share the showers in quite the 'display of thankfulness'.