Gillion looked around, his eyes aimlessly drifting about the walls, drops and voids of the installation. Odd architecture, indeed, but it was not the focus of his thoughts. No, the focus of his thoughts was also looking around, holding his– her–their? weapon.

Her hooves hovered and ambled around the ground, aimlessly. The waiting was clearly getting to her, he thought. But it wasn't getting to him, no. No, Gillion had plenty to think about and occupy his mind.

Sela. See–la. S-ei-la?

She said it more like the first one. It was still odd though, in a way. A 'why' cropped up in his mind, and he briefly appraised it, wondering. Yes, why. Because it really shouldn't be so weird and it really shouldn't change so much. She hasn't said anything, so it hasn't for her. Silent as always.

But 'Alien' feels awkward now, no? So clearly something has changed. Maybe it's that humanising finally rearing its head. Well, that's fine, right? She's started dropping her vices. Why not him?

Yes, she did start dropping them, but to what extent?

Well he's not dead yet. So to that extent. But that was already the case before they even entered this place. Okay, back at square one; has something changed?

Gillion looked up at Sela. She looked back, nodding after neither of them did anything for a moment. Back to wandering eyes.

Well, to a degree, he supposed it had. Sela was amicable to a greater degree. It didn't seem like he was an afterthought or a potential help being dragged around anymore. Again, that's not necessarily true either. He was sure some chunks of hesitance still remained in both of them. That was natural.

But something had changed. There was a kind of indecision that tugged at his steps between the person next to him being Sela, or being just another thing responsible for everything wrong that had happened to him. Frustratingly, the difference between the two was far too small to easily pinpoint.

Sela was silent and focused, and often out of the reach of his complete understanding and certainties. So was the creature that occupied her place for much of their time together. Then what had changed?

Was it him?

Well it was certainly possible. He was a pilot without a ship. A soldier without an army to belong in. A UNSC without alien blood on him, and a perfect opportunity to fix that. The most glaring change then was the absence of desire to fix that last thing.

There were a lot of things he hadn't thought about since they started sticking together, the things he'd seen and heard during the active parts of the war amongst them. She was the prime catalyst for the exact opposite, for him to see them bright as day. And that had happened.

'His two legs swung like ribbons in the wind–' Gillion clenched his eyes shut, blanking out his mind.

But now, it wasn't happening because of Sela. More than anything, he knew that he could get lost in his head like this, because she'd keep watch. So he trusted her.

So he had changed.

And she watched out, and protected, and…

The elevator platform slowed to a halt, and the gentle thud of Sela's hooves against the ground roused him from his thoughts.

They'd stopped in another small hall, this one with pillars either side of it, reaching up to the ceiling. Behind them were small walkways, glowing lights and other knick-knacks.

The hum that followed Shiny's movements could be heard from further ahead, through a doorless corridor that turned a right corner, out of sight. They followed the noise, walking around a well-like structure in the middle of the room, another, thinner, beam of blue in its middle.

"Nothing but corridors and big rooms, huh? Whoever built this sure loved them."

Sela nodded. After a pause, almost hesitating, she added "It can become…frustrating to navigate them."

"Not worried about saying something bad about your artefact? Keep that up and they might not let you in!" Gillion joked.

He joked, yes, but Sela bristled, her face overcoming briefly with sudden intensity and then a forlorn absence. She winced, her eyes narrowing, falling downward onto the floor.

"I…sorry."

Her expression eased, slightly. He chided himself. Fucking idiot.

They turned the corner coming up to what looked like an armoury. Empty racks lined the walls, what Gillion assumed to be magnetic locks resting in the middle of every weapon slot. Shiny hovered overhead, reciting or counting something, his head bobbing up and down with every number that came out of his non-existent mouth.

"Five, six, seven…there's eight. Ah! You two caught up. I know the downward parts of the trip can be a little boring, as excellent and flawless as they are. But worry not, my dearest friends! It's straight sailing from here, no more elevators." Shiny turned to them.

After a moment of neither Sela or Gillion saying anything, he harrumphed. "Well, aren't you glad?"

"Very." Gillion said.

Sela hesitantly nodded.

"Excellent! Okay, well, we've got places to be, so I'll be doing all of the boring parts of my job later. Ha, you two are like a vacation for me! No rushing ahead for me either, you'll need my expertise to know where to go after all!"

Immediately after saying that, he did fly off ahead, a trailing "...just the three of us, we can make it if we try…" fading away with him.

Left behind in silence, the two of them began following again.

Shiny led them through several halls and corridors, the same grey and light blues blending into one sightless blur. At least it gave Gillion time to try and talk with her.

"We're going deeper and deeper." He mentioned, after a while of walking.

Sela nodded.

"I'm sorry for earlier–"

"There is no need for you to apologise." She interrupted.

"Ah. Alright."

…

"Got any–"

"Leave me be, I must think." She snapped at him. Gillion flinched, and she saw, looking away.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from prying, however much she probably didn't want it. Talking about your woes helped, after all, or so he was told. "Can I ask about what?"

She stopped walking, one of her feet frozen half-step. She lowered it with a huff. "It does not concern you."

"I'd like to know regardless." He paused, and added "...maybe I could help."

"Are you not afraid of me harming you?" She asked. There was a faint edge to her voice.

Gillion immediately realised what she meant. The flinch was involuntary, but no, he wasn't afraid. Unfortunately she had no way of knowing that.

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologising."

An awkward, silent moment passed, and she began walking again. Gillion didn't follow, his feet rooted to the ground. He didn't know why, but if he had to guess, it was a kind of insistence that the conversation would continue. She saw, of course.

One of her signature huffs followed, along with a softer than normal "We should keep walking."

"Right."

He could hardly hear his own steps, boots hitting the metallic surface. Sela's far overshadowed them, even though he could describe them as nothing more than soft taps. The walls were getting bland, and there was nothing more to focus on to keep avoiding the side glances that he noticed her giving him.

"...our presence here has been weighing on my mind." She said, after a particularly long stare at him. He of course didn't react initially, pretending to come out of his thoughts. Seeing him attentive, she continued.

"An Oracle who does not know his own name… They are supposed to be guardians of the artefacts, heralds of the Journey. He is so clearly intertwined with the holy site, yet completely unknowing of…everything."

"He's not exactly completely stable."

"And yet he guards this place regardless. In the face of his authority…is there any weight to my expectations?"

Gillion didn't know how to respond, or what with. Anything he could think of saying would probably hurt her. Hell, he didn't want to respond. But Sela had stopped again, and so had he, and she was looking at him.

"I don't know." he pushed out after a moment.

She snarled, and Gillion resisted the urge to flinch again. "Exactly! How am I to keep going if I know nothing!?" her voice spiked in volume significantly, and with how close he was to her, there was a growing ringing in his ears. "Look at all of this. A perfect match for everything a warrior could ever desire. And when I finally earn this moment, after all of my hard work, this is what awaits?"

She gestured to him. "An Oracle absent of guidance for the Journey, and a heretic who holds the power to the holy site."

"Don't forget that your hard work's been killing my kind." It came out harsher than he expected, a growl, almost.

Her head lowered.

"I am aware."

…

"I deserve this, then."

An instinctive 'no' rushed through his mind, despite what filled it just a moment prior, but he bit back the word. Maybe this was a roundabout way of some kind of compensation by fate or a higher power. Everything and anything she might've done in the past balanced by this, a crumbling of everything she held dear. As fair as that was, there was a significant part of him that vehemently disliked the idea. He suppressed it.

"I don't know." He had apparently lost control of his voice completely, because now he spoke more softly than he had intended.

"Is that all you can offer?" She sounded frustrated. Something else too, but Gillion couldn't quite pick it out.

…

"I can offer to listen, Sela."

"How does that aid me? I would rather have you …"

"You'd rather have me what."

"I do not know. Had I known, Gillion, I would not be…this."

"Then why do you keep me around?" He didn't mean to raise his voice. "I thought that we were both trying to get off of this place."

Her features twisted into a grimace, hands and head rearing backwards in a display of formidability, "How foolish can you be?!" Her mandibles were splayed open, teeth on full display.

"Where would I possibly have to go? I have failed to kill a heretic, and ventured with him into a holy site! I have brought dishonour to my family greater than I ever could before!" Her voice echoed against the walls. "Where do you think I will go now, you fool?"

"They don't know any of that!"

"I do, and I shall not lie to my brothers and family." She growled "I am not like your kind."

Neither of them said anything for a moment after that. She'd said it in a kind of half-snarl, malice dripping in her voice, a sound that dragged serrated teeth across his flesh. It hurt, to be honest. And he was so angry that he didn't stop to wonder why that was.

"Well, I guess I at least know how you feel now." He strode past her, fuming. Adrenaline flowed through his body, blood rushing through his veins. He could feel his face burning.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, lightly gripping him. He spun around.

Sela opened her mouth, soundlessly open, her eyes quickly darting around his face.

"Hey! Where have you two lagged behind? Damnit Shiny, how have you managed to lose two whole–" Sela released Gillion's shoulder right as Shiny appeared, Gillion turning back to face the glowing monitor. "Ah! There you are. C'mon, stop messing around, we gots to go!"

"Coming," Gillion said.

Sela followed.

"Hey Shiny, " Gillion called out to the monitor floating above him.

"Hm? What is it?"

"You know anywhere where we could rest or something?" He asked. It had been several hours since they'd entered, and his feet were begging for a stop. The rest of him was too, sluggishness building up from several hours of eventless walking.

"Here? Why would you– oh. Right. Forgot you flesh and blood types needed sleep and whatnot! Hah. How inconvenient that must be! But yes, yes, I know a spot." Shiny tilted his body-head. "Ah, but it is a slight detour. Not a big one, but one nonetheless. Your call, Gil!"

Gillion looked at Sela. They hadn't spoken since…well, the argument. He didn't like it, but too much of him was too stubborn to engage in conversation first. Another part of him insisted that he still should have felt upset, but he was finding it difficult holding that part intact. Anger for the sake of anger never burned brightly.

She nodded, looking at him for only as long as was necessary.

"Yeah, that's fine. Lead on, please." He smiled. No reason to be hostile to everyone in the room.

"Alrighty, my buddy Gil! Oh, I should mention that there's no beds or anything of the sort. Trust me, I've looked!" He attempted a whisper, but it was arguably louder than his regular voice. "Oh, how beautiful my pedestal would have looked. Alas, no cushioning for old Shiny."

A left, and then a right, they passed several more rooms. There was an odd similarity between every single one of them, as if they were walking through the same place over and over again, reaching the end of the last door only to start back at the first. Gillion only knew that wasn't the case because of the occasional odd scratch marks on some of the walls, shallow and thin, as if some thread or wire had been whipped against them. Shiny seemed to pay them no attention, aside from the occasional remark about 'the useless cleaners not doing anything ever'. All the same, the similarity of everything around him made it seem like they weren't actually progressing forward, and it made moving all the more difficult.

Almost every room had a circular well, or a descending pit, the same stream of light floating endlessly upwards and downwards in the middle of it. Some made noise, but others didn't, as if whatever functionality they served had stopped performing, and they were there only for show.

The only notable thing out of the ordinary Gillion had noticed so far was one of the halls. It was significantly bigger than any they'd been in before, bar the entrance to the platform they'd first stepped on. Its layout reminded him of a mess hall, or a church; a long, tall room with several massive pillars on either side. Floating orbs of light hovered near each of them, illuminating the otherwise dark room. It missed any of the usual circuit-like blue streams running through its walls, or the signature strip of light that wrapped around the rest of the installation.

Shiny floated through it slightly quicker than the rest, taking a sharp right into a doorway behind one of the pillars when they first entered. On the other side of the hall, a good hundred or so metres away, was another doorway. Something immediately drew his attention to it, and, judging by the way Sela was staring at it, she felt something similar.

"Come, come, let's go." Shiny ushered them, almost pushing Gillion with his floating body when the pilot and the elite lagged behind. "Up up and we're moving! One step in front of the other, keep at it!

"Fine, fine."

And that was it, a small break from more corridors and rooms. They continued onwards, Shiny not mentioning anything about the odd place, and Gillion and Sela still not speaking to each other.

Actually, there was one more oddity Gillion had realised. Had anyone but him been stuck here, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything odd about the monitor above him other than the obvious. But Gillion grew up in a rural part of his city, among fields and farms and hoarders for parents who loved to fix anything on their own. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been exposed to many things that those around him hadn't been, even in the UNSC. And, the monitor above them, he reminded Gillion of all of these memories, of his parents, and the house they lived in, and the creaky porch his father's rocking chair sat on.

Sitting on that creaky porch, watching the automated plowers and seeders go by season by season, holding an ancient music player in his hands. Buttons faded, the 'ON/OFF' button reduced to a paintless piece of plastic that clicked oddly and sometimes didn't pop back up at all when pushed down.

"We're leaving together, but still it's farewell… and maybe we'll come back, to Idon'trememberthenameoftheplace who can tell!"

Shiny somehow knew the same ancient songs Gillion did, listening to them through the summer days and winter nights. He didn't know how or why Shiny had heard them, or what compelled the monitor to memorise them. He couldn't have had an endless memory, could he? So why waste space on songs more than five centuries old, from some distant planet that most of the universe hadn't heard of?

Maybe all the time spent here hadn't been kind to the thing, or maybe it had some kind of odd fascination with humans. It did react oddly to him.

Almost as interesting was Sela's reaction to the monitor's faithful recreations. She seemed to grow attentive when he started singing, staring at the floating being with perplexed curiosity. Had he been more aware, or perhaps less certain that his eyes were playing tricks on him, he would have pointed out that her mandibles slightly parted in a rhythmic pattern, as if she was trying to sing along with the monitor. Maybe she hadn't realised it was human music yet.

And, really, there was not a lot that could have helped her reach that conclusion. Shiny seemed to omit any actual mention of humans or names related to them, as if something in him prevented him from doing so.

Still, it was a curious, and pleasant, break from the monotony of silent walking, making the path to whatever place they were going to desirably shorter. Gillion almost joined in at one point, but tiredness prevented him from doing so. What had it been, twelve hours since they entered this place? He didn't have it in him to sing.

Who knew how fucked up his internal clock was.

It was a short while later that they finally stopped, another doorway in front of them. Shiny whipped around, floating down to a point between Sela's and Gillion's heads.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen! We have arrived. Your grand suite awaits!"

The door behind him opened, and he floated in backwards, still facing them.

"A luxurious bedroom that features the most modern comforts known to anyone, ever! Shiny floors, glorious ambient lighting, spacious interior, and a brilliant temperature that will surely leave anyone ready for a great slumber!"

Gillion and Sela stepped inside, looking around. It was just another one of the same empty spaces they'd walked through before. On the right, there was a protrusion from the wall, almost like a bench welded to it, just wide enough to hold him. Turning to the left, he hoped to find that the room would mirror. It did not.

Guess one of them will have to sleep on the floor.

Sela stepped past him, settling down on the floor, leaning against the furthest wall. Almost immediately, she began busying herself with her armour, adjusting the different pieces and fiddling with them, clearly paying no attention to him.

"Anywho, I'll be just outside. Shout if you need anything! If not, I'll be the vigilant guard I was born to be. Okay, bye!." Gillion was pushed forward, and the door behind him promptly closed shut with a loud whirl.

He stood there, looking around for a second, and then quietly made his way over to the wall-bench.

Finally having his backpack off his shoulders was a welcome relief, his shoulders and back popping as he stretched his arms. The spare ammo for the magnum came off his hip next, placed down onto the floor by his legs. He took off all of the accessories strapped to his chest and legs, leaving him in his jumper and combat trousers. There were the beginnings of a small blister forming on his heel, which he tried to rub through his boot. It didn't do much, but there was a small amount of relief regardless.

His stomach rumbled.

Right, they hadn't eaten anything since morning. He opened his bag, pulling out a couple of things that were in the way. A half full water canister, a bag with the few scant medical supplies they had left, a notepad with no pen. A pair of spare socks too. He discreetly sniffed them. Clean. Thanks to past him for putting those in there.

Below those, three more sealed packs, 'MRE' plastered over them, and a single small portable heater. He'd lost the last one, hadn't he? Along with his beloved ship.

He pulled one, pausing, two packs of food out of his bag, and one of the heaters.

Sela still paid no attention to him, now examining and fiddling with the magnum. He trusted her to not break anything, she was more capable a fighter and shooter than he was. Still, he was sure that there wasn't much for her to correct, and that she was simply busying herself to avoid interacting with him. The idea of an alien from a distant planet still being socially awkward, just like how any person could be, amused him. Maybe she wasn't so different from him.

The food was ready relatively quickly, a dry and chewy pasta with a sauce that smelled vaguely of minced beef and mushrooms. Gillion opened one of the containers, and the aroma quickly spread. He let it permeate the room for a second, before looking at Sela.

Her alien biology was always interesting to observe, despite how little mind he was paying it as of late. She clearly had a better sense of smell than him, since her attention was on the packages well before he had opened them. She, of course, turned away when he looked at her, loudly swallowing.

"Food's ready." Gillion said.

She didn't react, not even sparing him a glance in return, fully focused on the weapon in her hand.

"Sela." He spoke a little louder.

"I am not hungry." She continued doting on the magnum.

"I can't eat both portions."

That was a lie. Gillion was more than hungry, and gulfing down both of the meals seemed like a wonderful idea. But, with this probably being their only food source until they get back out, he wasn't about to let her starve.

…

"One of these will go to waste if you don't take it."

She stood up, walked over to where Gillion sat, and picked up the sealed container. Instead of returning back to her spot like he expected she'd do, Sela instead sat down next to him, as much as her anatomy allowed. The knees of her digitigrade legs no doubt uncomfortably pushing against the bottom of the seat.

Gillion held out a hard plastic spork, which she took, awkwardly holding it. "You don't have to use it." He said, and she quickly chucked it away, opting to peel back the cover with her fingers.

"Careful, it's hot."

She nodded, and lifted the meal to her face, using both her mandibles and tongue to scoop out chunks of the pasta and sauce combination into her mouth. If it wasn't to her liking, she didn't show it, instead simply eating in silence.

Gillion took his own spork, slowly shovelling away at the pasta. It was decent, better than he had expected, but worse than the other stuff he had in the pelican. A meal was a meal though, and the warm feeling settling in his stomach was a temporary pleasure that he completely indulged in, pushing him further into drowsiness.

A few moments later, he threw his empty aluminium platter onto the floor, Sela doing the same. A much more comfortable silence followed, almost free from the distance the two had put between each other. It felt nice to share a meal with someone, a deep social bonding instinct that was wired into his monkey brain, probably. Sela didn't move from her spot next to him, the back of her head resting against the wall.

Her hands were curled into fists, her two fingers balled over two folded thumbs. They rested on her thighs, covered in the body suit and armour that every Covvie seemed to wear. The armour looked natural on her, yet a Covvie she was not. Gillion mentally slapped himself awake, realising that he was staring at her lap. He looked away nonchalantly, absently gazing around the room.

…

This was nice. He had to admit that he was somewhat glad she didn't immediately move away, and the silent comfort of someone next to him was another in a small, but growing, list of reliefs he was experiencing. A small pang at the back of his mind told him to stow away all of the stuff he'd taken out of his backpack, but he was afraid it would ruin the moment. No, they could just sit for now.

Sela sighed, taking in a deep and audible breath. Gillion looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened. She frowned, looking down. He stayed silent, giving her some measure of space and time to collect herself.

"Thank you." She started.

"No problem, don't worry about it."

Silence resumed, though the exchange was clearly unsatisfactory for her. Sela looked at Gillion, slightly annoyed.

"I apologise for what I said earlier."

"Me too, sorry." He responded.

Silence again. She huffed. He hid a smile.

"I am making an attempt at a conversation, Gillion."

He smirked at her. "Oh, I know."

"I did not think you would consider my apology with so little seriousness." She frowned again. A very intrusive thought entered Gillion's mind, one that very very briefly considered describing Sela as 'cute' in that moment, and he quickly swatted it away.

"No, no, sorry. I didn't mean it that way, I promise." He smiled at her, "It's just that…you don't talk a lot, do you?"

"No, my brothers are unkind toward a female being a warrior, so I do not get many opportunities to converse freely." She harrumphed, sounding surprisingly human. "I would rather spend my time training and practising as a warrior, regardless."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so."

"My lack of conversing or desire to practise?" She put a subtle emphasis on the latter, sitting up more boldly. Clearly she was proud of herself.

"Both."

She slightly deflated.

"I have been thinking about everything I have seen, so far." She started. "Doubt seeps into my mind more and more as we travel, and I am beginning to find less to push against it."

Gillion turned to answer her, but she silenced him.

"Before you speak, let me finish. I have no doubt that you will attempt to persuade me toward the Great Journey being an honourless path filled with merciless killing, and of my leaders having lied to me and all of my brothers, my family and their ancestors tricked into serving others. If what you wish to say is just that, then I will not listen. My faiths, as wrong as you heretically believe they are, are still mine to bear."

He sighed, frowning.

"Gillion, please, I wish for us to simply talk."

"Alright." They could just talk, like she wanted to. "I'm not great at all of that speaking stuff either, to be honest. You'd think it'd be a universal skill." He awkwardly chuckled. Sela was still looking at him, waiting. Was he supposed to lead the whole thing?

…

Gillion intertwined his fingers, rubbing over the top of his hands with his thumbs. Social ineptitude was a universal experience, apparently.

Sela broke the silence after a longer than comfortable while. "It is not easy to talk to me, is it?"

Well, yes, that was correct. It wasn't her alien aspect but more how she talked. That she talked at all. Sela had said so little to him up till this point that hearing her speak to him so normally was uncanny, and there were always the unseen cultural differences that he had to navigate. Who knew what kind of landmines lay ahead, and what would happen if he stepped on them.

"Ah, well, yes…no, really. I- that's such an odd question. You don't ask that, usually."

"Apologies." She bowed her head.

"No no no no, not like that. It's fine, really. I mean, there's not much that comes to mind other than the things you don't want to talk about."

"We could speak about our home worlds." She offered. "I'll start."

Sanghelios was apparently a beautiful place, according to Sela. It was a warm planet, much warmer than this, orbiting two large suns. It was almost always day, but the constant, light sandstorms made the sunbeams less harsh and blinding. There was beautiful architecture, both engraved into orange cliff sides and standing lonesome, tall arches and high rooftops lining the horizon. Sela's family was one of nobility, supposedly, and as such Sela spent much of her time on Sanghelios on the taller balconies looking over the surrounding deserts. She went on to describe the warring clans, and the battles that she both had to observe and eventually participate in, only females being left behind to fight for their Holds. And the whole time, recounting the sights of her home, Sela wore a proud smile.

Without having seen a single grain of sand from the planet, Gillion could see perfectly the things she spoke of, and by the end of her reminiscing, a rising pity bloomed in his chest. Eventually, she grew quiet, pictures of a distant, exotic place drifting in both of their minds.

"What about you?"

He searched his thoughts for memories of his home, only to find them slipping through his fingers like wet sand. "I…"

The exhaustion had finally hit in full force, reinforced by the warmth of the food, the comfort of the company, and the security that Sela at his side provided him. That last realisation hit him like a slow, cotton truck, briefly jolting awake his sluggish thoughts. Who was he kidding, it wasn't shock that bubbled to the top of his mind, but rather embarrassment.

"...could we leave that till tomorrow? I'm–"

"Tired? I know. You have been careless of your surroundings for a while now."

"What, going to lecture me?" He smiled.

She smiled back, sighing. "No, that is why I am here."

"Ah, right. You want to sleep on the thing?"

She shook her head, slowly. "No, you need it more."

"I'm fine, Sela." He tried to argue, but she already stood up, sitting back down much closer to him. Gillion stuffed back his belongings into his backpack, pushing the fresh socks on the top of it. It was a good pillow, if slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Shiny!" He called out.

"Ah, yes, am I needed?" Shiny's voice bled through the doors. He wasn't shouting, per se, his voice was just amplified.

"Can you dim the lights in here?"

"Yes, yes, picky sleeper."

The lights dimmed down with a quiet whirl, bathing the room in almost absolute darkness. He closed his eyes, resting his head on the backpack pillow.

His breathing slowed, deeper, echoing, slower.

Time passed, half an hour perhaps, Another set of breaths joined his, just as slow, echoing just the same. He peered into the darkness, Sela now resting on the floor proper, her eyes closed.

Awake, but trying to fall asleep, just like him.

Good night.

If one were to give him the ability to talk - to fully, properly talk, Monty may have said something along the lines of;

"Hi. I am Monty."

Alas, he could not talk. Though there were probably some forces out there in other trees that could give him this ability, they did not seem to want to. And that was fine, he was content like this. A big one had given him a weird sound to hold on to, and so he did.

"Crawwrnty… Moncrwrrty"

Every skill needed practice, that was certain. Though he was dashing and brave, Monty was not perfect. How could he be, a little man who had stuck to his big tree. He would practise, and then the big one would scratch his neck or fend off the ground crawlers.

Yes, an excellent idea.

The big one smelled different from everything else, and looked different from everything else, and was very loud. Curious. This needed more investigation, and so he followed.

Ah, a bug. Delightful.

He stood outside the wrong place, the big one leaving him behind with the bigger one. That way was bad, nothing worth investigating there. He was not curious enough for that. Had to leave the big one. Annoyed.

Wait outside, maybe? Plenty of bugs over there, yes. The bigger one wouldn't be there to move the small trees out of the way of the narrow, dark sky. Dangers with eight legs crawled in those trees.

A problem, yes, but one the Great Monty would surely overcome!

He was fearsome beyond doubt, powerful and full of might. None could stand in his way. Aside from the ground crawlers, but they got the drop on him!

He flapped his wings, hopping into the small sky. Left, right, left, right, down, avoid.

"Crawr."

Small forests now have plenty of gaps to fly through. Bigger one tore them. Angry at the big one. Hm. Monty would have defended if he was paying attention and not catching bu-

Thwack.

He hit the wet floor, quickly hopping upright and shaking his wings. A yellow, glowing bulb swayed rapidly, a small tear in the light from where he intentionally hit it and did not crash. He was paying full attention. Yes.

A danger crawled out of one of the small trees, hissing with its many sharp mouth teeth. Ah! Away with you, foul fiend!

He hit the danger with a wing, whacking it against the wall. It slid to the floor, leaving behind a purple water trail in its wake. Hah, take that!

It scuttled away, out of sight. Out of sight is bad, moving is a good idea. Another flap of his wings, and up and up. He darted through the narrow, dark sky. Easy, so easy, incredibly easy. No more dangers or bulbs got in his way, and soon he was flying upward toward a fading light.

He shot out into the big sky with a craw, stopping to look around.

Hm, dark time is coming.

Had to find somewhere to settle for now. Big one could be gone for long. Need to sleep and stay away from dangers. Ground crawlers can't reach trees, so stay in tree. But there's not enough time to make a nest.

Ah, an idea.

Look around, see if there is one nearby. Dark time makes it harder to see, but Monty has excellent vision, and a little dark time poses no difficulty to him.

There, in that tree, a nest home! Not his, abandoned, but his now!

He darted toward it, landing on the twigs and straw. No eggs, haven't been. Flowers shoddily put in between twigs, a weak male tried to court a lady it seems. Unsightly nest, no wonder it was not accepted. He surely would have made a much better nest, yes. But this will do for now, this dark time.

Tomorrow find food, bug mayhaps. Yes, a good idea. Then, onto greater ventures.

Hello, hello! My sincere apologies for the massive gap between uploads. This chapter has been up for almost a year! on A03, and I just kept delaying putting it on here for whatever reason. Now that it is here, I'm taking another opportunity to incentivise you to head over there instead, what with the faster updates on chapters and a nicer comment system. Speaking of, absolutely don't hesitate to drop your opinion on the chapter or the story as a whole! I always delight in seeing someone review or comment on my stories, and not only is it a massive morale boost to keep going (have to keep that ego floating somehow after all) but it's also a neat way to garner criticism. Anyhow, I wish you a good day, and leave you with the good news that the next chapter is about 65% done! Cheeerios!