A/N
Howdy hey, y'all! Welcome to the newest chapter of Blood and Ash. Sorry that this took so long to get updated, but I think we're all aware of how absolute shit my schedule is. I'm back in school now and taking some college courses on the side, so I wouldn't expect that to change all that much. I also wanted to thank the latest review I got. I have to say that your comment is what made me finish up the chapter, and hopefully I've put it in the right direction. Enjoy the chapter! :)
Tai was practically buzzing with excitement. Captain Lasky said that in a couple hours or so, the Infinity would be docking with a space station that was close to a nearby planet. He had given everyone on board three days of paid leave. The Pelicans would be leaving at 1200 hours, and Tai couldn't wait. It felt like forever since the last time she'd been planetside, even if it had only been close to five or six months.
Said teen was currently sitting in her room, already fully dressed in a light blue cropped long sleeve shirt that she'd made herself and black cargo pants given to her by the UNSC. Her feet were clad in the boots the Spartans had given her, and a dark gray jacket was tied securely around her waist. In front of her sat the hologram of Naomi, the smart AI having changed her own appearance yet again. The AI had on a shirt much like Tai did, only she had on a skirt that swept to just above the middle of her thighs. Her normal sandals were gone, replaced with knee high heeled boots.
The two were sitting and chatting, waiting for the calling bell to go off and say that they were good to go planetside. A knock at the teen's door brought their conversation about tattoos to an end, Tai standing to see who was at her door. Outside stood the Spartans, each dressed in their military fatigues. Tai blanched.
"Do y'all not have any other clothes?"
"Of course not,"John stated, as if it were the most obvious of reasons. "We have our armor, fatigues, dress uniforms, and PT clothes. Why would we need anything else?" The man really didn't seem to grasp why that was so weird to the teen.
"Well, that's just criminal. We're getting y'all some actual clothes when we get planetside. I don't wanna look like I've got a damned military escort. Even if that's practically what y'all are."Her tone left no room for argument. Although, the other Spartans did find it amusing that the much smaller girl could make it to where not even the Chief wanted to tell her no.
She'd gotten so involved in their lives, that it was weird to even think about not doing as she asked. Well, told. The group left within the next hour, Tai grabbing the small holo-platform that Naomi used before they left.
They were some of the last to board a Pelican, but that was perfectly fine with Tai. She never had been one to enjoy large crowds, and being the last Pelican meant they had the aircraft almost entirely to themselves. She assumed the Woods' family had already left the Infinity when she didn't spot them in the hangar bay.
It didn't take long to reach the planet, just under an hour. The planet was buzzing with life, humans that had adapted to live there wandering about, the younger children staring at the strange people coming from the somewhat small aircrafts. Tai couldn't help the large intake of breath she took almost as soon as the Pelican landed. It had been ages since she smelt actually fresh air, and not the synthesized air that came with the UNSC battleships.
The shops weren't incredibly busy, thank the gods, but they still had a decent amount of people. The Spartans already knew about Tai's aversion to crowds, and were making a small box around her. She almost never realized when they did this, but they did it quite often. They didn't like when their youngest was uncomfortable, and they were more than aware that her aversion to crowds came with the trauma that she was forced to grow up with. If they couldn't do anything else for the girl, they'd make sure she wasn't touched by the strangers wandering about the market.
Tai took the Spartans to one of the first clothing shops she saw. They were a little stunned with how easily she diverted to salespeople, not entirely having expected it from the teen. The first Spartan that Tai took to look for clothing was Frederic. She figured that she'd start with the person most likely to actually tell her what he liked and didn't.
While Tai was busy with Fred, she sent the other Spartans on an errand to go and get them something to eat. Chief had the task of finding the actual food while the women had the task of getting drinks and any possible snacks while they were out.
Frederic followed Tai around while she went through the different clothing racks and shelves, throwing random shirts at him. At one point, she found two pairs of shoes and gave those to him as well. A navy blue pull over hoodie caught her attention and she grabbed that as well. When Tai was satisfied enough at the collection that Fred was lugging about, she took him over to a changing room that he barely fit in.
She laughed at the sight of his head over the curtain, the only thing visible being his eyes and up. If he barely fit, she didn't know how John was gonna. Frederic was tall, but the Chief still had height on him. The Lieutenant shot her a playful glare, rolling his teal eyes.
The first outfit the man put on was ridiculous. He very obviously never had to pair things together correctly. Tai took pity on him (after laughing her ass off, again), walking him through what shirts looked good with which pants and what shoes were ample for which activity.
Soon, the Spartan came back out, this time dressed properly. He wore a dark blue shirt with gray-wash jeans, a black lightweight jacket tied around his waist. His feet were clad in black running shoes. Just as the pair were paying for their multiple bags, the rest of the Spartans came wandering back, the Chief carrying some still steaming pizza and the girls carrying three 2 liter bottles of coca-cola. Kelly had a couple plastic bags slung over her arm, most likely carrying some snacks.
Tai made a motion with her hands, gesturing to the Spartan standing beside her. "Tada! Look what a little bit of time can do. We went from a threatening Spartan to a threatening civilian." All four super soldiers' eyebrows cocked. "What? I don't think y'all will ever not be intimidating."
The teen's comment got a round of laughter from everyone, Fred rubbing his hand through her hair. Tai grumbles slightly before leading the Spartans to a table sat outside one of the many shops in the courtyard. It was surprisingly peaceful, just sitting and doing normal things with the Spartans, even if they didn't entirely know what "normal" was in regular human terms.
After they ate their food, Tai took each Spartan to a different clothing store, getting them each some casual T-shirts, jeans, shorts, and shoes, as well as a jacket or two. She also made sure each soldier had different dress clothes, aside from their dress that was done, each Spartan had a couple of bags on their arms, and somehow, Tai had ended up with a new crossbody backpack, knee-high boots, and a cropped faux leather jacket.
Captain Lasky had set everyone who took advantage of the leave up with a room at one of the top end hotels on the planet, and after a while, Tai and the Spartans made their way to their split rooms. The Spartans had a room opposite Tai's, with two sets of bunks and a slightly larger common area with a mini kitchenette, where Tai had a king-size bed and a small living area.
After the teen set up her own room, she went across the hall to help the Spartans with their haul of clothing. Tai couldn't help but laugh loudly when the Chief tried and failed to fold his new clothes, something about the fabric messing him up. She explained it as best she could while still giggling every now and then, missing how the Spartans looked at her as the sound of her laughter rang about their room.
Suddenly, the small teen gasped, looking at the map of the hotel that was on the wall. The Chief was the first over to her, looking at where she was pointing and raising an eyebrow at the over-excited girl.
"They've got a pool! Yes! We're so going. Did I get y'all to buy swimsuits?"
All four giants nodded, each pulling out the bathing suit they got. John got a pair of mostly black swim trunks with dark green etchings on the hems. Frederick got a pair of blue-gray ones that faded to blue-ish-purple at the bottom. Kellie had a nice red-ish-orange one piece with a see-through white skirt attachment. Linda's was a soft yellow two-piece with royal blue wave-like designs. Tai's own was a red halter top with gold trimming and a pair of black fitted shorts with a skirt-like appearance.
The planet was more than a little warm, and to Tai it was the perfect weather to go swimming. She couldn't entirely remember if she'd ever gone swimming as a kid, but she knew that she could. Her parents back on Talian had taught her before shit hit the metaphorical fan. And, she had no doubt that part of the Spartans' training had them learning how to swim, although it was bound to be loads different than the swimming that they were going to do now.
It wasn't a long walk to the pool, but Tai could feel herself getting more and more excited as the scent of chlorine came to her. From what she'd seen of the map of the top-end hotel, the pool was basically a water park, with most of the attractions inside for cold winters and a few outside for the much warmer summers the planet no doubt got.
Surprisingly, the pool wasn't overly crowded, but Tai suspected that it was because the hotel members had been notified of the oncoming storm of soldiers and the group of Spartans. Inside was humid and made Tai feel way too sticky, but for some reason it relaxed her, and the Spartans couldn't help but notice that the teen seemed to drop her shoulders. And her guard.
It didn't take long for the teen to grab the nearest Spartan and drag him over to a massive wave pool. Frederick, Linda, and Kellie watched as the Chief was pulled along by the smallest of their team, not even attempting to put up a fight.
John wasn't one known for his relaxation, let alone being seen having fun. But it almost seemed as though Tai was determined to have the largest Spartan seen as nothing more than a regular human, even if she herself wasn't one. Ever since the Spartans had first met the teen, she'd made it her mission to make the other Spartans seem as unimposing to the rest of the crew and soldiers they were around as possible. It felt like it was her way of telling the enhanced group that not all of their humanity was stripped from them when they were kidnapped. And the more they watched the teen do her thing, the more they couldn't help believing her.
Tai had seen the way the patrons of the hotel had been staring at her friends, she could almost see the thoughts rolling through their heads, the gears turning. So it was no wonder that the unassuming girl had drawn attention to herself when she was caught dragging the most threatening and well known Spartan into the water with her. Both of them had laughed, although John's was barely more than a soft sound at the back of his throat.
Soon, the rest of the Spartan's joined the two. Fred had immediately taken to grabbing Tai and throwing her into the air before dunking her under the water, making the girl scream slightly in unhindered delight. The tense air around the pool had finally started dissipating, family's getting back to minding their own, with only a couple young kids caught staring at the much larger adults rough-housing it with the smaller teen.
Tai looked out at the other patrons swimming, a smile making her face glow, her sopping hair hanging heavy on her shoulders. It's getting long, she thought, taking a strand and lightly tugging. She hadn't had the time for a hair cut, and now the red tresses hung just below her shoulder blades. She'd have to get it cut when she could.
She was pulled from her musings when the Chief splashed water into her face, chuckling lowly as she spat. Tai glared at the larger man before sprinting (well, attempting to) at the Spartan. She jumped onto her back, clinging her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She struggled to hold on for a couple minutes while John attempted to throw her off before the Spartan managed to toss her over his shoulders and back into the water.
Laughter rang out around the wave pool, and Tai felt something in her stomach unwind. Looking around, she had a feeling that the Spartans felt that exact same thing as she had.