Muttonhawk

Halo: Aegis Team

Yalu 'Suumko

Yalu's lungs emptied at the sight of his target slumping as instantly dead as it did. If not for the rest of the commotion, he might have frozen. Vael's voice over the comms brought him back to the action. He retrieved his needle rifle, aimed down at the fleeing grunts, and helped to pick them off.

Tar's shouting made him glance to see what was going on. Yalu's kill, all the slaughter of the grunts with their backs turned, and then Tar's shouting, all combined to bring out a sudden irritation in him. "'Mdalak! Get up! Focus!"

He felt his ears ring with how loud he shouted into his helmet. He felt an immediate pang of anxiety at his outburst. He shook himself out of it and headed for the nearest door to the platform. "Pushing ahead," he declared with a more moderated voice. "Cannot see any more targets outside. The rest will be barricading by now."

He did not move out of sight yet, waiting for Grikgar's sitrep.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

In a way, Yerig's eulogy crystallised the formality of their gathering. It took his speech to make everyone realise that the shock had more or less passed. They all began to reflect. Fendros waited for Sabine to say something in response, but it was clear by her soft weeping that she needed more time. He decided to step up and clear his hoarse throat.

It took him a moment of held breath to start.

"This man..." he began. "Though he was once our most dangerous enemy, hated by countless folk, some of whom are close to us...He is also the reason Sabine is alive. He is the reason we could succeed. He was ruthless and blooded, but to call him damned by us...I would not accept it. Whatever debt he incurred, it is paid. Let him rest redeemed." He brought up a fist with the Ring of Hircine on display. "May Hircine himself strike me down if it not be so." He lowered his hand and his voice. "Yerig, Sabine. Thank you for vouching for him. You saved him, just as he saved us."

With that, Fendros stepped back.

"...No..." Sabine groaned quietly. She wiped away her tears with her arm. "I wanted peace for him." She said between halted breaths. "I failed."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Steeling himself to find Do'rhajul and Yerig helped Fendros confront the silent bodies along the way. Nothing could stay their impact. He had seen death before, but never at this scale. The quietness of it, like it was a graveyard yet to be dug, it unnerved him. These were people he may have interacted with before the battle. They had given their lives willingly, and yet their deaths still widened a deadly pang of guilt in his chest. Some of the more gruesome injuries only made matters worse. He cleared his throat several times on the way up to the cliff top.

Fendros lead the way behind the scout. He could not see the rest of his group's reaction to the scattered bodies.

At least at the cliff there was a breeze animating the grass and alleviating the oppressive silence. The scene before them as they spread out to regard Yerig and Do'rhajul's body demanded no words all the same. Not without deep consideration. The kind of consideration that made their eyes burn with the reality of it.

Sabine stepped up opposite Yerig across from Do'rhajul and lowered herself to her knees. Her face a sullen frown, she slowly reached for Do'rhajul's hand. It was twice the size of her own hand, cold and calloused under the thin khajiit fur. He was not there anymore. She still tightened her fingers around it.

For a while, they all stood respectfully in the wind. It could have been for hours or minutes.

Sabine lowered her head. Tears dripped off her chin. She mumbled something quiet, swallowed by the breeze.

Halo: Aegis Team

Yalu 'Suumko

Yalu snapped his aim around to the Kig-Yar. The distinct whistle of needlers firing prompted him to take only one shot. He went for the weakened Kig-Yar's hand. His own needle round ricocheted off the edge of the shield and into the clouds -- off-target by an inch. He would have cursed if his life was not in immediate danger. Staying still or moving forward or back would overload his shield and blow a hole in his chest. He dropped into a sprint lateral to the advancing jackals instead, leaving his autosentry to take the homing needles. As he ran around the edge of the platform, his the incline helped his speed but lost him his height advantage.

"Two Kig-Yar running! Centre!" Yalu barked between breaths in his helmet comms. He jumped to a stop behind an external support nearer to the middle of the platform and let the remaining pink needles whizz by. He looked around and spotted a dead grunt holding onto a plasma pistol. Now he cursed to himself. There was not much he could do on his own to stop the Kig-Yar. It would be down to his team mates now.

A tumult drew Yalu's attention up to Ryker rolling away from another sangheili. Yalu dropped his rifle and rolled forward, grabbing the plasma pistol as he went, and knelt with the pistol overcharged and pointing towards the enemy warrior. He let it loose to break the assailant's shield, or else give him a burn that would get Ryker out of trouble.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine took the muffling of Ahnasha's embrace as the thin excuse she needed to uncontrollably weep. It was halting; she cried loudly before silencing herself and then taking strained breaths. Everyone could tell she was exhausted, and perhaps anticipated such news. She had been up on the tower with them to see Do'rhajul's sacrifice herself.

Ahansha's words brought Sabine to enough composure to return the hug. She breathed until she could breath without crying and managed to speak with a blocked nose. "I...I wish he would...could see what he did." She held her breath to stop herself crying more. "He suffered so much!"

She broke down again.

Something near a minute passed before Sabine's other surviving packmate Tarna came to the entrance of the tent. "Sabine, the healers need some advice about..." The Argonian stopped and lowered her hood to see better. Her expression lowered to sadness which spoke of her anticipating this just like Sabine. She looked at Fendros to confirm.

Fendros clasped his hands together behind his back. "Tarna," he acknowledged, not betraying any emotion of his own. "We'll go to see him shortly."

Tarna lowered her gaze. Her hand fell limp from the side of the tent entrance. "The man was strong. I had hoped..."

Sabine looked up to see Tarna. Her entire face was red.

This time, Fendros did not stay passive. He chewed his lip for a moment, then stepped over to Tarna and gently pushed her into the tent with his hand on her back. He brought her closer to Sabine. "We all hoped," Fendros said. "You'll need each other in the meantime. We shall all have time to honour him."

By this point, Sabine had stopped openly weeping, though the evidence of it would not clear for a while. She slipped away from Ahnasha's arms, giving her a nod in thanks, and turned to Tarna. The two of them hugged, gently, then tightly. Tarna closed her eyes to let her own tears fall. Tarna murmured something audible only to Sabine and Sabine nodded.

For the rest of them, the situation ran against their usual view of Sabine. She was being the strong one for someone else.

Fendros turned to lead the pack out only when he was confident they had enough time.

Halo: Aegis Team

Yalu 'Suumko

The order came to advance. By the time Yalu stood up and was lining up to jump, the assault specialists on the team had already landed on the platform. He jumped down himself in time to see the counter attack approach against the gale wind. The power swords shone through the rain. The next millisecond and Yalu decided: covering fire.

He spread his arms and activated his autosentry module. In the space of a second, symmetrical pieces of metallic forerunner technology spiralled up to form a winged light above him. The light snapped to the nearest Sangheili warrior like an eye and opened fire. Yalu levelled his needle rifle at the other sword and sent five rounds at where its owner's chest should have been. No time for protracted duels. They needed to take after the storm and roll over this place.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine did not look up from the alchemy table she was diligently working at. "Hello," she voiced hoarsely. "Did you need something?"

While he inwardly sighed at Sabine's refusal to rest, Fendros could guess that she would drop asleep for at least a day as soon as she laid her head down. He cut to the heart of the matter. "Yerig and Do'rhajul have been found."

Sabine turned and looked up at the three of them entering her tent. Her face was dominated by large dark bags under her wide eyes. Her breath was short as she tried to speak. "W-where? Tell me more."

"Sabine..." He hesitated.

The hesitation spoke to Sabine before Fendros could continue. She felt her lungs empty and her eyes burn.

Fendros clasped his hands together. Even as stoic as he tried to be, it was an effort to keep his composure seeing Sabine's reaction. "It's Do'rhajul, he...he fell in the final moments. Yerig watches over his body, apart from camp. I'm sorry."

Fendros had better words in his mind leading up to the moment. They were forgotten. He could only watch as Sabine slowly wrapped her arms around her own torso and let her eyes close shut. Her eyes tightened shut. She was resisting.

"We are going to retrieve them both, if you would accompany us," Fendros continued. "Yerig will not leave Do'rhajul's side."

Perhaps it was exhaustion that kept Fendros from being more comforting for Sabine. She held herself more closely and was bending as if she was about to double-over. Fendros halfway extended an arm, again he hesitated. He glanced at Ahnasha beside him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius picked up matters where Fendros was urged away. "I can think of no better way to start enjoying this peace," Janius said.

Fendros briefly grimaced at Ahnasha and the others. "To be honest, thinking of what to orate to everyone has been easier than thinking about how to inform Sabine. I do not believe we should tarry." He addressed the pack. "I am going to find Sabine and tell her, and then try to find Yerig and Do'rhajul. Ahna, I would appreciate your support; Janius and Kaleeth, I will not ask you to part ways so soon..."

Janius nodded by Kaleeth's side.

Fendros kept turning and stopped. "Lorag..." He considered how to phrase Lorag's required emotional presence without undue pressure. "...We shall need your help bringing the late general's body to camp," he finally said with gravity.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"They deserve that, and more," Fendros agreed. "Without his shield, Vile would have destroyed me, us, Hircine...We wouldn't be here. I barely think it in question that Do'Rhajul is redeemed."

He stepped up to Kaleeth and tried to lower his formality. "I won't be distracted, however. You fought and were pivotal in winning the war, Kaleeth." He glanced at her remaining foot. "I wish it had not come at so high a physical cost. We'll help you adjust in any way we can, I promise."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pack grew quiet. Fendros lowered his eyes for a moment, but took a breath to face it. "Some wounds. Nothing permanent there. Meesei and Do'rhajul, however..." He swallowed. "We are told Do'rhajul's body has been found. We all saw what happened to Meesei. I fear she will not be returning with us."

The following moment lingered for respect, but Fendros soon after added. "Sabine does not know about Do'rhajul yet. We were going to inform her soon after we checked on you."