No-one reads any more. It's depressing. Ah well, I'll post this new chapter anyway.
Part 20 - Cultural differences
"Sangheili,
I must rest. Mine limbs grow weary of this continuous walking. May we
not set up camp awhile?" the Chieftain finally gave in, which prompted
the equally weary, if not more so Zharn and Ahkrin to share a
secretive, triumphant look between themselves. Neither had been
prepared to admit their weariness before the Brute had.
"Very
well, if you so wish," Zharn replied loftily, and with masked relief,
lay back on the rough forest ground. Two heavy thumps told him that
Ahkrin and the Jiralhanae had done so too. Dust particles kicked up
around him, only to be incinerated by his energy shielding as they
touched it.
"Is the communicator working?" Ahkrin demanded between short breaths, also sprawled out on the ground.
"Nay,
I am afraid not. The humans have indeed put up a mighty scrambler, but
fear not, the Huragok are no doubt working on a solution even as we
speak. Trust in the Path to see us through," the Chieftain replied
confidently. Zharn scowled. Was every Jiralhanae a religious zealot?
The Sangheili believed in the Great Journey, sure enough, but the
Jiralhanae seemed to think about nothing but it.
"What's your
name?" Zharn questioned the Jiralhanae, who stood over a foot taller
than him, and had a thick white, braided beard which was meticulously
clean, unlike that of so many of their kind.
"Orpheus, noble Ultra," the Chieftain replied, a wary look in his eyes.
"That is a strong name," Zharn answered sincerely, wanting to stay on Orpheus' good side.
"And you?" the Jiralhanae then asked his two Sangheili companions.
"I am Ahkrin, and the gormless one over there goes by the name of Zharn," the Stealth Sangheili answered for him.
"Enough
pleasantries, I want some answers. Orpheus, how did you know where we
were?" Zharn demanded, scrambling to his feet and stretching his aching
muscles. The group had made rest in a tall, thriving forest, and night
was nearly falling. Looking up at Eridanus II's looming moon, and
hearing the sound of wildlife and wind brushing against the trees,
Zharn suddenly felt sick. How could they glass something as wondrous as
this?
"My pack mates were killed by a human ambush. Rage seeped
through my veins, and I killed those barbaric interlopers. Whilst in
the berserk state, the body's senses are heightened. I heard you and
Ahkrin as you were held and gunpoint as clearly as I would if you were
standing next to me, and went down to help. We may be of different
species, but we are all of the Covenant," Orpheus replied gravely.
Zharn blinked. A Jiralhanae who wasn't a bigot and Sangheili hater?
"Well,
thank you Chieftain, for delving down into what was essentially hell to
save us. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Zharn thanked
Orpheus. The Jiralhanae was a Chieftain, the highest rank one of his
kind could attain, but even a Sangheili Major would have authority over
him. Zharn sometimes thought that the Sangheili repression of the
Jiralhanae was a little too brutal. It would all end badly, he felt.
"Just
fight alongside me noble Ultra, that's all that I ask. We must stick
together if we want to make it off this planet alive," Orpheus replied,
standing up. The Chieftain was rather small in comparison to most
Jiralhanae; he was only the height of Zharn. Still, his chest and arms
rippled with raw muscle. "I will go and collect firewood, we should set
up camp here tonight. I trust it one of you knows how to create a
shelter?"
"Yes," Ahkrin answered instantly, almost in a hostile
tone. Zharn recognised that, but Orpheus, who didn't know the Stealth
Sangheili, obviously thought he was just weary.
"Excellent. I will be back within half an hour, fear not."
And
the Chieftain lumbered deep into the dark forest, hammer in hand.
Ahkrin's narrowed eyes followed him until he couldn't be seen anymore.
Then the Stealth Sangheili snapped to face Zharn.
"On your feet Zharn, we're leaving," Ahkrin instructed in a brisk tone, no longer sounding weary. He'd been faking it.
"What?" Zharn demanded, utterly bemused. Ahkrin was already on his feet, frowning down at Zharn.
"He's a Jiralhanae, Zharn. I don't trust him, and neither should you. If we move now, we can be gone before he returns."
Ahkrin
stalked off, obviously believing Zharn would follow him. When he didn't
hear those familiar footsteps behind him though, he turned around,
puzzled.
"No Ahkrin. We're staying. He saved our lives; you need
to stop this petty antagonism towards the Jiralhanae," Zharn told his
friend firmly.
"Zharn--" Ahkrin began to protest loudly, before being cut off by the Ultra.
"Don't
argue Ahkrin. I know why you hate the Jiralhanae, and I understand. But
Orpheus did not kill your mother. You need to learn how to forget,
Ahkrin. Holding a grudge for such a long time is unhealthy; the riots
have ended. We're staying, and you are too. That's an order."
Ahkrin
looked at Zharn then with murder in his eyes, and looked as if he were
about to strike him. Then, he cursed, shook his head and sat down
sullenly.
"I won't forgive this Zharn," Ahkrin told him icily. Zharn chuckled as he too sat.
"Yes you will, Ahkrin. You always do."
The
two sat in an awkward silence for the better part of twenty minutes.
Zharn sadly pondered his friend's hatred of the Jiralhanae. When the
primate-like race had first been welcomed into the Covenant by the
Prophets, the Sangheili had distrusted them. They'd put terrible,
constricting restraints on the Jiralhanae, forcing them to live in
huts, giving them old, unreliable weapons, allowing even the Unggoy to
order them around, and some killed or had Jiralhanae whipped for the
tiniest of things. Eventually, the Jiralhanae had decided to revolt,
and thus the riots began. Many innocents died in those riots, including
Ahkrin's mother and her brother. He had only been six years old at the
time.
The riots eventually stopped when the High Prophets
stepped in, but that hadn't brought Ahkrin's family back. Ever since,
he'd had a hatred of the Jiralhanae. He was sometimes able to put it
aside, usually when the Jiralhanae was young enough not to have
possibly participated in the riots. But Orpheus was easily as old as
Zharn or Ahkrin.
Luckily, Zharn had been close to Ahkrin even at
that young age, and his family had adopted Ahkrin as their own. That's
when their brotherly bond had truly begun. They'd grown up together,
trained together; they were truly brothers in all but blood.
It
was when Zharn was reflecting on his thoughts when Orpheus stumbled
back into their camp. He looked at the two Sangheili in confusion.
"You haven't made shelter?"
Ahkrin
said nothing, and merely stood up, and began to gather the materials he
would need to create for them a place where they could rest the night.
Orpheus looked at Zharn in perplexity, who just shook his head
warningly.
The Jiralhanae fortunately understood his unspoken
message, and began lighting the fire mutely, creating sparks with his
long, sharp claws.
An hour later, and the three Covenant
soldiers had built themselves a safe an amiable camp. The fire had not
only warmed their bodies, but it had also warmed Ahkrin's frosty
demeanour. Abashed, Ahkrin had apologised to his friend, who readily
accepted. He still behaved a little frosty around Orpheus though.
Zharn
had managed to catch a Deer which had been galloping through the woods,
and so now the three were enjoying healthy portions of cooked venison,
seasoned with some herbs they'd found. It had a distinctly alien taste,
but wasn't at all unpleasant. There was some left over, and so Ahkrin
froze it in a stasis field so it wouldn't spoil. Ahkrin was always
prepared like that.
"So what's your story then, Orpheus?" Zharn asked after the meal. He was bored, and Orpheus seemed interesting.
"My
story? It's long and bloody, Sangheili. You don't become a Chieftain by
shaking hands. I killed my father's brother to attain this position,"
Orpheus replied casually. Ahkrin's eyes widened in outrage.
"That's barbaric!" he cried in a disgusted tone. Orpheus shook his head.
"No,
you misunderstand. My father's brother was old, and he wouldn't have
lasted a year anyway. In our society, there is no greater honour than
to be killed by a relative, rather than some upstart from another
family. He died with a smile on his face," Orpheus explained, but his
words didn't alleviate Ahkrin's anger.
"That's disgusting. I knew you Jiralhanae were Brutish, but I didn't realise how much so."
"Sangheili,
would you die in your bed an old and lonely husk? Or would you rather
leave this world in the glorious rush of battle? For Jiralhanae, it is
always the latter; I can only hope that I am one day bested by my kin.
Don't try to compare your culture to ours, it's impossible."
Ahkrin shut up after that, thankfully. He could get awfully long winded at times.
The
hour was approaching midnight when the human voices broke through the
night. Zharn drew out his rifle, and looked at Ahkrin, who had already
engaged active camouflage, holding two knives in his hands. The Stealth
Sangheili stalked off in the direction of the voices. Orpheus stood up
slowly, drawing out his gravity manipulating hammer.
"Hello? Is
anyone out there?" the first human voice wondered. Zharn couldn't see
the owners of the voices, but he could hear them quite clearly, and
they were drawing closer.
"You idiot, there could be Covenant out there!" the second chastised, sounding terrified. The first scoffed.
"Don't
be soft, the Covenant don't hide in forests. They're busy attacking the
cities. There might by some UNSC Rangers out here though."
"I hope so, I haven't eaten in days. Why does all the wildlife around here move so fast? Catching them is nearly impossible."
"I told you we should have stopped by at the Armoury before leaving Capital City. Then we'd have guns to hunt with."
"And
get captured by the Covenant? No thanks, I enjoy living--" the second
was suddenly cut off mid-sentence, breaking into a strangled shriek.
The other let out a cry too, before being silenced.
Thirty
seconds later, Ahkrin strode back into the camp, camouflage fading and
two pale faced, terrified humans held in both hands. With a snort of
disgust, the Stealth Sangheili tossed the two pitiful looking beings at
Zharn's feet.
"What are you doing?" Zharn demanded of Ahkrin, who had already sat down in his previous seat again.
"You're the commanding officer. You deal with them as you see fit."
Zharn assessed the two humans grovelling before him, begging him not to kill them.
"Humans,
are you soldiers?" Zharn questioned, and he realised he felt a little
sorry for these two. The two humans were frozen with shock, and didn't
reply. Zharn drew out his sword, and they immediately began speaking.
"N-no sir!" one piped, trembling. "We're just ordinary citizens. Please don't kill me, I don't want to die."
"Yes, I imagine you don't," Zharn replied, sheathing his sword. "Ahkrin, give these two some food."
The Stealth Sangheili's head shot up.
"What?"
"Food, Ahkrin. I want you to give some to these two."
"It's hardly a fitting last meal, Zharn."
"Well that's okay, because I'm not killing them. They're not soldiers, and I don't harm innocents. Give them the food."
Ahkrin
looked as if he were about to argue, but then noticed Zharn's
expression, one of compassion. Ahkrin then realised he was probably
thinking about Sorran, who had attempted to save the human child from
the Jiralhanae. Sighing, Ahkrin drew out the slabs of meat from a
satchel and lowered the stasis field. He then wrapped them in some
parchment he had, and tossed the small food parcels at the feet of the
humans, who were staring at each other in disbelief.
"Stand up,
and get moving. Oh, and incidentally, you are heading straight into a
city which has just been ravaged by us. No doubt Jackals remain there,
hoping to find stranded humans who are still alive. You might want to
go another way," Zharn advised the two humans, who shakily rose to
their feet.
"Thank you sir, thank you so much!" the first human said through a sob.
"Be more careful in the future. Others will not be as lenient as I," Zharn firmly told the two. "Now go!"
The humans ran as if a raging Thorn Beast was chasing after them. After a few moments, they faded out of sight.
Heavy footsteps behind him told Zharn that Orpheus was there.
"You are a very strange Sangheili," was all the Jiralhanae Chieftain said. "But an honourable one."
"I
wouldn't have done that a few months ago. What has come over me?" Zharn
wondered aloud, and Ahkrin smirked. His friend was unable to see the
obvious. He had obviously felt compelled to show these humans mercy out
of respect for Sorran's memory. Still, Ahkrin knew he should let Zharn
figure it out for himself.
"Well, now the drama is over, we
should retire for the night. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,
if we are to reach Covenant forces any time soon."
"You're right, Ahkrin. That shelter of yours had better hold," Zharn couldn't resist one last dig at his friend.
"Now you're questioning my camp making skills? I spend most of my life out in the field, Zharn. I know how to create a shelter."
"You should learn how to cook properly too. What would you do if I wasn't around to do it for you?"
"I'd probably eat it raw, Zharn."
"That's horrible."
"It's
better than the food being burnt," Ahkrin shrugged, before clambering
into the tent he'd half erected, half dug. It would hopefully provide
some shelter from the elements.
"Orpheus, I made you a different
shelter. You're too big for this one," Ahkrin stopped the Jiralhanae in
his tracks, pointing to a noticeably poorer quality shelter on the
other side of the camp. Orpheus seemed more than a little upset.
"Oh, I see. Well then, good night Sangheili." The Chieftain stalked off, looking a little depressed.
Zharn
climbed inside his and Ahkrin's tent. He had to admit, his friend had
done an admirable job. The room was spacious, and there were two
clearly discernible sections so the two Sangheili could sleep without
knocking against each other.
"You made this too small for
Orpheus on purpose," Zharn accused, climbing into his makeshift bed. He
wasn't facing Ahkrin, but could tell he was smiling.
"Zharn! How dare you suggest such a thing!" Ahkrin replied, pretending to be offended.
"That was unkind of you Ahkrin. Orpheus is a noble warrior, just like you and I."
"I
was worried that he might decide to help us die happy by smothering us
in the night. Really Zharn, what he did to his uncle was barbaric."
"Maybe in our eyes, but Jiralhanae see things differently."
"Well he can see things differently in his own shelter. May you sleep soundly, Zharn."
Zharn despaired at his friend's hatred of the Jiralhanae. He was going to make the next few days very difficult.
"You too, Ahkrin."
"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.