“This is dumb!”
“Trust me!”.
Inzo watched in amusement as Zyko continued to swing the end of the rope, all the while slowly walking after the bay horse, who was galloping in circles around the temporary corral the humans had made, without getting too close. Some of the humans were snickering at the sight, but he as well as the rest of the Sangheili were confused as to the purpose of this exercise.
“What now?” Zyko called out again. “I’ve been doing this for ten minutes!”
“Okay, now stop and turn your back on her!” Carlos called out.
“About time!” Zyko dropped the rope and did as told. A few seconds later he heard the horse’s hooves coming closer to him slowly from behind, and was momentarily startled when he felt the horse’s nose touching his arm. He subtly turned around and saw the animal had walked closer and was sniffing him out with its ears forward. “Well… hi there, whatever-you-w

Hannah woke up next morning earlier than usual. As expected, when she woke up it was still cold out there, the freezing wind was blowing even inside the tent she shared with the other few women that came to this event. They were still fast asleep, her friend Ginny was comically embracing her pillow and whispering to it; it was clear she missed her boyfriend Jim, who unfortunately had stayed behind on Earth for this mission. Hannah rolled her eyes, grinning a bit as she left her sleeping bag.
She slid into long gray pants and a green blouse, but she put a beige jacket on to avoid getting a cold before the race. She walked out of the tent as she tied her hair into a ponytail, glancing around and seeing everything was empty. The other humans were still asleep, and she could guess their Sangheili hosts had gone home. She couldn’t tell, she had gone to sleep earlier than the rest of the Marines. The sky was starting to lighten a bit in the distant horizon, she guessed it would be a wh

The humans would arrive today.
Inzo assumed his father would have said something to him about what happened last night. He was pretty sure Mrydo had told him what happened last night, however that morning when Thel had come talk to him, he didn’t even attempt to scold him. Inzo initially thought Mrydo had pity on him and kept the secret, but when he looked into his eyes he realized he knew. Thel didn’t scold him or give him a lecture, but he could see the disappointment in his gaze, it was almost as if he didn’t expect anything else from him.
Inzo thought his father would send him to clean the Hundara stalls again, but instead he sent him to go with the welcome committee to receive the humans.
Just what he needed.
It as not that he hated humans, he didn’t, he had never met one personally. He had vague memories of seeing his father interact with some of them when he was but a toddler, but he had only seen them from afar. And he was on the edge, since they would b

The scorching suns drained his strength away, the merciless desert spreading out before him while the cruel heat played tricks on his mind, sending dancing illusions of water bodies to give him the slightest hope, only to realize they were but vanishing ghosts of something that he sought so desperately. He tried to pull his cloak and hood further in an attempt to protect his scales from the multiplied heat and UV rays coming from three suns, but it offered little shade in this hell.
He continued to stare at the black beast, the once prideful animal reduced to a dying, pitiful creature. The polished blackness of its scales had turned to dark gray due to both the dust and its own state. Its breathing was slow and tired, its eyes once filled of spirit now showed only suffering; every time it inhaled, it coughed seconds later in an attempt to expel the sand and dust out of its respiratory track. There was a large, deep wound on its chest, it would forever ruin him if they got out of this o

Living underneath someone’s shadow wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially if said shadow came from your own father.
And that was a feeling young Inzo ‘Vadam knew too well.
He was of the few fortunate on Sanghelios who knew their father’s identity, though sometimes he wished he didn’t. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud of being the son of Thel ‘Vadam, the Arbiter himself, but rather it was because of the expectations that great honor brought. After all, sons were always supposed to be as great as their fathers, if not more, but his problem was that he couldn’t even imagine a way to surpass his father in anything. After all, the Arbiter was a master swordsman, leader of the Swords of Sanghelios, the current Kaidon of Vadam, and these days referred as Champion of the Sangheili by some people.
It was quite a long shadow to walk out of, if one would have his opinion.
And taking into account he and his dad were not… on precisely good