#*canis lupus*

POV:

"You're damned lucky, Lieutenant. But don't think I'm going to let that slide. Soon as we get back to base, you and I are going to have a talk."

It was hard to miss the way Noble Leader was at the throat of team's new Six, and vice versa. Neither of them was happy with the other, and for different reasons... Yet it was also obvious they shared a resentment for their current situation. Too bad it wasn't enough for them to see eye to eye on something.

Jorge only wished he could do something to help.

That being said, he couldn't help the chuckle that left him as Six decided to flip off the Commander — and, sure, his laughter was probably part of the reason why Carter growled in response, but in Jorge's defense, he rather admired the spunk of their new Six. She had heart, even if he could tell she would never readily admit to it. She was as tough as they came, but in a different, quieter way. And there was no denying the fact that she was absolutely, positively lethal.

Even Emile had admitted that he'd been rather unnerved by some of Six's actions on the battlefield. And coming from the team's regular "trigger happy” soldier, who was all too keen on planting bombs on Covenant corpses to blow up the rest of those living before they vacated the area... That was saying something.

Whatever had caused Six to behave in such a manner... Jorge doubted he wanted to know what it was, and suspected it had ONI written all over it. Not just because she'd come from ONI, not just because her handlers were ONI.

Heya!

Welp, I suppose my favourite writing project at the moment, is an AU of the game Halo: Reach's plotline, aptly titled Canis Lupus, due to the character of Noble Six — who in this case is my favourite OC — being given the moniker of "lone wolf".

I think it's my favourite because it's probably the one multichapter fanfiction that I'm investing the most time and energy into; turning it into a project, of sorts. It's kinda become my baby, if you will 😆 Trying to aim for a more maturely themed storyline, complete with an emotional, in depth look into the eyes of Spartans, seen mostly from Artemis' (that's the name of my Noble Six) POV.

Carter shook his head. “I don’t like to talk about it.” He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking more haggard and weary than ever. The weight of it still rested on his shoulders, she saw now; it was something that he couldn’t let go of.

“How did you get over it?” Even as she spoke the words, she felt like she knew the answer already.

He smiled weakly, shrugging a shoulder. “Truth be told, I didn’t. But I learned to compartmentalize, and... more importantly, I learned that while you move on, you don’t have to necessarily let go, not completely. It helps to... learn from your mistakes, and to keep little pieces of the past with you, to remind you of who you are, and of how far you’ve come. People change, even Spartans. Our experiences shape us; each victory and each loss is something that we must carry for the rest of our lives.”

“Even if you’re scared of something terrible happening to you, again?”

This wasn’t right.

This wasn’t the state that Noble Team’s commanding officer was supposed to be in. He was meant to be their rock, steadfast and unmoving. No matter what happened, he was supposed to be something they could all rely on.

Seeing him like this, raw and vulnerable and broken…

“Commander?” Artemis couldn’t bring herself to call him by name. Not with the tentative dance between them. Not with his emotional turmoil. She hoped to snap him out of it, to help him focus. He had a job to do: he had to bring them all back together, to lead them, to defend Reach. Their fight wasn’t over; far from it, in fact.

Carter sniffed, staring down at a half-empty bottle of whiskey between his feet. He rubbed at his nose, and stared at her. His eyes were red, rimmed with tears. It was so wrong. “If you don’t hug me, right now, I think I might fall apart.” His mouth twitched, and his voice wavered. He sounded shockingly young, far from his twenty-seven biological years; further still from his chronological age of thirty-two. He was no more than a scared boy, wanting comfort and solace.

His tormented expression crushed her, had her wanting to reach out to him. But his words had her taking a step back in surprise. She lingered in the doorway, unable to move.

You’re not supposed to fall apart. Damn it, Carter. You don’t get that privilege; you said so yourself not even a week ago! What is wrong with you?

She couldn’t accuse him…. not really. The words in her mind were meaningless, venting anger and frustration and confusion. This wasn’t… what she was equipped to deal with. Not this. Anything but this.

Her lips parted, and she made to speak, but only the smallest sound came out. “I—” I can’t do this, it shouldn’t be me, it should be Kat, but she’s gone, and that’s why he’s like this, and fuck, this isn’t what I was cut out for, this isn’t what I agreed to…

“Please, Artemis.”

Just a single plea, barely more than a whisper.

It broke her heart.

Artemis crossed the room, going to him, wrapping her arms around him and drawing him into her embrace. He trembled against her, hiding his face against her shoulder, hiding away from the rest of the world. All she could do was hold him, silent, silent, unwavering, as he sobbed into the material of her shirt.

Before the beginning:

"You should be asleep, Commander. Nobody has watch while we're in space."

"So should you." Carter shot back tiredly, not glancing up from his datapad as Kat approached on near silent feet. He stifled a yawn behind his hand, and studiously ignored the glare he knew that his XO was shooting at the back of his head. "How's the arm?"

"...Keeping me awake again." Kat admitted, dragging a chair out and sitting on it backwards. "We're almost on Reach. Found someone to fill our sixth slot?"