#daimon baird

/It's been a long day without you, my friend/

Thunder rolls through the clouds, rain pick-packing against the ground in torrents. Wind whistles through the empty canyon and trees rustle under it's breath. Bare feet slap against the stone as a figure darts through the dark night.

/And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again/

Armor jostles with every move, trinkets jingling against the weapon in hand. Even with the storm, the light panting sounds loud and distracting. The soldier slides against the wet stone and ducks behind an outcrop of the cliff.

/We've come a long way from where we began/

A clawed hand digs through one pocket and pulls out a crumpled photo. The edges are ripped, the picture was faded and had holes in it but it still showed clearly. Six people standing together in front of the vessel taking them out on another mission. Four brothers and two young children.

A memory frozen in time.

/Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again/

Savage howls echoed off the canyon walls. Looking over a shoulder, the figure stuffed the photo back into the pocket it came out of. Practiced hands readied a new clip into the Lancer, slamming it shut.

Green eyes flashed viciously under the lightning's glow.

/When I see you again/

She whipped out from behind cover, spraying lead into the encroaching hoard. Pale deformed bodies slumped to the ground and splashed in puddles of mud and blood. Many went around her line of sight and skittered up the canyon, attempting to surround their prey. Rain soaked black hair swished against her forehead as she whipped to the side and shot them down. A particularly ambitious beast leaped from the wall and landed in front of her with a savage snarl, taking a swing. Pale skin shredded under the chainsaw's blade and it's pained cries were silenced as bony fingers slashed through it's neck. She let the body drop and backed away slowly from the approaching horde, any too close meeting a hail of lead.

Metal clicked against metal as the clip went dry. She shoved her deformed hand into the pouch at her side but came up empty. Eyes flicked over the swarming beasts she retreated, turning her back to them and slinging her Lancer onto her back before jumping into a dead sprint. Her palms smacked against the stone as she bolted through the heavy rain, water racing over her skin and washing away sweat. She jumped over cracks and massive boulders to the sound of screeching and brutish snarling.

/It's been a long day without you, my friend And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again/

The ground fell apart under the rain, sloughing into the ravine below as she leaped across. She skids over the stone and falls to her side, looking back to the opposite ledge. The horde comes to a dead stop, howling their dissent at their lost toy. Chapped lips part and sharp teeth gleam as she smiles smugly and gets up. Giving a parting wave she turns away from the swarm and saunters off to the end of the canyon.

/We've come a long way from where we began/

Still smiling she pulls out the picture again. Her smile softens as her clawed thumb strokes the cheek of a man with piercing blue eyes and a familiar black headband.

/Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again/

A heavy object cracks over her skull and her world goes dark. The photo flutters out of her grip, flying away in the wind.

"Marcus always sits in the back." Cole turned to Dom,"He really doesn't like talking to people does he?" He asked, taking a napkin and wiping off the excess sauce on the boy's mouth. He protested lightly, shaking his head in attempt to avoid a cleaning. Once his caretaker stopped he quickly returned to his food.

Dom shrugged,"Speaking from personal experience, no." He cast a glance back at the sergeant before chuckling,"But I see this time he has a visitor." Again the two COGs looked towards the back, watching as the small black haired girl trotted after him. She set her tray down onto the table and clambered onto the bench next to him. Marcus looked over as she shuffled closer to her tray, giving her some form of greeting,"Apparently he doesn't mind the company of a certain Kid."

Baird scoffed,"Of course he likes her. She's quiet, keeps to herself, level-headed most of the time. And of course, the piece de' resistance," He gestured with his fork,"She absolutely adores him. It's cute, really." The engineer frowned at the last of his meat, sliding it off onto the boy's plate. He smiled gleefully and dove in with a happy squeak. Cole laughed and Baird ruffled the boy's tawny locks muttering,"Easy there, Killer, it's not gonna run away."

Cole suddenly turned back to Dom,"If Marcus is a bull, does that make the Kid his calf?"

The other two COGs stopped in their tracks, looking back at the man that was once again in question. Kid had finished eating and had laid her head on the table, gazing up at Marcus. He glanced down at her before saying something and she made a sound in return. He seemed to sigh before cutting off a chunk of meat and offering it to her. She quickly accepted and bit it off the end of his fork, munching happily. He cut off another piece and offered it again, feeding her more food from his plate.

The three men turned towards each other again, staring silently before snickering and erupting into laughter. Cole smacked the table as he bellowed, rattling the dishware and disturbing the boy's eating as he looked at them in confusion. Baird leaned back in his seat cackling while Dom simply covered his face with his hand, looking back at the sergeant through the gaps in his fingers.

Marcus was completely unamused as his gaze was set on their table. Dom gave him a smile and shrugged, still giggling despite himself. Marcus flipped him off, setting his opposite hand on Kid's rising one to prevent her from copying him.

Baird finally gained control over himself, wiping a tear from his eye,"Well, whadaya know? I guess she really is his calf with how sappy he's bein' right now."

"Yeah. Never thought I'd see him like this." Dom agreed, setting his gaze back onto Marcus. Kid was straddling the bench as he fed her some beans, licking at the sauce around her mouth. The sergeant shook his head and muttered something. He set his fork down and grabbed her chin, ignoring her protesting as he scrubbed at her lips with a napkin.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, man. It's not every day he's that nice to someone." Cole said as he watched Marcus finish cleaning her up and feed her some more. Smiling, they all watched as the COG's attention was drawn to someone at another table behind the girl. Whoever it was must have said or done something the sergeant didn't like because he scowled in their direction, muttering what was probably an insult. He shook it off, bringing the girl's attention back to him as he fed her the rest of his rations.