If war were a game that a man or a child Could think of winning [Open]

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel staggered out and away from the sensorium pod, clutching her bruised jaw. Blood pooled between her teeth, coppery and salty in her mouth and she swallowed it.

There was a special kind of humiliation that came with being physically bested and though Lafiel knew she was in the right, it still stung.

Master Chief or Captain Kirk would have known what do immediately, but she had only exacerbated the situation. She knew this to be her own fault. The punch had been a predictable consequence of her actions.

She couldn't even curse for fear of spitting more blood.

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[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel sighed. "You weren't out of line. Do you think me ignorant of human nature? If I told you the name you would go out and seek revenge or threaten or find some other way to protect me. And if General Antilles ordered you not to, you would find a way to skirt the letter of his order. And this is a battle I have to fight on my own." Although the concern was not unappreciated. This level of candidness in personal matters was probably new to anyone who knew her...

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Kelly shrugged at that, not looking at the girl. "People like that don't learn. They just keep making the same mistakes, hurting people, because in their minds they have a right to." She ran a hand down her face in frustration. Everything the Abh was saying made sense, but she didn't want to hear it. She had a right to be worried and protective. Her jaw clenched and unclenched slowly. "So you expect me to sit by and do nothing when someone hits you?"

She flung a hand out toward the Sensorium Lafiel had emerged from. "Someone needs to teach these people that every action has a consequence."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

"And that will come through the proper channels. I appreciate your concern and I feel much safer with you around but please, i'm asking you to not pursue this any further." Where she more the type, Lafiel would have grabbed that outstretched hand and pulled it down to squeeze it for extra emphasis. She looked up with big pleading eyes. A career spent under the microscope had made Lafiel's need to not be favored in any way almost compulsive.

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Her fists clenched at her sides, and for a moment she had to resist the urge to lash out and hit something. Break something. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. She hated it when Lafiel looked at her like that. "Fine. If that's what you want. But If it happens again, I'm finding them, whoever they are, and I'm breaking them in half."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

"Thank you. I should have known better. This isn't the first command i've failed at." Lafiel took every single small mistake to heart. Every little bit she internalized, comparing it against the records of what Abriels had accomplished, perpetually finding herself short. "Master Chief wouldn't have allowed that to happen."

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Kelly looked down at the little Abh for a moment longer. Letting out a quiet sigh, she slid one arm under her and lifted her off her feet easily. It was the Spartan's equivalent of a hug, Lafiel. Deal with it. "You're young. People make mistakes." At the comment about John though, she pursed her lips, frowning slightly. "John is a strong leader, but he's sacrificed a lot to be that. Sometimes I think he had to give up too much. You'll learn. Don't beat yourself up over a small mistake."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel didn't squirm in Kelly's grip. She'd come to accept it as part of Kelly's company. She leaned into those comforting, muscly arms."I can't afford them anymore. I am the last Abriel. What I do reflects on us as a species. I have to be as good as him...Or you. Or Mister Kennedy." There was a Not So Different in this somewhere...

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

When Lafiel leaned against her, she paused, looking down at the mop of blue hair resting against her arm for a moment before bringing her other arm up to the Abh's back. "No one expects you to be perfect overnight. It takes a lifetime to learn. Pushing yourself is good, but not if you don't take heed of your limits." She raised a hand to pet the girl's hair gently. "Understand?"