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Mikah is an enigma to Aneska.
The thief is well-known for her constant talking and overall loudness, a trait that would automatically deem her completely intolerable to the ex-Division soldier.
But sometimes alongside the extreme annoyance it causes, the loudness can do some good as well.
~~~
The symphony of gunfire rings through the woman's ears, this recon mission was going very south very fast. Schneider's new drone was out of commission, the bright colors of it causing it to be shot down almost immediately. Aneska shakes her head at the thought, she assumed that someone so intelligent with technology would have common sense as well, seems she was wrong.
Icarus' left wing had chosen to break about right off the Beluga, leading him to be on foot for the entirety of the raid. It didn't seem to be much of a problem for him then, but now Division soldiers have him backed into a corner with no escape options.
Aneska herself isn't in a better situation, taking cover behind a metal supply crate and hoping the bullets don't decide to break through it.
And Mikah is nowhere to be found.
She hopes that she makes an appearance sooner than later, Icarus is slowly but surely being overwhelmed, Schneider is defenseless without his drone and Cortez can't reach them inside the Division freight ship.
A voice screeches through the gunfire, causing it to cease.
"Hey! Over here!"
The accented voice is clearly the missing thief's, she fires her assault rifle into the air, trying to get the soldiers' attention. They turned off Aneska and the other Raiders' positions to focus on the lone woman, and as soon as the troops were aware of her presence she bolted down one of the ship's many hallways.
The simple-minded Division soldiers decide to follow her instead of pushing the other Raiders; that action causes Aneska to wonder how the Division made it this far.
"Mikah, what are you thinking?!"
Icarus' worried voice sounds over the comms in Aneska's earpiece, he was leading the raid and had promised Harec no injuries, let alone casualties!
"My plan is foolproof, Mikah promises!"
Her shrill voice answers back quickly, she sounds excited, ready to show off this "foolproof" plan of hers.
It doesn't seem like a minute until she's back in the main room under the ship's deck with the other Raiders.
"We better get topdeck, I rigged the boiler to explode!"
She laughs, ecstatic that her idea has been successful so far. Schneider's cackle echoes off the ship's metal walls, and Icarus just smiles and shakes his head.
"Well, Schneider, I hope you acquired all the data we needed, 'cause if you didn't Harec will tear you a new one."The doctor's question causes the hacker to scoff, like the sentence alone was disrespectful to him.
"I can't believe you would doubt me, Wings."
The team makes their way to the topdeck quite quickly after that, wanting to get as far away from the boiler room as possible.
The deck of the airship is swarming with troops, blissfully unaware of the Raiders' appearance and of the shortly coming dismissal of their ship.
Alarms from the boiler room start to ring, and all eyes are on them.
Aneska thinks she couldn't be with a better team.
Mikah included.
~~~
The positive energy was carried all the way back to base, Mikah sporting a smile the whole time. Aneska herself was more than satisfied with the outcome of the raid, getting to destroy Division property was enjoyable for everyone, including her.
A lot of the Raiders decided to unwind in the main control room, the successful assignment giving everyone high spirits.
Konstantin and Harec were analyzing the data Schneider stole earlier, picking through useless reports to find important base locations and security plans. Icarus sits on the part of the long desk that's not a screen to watch them work, tail feathers swaying with the music Schneider has playing.
Aneska doesn't recognize the song, but it seems to have the whole room buzzing with energy. Lycus is tapping his boot to the beat, Ayana is nodding her head with the music, and Mikah is humming along with the lyrics. Even Harec's usually reserved disposition seemed to relax with the room's atmosphere.
When Aneska was still working for the Division she thought that the Raiders were heartless mercenaries being led by a just as heartless leader. But she's only been here two weeks at most, just observing, watching how they talk, how they treat each other, and she realizes she was very incorrect. On the battlefield they're ruthless, fighting like wolves the thought of mercy only occurs towards their own pack. Now that the Raiders are right in front of her, exposed and vulnerable, she sees that they're all just people. People that are just fighting to live, to survive.
Quiet footsteps break her out of her reverie, looking up from the weapon she was repairing to see dark, hazel eyes looking into hers. The proximity of them makes her body tense and ready to strike. Mikah can see the change in the woman's body language, jumping back to quickly give her some space.
"Oh, Sorry!"
The thief shows an awkward smile and rubs the back of her neck, showing she means no harm. The expression seemed to be contagious however, causing Aneska's face to soften and almost smile as well.
"Can I sit with you?"
Mikah gestures towards the makeshift bench Aneska is sitting on. The taller nods and moves over to give the shorter some room, but Mikah decides to sit on the floor instead, resting her back against the front of the metal crate. Seeing the eccentric woman finally stop chattering and fidgeting was very uncommon.
"The objective you completed today was quite impressive."
Aneska murmurs, trusting Mikah's sensitive ears to hear her. The shorter's face lights up a pale pink in retaliation, alongside a huge smile lighting it up even more. She can't tear her lilac eyes away from the thief's face, her heart skips a beat and something in Aneska's mind changes. She doesn't understand what's happening to her, she can't pinpoint the reason her body is reacting this way. The feeling is new, something she's never felt before. A soldier like her shouldn't be having errors like this, shouldn't be feeling the way she does. But…
Aneska thinks she can make a change.
~~~
It's late, the broken planet's minimal fauna around the temple have started their nightly song. Most of the raiders have chosen to retire to their respective areas in the temple, except for Konstantin, wanting to completely finish going through the data acquired earlier.
Aneska can't sleep, her body is exhausted from the strain put on her through the day but she just can't put her mind to rest.
A soft breeze brushes her hair out of her eye, the temple's roof is where she's residing for the night, the temperature being perfectly comfortable for the occasion. The stars seem to be full of life, twinkling brightly above her. And the position of the detached island the ancient stone structure is on causes the rest of the shattered planet to be visible.
She thinks it's beautiful. It's nothing like the forest she usually pictures when she thinks of beauty, but it's stunning in its own right. Cracks of the planet look like veins running through it, and they bleed like veins as well. The open wounds glow eerily as the Aleph escapes into the atmosphere, truly representing the planet and people who live there.
Living on borrowed time.
Aneska was mostly apathetic to the situation, working for Harec caused her to care more than she used to. But when working for the Division she didn't really have any compassion for anything, except for how efficiently she put Division competitors in the ground.
Now that she's broken away from Krausher's tight clutches she can see the world around her. See the people that live on this planet, the people trying to protect it with everything they can.
No matter how much she trains, no matter how many people's lives she's ended, she realizes that she will never reach that level of strength, that level of bravery.
Her daydreaming habits have grown considerably with all the free time she's had around the temple, being so enraptured with her own thoughts the nearly silent footsteps go unheard behind her.
Out of instinct Aneska whips around before the hand lands on her shoulder, getting off her feet in less then a second. She's across the stone roof before even knowing who was behind her.
"Woah!"A familiar voice exclaims, a small laugh behind the word.
"Been really good at scaring you today, huh?"
Mikah has an apologetic smile on, demeanor quiet and calm. Aneska didn't think that was possible, almost thinking one of Beherit's minions had infiltrated their base. Looking into the shorter's eyes she finds that it really is Mikah after all.
"You are very skilled in thievery, I would expect nothing less from you."
Aneska's attitude softens, slightly calming at Mikah's presence. This is new for the soldier too, she doesn't remember the last time she unclenched her jaw or relaxed her shoulders.
Mikah giggles and shakes her head at the taller's statement, she sits down at the edge of the roof with her legs dangling off the side. Looking back at Aneska who's slowly approaching to take her own spot at the roof back, she smiles.
Aneska has the wind knocked out of her.
The smile is so big and bright Mikah's eyes are squeezed shut, and her teeth are showing. The soldier thinks that this is getting ridiculous, her main living functions stuttering and staggering over a smile.
She sits down next to the thief, leaving about a foot of space in between them. The shorter's eyes close, seeming to rest in the uncommonly calm environment. Aneska tilts her head, watching the woman breathe, watching her fingers twitch, watching her live.
Another giggle rings through the air, breaking the comfortable silence that rested around them. She assumes she was caught staring, and whips her head back around, face pink and embarrassed.
"Aneska, how long do you plan on staying?"
The question stirs up the calm mood like a stone stirring up sediment. She thinks back to the page of that book she found, where the first part said that Mikah wanted to go home. Home. Aneska has no home, and with nowhere to go, she has no answer to the question either.
Then she thinks about the other half of the page.
'Mikah will be friends with Aneska, no matter how long it takes!'
Aneska has never had a friend before. She has no idea how 'friends' work, or how to maintain a relationship of that stature. Are the unknown feelings she's having have to do with friendship, or something else? But as she thinks about it, it doesn't really seem so bad. Someone to rely on on this mess of a planet, someone to confide in.
Someone to trust.
"A little while longer I suppose."
And she means every word she says.
~~~
Mikah is still an enigma to Aneska.
One that's becoming clearer and clearer as the days pass. She hopes that one day, she'll get to really see Mikah, really understand her.
She hopes that one day, before this rotting planet finally fades away, that Mikah will have the same malfunctions and errors that Aneska has for her.
She hopes that one day she and Mikah can go home, together.