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World's End | Composing a Letter

Dear Shep,

Shep was not his big brother's name, but a nickname derived from a last name they shared. Their father had been called Shep, and so had his father. Gideon didn't mind that he didn't inherit the nickname. His brother and father and grandfather all shared a personality type: loud and confident and untamed. Gideon wasn't really any of these things. He was okay with it. He liked who he was.

Training is going alright. We've started in-field exercises. My unit is undefeated. I think Hennessy might have an aneurysm if we ever actually lose. I'm usually the medic, just like Jojo. I do okay, I think. Next week they're actually letting some julachids out in the field with us. I'm a little nervous. I'm sure you sympathize.

Not a total lie. Gideon's unit hadn't lost a war game yet, and his unit commander, Hennessy, was determined to keep it that way. But Gideon always left out the fact that his unit's success had very little to do with him. He was the team medic because he was an absolute disaster at everything else, and even then his medical skills were middling at best.

It didn't really bother him, but he didn't want to disappoint his big brother, whose unit was kind of a big deal at the training facility. Gideon didn't mind living in his big brother's shadow; he'd been in it his whole life. His main concern was that he didn't discredit the family name.

We have the next weekend off. Mom and Dad are still out on their annual roadtrip, so I was wondering if I could come stay with you. I know that you just got a bunch of new people at the base, and I understand if there isn't room. I just haven't seen you in a while, and I miss you.

Their parents, both brilliant hunters in their time, took a road trip across the country every year, and it wasn't so much a road trip as it was a safari. According to their father, hunters like them didn't change. They either stayed on top of the game, or their skills faded, but a hunter was a hunter was a hunter. Gideon wondered if Shep would join them one day.

He knew that he himself never would. If by some miracle he made it out of training, he couldn't see himself picking up the life forever. He wanted to be a chef or a gardener or own a bookstore. He was a lousy hunter, and it was the last thing that he wanted to do, but he felt a sense of obligation to at least try it out for a while. And, really, more than anything else, he just missed his big brother.

Write me back and let me know. Tell your outfit that I'd be glad to help with the cooking and cleaning detail while I'm there. If it's okay, I can catch the next supply truck out. You don't even have to come get me. Anyway, I have to go. It's getting kinda late, and I don't want a julachid catching me off guard tomorrow just because I'm sleepy.

With love,

Squish

Gideon really hoped that he'd be allowed to visit. Maybe submersing himself in a real hunter unit would give him some perspective about the life that he'd been missing, give him the motivation that he'd been looking for. If nothing else, at least he'd get to see Shep and Jonas.

#World's End #Stand Alone #Composing a Letter #Gideon Sheppard