Fic snippets! This one's a bit of a long one...
More story snippets of the wretched beast that is Merrin!
Chapter: 720: Children Of War
“Now… who’s the poor soul standing guard now?” I mused to myself.
Heh, my second favorite Grineer behind Valdur.
“It’s early for you to be about, Tenno,” Assignator Korffel huffed, resting her rifle on her shoulder as I input the code to the door to the armory. “Is there an emergency, or do you just wish to go make love to that Mara’s Warframe?”
“That was once, and it was an accident!” I squeaked. “Gravity, y’know?”
She scoffed. “Of course, of course.” Her eyes narrowed a touch as the doors swished open. “Why are you up so early?”
I yawned, “You gonna report me to Ballas for being strange?”
“I’d be reporting you every time I saw you if that were the case.” She made a face, bucking the rifle from over her shoulder, slipping the magazine free. “Curiosity compels. Today was not quiet, plenty of chatter in the mess about you.”
"I... I lost control a bit, not that I really had much control over any of it." I pursed my lips as I stared at my Frame. “Gods, how does it even get dirty, the room’s airtight.”
“They don’t dust the ceilings,” Korffel smirked, “Knowing how you Tenno fight, that’s where you are most likely to be.”
“Fair enough.” I reached out, pressing my hand to the shin of the Excalibur, the harness holding it aloft disengaging, allowing it to slump to the floor. “So, what did they say about me in the mess?” I threw a look back at Korffel as she leaned against the door, keeping it open, keeping the fresh air pouring in.
She fluttered her lips, looking thoughtful. “There was some admiration that you managed to lay low two of your fellow Tenno with a handful of blows. There was horror at the look in your eyes. Emptiness, pure empty indifference as your fingers sank into the throat of another.”
I lifted the arm of the Excalibur, appraising the faint scoring on its bicep. “Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't me?”
“No… As well as you hide that pain, Tenno, the emptiness it brings is still quite apparent behind your eyes.”
“Well, the Zariman will do that to ya,” I whispered, letting the arm drop, “Watch everything you’ve ever known turn into blood and ash and fire, never be allowed a moment to grieve.” I crouched down, pulling my favorite little cleaning kit from a cubby. I soaked a cloth in a simple detergent, slowly running it across the Warframe’s skin. “The weight of that sorrow eventually begins to sink into you, y’know?” I looked over at her, “It presses into you, cutting through everything and leaving nothing behind.”
She took a deep breath, “I do know that pain, yes, Tenno, many of us Grineer do. But yours is different to ours, a special kind of heartbreaking.”
A little laugh popped from my mouth. “Oh gods, I’m heartbreaking?!” I looked over at her, she wasn't smiling. “So what?” I asked, continuing to wipe down the Excalibur. “So what if I’m so terrible to look at that the Grineer take pity? Why would the Grineer care about someone like me?”
Korffel took a deep breath, pushing from the door, letting it close behind her. “Because, though we clones live barely a few decades. Though we in the ranks of fodder are destined to throw our lives into the dirt upon the orders of the Orokin… We Grineer still feel sorrow when we see a child in pain.” She crouched down beside me, knees popping.
“I’m not a child,” I sniffed. “It doesn't matter what I am, regardless.”
“How old are you, Tenno Merrin?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I dunno.” I wasn't even lying, I’d genuinely forgotten.
Her hand reached out, gently taking my face, making me look at her. Her reddish eyes darted across my face. She had such gentle features, I’d never really taken notice before. With a sigh she let her hand fall, giving my shoulder a little shake.
“I was born on the eve of the first battle of Perita,” Korffel whispered. “I was among the first to set foot upon the accursed ground of that moon, and I was among the last to depart it when the peace was brokered. Eight years of bloodshed, of death, of fear…” Her brow furrowed as she looked at me. “It scares me, Tenno Merrin, to know you are younger than me, and to know that you have seen horrors it would drive me mad to comprehend.”
Oh, well that was exactly what I wanted to hear outta her!
I made a face, not really knowing what to say to that. “Huh… well… uhm… W- wanna help me clean?” I gestured to the Warframe. “It’s weirdly squishy.”
She nodded, the tiniest of smiles pulling at her narrow lips, “Indeed, I saw quite how far your face pressed into the chest of that Nova…”
