Colors (Crankiplier)

Chapter 15 :

"So what did it mean exactly?" I put another finished gas mask in the box, on top of the others and stretched out my arms and back.

"It's the utmost form of respect you can give to someone. It means that you trust them, that you would die for them and that you respect them all at once." Mark hummed.

"Now I wish I'd done it too. Don't want you to believe I don't think all of those things, you know?" I smiled at Mark's light-hearted tone.

"Our old Chief only got it once and it was when a few soldiers had died because of a mistake she made. She had been willing to quit her place as a Chief. She had even wanted to die. And she asked her soldiers to choose what would happen to her by either raising their thumbs up or down. And someone raised their fist as in to say 'we want you to fight with us, not anything else'. I was on the stage too this day and I remembered crying profusely." Every soldier working with us had gotten quiet when I had started speaking.

"So to see everyone raise their fist for me this time was very... Beautiful."

"How do you do that?" I raised a brow at Mark.

"Do what?"

"That! Where you start talking and just know what to say so that everyone listens to you." I felt myself blush. "I don't know. I don't do it on purpose." Mark chuckled. "I know! That's what infuriating with you!" A couple of soldiers laughed at our banter. "Shut up." I chuckled and looked just in time to see Mark roll his eyes.

-+-

"I swear! They really use a ruler to measure your roots and if they're more than a centimeter long, they throw you in prison."

"Fucking crazy bastards they are."

"You tell me."

I turned around the corner and was pleasantly surprised to see Mark surrounded by soldiers who were listening to what seemed to be tales from when he was in the ACH.

I smiled and watched him talking a bit more before intervening. "Not working I see? I wonder how I'll punish all of you." I tried to stay serious but the scared look on the soldiers' faces made me laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm glad you're getting to know Mark." Mark smiled at me.

"Do you want to sit down and listen to some of my stories? I swear at least some of them are fun." I chuckled but shook my head. "No thanks. I actually was searching for you. We need to talk about something." Mark frowned at that. "Nothing too bad I hope?"

"I do too. Now come please, you'll have loads of time later to tell some stories." Mark got up and started following me after having said bye to the soldiers.

"So, what's happening?" Mark said once we reached our tent.

I nodded at Nate and Mark finally noticed him. He wasn't a spy for nothing, his ability to make himself invisible was uncanny.

"Oh. Hey Nate." Nate nodded at him.

We sat down and I nodded at Nate again to get him talking.

"I was on a pathfinder mission as usual and I think I found an unlisted camp. It was on the South of the 31st base, down in the canyon. There seemed to be three tents. And it almost seemed like normal people were camping there if it hadn't been for the metal trapdoor badly hidden under one of the tents." I thanked Nate and turned to Mark.

"We were wondering if you might know something about this particular trap. Nate tried to open it but a code was needed." Mark hummed like he did when he was thinking hard about something.