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Waking up from the dead, was a special kind of bitch.Waking up looking like one of the things that killed you, was like stepping out of a nightmare.And waking up to find that your baby boy was now a hissing teenager dressed like he was auditioning for the part of Mowgli, was a headache all of its own.A migraine, really.He seemed to be getting a lot of those lately.Especially right now.Miles escaped. Again.Trying to, anyway.Boy might be feral as a starved stray, but he had guts, Quaritch could give him that much.And a stubborn streak to match.Both of which he probably got from his father, though the kid would rather impale himself than admit it.Hence, the escaping.Which had proven to be useless by the third time Quaritch or one of the other Recoms dragged his ass back to camp, kicking and screaming.At this point, Quaritch was pretty sure he kept trying just over the principle of the matter.Especially since he’s become fairly easier to find each time.“Fuckin’ hell,” Quaritch muttered as he stepped into some glowing green shit pile in the seemingly never ending forest, holding a pistol in one hand and a tracking device in the other.A little blinking red dot showed the tracker in the mask’s location, sitting in one spot a couple paces from where the Colonel was, having stopped minutes ago.Quaritch hoped Miles hadn’t tried ditching the mask and making a fool hearted break for it (hadn’t gone too well last time, two escape attempts ago).Although he doubted it.Junior might be stubborn as a mule, but he certainly wasn’t dumb as one. Another thing he got from his dearly departed old man.This new body might be in its prime, but Quaritch would soon be sporting his old silver fox look within days if the little shit kept this up.Speaking of which, Quaritch stopped when he spotted a head of dreadlocks sitting up on a boulder, idly carving some wood with a sharp rock.He really did look like a blond George of the Jungle. If George were on an alien planet with God-Eywa-whatever-the-fuck-you-wanna-call-it knows what hunting him down.Quaritch gritted the his teeth at the thought of some mutated panther pouncing on the kid. “Enjoying yourself there, boy?”Miles didn’t react, continuing to carve his crude little creation. “Maybe if I wasn’t being held captive by a glorified zombie, I would be.”Quaritch rolled his eyes. “You planning on gettin’ your ass back to camp, or should I drag you by the thong again?”That got the boy’s attention, earning himself one of Miles’ now famous contemptuous glares. “Fuck you, skxawng.”“How poetic, Shakespeare.”Miles furrowed his brows, mildly confused. “What?”“He was… nevermind.” Quaritch pocketed the tracker, putting the now free hand on his hip, head cocking. “So, what’s the plan here, Junior? Are you trying to annoy me into letting you go, because I have a whole squad of out-of-their-element-jarheads that know how to get on my nerves a lot faster than this.”“That’s not my name, dickhead.”The colonel narrowed his eyes. “Well dickhead isn’t my name either.”“Tough shit.”“And that’s exactly what you think you are, don’t ya?”Miles rolled his eyes with a scoff, continuing to carve the little doodad.Quaritch ground his teeth, frustrated by the whole damn thing. “I’m really not sure what you’re trying to accomplish at this point in the game. If you’re still waiting on a rescue, I’ve a feeling you’ll be waiting quite a while.”Miles jerked his head up, eyes filled with vitriol hatred so strong it practically burned. He may have gotten the brown in his eyes from Paz, but the fire was all Quaritch.Another thing seemed to burn in those eyes as well. A deep hurt that accompanied his loud lack of denial.Quaritch could see it on his face, the kid knew that no one was coming for him. The colonel wasn’t sure why that nagged and irritated at him so much, the fact that the blue faced bastards this kid was so frustratingly loyal to, had essentially left him for dead.It made his job easier, so it really shouldn’t bother him the way it did.Miles opened his mouth, hesitated a long moment, then closed it again as he swallowed his words, whatever they may have been. His would be son looked away again, whittling away at his new project.For someone who’s never minded long silences, this one was deafening.“Come on, boy.” Quaritch said, jabbing a thumb in the general direction of camp. “Let’s head back before one of those panther things shows up.”“They would save me if they thought they could. They wouldn’t just leave me.” Miles said without looking up, voice soft with little conviction for the first half, but more conviction with the latter. “I wouldn’t leave any of them.”The boy’s continued loyalty to the Sullies grated on his nerves, but he stomped it down, for now. Yelling at him every five minutes won’t do much to gain the kid’s trust and cooperation. Pick your battles, like they say.Miles swallowed, then looked him in the eye, stubborn conviction back full throttle. “I would leave you in a heartbeat. I would let you die if I had the chance.”That heavy nagging feeling that’s practically taken root in his chest since finding Miles again throbbed. Hurt, would be the weak way of putting it. Anger would be another way.Quaritch thought about the first and last time the other him- the real him- saw this boy. In a medical room at base, wrapped up in the arms of a woman he came close to loving. Two eyes looking at him with curious innocence, pure and untouched by one world or the other.Quaritch knew, especially then, that he was no father. But even so, that hurt nagging persisted with every barbed insult and attempted escape. Which was accompanied by a possessive need to keep the boy alive that, even he couldn’t deny, had nothing to do with the mission at hand.So, that’s probably why Quaritch found himself saying, “I wouldn’t do the same for you. And I would’ve shown up by now.”Miles frowned, studying him, clearly expecting more manipulation. Smart, only a fool would believe him under the circumstances.Even if it was true.After another moment of the scrutinization, the Colonel cleared his throat and tilted his head towards the camp, taking a step in its direction. “You come with me now without a fuss, and I won’t make you sleep handcuffed again.”Miles seemed to be shaken from his thoughts, and considered his options. Finally he jumped off the rock, holding onto the items in hand. He muttered something in na’vi, probably something Quaritch wouldn’t like hearing. He was tired enough to let it slide.Miles didn’t try to escape that night, or many nights after.