Flame's mother and Allvin's mate, Reef. She was around thirteen when she died of cancer.

Reef's birth name was Maya. She was born on Reach in 2539 to a group of traveling cats, led by her parents. She had two brothers, Inca and Aztec, named after the ancient Earth civilizations. She was originally born with golden markings (and powers I have yet to figure out), as a descendant of the crossed rates of the Forerunner cats, what became known as the Life-Warriors-- a mixed rate of the Lifeworker Cats ("Cloudpelts") and the Warrior-Servant Cats ("Bloodhearts").*

Her family was taken in by Andrew Carrigan Reef, a Sergeant in the UNSC who found the cats roaming around the military base he was stationed at. He kept them in his office, and was surprised when he went in one morning to find that Reef's mother had given birth to three kittens. While Aztec and Inca stayed mostly in the office and explored, Maya liked to follow Andrew around the base to the point where she was with him regularly. He took her to meet some of the men in his squad and took her around the base to show her what life in the UNSC was like.

Maya held no rank whatsoever within the military. Instead she was a companion to the Sergeant, just as her ancestors had been companions to the Forerunners. While she was still close to her family, she had developed a new, deeper bond with Andrew. By the time she was three she was with him full time, though she periodically went back to visit her family, who by then had moved out of the office and into a smaller shelter on the base.

When she was six and out hunting one day, Maya met six-year-old Allvin, who was out on one of his excursions to learn about humans. Their relationship at first was rocky, seeing as Maya was on base most days and had very little time to get out and Allvin had a group of cats to run. But they eventually figured it out, and Maya took Allvin around the base, giving him an opportunity to learn about humans, though he was suspicious of them. In turn, Allvin took Maya to visit his group of cats, though Maya thought their way of life was lawless and brutal compared to the strict, orderly life of the military. They never asked each other to stay, knowing they each had their own preferred way of life.

As a descendant of the Forerunner Cats, Allvin knew that Maya carried power from them, as did he. He told her that power was a part of them and made them who they were. Maya understood this, though she later denounced her power, lost her markings, and took the name Reef after Andrew had been killed in an off-planet space war with the Covenant.

No matter how much Reef pressed him, Allvin refused to call her by her new given name: “You can call yourself whatever you’d like,” he said, pressing his cheek against hers, “But you’ll always be Maya to me.”

They continued their relationship, and in late March of 2552 Reef gave birth to Allvin’s kits: Badger, Wasp, Lark, and Flame. He had no idea the kits were born, or his, until he helped Reef carry them to the Aszod shipyard, where they caught a Pelican bound for the Pillar of Autumn. Allvin stayed behind on Reach, knowing he had to help his own cats survive the fall of the planet. It was the last time Reef would ever see him: “Good-bye, Reef.”

Reef raised her children within the air vents of the battle cruiser, keeping them away from the humans at all costs, constantly reminded of her lost friend and broken bond. Still, she was helpless to protect her kits and further when Flame made full contact with the humans and began to form a bond with the ship’s captain and AI.

By the time her kits had reached on year old, she was beginning to fall ill. She ate less and less, vomited up whatever she did eat, and slept little. She wondered if it was her grief that was finally catching up to her. When her kits felt lumps under her skin, they knew she had to see the humans, no matter how much she refused. Wasp brought her down to a frequented walkway, where she was discovered by a human officer, and brought to the doctor stationed temporarily on the ship. The doctor was Dr. Halsey, someone Reef had met in her travels on Reach and knew well enough to call her a friend. Halsey took X-rays of Reef’s stomach and discovered a number of cancerous tumors in Reef’s stomach as well on her lungs and kidneys. Halsey offered to help Reef, who refused, and was instead content to be euthanized.

Halsey had no idea Flame was outside the infirmary when she was putting Reef to sleep. Reef did, and was content to let her drifted daughter be the last thing she saw.

---

I'm sorry if that little story made you cry at all.

As you can see, I've finally figured out a way to tie my felines into Halo so it doesn't look too much like "Here's a random cat who can do stuff with fire that doesn't even remotely relate to what's goind on around her." I'm sure I look like a raving lunatic, but this is the best I've got. Really, though, come on. If you had a magical-for lack of a better term-critter OC in something like Halo, how else would you tie it there? Make the ancestors the same way, more or less. Besides, who's to say the Forerunners didn't have some furry small four-legged companions with them? Hmm?

*Allvin is also a descendant of mixed-rate cats (Lifeworker x Juridical). He was born a black tabby with the power of black fire, a trait he passed down to Flame.

Reef/Maya and art (c) me