#yeah to heck with I'm rusty... I'm RUST

[sohelish]

A small gift

The Pit of Heresy was one of the most unique places she’d ever been to. With an atmosphere so thick and potent that moving fast was a detriment unless you knew where you were going.

Many a time had Helena ventured deep into the corridors. Still, there were so many nooks and crannies to explore that she had to be extra careful in managing the rush and taking long breaks when necessary.

She paused right as she was on her way back after stalking a particularly pesky Hive Knight who’d been engaging in a weird ritual. She’d watched the creature closely from the shadows, taking note of its every move and the decisions it made, doing what Eris Morn had asked of her.

And then, after having spied sufficiently, like a complete creep - the irony! - she turned around and started on her journey upwards, which made her ghost particularly irritated.

‘I’m telling you,’ Hel sighed under her breath when she stopped to rest in a small dark alcove that would surely hide her from the passing-by Hive.

‘I’m not going to kill that Knight - no such instructions to begin with, plus, maybe we’re going to need to observe it more closely next time, who knows.’

‘Again, you leave the enemy standing.’ Izi the ghost’s shaky voice barely concealed its disappointment. ‘For what purpose? Is this a part of your brilliant “no-resurrection” theory? Haven’t you had enough of this tip-toeing? A month has passed since your last death. I have been monitoring your life signs, and nothing changed, mm? Hello? Ghost to Hel? You aren’t even listening!’

‘Shh, wait. Look over there. Do you see it?’

Farther on the other side, at the edge of a crevasse, the green glow rose from below in occasional bursts, illuminating the darker parts of the underground complex. In an odd moment, the foul light landed on something tiny and supposedly metallic in nature.

‘What? Uh? How did you... spot that?’

Helena narrowed her eyes and fell silent, clearly analysing the situation to the best of her abilities. 

After a while, she finally spoke up, sounding quite tired and rather contemplative, yet determined.

‘You know what? I do feel different. I don’t care what you think or what your data says. Now, come on. Let’s go check it out.’

She waved her hand, gesturing for the ghost to follow, and carefully exited her safe spot.

‘Hel, hold on. I think I hear heavy steps. I think an Ogre is coming---’

‘Relax,’ the woman checked her radar feed to find that, indeed, the red blip indicated an enemy was approaching. ‘Those poor bastards are pretty blind.’

She pulled up the HUD with the map to double-check the location, confirming a suspicion she'd had, before making her way to the shiny piece.

‘This one: won’t fight a Hive Knight. Will cross an Ogre’s path over a patch of reflected light!’

‘It might be more important than you realise. Just hide and get ready for the worst.’

One final glance to look around, a deep breath in to calm the nerves, a quick assessment of the terrain, and then the Guardian darted towards the edge, eyes firmly set on her target.

The Ogre’s sad wail pierced the stillness and echoed through the tunnels.

***

‘I gathered the intel you requested.’

Hel returned from the Pit, all worn and torn and covered in Hive remains. 

Ever so often, Eris would say: "the scent of the worm clings to you". However, in this situation, she failed to come up with anything. The Guardian's smell was that bad.

Therefore Eris simply scrunched her nose, turning around slightly, hoping that the present company might not notice.

‘I highly appreciate your assistance, Hunter.’

She hummed gratefully and nodded as Helena transferred all the info she’d brought.

‘Until we meet---’ 

‘There’s something---’

Both women let out awkward quiet laughs.

‘You were saying?’

‘There’s something else, Eris... that I thought might interest you.’

Having spoken those words, the Guardian began patting herself all over, almost as if she’d forgotten where she put the thing she was looking for. That was until she reached out to Eris and pretended to have pulled the trinket from behind her ear.

Hel grinned playfully, pushing a piece of a metal chain into her hand.

To a bystander, there wouldn’t have been anything special about the charm. It, most likely, used to be a part of an ornament, an attachment of some sort that fell off deep in the Hive undergrounds. Only, as soon as Helena had scarped the dirt off of some parts, she immediately recognised the design. It was very similar to the trinkets on Eris’s weapons.

Judging by the awestruck expression on the fellow woman’s face, she had been spot-on with her guess.

‘This--- this is--- It belonged to---’ Eris's voice trembled, hand firmly grasping the memento from the past.

‘Yeah, okay.’ That was her cue to get the heck out. ‘I’ve got to go. Zavala wanted me to check in on the Fallen near the Hellmouth. See you later.’

Gracing Eris with finger-guns, she swiftly turned around, intending to leave as quickly as possible.

‘Hel. Don’t---’

The pleading, caring tone made Hel’s whole soul twist, and she hesitated for a second.

‘Don’t--- die out there.’

The heaviness of the moment made the Guardian pick up the speed and retreat faster.