#(but i draw the first one before even knowing tenno can see their own warframe so. whatever.)

[kaiserouo]

um

he's literally the only thing i draw today

[ivara-is-my-friend]

it is when max and @canadiangold‘s tin meet the first time!!!!

Maxis is still growing accustomed to her new life and its... adventures. Rewiring her brain to perceive former enemies that she’d shoot on sight as now allies she’d fight for was one of the trickier things. Between her and Hush, she still reflexively scoped in on any distant Grineer heads that meandered in front of her Argonak. But she never, ever pulled the trigger. Not anymore.

Rewiring her brain to perceive the Tenno as enemies, her former brothers and sisters under the Lotus, was harder. Formerly fighting alongside them and their Warframes, now targeting them in particular when on a mission. Hush, Trouvaille, and Maxis were the Hounds’ best bet against any interfering Tenno forces. 

Fortunately, so far that hasn’t been an issue. Corpus infiltrations were easy enough to do with Hush’s abilities, so even if a Tenno did show, they were usually finished with their task at hand before any others arrived.

“Maxis. Can you see the vault yet?” Her commander, Zus, grunted through her comm link.

“Not quite,” she whispers back from the spot they’d taken for now: under a set of stairs, squished behind crates and barrels of miscellaneous goods. “We need to proceed further down the hallway to the side, and it should be there.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” Former Tenno ways of running rampant into Corpus facilities and ships granted Max the knowledge of the basic layouts of the buildings. Corpus seemed to be rather unimaginative in their architecture, at least in these cases. The same patterns repeated over and over; the same room layouts recycled for efficiency and savings, probably.

“You’re lucky I’m lenient,” Zus mutters. “You’re rather informal with your speaking.”

Max flushes under the cover of her facemask, but her eyes go wide. “Sorry,” she stammers quietly. “Uh, sir.”

“Cut that out. Get what you’re doing done; we can focus on mannerisms some other time.” The link beeps as the line is cut.

Hush peers at Max, still fidgeting nervously after the communication from her commander. Trouvaille swirls an ear to face her, but stays focused on the doorway nearest to them.

“It’s...nothin’,” Max whispers, brushing off Hush’s concern.

Hush doesn’t seem to believe her, but does look away.

Oh, great. This is, what, my third mission? And I’m already pissing the commander off.

She shakes her head to rattle the thoughts out. “Hush, you know the plan?” Her Ivara Warframe nods, rifling through her quiver for the correct arrows.

“Trouvaille.” The kubrow, snaps to attention, going stock-still. “Heel.” He slinks over to Max’s feet, and lies in wait. 

Hush cloaks herself in Prowl silently, then quickly tags an arrow onto Maxis and Trouvaille to render them unseen for a short period.

“Okay. Keep them distracted, yeah?” A nod from Hush. “Let’s roll.”

Max prides herself on how silently she could move when she wants to. It’s part of what convinced the Hounds to take her little trio in, under the guise of working for intelligence infiltrations. Hush is always silent, no matter what she did. Hush could fire off a deafening shotgun and enemies would still be left trying to figure out where the noise had come from. Trouvaille was surprisingly quiet as well, figuring out how to walk on the pads of his paws to stay silent. He also worked up a near-imperceptible series of noises to signal Maxis and Hush: a low growl, a quick huff, a muted grunt, a quiet whuff. 

Crewmen mill around in the hallway they slither through, oblivious that they’d been infiltrated in the first place. Still, Hush kept a noise arrow ready for use.

“There’s the vault,” Max whispers mostly to herself. Hush knew the fact. Trouvaille... doesn't care. Trouvaille just wants Max safe.

They sidle into the entrance to the vault, the outer door swishing shut behind them as the cloak arrows wear off and Hush comes out of Prowl.

“Uh…” Max stares at the console.

The screen is green.

The vault is unlocked. Why is it unlocked? Who’s in there?

Trouvaille’s fur bristles as he gives a warning snarl. Hush is on alert as well, Artemis Bow ready to harm rather than disguise.

“We don’t know who it is yet,” Max worries. “Just...keep your trigger-finger off the trigger for now.”

Hush nods warily, but cloaks her Operator and kubrow again.

“You keep an eye out for company. Trouvaille and I will go to the target console.”

Hush slips into the vault and goes one way, while Max and Trouvaille go the other. The vault is eerily silent and dormant. No guards wandered their patrol routes. No security cameras hummed as they scan the area. Even the laser grids seem to have been disabled.

Max is naive, but certainly not dumb.

A shape moves inside the tiny walled-off area the console is hidden in. Ah. There’s our company.

“Hush, they’re at the console. Distract them.”

Hush breaks open a vent grate, using the clattering of metal bars to jump in the vent unnoticed. The shape by the console freezes.

Still cloaked, Max and Trouvaille round a corner and enter the tiny room. The tension is damn near palpable with how close they all are. Hush purposefully rustles in the vents above them, the stranger--a Warframe? A Saryn Prime, by the looks of it--looking up to follow the noise.

Oh, no. Max’s stomach sinks and her heart chills. Please, no. Not now.

The Saryn Prime draws a Tiberon Prime, slowly raising it to aim at the grates above them with a few steps to the side.

Get in there. Max slinks up to the console, nimble fingers working quickly over the screen to unlock the data within. 

She’s just finishing up the hack when Trouvaille snarls, deep and guttural and threatening.

And then the Prime bodily runs in to the cloaked Operator.

“What the--?” A surprised female voice emanates from the Warframe as it swings its rifle in Max’s general direction. “Who’s there? Show yourself, now. We know you’re here.”

For crying out loud, this is just my luck, Max laments to herself. Of course it’s another Warframe, one that can melt their armor off in seconds. Of course it’s another Operator that’s mastered actual Transference, making the link between Warframe and Operator stronger and more flexible. 

Trouvaille is still bristling and growling as the cloak arrows wear off at the contact.

Max gawks at the Saryn Prime, finger on the trigger of her Argonak to at least provide cover if needed.

“You’re... what, a competitor?” The Saryn’s voice sounds like how a smirk looks.

Maxis says nothing, eyes narrowing suspiciously, finger still on the trigger.

“You are a Tenno, right?” 

Max doesn’t respond. 

“Where’s your Warframe, then?”

Max stays silent, glaring.

“You’re not very friendly, you know.” The Saryn declares as she holsters the Tiberon.

Max falters, eyebrows raising for a split second.

“Oh, that got you? Hurt your feelings?”

The Saryn Prime stands still, arms at her side, for a moment. Her Operator swiftly Transfers out of the Warframe, and stands proudly, arrogantly before the intruders, a full seven inches taller than Maxis. The Saryn crosses her arms as she stands behind the other Tenno, reinforcing the intimidating image.

“You gonna hand that data over?” She asks cockily.

Max glares again as Trouville growls.

“A little kubrow to watch your back instead of a Warframe, then?” The other Operator peers closer at the canine. “A Grineer patch…? You’re allied with the Grineer?” She asks incredulously. 

Max anxiously shifts her weight on her feet.

“You’ve got the patch too. You’re allied with them?”

Silence.

“Interesting... How about we strike a deal.” She says with faux-earnesty. “Give me that data from the console, and I’ll let you scamper back to your pack of dogs you’ve somehow managed to worm into.”

Maxis’ hand tightens around the small datamass with all the information on it. 

“I’ll admit, I admire your gall.” She steps closer, Trouvaille’s growl growing in volume. “Give it over. I’m trying to help you out, here. A scathing scolding from your superior would be preferable to death, no?”

Hush snaps out of the vent above them, slamming into the ground between the two Tenno. The Saryn Prime flinches, but readies herself, pulling her Operator back towards her to safety. Hush mimics the motion.

“An Ivara for a spy mission? Cliche, but smart, I suppose.”

A commotion raises from outside the vault. Voices and footsteps nearing quickly.

“Last chance, sweetheart. Hand it over.”

Hush seems damn near about to burst into flame at the anger radiating off of her form. Before she can act, the entrance door to the vault whooshes open, an unruly herd of Crewmen barging in and shouting.

“Lovely,” the Operator mutters as she Transfers back into her Saryn Prime. She looks curiously at Maxis when she doesn’t do the same with Hush. “You go on your own? That’s courageous, I’ll admit.”

Max ignores what the non-sensible part of her mind is spewing. Her looks. Say she looks nice. Ask if she wants to meet up in a different environment. Be her friend. Make a friend. Be nice. Just--

A firm huff of air clears her head. “Hush, get back to the vents and sleep arrow some of those Crewmen.” Hush obeys immediately, leaping back up to the displaced grate to round the vents and throw out a sleep arrow. The arrow hits the ground with a tunk, and the Crewmen in the immediate area slump over.

Involuntarily, Max throws a hand over her shoulder, ushering the Saryn Prime out.

“No need to tell me what to do,” the Operator’s voice rings out of the Warframe. “I can handle myself just fine.” She charges out of the vault, swinging a strange sword in strong backhanded strikes. The Warframe quickly infects a few unfortunate targets with spores that rapidly festered and strengthened as they spread.

But they did not affect Max, or Hush, or Trouvaille.

Be touched about the act of kindness later.

Hush flies down from the vent, clearing a path for the other spies to scamper through. 

To her surprise, the other Warframe and Operator didn’t simply blast ahead of them, knock over soldiers as they make their escape. Of course not; she still wants that data. 

“You guys coming or what?”

Hush grabs Max by the arm and drags her forward, Trouvaille scurrying along beside them. As they ran, more spores were spread, more Crewmen literally corroded away before Max’s eyes.

She shudders to herself. She was used to seeing and causing death, but it didn’t mean she was okay with it. And certainly not when it was this... gruesome.

“So, now that we’re here,” the Saryn Prime skids to a stop in an open room where Crewmen haven’t gathered yet. “Data? Now? Please? Pretty please?”

“Uh--” Maxis answers for the first time, before Hush picks her up bodily and runs.

“No worries, cutie, I’m sure we’ll meet again! You better hope I’m still in a good mood when we do!”

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about how she called you ‘cutie’ and ‘sweetheart’ and complimented you on being ‘courageous’.

“I see it’s gone loud in there.” Zus unamused voice remarks over the comm link. “Did it not go so well?”

“There, ah, there was,” Max stutters out as she’s jostled, “there was another Tenno in there. In the vault.”

“Did you get the data?”

“Yeah, that’s intact.”

“Perfect. Get back out here and we’ll pick you all up and head back.”

Oh, you’re in for it, one way or another, Maxis.

[softly-mossy]

owowowowo max comes across tin for the first time. have mercy on my soul

Maxis is still growing accustomed to her new life and its... adventures. Rewiring her brain to perceive former enemies that she’d shoot on sight as now allies she’d fight for was one of the trickier things. Between her and Hush, she still reflexively scoped in on any distant Grineer heads that meandered in front of her Argonak. But she never, ever pulled the trigger. Not anymore.

Rewiring her brain to perceive the Tenno as enemies, her former brothers and sisters under the Lotus, was harder. Formerly fighting alongside them and their Warframes, now targeting them in particular when on a mission. Hush, Trouvaille, and Maxis were the Hounds’ best bet against any interfering Tenno forces. 

Fortunately, so far that hasn’t been an issue. Corpus infiltrations were easy enough to do with Hush’s abilities, so even if a Tenno did show, they were usually finished with their task at hand before any others arrived.

“Maxis. Can you see the vault yet?” Her commander, Zus, grunted through her comm link.

“Not quite,” she whispers back from the spot they’d taken for now: under a set of stairs, squished behind crates and barrels of miscellaneous goods. “We need to proceed further down the hallway to the side, and it should be there.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” Former Tenno ways of running rampant into Corpus facilities and ships granted Max the knowledge of the basic layouts of the buildings. Corpus seemed to be rather unimaginative in their architecture, at least in these cases. The same patterns repeated over and over; the same room layouts recycled for efficiency and savings, probably.

“You’re lucky I’m lenient,” Zus mutters. “You’re rather informal with your speaking.”

Max flushes under the cover of her facemask, but her eyes go wide. “Sorry,” she stammers quietly. “Uh, sir.”

“Cut that out. Get what you’re doing done; we can focus on mannerisms some other time.” The link beeps as the line is cut.

Hush peers at Max, still fidgeting nervously after the communication from her commander. Trouvaille swirls an ear to face her, but stays focused on the doorway nearest to them.

“It’s...nothin’,” Max whispers, brushing off Hush’s concern.

Hush doesn’t seem to believe her, but does look away.

Oh, great. This is, what, my third mission? And I’m already pissing the commander off.

She shakes her head to rattle the thoughts out. “Hush, you know the plan?” Her Ivara Warframe nods, rifling through her quiver for the correct arrows.

“Trouvaille.” The kubrow, snaps to attention, going stock-still. “Heel.” He slinks over to Max’s feet, and lies in wait. 

Hush cloaks herself in Prowl silently, then quickly tags an arrow onto Maxis and Trouvaille to render them unseen for a short period.

“Okay. Keep them distracted, yeah?” A nod from Hush. “Let’s roll.”

Max prides herself on how silently she could move when she wants to. It’s part of what convinced the Hounds to take her little trio in, under the guise of working for intelligence infiltrations. Hush is always silent, no matter what she did. Hush could fire off a deafening shotgun and enemies would still be left trying to figure out where the noise had come from. Trouvaille was surprisingly quiet as well, figuring out how to walk on the pads of his paws to stay silent. He also worked up a near-imperceptible series of noises to signal Maxis and Hush: a low growl, a quick huff, a muted grunt, a quiet whuff. 

Crewmen mill around in the hallway they slither through, oblivious that they’d been infiltrated in the first place. Still, Hush kept a noise arrow ready for use.

“There’s the vault,” Max whispers mostly to herself. Hush knew the fact. Trouvaille... doesn't care. Trouvaille just wants Max safe.

They sidle into the entrance to the vault, the outer door swishing shut behind them as the cloak arrows wear off and Hush comes out of Prowl.

“Uh…” Max stares at the console.

The screen is green.

The vault is unlocked. Why is it unlocked? Who’s in there?

Trouvaille’s fur bristles as he gives a warning snarl. Hush is on alert as well, Artemis Bow ready to harm rather than disguise.

“We don’t know who it is yet,” Max worries. “Just...keep your trigger-finger off the trigger for now.”

Hush nods warily, but cloaks her Operator and kubrow again.

“You keep an eye out for company. Trouvaille and I will go to the target console.”

Hush slips into the vault and goes one way, while Max and Trouvaille go the other. The vault is eerily silent and dormant. No guards wandered their patrol routes. No security cameras hummed as they scan the area. Even the laser grids seem to have been disabled.

Max is naive, but certainly not dumb.

A shape moves inside the tiny walled-off area the console is hidden in. Ah. There’s our company.

“Hush, they’re at the console. Distract them.”

Hush breaks open a vent grate, using the clattering of metal bars to jump in the vent unnoticed. The shape by the console freezes.

Still cloaked, Max and Trouvaille round a corner and enter the tiny room. The tension is damn near palpable with how close they all are. Hush purposefully rustles in the vents above them, the stranger--a Warframe? A Saryn Prime, by the looks of it--looking up to follow the noise.

Oh, no. Max’s stomach sinks and her heart chills. Please, no. Not now.

The Saryn Prime draws a Tiberon Prime, slowly raising it to aim at the grates above them with a few steps to the side.

Get in there. Max slinks up to the console, nimble fingers working quickly over the screen to unlock the data within. 

She’s just finishing up the hack when Trouvaille snarls, deep and guttural and threatening.

And then the Prime bodily runs in to the cloaked Operator.

“What the--?” A surprised female voice emanates from the Warframe as it swings its rifle in Max’s general direction. “Who’s there? Show yourself, now. We know you’re here.”

For crying out loud, this is just my luck, Max laments to herself. Of course it’s another Warframe, one that can melt their armor off in seconds. Of course it’s another Operator that’s mastered actual Transference, making the link between Warframe and Operator stronger and more flexible. 

Trouvaille is still bristling and growling as the cloak arrows wear off at the contact.

Max gawks at the Saryn Prime, finger on the trigger of her Argonak to at least provide cover if needed.

“You’re... what, a competitor?” The Saryn’s voice sounds like how a smirk looks.

Maxis says nothing, eyes narrowing suspiciously, finger still on the trigger.

“You are a Tenno, right?” 

Max doesn’t respond. 

“Where’s your Warframe, then?”

Max stays silent, glaring.

“You’re not very friendly, you know.” The Saryn declares as she holsters the Tiberon.

Max falters, eyebrows raising for a split second.

“Oh, that got you? Hurt your feelings?”

The Saryn Prime stands still, arms at her side, for a moment. Her Operator swiftly Transfers out of the Warframe, and stands proudly, arrogantly before the intruders, a full seven inches taller than Maxis. The Saryn crosses her arms as she stands behind the other Tenno, reinforcing the intimidating image.

“You gonna hand that data over?” She asks cockily.

Max glares again as Trouville growls.

“A little kubrow to watch your back instead of a Warframe, then?” The other Operator peers closer at the canine. “A Grineer patch…? You’re allied with the Grineer?” She asks incredulously. 

Max anxiously shifts her weight on her feet.

“You’ve got the patch too. You’re allied with them?”

Silence.

“Interesting... How about we strike a deal.” She says with faux-earnesty. “Give me that data from the console, and I’ll let you scamper back to your pack of dogs you’ve somehow managed to worm into.”

Maxis’ hand tightens around the small datamass with all the information on it. 

“I’ll admit, I admire your gall.” She steps closer, Trouvaille’s growl growing in volume. “Give it over. I’m trying to help you out, here. A scathing scolding from your superior would be preferable to death, no?”

Hush snaps out of the vent above them, slamming into the ground between the two Tenno. The Saryn Prime flinches, but readies herself, pulling her Operator back towards her to safety. Hush mimics the motion.

“An Ivara for a spy mission? Cliche, but smart, I suppose.”

A commotion raises from outside the vault. Voices and footsteps nearing quickly.

“Last chance, sweetheart. Hand it over.”

Hush seems damn near about to burst into flame at the anger radiating off of her form. Before she can act, the entrance door to the vault whooshes open, an unruly herd of Crewmen barging in and shouting.

“Lovely,” the Operator mutters as she Transfers back into her Saryn Prime. She looks curiously at Maxis when she doesn’t do the same with Hush. “You go on your own? That’s courageous, I’ll admit.”

Max ignores what the non-sensible part of her mind is spewing. Her looks. Say she looks nice. Ask if she wants to meet up in a different environment. Be her friend. Make a friend. Be nice. Just--

A firm huff of air clears her head. “Hush, get back to the vents and sleep arrow some of those Crewmen.” Hush obeys immediately, leaping back up to the displaced grate to round the vents and throw out a sleep arrow. The arrow hits the ground with a tunk, and the Crewmen in the immediate area slump over.

Involuntarily, Max throws a hand over her shoulder, ushering the Saryn Prime out.

“No need to tell me what to do,” the Operator’s voice rings out of the Warframe. “I can handle myself just fine.” She charges out of the vault, swinging a strange sword in strong backhanded strikes. The Warframe quickly infects a few unfortunate targets with spores that rapidly festered and strengthened as they spread.

But they did not affect Max, or Hush, or Trouvaille.

Be touched about the act of kindness later.

Hush flies down from the vent, clearing a path for the other spies to scamper through. 

To her surprise, the other Warframe and Operator didn’t simply blast ahead of them, knock over soldiers as they make their escape. Of course not; she still wants that data. 

“You guys coming or what?”

Hush grabs Max by the arm and drags her forward, Trouvaille scurrying along beside them. As they ran, more spores were spread, more Crewmen literally corroded away before Max’s eyes.

She shudders to herself. She was used to seeing and causing death, but it didn’t mean she was okay with it. And certainly not when it was this... gruesome.

“So, now that we’re here,” the Saryn Prime skids to a stop in an open room where Crewmen haven’t gathered yet. “Data? Now? Please? Pretty please?”

“Uh--” Maxis answers for the first time, before Hush picks her up bodily and runs.

“No worries, cutie, I’m sure we’ll meet again! You better hope I’m still in a good mood when we do!”

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about how she called you ‘cutie’ and ‘sweetheart’ and complimented you on being ‘courageous’.

“I see it’s gone loud in there.” Zus unamused voice remarks over the comm link. “Did it not go so well?”

“There, ah, there was,” Max stutters out as she’s jostled, “there was another Tenno in there. In the vault.”

“Did you get the data?”

“Yeah, that’s intact.”

“Perfect. Get back out here and we’ll pick you all up and head back.”

Oh, you’re in for it, one way or another, Maxis.

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [59]

“Persephone,” Judge groans as she hands over some materials to Master Teasonai. “Just because I’m repurposing a moa doesn’t mean you get to bring a condroc onto your ship.”

Kore’s crouched down among the many, many condroc cages, head tilting back and forth as her shining black Saryn optic plate examines the many mean looking birds.

“I’m getting a condroc, I’m putting it on my orbiter; I will love it and feed it and bring it out for exercise and I will teach it to hone in on my enemies and rip their flesh off their bones,” Kore says, “The question is - which one of you beautiful, beautiful creatures is the first?”

“You aren’t getting more than one,” Judge says.

“At the same time, no,” Kore says, “But later, after the first one is settled…they’ll need kin to talk to. I imagine it must be very, very tedious to be the only creature of your species in an enclosed space.”

“Persephone, for several years you were the only tenno in your own life,” Judge points out.

“That’s different,” Kore waves her hand and raises up a little to investigate some of the condroc cages hanging from the tent ceiling. “You’re comparing norgs and lungfish.”

Judge is about to argue that it is not different at all when he sees a flash of familiar violent pink out of the corner of his Nova’s field of vision. He turns his head and sees Chic’s Trinity briskly walking behind Alpha’s regal white and blue Oberon.

“Oh, hey - “ Judge calls out, sending a hail to their frequencies as he waves at them.

Chic waves at him and quickly gestures for him to follow her, but runs into Alpha’s back with a startled yelp when Alpha stops walking right in the middle of the spaces between vendor stalls.

Alpha is staring at something ahead and Judge turns around to try and see what he’s looking at.

And his heart stops in his chest.

“Operator!?!?” Scylla’s voice immediately yells at him, voice glitching in and out with stress. “Your vitals! Operator!”

“Kore,” Judge wheezes, Nova’s hand reaching towards Kore’s Saryn blindly, and just getting air. “Kore.”

“What?” Kore asks, sounding like she’s not really paying attention.

Judge just wheezes because…

It’s her.

Through the crowds of Cetus there is a black and red Saryn striding towards Alpha. A black and red Saryn Prime. And as the frame draws closer Judge can see the sigil on its chest, and he can see the elegant flare of its syndana and he can see the stoic and proud Helminth Charger sedately following at its side and he can also see that in one hand the frame is dragging Punk’s blue and yellow Ember behind it.

Chic taps Judge and Kore into her audio feed.

Punk is groaning.

The Saryn, with almost no effort, throws the Ember at Alpha.

Alpha catches Punk, immediately pours him out onto the ground - Punk groans even louder as he’s deposited at Chic’s feet - and goes to meet the Saryn.

“This one is done,” the Empress announces into the feed. “I’ll have to wait for him to recharge before I use him again, I suppose.”

Alpha and Empress stand so close that the chests of their warframes touch and the skirts of Alpha’s Oberon curl around Saryn’s legs with the light breeze that blows through Cetus.

Judge’s Nova continues to try and grasp Kore’s hand.

Scylla is still having a fit over the fact that Judge isn’t breathing. Parts of Judge are also having a fit over the fact that he’s holding his breath because he’s too terrified to breathe.

He doesn’t know why his void nightmares and poisoning don’t have him hallucinate the Empress to scare him. It would work approximately one hundred percent of the time.

Then again, maybe the void ghosts and poisons are too scared of the Empress to take her name and image in vain.

“Empress,” Alpha says.

“Alpha,” the Empress says back.

And Alpha slowly, agonizingly slowly, stretches his Oberon’s neck forward and touches his face-plate to the Empress’ Saryn’s.

The Empress coos a sound that might be a purr, might be a laugh, might be the end of the world.

Judge finally manages to let out a single wheeze and instantly the two warframes are staring at him across several yards as though he was right next to them.

If Judge were standing there in the flesh, his knees would probably have gone out. Lucky, he isn’t, and Nova’s limbs are locked.

“The stray,” the Empress says.

“I didn’t know,” Alpha replies.

And then the Empress’ head slowly turns and Judge knows that she’s looking at Kore.

“He found his partner,” the Empress says.

“Persephone,” Alpha answers.

The Empress makes another sound like the coming of death and starts walking towards them, Alpha at her heels.

Honestly?

Judge is still at least seventy eight percent terrified of Alpha, even though he knows that the tenno is gentle and worries about the food stores of the population of Cetus, adopts all the stray animals he can find, and often gives things away just because he has them and he feels that he should.

Judge will never, in any lifetime, overcome the absolute incomprehensible horror he has of the Empress. It just isn’t possible.

The Empress walks right past him up to Kore and somehow even though both Kore and the Empress are in Saryn Prime’s, it’s Empress who seems to take up all the space in Teasonai’s trading post.

“Hello, little sister,” the Empress says in a voice that reminds Judge of the underside of leaves, deceptively soft when they’re covered in barbs that are both buzzing and smooth. “I remember you.”

Persephone doesn’t say anything.

Judge tentatively turns around to look and Kore is frozen in place.

The Empress leans forward and bumps her Saryn’s horn against Kore’s.

“You are the only other Saryn Prime pilot I’ve met since our latest awakening,” the Empress says, “Most fortunate. It gladdens me that you find yourself again, and are awake to your potential.”

Persephone might as well be a rock. Judge tentatively pokes her with his void energy.

Nothing.

Did Kore leave her frame out of shock? Did transference snap? Is she just sitting in her Orbiter in silence?

“Hi,” Kore breathes out - startling Judge, Chic, and Punk (Punk, who revives enough to raise Ember’s head a little and go what) because she’s bypassed her frame’s voice synthesizer and is speaking with her actual voice. “Please take me as your student.”

[ivara-is-my-friend]

Suffer time :[ max has a rough go of it

part of a lil back-and-forth thing with @canadiangold

The Vallis was a cold, vast, ruthless place. Everyone in the System knew that. If you set foot in the Vallis, prepared or not, you felt cold.

This cold was different.

Max had never felt this kind of cold. The kind of cold that sank into her bones, bypassing any armor she had. The cold that felt like it would be inescapable even if she were able to find help or shelter. Her bones felt like they were singing, vibrating as her body was robbed completely of any warmth.

What had she learned about these kinds of situations? Curl up, her mind demanded. Conserve heat. Feebly, she amassed all the strength that was rapidly trickling out of her to draw her arms and legs in to her core. Apply pressure, Dodge’s voice scolded. Staunch the bleeding before it gets out of hand. Don’t try to dig the round out. Wait until you can get help to do that.

Would she even get help in time? She was alone. Ivara and Trouvaille had gotten separated when the bullets started flying through the air. She was so focused on following the faint kubrodon prints in the fresh snow that she hadn’t noticed that her cohorts had separated, instead trusting that they would follow closely, as always. Only...they weren’t.

And then it happened.

A cheap shot, she guessed. A cheap, lucky shot from some half-witted crewman that had pierced right next to the armor on her chest. Rather than being deflected or even just dampened, it slipped right by any defenses she had. She doubted it had been intended to be that accurate..

Help, she reminded herself; she should be trying to find help instead of thinking about what had gone wrong.

She didn’t know where Ivara and Trouvaille were. Close by? Far away? Injured? Safe? The possibilities cycled through her head. Focus, she snapped at herself. With a trembling hand, whether from adrenaline or cold or fear, she reached for the comm piece in her numb ear.

“Zus here….what’s….-ong….Ma-...” the transmission was choppy. Of course it was, she berated herself, they’re probably four or five planets away from here.

An inhale that rattled in her throat. “‘m down,” she managed to croak out. Even if Zus and the Hounds were closer, they probably wouldn’t have been able to hear her voice.

“Hello? Max?” Zus probed.

“Zus,” she muttered out, fearfully.

“There’s no….maybe it wa-....accidental.”

No! Her mind yelled. This isn’t an accident! Before any strength could be summoned to try again, the line went silent with a click, signaling that it had been cut. Figures, she thought, he’ll probably wait to see if I call back to show it was an emergency. Even if she did, the reception would probably be just as poor, just as much of a futile effort.

Who else was there? Kally? She racked her mind to remember. Kally had mentioned doing something on Sedna. She was too far away. Tinleah? Tinny might be an option. She couldn’t remember if Tinny had mentioned anything on her agenda for the day the last time they’d met. She flicked a finger to the comm again, calling in to Tinny.

“What’s up, Max?” Tinny’s calm voice rang through clearly, much better than Zus’ garbled messages. “You need anything?”

Was everything okay? What a question to ask. Nothing was okay. She had to convey that to Tinny.

“Tin,” she coughed.

“Hey, you sound rough. What’s wrong?” Worry crept into her tone.

“Tin,” she tried again. “In the Vallis. Hurt.”

“You’re down?” Tinleah’s voice was instantly saturated with fear and concern. “Where are you? Where’s Ivara? Where’s Zus?”

“Not here,” Max mumbled, her head starting to get fuzzy.

“Listen to me,” Tinny’s voice was serious. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. I’m over Venus right now. I’ll be there soon. Do not fall asleep. Are you near any landmarks?” Even as she spoke, Max could hear Tinleah causing a racket, wherever she was.

“Harindi,” she gasped. “Cave.”

“The caves by the Harindi Crater? Good. That’s good. That’s great. I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?” She grunted, as if lifting something heavy. “Hang in there a little longer.”

Max nodded, then spoke when she remembered that Tinny couldn’t see her affirmation. “‘kay.”

“You’re not going down that easily. I’ll be there real soon. Stay safe.” Click.

Alone again. She wished Tinny had kept the line open. Why would she, though? Max could barely speak as is.

So she waited, trying to keep her mind running as she grew colder. She desperately wished she wasn’t alone. She desperately wished she was able to crawl somewhere else, to where she could warm up. She wanted Trou with her, to bury her fingers in his raggedy, spattered fur. She wanted Ivara, who would no doubt make sure she stayed safe and conscious until help arrived, all the while fretting like mad.

Instead, she was devastatingly alone.

Figures, a dark voice surfaced from the back of her mind. Everyone knows a Tenno is worthless without a Warframe. You’re no different.

No, she was capable of doing things on her own. Ivara wasn’t just a tool to be used for her to succeed because she was too feeble on her own.

Nobody is here. Zus isn’t coming to save you. Dodge isn’t going to roar up and patch you back into good health while scolding you worriedly.

That’s not because they don’t care, she tells herself. It’s because they can’t get here. They don’t know. It’s not their fault.

They ignored your call for help.

They blew off an empty call is what they did. It had happened countless times: Max would wrestle with Trou or run around being rowdy and, one way or another, the comm would activate. Why listen in if there was no need? Besides, Tinny was coming. Tinny would help.

You’re expecting too much. Tinleah won’t get here in time. You’ll bleed out or freeze to death, if the locals or wildlife don’t find you first.

Tinny was rushing. Tinny wouldn’t screw around if she knew a friend was in danger. Max trusted her abilities. She tried to not let the thoughts nag at her.

But what if it was too late? What if she didn’t see anyone ever again? No Trouvaille with his expressive, floppy ears and wagging tail. No Ivara, offering hugs and shoulder bumps or whatever she needed when she was having a bad day. No Zus, scolding her for being reckless but taking obvious pride in her capabilities and performances. No Dodge, or Buffy, or the other Hounds to banter back-and-forth with and function alongside. No Tinny or Kally, no more time spent just wandering around the Plains while fishing or chatting and just enjoying the company.

She knew she shouldn’t make herself tear up and cry out here. The tears would freeze to her face and only make the situation worse. What would Dodge say? You’ll get dehydrated, or something like that. But if she didn’t have much time left, what was the point?

So she cried. Not ugly sobbing, nothing dramatic. In fact, it was near-silent. She curled in on herself even more as the tears made chilly trails down the side of her face.

It’s what you’ve always deserved.

The thought hits her like a punch. She physically flinched.

You didn’t fit in anyways.

She didn’t have the energy to counter the nagging voice anymore.

Footsteps crunching through the snow a fair distance away. It couldn’t be Tinny quite yet; it was too soon for her to have shown up already. Terra Crewmen? A kubrodon? Either option wouldn’t hold back. Holding her breath, she tried to stiffen her limbs to prevent the shivering and trembling in order to look long gone, to hopefully appear uninteresting to whoever was approaching.

The footsteps neared, coming from behind. Despite her best efforts, she quaked. What next? Would the Crewmen finish her? Take her back for some sort of twisted agenda, like with the sentients? Would the kubrodon care if she was already gone?

Closer and closer, until they stopped. No shots rang out. No rough hands grabbed at her. No feral teeth snapped and snarled.

Just a gentle hand on her shoulder, carefully patting and nudging her limp form to rouse her. So, they didn’t mean harm. Yet, something said. Before she could do anything else, a plaintive whine sounded.

She knew that whine. A sadder, desperate version of a certain kubrow’s please-pay-attention-to-me whine. Relief flooded through her. More tears fell, but not from sorrow or fear.

Ivara’s head poked over Max’s shoulder, peering at her face. Though faceless, it was easy to tell she was desperately concerned. Seeing Max’s open eyes, she quickly rounded her to look at her face to face. Almost reflexively, Ivara ruffled a hand through Max’s disorderly hair. Something she did when she was relieved; something that she did at the end of a rough mission or when they were apart for whatever reason. Immediately, she began thoroughly checking Max over, rubbing the Operator’s frigid fingers furiously in her palms to warm them up.

Trouvaille didn’t hold back either. He kept whining, stepping over her legs to nudge her face with a wet nose. Max recoiled at the cold, and Ivara quickly but gently pushed his head back. He took it in stride, instead sitting and plunking himself down so his back was to Max’s belly and the top portions of her legs. He radiated heat-- he always did, for whatever reason. For better or worse: when they were stationed somewhere chilly, like on the Plains at night, it was a great feeling to have his bulk nearby. In the cramped barracks, it was a different story. But here, it felt like a divine gift.

Ivara cocked her head to the side when she noticed the wound on her shoulder. She didn’t probe at it, thankfully, but she fretted nonetheless.

Max summoned up as much breath as she could. “Tinny’s comin’.”

Ivara nodded. Trou’s ears perked at the name, familiar with the Tenno Max spent her free time with. Meanwhile, Ivara set to work keeping Max warm and staunching the still-threatening puncture.

Sure, she had company now, but even so she still probably didn’t have all that long. They weren’t prepared for this. Little bumps and scratches, sure. Not a full-out wound. The best they could do was cover it until Tilly arrived.

Ivara kept one palm over the injury, applying pressure to slow the bleeding even though Max winced in pain as her Warframe did. Ivara’s other palm soothingly rubbed her back as she sat next to her operator. She carefully, extremely gently, positioned Max so her head was in her lap. Trouvaille adjusted and laid on the opposite side of the shot, providing a solid line of warmth that seeped through the layers of clothing and armor.

She felt safer now. She felt herself nodding off. Her eyes kept narrowing and drooping, until she let them shut completely.

Ivara would wake her if she needed, surely.

[ivara-is-my-friend]

what’s poppin,,,, BROS

i am Teaming Up with my friend for a Writing. Yeah. This Is the first part/my part for now!! spoiler max doesn’t die. i won’t let her. but it does get sad.

The Vallis was a cold, vast, ruthless place. Everyone in the System knew that. If you had set foot in the Vallis, prepared or not, you felt cold.

This cold was different.

She’d never felt this kind of cold. The kind of cold that sank into her bones, bypassed any armor she had. The cold that felt like it would be inescapable even if she were able to find help or shelter.

What had she learned about these kinds of situations? Curl up, her mind demanded. Conserve heat. Feebly, she amassed all the strength that was rapidly trickling out of her to draw her arms and legs in to her core. Apply pressure, Dodge’s voice scolded. Staunch the bleeding before it gets out of hand. Don’t try to dig the round out. Wait until you can get help to do that.

Would she even get help in time? She was alone. Ivara and Trouvaille had gotten separated when the bullets started searing through the air. She was so focused on following the faint kubrodon prints in the fresh snow that she hadn’t noticed that her cohorts had separated, instead trusting that they would follow closely, as always. Only...they weren’t following.

And then it had happened.

A cheap shot, she guessed. A cheap, lucky shot from some half-witted crewman that had pierced right next to the armor on her chest. Rather than being deflected or even just dampened, it slipped right by any defenses she had. She doubted it had been intended to be that accurate..

Help, she reminded herself; she should be trying to find help instead of thinking about what she had done wrong.

She didn’t know where Ivara and Trouvaille were. Close by? Far away? Injured? Fine? The possibilities cycled through her head. Focus, she snapped at herself. With a trembling hand, whether from adrenaline or cold or fear, she reached for the comm piece in her numb ear.

“Zus here….what’s….-ong….Ma-...” the transmission was choppy. Of course it was, she berated herself, they’re probably four or five planets away from here.

An inhale that rattled in her throat. “‘M down,” she managed to croak out. Even if Zus and the Hounds were closer, they probably wouldn’t have been able to hear her voice.

“Hello? Max?” Zus probed.

“Zus,” she muttered out, fearfully.

“There’’s no….maybe it wa-....accidental.”

No! Her mind yelled. This isn’t an accident! Before any strength could be summoned to try again, the line went silent, signaling that it had been cut. Figures, she thought, he’d probably wait to see if she’d call back to show it was an emergency. Even if she did, the reception would probably be just as poor, just as much of a futile effort.

Who else was there? Kally? She racked her mind to remember. Kally had mentioned doing something on Sedna. She was too far away. Tinleah? Tinny might be an option. She couldn’t remember if Tinny had mentioned anything on her agenda for the day the last time they’d met. She flicked a finger to the comm again, calling in to Tinny.

“What’s up, Max?” Tinny’s voice rang through clearly compared to Zus’ garbled messages. “You need anything? Everything okay?”

Was everything okay? What a question to ask, she thought to herself. Nothing was okay right now. She had to convey that to Tinny.

“Tin,” she coughed.

“You don’t sound too good. Are you okay?”

“Tin,” she tried again. “In the Vallis. Downed.”

“You’re down?” Tinleah’s voice was instantly saturated with fear and concern. “Where at? Where’s Ivara? Where’s Zus?”

“Don’t know,” Max mumbled. “Separated.”

“Listen to me,” Tinny’s voice was serious. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. I’m on Venus right now. I can be to the Vallis shortly. Do not fall asleep. Are you near something I can use to find you? A landmark?” Even as she spoke, Max could hear Tinleah rummaging around as she scrambled her gear together.

Where was she, exactly? “Harindi,” she gasped. “Cave.”

“The caves by the Harindi Crater? Okay. That’s good. That’s great. I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay? Hold out a little longer.”

Max nodded. Realized Tinny couldn’t see her affirmation. “‘Kay.”

“Stick around a little bit, yeah? You can’t cop out that easily. I’ll be there real soon. Stay safe.”

Alone again. In a way, she wished Tinny had kept the line open while she traveled. Why would she, though? Max could barely speak as is.

So she waited. Tried to keep her mind running as she grew colder. She desperately wished she wasn’t alone. She desperately wished she was able to crawl somewhere else, to where she could warm up. She wanted Trou with her, to bury her fingers in his raggedy, spattered fur. She wanted Ivara, who would no doubt make sure she stayed safe and conscious until help arrived, all the while fretting like mad.

Instead, she was devastatingly alone.

Figures, a dark voice surfaced. Everyone knows a Tenno is essentially powerless without a Warframe. You’re no different.

No, she was capable of doing things on her own. Ivara wasn’t just a tool to be used for her to succeed because she was too feeble on her own.

Notice how nobody is here. Zus isn’t coming. Dodge isn’t going to roar up and patch you back into good health while scolding you worriedly.

That’s not because they don’t care, she tells herself. It’s because they can’t get here. They don’t know. It’s not their fault.

They disregarded your call for help.

They blew off an empty call is what they did. It had happened countless times: Max would wrestle with Trou or run around being rowdy and, one way or another, the comm would activate. Why listen in if there was no need? Besides, Tinny was coming. Tinny would help.

You’re expecting too much. It’s entirely possible, even likely, that Tinleah won’t get here in time. You’ll bleed out or freeze to death, if the locals or wildlife don’t find you first.

Tinny was rushing. Tinny wouldn’t screw around if she knew a friend was in danger. Max trusted her abilities. She tried to not let the thoughts nag at her.

But what if it was too late? What if she didn’t see anyone ever again? No Trouvaille with his expressive, floppy ears and wagging tail. No Ivara, offering hugs and shoulder bumps or whatever she needed when she was having a bad day. No Zus, scolding her for being reckless but taking obvious pride in her capabilities and performances. No Dodge, or Buffy, or the other Hounds to banter back-and-forth with and function alongside. No Tinny or Kally, no more time spend just wandering around the Plains while fishing or chatting and just enjoying the company.

She knew she shouldn’t make herself tear up and cry out here. The tears would freeze to her face. What would Dodge say? You’ll get dehydrated, or something like that. But if she didn’t have much time left, what was the point?

So she cried. Not ugly sobbing, nothing dramatic. In fact, it was near-silent. She curled in on herself even more as the tears made chilly trails down the side of her face.

It’s what you’ve always deserved.

The thought hits her like a punch. She flinches outright.

You didn’t fit in anyways.

She didn’t have the energy to counter the nagging voice anymore.

Footsteps crunching through the snow a fair distance away. It couldn’t be Tinny quite yet; it was too soon for her to have shown up already. Terra Crewmen? A kubrodon? Either option wouldn’t hold back. Holding her breath, she tried to stiffen her limbs to prevent the shivering and trembling in order to look long gone, to hopefully appear uninteresting to whoever was approaching.

The footsteps neared, coming from behind. Despite her best efforts, she quaked. What next? Would the Crewmen finish her? Take her back for some sort of twisted agenda, like with the sentients? Would the kubrodon care if she was already gone?

Closer and closer, until they stopped. No shots rang out. No rough hands grabbed at her. No feral teeth snapped and snarled.

Just a gentle hand on her shoulder, carefully patting and nudging her limp form to rouse her. So, they didn’t mean harm. Yet, something said. Before she could do anything else, a plaintive whine sounded.

She knew that whine. A sadder, desperate version of a certain kubrow’s please-pay-attention-to-me whine. Relief flooded through her. More tears fell, but not from sorrow or fear.

Ivara’s head poked over Max’s shoulder, peering at her face. Though faceless, it was easy to tell she was desperately concerned. Seeing Max’s open eyes, she quickly rounded her to look at her face to face. Almost reflexively, Ivara ruffled a hand through Max’s disorderly hair. Something she did when she was relieved; something that she did at the end of a rough mission or when they were apart for whatever reason. Immediately, she began thoroughly checking Max over, rubbing the Operator’s frigid fingers furiously in her palms to warm them up.

Trouvaille didn’t hold back either. He kept whining, stepping over her legs to nudge her face with a wet nose. Max recoiled at the cold, and Ivara quickly but gently pushed his head back. He took it in stride, instead sitting and plunking himself down so his back was to Max’s belly and the top portions of her legs. He radiated heat-- he always did, for whatever reason. For better or worse: when they were stationed somewhere chilly, like on the Plains at night, it was a great feeling to have his bulk nearby. In the cramped barracks, it was a different story. Here, though, it felt like a divine gift.

Ivara cocked her head to the side when she noticed the wound on her shoulder. She didn’t probe at it, thankfully, but she fretted nonetheless.

Max summoned up as much breath as she could. “Tinny’s comin’.”

Ivara nods. Trou’s ears perk at the name, familiar with the Tenno Max spent her free time with. Meanwhile, Ivara set to work keeping Max warm and staunching the still-threatening puncture.

Sure, she had company now. She still probably didn’t have all that long. They weren’t well-prepared for this. Little nicks here and there, sure. Not a full-out wound. The best they could do was cover it until Tilly arrived.

Ivara kept one palm over the injury, the other soothingly rubbing her back as she sat. She carefully, extremely gently, positioned Max so her head was in her lap. Trouvaille adjusted and laid on the opposite side of the shot, providing a solid line of warmth that seeped through the layers of clothing and armor.

She felt safer now. She felt herself nodding off. Her eyes kept narrowing and drooping, until she let them shut completely.

Ivara would wake her if she needed.

[diasthedeathknight]

Asking a Tenno for help

I was talking with @karuframe about a fanfic that I wanted to write, about the Syndicats in Warframe, because I love them (especially the Red Veil) but I couldn’t decide wich Warframe I want to ship with a Red Veil Member, so I just wrote this instead^^

Also if anyone wants to draw a scene out of my fanfics they can do that^^ just link the story or my name to it (I would be so happy if anyone would actually do that ‘cause I’m not honest thinking that anyone wants to draw a scene from one of my fanfics)

"Whould you like to...?", before he can even finish the sentence, he resives a glance from to other that signals him clear, that the answer for that question is one that he doesn't like to hear, but he asks it. "....play komi with me?" "Sorry, I don't like komi anymore...too much sitting still and concentrate", he then answers and the other one just nods, then looks down at the board, he prepared. "Okay...", he just says, doesn't want to show how much he is hurt, how much the neglation is hurting him and he turns around and leaves the other alone. Then he sits down and looks at the board in his lap, the stones he had made himself. Castet them out in prisma crystals, moltem them down and formed them with this Void powers to the stones. He even coloured them himself. One set of stones was red, the other one was black. Carefully he lifts one of the stones up and looks at it. A tear starts to form in his eye and with a angry shout he throws the stone away. Then he burys his head between his knees and starts to sob, all the emotions he supressed are reapearing and taking over, he just sits there and crys. Then he can feel a hand on his shoulder and a warm, gentle voice. "You allright?" The board falls to the ground, the stones are rolling in every direction and some of them fall down into the core of the relay, but he doesn't care, his arms are thrown around the neck of the Warframe, the Tenno, that had approached him, his face is buried into the neck of the other one and he just cries. "Wow...that's a lot of feelings he has there...", another voice said and then strong arms are around the Red Veil Agent, holding him, securing him. "Rhino! You don't say that when someone is crying!", another Tenno is rebuking the bulky grey-orange Rhino for his behaviour. "I'm just saying what comes to my mind!", Rhino tries to defend himself, but is faling, according to the Tenno saying: "And you maybe just make it worse with that? Did that ever occour to you?" "Both of you, shut up", the Warframe that is holding him, looks over his shoulder to the arguing Tenno and then he says: "This Red Veil Agent clearly is in a lot of sadness right now and your argument is not helping! So both of you either behave and help me or you can both go to Nehza and help him preparing for his Nuptia with Ash!" "Vauban did-!" Only the glare of the Warframe who is holding him is enough to shut up the grey-orange Rhino and both of the Warframes move on, leaving the other Warframe behind. "Come...let's move somewhere quiet", the Warframe suggest and with a swirl of the finger he pulls in the stones and the board, handing it to the Red Veil Agent, who now sees for the first time wich Warframe is standing before him. Inaros. The Guardian of the Dessert and the Sand, protector of a small Village. His skin is coloured black and red, and he wears the Anubis helmet, but his voice sounds calm and he likes the voice actually. He then nods and follows the Warframe to a empty room, where he just sits down and stares at the board and the stones, that are now all complete. "Thank you....", he then whispers and the Tenno, who is now closing the door, looks at him and just waves the hand in a dismissing way. "It's nothing. I help wherever someone needs me. And you do clearly need help. So...what is the reason you are crying in the middle of the Orcus Relay? And what is your name?", interested the Warframe sits down in Front of him and the Red Veil Agent blinks surprised unter his helmet, then takes his helmet off and looks straight at the Warframe. "You...actually care for me?", he asks and the Warframe nods, then sits down properly, his legs crossed and the helmet on top of his folded fingers. "So?" He takes a deep breath and looks up at the white ceiling, then looks down to the Warframe, who is looking at him. "My Name is Rey", he then asnwers and takes a deep breath, looks down at the komi, who is now resting in his lap. "And I'm crying....because I feel like shit...", he then says and Inaros tilts his head in a curious way. "And why?", he then asks and Rey laughs, his brown eyes are full of tears, that are now streaming down his face. "Because...whenever I ask him....if he wants to play Komi with me...the answer is 'No' or 'I don't like Komi anymore'. But he was the one that has introduced me into it! He explained it to me! And we...we always talked about so much when we were playing...! Like...Like things he wanted to do...or...or questions that he had in mind...! But....in the past few games....I was concentrated and...couldn't talk 'cause I've had my mind on the mission that I had done...and I liked the quiet atmosphere...then I could think and concentrate on the game and...I could process what happend on that mission...but he...he wanted to talk...but I...I couldn't...and so he just stood up and leaved me there with, while saying that he doesn't want to play anymore 'cause it is boring without talking about things...I mean I.....I'm doing everyhting for him...! I....I bring him food...! I...I even....clean his room and he....I know it is diffucult for him to say 'Thank you' or 'Oh I'm glad you brought me food'....but I can't help but miss those times where we would just...sit there together and eat...listening to the lastest news about the Tenno or the other Fractions out there...I know that it is hard vor Veil to....to lead the Red Veil but...I just want to bee seen and....accepted....I want him to see, how good I became at komi. I want....I want to talk with him about the things and moves I did while playing this game with other players. But whenever I want to talk to him about stuff like that he is busy....doing things....or planning. And I feel like I'm annoying him by asking if he wants to play...and so I don't want to ask anymore....I don't even feel like I'm a part of his life....and he is my closest friend....I would take a bullet for him!" Inaros just listens to him and nods here an there, then the Warframe does something Rey never forgets. He leans forward and the snout of the helmet softly brushes against his lips, then he can hear the Warframe saying: "Maybe you should let him know how you feel" "I'm trying! I...I just can't stand it anymore!", Rey collapses and he starts again to cry. "I don't know why I can tell you all of that so easy and start to mumble and stutter if I want to tell him that...!", he then screams and Inaros sighs. "Wait here", he says and stands up, leaves the room. A few moments later, he can hear footsteps and then the door got pushed open, someone rushes to his side and fingers are softly tracing through his hair, then his face is turn towars someone and he can feel warm lips on his own, strong arms that hold him. Then the smell hits him. Veil. The door opens again and Inaros stand there in the Doorway, his entire body is relaxed and he then says: "Veil is an old friend of me and he was worried about you. So he told me to look after you and to find out what worries you" Veil has taken off his helmet and the green eyes are looking in concern at Rey, his slender fingers are softly whiping away the tears of Reys face and he then hugs the other, pulls him close to his chest. "Rey...I didn't know that you where that much hurt...", he then whispers, his voice is full of pain. "I didn't want to...I...." "Schhhh....you don't have to say anything...I'm sorry....I gave you the feeling of not belonging to my life anymore...you just tried to spend time with me...and I was busy leading and organizing the Red Veil. I'm sorry...", he whispers and just holds Rey close to his body. "I love you Veil....", Rey whispers and Veil smiles, his features go soft and he whispers: "I know Rey...and I love you too..." When Inaros was at the Relay a few days after the Incident, he spotts a Red Veil Agent at the doors to the room of the Red Veil, and when he was passing by he could hear a: "Thank you Tenno" "You're welcome, Rey", he answers and then he is entering the Room, talking to Veil about a new mission.

[heartslogos]

the fool rushes in [2/2]

Kore takes small sips from her can of fizz-cola. Judge watches her. He watches as her shoulders slowly, slowly relax and slowly slope downwards as she leans back to look at the sky.

He traces his fingernail in a circle around the remaining can next to him.

“Hey,” Judge says, softly.

Kore’s head tilts towards him.

“Got something else for you,” Judge says, and beckons his Helios over from where the sentinel had been lying next to Ash.

Helios slowly lights up and glides over to him. Judge nods at it and a few of its lights blink in what Judge thinks might be an affirmative before it zooms off towards Kore, various segments spinning and flickering.

Kore’s head turns to watch the sentinel - Judge can see her frowning -

And then the music starts.

Kore jumps, falling back onto her elbows and scrambling back, knocking over her can of fizz-cola. It’s, luckily, empty.

“What?” Kore gapes as the sentinel bobs in the air, music playing from some speakers that Judge had finally figured out about three days ago.

“Um, Simaris and Suda had conflicting ideas,” Judge says when Kore looks towards him, “About what you’d like. I was going through Suda’s archives first - “

He can see Kore’s eyebrows slowly raising, “Is that why you took so long?”

“And then when I went to see if Simaris had anything else - uh. I didn’t realize how much he liked you.”

Kore’s teeth flash as she laughs. Judge grins back before clearing his throat and lowering his voice - “Hunter, I am beginning to doubt your perception. Clearly you are misinformed. Hunter Persephone would never be impressed by such a weak display of pitifully arranged and unorganized data sound files.”

Kore’s laughter grows louder. She leans back on her hands, head tilting back as the sound bubbles out of her, bursting like fireworks in the sky.

Judge thinks that even her Saryn’s tendrils are moving like they’re laughing.

“And of course, you know what happened when I told him that I got that data from Cephalon Suda,” Judge continues, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Hunter! You would trust the data of such a damaged Cephalon? Cephalon Suda cannot be trusted with such an important matter. Disregard what she has told you.”

Kore stops laughing long enough to say, “Good thing Suda wasn’t in contact.”

“Oh no,” Judge agrees, “That was before I was getting the music files and when I was just searching their archives for ideas on what to do wit you in the first place. I kept going back and forth and every time I’d have one of them over my shoulder - it’s not so bad with Cephalon Suda. She’s kind of average sized. But with Simaris?”

Kore’s elbows give out and she’s flat on her back, knees curling up to her chest as she laughs.

“No,” Kore moans, turning onto her side, “No!”

“It’s just this giant orange projection zoomed in over my shoulder and all the other Tenno and people on the relay are looking at me like - what’s this guy looking for?” Judge continues, “And it’s the two of them bickering in this weird back and forth. Like every single time I go in to look for something or to cross reference files the other says the other is so incredibly wrong and I was this close, Kore, this close to saying that they’re starting to sound like each other and maybe they’re a data match.”

Kore screams into the fold of her arm, “They’d kill you.”

“Nah, Suda likes me too much for that,” Judge says, “And I figure Simaris would at least want me in his archive, so it’s not like I’d be really dead. Just digital. I think I got a good selection, though.”

Judge watches as Kore’s laughter slowly dies down, and she sits up, brushing grass off of her hair and the sides of her suit. She looks relaxed - really relaxed - now, and Judge feels something in him ease. The Void energy inside of him still circles and crashes and collides in a storm that makes everything feel bubbly and wobbly, but at least the rest of his nerves aren’t falling apart anymore. At least, no more so than usual.

He holds up the other can of fizz-cola to her.

Kore tilts her head, pushing to her feet - dusting off the rest of her suit as she stands.

“You didn’t drink it?” She asks, walking over to him and taking the can.

“I don’t like the taste,” Judge says.

Kore rolls her eyes, opening the can with a quiet pop. “It’s not about the taste. I hate the taste. It’s like battery acid or whatever kind of toxic sludge Helminth thinks it can slip me when I’m not paying attention.”

“You’re always paying attention,” Judge replies dutifully. “Wait, you don’t like it? For as long as I’ve known you outside the dream you’ve been trying to make it!”

“I like it,” Kore says, “I just don’t like the taste of it. It’s not about the taste. It’s about the feel. The fizz part of the fizz-cola.”

Judge feels his face twist in confusion.

Kore rolls her eyes.

“Get up,” She says, putting the can of fizz-cola down. Judge blinks and Kore lightly kicks his knee. “Up.”

Judge slowly stands up and watches as Kore picks up the blankets and padding he got and hauls them to a respectful distance from the altar and puts them down.

She starts to flatten them out and rearrange them.

“Lie down,” She says.

Judge blinks and starts to sit down again.

“Judge,” Kore sounds exasperated as she looks at him - “I meant over here.”

“Oh.” Judge shoots a nervous glance at their warframes. Saryn is still looking at the sky and Ash seems to be ignoring him entirely. Judge can’t tell if he’s projecting or if that’s true, though. Judge slowly crosses the few feet to Kore.

When she just looks at him expectantly, he slowly gets down onto his knees, crawling on top of the bedding before cautiously turning to lie on his back.

His nerves are back again at full force and the energy inside of him is startling to wobble precariously towards unraveling.

Kore watches him - the yellow-green of her inner eye is distinctly visible despite the low lighting - and nods once.

She then starts to unzip the top of her suit -

Judge doesn’t actually make any sounds, but he does choke on something. Air. Saliva. Void energy trying to escape through his mouth?

Kore takes off the top of her transference suit, carefully folding it and  setting it down at the bottom corner of the nest she had made. He stares at her, stares at the plain undershirt she’s wearing and her arms and her neck and her collar bones and -

“On your side,” Kore orders, voice crisp and demanding no protests. Judge blinks an mechanically rolls onto his side, pulse pounding. He feels Kore get onto the mats behind him.

He jerks when he feels her knees line up behind his, her front pressing against his back and her arm going over his side.

Kore’s nose and mouth nudge against the back of his neck. Her arm squeezes him tentatively.

“I don’t like to be touched,” Kore says lowly. He can feel her talking through the back of his suit as she curls close to him. Judge thinks that his heart is about to actually slam it’s way through his chest. “But I know you like it.”

She pauses, the unspoken and I like you hangs in the air between them like a breath.

“And I - I don’t mind touching as much as I mind being touched,” Kore says. “So - is this okay?”

Judge nods, not trusting his voice not to be a pathetic squeak right now.

Kore doesn’t like a lot of things, but when confronted with either the possibility of those things happening in a vague unspecified time and place not of her choosing, or of Kore going to seek those things out and get them out of her way on her own terms -

Well. Simaris is completely on point in more than one way when he refers to Kore as hunter.

Kore’s hand slowly slides up his chest, and he can feel her fingers opening, splaying and feeling out -

Judge brings his hand to his chest and carefully touches his fingertips to the back of her hand. Kore blindly tangles their fingers together, drawing Judge’s hand towards his chest. She can probably feel how hard his heart is pounding right now.

“I like this song,” Kore says. Most of the songs he’d found were fragmented - broken apart. But he’d found a few decent files left. Nothing Orokin, of course.

“Yeah?”

“Mm,” Kore nods against his back. “I like the breeze, too. Feels good. You’re right. I can’t feel this in a frame.”

“You’re not cold?” Judge asks.

Kore shakes her head, “Mm. No. M’good. Void makes me run hot.”

He didn’t know that. The Void tends to make Judge just feel - pressure, in general. Not exactly hot or cold. Just - pressure. Judge feels his smile slowly return and he lets out a long sigh.

“You good?” Kore asks, knee nudging the back of his leg.

“Yeah,” Judge says, “I was just - worried. I really do just want you to be happy, Kore. At least - I wanted you to be able to enjoy one night out in the open without being afraid. I’m not very good at this - planning and focusing on things. But I’m learning.”

“Quick learner,” Kore mumbles, voice low. Judge slowly runs his thumb over hers and she squeezes his fingers.

Judge closes his eyes and - and just listens. The music Helios is playing. The sounds of the water and Earth’s breeze. The sounds of the night around them - Kore’s low breathing.

He squeezes her hand tight. It’s not so bad when he can’t see. It’s just when - he can’t move. Can’t hear things.

That’s when it gets hard.

Judge focuses on trying to get his Void energy back under control. It’s related to his emotions, he knows - and he also knows he’s really stupidly happy and excited right now. But he’d rather not ruin it by accidentally exploding.

Kore’s trusted him with this - trusted him to keep her safe and not hurt her. He’s not going to ruin this.

Destroy it.

Judge swallows, squeezing Kore’s hand a little tighter. He bites his lip, fighting to hold still. To not move and squirm and turn over and hold her and press his face to her hair or anything like that. On Kore’s terms, he reminds himself.

There are still sounds. He can move. There is nothing - physically - stopping him from moving. He’s surrounded in open space. There is nothing holding him aside from Kore and Kore is Kore.  It’s dark because he closed his eyes. He can open them whenever he wants to. This is fine. This is fine. He is in control. This is -

There’s no more music.

Judge freezes.

“Judge?” Kore’s voice is soft - worried - and Judge feels his heart kick in his chest, off beat. He should probably breathe but he’s -

Where are the other sounds? The energy inside of him starts to slip past his control - uneven, wobbling, teetering, off balance and quickly unraveling and he can’t hear anything over that pound inside of him and -

“Judge!” Kore quickly rolls him onto his back and Ash is there, pulling him out from under her and Saryn yanks Kore back, holding Kore to her chest, brilliant green poison spores  beginning to mist out from her hand as she cradles Kore to her chest, the white tendrils on her shoulder and crest writhing with alarm.

Ash’s arms are tight around him and that isn’t what Judge needs - Judge needs to move, he needs to let Kore know it’s alright, he’s fine - it’s -

But Ash doesn’t know that. Ash doesn’t understand - Ash is just trying to protect him from something that Ash can’t understand. All that Ash knows is that Judge is hurt, is panicked, and is reacting to something. And Judge can’t get his head together properly to convey that to Ash in a way that the frame can process.

Judge does not and probably will never have the level of communication Kore seems to have with her frames.

Ow. Judge feels his lip break with how hard he’s biting it and this is not how he wanted this to go at all -

“Judge!” Kore yells out again, pushing herself out of her Saryn’s arms and ignoring Ash as Judge’s frame drags Judge back and tries to turn away from her. “Judge, it’s okay. It’s okay. Judge? What’s wrong? Judge, talk to me.”

Kore’s fingers are with his again, prying his hands open. Her hands are so warm. You can’t feel things in a dream, Judge reminds himself. Kore is real. Judge is not asleep. Judge is not dreaming.

Judge is feeling Kore’s skin with his own.

He squeezes his eyes shut. Kore’s hands on his. His heart pounds - blocking out all the other sounds, almost as loud as the Void inside of him, both sounds slowly overtaking Kore’s voice as she tries to talk him down. Ash’s arms are still to tight for him to move.

But he can feel Kore’s hands. Warm. Moving. Real.

Enough proof that this isn’t part of a dream.

He slowly starts to drag himself back together. Under as much control as he ever will have. Judge doesn’t know how long it takes -

He gets back eventually. He always does.

The process of getting his brain back together - to focus - always leaves him a bit dazed.

“Sorry,” Judge rasps out as he slowly tries to catch his breath, grimacing at the taste of blood in his mouth.

Kore’s hands squeeze his and her eyes are wide. “Judge?”

“Got nervous,” Judge says and Kore just stares at him. “It happens. I got better?”

Judge carefully starts to pry himself out of Ash’s arms. Kore turns around and goes to sort out her own frame, carefully talking Saryn into sitting back down. Saryn’s spores dissipate harmlessly after a few seconds of Kore gently talking to her but Saryn’s faceplate is firmly directed at Judge.

Kore hurriedly grabs one of the blankets and comes back, throwing it around Judge’s shoulders as she pulls him back towards the bedding.

“Can you talk about it?” Kore asks once he’s seated with the blanket held around him. The Void’s energy has shrunk down low now, Judge feels drained. Empty. He didn’t discharge, he knows - there’s no damage and he would have felt it, but he’s swung towards the quiet side of things and he’s off balance. Sensitive, in a way.

“I get overwhelmed sometimes is all,” Judge says, “Sometimes - I just.”

Kore sits a bit away from him, but she’s leaning forward, listening.

“I was underground for most of the war,” Judge blurts out, “I wasn’t - I couldn’t be trusted to deploy a lot. I couldn’t control my Void energy. At all. It was always just going, going, going. So they chained me to the inside of an asteroid when I wasn’t in transference. It was dark. And quiet. And really - disorienting.”

Judge stares down at the dull bedding, squeezing his hands into the fabric around his shoulders. He rubs the material between his fingers - friction, heat, anything.

“Transference always feels like - I’m removed? Like I’m in a haze? Like I’m not moving, but not really? Like it isn’t really me making decisions. Everything - everything gets scrambled and I have trouble thinking. But one minute it’d be dark and completely quiet and I can’t move at all and the only thing there is is the Void and then the next I’m Mag? Or Trinity? Or something and I have a mission but I don’t remember where I got it from and I’m fighting but I’m not exactly sure how? I just. I just wanted to go, go, go. And now I know why - it’s because transference is kind of like a dream, it is the dream, so I’m not actually there but at the same time I am and.” Judge sucks in a breath. And slowly releases it. “And sometimes it’s hard to remember which is which because I can get stuck in my head and I forget. It’s weird. It passes.”

“Does it have triggers?” Kore asks, softly.

Judge shrugs, “Sometimes it’s because it’s too dark. Or maybe it’s too quiet. Or I can’t move. Things like that. It’s all over the place, like I am.”

Judge’s attempt at a joke falls completely flat. He glances up and sees Kore looking at Helios.

“So when Helios ran out of music files - ?”

Judge looks the sentinel that’s worriedly hovering over them, optic camera twitching as it glances from him to Ash and Saryn and Kore.

“I shouldn’t have run out of files,” Judge says, “I had like - a hundred of them.”

“You had one hundred sound files for one night?” Kore asks, “How long did you think we’d be here?”

“I wanted to be prepared! Half of them were under two minutes anyway!”

“So that’s one hundred minutes plus? Wait, no - focus. So when it went quiet, you got - nervous? And,” Kore pauses, slowly moving back, “You couldn’t move because I was holding you - and it’s night - “

Judge lurches forward, careful not to touch her - “No, it’s not. It wasn’t you. I - touching you - feeling you there with me helped. A lot. Because you - you breathe and you’re warm and obviously not a dream. I’m just a mess. You know that.”

Kore’s eyes search his for a long moment before she gets up. Judge scrambles after her, but Kore barks out - “Stay there.”

Judge freezes and watches with a sinking stomach as Kore steps into her warframe.

He waits for Saryn to leave, but Saryn stays seated. A few moments later, Kore materializes again.

“Close your eyes and open your mouth,” Kore says. Judge blinks up at her.

“What?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Close your eyes,” Kore repeats, softer, kneeling in front of him, “And open your mouth.”

Her eyes are earnest and Judge trusts her - he’s trusted her before he even knew her - and closes his eyes, and opens his mouth.

Kore places something small between his teeth, “Close. And chew.”

Judge closes his mouth and tentatively bites down on -

Judge yelps, eyes flying open. It’s cold.

Kore rattles a container in her hand.

“Chewing gum,” Kore says, “I thought maybe if you had this you wouldn’t chew on your lip so much. But - you know - you can’t taste things in dreams.”

Judge stares at her.

“And even in the transference you cant taste anything,” Kore continues, holding out the container to him. Kore’s mouth twists ruefully, “Warframes have no mouths.”

Judge’s slowly takes the container from Kore - every chew releases a fresh burst of cold across his tongue. He shakes out a few more pieces into his hand. Each square is a different color.

“How?” Judge asks.

“Saw it at Maroo’s when I was exchanging for endo,” Kore answers, slowly moving to sit next to him again. “I’d read about it in a few files I’d browed at Simaris’ place before when I was bored.”

Judge idly wonders if this was before or after she’d made Simaris shed a digital tear with how proficient she is at hunting targets for synthesis.

She leans her head on his shoulder and Judge lightly turns to rest his cheek on her hair.

“I’m a mess,” Judge says, “But you knew that already. I’m sorry.”

“We’re Tenno,” Kore shrugs, “We’re all messes.”

Judge runs his tongue over the gum in his mouth, confused at the taste and the feel but - “Is this what you mean by the feel?”

Kore hums, “Just don’t swallow it. I’m told you aren’t meant to. I think you spit it out or throw it away or something. Wait, do spit it out, don’t choke on it, Judge. You can’t choke on this thing.”

“Kore, I’ve choked on my own spit before. You can’t tell me not to choke on something.”

“You aren’t making me feel any better.”

“At least I’m being honest about it. I mean, have I ever?”

Kore groans and rubs her cheek against his shoulder.

“Kore?”

“Mm?”

Judge slowly puts his hand open on his knee, “It really wasn’t you that made me lose it like that. I’m sorry. And I - didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Kore slowly puts her hand onto his, closing their fingers together.

“I know.”

“I like it when we touch,” Judge says. “I don’t want you to feel that - that we can’t. I don’t want it to be that way. That you think that it’s - it’s like those other times with - ”

“I don’t think of touching you like when the Orokin touched me. I like touching you, Judge. And being touched by you.”

“Really?” Judge turns his head a bit more and Kore nods.

“I like it. Sometimes. I’m just,” Kore shrugs, “Bad at it.”

“Well. I’m bad at - a lot of things. So. I guess we’re even?”

Judge can hear Kore rolling her eyes. But she doesn’t let go of his hand.

“Judge?” Kore says after a few moments of silence. The taste of the gum in his mouth is sharp, and it chills his breath. He feels amazingly awake.

“Yes?”

“I did have a good time tonight. Mostly,” Kore says slowly, “I appreciate it. What you did for me. For thinking about me.”

“I’m glad, I didn’t actually mean for it to go out of control like that.”

“So you’ve said. I know. It happens,” Kore says, “I mean it, Judge. I - it’s hard for me. But this was nice. A little warning would be good next time, maybe. A heads up.”

Judge nods, “I can do that.”

They both know it’s a work in progress - foresight. His brain tends to jump ahead and the rest of him tries to follow and not a single part of him thinks about possible problems with his solutions and ideas until he hits against them full speed. As Kore would say, the fool rushes in.

Usually she says that under her breath as Judge, does indeed, rush in and she has to go after him.

Judge closes his eyes and feels himself slowly relax against her.

She always rushes in right after him, though. So judge figures that he’s good. They’re good.