#xivu arath would get a chuckle out of this

[thorough-witness-enjoyer]

Propaganda I’d post if I was an acolyte still devoted to the sword

[titanicfreija]

Something Else

Even before they got close, they could smell the death. The bodies strewn nearest the entrance clutched weapons and a few featured steaming green wounds. Not fresh but not old either.

"Our work?" asked Freija. "Looks like we've been here."

"I can't tell if it's us or Hive. It's really hard to tell," said Thomas. "It doesn't help that we take our enemies' weapons so often. There's definitely Hive magic here, but it could be relics or Thorn or Striga..." He shrugged.

"If it was the Hive, they'd still be here," Rex said.

"Then they've either gone or they've hidden their energy signatures," Sunny replied.

"Glimmer says the latter," Thomas agreed, checking his Perpetualis and adjusting his gloves.

Freija and Thomas ventured into the derelict Golden Age building, Ghosts over shoulders providing light. The lobby was empty except for puddles and dust and Eliksni corpses.

"I'm gonna guess you're more okay with genocide when it's Hive?" Thomas asked.

"In a cultural sense," Freija admitted. "Dunno about the species, but genocidal cultures get to die by the sword. Or gun. Whatever. It was your line, you know what I mean."

"It's another old one. Live by the sword, die by the sword," Thomas said. "I was being cynical at the time."

"I know. But Xivu is literally genocidal. There is no treaty to be had here. If-- when we get them down to the last thrall, it'll be trying to kill us just as hard as Xivu Arath herself, because all it wants is to kill. If this is where hunting to feed takes the Hive, they need a predator to keep them in check or they need to be wiped out."

"At least two entities in the universe believe that about us," Rex said snidely.

"I don't think they're wrong about us needing to kill, but we can kill each other just fine. If left to our own devices.... That's pretty much exactly what the Warlords did."

Rex didn't answer, but Thomas chuckled quietly. "He likes you."

"This looks a lot like hating you," Sunny said. "It means he'll actually hunt you down to be antagonistic."

"Oh. Then he's liked me for a while. Since the Imbaru Engine." Freija looked back at Thomas. "He all but stalked me any time I came back to the Tower, giving me shit about my names for the Hive symbols."

"Aww," teased Thomas. 

~

"If the Hive have been in here, they decided it wasn't worth nesting in," Freija said. "Looks like Guardian work."

"Corpse count is high. We're normally pretty bad about disintegrating everything."

"I don't see dead --ohhh."

The facility opened into a huge room of desks with screens, littered with Hive and Eliksni corpses. Mostly acolytes and dregs, with a couple of knights and Captains. A single wizard lay amongst them.

"If anyone survived, they fled," Thomas said. "Not that I blame them."

Sunny and Rex scanned the ruined computers while Thomas and Freija searched the room. Just corpses. Couple of ether tanks.

"There's another server room down the hall," Rex said. He and Thomas strode ahead while Freija watched his back.

Freija shot by reflex, immediately regretting it when she finally saw the dreg, but they didn't fall. They ran back into cover, glowing shield from its servitor saving it from the Guardian.

"Hey-- velaask?" Freija called.

Thomas watched the crack in the wall where they vanished into.

"I hate to kill a last survivor. Always feels dirty," Freija complained. "Why the fuck do they keep trying to fight?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I'm immortal, that's different."

"If it was Hive?"

Freija's mouth twisted. "I wanna say I would be smarter than that but I'd be lying," she admitted. "So good point. Either way." She directed her external comm into the ruined wall. "Look, guy, we're here for data retrieval and nothing else. Not fighting. Get out. Illa tokal aaska."

Thomas turned back to his task, trusting her to handle this. "Your enunciation has gotten a lot better. You getting practice?"

"A little."

She deliberately moved past the gap so the alien could see her do it, went to a t-junction of the corridor, and pretended to ignore them. She watched her radar as they snuck through the wall and up the hall, away from them and toward the exit. She stuck her head into the room to check for others, finding nothing threatening.

Thomas banged around in the closed room and Freija did her best to keep still as he swore at the terminal and a chair he kicked, and the soft crackle of electricity immediately followed by a hiss of pain.

Sunny ventured in and Rex hovered out, refusing to look at any of them. Freija could hear the low hum of electric device working for the first time in centuries.

After a few minutes of silence, she called in. "Anything?"

"My name," Thomas said. "And an employment history. Apparently I did tech work. My name was-- You're kidding."

"What?"

"Ambros Zaunbrecher."

"What, like ambrosia? Or amber?"

"It translates to immortal. Roughly. Zaunbrecher means 'fence-breaker'."

Freija didn't make a sound, to the extent that Thomas wondered if she muted or changed channels.

"When we figure out time travel, I'm going to ask my original parents why," he promised himself. "I was cursed from the first life," he added under his breath. "Let me find out my middle name was wizard or something.... No. Schreiber. I think that might be worse. Cursed, cursed, cursed. And I'm a second! There's no way the other guy with this name is still dead! Suddenly I understand your feelings, Freija, calling him my father felt weird."

"Right? Even after Crow pointed out that dead family is still family. Got anything else?"

"Not much. I was with a Braytech subsidiary, doing network maintenance, according to this. Nearly ten years. Clean disciplinary file except one time listed as "insubordination" with no details, that sounds fun. Termination date 30-6-2471. Less than a year after that write-up."

"Sounds like you found the good dirt," Freija chuckled.

"With the name, I can find lots of other things, but not here. I won't have data in the Tower like you did, but first name and last name is fantastic. Secondary education was Heinmann Polytech, they're gonna have more details. Can maybe look up some news stories if I can find a good catalogue...."

"I could make a hobby of this," sighed Sunny happily.

"Did we want to make sure the Hive are cleared out?" Freija asked.

"What happened to sparing the last survivor?" Thomas teased.

"Shut up, I know it's a double standard, but Eliksni run and Hive don't," she grumbled. "I'll be right back."

~~

When Freija came back out, covered in ashes and carrying a lump of cloth, she found Thomas holding a glaive at the servitor's eye while it and the dreg dangled helplessly, tangled in green threads.

"I spared them for your sake," he told Freija. "But it shot first."

"I found why," Freija said, shifting the bundle. Thomas sucked a breath when he saw that the hatchling was dead.

The Eliksni struggled in its bonds with a harsh squawk and loud chittering. The servitor groaned as it tried to get an eye on them, fighting hard and losing.

"Tell me you didn't," he breathed. "And you brought it back up here?"

Freija shook her head solemnly and wrapped the bundle, securing the cloth. "I didn't. They wouldn't have gone if it was alive when we got here. They were guarding the body. They were trying to keep us away from it. Let them down." Thomas backed off and let the hold fall away. Instantly, the servitor shielded the Eliksni, which charged at Freija with two knives. She knocked one knife away and curled a shoulder as if protecting the hatchling. The Eliksni stopped short, stumbling back, second knife falling wayside.

Freija waited to make sure the attack stopped, and she held the bundle out. The Eliksni crept up cautiously and took it at the length of their reach. They brought the bundle to their chest, clutching it with their lower stumps and one upper arm. The other slowly moved across their torso to stop near the other shoulder, and they offered the subtlest of nods. Freija nodded in return and said, "Illa tokal aaska," again. "Sunny, can you give the servitor coordinates?"

"I... think so?"

"Can you send them to a waypoint and contact Three?"

Thomas almost cried out in surprise. "Three? You call up Three? Ever? Don't you guys hate each other?"

"Mutual distaste, but we agree on some stuff, including that the Eliksni need help, not war." Freija stepped away from the Eliksni, holding her hands clear of her weapons. Both Eliksni and servitor stepped backward, refusing to look away from the Guardians until they backed around the building's lobby door, out of sight.

Thomas watched Freija for several long moments, then sighed and shook his head. "I'll hear about this in the city later," he declared incredulously. "I'll go to the Eliksni quarter and I'm going to hear about this Guardian that found the sole survivor of a Hive attack and sent her a ride to the Tower with her dead hatchling for proper funeral rites. And you make this look easy, like it's easy to just peacemake, like she didn't try to kill both of us twice. You know fifteen words in their entire language and at least two of them are swears, and you--" he shook his head and turned away with a heavy breath. "You are something else."

"The Eliksni don't want to fight," Freija said with a shrug. "Most, anyway. Some of them are angry at us for stealing the Traveler, still, and some of them are angry because of what we've done to them and theirs, but fuckloads, even the raiders and warriors, would rather just fucking not. I can't do it in big groups or anything, laying down arms in front of an army is a great way to die, but one on one, one on a few, they  know I'm the biggest threat in the area, and if I stop, they don't wanna start."

Thomas nodded slowly and fixed his Perpetualis under his arm. "Something else," he repeated.

~~~

Request

Communication

The Database

Something Else

Campfire Stories

Jealousy 

Bickering 

Revealed

[queen-lich-dumb-bitch]

Seasonal short story for Sera’s adventures. Season of the Witch has fed my Warlock’s soul and story so this is the culmination of her journeyings so far. @ebevkisk

Facade and Cruelty

Eris was finally worn out.

Sera had seen many hive gods and slayed just as many but Eris had done what many thought to be impossible. Not only had she outsmarted Savathûn, the Hive Queen of Trickery and Deception, but she had also been the first to defeat her in a VERY long time. Accumulating more power than any hive had ever held at one time, Eris severed Xivu Arath’s connection to her own throne world, leaving both Savathûn and Xivu without any connections to resurrections and leverage if they ever attempted to strike back against the Last city.

Sera had sealed Immaru in a soundproof transmat-proof box. The annoying little twit had spoken his peace and hell if she was going to ever let him drift back to his master. Ikora had taken him away and Eris, after a long hug with Sera and a cry, had left to go relax with some tea and silence, both well and truly deserved.

As Sera hung back and admired the corpse of the Leviathan-Eater she had just killed, a very familiar voice drifted throughout the corridors of the throne world.

“My, my, I thought they would never leave.”

Sera’s anger flared and ice crawled across her fingertips and gnawed at her senses as the tempting yet ever condescending voice of Savathûn manifested from somewhere in the room.

“Ever one to talk, moth. How does it feel to be beaten?” Sera yelled, trying to pinpoint where she was.

“Oh, darling, it wasn’t the first time. My brother and sister show love by besting each other in combat. I’ve died about as many times as you, lightbearer. I also count your shrewd perception as a loss, my dear. Don’t think I didn’t know that you had me pinned back when I borrowed that old warlock’s body. I’m just surprised you didn’t rat me out.”

Sera seethed as the hive rune on her wrist burned with a white heat in the presence of its maker. “Information is power. We both know that. I learned a lot about your tells, your flaws, and your missteps. Even an avatar of deception isn’t perfect. Plus, while I don’t believe in fate, I do know that someone with a plan such as you had a reason and the intelligence to follow through.”

Savathûn’s voice chuckled. “Clever girl. You remind me of my brother. He was just as shrewd if more arrogant and driven by emotion. He didn’t like you killing his son even if it did get you a shiny new tool that he could take from you.”

To Sera, this was all small talk. A meeting of the minds. Sera had outmatched the goddess of trickery before and none of this was anything new. Sera demanded answers.

“What is this marking and why did you give it to me? And, keep in mind, I know when you’re lying.” She said, revealing the glowing symbol that was still burning like coal on flesh.

Savathûn cackled again. “A mystery that the great Pale Shade can’t solve. Now I’ve seen everything.”

The voice then turned deadly serious. “To keep you on a leash. A tight one. You’re very dangerous and I don’t like unpredictable variables. You’re the first person to outsmart me and I don’t like when people can repel my chaos with logic. You’re also useful. Infusing you with hive magic gives you a deeper potential. Especially with ice in your veins and on your fingers.”

Sera looked at her hand to find it covered in frost. Savathûn continued. “Eris was a proof of concept, though an unexpected one due to me underestimating her capabilities. Humans can wield devastating hive magic and the mere fact that you can handle that rune tells me you could do it too if you applied yourself. You’re an experiment and a rival. And since you killed my brother and me, I just happened to be in the market for such a thing. We could be a wonderful duo albeit a very spiteful one. Neither of us die, so we’re doomed to do this forever.”

Sera snarled. “One toe out of line and I’ll make sure this throne world becomes rubble and ash.”

Savathûn cackled one last time, louder than she’d ever heard. “Poor wayward light. Honey, you don’t even realize how much you need me yet. Your title, your respect from the Eliksni, even your queen. All are important for you. But so am I. You crave a rival. An equal. Someone who will make you better. You don’t even know yet, but sword logic runs through your very body. But, you’ll understand in time. If you survive the Witness, who knows? As someone used to say, Pain is your oldest friend.”

As her voice disappeared, Sera’s blood ran chill. Sera had said that back when she had survived Crota’s Oversoul. As Sera left to return to the tower, she felt a deep uncertainty wash over her as she feared that not only had the Witch Queen gotten in her head, but that she was also right.

[diana-3]

Crow’s Nest.

Diana sighed as she climbed the last few stairs to Devrim’s perch. The Gentlemen Sniper pulled his rifle back inside the windowsill and turned, having earlier waved to Diana he smiled at her approach. “Ah,” His warm tone brought a smile to her face, “Di, hello dear, how are you?”

“I’m alright I guess..s’been a while...huh?” There was guilt layering her tone, like a child who was admitting to a wrong--ready for a scolding.  

“Works kept you busy,” Devrim settled against the wall and his smile held, but his eyes turned downward and with it the mood lowered. “Seems as if the whole world is trying to burn around us.” He nodded to the radio on the shabby table with the teaset near by. “I’ve been keeping up on the radio chatter, you’ve been busy out toward the Tangled Shore lately?”

“Oh yeah,” Dianna removed her helmet and went to settle on the floor next to Devrim who glanced out the window. “There’s this new baddie, Xivu Arath? A hive celebrant...whatever that means...trying to corrupt Fal---Eliskni and Cabal into being Hive mind slaves. Causing a lot of trouble on the Shore and in the Dreaming City. Been working with Spider’s crew to get it cleaned up but its been weeks now.”

“A month yesterday,” Joel corrected as he appeared by Diana’s side. “I overheard Glint and Crow talking about it as we were walking away yesterday.”

“A month…” Diana repeated with weight behind her long sigh that followed. “Has it been that long already?”

“Between the constant crucible matches and vanguard operations to charge the lure, not to mention the individual hunts themselves, I’m not surprised we hadn’t realized.” Even Joel sounded exhausted, flying low until he settled in Diana’s hands as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes. “It’s been...hectic to say the least.”

“When was the last time you had any time off?” Devrim asked, raising a dark brow as he removed himself from the window completely now. Hanging his rifle on carefully placed hooks in the collapsing church to avoid accidental misfires. “You both look absolutely ragged.”

Diana hummed in thought. Her head slowly lulling from side to side before she spoke. “The Festival of the Lost?”

“Can’t really count that as time off when we were fixing the infinite forest…” Joel reminded her and she nodded.

“Soooo, before then?”

“My word,” Devrim’s shocked outburst made the tired guardian and her ghost both open their eyes and look at him. He was standing with his teapot in hand, “You’re going to need something a bit more strong than tea then to unwind.”

“You know what I want?” Diana chuckled softly, the fatigue showing through her defeated tone. “A nap. A nice, warm nap.”

“You’re more than welcome to come back to the farm,” Devrim offered, putting down his teapot and reaching for clean cups and saucers. “You could rant about anything bothering you until you can rest, or you’re free to do so after over a nice hot cup of tea.”

Diana smiled, watching the older man go through his motions to prepare his staple drink. The care he put into making it and the glance he gave her when he felt her stare. “Thanks,” She smiled back, “But,” She tapped Joel’s shell and woke the little Ghost from his quiet rest, his eye blinking open and his shell twitching in a stretch. “I think seeing Mythrax would just wind me back up again...remind me of everything going on on Europa.”

“Ah,” Devrim’s smile fell as he watched Joel take a lazy flight, hovering just above Diana’s shoulder as she climbed to her feet wearily. “Do you have somewhere else to stay then? I have no bed or blanket here, but I can offer great conversation and drink, a little light on snacks I’m afraid.”

“Actually…” Diana rubbed her head before her face and sighed, “I think there’s somewhere I want to...revisit. It’s not the Tower, but right now I’d rather avoid the tower if possible too…”

“Just seems like there's nowhere for us to go to get a rest away from everyone.” Joel admitted, his eye downcast as his shell shook side from side. “There's always someone looking for the next report, the next ship out, the next bounty to be taken…” He glanced at Diana who was lost in thought, her cyan eyes following the floorboard toward the window. When she slowly walked away to peer out Devrim’s window, Joel flew near Devrim and whispered. “She’s had a lot thrust onto her shoulders lately Devrim, I don’t know...I don’t know how to help her right now…”

“Is she alright?” Devrim asked, pretending to busy himself with cleaning his table as he waited for the water to boil.

“Physically she’s fine, she’s just so mentally worn out...A lot of old emotional wounds opened up…” Joel twitched in the air, flying a few degrees lower, “You’ve heard about Io, Mercury and Titan?”

“I had.” Devrim nodded, his face stern with thought. “She had friends on those planets didn’t she?”

“Yes, Asher Mir for one,” Joel shook his shell, “She’s still holding out hope that he’s in the Pyramidian, holding out. But no one’s heard from him...or Sloane and Vance...Then...we heard about Sagria…”

“Sagria?” Devrim whispered back, glancing over his shoulder to Diana, who was watching something out the window. “A guardian?”

“

A Ghost,” Joel corrected, “She was Osiris’ ghost...she sacrificed herself to save Osris from Xivu Arath’s influence...he’s Ghostless now...without the light...he’s taken refuge in the tower and asks Diana about how she and Crow--”

“Crow?” Devrim asked, raising a dark brow as he picked up the teapot and began pouring the tea into two cups. “Is that a guardian?”

“S-something like that…” Joel hesitated a tad too long and it drew a long and measured look from the marksman. “He’s a new guardian but...it’s part of the old emotional wounds opening up...that’s all I can say…”

“Mmhmm..” Devrim kept his stare on the little ghost who twitched and flew a few inches away.

“The less you know, the better.” Joel sighed.

“Wouldn’t happen to wear red pants...would this...Crow?” Devrim asked softly, glancing back at Diana who was still preoccupied with scanning the distance.

“You’ve seen him?!” Joel flew close to Devrim’s face, making the older man chuckle and straighten his back a bit.

“I’ve seen someone bustling around in the distance,” Devrim nodded with his head toward the direction of the dam, “He’s never come close though, and always seems to keep a hood up or a helmet on..I’ve never seen his face. Causing our girl some trouble is he?”

“He doesn’t mean to,” Joel said, “He’s new to everything and Di….she doesn’t know how to handle her feelings. He really reminds her of someone she’d rather forget, but at the same time she’s grown closer to him, and is having trouble letting go of that….resemblance.”

“Sounds messy,” Devrim picked up the cup and took a small sip to taste before nodding. “She needs a good rest, and time to herself away from everyone to let herself work through things. Is there a Hunter hideout where she might be able to take cover?”

“None that wouldn’t turn her over to Zavala to keep themselves from being called to the tower..” Joel had a hint of irritation in his voice, “We tried a few of the old spots, but some people have a sore spot for Di. Shaw hasn’t exactly warmed up to her and he’s made a name for himself in the cosmodrome. People think, that she thinks she’s too important, that she abandoned them in their greatest hour of need…And with the Hunters still without a leader...”

“Did they forget the part where the entire universe was at stake?” Devrim asked too loudly, drawing Diana’s tired attention finally from the window.

“Who knew the Cosmodrome was separate from our universe.” She had no mirth to her voice now, she seemed to shake slightly from side to side as she pushed away from the window and walked over to take the cup offered to her gingerly from Devrim. “Thanks…”

“I’m sorry that you’re dealing with so much,” Devrim put a gentle hand on Diana’s shoulder and squeezed it. A flicker in her eyes caught him off guard, was she going to cry? “I hope that the vanguard has at least given you some hefty time off to recoup after running you so ragged?”

“Hawthorne helped,” Joel said with a hint of pride, “When Diana was ready to just drop off the tower to get away from Zavala and Shaw, she spoke up and advocated for Diana to have a relief mission.”

“Tore into them did she?” Devrim chuckled warmly, “Ah, I can hear her now.”

“It was quite a sight,” Joel laughed, his shell squinting as he bobbed up, like a smile. “She wasn’t about to let Zavala just walk all over Diana.”

“M’ just too tired to fight anymore.” Diana admitted as she took a drink from the cup, taking a moment to shiver at the bitterness. “I wanna sleep for a week in a hole in the ground…” She paused…”Or...in a wall…” Her eyes widened slowly before she downed the rest of the cup, filled only half of the way before handing the cup back to Devrim. “If anyone asks,”

“I haven’t heard from you in months.” Devrim winked at her as he took her cup and replaced it on the table. “No idea where you could be. Haven't’ seen you in the EDZ in quite some time.” He turned and lifted his own teacup to her in salute, “I really should contact you via radio to come spend some time with this old man.” He could hear Diana and Joel speaking softly as he turned and sipped at his tea, trying not to listen to the quiet planning. He couldn’t help but hear.

“Are you sure you want to go there?” Joel was asking, concern filling his voice.

“Where else can we go right now? Unless you really wanna watch me dig a hole and bury ourselves.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this...but we could go to the Derlict?” Joel offered in a hushed tone, “Drifter would hide you for a while.”

“He’d also bug me to death for answers, or to get me into Gambit again…” Diana sighed heavily. Devrim kept himself turned around, studying the hand written notes from Marc laying on his desk, hidden out of direct sight behind the radio he used to listen to chatter, or talk to Suraya who was living in the Tower now. “No, I think it’ll be the one place no one, except one person would think to look…”

“Do you think he would?” Joel asked softly.

“No, his leash is too short right now. He might wonder to himself, maybe to Glint, but he won’t actually come looking. Which will give us all the time we need to rest.” Diana sounded sure of herself and her mind was made up. Wherever they were going, it was going to be a secret between them.

“It won’t be very comfortable,” Joel complained slightly.

“We can find a few ways to make it work.” Diana said a little more loudly, the time for private conversation over with. Devrim was refilling his cup, still pretending to be lost in his own little world when he felt two taps on his shoulder. He put down his cup and turned to receive the gentle hug Diana offered without thinking. “I’ll come by again soon Devrim, thank you for letting us rest and clear our head.”

“I don’t need to tell you that you are always welcome,” Devrim told her as he squeezed her, returning the hug. “But I will anyway, just so I’m sure you know. You can always come up here to hide out, and I won’t tell a soul if you don’t want me to.” He felt her start to pull away and he kept his hold until she leaned more heavily against him, allowing him to share her weight. “You be careful out there, hm?”

“Yes sir,” Diana’s chest vibrated with her voice, chuckling into his ear as she squeezed him back. “I’ll make sure to stop by for the dawning.” When Devrim pulled away she nodded, “I’ll remember the Shortbread cookies you love so much.”

“It pairs so well with my favorite festive tea,” Devrim sighed at the thought of such a comfort item. “It is getting around that time...isn’t it?”

“A few more weeks…” Diana nodded, “Hopefully I’ll get to feeling better before then. I’d like to go to the tower to see everyone…”

“Then you best get to it,” Devrim winked at her and grabbed a small bag from under his table, protected by a sheet that had hidden it from sight. “Here, take this, a self care package if you will.”

“Tea?” Diana laughed as she took the bag without looking at it.

“And a few biscuits and hot cocoa, some tripemines to set up a perimeter, clean water etcetera.” Devrim smiled as he poured a second cup for himself. “Little things that will help make the roughing it less...rough.”

“Thanks Devrim but shouldn’t you need this?” She asked, holding the bag up.

“Not for a while, I’m going on vacation too..of a sort. It’s Marc’s Rezzing day soon. We decided to go to Suraya in the city and spend time together. I’ll have all the comfort I need. And I can replenish my supplies.” Devrim watched as Diana nodded and looked toward the stairs. “Go on now, I won’t keep you any longer.” He turned his back and pretended to busy himself with the radio dial until a heavy baritone voice came over the waves.

“Thanks again…” Diana gave a small salute before disappearing over the ledge, not bothering with the stairs.

“It’s like they’re allergic to safety,” Devrim mused to himself, chuckling as he watched her go.

//

“Are you sure about this?” Joel asked as Diana picked her way over the rubble, careful to make sure that Devrim’s care package wouldn’t rip.

“Like I said, I’m out of ideas, unless you know of somewhere else we can go…’S not like we can go chill with Asher anymore…” She paused down the dimly lit corridor and sighed. “I miss him.”

“I know,” Joel touched his feckle to her cheek and accepted the loving caress she gave him that pinned him to her cheek gently. “I do too.”

“So this is the one place I can think of that...they won’t know to look and if they did think to look, I don’t think he’d tell.” Diana finished softly. She was outside the  little alcove now and started to go inside but hesitated.

“What's wrong?” Joel asked, blinking his yellow cat eye and watching how she hesitated. It wasn’t like her.

“I should ask permission…” She said firmly. “This is the one place that’s his and his alone...if I were just to barge in here and use it without asking? I’d be taking that away from him, I’d be just as bad as Spider. We’re not that close...in reality. He might think...I’m overstepping boundaries if I don’t ask…” The heavy silence in the air didn’t last long before she asked, “Can you patch me into a secure line to him?”

“Just a moment.” Joel busied himself with twitching, extending his shell and rotating back and forth until the sound of static washed away and a familiar voice asked.

“Who is this?”

“Glint, it’s us. It’s secure right?” Joel asked, replacing his shell to its rightful shape. Diana noticed one of his cat ears was coming untapped and tried to push it back down in place, only to knock it off and make her gasp in both shock and sadness.

“Of course!” Glint’s voice perked up, “It’s the Guardian and her Ghost!”

“You can call me Joel,” Ghost reminded him, “And Di.”

“New news on Xivu Arath or some wrathborn? A new cryptolith?” Crow’s voice came over the coms and Joel watched Diana pause in her fussing over his shell.

“No,” Diana admitted after a moment of silence. “I’ve...I’ve been given some...a reprieve…” She said slowly, remembering once what Glint had said over coms after a hunt. “But I…” She paused again and the lights inside her mouth dimmed with a sigh. “Could I...Would it bother you if I...used your...nest, for a while?”

“It’s most certainly not a nest.” Crow said a little too quickly. Diana could practically hear the flush to his blue-grey face. “But...why? I thought you would have a place in the tower in the last city?”

“I do, but not everyone understands the need for...alone time.” Diana admitted.

“About your report, could you do this run for me, we should go out tonight, could you sit in on this mission debriefing, we need someone on coms for this vanguard operation, could you help me adjust my sights,” Joel started listening off all the things that had been asked of them when they had returned to the tower the last time. “It’s like it never ends. We used to go hide out on Io when things got like this…”

“I see.” Crow interjected before silence could fall and swallow them up. “You...need a place to breathe for a while. Of course, feel free. I’m...honored that I could help you this way...Guar--”

“Di.” Diana reminded.

“Di…” Crow’s voice was soft, like he was afraid of breaking her name should he say it with too much force. “I’m sorry it’s such a mess, I haven’t been out there in a while and Glint’s a terrible maid.”

“It’s not my fault you keep everything you find that has a little shine to it.” Glint said playfully, hinting at his name.

“It’s not exactly comfortable either, but it works...in a pinch.” Crow continued, ignoring Glint’s jest. “Use it as long as you like.”

“Thanks,” Diana smiled and looked inside the alcove at the small collection of crow’s things. “I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Crow chuckled softly, “You could have used it and I never would have known. It’s not as if I’m in and out of there a lot these days.”

“Boundaries and Respect are important.” Diana told him firmly. “Guardians and good people a like do not trample over either…” She put a hand to her head and realized how much like Quin she sounded. She shook her metal head and continued. “Want me to get you some time off?” Diana asked as she stepped through the crack that served as the door. “You deserve it as much as I do.”

“Spider wouldn’t allow--”

“Spider won’t know the difference if I tell him I need you in the EDZ to track down Hive movement. Maybe they’re trying to set up a cryptolith here? Savathun did find that piece of the Traveler where we found the new Hawkmoon.”

“Not to mention we could give you a run through on being a Lightbearer. Guardian school if you will. More tips and tricks to make you more effective for Spider.” Joel added, his shell contracting in the way that made Diana say it looked like a smile.

“Time away from Spider,” Diana said in a singsong voice, “Nice hot fires under the stars, good drinks. Stories swapped.” She flopped down on the sleeping bag Crow had left on the concrete slab and regretted it, there was still a bit of debris under it and it hurt. “R and R is just as important to Guardians as it is to non-lightbearers.” She added with a grunt.

“That’s true...I just don’t think Spider would allow it.” Crow sounded defeated, tired and annoyed.

“Well, I am not going back to work for a bit….you think about it and when you want me to, I’ll talk to Spider.” Diana stood and rolled the sleeping bag up, watching how the dust and concrete of the collapsing ceiling was leaving a layer of dust on everything.

“Spider called him.” Glint said in a hushed tone, “I think some time off and not so alone would be good for him. He’s been obsessing over these Cryptoliths. He’s so sad to see the Eliskni that was good to him turn into...wrathborn…”

“He needs time away just as much as we do,” Joel sighed.

“It would be good for him, all he does is talk about work, and when he asks about Guardian things, he feels like such a stranger to it all. I think a fellow Guardian talking to him would make it feel more real, for now its just...stories of something he thinks he doesn’t deserve..” During the pause, Joel and Diana gave a look to one another. Sadness. Fatigue. Guilt. “I’ve been called by Spider, cutting the link. You two have a good rest.”

“Glint--” Joel started to speak but then hesitated. “The line’s dead.” He rotated to see Diana removing rubble from the concrete slab and cleaning it off with her hand. “This place really is a mess...huh?”

“He’s tried to make it his own…” Diana said softly. “It reminds me...of that cave in the Cosmodrome we had when we first started out...Remember?”

“Heh.” Joel floated closer and bobbed before rolling his shell over. “You kept Hive bones until you heard about Dredgen Yor, then you dumped them all over the cliffside and wanted nothing more to do with them.”

“Got rid of the dice I whittled too.” She nodded and replaced the sleeping bag, stretching it out to find it wouldn’t fit, the slab was too short. She glanced around the tiny alcove, at all of Crow’s belongings. A sleeping bag that had holes in it. A pristine Dawning bowl. His death shroud. A hive knight sword from when he save Osiris. A table and chair. A tool chest as tall as her and tools to fill it with. 8 things. He only owned 8 things. Yet the room told so much about him.

He was a repairer. Using things left over and forgotten to serve a new purpose. “It’s almost...poetic...or.” She laughed, “Ironic, whichever you wanna look at it...I guess…”

“What is?” Joel had floated off on his own, inspecting the crack in the wall that filtered in some sunlight from a room beyond the rubble.

“He takes things that are broken or forgotten. Things people don’t think twice about because to them it's used up and gives it new life...new purpose…” She picked up the bowl and placed it on the sleeping bag. “Like a guardian...we were just empty shells until you guys came along.” She smiled at Joel who twitched in silent thought. “You found me, an empty shell. Having used up all my life and been lost to time and the elements and you gave me a purpose. You brought new life into me and told me what I could do to help those around me.” She picked up his death shroud and frowned. “Uldren was a cold hearted bastard of a person.” Her grip tightened on the cloth before she sighed heavily.

“He paid his price. Blood for blood. Eye for an Eye. The debt for Cayde was settled. I know his tapes said he’d be…” She started folding the shroud gently. “Crow was a shell that was tossed away. People were trying to forget...or avoid remembering for the time. Including myself...And Glint gave him new life and purpose. He’s a guardian now. He’s not who he was before. And now he takes things Spider tries to throw away or has forgotten about and makes them into new things.” When the shroud was folded into the shape of a flag, she placed it into the bowl and busied herself cleaning off the slab where it had been placed haphazardly. “He’s just like a Ghost that way. A repairman. An artist..” She recalled the art form he had mentioned before when she saw his nest the first time. “He mentioned an artform with precious metals...do you know what it's called?”

“I hadn’t when he first mentioned it, but I talked to Zavala’s ghost and he knew what it was called, apparently it's called Kintsugi, or kintsukuroi, it’s a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.  It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.” He paused for a moment and flew a little lower, “Oh, I see what you mean.”

Diana straightened up the room in silence for a while. Dusting everything with her hands as best she could and being as gentle as possible. It didn’t take her long to clean up the room, tossing out the debris into the hall. She looked around and realized it wasn’t cleaning she wanted to do.

“I wanna do something nice for him.” She said out loud, throwing out a fist sized piece of concrete into the hall. “And I don’t mean dusting.” Joel was flying around the room and scanning the area, inspecting the walls and ceiling.

“He doesn’t have a lot does he?” he asked as he came down to her height. “We could get a few things for him.”

“Yeah..spruce the place up a bit...he deserves better than this but…” She glanced at the shroud sticking up from the bowl where she had placed it. “Baby steps.”

“What do you think he would like?” Joel asked.

“Anything is better than this…” she glanced at the mop bucket in the corner, and cringed. “We could get him a sturdy cot to sleep on. A better sleeping bag…” She looked back to his area and tilted her head, “Another table, a chair...we could clear these slabs out.” She kicked at the one he had been using for a bed. “Hang that sword up.” She pointed to the sword as it was propped up against the wall, waiting to topple over. “And a heater…”

“A heater?” Joel asked, spinning back to watch her as she nodded.

“It’ll be snowing soon. If he’s gonna get time off and come stay, then he’s gonna need heat...and some food that won’t spoil…” Her faceplates shifted to show irritation. “The boy doesn’t even have the basic necessities to live on his own. He won’t be under Spider’s four thumbs forever.”

“You think he’s going to let Crow go eventually?” Joel didn’t sound convinced, but when Diana settled her cyan eyes on him, he knew that look. He’d seen it before the battle against Crota...Oryx...Gaul and the darkness. It was what he called her ‘try me’ look.

“Oh he will. And we’re getting that bomb outta Glint too.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Glint doesn’t deserve that treatment, and neither does Crow. The boys are literally as pure as new fallen snow, and Crow’s as green as Venus.”

“I remember when Leland used to say the same about you,” Joel offered softly, flying close to her chest, his sign he wanted to be held in her hands. She obliged him, cradling him gently and stroking his feckle lovingly.

“I’m not gonna comment on that,” she chuckled and planted a kiss on her Ghost’s shell. Going to sit on the sleeping bag. “I guess this means we’re going back to the city after all.”

“What are we gonna tell people who ask what we’re doing?” Joel twitched his shell so he was looking up at Di from her hands she stared longingly at the Dawning bowl.

“That we’re helping out a kinderguardian. They’re new and scared to come to the city. Or that I’m literally burying myself in a hole and making a fuck off bunker so people will leave me alone for once.” She stopped and blinked, “By the light, I sound like Osris now.”

“I like the second one better,” Joel laughed, “It sounds more like you than Osiris.”

Both of them laughed, their voices bouncing off the three and a half walls until it sounded like it would drown all their sorrows. They hadn’t laughed like that in a while. It made Diana sad to realize this. She tried not to look at it, but it was like a living thing staring at her. The death shroud. One of the triangle corners was peeking up from the bowl and taunting her until she stared at it.

“I’m not...weird am I?” She asked Joel, still staring at the white cloth.

“Is that a question you want me to answer honestly, or be serious?” Joel asked with mirth still in his voice.

“No, I mean…” Diana’s tone made Joel twitch in her hands, bringing her attention to him. “I know I didn’t remember anything, not a thing when you brought me back. But you said I’d been dead a long time...I’ve never…” She trailed off and looked toward the floor. “I’ve never run into anyone who recognized me before. But Uldren...he…” She sighed. “He killed dad...I know I said Crow was different and he IS but…” she made a clicking noise. “Sometimes when it gets quiet, and I see him, I can still SEE Uldren there. Does that make me a bad person?” She looked to Joel sadly. “Am I a horrible person because I sometimes still see him inside someone who's new? If Crow didn’t have the same meatsuit...if he’d been changed into an Exo like me when he was first brought back...I woulda never known….I wouldn’t be...questioning myself like this.” She looked to the shroud again. “He’d just be a new guardian. A fellow exo. A nice guy...But I find myself wanting to reach out to him. Be...more than kind to him. To be someone for him and then that moment happens when I don’t see Crow, I see…and then I feel like I’m betraying Dad’s memory by being chummy with the meatsuit that killed my leader...”

“I could tell,” Joel admitted softly, speaking in barely a whisper, as if afraid the truth would cause the ground to swallow them up. “When you two are having a good talk and it gets quiet, I see the way you look at him. It’s kindness and then fear, mixed with guilt.” He twitched again and the eye blinked. The other ear was starting to come loose and Diana peeled it off with a gentle hand. “You’re trying so hard to not hold him accountable for a crime you know Crow didn’t commit. But it’s still the same face. It’s still the same hand.” he blinked again, “It’s a situation I don’t think any other guardian has ever had to face like this before.” Only a heartbeat passed before he added. “I don’t think it makes you a bad person, I think you’re struggling with a situation that no one else has ever had to be in before and you’re doing a lot better than others who have seen his face.” He flew up from her hands and hovered a little ways from her face.

“You loved Cayde like a father, and he was taken from you by someone you didn’t particularly care for when you knew him. Now that person is no more, but their body is still up walking around with someone new inside...sorta. It’s like that pottery thing, he has his scars. His past is part of him, but he has a new life and a new outlook.” he tilted his shell toward the ground. “Uldren hated Guardians, he tried to make our life hell when we had to deal with the awoken. But,” he titled his shell upward and squinched himself into a smile, “I’ve seen Crow absolutely light up when you walk in a room. He’s excited to see you, to work with you. If that’s not proof he’s totally different then I dunno what would be.”

When she didn’t respond he bonked her on the forehead with his feckle and made her blink at him in bewilderment. “Others have outright killed Crow when they saw his face. You didn’t.”

“I tried…” She put a hand on the spot where he hit her. “If Quin hadn’t stopped me...I would have put a bullet in him.”

“Are you glad she stopped you?” Joel asked firmly.

“Yes?” she sounded unsure, when Joel tightened his shell around him she felt like he was glaring at her so she repeated with conviction. “....Yes. I am.”

“Would you put a bullet in him now?” Joel’s voice was hard, he was trying to test her resolve. He already knew he answer, he just needed her to know it.

“No, absolutely not, I’d...” She paused and remembered her fight with Hunter-1, they still hadn’t spoken since they introduced Crow to him. When he tried to murder Crow, even after learning he was a guardian and Uldren no more. Quin had ushered Crow to safety while Diana wrestled with the fellow Exo. He hadn’t looked at her the same since. On Wrathborn hunts he wouldn’t watch her back anymore, and he would ignore her when she spoke to him. “I’d fight those who would try...”

“Then you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of others.” Joel told her with a flip. “And the fact you want to give him what he needs to survive on his own, until he can be accepted as Crow and not as Uldren, shows you have compassion for him.” He tilted his shell halfway, like he was being coy. “And do not think for one millisecond I haven’t seen you smile at him with that same look you used to give Drifter either missy.”

“I. Give. No. Looks.” Diana’s voice was low, gravely, she was willing to die on this hill.

“And I wasn’t born in the Light.” Joel gave a small hummpf sound before flying out of the crack, forcing Diana to follow along behind him if she wanted to argue.

[fernsplaysthings]

A couple of very small writes about Kes and Crow because...I wanted to.

Humour me and my OC x canon BS.

1.

When Spider had originally offered a trinket from his lair as a prize for defeating the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath - anything in the room, he’d said - Kestral hadn’t had anything in mind. He had a lot of stuff for sure, but that’s all it was to them, just things that would end up stuffed up in storage until they finally decided to shift it for some extra glimmer. 

At best they probably could’ve gotten their hands on a new shell for Roost.

It had only occurred to them now, standing in the middle of the room face to face with the Eliksni mob boss, the feeling of eyes on the back of their head from the presence behind and to their side slightly, that perhaps they’d be able to deliver a real blow to Spider’s plans with that offer. Spiting Spider was always somewhere near the top of their list of things to achieve since it was about time they got the upper hand on him at least once but…

Well, things had also changed somewhat and there was finally something they wanted from him.

Someone they wanted…

“You’re absolutely sure, I can take anything in the room?” they ask, letting their eyes trail over the odds and ends, relics and bits of machinery scattered across shelves behind the Eliksni’s throne, “Anything?”

Spider scoffed at their tone, obviously not unsettled by the idea that this Guardian believed they could take anything of actual value from him, “Anything.”

Dropping the facade, now certain they could pull this off they turned, locking eyes with Crow and grinning smugly, “I want him.”

As expected Crow was startled, eyes wide and raking over the Wolf’s face to find even the smallest hint that they were joking, bluffing, were insincere or trying to pull a scam at his expense. Spider however...Spider was equally startled and hiding it miserably.

“Cute. Real funny.”

“Anything in the room, you said.”

They turn, fix their stare on Spider, cold and even and completely unwavering. He chokes on an inhale, glances from one Hunter to another, back to Kestral and waving dismissively.

“Fine. You can have him. Fly away little birds.”

Without hesitation they turn, waiting for Crow to realise that he can follow them out of the lair and not have to return. It takes him all of a few seconds before pacing out by their side, glancing to his shoulder to try and figure out the Hunter to his side. They were puffed up proudly, the slightest hint of a smug smile on their face that softened as they noticed his attentions on them.

“Why...would you do this for us?”

Kestral deflated slightly, unable to hide the realisation that they weren’t sure how to explain their choices but knowing the answer they didn’t want to give, “You...you’re a Guardian.”

Crow lets out a breath and relaxes.

“Plus I can’t pass up a chance to mess with Spider,” they add with a wink.

-----

2.

After being chased down by a pack of pike riding Eliksni, Kestral slumped down by the side of their wrecked sparrow on the edge of the ruined road, Crow quickly pulling up beside them and removing his helmet to check the damage on Guardian and sparrow. He knelt down beside them and on realising they were pretty much fine after a brief once over, he fell to his backside beside them, pulling them in with one arm.

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

Crow chuckled at the memory of his own usage of the phrase, a little sad, and kissed the top of their head, “What about the sparrow, want me to fix her up?”

They shake their head, nudging it into the crook of his neck affectionately, “I’ll just blow it up.”

“How about, if you let me fix it up instead of shooting it to shit, you can take a moment to recover. We have a nice view if you ignore Firebase Hades over there.”

They sighed, sat back and nodded, “I can’t believe I’m enabling your tinkering.”

When Kestral had finally called on Roost and got themself fixed back up, Crow was already elbows deep in their sparrow trying to reconnect the parts that the pikes had blown apart with Glint shining a light into the machinery. They watched for a little while in silence, smiling at Glint when he occasionally peeked up.

“Who taught you all this stuff? With the lure. Ghosts. Sparrows.” they asked softly, trying not to startle him out of his concentration.

Without looking up he chuckled, “I think I taught myself? You can learn a lot by messing with junk, taking things to pieces and fixing garbage.”

“If I knew I was going to wind up with such a fucking smart boyfriend I probably would’ve tried to woo you a little more impressively instead of being a drunken dumbass.”

He paused, glanced up to his side where the other Hunter was leaning, “Boyfriend?”

“That’s what you’re going to take from that?” they replied with a laugh.

He flushed, laughed nervously in response, “Well, no I’m flattered by the compliment of course but, does that mean you’re my…” he stuttered, flickered his eyes down, up again, brows furrowed tightly, “my uh…”

“Girlfriend is fine.”

His expression melted and he reached out to touch their face, noticing the oil and grease on his hands just in time to avoid smearing it on them. They just laughed, took his filthy hands in their gloved ones and snuggled up closer.

“Is that alright?”

“What?” he smiled even softer, even wider, reaching his eyes and softening his brows, “Me being your boyfriend? You being my girlfriend?” he paused, mouthing the words again under his breath, enjoying how real they felt.

“Yeah, that.”

“Might take some getting used to,” he teased with a chuckle, “In the best kind of way.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to get used to it if you want, don’t worry about that.”

Barely a breath after they’d finished speaking he swept forward, capturing their lips in a sweet kiss and breathing them in deeply, unconcerned by the fact that they were parked by the side of a main road.

[i-do-trash-fanfictions]

Thera’s Journal Entry #37

I walked into Spider’s lair, passed Spider himself without so much as a glance, and walked into Crow’s small area. 

He was shuffling things around on his workbench. He turns and smiles when he sees me walk in. “We’re on the verge of the coup de grace.” He says. “I’ve tracked the high celebrant to the Dreaming City, but the lure will need to be upgraded one last time before we can make our move.”

Crow holds up the bauble and examines it. “Here it is: the final piece.” He smirks. “Well then, like Spider always says, we’re in business.”

The lure was already charged, so I simply took the small thing and upgraded it quickly. Then I headed to Spider to get coordinates.

“The high celebrant is finally within reach.” Spider says in his gravely voice. “Crow and the warlock Osiris have used what you’ve been learning on your hunts to track it to the Dreaming City. My hunter.. exemplary. An embleplatic paragon. It makes me wonder why I needed you.” He chuckles. “I jest, of course.”

I roll my eyes underneath my helmet.

“Though I have to admit, I carry some trepidation.” Spider says. “My pet,”

I grit my teeth at the word pet.

“Stands at your shoulder like an equal. Your encouragement makes him think himself a Guardian. Ha... the vanity.” He says cruelly. “Do not let him so close, or spoil him with pretty dreams.” He points to me. “Kill the high celebrant! Break Xivu Arath’s hold on my Shore, and you can claim any prize in my lair as your reward. You’ll have earned it.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I arrived at the required coordinates. 

“Remember: the celebrant must be killed in the Ascendant Plane.” Osiris reminded me over the coms. “Destroy it, and you’ll deal Xivu Arath a crippling blow.”

“Right,” Said Scout. “No celebrant, no cryptolith. No cryptolith, no wrathborn.”

“Crow, you there?” I asked.

“Somewhat. I tracked the celebrant through a portal into swirling darkness.” He answered.

“A gateway to the Ascendant Plane.” Said Glint.

“As I said: swirling darkness. I’m learning its tricks now, studying how it moves through these realms. It’s like a shark cutting through black water.”

“Keep an eye on it.” I told him.

“I can do more than that.”

“And stay safe, okay?” I added.

“I’ll be fine Thera.”

I fought past a few hive with Riskrunner and a door opened. I saw the cryptolith and went to it, then slammed the lure into the ground beside it.

“Ha! Tagged it!” Crow exclaimed. “It’s bleeding energy and on it’s way back to you.”

I heard the screech of hive and the celebrant appeared. I readied Riskrunner and began to fire, aiming at the head the best I could. Any smaller hive that got to close, I fired at with my shotgun. And when I got the chance, I used my grenade launcher, while also occasionally using a dagger of solar light.

After a while, it screeched again and disappeared.

“It fled back to the Ascendant Plane! But it left something behind.” Said Scout.

“Told you I tagged it.” Came Crow’s voice. 

I looked at the green liquid that stained the floor.

“That’s residual energy.” Crow said. “A blood trail. Destroy it, and the essence in your lure should reopen the portal.”

“The celebrant seeks to bring more territory under Xivu Arath’s control.” Said Osiris as I jumped from area to area. “Be quick. She will not be pleased with trespassers...”

I made it to another portal and walked through, landing back in the Dreaming City.

“We made it through the portal back to the Dreaming City.” Scout said in the coms. “No sign of the celebrant. Crow, where are you?” He asked.

“At your coordinates, walking the other side of the same coin. The way I see it, as long as it’s in both planes, it has nowhere to hide.”

“Celebrant sighted!” I exclaimed as it shrieked then appeared.

“Do your thing.” Stated Crow.

I aimed at the celebrant and fired at it many times.

“This isn’t working.” Scout stated. “We can’t truly damage the celebrant without reclaimed light!”

“Hold tight. I’m on it!”

A few seconds later a few fallen appeared where I was. 

“We’ve flushed them out of the Ascendant Plane and into the open.” Said Glint.

“I just shot them until they ran, but I like the way you put it better.” Said Crow.

I laughed.

I continued to fire at the fallen. Mostly I aimed at the ones with swirling green light above their heads. When I killed them, it allowed me to do damage to the celebrant. I was able to do just a bit more damage, when it disappeared again. I ran towards the portal it left behind and went through it, into the Ascendant Plane once more.

“To think you can enter this plane using only dead essences...” Stated Osiris as I followed the trail of green liquid that the celebrant left behind.

I made it to another portal and went in again, making it back to the Dreaming City.

“Xivu Arath strikes where Savathun first pushed through the veil and entered the Dreaming City.” Said Osiris. “Has she no ambition of her own?”

I shot more fallen with Riskrunner, then took care of the Barrier Knight quite quickly. I stood at the door as it opened, revealing the celebrant standing right there. I jumped back, reloading my gun to prepare for the fight. It disappeared and reappeared again on the stairway. I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but it scared the crap out of me.

I followed it down the set of stairs, but whenever I would get too close, it would disappear again, appearing just a bit away from me. Finally, it appeared at the center of a circle in the room. But once again, as I got close, it disappeared.

“It stopped bleeding energy. We can’t get through.” Said Scout.

A large ogre appeared in it’s place and my eyes went wide. I quickly ran behind cover and reloaded my grenade launcher.

“I think the Celebrant realized we marked it. It sealed the portal behind itself.” Said Glint.

I fired a few grenades.

“We’re trapped in here?” Crow asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

I fired a few more and the ogre soon collapsed, dead.

“If your companions are trapped in the Ascendant Plane with the celebrant... then they are already lost.” Said Osris. “Like Sagira.”

Oh no, I thought to myself. I’m not giving up that easily.

“The portal is closed.” I told him. “But maybe there’s enough Hive magic in the lure to open another one.”

I took the lure and slammed it into the ground, then looked up. At the top of the small obelisk in front of me, was a portal. I got close to the railing and a piece of flooring appeared in mid air. I jumped on it. Another appeared. I jumped on that one too.

“I hope you can hear this.” Came Crow’s voice. “The celebrant turned it around on us-the hunter, becomes the hunted.” He sighed. “I wanted to- Listen, if things get ugly for us in here, just know it’s not your fault. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. Thank you.” He said. “For letting me have a choice.”

I jumped through the portal.

“Crow, I’m in the Ascendant Plane!” I said. “Do you read?”

“Nothing in here I can’t handle.” He answered.

I didn’t believe him.

“What are you talking about? The celebrant broke your legs and threw you into an abyss!” Exclaimed Glint.

I couldn’t help but grin.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Crow repeated. “The high celebrant is just up ahead, and I think I have a plan.”

I continued jumping and shooting. Eventually, I made it to a large area and there was a woosh as the high celebrant appeared.

For Sagira, I said to myself.

I began to fire.

“Are you keeping it busy?” Crow asked. “I’m nearly at the portal where you came in.”

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“Like Osiris said, the celebrant must die in the Ascendant Plane, and you’re our best shot at making that happen.”

“He’s leaving.” Stated Osiris.

“Energy reading are spiking.” Said Scout. “It’s going to create another portal.”

“I’m on position on the other side.” Crow told me. “You’re smoking it out Thera, but if I block the exit- it burns.” I continued to fire Riskrunner, occasionally using my grenade launcher, and my light. “I survived by watching the world around me and learning from my light. I’ve studied how that thing creates those portals. This time, I’ll be ready.”

A trap appeared and I got sucked into it. I fired at the bars of green light with Riskrunner. The celebrant was in front of me, about to teleport away.

“Crow! The portal!” Shouted Scout.

“I see it. Now finish it!”

The high celebrant kneeled and I finished the final blow using my golden gun.

“The high celebrant of Xivu Arath is no more. How did you manage that?” Asked Osiris.

“Oh, you know. You gain some skill when you kill a god. Or two. Or more.” I answered.

“Crow destroyed it’s portal from the other side when it tried to escape.” Said Scout. “I knew he wouldn’t really leave us.”

“Nooo, never.” I heard Crow say.

I started to laugh again at his sarcasm.

“Oh, bring it’s head, will you? Spider will want proof when you come to collect.” Crow added. “It’s been an honor, Thera.”

[changingourdestiny]

Season of the Hunt Part 1: The Hive, the Crow & the Spider

Summary:

When news of Sagira’s death reaches Fireteam Paralight, they immediately head for the Moon to aid Osiris in hunting down Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant. However, they are saved by a new and unexpected ally.

Next Part: Here

“Fireteam Paralight, we have a developing situation that I need you to take point on. For the past few weeks, Osiris has been trying to assess the damage caused by the return of the Darkness. He believes that Xivu Arath, the Hive god of war, seeks to take advantage of the power vacuum left in its wake. Osiris was investigating physical manifestations of her magic near the Scarlet Keep when…his Ghost, Sagira, was slain. Osiris delivered a message through a secure channel requesting that you personally aid him in this hunt. He’s desperate, Guardians. I need you three to save him from himself.”

“Going down below the Moon’s surface, Lightless. What is Osiris thinking?” Blaze muttered as Fireteam Paralight approached the entrance to the Hall of Wisdom. “Wouldn’t you hunt for the one responsible if someone killed Firefly?” Adam asked. “Fair point.” “I still can’t believe Sagira’s…” Rae began but trailed off. “I’m…I’m worried about Osiris.” Ghost began, “If Sagira’s gone then-” “Don’t worry about me but keep your voice down.” Osiris’s voice came through, “I’m using an external comm. I thought I was hunting Sagira’s killer…the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath. But now I think it’s hunting me. Meet me in the Hall of Wisdom.” “On our way.” Rae replied. But as they made their way through the entrance, another voice came through the comms. “Your friend is in a lot of danger.” “Who’s this?” Rae asked. “A concerned Ghost. Osiris shouldn’t be here, especially in his condition.” “We appreciate the warning, but we know what we’re doing.” Ghost replied, “If you and your Guardian are here to help…” “My Guardian. Right.”

As they descended below the Moon’s surface, Rae couldn’t help but notice Blaze looking uncomfortable. “You alright there, Blaze?” “Not really.” Blaze replied, “I’m getting a sinking feeling in my stomach. And when I get that feeling, it means I’m either about to receive a vision, or a vision I received previously is about to happen.” “Did you get any visions recently?” “…n-no.” “Okay…well, let me know if we need to stop for a minute.” “I-I’ll be fine. We need to hurry and find Osiris before the celebrant does.” Blaze walked a few steps behind Adam and Rae and Firefly whispered to her, “You’re not telling them? Really?! What if he’s-?” “Shh!” Blaze hushed, “They’ve enough to deal with right now. Chances are I’ll receive a new vision and things will be fine. Let’s just focus on finding Osiris for now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I hate it when they do that…” Blaze sighed in frustration as the small Fireteam managed to escape the Hive ambush into the Shrine of Oryx where Rae spotted Osiris on a platform above them. “You’re here. Finally.” Osiris called down, “Is it done?” “All good on our end.” Rae called back, giving a thumbs up, “Blaze just gets crabby when we’re on the Moon.” “I do not!” Blaze argued, giving Rae a light shove. Osiris chuckled slightly, “Good to hear. I’ll come down to y- oh!” As Osiris went to turn around, he was knocked to the ground by a Hive knight, his gun tumbling off the edge. “Osiris!!” Rae exclaimed. She went to aim her auto-rifle at the knight, who raised its sword up high, when…

*SHINK!*

A blade pierced though its chest as it fell to the ground, disintegrating as it fell to the floor. Rae was just able to make out a humanoid form in the shadows behind where it once stood. The figure walked towards Osiris, who was still on the ground in shock. Rae froze in place as the figure stepped forward, the light hitting their face. Staring down at Osiris was Uldren Sov. “We warned you it was going to be dangerous down here. Especially for the Ghostless.” The Ghost Rae and Ghost heard earlier appeared beside him, scolding Osiris who seemed less shocked now and more confused. “I’m…I’m glad to see we’re all okay, though.” The Ghost continued, trying to sound more optimistic, “I’m Glint, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Osiris gave Glint a small wave as Adam glanced between Uldren and his Fireteammates. Rae’s eyes were wide in shock, while Blaze seemed more surprised, but Adam could see her hands shaking slightly. “Go on, introduce yourself.” Glint floated beside Uldren, motioning to Osiris and Fireteam Paralight. “They call me…the Crow.” He began, looking down at Fireteam Paralight, “My boss wants to see you.” “Impossible…” Ghost muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fireteam Paralight landed in the Tangled Shore at Thieves’ Landing. The trio had flown there in silence. Adam glanced between his teammates before speaking, “Ok, I’m can’t stand the awkward silence so I’m gonna say what we’re all thinking right now: Uldren’s a Lightbearer named Crow now. It’s weird and nobody saw it coming. Petra’s gonna flip, who knows how the Vanguard are gonna react, and a lot of Guardians aren’t gonna be happy. There, it’s been said.” “That’s not…entirely true.” Blaze muttered. Rae glanced at Blaze in confusion before a look of realization crossed her face, “You had a vision of this, didn’t you?” “I knew he had become a Lightbearer. I wasn’t expecting to see him on the Moon.” “And you didn’t think to give us a heads up?” “I was afraid that if word got out, it would’ve set off a man-hunt.” “Blaze.” “I know you’re mad, but he probably doesn’t even know who he is!” “Blaze.” “I just wanted him to have another chance. Away from Riven, away from the Scorn, away from Mar-” “Blaze!” Rae placed her hands on Blaze’s shoulders, “I’m not mad.” “You’re…you’re not?” Rae shook her head, “I’m with you. That isn’t Uldren we saw on the Moon. I could tell just by looking at him that it’s not the same person anymore. I don’t fully know what’s going on right now, but let’s find out before deciding on what to do next, okay?” Blaze nodded. “Okay. Let’s go see the Spider then.”

As they entered the Spider’s room, Crow transmatted in beside the Fireteam. “What’s this?” Spider leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at Crow, “Thought I told you to bring me the Warlock Osiris. Explain yourself.” “Osiris…” Crow began, but was cut off by Ghost, “Lost his Ghost. He’s gone back to the Tower to recover.” “You Lightmongers never cease to amaze me. You deal violence so easily and suffer loss so poorly.” Spider seemed to glance briefly at Rae and Blaze upon saying this, “Such fragile killers.” “We’ll finish what he started.” Rae replied, glaring up at the Fallen. “And what’s that, hmm?” “Avenge Sagira. Eliminate the High Celebrant.” “I had it in my sights.” Crow began before glancing at the Guardians beside him, “If your friend hadn’t needed saving.” Rae went to argue but was cut off by Spider addressing Crow, “You forget your place, little bird.” “My apologies, Baron.” Crow hung his head slightly. “Now then.” Spider once again turned his attention to Fireteam Paralight, “Perhaps we can help each other out, eh? I know how accomplished you are at exacting revenge.” Rae’s eyes narrowed at Spider as he chuckled to himself, “If you know something, just spit it out already instead of wasting time.” “Hmm…someone’s grown an attitude since we last worked together.” “The only thing we’ve grown is a lack of patience with you.” Blaze replied, “What do you know?” Spider leaned back in his chair, “Xivu Arath is using her High Celebrant and those damned cryptoliths to corrupt Eliksni. Cabal too. But I’m losing soldiers and Glimmer by the Skiff-load. I know what Osiris was doing on the Moon. And I know you’ll fare far better, given the, ah, proper motivation.” Spider turned to Crow, “Leave us, Crow. The Guardian and I have terms to discuss.” Crow turned and entered a side room, which Rae had noticed the last time she worked with Spider. As soon as Crow was out of earshot, the Fallen Baron turned his attention back to the three Guardians. My little bird sure is something, isn’t he? I have to imagine you share in my appreciation of fate’s cruel sense of humour.” “I’ll admit it’s ironic.” Rae replied, “Man who hated Guardians more than anyone else becomes one.” “Mind telling us how you got your greasy little claws on him?” Blaze asked. “Found him wandering the Reef like a piece of wind-blown trash. Aimless, hopeless. No memory of the prince he was. Now, I could have sent him off to the Tower, but…we all know what’s waiting for him there. I couldn’t let that happen, so I took him in. As a kindness.” “I could’ve arranged for him to receive Vanguard protection.” Rae replied. “Think you could’ve arranged it fast enough before someone put a bullet in his Ghost? Besides, let’s not pretend that your fellow Vanguard would be thrilled to see him.” Rae let out a quiet growl as she glared at Spider. “Thought so. As far as Crow’s loyalty is concerned, I took a few extra precautions and made some…modifications to his Ghost’s shell.” Rae narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “What ‘modifications’?” “If he ever flies too far from the nest…boom.” “You rigged Glint’s shell with explosives?!” Blaze exclaimed, a few odd flames flickering from her eye. “Spider, you’re lucky he isn’t a registered Guardian.” Rae growled, “Tampering with a Ghost’s shell is a serious offense and I am seriously tempted to let Blaze have her way right now.” “Let’s try to focus on the Xivu Arath problem for now. Even though I wouldn’t complain if Spider went up in flames…” Adam spoke up, muttering the last part under his breath. “Adam’s right.” Rae sighed in frustration, “I take it this is you asking for another partnership?” “Indeed.” Spider replied, “You go out there and do what it is you do best, and I’ll ah…lend you the resources you need to get it done. Maybe even a little extra something on the side, hm. Just don’t mention the name Uldren Sov. For his sake.” Rae was silent for a moment before sighing, “Fine. But know that if I hear of anything bad happening to Crow because of you, Xivu Arath won’t be the only one on our current to-kill list.” “Ha! Duly noted.” Spider chuckled as the Fireteam made their way into Crow’s workshop.

Rae glanced around the workshop as the trio entered. It was somewhat tidy aside from the odd clutter. Crow stood at a workbench and turned around as the Fireteam entered. “Crow, right?” Rae began as she approached him, “I never got the chance to properly introduce myself earlier on the Moon. I’m Vanguard Raegalia Drakyx, but most people call me Rae. This is my team, Fireteam Paralight.” Rae motioned to the Hunter and Titan behind her, “Adam, our Titan. And our Hunter, Blaze.” “It’s nice to meet you.” Crow nodded, “The Reef’s sky has holes in it…and the whole system’s in chaos. Of course, Xivu Arath decided now was the right time to corrupt herself an army.” “Makes sense.” Adam nodded, “Using the chaos to her advantage, hope the Darkness provides enough of a distraction to keep the Guardians from looking into it.” “Any info about these corrupted soldiers of hers?” Rae asked. “We call them Wrathborn.” Crow replied, “Most of them are Eliksni, like Spider. Others…hmph, well. Spider wants the lines of Glimmer open, Hive god or not. Asked me to help you deal with Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant.” Crow glanced at each of the Guardians briefly, “Apparently, the Guardians of the Last City are old friends of mine. But…I don’t remember you.” “I don’t blame you. All Guardians lose their memory upon being resurrected for the first time.” Rae shrugged, “Either way, we’re happy to help if it means avenging our friend. So where do we start?” Crow took out a large Hive-esque object from under the desk, “I found some Hive artifacts gathering dust in Spider’s trove and fashioned them into a lure. Wrathborn go crazy for them. When they take the bait…” Crow was silent for a moment, “I wish there were some other way. But her magic’s driven them mad. Hunting them down is the only way to weaken Xivu Arath’s grip on the Shore. Like Spider says…violence is the only language the Hive understand. For now, we can start small, work our way up her command chain. When we reach the High Celebrant, we’ll take it down. Stop Xivu Arath from corrupting anyone else.” “Sounds like a plan.” Rae took the lure from Crow, “We’ll charge this up, plant it at the cryptolith, and take down the Wrathborns that show up.” Crow gave them a nod and as they went to leave, he spoke up once more, “Hey…don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s…nice to be working with other Lightbearers.” “We look forward to working with you too.” Rae gave a kind smile before leaving the lair with Adam and Blaze. Crow stared at the workshop entrance for a moment, lost in thought, before shaking his head, muttering, “No…probably just a coincidence…” before returning to his workbench. But as he stood there, he found himself absentmindedly fiddling with something under his cloak.

A silver ring hanging from his neck with a fire agate stone.

To Be Continued…

[ohgodwhy151]

Oryx and a Human

So here is something weird. I’ve been playing a lot of destiny and just LOVE the story of Oryx, so I got the urge to write a little a thing about him that takes place just before the Taken King DLC. Feel free to tell me what you think, I just wanted a place to keep this. 

When Oryx spoke the whole universe listened, however, a being of such age and wisdom would often turn his attention and three glowing eyes to a much smaller listener. 

“Tell me of your Last City.” His timeless voice echoed through the halls of his Dreadnaught. 

The woman walked with her eyes locked on the floor as the King floated beside her. “I’m not giving you any information.” She spat defiantly. 

The king hummed deeply. “You don’t understand. I could erase your city and it’s… Guardian,” He chuckled. “From the annals of existence. But I am not my sister, I am not here for war, not yet. I am here to learn from you.” Landing on his feet the floor deformed slightly around his body as he knelt down to her level. 

“What do you want to learn from me?” The human asked. 

The king smiled. “I have traveled the stars for longer than your sun has burned and in all my voyages I have never met a species like you. I wish to know why the Traveler has chosen your kind.” 

Mustering the courage to at least look upon his plated body the woman shook her head. “Then you’re asking the wrong person. I’m not a guardian. 

Oryx once again hummed. “No, I don’t smell the wretched Light on you. You are mortal and it intrigues me.” 

“I’m not a guinea pig. I’d rather die than be your experiment.” 

Narrowing his green eyes Oryx tilted his head. “It is clear there is much I have to learn, but I have no intention of giving you to my wizards or witches. I wish to learn it from you. That is why I had my Thrall brought you here.” 

“I have nothing to say to you.” 

Oryx sighed as he took off from the ground, his ancient wings silently beating in the air. “Your kind’s resistance will act as a grindstone to the universe to perfect itself, but you, yourself need not die yet. Surely as a mortal and human, you fear death.” 

With balled fists, the woman did her best to calm herself. “I don’t care about your demented religion and it’s not like I’m not afraid, I am, it’s just I’ve realised that I’m never going home, I’ll never see my family or friends again. Now, I’m angry.”

“Family,” The king echoed. “We may come from different worlds but we still love our family.” 

Finally boiling over the woman met Oryx’s eyes. “What could you know about love?” She hissed. 

Standing to his full height Oryx took a deep breath. “Xivu Arath and Savathün. My sisters and I loved each other so much we would kill each other countless times over to perfect ourselves. You just made me realise, I haven’t said their names in meliena,” He chuckled. “I should thank you for allowing me to pay them mind, I’m sure Savathün will be pleased for the thought.” 

“You’re mad.” 

Reaching to his side Oryx allowed his clawed fingers the dance over the stone tablets that hung from his waist. “I am enlightened. I saw into the Deep and from it, I took my strength. Surely you understand my power.” 

“I’m not a guardian, I’m a damn cook. I don’t know about the deep, or your sisters. All I know is that you and your Hive are a plague on my home.” 

“A cook?” Oryx hummed. “Do you prepare tribute for your acende- superiors?” 

“What?” The woman stuttered. “You want to learn about my cooking?” 

Oryx turned to look at her as they walked. “I wish to learn all. It is my nature. For example… I wish to know your name.” 

“My name?” 

Oryx nodded. “You are the first human I have met. I wish for yours to be the first name I learn.”    

“Sophie.” She said with narrowed eyes. 

Lowering his head to her Oryx echoed. “Sophie,” He said as if savouring every syllable. “I shall remember it for as long as my worm hungers.” 

“S-so now what? You know my name and that I’m a cook. Want to know my favourite color?” 

Oryx smiled down at Sophie. “Follow me.” 

As the taken king toured his new companion around the Dreadnaught he found himself asking question after question in a way he hadn’t since his time on Fundament. It kindled beneath his plated skin, something long thought cold that he hadn’t felt since pestering his tutor Taox about his people’s history. 

“It is impressive,” Oryx cooed. “For humanity to expand so quickly from such weak beginnings. It would take centuries to build a single war-moon and yet humans can take over a whole plant in equal time.” 

Sophie furrowed her brow. “We only have one planet, well, we used to have more. Before the collapse.” 

“You held many worlds?” 

Shaking her head Sophie looked up at the king. “I didn’t. I’ve only ever known earth. But before the collapse people lived on Mars, Venus and even further out into the solar system.” 

“And now your kind are in ruins, with your false god slumbering over you.” 

“The traveler looks after us.” 

Oryx hissed. “It does no such thing. It has employed another species to fight it’s wars as it runs from the inevitable. It has made slaves of what were a powerful people.” He explained with an outstretched claw.       

Trapped within his growing shadow Sophie began to shiver. 

Taking note of her discomfort Oryx stood back. “You are cold?” When Sophie slowly nodded he landed beside her and brought a single wing around her. “The Hive know little of warmth, but my soulfire kept me warm in the Deep.” A deep green bloomed from the appendage filling the air not so much with warmth but instead chasing the cold away. 

“T-thank you, I think.” 

“Now,” Oryx said as they began walking once again. “In return for the history of your people, I shall show you mine.”

Growing more comfortable in his presence Sophie looked up to the king. “Aren’t we enemies. Why would you teach me?” 

Oryx laughed. “The Sword-Logic does not belong to a single species, only the strongest. It is the purpose of the Hive the create the strongest through war, cunning and knowledge. I am giving you knowledge in hope that you grow strong.” 

“But I’m mortal,” Sophie scoffed. “I can’t get strong, I can’t use the Light.” 

Holding out a balled fist Oryx instructed her to focus. “The Light is not for the strong. It is a crutch, meant for the weak to resist the final shape. The Sword-Logic belongs to the strong,” As he spoke an eerie green flame enveloped his fist. It flickered and waved in the stagnant air as he brought it down to her. “Hold out your hand.” 

In horror, Sophie recoiled. “What?” She shrieked. “N-no.” 

“On my center eye, it will not hurt you.” 

Compelled by the strength in his voice Sophie slowly reached out her hand, towards Oryx’s. She flinched when he brought the flame closer to her but remained steady as he encouraged her. Taking one last deep breath she closed her eyes and thrust her hand forward into the flame. 

It deformed around her hand but quickly engulfed her down to her elbow. Instinctively she pulled back and with wide eyes gawked at the green hues that shone from her palm. “I-it doesn’t burn.”  

Pleased, Oryx knelt down. “Because you are strong. Countless weak beings have gone mad aboard this ship but you remain strong. That strength pleases the Sword-Logic and so, you weren’t burnt.” 

Coddling the flame in her hand Sophie once again met the king’s eyes. “Aren’t guardians strong though? They can’t die.” 

“Your… guardians,” He growled. “See death as an inconvenience. Instead of the stepping stone it is.” 

“I… I don’t understand.” 

With a deep laugh, Oryx brought a hand to Sophie’s back and eased her forward. “Come, I will show you where the Sword-Logic is taught.” 

As they walked Oryx continued to quiz his companion on humanity and their history, and while still wary of him, Sophie began to relax in his presence, longer repulsed by his hollow green eyes or scared stiff by his towering figure. Instead, she too was curious about this foreign being. 

They continued their questioning of each other until they came to stop ahead of a long, rotted corridor. “This is my court,” Oryx said as they stepped forward. The walls of the corridor were lined with a series of weathered and scared statues, as they passed them Sophie noticed an altar at the base of each monument. 

“What are they?” Sophie asked. 

“They are for my Hive, they allow my champions to be summoned and be tested.” 

“Like survival of the fittest?” 

Oryx beamed. “Yes. I like this phrase. Survival of the fittest, of the sharpest.”  

As he spoke Sophie closed her eyes, she swore she could hear the statues whispering as Oryx spoke. She didn’t understand the words that filled the air but their venomous tone made her clutch the fire in her hand close to her chest. 

Oryx quickly noticed her discomfort and with a single beat of his wings silenced not only the voices but every Hive and Taken aboard the Dreadnaught. “This ship was crafted from the body of Akka after I slew him. The worm’s voice can still be heard but do not worry. All on this ship live by my rule.” 

Feeling herself shrink in his presence Sophie swallowed the lump in her throat. “Y-you said you’ve been traveling since before our sun… how is that possible?” 

Oryx grinned. “My strength has preserved me. The strength of my spawn has preserved me. The strength of my Dreadnaught has preserved me.” 

Before Sophie could even draw breath to ask another question a coldness flooded the corridor that pierced the human down to her very core, even the soulfire, gifted to her by the taken king quivered in the frigid air. With wide eyes she stared past Oryx, towards the towering archway ahead of them where she saw the floating figure. She could tell they were far smaller than Oryx, although knowing the Hive they were still probably much bigger than herself. “W-who is that?” She asked with a fear-filled voice. 

As Oryx went to answer the creature turned and quickly rushed down the corridor, as they approached Sophie recoiled behind the king, fearing for her life she fell to her knees as a soul-rending scream engulfed her.    

“Halak,” Oryx boomed in a voice that could silence a roaring star. “Silence your songs! We have a mortal guest and should they be harmed then my worm will feed well from your death.” 

As far as Sophie could see the being had no eyes to gaze upon her, it’s head was shaped to a fine point from plated chitin that could cut any observer with a sharp look. “Forgive me, father, I could smell a foreigner onboard and wished to test my latest verse.” 

“You shall have your practice when we arrive. There you and your sister will sing and bring death to all who listen,” Oryx beamed. “Until then our guest is to be kept alive.” 

Halak bowed her head before turning her attention to human her father was protecting. “Why bring a human here, unless she is to feed Golgoroth.” 

“She is my guest, we are taking knowledge from each other in order to grow stronger. See, she is the first human to hold soulfire.” 

Looking down at the trembling human, Halak brought herself down to Sophie’s level. “This human is afraid, surely this fear weakens her.” 

“You are strong enough to warrant the praise of Xivu. Does that mean you don’t fear her?” 

Halak quickly turned to her father and shook her head. “O-of course not, father. I am merely perplexed as to why you chose her.” 

“I asked my Thrall to bring me a human. And they did. Now we sharpen each other through taken knowledge.” 

Halak clasped her claws together. “I am curious as to how the Deep will perfect a human. Would you take her to demonstrate your might.” 

As her fire dimmed Sophie stepped back from both Halak and Oryx. “T-take? What are you going to do to me?” 

Rounding on his daughter, Oryx towered over the witch and from a wound in space pulled a sword that had ended more lives than there were stars in the sky. “You are not Savathün, your trickery is weak compared to hers. Now leave us, before I send you to the Sunless Cell.” He warned as he cleaved a pocket world to hold Willbreaker.

The witch with no eyes hesitated a moment before bowering to her father and gazing down at Sophie before flying back to the archway, leaving the faint smell of rot in the air. 

Oryx sighed. “Forgive my daughter, some days her curiosity outweighs her loyalty. It has killed her many times.” He chuckled. 

“Y-you have a daughter?” 

The king nodded. “Ir Halak and Ir Anûk. My Deathsingers, they were born as twins and so destined to become witches while my son… became an eater of hope.” 

Swallowing her fear Sophie looked down her fire and mustered all her courage. “I heard your son was killed. O-on the moon.” She said as her fire swelled. 

Oryx bowed his head. “Yes, his absence feels like a hole in my stomach. It aches.” 

“You miss him?” 

Oryx remained still. “Yes. He was my firstborn. When he took the worm inside him I proclaimed that no other being could wield a cleaver like him. His strength brought much joy and rage to Xivu Arath.” 

Sophie furrowed her brow. “He killed hundreds of guardians and shattered our moon.”

“Yet he wasn’t strong enough. His death weighs heavy in my chest and I will have my vengeance, but his death, like all, serve the Sword-logic,” He explained with a hand resting on the tablets that hung from him. “Tell me, Sophie. Do you have a family?” 

The fire in her palm bloomed as Sophie thought to her loved ones so far away. “Y-yes, she said choking back tears. I have a husband.” 

“You have a consort?” 

Sophie laughed. “I guess you could call him that. He came to the City with a group of refugees about ten years ago now.” 

As his interest grew Oryx lowered himself to her level. “How did he approach you?” 

Once again Sophie laughed. “He didn’t. I ‘approached’ him. He was so skinny and weak when he arrived but he always found the strength to stand up and help those he needed it, even when he was the one who needed it,” She sighed as her eyes began to well up. “It took me a while to muster up the courage, but eventually I asked him to join me for dinner. At first, he said no, that he couldn’t pay, but I offered to pay for the whole night and after that, he couldn’t say no.” 

Oryx hummed. “Is this common courting behavior on earth?”   

“I don’t know. It depends on who you are. Someone people go out for a meal, others meet at work. There are countless stories of how people fall in love.” 

Seemingly satisfied Oryx stood. “You have given me much knowledge, Sophie, I will use it to sharpen myself as you will grow sharp.” 

“Are you going to kill me now?” 

Looking down at her, the Taken King shook his head. “No. Our conversation has given me reason to think, not to kill. I will return you to your world. On one condition. When you die your soul is mine. There are many more things I wish to learn from you.” 

At the mere mention of going home, Sophie eagerly nodded her head, doing her best to ignore the implications of what she had traded in return. “I guess I should thank you. For not killing me.” 

As Oryx reached down to her with an open hand he laughed. “It is strange. My worm hungers for your death and yet I refuse it’s want,” he whispered. “When you wake this will seem like a dream and no one but my Hive and you will see your soulfire. Cherish your knowledge Sophie, Holder of Fire.”  

Before she could ask one of the many questions that still plagued her, Sophie felt a drowning weight overcome her. The thing she saw before her eyes closed was Oryx, kneeling down beside her limp body. 

When Sophie woke her eyes stung at the harsh sunlight that met her, reaching up to shield her eyes she gasped at green flames that licked at her hand and arm. “I-it wasn’t a dream?” She gasped. 

“What wasn’t?” A familiar voice asked.

Sitting up, Sophie looked over to see the gentle smile of her husband from their bedroom door. “N-nothing. I just had a weird dream.” 

“Oh yeah? What was it about?” 

Sophie looked down at her hand. “I dreamt about the Hive.” 

Her husband’s expression hardened. “Sounds more like a nightmare to me.” 

“I guess so.” 

The fire suddenly extinguished one day; almost exactly a year later. Sophie nearly dropped the pot of freshly cooked noodles when the familiar green hues disappeared, after excusing herself to the bathroom she held out her open hand and thought back to Oryx’s words. 

“He gave me this fire. Was it his soulfire?” 

Since that night Sophie devoured as much information regarding the Hive as she possibly could, to those who asked she merely shrugged her sudden curiosity off as just that. Curiosity. But deep down she could feel a near irresistible urge to learn more about the creatures that took her and the King who spared her. 

It was only when the City celebrated did Sophie learn what had happened, with the true death of the Taken King Sol was safe once again. The six who ended his ancient rein were hailed as heroes and god-slayers, and while Sophie was relieved that her and the city were safe part of her missed the warmth she once held. The warmth gifted to her by Oryx, the Taken King.     

[titanicfreija]

Winding Down

"I felt like she wanted to die," Freija admitted aloud. "Like she was waiting for a chance. It was crazy and hurt feelings, but they were there, and that's what I'm here to talk about, so that's that. It wasn't real, and I knew I was crazy for thinking it, but I really, at the worst, after she told me she was pretty sure this was going to kill her, that not only was she fine with that, but that she'd be disappointed if she lived."

"Yeah?" Sunny asked softly. 

"Bunch of reasons," Freija admitted, almost chuckling at herself. "I know how much you'd love to be the one to fight. I know you're a tiny bit jealous that I get to try over and over again like I do, and that I can make this mockery of a sacrifice every time I do it. I know you see my pain and want it to end, I know you see the war and hate our parts in it, the chains. But I also know you wouldn't want to die. It was just hurt and crazy."

"You are right, though, I am a little jealous that you get so many lives and I get one, no matter how long it is."

"I know. I wouldn't want to trade places. I couldn't be in your place. I couldn't stand it."

"This is going to sound awful, but I started out knowing it was going to be that way, and I really didn't think about most of it until Xivu Arath… messed with me."

"You thought about it. You worried about me all the time. You just didn't think about my body's pain, you thought about my mind. Told me to stop when I was tired, when I stopped having fun in the crucible, when the struggle was too difficult to press forward alone and we had to go get Rise."

"That feels a little better."

"I don't know what she said that made you notice how badly my body gets broken, but I was reborn hardly caring."

"It wasn't what she said, exactly. I resisted the frenzy. She tried to override us in ourselves, infect with bloodlust, and I remembered your victories, reveled in the blaze of glory and death that you've been. And I pulled too hard in the other direction, trying to escape that. I told you what I remembered back then. All the shapes of Freija-corpse, you said."

"Ah. Well. You know now why I don't mind."

"Yeah, that really is weird," Sunny agreed. "When… when has the pain been blinding?"

Freija waved her left arm. 

"That's what we thought."

"I'm not gonna say that's the only time, but that's the only time I remember," Freija said. "Sometimes it gets really confusing right before the end, and that usually hurts, I think? But only when I survive long enough to notice. You usually heal me when that happens."

"After you crawl away, dragging an internal organ," grumbled Sunny. "How could I possibly forget injuries so traumatic that you didn't notice until later?"

"I mean… I forget," the Titan joked with a wry smile.

Thomas chortled as he felt Rex relaxing. He liked knowing Freija couldn't be his Guardian any more than he could be her Ghost, and therefore the shortcomings between them weren't so bad in comparison. Or something.

"It didn't get blinding to me. I just didn't know the term had a real life sort of thing, but then you described it without using the word," Sunny murmured. "It did hurt. But I knew who I was and what I was doing the whole time, and I could see the Witness and feel you struggling to hold the Light. I knew. I'm sorry I scr…" Sunny cut herself off and her voice dropped pitifully. "I'm sorry I yell at you for screaming in pain. I knew you said you couldn't help it but I thought you meant like you can't help the temper tantrums– you could but didn't know how. I didn't… I didn't know."

"That's… actually good to know. That you haven't been in that kind of pain before," Freija said. "It's not the worst. Blinding is three degrees above that. But that one where you can't stop screaming is pretty bad."

"Where the screams are ripped from your lungs?" Thomas asked. "Most inhuman noise I've ever heard or made."

"Mine was… still fairly human."

"Yeah."

"That was… intense," agreed Rex. "Uninjured, I would still say it was difficult and even painful."

"Sunny held on through it," Freija said proudly. "She's a badass."

"I concur," Thomas cheered.

"I hardly remember much after that," Sunny said. "Your voice. But I couldn't see and any moving was incidental. I was already gone by then."

"Yeah," agreed Freija. 

"Been there, done that," Thomas seconded.

"It's okay. I forgive you for dying. The way you… embraced your death…. I'm still mad." The Titan breathed a long, irritated breath and watched the trees. "I'll get over it."

The silence lurked.

"Guardian?"

Caiatl's voice caught all of them off guard, and Freija drew her weapon before she said, "Cai– Empress?" She glanced at Thomas, who didn't bother hiding his annoyance, and cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Upon your return from this retreat, I would like to speak with you. Without Sunny."

Freija wasn't sure if she was allowed to say no, but she also wasn't sure if this was official or not. "I haven't really felt like talking to anyone," she said as kindly as she could. "If it's unofficial stuff, it's probably better for everyone if I don't."

"Everyone?"

"The fluctuating temperature stuff."

"I see. I am not afraid of your Light, strong as it is. You will see me."

"Yes, Empress."

"Does she lurk like you?" Thomas asked. 

"No," Rex replied. "I rather like that about her. She doesn't even look until she's decided to say something. How easy it is does disturb me, but that is rather a lot of technology in her hands."

"Good."

"It's good form," Sunny said brightly. 

"I use that phrase, too. What's it mean?" Freija asked. "Did I get it from you?"

"I got it from you. I suppose you got it from your first life or picked it up from another Guardian. It's a way to say following the accepted rules. There's no real cheating in a fight without rules but we all know what a cheap shot is."

"Ah."

"When are we heading back?" Thomas asked. "Starting now, we'll be three days. Or however long it takes for us to get somewhere big enough to mat in our ships."

Freija peered around the trees and looked to her Ghost, who rolled her flaps in turn. 

"One more night, then we head back."

[fernsplaysthings]

Speaking of writing; a continuation of this.

Some time after the Dawning passed, Glint let the Young Wolf know his Guardian was having dreams. Probably nothing, but there were flashes of things that concerned him. Past life. Connections made by the Traveller too maybe. Voices.

Not as concerning as Xivu Arath and her High Celebrant were though.

They were the immediate threat and with four Wrathborn deaths under their collective belt the prospect of drawing out the High Celebrant and ending it was rushing up to them quicker than anticipated. Kestral hadn’t really thought much about it aside from the bigger picture but luckily for them Osiris and Crow had the planning under control.

Not that the Phoenix would be out in the field with them these days.

Which left the Young Wolf once again trudging through Spider’s lair, one slightly battered sparrow ditched in the corridor just to peeve the Eliksni. They weren’t greeted by Glint as they would’ve usually been. He and Crow were pouring over the lure, tweaking pieces across it, adding as and when they needed to.

Kestral was about to make their arrival known when Roost nudged them and gestured to the workbench. Tucked just behind the mess of lure and Hive goo, in a spot just safe of the reach of whatever mess and splatter the young Hunter’s tinkering could produce sat the Dawning tin they’d delivered cookies in a few weeks earlier and the powered down string of lights. It took a couple of seconds for Kestral to notice what their Ghost was gesturing too and a second longer to recognise the smug, suggestive squint of his softly glowing eye at the light giddiness that had decided to bubble in their chest.

“He kept them.”

Kestral swatted the Ghost away playfully, firmly not acknowledging his hum of amusement and the nice warm feeling of hope that they knew was silly and not appropriate but…

“Crow.”

The Awoken snapped his head to look over his shoulder and smiled - tired but pleased to be interrupted - at his visitors, gaze immediately following theirs to the small Dawning stash and bashfully moved to block the view as he turned and leaned against the workbench.

“I may have eaten them all. Alone,” he said softly, a laugh laced between his words, “They helped me get through all this…”

A wave towards the chaotic looking bench beckoned Kestral over to see the contraption and all it’s alterations in more detail. Now stood side by side overlooking the reconstructed lure they raised a hand and cautiously squeezed his shoulder. Reassuring him, they hoped, but knowing it was also a small reassurance to themself too.

“I’m glad a sugar hit helped. It looks like you’ve been working hard.”

For a brief moment Crow’s hand reflexively covered the other Hunter’s on his shoulder before leaning on both palms over the lure, glowing eagle-like eyes looking for other things to change and tweak. Kestral leaned on their elbows against the bench, arms loosely folded and tried to follow the route of his inspection, glancing back and forth from machinery to his face, back to the machine. This wasn’t really their forte and did kind of hope they could learn something new from their companion.

Not something they’d ever expected to think with their sights settled on the face that once belonged to Uldren Sov, but here they were. 

Settled maybe a little too long.

A light smile tugged at the corners of his lips before he opened his mouth to speak, “It’s looking good. Now all I need is a Guardian to take out the High Celebrant.” He met their held gaze, taking Kestral a little by surprise, the smile stuck in place, “You in?”

They liked his stupid face. They could hear the Ghosts whispering about how much they liked his stupid face. Roost knew, of course Roost knew. They couldn’t hide anything from Roost, especially not the blossom of hope that sat in their chest at the idea that someone might not be intimidated by the Young Wolf, might not sit them up on a pedestal. Out of reach. Untouchable.

“I’m in.”

-----

Before they could set their plan to tackle the High Celebrant into motion, Crow’s dreams quickly took over. The dreams apparently not all dream-like anymore and more…

...weird scavenger hunt like.

“Paracausal birds shed like a bitch,” muttered Kestral, carefully picking up yet another plume from the ground.

They’d seen this bird before in their own dreams during the Red War and there was no doubt it was some communication from the Traveller. This time it was through the medium of Crow and not themself which for the most part was a relief. Carrying the expectation of being the ‘Chosen One’ was a heavy burden. On the other hand they wondered if there was some petty paracausal game being played now that they’d tangled themself within the Darkness too. Reminding them on what kind of connection they used to have with the Light to try and spur some sort of jealousy at Crow’s new ‘favoured’ status.

Not that he saw it like that. He saw it as the Light bringing them to work together. They did sort of like that.

Crow’s breath crackled over the comms as he laughed causing Kestral to grin to themself behind their helmet. They enjoyed his company a lot these days. Sure, it wasn’t like Hunters to stick together like this. In fireteams on missions, yeah. Temporary bonds. But constant company over comms even when they couldn’t work together in proximity? It was a little bit telling. Roost wasn’t here to judge them for their wandering thoughts this time though, safely stashed away until they reached the area Crow was leading them to.

“Just up here, on the left,” Crow’s voice softened as they rounded the corner, “It was my nest for a while. Glint and I stayed here when things were...bad.”

The entrance was a broken hole in the wall leading into a room set up into a makeshift living space. A sleeping bag spread out on stone or concrete. A work bench covered in forgotten pieces of firearms. A white sheet scrunched up near the bed and…

“I didn’t drink it,” he said quickly, Glint’s quiet laugh heard just behind his words, “A Warlock I saved gave me that bottle of wine. She recognised me from my previous life and...I wanted nothing to do with that.”

Kestral’s heart hurt.

He talked them through all the items in the room as they looked at them. The shroud. The Dawning ornament. They wanted to reach out and hold onto him while he spoke. He was so sincere it ached, trusting them with a year of pain, with the trauma of not knowing what he’d done to deserve it. Only knowing that it didn’t matter. He wasn’t that person anymore, whoever he had been.

Selfish as it was, Kestral was glad.

There was unspoken thanks and a much needed breeze of relief when Crow had finished talking about his past year and Kestral left the nest.

-----

Hawkmoon had switched hands a few times before the sun started to set, both Hunters taking pot shots with their new shiny loot before it was finally tucked away in favour of a campfire, some food and much too much to drink.

It’d been a long damn day with all the Taken Kestral had had to deal with in the EDZ, forging their new weapon and finally returning to the Tangled Shore to share the excitement with Crow so the pair were definitely due this time to unwind. Even if unwinding consisted of music blasting from Kestral’s ship parked nearby, messily munching down on campfire roasted...something, and really awful drunken dancing.

Really awful drunken dancing with Crow. 

Sober Kestral might have had something to say about that. About the carefree silliness that they rarely got to share with anyone aside from their fireteam that they easily shared with their Hunter companion now. About the warmth from the alcohol and the warmth from where his hands would occasionally make contact with their hands, arms, body. About the fact that Glint and Roost were floating about nearby, letting their Guardians unwind but still keeping watchful eyes on them.

Crow twirled them once and chuckled a little when they stumbled over their own feet, reaching an arm out to stabilise them and gripped slightly tighter as they wobbled. He grinned widely when Kestral backed away slightly, their hand still wrapped in his.

“I should probably sit down,” they laughed, “But don’t stop dancing on my account.”

“I don’t know. I think sitting’s a good idea.”

Fingers still tangled in Kestral’s he followed after them to where they decided to rest near the fire, sitting down in the grass, leaning back up against the rock that shielded their fire from the wind. Neither could quite tell who was leaning into who but the comforting weight of Crow pressed to their side was inspiring an alarming amount of softness somewhere in their gut.

They wondered if - hoped - Crow was feeling equally sentimental and sweet, even if the feelings were blurred weirdly by the buzz of whatever they’d had to drink that evening. Grabbing the bottle from nearby, Kestral took a swig and turned to pass it to Crow, not expecting to come face to face with him.

And oh boy they really liked his stupid face.

He took the bottle from Kestral’s hand, a lopsided smile on his lips, and instead of raising it to drink he set it down on the ground again his eyes not leaving their face.

“Can I kiss you, Kes?”

It took everything in their being not to immediately grasp him by the collar and press their mouth to his. It took a little more to remember that they were both extremely drunk and perhaps things, feelings, were just a little overwhelming and maybe a side effect of the lighthearted closeness - and alcohol - they’d been enjoying all evening.

But his lips were slightly parted and they could only imagine…

“I’m really drunk.”

Crow looked surprised for a moment before he laughed softly, stroking his knuckles slightly shakily over Kestral’s cheek, “Yeah, I’m...pretty drunk too.”

“So maybe…” their gut was doing some kind of gymnastics, they couldn’t stop staring at the other Hunter’s mouth, “...maybe if you wanna wait until we’re not so drunk? If you still...”

His hand had shifted to cup their cheek and Kestral hadn’t even noticed the way they pressed into his palm, their sentence trailed off and their eyes shut briefly. For all of a second they felt stupid for enjoying such a small amount of contact, not that that should surprise them or anyone. It’d been such a long time...

“Sounds like a plan,” his voice sounded a little tight, more breath than sound and with what appeared to be a great amount of strength (and no coordination) he removed his hand from it’s point of contact with Kestral’s cheek and flopped back against the rock that supported the pair.

They felt far too chilly all of a sudden.

Kestral slung their legs over his, nestled themself tightly by his side under an arm and passed out.

[changingourdestiny]

Season of the Hunt Part 7: A Cold War

Summary:

Dawning is here at last! To celebrate, Blaze brings Crow to the Tower. However, things take a very chilly turn thanks to Cayde.

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

“I can’t believe this is happening.” It had been a little over two weeks since Blaze and Crow’s mission to restore Hawkmoon. The two were currently in Blaze’s ship and were flying towards Earth. “How did you manage to convince Spider to let you do this?” Crow asked “He needed some items delivered to Drifter, so I promised him that I’d deliver them if you got to come over for the Dawning.” Blaze replied. “And you’re sure no one will try to shoot at me or Glint?” “100%. Use of weapons, abilities, and Supers in the Tower is forbidden unless in the case of an emergency. And if anyone tries, they’ll have Rae to answer to and, trust me when I say this, she is damn scary when she’s angry. Something she definitely gets from Ikora…” Blaze muttered the last part. “I’ll admit, I’m still a little nervous.” Crow shuffled in his seat a bit, “The Vanguard probably know of what my past self did. To say things will be awkward is an understatement.” “Don’t worry about that either. Rae and Osiris gave them a heads up as to what’s happening. As far as they’re concerned, that man is dead and you’re a Kinderguardian celebrating the Dawning.” Blaze reached a hand back and held Crow’s, “It’ll be great. I promise. And I won’t leave your side for a second.” Crow gave a slight smile as he squeezed Blaze’s hand, feeling a little less anxious.

“We’re here!” Firefly chirped happily, as the ship arrived in the Tower hanger. “Ready?” Blaze asked. “As I’ll ever be.” Crow replied. The duo transmatted out of Blaze’s ship into the hangar. “Whoa…” Crow breathed, looking around. The huge hanger was decorated with Dawning decorations and lanterns, with piles of snow lying about. Blaze chuckled, “You’re making the exact same face I made when I first came here.” “Sans the nearly burning the Tower down!” Firefly giggled. “H-hey!” Blaze began to chase Firefly in a circle, the latter dodging and weaving out of her grasp. “Well I’m not wrong!” “That doesn’t mean you should say it!” “Why? Afraid I’ll embarrass you in front of your boyfriend?” “FIREFLY!” Crow let out a small laugh before hearing a voice yell from nearby. “What’s with all the noise over there?” Blaze stopped chasing Firefly, allowing the Ghost to disappear, as Cayde poked his head from around the corner. Crow wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt a pang of uneasiness. He quickly dismissed it as nerves as Cayde noticed him. “So this is the new Light, huh?” Cayde asked, walking over to the two. “Yep! Cayde, this is Crow.” Blaze introduced, “Crow, this is Cayde; the Hunter Vanguard.” “Welcome to the Tower, Crow.” Blaze could hear a hint of mischief in Cayde’s voice, “And just in time too. Let’s go!” Cayde grabbed Crow and Blaze by the arms and began to drag them towards the courtyard. “In time for what?!” Crow exclaimed, caught off guard by the Exo’s sudden enthusiasm. “You’ll see!” Cayde called over his shoulder. Crow looked at Blaze who just shrugged and gave him a look as if to say, ‘See where I get it from now?’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the courtyard, Zavala was giving a short speech to some of the Guardians for the Dawning in hopes it would keep spirits up. Adam, who was among the Guardians, couldn’t help but glance around in suspicion. “You’re quieter than usual, Bergfalk.” Shaxx noted. “Have you noticed the distinct lack of Hunters here?” Adam asked, “Plus it’s too quiet. I think something’s afoot.” “Relax, Titan! I understand your unease due to recent events, but it’s the Dawning! Who would disrupt-?” “Attention Zavala and Titans!!” Everyone’s attention was drawn to the platform above Eververse. Cayde stood looking down at them with a confident stance along with Blaze, who was smirking with pride, and Crow, who seemed a little confused as to what was happening. “Earlier this year, you won the Guardian Games and took the trophy that Zavala so proudly displays at his post.” Cayde continued, “But today, we issue you a challenge! A snowball fight! If the Hunters win, we get to have the trophy for the rest on the Dawning!” “He’s still not over the loss, is he?” Shaxx muttered. “Nope.” Adam replied with a sigh. “And what if I refuse, Cayde?” Zavala called up to him. “You can’t, because…” Suddenly, Hunters sprung from their hiding places around the courtyard. “We have you surrounded!” Cayde laughed triumphantly, “You’ll never prevail!” To their surprise, Zavala chuckled, “Impressive strategy, Cayde. However, very predictable.” “W-what?!” “I saw your attack coming…and planned for it. Ikora, Rae?” Out of nowhere, Ikora teleported herself and Rae behind Cayde, Blaze and Crow as Warlocks flooded the courtyard. “You hired the Warlocks?!” Blaze exclaimed while Cayde stared at Rae with a look of betrayal. “Sorry, everyone. But this rebellion of yours must be stopped.” Ikora said with a small smirk on her face, “Ready, Rae-?”

*SPLAT!*

Ikora was caught off-guard as a snowball hit her in the side of the head, followed by a small chuckle that evolved into an evil laugh from Rae. “Hahaha! I fooled you, Ikora!”

“What?!”

“Sorry, teach. But I will always be loyal to my chaotic companions!” Rae grinned, standing by the trio of Hunters. “Yay, Rae!” Blaze cheered. “Ah, I knew you’d never betray me, Sunrae!” Cayde laughed, giving Rae a playful nudge before turning to the Titans below, “With that being said: Mission is a go! Retrieve the trophy and bring it to the hangar! Hunters, attack!!!”

“Do not let up, Titans!” Zavala commanded.

The courtyard was filled with shouts and snowballs, a few Guardians sneaking in Stasis snowballs. Surprisingly enough, the Hunters were able to overpower the Warlocks and Titans.

“We got it!!”

Everyone turned to see Rae, Crow and Blaze lifting the trophy. “Protect them until we get to the hangar!” Cayde called out, “Go, go, go!!!”

The trio ran as quickly as they could with the trophy in tow. “Hurry! I’ll cover you!” Marcia waved to them from the hangar entrance as she pelted the incoming Titans and Warlocks with snowballs, “Dredgens! Protect Dredgen Fate and her friends!”

A group of Guardians in Gambit gear came flooding out of the hangar, keeping the Titans and Warlocks back.

“Since when were you a Dredgen?!” Rae exclaimed.

“Over a year ago. I got bored!” Blaze replied.

“We’re almost there!” Crow called out as they made it to Cayde’s post.

“Hurry! Set it up!”

The trio carefully stood the statue upright at the post. “I’m here!” Cayde came rushing into the Hanger with white and gold spray paint. “It’s not permanent, right?” Rae asked. “Of course not! I’m not a monster!” Cayde replied as he began to spray the lion white after handing Blaze the other spray can, and she began spraying the snake gold. “Aaaaand done!” Cayde announced as the Hunters came flooding into the Hangar, Marcia in the front. Marcia threw her hands up in victory upon seeing the trophy, “VICTORY!!!”

A cheer went up among the Hunters and Dredgens as Zavala and Ikora entered behind them. “Well, a deal is a deal.” Zavala sighed, despite the small smile on his face, “Hunters are the temporary victors for the Dawning.”

“Is it always like this here?” Crow asked with a chuckle, trying to be heard over the thunderous cheering. “Oh yes!” Blaze laughed.

As the Guardians began to filter out of the hangar, Rae smiled as she brushed off some leftover snow that was stuck to her robes and fixed her scarf, “Sorry your first time here was a little crazy, Crow.” “A little?” Glint mumbled as he shook snow off his shell – he had gotten hit in the crossfire. “Trust me, this is only a little bit crazier than normal life here!” Sundance popped up beside Cayde, “Oh, and I’m Sundance, by the way. Cayde’s ghost and 50% of his impulse control. Rae’s the other 50.” “Hey, I’m not that impulsive!” Cayde feigned offense. “Alright, mister ‘I-got-stuck-in-a-Vex-teleport-loop’!” “That was ONE time!” “And who had to save you again?” Rae raised an eyebrow as she folded her arms. “The Warlock who I love and can always count on to save my life?” Cayde shot double finger guns and a wink at Rae who tried to keep a straight face but ended up snickering at Cayde, “Stop trying to be cool! I can’t be serious when you do!” “Not trying, ‘cause I am cool!” “Ew! Stop flirting!” Sundance groaned before disappearing. “It’s been two years, you should be used to it by now!” Cayde called after her as Rae giggled. “Are they…?” Crow began with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. “Yep.” Blaze finished with a smile before whispering, “They were crushing on each other for like four years and it was super obvious to everyone except them.” “That long? It took us only a few weeks.” “I know, right?” “What are you two whispering about over there?” Rae asked with suspicion. “Nothing!” Blaze smiled innocently as Crow let out a light chuckle. “Riiight.” Rae rolled her eyes playfully as Zavala and Ikora approached the group. “So is this the new Lightbearer you and Osiris told us about?” Ikora asked. “Yep.” Rae replied, “Crow, this is Ikora – the Warlock Vanguard – and Zavala – the Titan Vanguard and the Guardians’ commander.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Crow greeted. “Rae and Osiris have informed us of the situation with Xivu Arath. It’s good to hear Fireteam Paralight have been receiving help in handling her minions.” Zavala nodded. “Not that hunting Hive Gods is anything new to you three.” Ikora gave a slight smile, “Speaking of. Where is…?” Ikora was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind her. There was a very unimpressed Adam covered head to toe in snow. “Now I know why Shaxx keeps his helmet on.” He groaned as he shrugged off the snow. “That’s a good look for you, Adam!” Blaze laughed, which resulted in her receiving a snowball to the face. “Anyway, Eva wants you.” Adam began, “Something about cookies you ordered?” “Oh yeah!” Blaze’s face lit up, “Crow, follow me! I’ll meet you guys in the meeting room later!” “That’s what it’s for!” Rae chuckled as Blaze and Crow headed back towards the courtyard.

To Be Continued…

[changingourdestiny]

Season of the Hunt Part 2: On the Hunt

Summary:

With Crow and Glint as their new allies, Fireteam Paralight set off on their first Wrathborn hunt where Crow and Glint realise that they may be working with the strangest Guardians in the system.

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

“Whoa…” “Wow.” “Yikes.” Fireteam Paralight stared up at the cryptolith which was sticking up from the ground. “That thing’s huge. Bigger than an Ogre at least.” Rae said as she examined it. “You think we might face Xivu Arath at the end of this?” Blaze asked. “Probably not, but it would be nice to add Hive god number four to the list.” Rae chuckled. “Four for you, Three for us.” Adam corrected, “I don’t know who’s the lucky ones here.” “So how do we use this thing?” Rae took out the lure and looked it over, “Is there a button? Lever? Magic word?” “Lemme see?” Blaze asked before being handed the lure. She stared at it for a moment before slamming it into the ground. “Blaze, I don’t think that’s how-” Rae was cut off as a screech pierced the air. “You were saying?” Blaze smirked as a large servitor appeared with a sickly green glow surrounding it along with several other Fallen. “It’s go-time, Paralight!” Rae called out, “Blaze, you focus on the wrathborn. Adam, help Blaze and watch her six. I’ll take out the extras from above.” “On it.” “You got it!” Rae glided up onto the roof of a nearby building and began taking out clusters of Fallen with her rocket launcher while Adam and Blaze went to town on the wrathborn. “The lure is doing its job.” Crow’s voice came through the comms, “At least that’s one thing going well.” Rae looked up and managed to just make out Crow amongst the shadows, sitting on what seemed like a bridge nearby, “Having a tough time finding a comfortable place to sit while we do the heaving lifting?” “A stone perch suits me well enough.” “When did these things start showing up here anyway?” Rae asked as she took out a large group of dregs with a rocket. “Not long after the disappearance of Mars from the Reef’s sky.” “So, this was recent enough then. About a week or so.” Adam noted. “Give or take. It’s hard to judge time here in the Shore.” “He’s not wrong. Hell, it’s hard to judge time on the Reef period.” Blaze added before a sudden look of mischief crossed her face, “Hey, Adam! Remember Sepiks?” “You mean…?” Adam raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Oh Traveller, no…” Rae groaned. “What? What’s happening?” Crow asked. “I take back what I said. You might wanna stay on your perch.” Crow was about to ask what Rae meant by that but was interrupted by a happy yell as Adam picked up Blaze and launched her at the servitor like a javelin. Blaze used her dagger to dig into its top as the servitor began to whirl and thrash around, trying to shake the Hunter. Rae sighed, setting her launcher to the side as she watched Blaze go whizzing by on the robotic sphere, “You doing good?” “I’m doin’ good!” “You having fun?” “I’m havin’ fun!” “You crazy?” “I’m crazy!” Rae chuckled before noticing Crow climbing onto the roof beside her, seeming bewildered by Blaze’s antics, “I…what is happening…?” “This? Eh, I’d call it a regular Tuesday.” Rae shrugged. “I dunno. I’m getting hints of Friday and Saturday!” Adam called up. “With a hint of Wednesday.” Ghost added. “So, this is a regular thing?” Glint assumed. “Pretty much.” Rae chuckled. 

“Incoming!”

In a moment of quick-thinking, Crow managed to grab Blaze’s arm as she was about to go sailing over the building. She had been thrown from the servitor’s back. “Thanks! Nice reflexes.” Blaze grinned, “But uh…” Blaze motioned to the wrathborn which disappeared, leaving a trail of green mist. “Is it…running away?” Rae asked. “That depends on whether or not you can stop it, Old Light.” Crow smirked. “Firstly, we’re only six, thank you very much. There are Guardians a hundred times older than us three.” Blaze folded her arms with a smirk of her own, “Secondly, I’m more concerned if you can keep up with the professionals, newbie!” Blaze gave Crow a playful nudge before leaping off the roof and dashing after the trail, “Race ya!” Crow gave a light chuckle before taking off after her. “If we’re the professionals, may the Traveler have mercy on those who look up to us.” Adam muttered to Rae who just laughed in response before the two ran after Blaze and Crow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crow came to a halt at the entrance to an underground cave. He turned around to see Blaze arrive just beside him. “Fast enough for you?” he asked with a smirk. “Not bad.” Blaze admitted with a smile, “But I was going easy on ya.” “I’m sure you were.” Crow chuckled as Rae and Adam caught up. “So, it went in here?” Rae asked, looking at the barrier formed at the cave’s entrance. “Seems like it.” Crow replied, “Must’ve put this barrier to keep undesirables out while it recovers.” “Well this undesirable is going in.” Blaze held out her arm as her facial markings flared to life and a small fireball was released from her hand, smashing the barrier. “I’ve…never seen a Guardian do that before.” Glint glanced in awe between Blaze and the now smouldering remnants of the barrier. “It’s a bit of a long story, but this isn’t a Guardian power. I’ve had it for as long I can remember.” Blaze replied, “I’ll explain another time.” “Well let’s go find that wrathborn before it finds us. And please don’t jump on it again.” Rae gave Blaze a warning look. “No promises.” Blaze grinned. “Of course.” Rae rolled her eyes playfully as they entered the cave. “They’re a unique bunch, aren’t they?” Glint whispered to Crow from his hood. “Better than most of the Guardians we’ve met.” Crow replied before following the Fireteam inside.

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“YEEHAW!” “Why do I bother…?” Rae held her face in her hands as she stood with Adam and Crow while they watched Blaze hang on for dear life on top of the servitor wrathborn. “Should we help her?” Crow asked. “Nah, I…I think she’s got it.” Adam replied. Blaze’s cheers turned into struggling grunts as the wrathborn became more desperate in its thrashing. “Ok. Fun time’s over!” Blaze triple jumped off the servitor’s back and threw down an incendiary grenade, dealing the final blow. The wrathborn disappeared as Blaze landed on the ground where it once floated. “And that’s the end of that!” Blaze grinned with pride. “Uh, not quite.” Rae’s eyes widened, getting her auto-rifle at the ready as another green glow appeared on the other end of the room, “It brought a friend!” Blaze spun around to see a large captain appear with the same glow around it along with a few dregs, vandals and shanks, as well as a couple of smaller servitors. Blaze grinned, spinning Firelight around her finger, “Alright, Crow. You’re fast but let’s see how well you fight!” “Just don’t be mad when I steal your thunder.” Crow dashed by Blaze and hopped onto a ledge before aiming a sniper rifle and shooting down the incoming shanks and dregs. “Those servitors seem to emit some sort of energy!” Adam called out, “It might help taking down the wrathborn’s shield!” “I’ll handle them!” Blaze yelled back firing a few shots from Firelight at one of the servitors, “You and Rae focus on the big guy!” “Right!” Rae dashed for the pool of energy left over as Blaze finished off one of the servitors. Blaze turned to see one of the servitors approaching Crow, who didn’t see it approach while looking down the scope, as it charged up a shot. “Crow, on your left!” Blaze yelled as she whipped out her bow and, using her flames to light the arrows on fire, fired three perfectly aimed shots into its eye before sprinting towards it and finishing it off with a slice from her dagger. “You good?” Blaze asked as she fired a few more shots from her bow at another servitor while Crow continued to focus on the rest of the Fallen with his rifle, “I’m alright. Nice aim.” “Thank you~” Blaze grinned as she fired a final arrow into the servitor, “Finish it with style, Rae-Rae!” “Gladly!” Rae sprinted into the circle of energy as the signature golden wings and horns of her Starlight form appeared. Her falchion appearing in hand, Rae kicked off into the air and fired a beam of light down at the wrathborn, pulverising it. Rae landed where it once stood, giving her falchion a twirl before dismissing her Starlight form. “What was that?” Crow asked. “Starlight.” Blaze replied, “Rae’s a rare species called a Paralian and some of them can use powers like her to counteract powers related to Darkness. That’s how we got our Fireteam name: Paralight.” “Seems like you three aren’t the usual garden-variety Fireteam then.” Crow gave a wry smile as he placed his sniper rifle back on his back. “Nope!” Blaze smiled proudly, “We’re one of a kind!”

“Nice shooting out there.” Crow and Blaze noticed Rae and Adam approaching, the former addressing Crow. “Same to you. You’ve picked this up quickly.” Crow’s smile faded as he addressed the rest of the team, “But this is only the beginning. There are much more dangerous wrathborn than that one.” “You got it.” Rae nodded, “We’re no strangers to hard work. Like Blaze mentioned earlier, we’ve six years of experience under our belt, so we’ve experience dealing with…well for lack of a better term, crazy shit. We’ll have the High Celebrant dealt with before you know it.” “I sure hope so.” Glint replied, appearing beside Crow before turning to him, “And maybe once that’s done, the Spider will let us choose our own path.” “Don’t be so naïve.” Crow sighed, “He never lets us do anything.” “Something tells me you aren’t exactly happy under Spider’s watch, huh?” There was concern laced in Blaze’s voice as she said this. “Understatement of the century.” Crow replied, “But I’d much rather work for him than risk having Glint get destroyed.” Rae seemed to think for a moment, a serious look on her face, before shaking the thoughts from her head, “Let’s head back to the lair. Knowing Spider, he’s probably like…” Rae deepened her voice in an impression, “‘Where are those useless Guardians? I’m losing Glimmer every second, but I can’t be bothered to get off my ass and do something!” Crow stifled a laugh while Glint chuckled, “That’s pretty good!” “Thank you very much!” Rae grinned. “Well, we best not keep him waiting if that’s the case.” Crow began, “Let’s head back.” “Want another race?” Blaze asked. “Mad you lost the first one?” “Nah. Just wanna keep you on your toes.” “You’re on then.” Crow dashed to the entrance of the cave when- *zoooooooOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!* Blaze went flying by on a Sparrow while laughing. “Wha-?! That’s cheating!” Crow exclaimed. “You never set rules!” Blaze called behind her as she zoomed towards Thieves’ Landing, Crow chasing after her as Adam and Rae followed at a leisurely pace. “Looks like they’re getting along great.” Adam smiled. “Hmm…” Rae acknowledged, mind seeming to be elsewhere. “You ok?” Adam asked. “What Spider did isn’t right. Crow and Glint obviously want to get away safely.” Rae muttered, “I want to find a safe way to get them away. Even if they don’t go to the Tower, anything is better than working for Incy-Wincy.” “There’s another thing we should be concerned about.” Adam added, “Petra. If she finds out Uldren – er, Crow – is alive, she won’t take it well. None of the Awoken will.” Rae removed her helmet before running a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh, “This is annoying…” “Hey, we’ll figure something out. Let’s focus on Xivu Arath’s Celebrant for now. Besides…” Adam was cut off as Blaze’s Sparrow whizzed by with a screaming Crow on is as Blaze chased after him yelling, “Off the gas! Take your hand off the gas!! Oh Light, Amanda’s gonna kill me. Crow!!” “I think having a clean slate is what they both need.” Adam finished with a chuckle. Rae couldn’t help but laugh as well at the scene, “I guess you’re right. I’ll try not to dwell on it for now. But mark my words, once we’ve dealt with this, I’m getting those two out of here in one piece.” “Knowing your determination, I don’t doubt it.” Adam smiled. “aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!” The Sparrow went whizzing by again with Crow still riding it but now with Blaze being dragged along while holding on to the back of it for dear life. “Ah…maybe we should help them?” “Y-yeah…”

To Be Continued…

[changingourdestiny]

Season of the Hunt Part 3: Taking a Breather

Summary:

After a day of hunting, Crow invites Paralight to the Empty Tank bar for drinks where they run into Tif and House Light. There, they are also introduced to Tif’s girlfriend: Azara.

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

“Ugh…I’m never gonna be able to get that taste outta my mouth…” Crow and Fireteam Paralight re-entered the workshop. They had been hunting the wrathborns for a few weeks now with their search expanding to the Dreaming City. Blaze was groaning as piece of Hive guts got in her mouth during a hunt. “That’s what you get for not wearing a helmet.” Crow chuckled, leaning against the workbench. “Yeah, laugh it up, birdbrain!” Blaze glared, but with a small smile on her face. Blaze and Crow had developed a friendly rivalry during their few weeks together, which mainly involved them showing off to each other and ribbing each other. “Don’t mind him.” Glint popped out of Crow’s hood, “He’s just using your experience to make himself feel better about the Ogre incident.” “Glint!” “Ohoho! I wanna hear this!” Blaze grinned, eager to hear this story. “Ok, so we were hunting an Ogre and in the middle of the fight, he stops and asks, ‘If it shoots from its eyes, how the hell does it see?’ right before being blasted into a nearby rock.” “Oh my stars!” Blaze laughed. “It gets better!” Glint chuckled, “That was his fourteenth death that day!” Crow’s face turned a dark violet as he tried to hide it with his hood. “Don’t worry about it too much.” Blaze chuckled, calming down a bit, “I could write a novel of embarrassing things that happened to me when I was a Kinderguardian.” “She’s not overexaggerating either!” Firefly piped up. “Also, if you’re still curious,” Rae began, “Ogres are blind. They use hearing and smell to get around and locate enemies. Learned that back when we had a stealth mission aboard a Hive ship. If they can’t hear or see you, they can still smell you. Which can make stealth missions a pain.” “That’s actually really useful to know.” Crow jotted the information down in what seemed like a small notepad on his workbench. Blaze peered over his shoulder, “What’s that?” “I use this to take notes about enemies and fighting strategies.” Crow explained, “I figured if I’m going to be working with experienced Guardians such and you three and Osiris, I might as well learn something from it.” “Wow, your notes are neater than Blaze’s!” Rae laughed. “As long as I can read them, they’re fine!” Blaze stuck her tongue out at Rae who returned the gesture. Crow chuckled, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I could use a break. Anyone care to join me at the Empty Tank?” “What’s the Empty Tank?” Adam asked. “An Eliksni bar next to the lair. It’s owned by House Dusk, but members the Spider’s faction are welcome there.” “It also has a fighting pit, but I doubt anyone is currently in the mood for that.” Glint added. “Nah. My joints are a little sore from that last hunt.” Rae replied. “Now you really are starting to sound like an Old Light.” Crow chuckled. “Which is kinda funny considering she’s the youngest of us in Guardian years.” Blaze added. “Ok, ok. You can make fun of me later.” Rae rolled her eyes, “Let’s head out.”

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As they entered the nightclub, a few Fallen went for their weapons but stopped upon seeing Crow with them and went back to what they were doing previously. “Looks like a lot of the Eliksni here respect you.” “They think getting on my good side will get them on Spider’s. It wont but I respect them.” Crow explained, “As for the other houses that show up, they’d rather enjoy their drinks than start trouble. If any other Guardian entered here, they’d probably be met with gunfire. But since you’re with me, they don’t care too much.” Rae glanced about the bar in curiosity when something stood out to her. Amongst a group of Fallen in yellow and red armour was a familiar human with dark brown hair and dark skin. “Tif?” Rae’s voice was barely audible over the noise of the bar. Tif looked up and their eyes lit up upon seeing Fireteam Paralight, “Oh my gosh, hi!” Tif practically jumped from their seat and enveloped Rae in a tackle-hug, “It’s great to see you guys again! What are you doing here?” “Dealing with the wrathborns. Crow brought us here to take a breather.” Rae explained. “Oh yeah! We heard some of Spider’s members talk about that. I feel really bad for the Eliksni trapped by Xivu Arath.” Tif then motioned to where their group was sitting, “Come sit with us!” “Sure!” Rae smiled before motioning to Crow, “By the way, this is Crow. He’s a new Lightbearer.” “Hiya! I’m Captain Tifawt Kariuki of House Light, but you can call me Tif.” Tif grinned. “The Lightborn Captain?” Crow asked. “You’ve heard of me?” “Spider talked about the House of Light a couple of times. Mentioned a Guardian who served as one of their Captains.” “That’s me!” Paralight and Crow sat at the table where Mithrax and some other members of House Light were. “Good to see you again, Mithrax.” “Greeting, Rae.” Mithrax replied. “So, what brings you guys here?” Blaze asked. Tif was about to answer when the music began to quiet down. Tif grinned excitedly, “You’ll see!”

As the bar went quiet, a young woman approached the DJ stand with a guitar. She had tanned skin, amber eyes and long brown hair that faded into a dark red and gold on one of her bangs. She wore a red, orange and gold poncho, that was longer towards the back, over brown, black and gold leather armour with matching boots. She also had very familiar markings on her face. She tuned her guitar before leaning towards the mic, “Velask, everyone. Good to be back on the Shore. I have a new one for you tonight: it’s a parody of an old pre-golden age song from humanity and I’ve rewritten the lyrics to fit one of humanity’s heroes.” That’s when her eyes landed on Rae, “And it looks like she’s here tonight. Hope ya enjoy it.” She took a deep breath before beginning to play.

“When a captain small, Graced a ride along, With Rae of Paralight, Along came this song. For when the Dragon fought, Skolas, Kell of Kells, Her and her Fireteam, At their feet, how he fell. Cabal took the City. Came close to victory. Broke down the walls, And they kicked in their teeth. The Dragon bared her fangs, And Ghaul fell at her feet. The Dragon victorious, She can’t be beat!

Beware of the Dragon, O' system of plenty! O' system of plenty, oh! Beware of the Dragon, O' system of plenty!

In each and every world, She has fought them all: The Vex and the Hive, The Taken and the Scorn. Survived every attack, And then she tossed them back, Deep into the Darkness, From whence they came. She wiped out the pests, Light burning in her chest. Protecting humanity, She’ll never rest. Continue, does this tale. Against Darkness, they’ll prevail. Long live the Paralight, For they’ll never fail!

Beware of the Dragon, O' system of plenty! O' system of plenty, oh! Beware of the Dragon, Protecting humanity! Beware of the Dragon, O' system of plenty! O' system of plenty, oh! Beware of the Dragon, Protecting humanity!

Beware of Paralight, O' system of plenty. O' system of plenty, oh. Beware of Paralight: Saviours of humanity.”

A round of cheers filled the bar as the woman left the DJ booth with her guitar and a vandal took her place, starting back up the music. She walked over to where Fireteam Paralight, Crow, and the House of Light were seated, receiving a few pats on the back from some of the Fallen. “Azzy, that was amazing!” Tif got up and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Tiffy.” She laughed, “I didn’t know Paralight themselves would be here. It’s an honour to meet you.” “It’s an honour to meet you to. And to have a song about us.” Rae smiled, “It’s nice to meet you.” “Wait.” Blaze began, “Tif, is this…?” “Yup! This is my girlfriend: Arcstrider Hunter, Azara Cazadora.” Tif grinned. “Tiffy’s told me a lot about you guys.” Azara began, “That song was based off what they told me about your adventures.” “I’m the captain small.” Tif beamed. “Because you are a smol bean and I love you.” Azara kissed Tif on the head as she sat down, setting her guitar down beside her. “Tif’s told us a bit about you too. Says you came to their rescue several times.” “Aha…it’s nothing that grandiose.” Azara scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a small blush arising, “I just help out as much as I can. Besides, I’d never forgive myself if they got hurt. Not that Tiffy needs protecting. They took down Phylaks by themself for Light’s sake!” At this, a few of the House of Light members cheered and patted Tif on the back. Azara’s attention turned to Blaze who seemed to be staring at her intensely. “Let me guess…the markings, right?” Azara chuckled, “It’s been a while since I met another one of us. Well. One that isn’t trying to kill me or kidnap me.” “What exactly are ‘us’?” Blaze asked, “I know we’re called Phyonysians and we use fire. But aside from that, I’ve been in the dark about everything.” Azara’s expression turned serious for a moment, “I’ll explain eventually, but not here. The walls have ears. Another time.” A relaxed expression returned to her face, “For now, drinks on me! I’m thirsty after that song.” She motioned for the barkeep to send them a round of drinks. A shank floated over to them a moment later with the drinks on its head. Blaze swirled hers a bit before knocking down the drink. Crow smirked as Blaze grimaced at the taste. “Oh, wow.” She groaned, “That’s- yep. That’s strong.” Crow chuckled, “Oh, by the way. This stuff isn’t very smooth.” “No kidding…”

“By the way,” Rae began, “Adam and I won’t be around tomorrow. Adam’s helping Saladin set up the Iron Banner and I’ll probably be getting an earful from him once he finds out about Guardians using Stasis. Which reminds me, Ghost?” Rae held out her hand and Ghost materialised a small card into her hand which she handed to Tif, “You’ll need this from now on.” “What’s this?” Tif asked, taking it and looking it over. “Stasis licence. Since I’ve been appointed Stasis Vanguard now, Zavala’s making me give these out to Guardians I deem fit to wield Stasis. If you use it without one, you could be punished. You’re technically not a registered Guardian but since you’ve worked on missions with us, I thought I should give you one to be safe.” “Ooh! Fancy!” Tif handed the card to Berhane to keep safe. “So, you two won’t be coming tomorrow?” Crow asked. “Unfortunately, not.” Rae replied, “But Blaze should be around if you two want to hunt on your own.” “I’m sure we can handle it.” Blaze grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t eat more Hive guts.” Crow smirked. “And I’ll make sure he doesn’t get blasted by an Ogre.” Blaze fired back with a smirk of her own. “Just make sure you two aren’t too busy ribbing each other to deal with the wrathborn.” Rae sighed. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them.” Glint reassured. “Thanks, Glint.” Unbeknownst to Rae and Adam, something very interesting would transpire while they were away…

To Be Continued…