The winds were much harsher out in the wilds than they were in the City. The Hunter's tattered cloak and the Warlock's scorched robes blew in the wind as they trudged up the barren hillsides. The dirt and stone that they walked along merged with a thin blanket of snow, providing the landscape with some interesting visuals. However, the Guardians were far too tense to be sightseeing. Weapons raised, eyes to the sky, and feet firmly planted with every step.

Swift ran a hand over the beacon on his belt, as he had been doing once every few minutes for the past hour, to ensure that it hadn't left him. Without Dart, he had only himself to keep track of what he had. At the thought of Dart he also put his hand over her shell, sighing softly to himself as he felt the ridges of his first companion. It felt like a lifetime ago when he had last heard her voice. He looked over to see Day idly holding her Ghost's shell, Spark as she'd named him, as well. There was a mutual feeling of sadness between Guardians when a Ghost died. This had been the greatest mass execution of Ghosts since the Six Fronts, possibly even more than then. He squeezed her shell in his hand, thinking of all they'd lost within the last few hours, how many more they would lose in the coming days. There had to be hope, there had to be some way to get the light back to the Ghosts.

Day tapped Swift on the shoulder and brought him back to reality. She nodded towards the open field before them and he nodded in agreement. This was a good enough place to flag down a ship. Moving into the field, Day raised his pulse rifle to keep watch as Swift set the beacon down and began typing in a message for other Guardians to pick up. Planting it into the ground, Swift backed up as a white circle was created around it as the beacon came to life. With a loud crack, the beacon ceased to function and the white circle faded.

"The hell? Are you kidding me?" Swift growled as he bent down and opened up the maintenance panel on the side of the beacon. The internals had been melted together and had only barely worked enough to be turned on. Swift yelled and kicked the worthless can across the field.

Day's shoulders sagged and she lowered her rifle. For a moment, she seemed like she was going to errupt in tears. Her Warlock training allowed her to reign in her feelings, but they both knew just how much agony the other was in. Their only plan was not going to work. They didn't have any supplies to last themselves any length of time out in the wild, and the rest of the Guardians were off on the moon of Titan with much more pressing matters to attend to.

They were out of options. The only thing they could do was to try to radio fellow Guardians within the area. The only problem was that their com units were only capable of reaching a few hundred meters, and in the vast expanse that is the Europe Dead Zone, it would be extremely unlikely to find anyone aside from Fallen scavengers.

Day put her rifle down on the ground, found herself a good enough spot, and sat down to meditate. Swift looked at her with concern, as he thought she might just be on the verge of total breakdown, but she was far from it. She was devising a plan. She just needed to clear her mind and focus on what she knew.

"Widow's Court." She whispered. She knew what they had to do.

"What?" Swift asked, intrigued.

"There's a trans-mat station in Widow's Court, the one used for the Crucible matches. If we can get there, we can access the trans-mat network and find our way to other Guardians, and then hopefully to Titan."

Swift nodded in thought. Yes, this was a good plan.

"I know the way there... But it's a journey. At least three days."

Day faltered slightly at the thought, but stood resolute.

"Then we will go."


The wild, it seemed, was not her home. As she sat by the small fire that Swift had managed to make with his survival skills, she could not find the strength within herself to look at the blaze. It reminded her too much of all that she had seen in the Last City. Of all who had perished. Of their friends, Gale-12, Dresden, and Mia. Although they had not seen it, it was more than likely that Aspis was dead too. And that was just their fireteam.

The soft footsteps behind Day alarmed her for a moment before Swift made his appearance, carrying two freshly caught rabbits, each with a precise gash between their eyes from a throwing knife. While she was not particularly fond of such wild game, Day could not deny the hunger she felt. It had been so long since she had felt the growl of her stomach that she had almost forgotten the feeling entirely.

"I know they're a little too cute looking to eat, but trust me, you'll be drooling over it." Swift grinned as he began skinning and gutting the fuzzy little creatures.

Day was skeptical, but she was willing to try. Besides, there wasn't much else to be eaten in the area. Sighing to herself, she scooted closer to the fire and helped Swift put them on a spit, allowing them to have a somewhat nice and hot meal.

The two sat in silence, neither having anything to say that the other didn't know and feel within their very soul. It was a slow, stewing sadness that had been planted within them, and they sat upon it, not wanting to speak any more of what they had seen. Where they even Guardians anymore?

Day looked up to see Swift cradling Dart's shell in his hands, looking into the lens at her core. Day felt somewhat embarrassed that she hadn't felt as strongly for her own ghost, but she had always spent time around other Guardians, other people. Swift spent so much time alone in the wilderness that Dart had become another half of his whole, and made him feel lost without her. She idly brushed her hand over her own Ghost's shell, not wanting him to feel alone in his cold, lifeless shell. Something told them that their Ghosts were still in there, just waiting to be charged up with the Light once more.

"Don't let my hard work get cold now, Day." Swift teased, although it had a hint of underlying sadness. She decided that she'd rather not add to his growing despair and graciously took a piece of the meat and brought it to her mouth.


The night was cold, as the fire could not be kept for fear of being spotted. Having very little means of shelter in the wilds of the mountains, Swift managed to assemble a sort of canopy with Day's help. A Warlock's abilities would have been of great help in making the process easier, but such ability was no longer theirs to have.

Wrapped in each other's arms under the canopy, warming themselves with the combined heat, the two found a comfort in the tangled arms and pressed together bodies, as if the warmth of the Light had returned for just a moment right between them, and if they moved it would vanish just as it had not long ago.

There was no room for being shy, for feelings of embarrassment. They had long since been cast to the side as the need for contact, for a reasuring set of arms, to keep their tears from spilling. Day had never seen Swift so emotional, and Swift had not seen tears glistening from a Warlock's eyes before. Strange and trying times were these, and they had not yet even begun their longest journey.