Cayde and Tevis took turns staying with the Awoken research team while the other kept danger away or kept them from getting into it. The patrols of the Fallen hadn't increased so Cayde assumed it was a splinter group that had had a disagreement with their alpha. The work was tedious though not difficult looking, it reminded Cayde of the Cryptarchs except instead of engrams and history they were crunching numbers and turning them into words.
Ellana led them with hardly a harsh tone, yet there was a heaviness in the way she moved and reacted. Especially when it came to the Guardians, Cayde found it rather annoying that she treated them delicately.
Guardians didn't always need sleep, they could go for longer periods of time without it compared to the non-Risen. However Cayde found time to nap now and again, the break from reality was a nice one on occasion. Tevis went off to scout the next area they were going to traverse next, leaving Cayde alone with the Awoken.
He didn't like being alone with these Awoken, they would occasionally whisper... And not quietly but a sort of echoey chatter that he heard but couldn't understand. This unnerved him to the point that he would make excuses to be somewhere else. In this case he was sitting on top of a boulder with his back to the side of a cliff face. The Exo had a nice view of the small valley they were currently calling home. Occasionally he'd spy movement and use the scope of his sniper rifle to see that it usually was something boring.
"You have an awfully itchy finger, don't you?"
Cayde jumped and glanced to his side at Ellana who'd managed to walk up to the bottom of his perch, a soft smile on her face and a cup in her hand.
"Sorry... Didn't mean to startle you."
"I wasn't startled." Cayde took a moment to discretely cycle some air through his lunges, "What do you want?"
"You've been up there all day... I figured you could at least use something to drink." She held up the ration.
"Oh..." He was about to say no but then his stomach growled, "Uh... Thanks." He slid down to the ground and took the offering. She didn't leave however.
"Did... Did you want to watch me eat? I have to say right off the bat that that's a little creepy."
She chuckled, "No I was hoping to ask you something."
"Oh... Ok." He set down his load and looked back out over the Cosmodrome, "Shoot."
"What do you see, when you look out there?"
"What?"
"What do you see, as a Guardian." She chuckled when he continued to stare at her, "If you would so humor me."
"Ok... As a Guardian..." He looked again, "I see a valley... Too steep on either side to really climb. We could be trapped very easy if an enemy were to drop in at either end... Maybe not right away but it would only be a matter of time... Also bugs... Lots of bog areas that make fighting a pain... If it didn't suck you under first." He glanced at her, looking for a sign he'd hit the answer she was looking for, "... Want me to keep observing?"
"Is that all you see? A battlefield?"
His eye ridges knitted together, "Of course!" He looked there and back again, "What else would it be?"
"It's never occurred to you that it could be a place to live?"
"No... Why would it?"
"I see." Ellana gave a small bow, "I'm sorry for disturbing you so much."
"Wait wait wait!" Cayde reached out instinctively but quickly retracted his hand, "What's with the weird questions? I mean you ask weird questions anyway... All that spooky Awoken voodoo you and your friends are doing... What's with the questions for me suddenly?"
Her eyes flickered a bit to the rhythm of her thoughts, glimmering between bright and emerald green, like she was looking at something on him that even he couldn't see. He hoped she didn't notice his slight shiver.
"I've only ever heard or seen Guardians from afar... I've been told many things, I just wanted to see if some of those things were true."
"And... Are they...?"
"That remains to be seen."
"Great... Just keep watching me... Like a lab rat... Except three hundred times better looking."
Ellana chuckled, "Yes, you are much better looking than any rat."
"Thank you! I think..."
Cayde watched her leave, in a wink of light his ghost appeared next to him. He didn't say a thing, just looked after the Awoken long after she'd gone.
"Don't you start acting weird too." Cayde poked the little machine.
A day or so past before Tevis returned with less than ideal reports. A rogue clan of Fallen had their skiff parked at the end of the valley. Ellana expressed her dislike for engaging in any combat, they could live without completing their scans at this angle.
"It's not like there's gonna be no Fallen elsewhere... Or worse... Hive." Cayde said, "You think we haven't taken out entire skiffs before?"
"I have no doubt in your abilities, but I see no reason to call anymore attention to ourselves than necessary. They're probably looking for that scout party that tried to ambush us. We're leaving."
Cayde huffed, he hated retreating. However when he glanced over at Tevis the other Hunter merely shrugged, "Way to have my back."
"I'm not the one with a problem with our guest."
"I don't have a problem with her."
"You grind your jaw when you're annoyed. It's always around her."
Cayde unclenched his jaw, it was a habit he could never catch himself doing, "She's always asking questions, don't you find that annoying?"
Tevis shrugged, "Why would that be annoying?"
"It's annoying when you don't answer... Awoken are very good at not answering." Cayde kicked an empty crate over that he was leaving behind.
"Or you're just not good at reading between the lines... I thought only fully organic men were not good at that, you Exo's are supposed to be superior." Tevis snorted in amusement.
"We are, especially when it comes to good looks. Least we don't eventually sag into dust."
"No you just crumble into rust." Tevis dodged an elbow to the rib. Granted guardians didn't really age, the Ghosts saw to that.
The research team was speedy in packing up, but not speedy enough. A skiff had dropped off a squad of the rouge house. Cayde was the first to spot them and the first to brandish his weapon, they were still quite a ways off but they'd already spotted their ships. The Exo was intent on first blood but just as he was squeezing the trigger someone grabbed his shoulder causing the bullet to fly and his temper to flare. He whirled around and nearly took out Ellana, she responded with a counter of her own and they both locked eyes, the Guardian's glowing with rage and hers with frustration...
OOO
Frustration was certainly something Ella was feeling as she went through her training. She kept being told that being a scholar was not something bad, a lot of them helped the Speaker in studying the Traveler along with the Cryptarchs. The more she was told this, the more angry she became. She was supposed to meet with Master Rahool but she stopped in the hallway when a group of mostly senior Titans stampede through the crossway. One of them was Aco-9.
Ella looked from where she was supposed to be going, to where the group went. Then she started to follow them.
"Ella?" Her ghost's voice sounded between her ears.
"What?"
"That's my question, what are you doing?"
"I'll figure it out." Ella picked up her pace to catch up with the group who were headed to one of the training areas. When she showed up she was, as usual, overlooked. Always the new little Warlock that couldn't shoot straight. There were at least six of them, two were Hunters. Ella felt her mouth dry up a bit and for a moment she really couldn't think. She had a hard time talking to people one on one.
"Well well, " the voice caused her to jump involuntarily, one of the Hunters had noticed her, "If it isn't... Ella is it? Remember me?"
"Umm..." Ella looked at his face closely but before she could connect the dots he flicked her on the nose.
"Just as slow as she was when she woke up."
"Easy, Lynn, she's just a little Warlock." Another piped up.
Lynn tussled her hair as he laughed, "Little Warlock indeed."
Ella smoothed her hair back down, she remembered Lynn now, he was the Hunter who'd been patrolling out where she'd been Risen. Her eyes met Aco's who was leaning casually against the far wall.
"Aren't you supposed to be in training, little Warlock?" Aco chuckled.
"They've stopped trying to teach me guns." Ella could feel her face warm as the other Titans busted out laughing, she kept her eyes on Aco though, even though he was smirking he seemed to be the only one with restraint.
"It's not a bad thing to be good at other things." The Exo's more tame demeanor for some reason made Ella feel even more agitated. In the past months she'd run into Aco several times if he wasn't out on patrol, he always had something to say to her. Yet with his friends he seemed to be the... More quiet of them.
"I want to be good at both." Ella breathed in deep, "Can you teach me?" She really wished his entourage wasn't there, they kept looking back and forth and exchanging comments like it was some sort of show. Aco just looked at her, the white lights just underneath his armored plating winking with whatever he was thinking. Ella hated when people looked the way he did, everyone in her small generation of Guardians knew she was not good at fighting.
The interaction proceeded with Aco's friends starting to get Ella to leave, Cayde watched this from afar, sitting astride a nearby roof. He had a few minutes between meeting some faction representatives and happened upon Ella's side quest. It was actually abnormal for her to break her routine, she usually clung to it like it would kill her if she didn't do as the seniors said.
Lynn stepped forward, "Go on, Ella, you don't belong even in the arenas." He reached up and pushed her back a step. Aco straightened up like he was going to speak, he wasn't fast enough though.
Ella felt heat rise up in her blood and she reached up and grabbed his wrist, except a flare of light seared across her skin and the smell of burning cloth and flesh filled the air, "Stop touching me!" She yelled. Smoke curled up along with a string of colorful curses and shouts, Lynn snarled and went to back slap Ella but she dodged and he tripped down the stairs. The Awoken Guardian watched Lynn yell in pain, his Ghost appearing to heal the damage she'd done.
She could hear the scolding now, young Warlocks were not encouraged to use their powers in any place other than training and she'd just attacked one of her seniors. Ella glanced around for an excuse to run but a very loud laugh caused a hesitant retreat. Aco was laughing so hard he had to sit down.
"Well! Looks like she's got some fire in her after all! Just takes Lynn to bring it out." A few of his comrades were starting to laugh with him and mock Lynn for actually missing Ella.
Ella wrung her hands together, she could still feel a flicker of heat along her skin, prickly like a hot day about to get hotter, "I'm... I'm sorry I didn't mean..."
"He'll live, his ego won't but he will." Aco finally found the stability to get back on his feet. He walked up to Ella, "Look, you don't like guns, that's fine... Funny... But fine." He pointed at her hands for permission before taking them and holding them with her palms up. There were still lines of orange flame just underneath her glimmering skin. Ella realized she was shaking, the Warlock tried to pull away but he held on to her and leaned a little closer, "First lesson, is that you need to stop being afraid of yourself. Easier said than done... But it is an important thing everyone... Especially Warlocks need to learn." Ella looked up into his white optics, his smile was not amused but... Comforting.
Cayde was already running late but that was nothing new, he watched for a few minutes more as Aco showed the little trainee around, eventually getting to a few Warlocks that actually did go beyond the walls. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness when Ella's face lit up at meeting them. This was the longest she'd been in the training arenas for hand to hand combat since her first few tests. Aco eventually started her with some simple movements, he easily bested her in strength but he had amazing control. Ella focused, and picked up the movements pretty fast.
The body sometimes remembered things better than the conscious mind, Cayde could see Ellana stepping and evading. Rough and inexperienced, but quick to adapt.
He recalled that day that he and Ellana first got into a rumble with each other.
It didn't last very long, she moved swiftly and softly, a way of fighting he wasn't used to. It caught him off guard and she knocked him down, rifle in her hand. The Fallen swooped in upon them, a female Captain leading the way.
In those few seconds Cayde went for his hand canon and Tevis went for his rifle, the Dregs and Vandals screamed as bullets started flying. Abruptly the chaos dropped into silence, Cayde saw Tevis go down to his knees first then he felt a heavy weight start suppressing his light. It wasn't painful, but he certainly found it difficult to move, like trying to move through mud. He felt a twinge of panic as the Fallen squad started to pour into the area... Then they dropped to their knees. The only one that didn't was the Captain. She snarled and barked in her language, twisting and turning, trying to rid herself of the invisible bonds.
Ellana walked calmly up to the Captain who stood easily three feet taller, a strange pale aura coursing around her own body, eyes glittering with quiet power. Cayde's audio receptors picked up whispering, it was like words he should know very well but they just couldn't reach the tip of his memories no matter how hard he tried to listen. He figured that Ellana was some how communicating with the Fallen trash, holding them all hostage.
The Captain growled and screamed, lashing out, claws grazing just short of Ellana's face. The Awoken spoke again, the rage blossomed furthered in the Fallen's eyes and she lunged at Ellana again but was struck down by a force, her gun clattered to the dirt, the Captain turned and yelled something, it was at Cayde this time. Froth was dripping from a shattered piece in her mask.
Cayde felt the weight start to lift off of his frame, he was free. Ellana turned and walked up to the Guardians. She handed the sniper rifle back to Cayde, "She has no forgiveness for you killing her youngest... And we don't have time for her to find it." A wave of her hand and several bone breaking snaps filled the air as the squad as each of the squad's neck was snapped, the Captain screamed one last time before her head jerked at an unnatural angle.
The Guardian stared at the Fallen, the air crackled and snapped as Ellana's energy dispersed. He looked up at Ellana who was standing next to him with her hands wrung together, clasped around the amulet that hung from her neck. The Fallen looked more at peace than she did.