Home Alone

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Yes, that is horribly clichéd, but it doesn't mean that it can't be true from time to time. Today was one of those times, at least for Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard. Zavala was training a new batch of Titan recruits and would be busy all day. Ikora was in a conclave with some high ranking Warlocks discussing… well, frankly Cayde wasn't sure what it was they were discussing. Ikora might have told him, but he had not been paying attention. Even Shaxx was away from his normal post, scouting new Crucible locations with his Redjacks.

So that left Cayde-6 in the Hall of the Vanguard. All alone.

Normally, that would not be too much of a problem. As much as Cayde complained about being stuck in the Tower rather than being in the field, there was usually enough going on to keep him occupied. There were missions to plan, enemies attacking from all sides, or some new crisis to avert. Today, however, none of that was going on. No new reports of Fallen activity. The Hive and Cabal were abnormally quiet. No new threat barreling in from outside the solar system.

Cayde re-read recent reports to pass the time. All were very mundane. He sifted through his collection of maps of Hunter scouting missions, looking for anything unusual or out of place, but found nothing. After the first two hours, he was completely out of ways to try to fill the time. Not a single Guardian had appeared in that span.

Footsteps sounded, and Cayde's head snapped toward the doorway, but it was just a maintenance frame coming in to clean. The Exo let out an audible sigh and hung his head. Stepping away from the table, he walked over the window overlooking the lush valley beyond the Tower. It was a rare piece of pristine beauty in a world ravaged by war and the results of the Golden Age's collapse. Looking at it was the closest Cayde ever got to roaming the wilds these days. He watched as a large bird of prey circled several times before seemingly giving up and coming to roost in a tree.

"Nothing happening for your either, fella?" the Hunter muttered. "I feel your pain."

Hours passed slowly, and still nothing happened. Cayde got so desperate to talk to anyone at all that he stepped out into the Crucible staging area, only to find Arcite 99-40, Crucible Quartermaster, was not at its post either, apparently taking the day off since the Crucible was closed. Looking beyond there, he saw that even Eris Morn was away from her usual place at the base of the stairs leading from the courtyard. The fact that he was actually upset that the damaged Hunter was not there spoke volumes about him and his need for companionship, but Cayde decided not to pursue that particular line of thought. He stared hopefully at the stairs for a moment, straining his audio receptors, but no one approached. Cayde's shoulders dropped in disappointment as he turned and headed back into the Vanguard room.

There had to be something going on. It was impossible for him to believe that things could actually be this calm. Maybe everyone thought all the Vanguard had taken the day off and just did not realize he was here to offer assistance. Cayde stalked over to the intercom.

"Attention Guardians," he said, his words broadcasting throughout the Tower. "This is Cayde-6, as if you couldn't tell from the lovely sound of my voice. Just wanted to make sure you all knew I was on duty here in the Hall of the Vanguard, so if you need anything or have anything to report, come on down. If you've got any problems at all. Or need a mission." He paused for a moment, the continued, "Or, if you just want to chat. I'll be here. Seriously, somebody come talk to me."

Certain that would end his boredom, Cayde walked over to his normal place by the table and waited. And waited. And waited. Time slowed even more, each second feeling like an eternity. Time seemed so distorted that he had nearly convinced himself that this was some sort of Vex trick.

He drummed his fingers against the table, listening to the sound of metal striking wood. He stopped and looked at the table thoughtfully. Making a fist, he knocked on its surface, really noticing the quality of it for the first time, how solid it was. An idea formed in his mind. Cayde reached under the table, feeling the wooden support beam running the length of the structure. Gripping it, he broke off a small chunk and looked at it.

"This should work nicely," he said to himself. Placing the chunk at the end of the table, he strode down to Zavala's spot and pulled out a throwing knife. Taking aim, he let the knife fly, embedding it in the chunk of wood. Cayde nodded in satisfaction, and stepped happily over to the broken piece of table and pulled out the blade.

He set the hunk of wood in a different place and repeated the action. The blade stuck in the wood with a satisfying sound. He did it again, upping the difficulty each time, placing the block of wood further away. He covered his optics with one hand. He threw the knife behind his back. He tried turning his back to the block of wood and throwing the blade between his legs. He threw two knives at once. Each time, he hit his mark, and Cayde felt a little swell of pride that his skills had not diminished despite his confinement. That uptick in his day only lasted a few moments when he realized his little activity had taken less than an hour. Cayde let out a strangled cry, then got on the intercom again.

"Guardians, I know you're up there. I can here ships coming and going. Surely someone has something to report. Someone get down here, that's an order."

Cayde-6 strode back to his place at the table and took a seat on its hard surface, glaring at the empty doorway. He still held the chunk he'd broken off in his hand, and began idly tossing it up and catching it as it came back down. As time passed, he became more intention about the action, throwing it higher. Throwing it and catching it with his other hand. Throwing it up and catching it behind his back. He decided to add more objects, and briefly considered breaking another chunk off the table, but discarded the idea. He mulled over it for a moment, before coming up with an idea.

Taking two incendiary grenades, the Exo began to juggle them along with the piece of wood. Once he had all three items going in a steady rhythm, he grinned and started trying to mix it up a little, keeping the grenades in the air while tossing the wood back and forth in a simple Box. After a few moments, he switched it up again, weaving his hands back and forth performing a Mills Mess.

Hunter Jarus Corbin had heard Cayde's desperate plea and laughed. He knew how poorly the Vanguard handled inactivity. He finished his drink and set the glass down on the bar. He looked at the woman seated next to him and considered ignoring the call for help.

"What's that look in your eye?" she asked.

"Pain and regret. And maybe a little hope."

"You're going to have to explain that one," she replied.

"Well, the regret is that duty calls," he pointed to the intercom, "the pain is from leaving your side. The hope is that you will still be here in a few minutes after I go check on my boss."

"Hmm," she said scrunching her face in a parody of deep thought, staring at her glass, "I don't know…"

"I am going to kill Cayde..." Jarus muttered under his breath.

"I'm kidding," the woman said with a grin. "Go check on Cayde. I'll probably still be here."

Jarus smiled back and quickly made his way out of the bar. He crossed through the hangar and stepped out into the courtyard, blinking a little at the bright sunlight. Other Guardians milled about, none seemingly too anxious to respond to the Hunter Vanguard's communications. Jarus considered just heading back to the bar, but felt obligated now. He descended the steps to the lower level, cut through the crucible staging area, and then froze as he approached the doorway to the Vanguard.

The entire room was blanketed white in flame-retardant foam. In the middle of the ubiquitous material stood a six-foot pile of the stuff. As Jarus watched, a hand appeared, reached up, and wiped away a patch revealing the face of Cayde-6. The two hunters stared at each other for a moment.

"Don't. Say. A word," Cayde stated firmly just before an unseen dispenser in the ceiling shot another jet of the material directly onto the Exo.

The human Hunter stood with his mouth agape. Giving a sharp about face, he walked away, glancing over his shoulder and trying as hard as he could to not laugh until out of sight of the Vanguard.

"I'm serious! Not a word!" Cayde yelled after him. "Well, maybe a word to some frames. I'm going to need help cleaning this up before Zavala gets back!"