Author's Note: Before we all start hating Bailey, let's not forget there are two sides to every story… I hope this chapter will help add some perspective to Bailey's character.
"Forgive me," she whispered, brushing her lips over his as soft and sweet as she'd ever known how. She couldn't risk waking him - not even for the real kiss she so desired. One look at his handsome dark brown eyes and Bailey knew she wouldn't be able to follow through with what it was she intended; what would be necessary to keep him safe from all the nightmares and horrors she dared not believe she was capable of inflicting.
She thought of the night before and the way his eyes lit up when she'd agreed to marry him; how she'd never felt more sure of wanting anything as she did about wanting to start building her life together with him. Though, no matter how happy she was to be looking forward to the idea of marrying Duncan, she couldn't forget what had been her original intention that night.
Things had been made so obvious to her in the depths of the Hellmouth. It wasn't enough, anymore, for Thorn to have her halfway; to be made to share what Light there was in the Warlock who had gotten herself tangled up in far more dangerous a scheme than she could have ever imagined. The gun had known, perhaps for a while now, Duncan was what stood in its way of possessing Bailey. And now the Warlock understood it too.
She remembered making the decision, the moment she'd watched Kellin hoisting Duncan over his shoulder to carry him back to their dormitory; something needed to be done about her gun. There was a reason now, better than any she'd thought of before, wrapped around her ring finger she was going to end whatever will the Thorn would wish to impose over her.
And maybe it had been selfish for her to agree to marry him one night and turn around to run away the next morning. She could only hope he would forgive her when the time would come she might need to explain herself. For now, the Warlock could see but one path forward and she knew she'd have to follow it alone.
Playing at bravery and lying to herself her decision was all for the best, she started to stand up from the edge of his bed but found herself not yet ready. So she knelt again at the side of his bed and closed her eyes…
She'd known Duncan long enough to expect if he figured out what she intended, he'd try to gather her up in his arms and tell her everything in the entire universe would be alright if she'd just let it. That he'd be there beside her the entire way. Until the end. Until the gun was gone and she was his and he was hers.
And the Warlock knew herself well enough to realize she'd believe him; press her cheek to the place his neck met his shoulder so she could breathe in his scent, gunmetal and the outdoors, and wrap her arms around his waist. She'd let him follow her for as long as he was able.
There were many reasons she knew she had to go alone but one was most compelling. If there was to be an end for one of them… Well, it wasn't going to be Duncan's end.
She'd have all of herself to give or there would be none of it left for either Thorn or for her Hunter.
Leaning nearer, though not so close she was touching him, Bailey felt the faint beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. She tried to ignore the pain in her chest which she knew to be her own heart collapsing in on itself as she watched Duncan smile but turn his face into the soft material of his pillow. She stopped herself from reaching out to brush his bangs away from his face so she could admire his handsome, sharp features and the subtle tan only the sun could manage draw from his skin. She wanted to run her fingertips over the strong line of his jaw where a few day's worth of stubble had formed.
She wanted to be reminded of him, just like this, so when the time came she'd need to remember just what it was she was fighting for, this memory would be the one she held on to…
But she couldn't risk waking him up. She had stayed, already, for far longer than she'd planned. And she'd known the promise she'd made him the night before hadn't been fair when so much was uncertain about her path forward and what might be waiting for her at the end of the road. She was in love with this man. Her heart was his for as long as he'd have it. No force in the entire universe was strong enough she'd have turned down the chance to be his wife.
Whether there was one strong enough to prevent it against her will remained to be seen.
So Bailey, defeated and more heartbroken than she'd known she could feel, pulled her hands to her chest to rest over the place above her heart and whispered, "I love you always, Duncan; no matter what is yet to come. You're everything that's beautiful in my universe and the other half of my heart."
Without risking another thought which might deter her, she picked up Thorn from Duncan's bedside table and turned away. As she made to slide it in place at her waist, she remembered where she was and decided, instead, to return it to Rindel for safekeeping. Her grey eyes fell on Eyasluna, alone on the bedside table, and she decided to honor his wish she take it with her when she went.
Bailey picked the gun up and cradled it against her chest, as though holding his gun could stave the pull she still felt for her handsome, headstrong Hunter. Drawing a shaky breath, Bailey put Eyasluna on her belt in Thorn's place. She had her hand on the door when she felt compelled to turn around for what might well be one last look at Duncan.
There was a void in her chest where her heart should have been when she looked at him, curled around the place in his bed that had been hers for so long. And she felt weak for wanting, even then, to turn around and crawl back into her place beside him. To forget this silly idea she'd destroy the curse on her own and, instead, find a way to let Duncan save her from herself. This burden wasn't his to carry…
And she couldn't ask it of him.
She loved him too much. For any of it and all of it.
She reached for the bond at her bicep without a thought as to why she'd done it. Pulling the scuffed gunmetal ornament down her sleeve, she hung it over the Hunter's sniper rifle and turned to leave.
For almost as long as she'd been alive and in the Traveler's service, he'd given her every reason to want to fight the Darkness; he'd given her a reason to hope there might be a future for the two of them somewhere safe in the Last City. If Thorn's power over her was strong, she knew those hopes she had for their shared future would have to be stronger. She couldn't leave him with nothing… not when he'd given her everything.
Tears were stinging at her eyes and her throat had gone dry as she let the door fall closed without a sound behind her. But she didn't let the tears fall. She kept her grey eyes trained to the ground as she hurried along on her way.
"Leaving?" Amri's voice cut through the silence of the otherwise empty common space of Duncan's dormitory. Amri was standing at the counter, cleaning his pulse rifle. All the parts and pieces were torn away from each other and Bailey couldn't help but wonder if her heart might have looked the same way were someone to take her apart.
Wiping a single tear from the corner of her eye and hoping her fellow Warlock hadn't noticed, Bailey straightened her shoulders and held her head high to fake a confidence she didn't feel in the slightest. Her chest ached for what she had just done, for all she was yet to do, but her voice was level as she replied, "Yes, I was just on my way out."
"I'm not letting you out of my sight until the Hunter wakes up and I understand what he intends to do with you."
Bailey stopped right where the hallway ended and the living space began. She met Amri with a glare, replying in a level tone, "I thought by now that might be rather obvious."
"Obvious?" Amri questioned.
"I was allowed to stay, was I not?"
In a bitter, scathing reply the Exo almost growled, "I can't begin to fathom what lows you're capable of falling to, Warlock, now that I know what power compels you."
"If you mean to imply I'm not welcome here," she headed for the door as her voice trailed off. And the way it sounded was strange, even to her own ears.
She could feel herself starting to pull away from the conversation; one part of herself, the one she knew to be good, detaching to make room for the other. The detachment that always meant the gun was going to get its way. But she fought against the separation, feeling the tears coming back to her eyes and knowing she'd managed to hold on to what she could of her true self. Each time she'd fight the pull it was always a bit harder to win. Bailey stepped forward to stand at the counter, opposite Amri, as she steadied herself.
"I'm going," she said, making to step around the other Warlock.
When Amri caught her by the wrist before she could pass him, he shook his head, "No, you're not."
Bailey looked up at him and scolded with as much conviction as she'd ever known herself to possess, "Amri, I'm not whatever terrible thing you fear I am. Not yet. And I have to believe I won't become that thing."
"A rose by any other name," Amri let his voice trail off; the scathing tone was gone, however, and Bailey knew she'd managed to pique his curiosity. Instead of speaking further, he turned his attention back to his hands and the piece of the pulse rifle he'd been polishing. Seeing his silence as her opportunity, the younger Warlock headed for the door.
When her hand was wrapped around the handle, Amri interrupted, "As I said, you're not going anywhere."
Bailey gasped to find the Exo had turned around in an instant and was behind her. He firmly pressed the door closed and gripped her shoulder a bit tighter than she might have liked to pull her back into the dormitory.
Wrenching her shoulder away from the Exo's grip, Bailey spun away from him and knocked his hand off of her shoulder. By this time, she was no longer able to control her tears and a few slid down her cheek. She was glaring, she knew, when she stared up at him but her voice was soft, "Amri, just let me go. Please."
He stared down at her, pulling away like he'd just realized that his actions had been out of line, but if there had been a trigger, something there to change his mind, Bailey didn't know what it was. Straightening his shoulders, he pointed to the gun at her waist and asked, "Where did you get that?"
"From Duncan," and her voice cracked in the middle. She turned away, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. It had been more painful than she had expected it to be, something as simple as saying his name.
"Where's your bond?"
She turned around, having wiped the tears away from her eyes, to look at Amri. Feeling for the bare place at her arm where the bond should have been, she took a deep breath and confessed, "I've left it with Duncan."
Amri looked at her for a long time, holding her under an intense stare. After a moment, he seemed to find what he was looking for as he murmured, "You're leaving."
Bailey nodded, not sure if she would remember how to breathe now that someone else knew her secret. She wrapped her arms around herself again. When Amri reached out to touch her forearm in a gesture meant to comfort her, she let him, confessing, "Something is to be done about Thorn. It must be destroyed before I lose what's left of the Guardian I am."
Amri was quiet for a long time, uncomfortable in the silence. Shaking his head, he confessed, "You understand I cannot let you leave like this."
Bailey looked away to study his hand where it rested on her arm. She didn't speak right away as her mind raced at the possible meanings hidden in his words. Scared of what it might do to her resolve if he was to go wake Duncan, Bailey knew she'd have to act fast and plead a convincing case. Drawing a deep breath, she whispered, "The longer I stay, the more I become a danger to him, Amri. To him and everyone else. If you let me leave right now, the only danger I pose-"
"Don't say it," Amri warned, releasing her arm so he could bring her gaze up to meet his. His eyes shined a light that the young woman chose to interpret as empathy when she met them. He studied her, letting his fingertips fall away from her chin. It was sadness she could hear in his voice when he wondered, "How did such a terrible evil find you, Bailey?"
Satisfied he understood her, the young woman shook her head. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying any more than she already had in front of the Warlock.
"Where will you go?"
"We both know I shouldn't tell you," she whispered, feeling faint as her heart began to race. She didn't want to think she couldn't trust Amri, but if she wasn't even sure she could trust herself, how could she trust anyone?
"Just a clue," he reasoned. "In case you take too long and a certain Hunter we both know can't be consoled from his searching."
Bailey shook her head and looked away, "When that time comes, it will already be too late."
Amri put his hands on her shoulders, smoothing the midnight blue fabric from where a few wrinkles had settled. He nodded, seeming uncomfortable, as he dropped his hands away from her. But if he was not in agreement with her decision, he didn't make it known. Instead, he offered, "Is there another way that I can help you?"
"Promise you'll look after Duncan?" she asked, no more than a whisper. And the way it hurt, physically, to ask such a favor of him. When he didn't respond, Bailey pulled the glove off of her left hand to show Amri the ring. Her hand was shaking and so was her voice when she continued, "I can't imagine he will understand; even I don't, not everything, but maybe you can help him start."
"Bailey?" he questioned, holding her hand in his as he looked at the ring and then at her. "Have you any idea what you're doing?"
She gave him a few moments to work it out for himself but she nodded nonetheless, "There are only two outcomes, Amri. I'll destroy that gun or it will destroy me. In either case, it shouldn't take long. One outcome or the other."
She watched the Warlock, wearing a black robe to compliment his gunmetal grey frame, reach out to steady himself on the counter. He tapped a patient finger next to several rounds of ammunition intended for his pulse rifle but he remained silent. When he looked at her again, Bailey knew it was sadness and regret he felt. She could tell he wanted to talk her out of it, but perhaps she was stronger in her conviction than she'd given herself credit for.
"He will never forgive me when he finds out what I've done," the Exo whispered.
"Chin up, Amri," Bailey whispered, only able to offer him what she knew was a weak smile. As she pulled her glove back onto her hand, she added, "It's likely I am the one who won't be forgiven."
"Bailey," the Exo shook his head.
She patted his forearm, adding, "No matter what happens, please make sure he understands I loved him when I had him. Even after the gun had me. He made the life I've lived worth everything. And if I come back, if he'll still have me, I'm going to marry him."
"When," the Exo muttered.
She offered him a curious gaze, not sure she had heard him right.
"When you come back," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her against his chest. It was in that moment Bailey understood Amri had always been a better friend to her than she'd ever deserved. His voice was low when he elaborated, "You'll marry him when you come back; if I know him even a little bit he'll still have you. And I'll look after him while you're gone. At least that much I can promise you."
"Thank you."
She hugged him a little tighter before he whispered, "Look, if this is about anything I-"
"Shh," Bailey cut him off, pulling away as she patted his shoulder. Her voice was still a whisper, "I forgive you. And if our places were opposite, I can't say I would have reacted any differently. We both want the same thing."
"Hey, mornin' you two!" Kellin was smiling from the doorway. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning against the doorframe leading into the common area. Smirking, he teased, "Glad to see you cranky ole Warlocks have finally made up."
Bailey offered Kellin a weak smile before she glanced back at Amri. Lowering her chin, she murmured, "I really must be going."
"So soon?" Kellin whined. "But Duncan's not even awake yet. He'll wanna see for himself you two aren't still sore at each other."
Amri ignored Kellin and called out after Bailey, "I'll see you later, Bailey. Don't lose hope."
Bailey hesitated at the door for a moment before pressing it open and hurrying out into the hallway. On her way out, she could make out Kellin asking, "Where's she off to, lookin' so upset? Should we wake him up?"
"Let him rest," Amri muttered. "I wasn't as nice to her this morning as I should have been."
By the time their voices were hushed for the morning bustle of activity, Bailey could hardly see a few feet in front of her for all the tears stinging at her eyes. She could hear the blood rushing through her ears as she ran past what she presumed were other Guardians milling about at the start of their mornings. She kept her gaze lowered as she traced the all-too-familiar hallways that led from Duncan's dormitory to hers.
As soon as she had managed her way inside and closed the door behind her, Rindel materialized to ask, "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Guardian?"
Bailey caught her Ghost, cradling him to her chest as she fought back a sob. Reyka was in their shared living space but the Warlock didn't pay her any mind. She rushed back to the doorway leading to her bedroom, ignoring the other woman's greeting of, "Good Morning, Bailey!"
"Of course not, Ghost."
As she stepped across the threshold and let the door fall closed behind her, she pressed her back against the metal surface of the door and slid down it to sit on the floor. Rindel was still allowing the Warlock to hold him against her chest. He hadn't said anything else, even when Bailey began to dry her tears on the sleeve of her coat.
Burying her face in her knees, she let the tears fall. Still holding onto her Ghost, her best friend, she ignored Reyka when the Awoken woman knocked on the door to ask, "Bailey? Is everything alright?"
"She probably got dumped," came the cruel reply of another female voice; a Hunter the Warlock knew to be Ellen. She, a human with powder pink hair cut short, shared their dormitory but not their Fireteam. It was no secret Ellen and Bailey were not friends.
"Bailey?" Reyka tried again. This time her voice was more pressing.
"I'm alright," Bailey answered, hoping she'd hidden the tears from her voice.
"I know you're lying, dear," Reyka said. As Bailey listened, she could hear her best friend sliding down the door on the other side, presumably to sit in the same manner as the Warlock. "Do you want to let me in?"
"No," Bailey replied. And in the silence, she stood up and began the quiet, patient task of picking up her things and tidying her space. Her mind was racing and, as she fluttered about the room with Rindel hovering over her shoulder, she tried to concentrate on breathing.
"What happened?"
She ignored Reyka and stacked her books, wondering if she might be back within the safety of the Tower in time to return them before they were late or, if she never came back, whether it would be Duncan or Reyka who would turn them in. More tears formed in her eyes but this time she didn't let them fall.
It would do her little good to feel sorry for herself. Fair or no, this was the hand she'd been dealt; if she wanted a chance at happiness after all was said and done, she'd need to make it for herself. For both herself and Duncan. With shaking hands, she shuffled through her notes.
Palamon. And a man named Jaren…
She didn't need to read the pages she was thumbing through to remember that's what she had written there. To know it was there, on Mars, where she needed to make her last stand.
The last Guardian to lose himself to Thorn hadn't left her any clues for how she might lift the curse, perhaps because he hadn't broken it, but there were countless other scholars who had. Left clues, that is. Not lifted the curse.
As far as she knew, no one had yet managed the feat. Not in a way which had spared the Guardian, at least.
Bailey lit her palm in Solar flame, feeling the anger raging behind it all, and burned the pages to ash over her waste bin. She didn't need these works anymore. She already had a pretty fair idea of what she had to do.
"Guardian?" Rindel asked.
"The gun, please."
Rindel materialized the menacing ebony hand cannon that had already caused his Guardian such grief and threatened even more still. She placed it on top of her desk, in the center of the freshly cleaned space, so she could best study it and drew a shaky breath.
"Bailey?"
Ignoring Reyka's concerned tone, the Warlock sat down at her chair and removed her gloves. Running bare fingertips over the cold metal surface, the young woman wasn't able to feel the texture for the sensation from Thorn she could only liken to electricity which pressed back against her. Her voice was a low whisper, "There were so many others, yet here we are, you and me."
"Bailey? I'm letting myself in."
The Warlock heard the Hunter trying to press the door open behind her but it was locked. The sound of the knob turning just the smallest bit before it would no longer give brought a sad smile to the Warlock's face. She closed her eyes and picked up the cursed hand cannon, "What sort of monster would you have me become?"
"Open the door, Bailey!"
"I know there is no other way," the Warlock whispered, wondering what she'd really expected reasoning with the gun might do. When she opened her eyes, the young woman caught a glimmer of her own reflection in the lens of her Ghost. Her eyes were glowing a most eerie shade of green, fading out as fast as she'd come to notice it.
Finding her breath caught in the back of her throat, the Warlock put the gun down on her desk again, this time aside from where a stack of plain paper had been tidied. With a hasty hand, she scribbled a simple note over one of the sheets: Forgive me, Duncan.
"Damnit, just let me know that you're alright!"
Bailey took Duncan's hand cannon off of her belt and laid it down over the note she'd left for him. Bailey couldn't take Eyasluna with her; if she wasn't successful, Duncan would never get his gun back. She was satisfied her Hunter wouldn't find her, not where she was headed and with her notes destroyed there were no otherwise obvious clues left to guide him. But she knew her room was the first place he would come looking when, eventually, he'd think to find her.
She hadn't told Amri where she was going either, which was a bit more unsettling, there was always a chance she couldn't do this on her own. But before the doubt could cloud her mind and weaken her resolve, the Warlock took a deep breath and shook her head. Looking at her Ghost, she asked in a calm voice, "Will you record a message?"
Rindel hovered just a touch higher to indicate he'd heard her. When he lowered his lens to meet her gaze, she knew he'd agreed.
He seemed puzzled, so she explained, "You'll know when the time is right for you to send it. And if we're both unable, some Guardian will rescue you and come know our story."
Bailey thought of the Thorn, her curse. She reminded herself of those times the Darkness of it would press heavy against her chest, like a weight. Like a force which wished for nothing more than to extinguish her Light. She knew this way was the only way. She wasn't all herself anymore; hadn't been for, how long had it been?
She let the words flow straight from her heart, everything she wanted Duncan to know. All the things she'd never told him and all the things she wished she could. It would be a love letter-this message-and if he ever saw it, she'd already be gone. Whatever meaning such a word would still hold.
"Got it, Guardian," Rindel reassured. He seemed sad, like he would have rather not known his Guardian was prepared to meet her end. Like he didn't believe the other side of the coin pointed there-to a Darkness they might not be strong enough to survive.
Remembering Amri's final words to her, telling her not to lose hope, Bailey pulled a few things from the top drawer of her desk. It would be with these, her most treasured possessions, she would ground herself while she fought to keep a hold of her Light. And they'd be the things she kept with her until the end.
The first thing she took was a photograph of her Fireteam, Reyka, herself, and Karina-16, taken just after the three women had been assigned together. The three were standing near the ruined fuselage of a crashed airplane near the Forgotten Shore in the Cosmodrome. Karina was sitting on the wing with both Reyka and Bailey standing below her, holding their helmets and smiling in an absurd and exaggerated manner.
Feeling her heart flutter in her chest as she ran her hands over the cool metal surface of the bond that had belonged to Karina-16, her mentor, Bailey fastened it in place around her arm. Karina had always been so strong and level-headed. She had prepared Bailey well for what it was going to mean to lead the life of a Guardian; the platinum-haired Warlock wanted to believe her mentor would have understood her decision.
Neither could have imagined what evil the little platinum-haired Warlock would eventually run across.
The final thing she took was a photograph of Duncan, asleep in the cockpit of his jumpship. The pair had been delayed in queue while waiting to rendezvous with Reyka and Kellin for a game of Rift when Duncan had dozed off. Bailey ran her fingertips over the photo, admiring the way the sunset around the horizon of Venus had reflected through his sandy-blonde hair. When she felt her chest constrict, the Warlock pressed the photo over her heart and closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.
Before she could feel any more regret, she tucked the photos into a pocket at her waist and put her gloves on. Almost as an afterthought she reached for Thorn and shoved the gun into it's holster, muttering, "You're far more trouble than you're worth."
"Bailey?" Reyka knocked again. "I'm not going anywhere. And you have to come out sooner or later!"
With a deep breath, the Warlock blinked away any last traces of her tears and opened the door. Her voice was calm when she greeted, "Good morning, Hunter."
She watched the Awoken woman arch one of her midnight blue eyebrows, displaying every bit of the skepticism she felt about whether or not this Warlock might be having a 'good morning'. Reyka crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at Bailey with her piercing blue eyes searching for something. Wetting her lower lip, she wondered, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Bailey replied, running a nervous hand through her platinum blonde hair. She didn't want company but she knew she had to offer something or the other woman would become even more suspicious. Reyka was quite unconvinced, she knew, watching the way the other woman narrowed her eyes just the slightest bit as she peered down at the Warlock. Clearing her throat, the blonde added, "I'm headed out for some fresh air if you'd care to join."
Reyka took a step back so she was no longer obstructing the Warlock's path out into the hallway. Her cheeks had grown a slight shade darker than normal and it was Bailey's turn to raise an eyebrow. The Hunter seemed almost nervous, like she was hiding something. But she shook her head and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, "Out? Out like how?"
"Rey?"
The Hunter looked down at the Warlock, then, and Bailey was taken aback by the expression she found there. She looked, well, rather frightened as she confessed, "I'm not cleared for field work any longer."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm pregnant, Bailey," the Hunter leaned close to whisper, holding onto her best friend's hand as she did so.
The Warlock felt her heart beating faster in her chest, unsure if she ought to be excited or terrified. Grey eyes met blue and Bailey whispered back, "Does Kellin know?"
Reyka nodded and said, "We're going to keep it."
Bailey smiled, wrapping her arms around the Hunter's shoulders as she breathed a soft sigh. She tried to remember this feeling; the quiet, calm happiness the pair were sharing. Because, for the moment, she wasn't the one who got to feel afraid, it was Reyka's turn to have Bailey be brave. The Warlock's voice was soft as she confessed, "You'll be a brilliant mother, Rey."
"You'll be her godmother, right?"
Starting to pull away, shaking her head, Bailey said, "Oh, Reyka, I-"
"Please say you will, Bailey!" Reyka squeezed her best friend's hand again.
Tears were stinging at the corners of the Warlock's eyes and when she looked up at her taller counterpart, she could see the Awoken woman was also crying. Together, both women began to laugh at one another, or maybe at themselves. Smiling, Bailey nodded, "Yes, of course."
"The hell's the matter with you two this morning, anyway?" Ellen muttered, pressing roughly past Reyka so she fell against Bailey and it was the Warlock holding them both up.
When she'd finished passing by to return to her own room, Reyka rolled her eyes and Bailey laughed at her best friend's reaction. The Warlock led the way down the hallway and to their shared common space, demanding, "Just promise, if it's a girl, you won't name her Ellen!"
Reyka smiled, wrapping her arms around herself as she shook her head, "Of course not!"
Bailey marveled at how much different Reyka could seem now that she'd shared her secret; it was like the happiness and relief she felt were radiating from her. The silvery stardust that hovered over her pale skin seemed to sparkle, rather than just glow. Her eyes gleamed with delight or maybe pride?
"Kellin thinks it's a boy," Reyka confessed, now seeming shy.
"He probably just wishes for a boy so he won't have to worry about all the naughty little Titans that might chase after his baby girl."
Reyka laughed.
"When she's grown up, Kellin will be too old to do much about it," the Warlock added.
"She's going to have us!" Reyka defended. "And Amri and Duncan, too."
Bailey felt her smile fade away for mention of Duncan. Every time she was reminded of him, she felt guilty. Taking a deep breath and glancing at the door, she wondered if she had delayed her departure for too long. Would it matter if she stayed another day? Maybe two? But she knew, of course, that she needed to leave.
Before she lost her resolve.
Before she saw Duncan again and let him convince her of all the reasons she ought to stay.
"Bailey?"
"I should be going."
"Why the rush?" the Hunter teased. "I'm sure the Forgotten Shore can wait until after you've had a proper breakfast."
Bailey pulled an orange out of the bowl that always waited on the countertop, smirking at Reyka in a gesture of defiance. Her voice was low when she said, "I can't let the new recruits scare all the Fallen away!"
"I'm sure Duncan wouldn't mind being an outlet for you to use in expending of your frustration, Bailey!"
Raising an eyebrow, the Warlock tossed her orange at the Hunter. She was halfway into the hallway when she heard the snap of Reyka catching it. With tears stinging at her eyes, Bailey tried not to think about whether it might be the last time she ever heard her best friend laugh.
