Another Guardian shot Valora a confused look when she let Aiden answer the question of what ice cream she wanted and she glared back at anybody that dared to scoff at him. He flew back and forth in front of the glass and shouted out flavours excitedly, as well as detailed directions on how to scoop and where to place those scoops in relation to the others.
When Valora finally left with a wide rimmed bowl made of chocolate dipped, rainbow sprinkle covered, waffle cone filled with various shades of ice cream the scooper slumped in relief. Aiden fawned over his treat excitedly while she walked. He made her stop a few times when there was lighting that he liked so he could take pictures from every angle imaginable.
"Wait to eat it until it gets all melty." Aiden reminded her. "I like when the colors run together a little." Aiden loved sugary treats. Valora was sure it came from Mac's addiction to them. While the eccentric Warlock had loved the taste of anything sweet and bad for him, Aiden loved how those things looked. Aiden loved how everything looked. Aiden just loved everything.
"I remember." Valora grinned briefly before schooling her features into a professional look.
The Vanguard didn't seem surprised when she walked in holding a bowl of artfully arranged, utterly untouched ice cream. Ikora Rey smiled gently at the excited Ghost whose attention was focused solely on his treat. Zavala grumbled slightly, but it was good natured enough. Cayde shook his head a little and chuckled. He had always had a soft spot for Aiden, claimed the Ghost would have made an amazing Hunter.
"I think I have to go back to where Ava and Xander found the Ghost that started this." Valora jumped right into business. "I think something might be there targetting the Ghosts, and I'm sure now that Ava believes it's connected to the Vex activity there."
"What exactly lead you to this conclusion?" Ikora asked, all business herself.
"Ava said something about going back when I was speaking to her earlier. I looked into the Ghost's logs and found something a little strange, and Aiden looked at the records and found a correlation. All Ghosts with the same patterns. The oldest found scattered around the Cosmodrome, newer ones moving further out to where the newest was found in that building. The same building the Vex showed up in."
Nobody said anything about Valora talking to Ava after being given clear orders to stay away from her, but she knew they had all picked up on that and would not be forgetting it. "We have no reports of Vex activity in the Cosmodrome." Zavala said. "How are the Vex related to the Ghosts if they could not have come into contact with the older ones?"
"Indirectly." Valora stated simply. She had a more thorough hypothesis, but it was mostly guesswork at this point. Too likely it was wrong to bother bringing it up at this moment. "I think whatever has been killing the Ghosts started here," she pointed to the place on Cayde's map outlining the Old Russia before moving her hand to the other side of the Earth, "and moved in that direction, eventually meeting up with the Vex. Now the two things are connected."
"And you believe all of this because of what a delusional Hunter said?" Zavala spoke gruffly and frankly. Cayde turned to him sharply to say something, but Valora interrupted before he could.
"I think what she's seeing isn't completely fabricated. There's some truth in there, and she isn't stupid. She's got something figured out in that head of hers. Honestly, she's probably already gone."
It was Zavala's turn to look sharply at Cayde. Cayde shrugged at the unspoken question, but at Ikora's glare answered. "It is possible. It does seem like something a Hunter would do, but if she has left then it's on your Titan who is supposed to be watching her."
As if on cue Xander came strolling in, his face completely emotionless. Miles came zooming in before him in a rage. "She's gone."
Valora motioned to the pair with a meaningful look at Ikora.
"We spent half an hour searching through the Tower before he realized she had stolen his ship." Miles continued his angry tirade. Xander still looked like a statue.
"We know exactly where she went." Valora reminded the Vanguard quietly. Xander nodded sternly in agreement.
"It does seem like our best option." Cayde referred to the implied idea that only Valora and Xander go after her.
"Our best option is to send two exceptional Guardians into an unknown danger to chase after a crazed Hunter?" Zavala asked, clearly unconvinced.
"We know more than anybody else what we're going to run into there." Valora countered. "Xander can handle Ava. I can handle whatever is going after Ghosts. It's the smartest decision."
"Valora, she did try to kill your Ghost. I'm not sure you want to be in a similar position." Ikora reminded her thoughtfully.
Aiden looked up from the ice cream when he was mentioned. "She didn't mean to. And I'll stay out of the way this time."
Valora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Aiden stay out of the way? Doubtful, but she went with it. "I think the slight risk that she'll snap at Aiden is worth saving both her Ghost and whatever other Ghosts might come under the fire of this mystery enemy out there. Besides, if you send someone else it is more likely for her to lose it again. At the very least she would never hurt Xander, and I'm not a stranger to her anymore." The brief conversation about throwing people off a cliff had to count for something.
"They do make a decent team." Cayde offered, leaning over the table. "I think Ava is finishing this mission whether we want her to or not." He added when nobody else spoke. "The least we can do is minimize the casualties here."
Xander's stoic expression faltered slightly, but he clenched his teeth and remained quiet.
"Casualties?" Ikora asked for him.
"I doubt this is a job for one person, especially one person in her condition. If we leave her out there alone we'll lose a Ghost and a damn good Hunter. You can't deny that she does her job well-" Cayde paused slightly but continued steadily "- no matter what came to light about Sorcha's death." He met Ikora's eyes, then Zavala's before stepping back from the table. He had made his argument and would leave it up to the others for a decision.
Zavala looked at Xander intensely. Xander didn't so much as blink under the scrutiny of his commander. "You knew she was going to leave and you didn't stop her." he accused.
"I figured she had considered it, but I did not think she would make it far when she can barely keep her eyes open. I didn't expect her to take off this quickly, or this organized. I checked with Holiday about Ava's ship and it was still here. I assumed she would be here as well. I was wrong."
"You had absolutely no idea that she was going to leave like this?"
"Absolutely none."
Zavala looked away from Xander to glare briefly at Cayde before focusing on Ikora. "It does seem like the most efficient way to deal with this problem."
Ikora nodded her agreement. "Very well. You two will go after her."
Cayde tossed his hands up in triumph before wandering out of the Hall. Valora heard him mumbling under his breath as he passed her. She caught the words "delusional Hunter" and "shove it up Zavala's big blue-" before he was out of earshot.
"Don't forget the ice cream!" Aiden shouted as Valora and Xander made to step away from the table. Valora grabbed it.
"Report back regularly." Zavala reminded. "We don't need this escalating into something big. We barely survived the last thing."
They stopped on the Watch for Aiden to take pictures of the now melting ice cream in the grass. When he was finished and declared himself completely done with the ice cream Valora handed the bowl to Xander. "Like ice cream?" She asked lightly in an attempt to get him to make any other facial expression other than the stern grimace.
He shook his head but took the treat from her anyway. "I'm not in the mood right now."
Valora looked to Aiden for help as they walked toward the Hanger. She wasn't entirely sure how to handle this situation. It had been a while since she had to deal with somebody else's feelings.
"You know, she's probably really sorry for taking off." Aiden offered. Xander merely nodded tersely. "You expected her to leave despite everything, didn't you?"
He nodded again. "I know she's scared and thinks she's doing the right thing. I just thought we were past this."
"Past what exactly?" The question was a bit of a pry, but Valora was genuinely curious about how their relationship worked.
"Past her not trusting me with what she's thinking. Whatever she figured out must have been bad and I had hoped she would come to me before doing something stupid, but I guess not."
"She doesn't seem to like variables." Valora said softly, thinking about her actions when they first met. Ava didn't like being out of control. Anything new, especially a person that reminded her of someone who took that control away so completely, would be enough to shove her over the edge. An edge on which she clearly lived these days.
Xander shrugged. "You two would have liked each other had you met much earlier."
They stopped outside Valora's ship."You got everything you need?" She asked. When Xander nodded she motioned to her ship. "I guess you need a ride." She said a little awkwardly. "Unless you want to take Ava's and even things out."
Xander shook his head, laughing slightly. "I would crash that tiny thing so fast and then I'm fairly sure Ava would kill me for it."
"Alrighty then. You can sit in the back and not touch anything."
"And if I do touch something?"
"I'll shove you off a cliff."
Laughing a bit hesitantly Xander climbed into the ship. He had to move some scientific looking equipment out of the way first, but he found a place to sit on a small cot built into the wall. There wasn't a lot of room in the back of Valora's ship, especially for a Titan, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Valora took her seat at the controls and Aiden sat on her head, facing behind her to stare at Xander.
"Are you going to eat that?" He asked seriously.
Looking back down at the bowl of ice cream still in his hand Xander shrugged. "I suppose." He looked back up at the expectant Ghost. "Are you going to watch me like that the whole time?"
"I have to make sure you're enjoying it enough."
Valora scoffed. "Aiden, leave him alone."
Aiden nearly turned to face front, but Xander took a dramatic bite of ice cream and Aiden turned back. "Valora! He's teasing me!"
"You probably deserve it, bud." she said, laughing, as she steered the ship out of the hanger.
Xander kept direct eye contact as he mimed gagging.
Aiden huffed and nestled deeper into Valora's hair. "Titans are such bullies."
Valora laughed again and tossed her head, dislodging Aiden. "Then go beat him up."
He free fell to her lap, bouncing obnoxiously off her shoulder as he went. "Why can't you beat him up?"
"Because I'm flying the ship."
"I can fly the ship."
"After what happened last time? No thank you."
"Fine. I'll beat him up by myself." Aiden flew over and smacked into Xander's face. Xander didn't even flinch, and to complete the insult he lifted another spoonful of ice cream to his lips.
Aiden backed up and tried smacking him in the face again, but Xander dodged the hit casually and continued eating. "How exactly did you end up with this little fireball? I can't believe his first Guardian was much different from him. Doesn't seem like your type."
Valora looked over her shoulder briefly and Aiden drifted back toward her, though he didn't take his attention off Xander.
"Okay, I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."
Valora sighed, but shook her head. "How did you end up with your fireball."
"Ava? Guess I never really considered her fire persay. She always seemed more like ice to me, at least recently. Cold, harsh, and liable to crack at any given moment."
"Is that your way of avoiding the question?"
"I suppose it is." Xander took another bite of ice cream.
"Fine." Valora shrugged nonchalantly, her pale eyes still on the sky before her. "I guess we don't owe each other anything."
"You know. I was assigned to her team."
"But why did you stick around? That's what I want to know. You told me you did it because she would have done the same for you. I assume that means she did do something for you before. Something to win your loyalty."
"I was assigned to her team on account of their insubordination. Her and Sorcha's. Sorcha hated me. I think they both did at first. The two of them never liked being told what to do, but Ava warmed up to me after a while. She saved my life a couple times, and she defended me against Sorcha more than once. I was holding pretty tightly to rules and regulation then as a way to cope. Like you said, we've all lost people. A whole raid team, actually. They're still… around. Some of them, anyway, but we don't talk anymore. Things ended badly. I think Ava taught me how to live like a person instead of a soldier. After everything went down I figured she deserved the same kindness that she had shown me in the beginning."
It was a rushed explanation, but Valora didn't feel like pushing that specific topic anymore. Afterall, Xander had been fairly understanding about her not wanting to talk about painful memories. "And you trust her?" She asked instead. "After everything she did?"
"I did, yeah." Xander took a few more bites of ice cream before continuing. "She wasn't a bad person. I figured she had her reasons, and that they were good reasons. Lately I'm not so sure. Not after what she tried to do to Aiden and how she still refuses to tell me or the Vanguard what happened."
They lapsed back into awkward silence. Aiden was resting on Valora's head again, but he still watched Xander intently.
Valora hummed quietly for a moment before sighing deeply. "Aiden was Mac's Ghost. Mac was a Warlock too. We met on a research mission that he had requested I be placed on because he wanted an excuse to talk to me. I was flattered of course. He was almost something like a legend with the Warlocks. Willing to do anything to get the information he wanted, able to jerryrig almost anything to get back out again. We made a good team. I told him he was being an idiot. He told me not to worry so much. Jordan was our Titan protector of sorts. Nothing got past that girl and her rocket launcher."
"How long has it been since you lost them?"
"A while."
"And you're still alone?"
"I've done some training and the like. Mostly I do work for Ikora and for that it's best to go in alone. Part of the whole being hidden aspect, I suppose."
"It's boring most of the time." Aiden piped up. "I liked using gum to disable bombs, but sometimes we find something interesting."
"Like?"
"Like you and Ava. Like the Vex on Earth. Like space garbage that talks."
"Yes that was interesting," Valora laughed, "definitely unexpected."
Breaking off a piece of the waffle cone bowl Xander dipped it into the ice cream and ate it. Aiden floated closer to him to watch. "Space garbage that talks. Huh. Sounds like an interesting story."
"It is. Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime." Valora teased before pointing out the window. "We're here."
Xander walked up to stand behind Valora to peer through the windshield. Below he could see his ship parked crookedly in the grass not far from the treeline. The word 'sorry' was scrawled across one of the engines in fluorescent green paint, followed by a very cheeky looking smiley face.
"Same look as the duck." Aiden remarked.
"Same as the duck." Valora agreed, ignoring the questioning look Xander aimed at her.
He looked between the two for a moment before rolling his eyes at the realization that neither of them were going to explain. "A duck walks into a bar."
Aiden lit up immediately before spinning in an erratic circle and setting himself down on Xander's head. "Can I keep him?" He asked Valora. "I promise to clean up after him and walk him everyday!"
"That is true." Xander nodded along, bouncing the Ghost on his head. "I do need a walk everyday."
"How old are you?" Valora set the ship down hard, purposefully knocking Xander on his ass. Aiden went flying to the back of the ship, screaming the entire time.
"Five." Xander answered for both of them. He stood up and brushed himself as he looked over his shoulder at Aiden who was pouting in the back.
Standing in the cramped space, Valora stretched before grabbing her weapons and securing her helmet. "I see how you get along with Ava." She finally looked him over as he gathered his own weapons. He was tall, general Titan build, short dark hair, green eyes. He had sort of a lost puppy dog look to him. It was a face easy to trust.
"I suppose there isn't much wiggle room with somebody like her." Xander placed his helm over his face and Valora quickly turned to leave.
She paused before stepping out, however, her back to him. "She doesn't need you to be another Hunter, Xander." She didn't look at him when she spoke and her tone was gentle, a little unsteady.
"What?"
"She's a force of nature. I get it. She sort of just sweeps everybody along with her, but you can't let her drag you behind her. She needs an anchor to keep her feet on the ground. She needs a Titan." With that said she walked into the bright sunlight.
Xander stared after her for a few seconds in confusion before following.
Trailing behind Valora, Aiden scanned everything he passed and rattled off random facts about everything from the grass to the little scurrying creatures that rustled through it. He made them pause when they reached the splattered the carcass of a very large something. "I do believe Ava was here."
"Where did she get a gun?" Valora asked, nudging the shells strewn through the dirt with her foot. "Autorifle. Her weapon of choice, yes?"
"Indeed it is."
Aiden scanned the pile of mush. "This was a spider!"
"How do you know that?" Xander looked at the splattered mess and tried to imagine it as a spider. It had to have been pretty big to begin with to leave that behind.
"Because there's one right above you."
Xander looked up at a giant spider slowly descending toward his face on a delicate line of silk. "Oh. So there is." He took a step to the right. The spider continued down until they were eye-to-eye. "Hello."
The spider slowly detached one foreleg from the piece of web, and waved briefly before climbing back up into the tree.
"Well," Valora looked between Aiden, Xander, and the retreating spider, "that was certainly unexpected. Shall we continue?"
"Yeah that would be smart, I think." Xander lead the way past the spider's tree, walking slowly to keep an eye on Aiden who was still excitedly scanning everything he passed.
Valora looked around as well. It was pretty here. The grass was golden brown waving across the hills to the horizon on one side. The trees grew tall and mostly crooked, scattering patches of dappled shade across the hills on the other side. Her enjoyment of the landscape was ruined when Xander stopped abruptly and Aiden directed her attention to a red Ghost sitting at the base of a withered pine tree.
"This one is much older than the other one. Not as old as the first one we have recorded, but I doubt this Ghost was a local."
"And those?" Valora motioned to a pile of others underneath the red one and mostly buried in the dirt.
"Some old. Some new. Seems like a collection."
A chill went down Valora's spine. Xander rechecked his hand cannon and their surroundings. Valora leaned down and pulled some of the Ghosts out of the hole. "Red. Yellow. Orange. Yellow. Orange and red. This one is detailed in little flames, and this one is orange."
"I'm sensing a trend." Xander was still surveying the area as he spoke. "Aiden, I think it's time you make good on your promise and stay out of sight."
Aiden hurriedly transmatted the Ghosts away and dematerialized without argument. Valora waited until he was done to talk. "Xander, what does this mean?"
"It means I know why Ava doesn't like Aiden, and why she came here alone."
She got the feeling they were being watched and she remembered the ghost's logs that Aiden had read to her. And by something that knows me. Something hungry. Valora wasn't sure she actually wanted an answer to solidify her suspicions, but still she asked. "Why?"
"Sorcha's Ghost was orange."
~ASDFGHJKL~
Okay, so, I was debating giving you this now or waiting to finish all the drama off before updating but I didn't want to make y'all wait a month between updates. Plus, I want to see you shiver in antici-
jsm1978- That spider thing was a real thing that happened. Greatly exaggerated, but real. I stabbed a wolf spider about the size of my hand with a pencil and it DID NOT DIE! I'm sure it died eventually, but it wasn't immediate and that is not okay. I fear his spider friends will seek retribution. Perhaps it will be a knife fighting alley gang of them that come for me in my sleep. (Do not mention that monstrosity that formal essays brought into this world. I will not be held responsible for that)
Jayfeattheris Awesome- I know I already explained the spider thing to you and then again literally just up there, but really IT DIDN'T DIE. I am not okay with this. *holds up plate of waffles* my annual gift (read: sacrifice)
FusRoDerp- Awwww thanks hopefully I do not disappoint you
Daydreamer B.A.- Xander does not often do 'actual emotion' but when he does *low whistle* you shall soon see, my friend, you shall soon see. The memory will be finished too, and many many dramatic explanations are also soon to follow. Next chapter will be packed with action and probably a lot of yelling tbh ;)