The huntress barely had enough time to brace herself before she was tackled by a hulking figure.
"Psyho," she grunted, winching from the hit when their armor clashed against each other. "One of these days you're going to hurt me doing that."
"Oh, please!" Grinning wide, the Titan clapped her by the shoulders. "We were so worried after hearing the reports, but you look no worse then the day you left us."
"Oh..." Maku snorted behind them. "You have no idea."
Pulling herself away from Psyho's grasp, Frea took a moment to peer around the group, almost everyone from her inner circle of the clan was present, everyone expect for the Guardian she hoped most to see. "Still no word?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
Her tiny shimmer of hope diminished further when Sain shook his head, the light in his robotic eyes darkening. "Nothing, I'm afraid. We thought you may have had better luck."
"Ikora hasn't seen him since the attack either, he's most likely..." She bit her lip.
He patted a gentle hand on her arm, offering a calm smile. "Don't give up on him yet. Dex would be so proud of you to see what you've accomplished by yourself. "
"No kidding. Sacrificing yourself to protect your Vanguard and diving into an ocean to save my brother. He's going to be downright jealous." Maku chuckled, taking a sip from his newly acquired drink. His eyes darted around just briefly before returning to the huntress. "Hold on...where's lover boy?"
Frea's face dropped and she quickly spun around, at some point during their walk from the hanger, Shaxx had disappeared. "I thought he was right behind us," she murmured.
The Warlock grimaced like he been poked with a sharp needle. "Oh dear..."
"What? Do you think he's mad?" She asked, clutching the edge of her cape. Regret was starting to gnaw at her nerves, maybe coming to this party instead of talking with the Titan like she originally intended that night was the wrong call.
"What's this about? Am I finally going to have to give the old man a beating?" Psyho interjected, cracking her knuckles. "Because I'll do it."
"For Frea's sake? Or because you've always wanted to 1v1 Lord Shaxx?" Maku asked, the smirk on his face returning.
"Hey, two birds with one stone and all that." She dismissively waved him off.
Kannon cut in between the group, raising a finger in warning. "No fistfights allowed tonight, we don't need anyone getting dunked into the sea."
"No one's going to fight...hopefully." Maku titled his head back toward Frea. "I sensed some stress between you and lover boy earlier, did I interrupt something important?"
"If it's what I think it is," Sain answered first as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "Then Lord Shaxx is going to be very unhappy with you, Maku."
"Alright, everyone. This is our last night together before the big attack on the City, how about we stop wasting time talking drama?" Timus clapped his hand together.
"I agree," Kannon added, taking Frea by the hand to catch the huntress's attention. "I'm sure Lord Shaxx will be back soon, why don't you tell us all the details from your missions?"
Her heart torn between finding Shaxx and staying with her friends, Frea's gaze quickly scanned over the crowds of people and then returned to the Hunter before her when she didn't spot the familiar color of orange amongst the Guardians. "Sure," she finally said.
They spent the next hour huddled around the low burning fire pit, listening to her recap everything she could remember from her adventures. She told them about Titan and how it felt to dive headlong into the freezing waters to save Aner, who now leaned against the seat Timus sat in, watching her intently with sharp eyes. He shot her a fleeting smirk when she got to the part about the Hive Shrieker over the bridge. Afterword, she moved on to Nessus and the strange AI she had met there, the antics of her Hunter Vanguard left most of her friends giggling while Kannon hung her head in her hands with a shuttering sigh. Frea's gaze stopped on Sain when she skipped over her visit to the Farm after Nessus, no one else took notice of the gap in her story, it seemed he had kept the encounter to himself. And finally, she told of Io and the Hunter she had met there, how he attacked her in an attempt to run away from the fate he felt so unlucky to have been given.
"Xane, huh?" Psyho leaned forward in her chair, putting a knuckle to her lips. "I don't know if I can trust someone like that in the clan."
"He got the jump on an experienced Guardian and had the guts to attack without his light. I think he has potential, provided he doesn't run away like a wuss," Maku added. "Of course that depends on Sain."
"I'm not the only founder of this clan, Maku. Kannon and Timus have a say in the matter of new recruits as well," Sain interjected.
"I'm always happy to take in new Hunters," Kannon said. "He just needs guidance."
"I don't like it. Feels like we're prepping ourselves to get stabbed in the back," Timus huffed.
"Let's be honest, the only one at risk of getting stabbed is Frea." Maku snickered, earning him a stern look from the huntress.
Sain raised his hand, quieting the discussion. "We'll discuss the invite for Xane if we ever get to that point."
"You mean if we get a tomorrow?" A silence overcame the group after Maku's comment, and he bowed his head slightly. "Apologies, took that joke a little too far."
"In the meantime," Timus sighed, lifting his glass. "I am going to happily drink myself in a stupor for the rest of the night."
Everyone split off into smaller groups while some others left to get more drinks before the rest of the partygoers finished them off. Kannon shifted next to Frea, a concerned expression over her face. "It sounded like you've had a hard time, how are you doing?" She asked.
"Fine," the huntress flatly replied.
"Really? Because you don't look fine." Kannon frowned. "I wouldn't be after being assaulted by a fellow Guardian."
"He didn't do much damage honestly, though..." Frea reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled out the shards of the broken knife. "I can't say the same for your favorite blade."
Kannon's eyes widened as she took the metal segments and slowly turned them in her hands. "Wait, you said he attacked you with a knife? Was it this one?"
"Yep. Yanked it right out of the holster." Frea mimicked pulling the weapon off her forearm. "He missed...but uh, sorry about your knife."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad my lucky knife didn't end up killing you."
"After this is all over, I'll be happy to make you a new one, Kannon. I know you've always been checking out the serrated blade I keep on my hip."
The other huntress's face lit up with a smile as she practically bounced in her seat. "Really? I've never been able to figure out how to make a sawtooth knife that didn't immediately break after one use! I'd love to have one!"
"Oh it's pretty easy, I just reinforce them with-" Frea started.
"Chatting about knives as usual, I see." The two Hunters looked up to see Psyho hovering over them, sporting a devilish grin. "Sorry to interrupt, but Sain wants to talk to you, Kannon."
"Alright." Rising from her seat, Kannon took Frea's hand in hers and placed the broken pieces of the blade into her gloved palm. "Keep this with you, the metal might be shattered...but it's still just as lucky."
"Always the superstitious one," Frea lightly sighed, gripping the knife shards. "Thank you."
She watched the two Guardians walk back to the center of the party to join the rest of the clan, nonchalantly holding hands as they disappeared into the crowd. The image made her think of Shaxx, and now that she was alone again, her mind drifted uncontrollably. The way he had vanished without a single word, like he was desperate to get away from her, left an ache in her chest. There were too many people in the common area to spot the Titan, even one his size, and the patrolling Red Jacks she occasionally spotted didn't give her any clue to where he could be. The only other option would be to locate him via Ghost and show just how truly hopeless she was right now, and if he blocked her out...she wasn't sure she could handle the rejection.
Groaning, the huntress lifted from her chair and grabbed the barely touched glass of beer off the table next to her. She crossed the small yard to the docks and stopped just at the edge of the damp wood overlooking the sea. With the fire pit so far away, the chill was harsher, the small torches positioned on the supports poles emitted scant heat. Frea closed her eyes and let the sound of the waves drown out the noise from the party. The moon was just a sliver of itself high in the sky, bright enough to cast shadows, and gave the water an eerie pale blue color. It was a beautiful night, and she couldn't even bring herself to enjoy it.
Flipping back her head, she chugged down half her drink and nearly gagged in the process.
"That's a bad idea," a familiar voice said behind her.
"Don't tell me what to do." Not turning around, the huntress went to take another swig but a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Maku, what the hell-" When she finally whipped around to face the Warlock, she found herself eye level with an armored chestplate instead. Ever so slowly, her attention traveled up to meet the gaze of a very different man. "A-Aner!? Sorry, I thought you were your brother."
The creases around his eyes deepened at her comment as his usual blank expression was replaced with a scowl. "I sound nothing like him," he shortly snapped. "Are you drunk?"
"No, I was just...um, a little zoned out."
"Hm." Giving her a look that clearly showed he didn't believe her, he forcibly tilted her hand over the dock, dumping the rest of the drink into the water.
"Ah! Ow, watch it with that grip!" Frea reflexively jumped back to pull her arm away, and at the same time, Aner opened his fingers. The sudden lack of tension on her limb threw her off balance and she had to take another step to catch herself, but her boot only hit air. She didn't flail off the dock far before the Titan was upon her, one of his arms wrapped around her waist and the other clutched one of the support poles to keep them both from falling into the shallows. He nearly knocked the wind out of her lungs as he roughly pulled her into his chest. "You really need to work on controlling that strength of yours," she coughed.
"Sorry, you're just so..." The Titan's next word caught in his throat from the hard glare she sent his way. "Perfectly normal size," he corrected himself.
"You were going to say tiny."
The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile before he quickly hid it away behind a stoney expression. "I was not."
The huntress let out a long sigh, she really wasn't in the mood to joke around. "Thanks for the help, but can you please let me go now?" When he made no indication of budging, she started to fruitlessly wrestle against his grasp. "Aner...move."
His glowing eyes flitted away for a second, the hold on her waist loosening slightly, but just as quickly his gaze returned with newfound fire. "Why are you in such a hurry to run back to Shaxx?" He asked, his tone going so low that it sent warning signals blazing through Frea's head. "This is possibly the last chance you two will see each other if the attack fails tomorrow, and yet he's nowhere to be found. Awfully cold of him."
"Things are complicated right now..." She started, tearing her eyes away from his piercing stare.
"Yeah?" An armored finger hooked under her chin and tilted the huntress's face upwards, straining her neck to look directly at the Titan. "I wouldn't let some petty argument stop me from spending my final moments with the person I love," he harshly whispered. "You're too good for him."
The confession was wildly off the mark but it still hit home as everything clicked in Frea's mind. Her heart throbbed loudly in her chest, but this wasn't the fuzzy feeling she usually got with Shaxx. "Stop it, this isn't funny." She pushed on his chestplate, trying to put some distance between them.
"I'm serious." Not even acknowledging her struggles, Aner leaned in closer, just enough that their noses were almost touching. "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since Titan..."
"Enough!" At her wits end and determined to be free, she dug her fingertips into the open crevices between his shoulder plating, the claws on her gauntlets scarped against his painted armor as she dropped to her knee. Her low center of gravity combined with the abrupt addition of extra weight to his one side lurched the Titan over her back, and he went tumbling off the edge of the pier, landing hard into the water with a splash. Not bothering to make sure he was alright, the huntress immediately turned on her heel and stomped toward solid ground.
"Frea, wait!" Aner called as he waddled through the shallows after her.
"No."
"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that. Please, just listen to me for one moment."
She halted then, her head turning slowly to look down at him. "Why? So you can lay your hands on me again?"
He slowly came up to the dock, placing his elbows on the wood. Salt water dripped off his hair, and the low waves lapped up to his chest, but he didn't seem intent on getting out. "What if I just stay here? Will that make you more comfortable?"
After a long second of deciding if he was worth listening to, a heavy sigh escaped her. "Fine, but come any closer and I'll leave."
"Of course. I'm sorry...again." He averted his eyes, their glow reflecting off the water. "I let my emotions get the better of me, my people skills aren't what they used to be."
"How long were you on that moon by yourself exactly? Before the Traveler's light went out."
"On Titan? Only a little over a year. But I've been by myself for far longer than that," Aner replied, lacing his fingers together. "How much do you know about my brother, Frea?"
"Not much other than he's an old Guardian and a skilled sniper, he helped train Dex." She sat down on the dock, just out of arms reach of the Titan, and brought her knees up to her chest. "I've always been a bit curious...but are you two actually brothers? You're both Awoken but you two don't look very much alike."
"No, we're not." He chuckled. "Maku is indeed old. Woken up shortly after the City's wall were built, I believe. I've been around long before that."
"Oh, you must have some good stories then."
The small smile on his face swayed, turning into something sadder. "Before Twilight Gap, yes I do. Afterwords...unfortunately I have no idea what the Guardians were up to then." When he noticed the questioning look on Frea's face, he continued. "Back before the Vanguards were the people you know today, I had a bit of a reputation. My knack for void energy made me a candidate to train with Saint-14, and when he disappeared I was set to carry on his teachings."
"You were protege to a Guardian legend? Like...the legend. Saint-14." She gaped at him, wide-eyed.
Aner nodded. "Yeah, that's the reaction most people had," he sighed. "Couldn't walk across the Tower those days without a posse of Guardians at my heels, always begging to be trained."
"Sounds like you hated it."
"I did, stubbornly turned everyone that asked for my time down...until a certain irritating Warlock met me in the plaza."
The way his tone changed pricked Frea's interest. "Did something happen?"
The Titan's gaze glided over to meet hers, a slim smirk spreading over his lips. "You could say that. We ended up destroying part of the Tower, took a chuck out of the living quarters. I'm sure you can imagine the Vanguards weren't too happy about that." He shifted, sending ripples across the surface of the water. "Maku got off easy since he was young at the time, I however, did not. Got sentenced to exile for three hundred years."
"Exile for that? Seems harsh."
"My...status...had a part to play in that I think. I didn't like being treated like a celebrity just because of my master, but I'm still a Titan, battle is in my blood. When the Fallen attacked our walls, I was forced to skirt the system avoiding outposts so I wouldn't be shot on sight instead of joining my brethren to protect my home." He frowned, shaking his head. "After my sentence, the Tower was too different, the people I called friends had either died or forgotten about me. So, I decided to keep to myself and took solo missions until you and Maku found me on Titan."
"But...how does the Guardian who caused your exile end up becoming your brother?" She asked.
"By my good looks and witty charm obviously," someone else answered. Frea froze and looked over her shoulder to see the Warlock they were just taking about. He stood with his hands on his hips and cast a wary glance from her to the Titan still sunk half in the sea. One of his eyebrows raised, but he didn't ask about the strange scene he just walked in to. "I felt bad about what happened and tried to make up for it by visiting Aner and assisting his missions during his sentence. Once tried to sneak him into the City by claiming he was my 'long-lost brother'." He grinned. "It kinda stuck after that."
"Maku..." Aner groaned. "Poor timing as usual."
"I suppose so, judging by your position over there it looks like I came a bit too late." He snorted and stepped to the side. Heavy footsteps thundered across the dock as an approaching figure passed the Warlock and came into the light. The flickering shadows from the torch glinted off the Titan's horned helmet, his arms deftly crossed behind his back as he came to a stop just before the huntress.
"S-shaxx!"