Amon returned to the tower, formulating a monologue she could deliver to Zavala as her ship made the journey back from the reef. Ghost gave input here and there but remained more quiet than usual in order to let his guardian think things through. The day had taken an emotional toll on her, and even he knew to bite his tongue and let her brood when she was feeling like this. He tried to convince her to wait and speak to Zavala another day and rest that evening, to no avail. When the ship landed, she exchanged pleasantries with Amanda, assuring her they would catch up soon before excusing herself to attend to 'the usual Vanguard demands".
Thankfully, the Courtyard was quiet- most guardians had not yet returned from their daily missions. Zavala stood in his usual spot, pensively watching over the city below. He was battle-hardened and a brilliant commander, despite his often boorish and cold behavior. Amon knew he had been through a lot and seen great tragedy, but still found it difficult to empathize with the Titan at times. She approached him warily.
"If you're here for another fight...I don't have it in me today." Zavala spoke without turning to face her, hands still clasped tightly behind his back.
"I'm not here to fight, I just want to talk." She had come prepared for an argument but was hopeful their discussion wouldn't devolve into that.
Zavala's shoulders raised up as he took a deep breath, relaxing when he spun around to face her. "Fine. Let us speak in my office."
They walked in silence through the tower, giving Amon extra time to run through what she wanted to say in her head. She became acutely aware of her own exhaustion and hunger as they passed through the Bazaar where civilians and guardians hustled about bartering with vendors or sat together conversing and sharing food. The dawning crystal glinted brightly in the afternoon sun, outlining the shape of Ikora's stiff form. She glanced at the pair quizzically but did not break away from the two Warlocks accosting her for not supplying more research opportunities.
The heavy doors of the Vanguard's makeshift headquarters thudded shut and Shiro-4 looked over to see who had entered. When he saw Amon his eyes lit up, and he stopped idly flicking his knife and removed his feet from where they were propped up on the center table, rising to greet her.
"Hey there Wolf. Up to no good again?" Shiro raised his brow, looking from her to Zavala.
Zavala closed his eyes and sighed. "Shiro, I see you are hard at work submitting your reports for the day."
The exo rubbed his head. "Oh yeah, I finished those already." Zavala glared at him, and he stuttered. "Now that I think about it, I may have missed a couple. I'll go check up on that." Shiro winked at Amon before turning on his heel and making a beeline for his office. Once he was out of the way, Zavala turned to Amon expectantly.
"I see you two are getting along swimmingly." Amon laughed nervously, trying desperately to maintain eye contact with the Titan. Now that she was trapped in a room with him, she wanted nothing more than to run back through the doors and hole up in her apartment to watch crucible matches and mindlessly scroll through the VanNet forums.
"There are times when the direct option is best." His gaze was unreadable, voice monotone.
Amon winced, her mind inconveniently becoming a blank slate now that she actually had to talk. "Ok," she breathed, "I wanted to ask...to tell you, that I have 'detoxed', as you suggested, and have decided that I will continue seeing and working with Crow." She bit her lip and allowed him to process her words before saying anything more. "He has become very important to me, so much so that I am incapable of placing him behind my duty to the Vanguard or our customs. Crow is in equal standing with those obligations."
Zavala nodded slowly, gaze unwavering, and she braced herself for his anger. But instead of lashing out or yelling, he spoke calmly. "I speak often of the power of the City as a symbol. But never forget, it is a real place. The home to living, breathing people. A home that would not exist without your efforts. Down below us stretches the last free city on Earth. And it is here because of your strength, your deeds. Do not forget this, Guardian. It is why we are here."
"I understand, and I will not soon forget. I am not abandoning my post or the city, I just wanted to be transparent about my intentions. And, I was wondering if you would approve us to be in a fireteam again."
Zavala pursed his lips. "Guardian...I am not sure if I am comfortable directly allowing you to work together while on duty. Truthfully, I fear it may serve as a...distraction."
Amon's face flushed with annoyance and embarrassment. "Are you implying that-"
"Believe it or not, Guardian, I have experienced and am aware of the types of 'interference' a significant other can impose. I am merely expressing concern."
"First of all, too much info, Big Blue. Second of all, you yourself are always preaching about how us guardians are 'stronger together'. I've flown solo since Crota, much to your displeasure- and now that I actually want someone on my fireteam you're going to deny the request?"
"It is not about that, but about who."
"You know me, Zavala, and you know what I am capable of. I have killed literal Gods. Do you really think a romantic partner is going to stop me from killing even more? Not even Ghaul could take my light away. Crow sure as hell isn't going to impede my crusade against the darkness."
Zavala narrowed his eyes at her, and she knew she was close to crossing the line with her tone. "It is true; you have survived the dangers of the Hive, the Fallen. You should be proud. But do not become arrogant. There are plenty of shadows in the system, plenty of places for the enemy to hide."
"And you think Crow is one of them?" She scoffed in disbelief, standing as tall as she could to meet the Titan's gaze. Was that pain she saw in his eyes?
"That is not what I said-"
"But you implied it!"
"Silence!"
If Shaxx were here, he would have yelled at them to take it to the Crucible. Any other Guardian would eat her fists for saying such things. They faced off in silence, each biting their tongues before the situation escalated. Gradually they calmed down, and Zavala looked sad as he spoke.
"Loss, Guardian. You have experienced it before, as have I." He paused when his voice cracked, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing. "Not everything can be healed by our Ghosts. I fear...I fear that if something were to happen, you would break completely. The City cannot afford to lose another great Hunter."
She was taken aback by his vulnerability. This was perhaps the first time Zavala had expressed genuine grief for Cayde in front of her, let alone admitted that he cared even a little bit about her well-being. Amon stared at her hands as she spoke. "You're wrong."
Zavala wore an expression of confusion when she met his gaze once again. "When Cayde died, I broke. Completely. I shattered into a million pieces. But I picked them up, and I rebuilt myself even stronger. For Cayde. And I will do it again if I have to. For Crow, for the City. For everything." She dug her nails into her palms. "However, I won't have to because I won't lose him, not in this life. And I won't see this city fall either. Ever."
He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes. "The dream of the City is your dream, her people your people. I consider the Vanguard lucky to have you on the front lines." In an alternate timeline, Zavala might have hugged the Guardian. But that was not really his style, so instead, he dropped his arm and relayed a message that he could have left alone. "I believe Saint-14 wants to speak to you. We- he- has something to give you."
Amon opened her eyes and nodded. "Okay…" she trailed off, afraid to ask for an answer to her earlier request.
"You must tend to Saint first. But, you have my blessing."
She flung her arms around the Titan. "Thank you Big Blue, thank you, thank you, thank you!" He stiffened, clearing his throat. Embarrassed, Amon quickly removed herself from him and scrambled back to a comfortable distance.
"That was very unprofessional."
"Sorry."
Laughter burst out from behind them, causing the pair to spin around to find its source. Shiro was slumped over against the doorway to his office, lucky to be an Exo or he surely would have wet himself with hysteria. Zavala was instantly pissed.
"Shiro, were you listening to our conversation?" The commander bellowed loudly, resisting the urge to shoulder charge Shiro into oblivion. Amon suppressed a giggle, covering her hand with her mouth.
The Exo wheezed. "No, no, I was just going to leave and get food when-" he started laughing again. "W-when I saw her hug you. The look on your face!"
Zavala stalked over to his office door. "I don't have time for your antics or ridicule, Shiro-4. Good evening." He slammed the door shut, and Amon finally let herself chuckle, sharing a glance with Shiro who just shrugged helplessly.
He walked over to her and linked his arm with her own. "You up for dinner, Wolf?"
Amon smiled brightly. "Hell yeah, I'm starving. I need to swing by my apartment to freshen up first, though."
"You look fine to me. You don't smell too bad either. Well, not any worse than Lord Saladin during the Iron Banner, that is. That man doesn't shower for weeks." The comment earned him a smack on the arm. "Relax, I'm joking."
"You'd better be." She dragged him out of the room and through the alley, entering her apartment from the back.
Shiro shot her a look. "Avoiding someone?" he asked, raising his brows.
"Nope. Just don't want the neighbors to think I'm sneaking around with a robot."
"Rude," he grumbled as they stepped through the back entrance into her kitchen.
"Wait here, I'll just be a minute." Amon scurried off to change and Shiro plopped himself down in one of her barstools. She went into the bathroom and quickly showered, not bothering to shut the bathroom door. Standing in front of the mirror as she got dressed, she realized Eva was right- her cloak was in bad shape. Amon hummed to herself as Ghost sifted through her inventory, deciding to wear the cloak Cayde had given her so long ago. It was black and grey with a big white spade near the bottom.
As she was pulling the cloak around her shoulders, she noticed a small figure out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head towards the bed, Amon saw a mechanical crow resting on the edge. It differed from the one she had seen with Crow earlier. "Um...hello? Were you watching me shower?"
Crow's voice projected quietly from the bird's beak. "Maybe. Although that wasn't my intention." Amon rolled her eyes. "I just got done for the day. What are you up to?"
"Gonna grab dinner with Shiro."
The drone was silent for a moment. "Oh, cool."
Amon pursed her lips. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…"
"Crow. Don't bullshit me."
"I was just thinking about the last time you went out with him."
Amon blushed. "You afraid I'm going to fuck him again or something?"
Crow laughed. "Afraid, no. Just disappointed that I don't get to join."
"Wow, are you sexting me through a bird right now?" Amon grinned to herself. "Besides, apparently you can just watch."
"Don't tempt me with a good time."
"I'm not tempting. I'm offering."
He thought about it for a moment. "You should probably get going."
"Yeah, yeah. See you in a bit...maybe." She winked at the bird.
"Just try not to blackout this time," it called after her before departing out the window that she had unknowingly left open. Rolling her eyes, she walked back to the kitchen to find Shiro patiently waiting.
"Ready? I've had to rez twice now due to starvation."
"Shut up, you're an Exo." Amon giggled, and he stood up to take her arm again.
"Nice cloak," he remarked as they left through the back and headed for the city.
They sat at a high table in a dimly lit bar. The decor was rather rustic; everything was wooden, candles in mason jars hung from the ceiling and sat in the center of the tables, and a local band played old jazz music on a small stage lined with red velvet curtains. The bar, called The Fox & Hound, was a popular spot for guardians to come and drink after a hard day's work. Amon was drinking a Cosmodrome Mule- her favorite- and Shiro sipped on a glass of straight whiskey, 'on the rocks'. He loved ordering it that way because he thought it made him sound smart and sophisticated, but Amon thought it was rather unnecessary.
Shiro sat munching on potato wedges while Amon and the vodka she was drinking talked at him. Somehow they had broached the topic of their missions together during the SIVA crisis, and she was cracking herself up with stories of various mishaps they'd encountered. The alcohol in her system gave a slight flush to her cheeks, and Shiro couldn't help but think she looked quite pretty when she laughed.
"Do you," she stammered between giggles, "remember that time I was trying to destroy a SIVA node, and I forgot I was holding my grenade launcher, and, and I blew myself up." She bursts into giggles and Shiro shook his head.
"Yeah, that wasn't very funny to me."
"And, and then I rezzed and, and when the Hive thrall came I panicked and punched a cursed one." Bursting into giggles again, Shiro couldn't help but share in her contagious laughter.
"Speaking of Hive...what do you think about all that shit on the moon?"
Amon's eyes grew dark for a moment as memories flashed through her mind. Endless hive, Ghost's corruption, the Pit of Heresy. She waved a hand to dismiss his question. "Bah, Eris is handling that for now. I'm more concerned about this whole sundial fiasco right now."
The Exo took another sip of whiskey, raising his brows. "That related to Saint-14 coming back?"
She nodded, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward to talk in a low voice. "Yeah. Long story short, Osiris fucked up major. Ripped a hole in space-time trying to find Saint."
"And you say they're just drinking buddies?"
"Oh no, I don't say that," she scoffed. "Would you put the entire galaxy on the line just to have a drink with Andal or Cayde?" Shiro looked away and Amon regretted using them as her example. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that. You know I loved Cayde just as much as you did. I just mean-"
He put a finger to her lips to stop her. "It's ok, I know what you meant. I'd do almost anything for that, but no, I would not risk the survival of the entire galaxy. They wouldn't want me to, anyway."
"Exactly," she said. "And the other day when I was talking to Saint about, uh…" she trailed off, embarrassed.
"Bird troubles?"
"Sure, something like that. Anyways, he mentioned a lover and all but said outright that it was Osiris. And that is my spinfoil theory."
Shiro chuckled. "Interesting theory." Their conversation was interrupted by whoops and hollers coming from a booth across the room. They looked over to see a titan release a warlock from a kiss. The titan grinned and ran a hand through her hair while their companions clapped the embarrassed Warlock on the back. The poor guy looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole, clearly not one for public displays of affection.
"Ah, kinder-guardians," Shiro commented. Amon downed the rest of her drink and turned around to look at him.
"That reminds me." She playfully kicked his feet under the table. Biting her lip, she raised her leg and brushed his crotch with her boot, making him jump.
"By the Light, Wolf," he said, pushing her foot away. "Someone could have seen that."
She ignored his critique, chalking it up to grumpiness. Amon hated when he acted all mature and serious. When he was relaxed, he sort of reminded her of Cayde- and she liked that. "You coming over tonight?"
He stared at his drink. "Aren't you with Crow now?"
Amon pursed her lips. "So you were eavesdropping after all."
"That isn't my point." He emptied his glass, frowning. "I need another drink. You?"
Sighing, she slid her glass across the table and watched him walk off towards the bar, taking his empty basket of potato wedges with him. While he was gone, she thought about his question. Yes, she was with Crow. She loved him, of course. They may not have discussed semantics about the nature of their relationship yet, but Crow had seemed open to the idea of her sleeping with Shiro when they had talked earlier. Her thoughts were interrupted when Shiro returned and placed a fresh Cosmodrome Mule in front of her, which she thanked him for before sipping it happily.
"Like I was saying. I don't want any trouble, Wolf."
"We have a sort of-" Amon paused, swirling her drink with her straw. "-open relationship. If that's what you call it."
"Sort of?"
Growing impatient, she flattened her palms against the table and stared into his eyes. "Shiro, do you want to fuck or not?" She asked through gritted teeth. If she were sober, she might have been more sympathetic to his concerns.
"Please. You know the answer to that. I'm just trying to decide if I should."
An idea suddenly prompted itself in her mind. "You know, you're an excellent tracker." She grinned up at him before taking another sip, letting the alcohol convince her that the idea wasn't shit.
"Yeah...and?"
"I have to use the ladies room. Excuse me." Amon slipped out of her chair, sauntering off towards the restrooms. She walked straight past the bathroom door, pushing open the heavy door guarding the back entrance and slipping quietly into the alleyway.
Shiro sat alone at the table, an internal war waging between his morals his sexual urges. He silently cursed the hunter for being so irresistible, and himself for listening in on her conversation with Zavala. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right? Too late for that. Even if they had an 'open relationship', what if that changed? Shiro didn't want to deal with a jealous partner. But he also hated the thought of letting her sleep alone that night.
After a while, he became acutely aware that Amon was up to something, as she hadn't returned yet.
Dammit, now I've got a drunk hunter wandering the streets.
He wove his way through dancing guardians to reach the bathrooms, discreetly trying to listen in through the door to the women's room. Picking up on light chatter projected in his direction, he stepped back from the wooden door just as it swung open and the titan from the booth stepped out, one of her companions following behind her.
"Excuse me," he said. "My uh...my friend seems to have disappeared. Was there anyone else in there?"
The titan exchanged a glance with her friend. "No, sorry. Just us."
Nodding politely, he excused himself. "Thanks anyways." As he headed towards the back exit, he heard them debating in whispers whether or not he was the hunter vanguard.
Stepping into the cool night air, he parted his mouth plates to allow his olfactory sensors to examine the air. Resisting the urge to recoil, he filtered out the smells of cooking oil and old trash, searching for a particular smell. Finally, he picked up the scent of the lemon and sage soap she always smelled like- when she was clean- and followed it in the direction of the Tower. Shiro made sure to move quietly and casually so as not to rouse suspicion from any bystanders he might encounter, discreetly scanning the ground with his eyes. Coming to a stop in front of a shallow puddle, he noticed a trail of barely noticeable wet bootprints pointed in the direction of the main street that bisected the bar district.
Shit. She went through the crowd.
He turned left and passed between two brick buildings, emerging into the street that was bustling with nightlife. Couples and groups of friends flitted between bars, some pausing in the middle of the street to chat or compare dance moves. He approached a trio of Warlocks stood on a corner, surely people-watching in the hopes of further inflating their fat heads.
One of them looked up at him as he approached, turning to whisper something in the other's ear. The Warlock wore traditional mongolian looking robes, despite being a tall awoken with decidedly anglican features. A large tattoo covered the bottom half of his mouth and chin, and long blue dreadlocks were secured behind his head in a series of gold hair bands. Shiro internally sighed, wishing he had chosen someone else to pester with his company.
"Shiro-4, temporary Hunter Vanguard. Fancy seeing you here."
Shiro brushed off the comment. "You seen a hunter, about yay high-" he held his hand at his shoulder level to demonstrate -"with short hair?"
The Warlock stared at him in disbelief. "You mean, have I seen 50% of all hunters?"
"Right, sorry. Awoken, blue eyes, black hair, diamond marking on her forehead, dark armor and a black cloak with a big spade on it?"
"Oh, you mean her. Yes, she may have entered my field of view."
The Exo was about to lose his patience when the shorter warlock beside him stepped forward.
"She went that way," they said, pointing between a dance club and a liquor store. "Through that alleyway there."
Shiro nodded and thanked them, rushing off in that direction before he could be dragged into any further conversation. Next time he would just access the camera feeds, but for now he was kind of enjoying the hunt, even if he would never admit it.
Where the hell is she going?
As he walked, Shiro pulled his yellow cloak over his head and listened in to the conversations happening around him. The Young Wolf was fairly well known so there was a chance that someone who had seen her go by might make a comment. Being an Exo meant he could adjust the various data inputs flooding his auditory sensors, turning down or muting sounds that weren't useful to him.
"I heard that they're like, mute or something. So how do they communicate during missions?"
"Idiot. They were literally just asking that guy for directions."
"Well, whatever. They must be stupid or something to want to go out there. I wonder if they're even allowed out the gates?"
The Exo tuned out, overcome by irritation and anxiety. He sincerely hoped that those guardians weren't talking about what he thought they were talking about. But, there was only one place he could think of. Dipping into the alley, he checked his belt to make sure Trespasser was still secured in its holster, signing in relief when he felt its familiar form beneath the leather. Shiro intensely regretted offering her a second drink, considering she had barely eaten anything and had a low tolerance anyways. However, she did seem to sober up fairly quickly, and he was banking on that being a common occurence so that she would at least have her wits about her if she did get lost out there.
Out there, with the Fallen.
Shiro silently prayed to the Traveler that she had been armed with something. He pulled out his ID and flashed it towards one of the Guardians watching the Tower gate. They nodded to him as he passed, acting as natural and casual as possible. He doubted the Guardian was able to actually get outside- there was just no way they would have let a tipsy hunter through, especially at that hour. But nonetheless, he decided to check. Slipping behind one of the large concrete supports and out of view of the Guardians, he used his knife to pop open a vent several meters off the ground and climbed inside. Immediately, his olfactory sensors were flooded with lemon and sage, and he froze in confusion.
Did I tell her about this? I never told her about this. What the fuck…
This vent connected to a maintenance shaft from which he could access all the ventilation systems of the Tower as well, and he often used it to sneak away when he got bored of paperwork. This particular passage, however, happened to lead straight to the outside. Well, only because he had dug a tunnel from it to a small ravine in the forest. The passageway was tiny, and the entrance was triple-locked and camouflaged. Fallen were too stupid to ever find it. Or so he told himself. He crawled his way through the narrow passage, cursing when he came to the doorway. All of the locks were busted and glowing orange with heat.
She seriously used her Golden Gun to destroy my door? Asshole.
Annoyed beyond words, Shiro pushed open the remains of his security efforts and pulled himself out into the forest.