A Veiled Future
"What in the Traveler's name were you thinking?!" Star wailed.
Kya rolled her eyes, tilting her head away from the shoulder her Ghost hovered beside, "You were listening and watching the entire time Star, I wasn't given much of a choice."
"That's a pack of lies and you know it! You're letting those traitors manipulate you!" She went on.
The Huntress sighed, her eyes glazing as she tuned Star out; the little light had been droning on and on for nearly an hour as they made the trek to the Cosmodrome. Walking helped clear her head, the exertion of pumping her legs up and down hills kept the troublesome thoughts at bay, and distract her from her Ghost's never ending torrent of rebukes. The weather was warming she noticed, the snow melting, making way for green shoots to peak their heads skyward. The scent of turned earth filled her nostrils, and the sun felt good on her face.
"This is where I belong. Outside in the sun or rain…" Kya mumbled, not realizing she had spoken out loud.
"What was that? Were you even listening?" Star nearly screamed at her, causing the Huntress to wince. "You belong in the Tower! You are a Guardian! You are meant to protect the Traveler, and in turn all of humanity! Don't you realized-!"
"Yes!" Kya shouted, whirling on her Ghost, "Yes! Stardust, I am aware of my predestined responsibility! Despite what you and everyone else seems to believe, I am not an ignorant child! I may not be the oldest, wisest Guardian there is, but I still have a mind and will of my own! And I am not some stupid, thoughtless dog of the Traveler either!" She shouted, finally snapping with boiling anger.
Her Ghost had retreated a few feet away, yet she still huffed indignantly at her as she said, "Listen to yourself, child doesn't even do justice to describe your grossly naive decisions."
Kya narrowed her eyes, "Ok Star, fine. Just remember that this child is still your Guardian, that you picked, and you're stuck with me. So, do you really want to continue to make us both miserable for the foreseeable future?"
Star hesitated for a moment, "Well, it's not like I'm getting through that thick skull of yours anyway… very well, I'll just leave you alone then since that's what you seem to want." With that she vanished into a twinkle of light.
The Huntress sighed, her eyes on the ground as she took another step forward, only to smack into something hard. She fell back on one knee, holding her nose as sharp pain coursed through her face causing her eyes to water.
"Fuck!" She mumbled, squinting up at whatever she had bumped into.
"Fuck indeed, don't you ever watch where you're going?" Fenris asked, a smug grin on his cowled face.
Kya blinked several times, clearing the tears from her eyes as she got to her feet; she carefully dusted herself off, before returning her attention to the brooding man in front of her. "I thought you were going to meet me on the old highway."
Fenris tilted his head slightly in confusion, "This is the old highway…." He said slowly, as if afraid she might not understand.
"Wha-" she turned, scanning her surroundings, and sure enough, she stood at the beginning of the bridge leading into the Cosmodrome.
"Are you… alright?" Fenris asked, his tone concerned.
Kya turned toward him, her face flushed in embarrassment, "I- I just got a little distracted, that's all." She mumbled.
Fenris studied her for a moment, "You were arguing with your Ghost again." He stated, drawing a look of surprise from the Huntress.
"How…" She shook her head, "Never mind, you always know things you shouldn't."
He smiled in amusement, "Good, you're learning, and I thought there was no hope for you." He looked her up and down, before peeking over her shoulder, "I assume you have no idea if you were followed or not, seeing as you didn't know where you were a minute ago."
Kya opened her mouth to reply but froze when Fenris' hand suddenly flew from his side, his palm facing outward in a defensive gesture. Power emanated from him as his hand formed a fist in a split second, a sound like a hornet accompanied by a slight breath of air blew over the Huntress' head. A moment passed in silence, before Kya flinched at the report of a distant rifle. Slowly Fenris lowered his arm, his fingers uncurling to reveal a bullet, sparkling innocently in the sun.
"I was wondering how long it would take him to say hello." He said, a glint in his eye as he looked to a hill a few hundred yards away.
Kya shook herself, finally gathering her senses as she dove behind one of the many rusted cars littering the highway. "Get down!" She hissed, glancing over the rim of a broken window.
Fenris held a finger to his lips, "Shh, stay here, I'll return shortly." with that, he disappeared, and she again felt that strange power.
"Where the hell did he go?!" She whispered, chancing another look through the window. "No sign of him, but it doesn't look like the sniper is after me." She waited for close to five minutes before she thought she heard… screaming? She looked once more over the car door, only to see a man soaring through the air, coming right for her. Kya ducked in shock, only to hear a loud metallic thud on the roof of the car, followed by a pitiful moan. She hesitated, before carefully standing to her feet.
"Caught him lying in bush not to far up that hill." Fenris explained casually, striding up to the car. "Idiot, sniping from such an exposed place, what are they teaching you kids nowadays?" He reached up and grabbed the man by the back of his garment, before pulling him off the roof, and to the rocky soil beneath.
Kya stared at the man in mild horror, "Marcus?!" She blurted, going to kneel at his side, "What in the Travelers name are you doing here?!"
Marcus coughed, blood dribbling from his lip and onto his muted green/grey armor, his eyes slowly making their way to the Huntress' face. "Ah… I-I could ask you… the same… question." His dazed expression turned on Fenris, "And with this…" Fenris raised an eyebrow, "particular gentleman…"
Kya helped him sit up, a hand on his back and chest to steady him, "Did you really have to throw him?" She growled up at Fenris.
He shrugged, "He tried to kill me, hitting him with a car is my way of showing mercy."
"Well, you were leading a dear friend of mine to a life of crime and debauchery…" Marcus retorted.
"Crime and debauchery?" Fenris asked, opening his mouth to continue.
"Stop, please, don't start any shit right now ok?" Kya cut him off, turning her attention to Marcus, her face softening, "Marcus, I understand how this seems, and I'm… I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind." She glanced up at Fenris, "I'm leaving, I can't stay here, not after hearing the things I have." She sighed, "I need the truth… answers that I will never find at the Tower."
Marcus was quiet for a long time, his eyes staring hard at the ground. "Ya know, I'm acquainted with these two…" He glanced at Fenris, "Never seen that one in person though…" He met Kya's gaze, "They're trouble, maybe not inherently evil… but you'll never be able to come back if you're caught with them."
Kya nodded, "I know."
Marcus heaved a deep sigh, "And I'm sure you also know how torn up Cayde is about you."
The Huntress swallowed hard, "Yes."
"So you're really committed to this answers bullshit?" He continued.
She inclined her head.
Marcus nodded slowly, "Alright, fine. Go Kya, I won't stop you, I just hope to the Light you really understand what you're getting yourself into."
"Thank you Marcus." Kya said with slight surprise and a tentative smile.
He returned the look, "Well, you'll always have one friend at the Tower, I've never been a stickler for rules anyway."
"Oh for fucks sake, get a room or get going!" Fenris growled, a glare bored into Marcus.
"Hey, I'm fairly certain I have a mild concussion because of you, so lay off." The Hunter stated sarcastically.
"Ok, ok! Just stop while you're ahead." Kya snapped, running a hand over her face. "You should probably head back to the Tower, and… could you… could you tell-"
Marcus nodded, "Of course, I'll let him know you're alright."
"Thanks."
Kya helped Marcus to his feet, and with nothing more than a simple nod, the three went their separate ways.
"I just hope she knows what she's doing!" Didi, Marcus' Ghost, exclaimed, spinning her sections in thought as she bobbed through the air. "Ya know, I bet that old crotchety Ghost of hers drove her insane! If I were paired with her, I'd leave too!"
Ren rolled his eyes, "Why do you hate Stardust so much? You have a falling out or something?"
She shuddered dramatically, "Stardust might just be the most uptight, airhead of a Ghost I've ever met. So, to answer your question, I've never liked her."
"Wow, I've never known you to be so ruthless Di." Marcus said with a grin.
"I just have remarkably good judgement when it comes to others, mark my words, those two will end up abandoning one another if they don't learn how to communicate." She stated indignantly. There was a few seconds of silence, before she continued, her tone softer, "Are you alright with this?"
Marcus paused in his walk, his eyes averted to stare at the sky, "Of course not, but I do value her trust and respect, and I don't want to become like the people she's running from." He closed his eyes, "I want her to have at least one person she can lean on." He glanced at Didi, "And she's not completely wrong, you know, about the shady stuff we Guardians are involved in. Who knows, she might actually find some truth out there."
"Ren…" the Ghost floated closer, inspecting him with her one luminous eye, "I know how you really felt about her…"
He sighed, "That's in the past Di, she's gone, and besides, it's not like anything would've happened if she'd stayed… Cayde would've gutted me… you know that…"
"Pfft, and she'd have gutted him right back, that firecracker wouldn't have let him undermine you like that." Didi exclaimed.
Marcus chuckled, "Yeah you're probably right." He said with a grunt, bending to slip a note under the Hunter Vanguards door. "Remember when she pushed him off the Tower balcony?"
"Ohhh yeah! That was pretty entertaining, gathered quite the crowd as I recall." Didi replied with a bob. "She probably gets it from Hawddgar," she drew close, "I heard a rumor that he shot Cayde, ended him without warning because of an argument."
"Really? I find that hard to believe." Marcus said doubtfully.
"What the hell are you two doing?"
The Hunter and Ghost turned abruptly, only to see Zephyr standing in the center of the hall, arms crossed over his chest, a deep scowl on his face.
The two were silent for a moment, before Didi blurted, "Did you really shoot Cayde!?"
"Di!" Marcus hissed, glancing at Zephyr, seeing that his expression had grown darker. "I'm so sorry Hawddgar, she really doesn't think through what she says sometimes, we'll just be on our way." He started to walk away.
"You've seen Kya, haven't you?" Zephyr asked, his expression calculating; Ren froze, eyeing the Hunter with suspicion, "I thought as much." He continued, nodding, "Was she alright?"
Ren studied the Hunter for a moment, "She… she's as fine as you'd expect, while being in the company of somelike Fenris Tyrnn." He replied bluntly, "How did you know I'd been in contact with her?"
"I figured you'd find out she was gone, and that you'd try and go after her. Your absence at the Hunter meeting confirmed my suspicions, and you're covered in dirt, your chest plate is dented… and your cape is torn… need I go on?"
Marcus glared at him, "Alright, fair enough." He paused, "Please say nothing to the Vanguard."
Zephyr nodded, "Cayde and I aren't on the best of terms at the moment, I won't say anything."
Ren nodded, "I'll be seeing you then." with that he turned to leave.
"Marcus."
Ren paused, glancing over his shoulder.
"Thank you for trusting her."
Sorry this took a really fucking long time, life is busy for me unfortunately, but I am really trying to finish this.