May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a sure foundation
When the winds of change shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young

Forever Young - Bob Dylan


June 29, 2841; The Last City, Earth

It was the first good snow of the season in the City. A solid inch had dropped overnight, concealing grass and capping the streetlamps and trash cans. The maintenance frames had already been through to clear the walkways, but off the beaten paths it still drifted, fresh and sparkling. The morning sun was still too weak to melt it.

Andal walks confidently along the cleared path, trailed by several new Hunters. He's drawn the metaphorical short straw this week; Tour Duty isn't something most Guardians enjoy. Andal doesn't mind it one bit. A nice walk around the Tower, impart some Life Adviceā„¢, and get a decent lunch comped on the Vanguard's wallet? Not a bad gig.

The addition of a gaggle of New Lights isn't a downside in Andal's book. It's a good thing to interact with the younger generations every so often. Guardians could live for a long time. Unlike mortals, their memories never fogged and age did not dim their minds. It meant things could get a bit monotonous. Each new season is a wonder when you're ten. When you're cracking a century like Andal is, it's very easy to look up and realize another year has passed without you taking note of it.

That's why Andal enjoys young people so much. Everything is important with them. Even the most worn and mundane things can become new again as they experience it.

It's also admittedly fascinating to see what sticks with a Guardian from their previous life. Nobody is quite a fresh slate- obviously everyone knows how to walk and eat and all that. Whatever other functional skills, vague recollections, and associations come along for the ride seems almost random.

"Snow?" he asks. One of his charges- Puck, he recalls, has scooped some of the powder out of a garden bed and is scrutinizing it closely. The young Hunter's face is twisted in what appears to be confusion.

"When it gets cold- far North or South on Earth or Mars, plenty of places in the Outer System, too- it doesn't rain," Andal explains. "Frozen water from the air. Snow." Some of them probably haven't seen snow before- perhaps not in their first lives, either. In the tropics or on Venus, Mercury, it just doesn't get cold enough.

Puck stares at the power in zir hand. Andal can almost see the gears turning in the Kinderguardian's head. Ze closes zir fingers and slowly uncurls them to reveal the oddly-shaped snow impression of the inside of zir fist.

"Snowball," Chari clarifies from above Andal's shoulder. (His Ghost has been having just as much fun instructing and gossiping with the newly-bonded Ghosts as Andal has with his Kinderguardians).

Andal hears a familiar voice through the crowd and instinctively ducks behind the concealment of a stone bench. "Down," he hisses. The Kinderguardians all comply, with various levels of urgency, behind the surrounding benches and trash cans.

Andal scoops the snow by his knee and begins packing it into a ball-shape. The New Lights watch him, fascinated. "What's going on?" Mot Balek asks.

"Hunters, we have ourselves a target," Andal announces with undue gravitas.

"A target?" That's a sharp look from Nian Ruo. She looks almost anxious- she hasn't caught on this matter isn't wholly serious yet.

"Don't peek all at once," Andal instructs, "but there is a tall Awoken man wearing silver and red armor walking up the path towards the Tower North."

Naturally, they all peek at once. Andal finishes his first snowball and starts on another, shaking his head and tsking in disappointment. They'll all have to learn some subtlety if they're going to get anywhere in this world.

"Who is that?" Puck asks.

"That, my dear friends, is the esteemed Zavala." Andal says it with the same tone of voice he'd used to introduce the Memorial Fountain and the Vanguard Armory.

Nian goes from anxious to alarmed. "We're about to attack the Titan Vanguard?"

"It is our solemn duty," Andal intones. "The Vanguard spends all day locked up in the Tower. They need to be kept on their toes. Livens up their life a little."

The newbies all watch him with wide eyes, drinking up every word. They are so gullible.

It's kind of funny, the line you have to walk with them. On one hand, they believe everything you say, so you can't just outright lie to them. You don't want to break their trust so early. On the other hand, they believe everything you say. You have to jerk them around a little. It's an obligation.

"There will come a day," Azra says seriously, "when nothing will sound sweeter to you than that beleaguered sigh he makes."

"You'll need ammunition," Charin says. "Stock up."

The Kinderguardians all hurry to make their own snowballs (with varying levels of success). Andal keeps tabs on Zavala, motioning to his squad only when the Vanguard Commander has drawn even with them.

"Alright kiddos, this is an exercise in tactics. Do you all remember the Memorial Fountain a ways back?"

He receives a series of nods.

He settles on his haunches and begins speaking rapid-fire. "Then here's the plan. Mot, Omar, you go back the way we came. Puck, Nian, cut north, then double-back using the footbridge." Those two seem a bit more situationally aware than the others. They'd be less likely to get lost. "That'll take you to a large plaza, there'll be signs leading you back to the fountain from there." He does a quick weapons check and is gratified to see every New Light with at least two passable snowballs. They learn fast. "Stick together, hang low. Worst comes and we have to scatter, we still meet at the Fountain. Got it?"

"Can't we call each other on the radio?" Omar asks.

Andal grins. "What's the fun in that?" Zavala is a perfect distance away now, close enough to peg but far enough he won't notice them breaking cover. Andal gathers his snow-arsenal. "Ready up, everyone. On my signal."

Four pairs of bright eyes blink in response.

(Zavala's sigh after the fact is extremely beleaguered. Completely worth it.)