Chapter Fourteen

"Wren," Kiran said, nudging her arm. "You should get up now."

Sunlight poured through a foot-wide gap in her curtains, warming her bare shoulders but creating a blinding brightness behind her eyelids. Her head pounded with every heartbeat and Kiran's voice only made it worse. She rolled onto her back and blinked her eyes open, only to throw her arms over her face and groan.

"Drink to much?" he asked with a chuckle. "Cayde said you'd regret it."

"He should have been more specific as to why."

"Probably." Kiran floated up and pushed the curtains farther apart. "But you really should be up."

"Urg, more light isn't helping me." Wren pulled her blanket over her head but it was too thin to keep out the sun's rays. She tried to remember what happened the night before but not much came to mind. She could remember Derrick-66, Emelie and her friends, and the stranger at the bar. Things started getting hazy about halfway through her retelling of defeating the Swarm Princes and after that… a blur. "How did I get back here last night?"

"Cayde, of course. Led you all the way back by his cloak," Kiran said, sneaking under the blanket with her. He set himself on the bed, blue light dulling to not hurt her eyes. "It was quite a sight to see."

"How embarrassing."

"You made him pinkie promise to apologize to Emelie too."

"I did not."

"You surely did."

Someone started knocking on her door and each beat reverberated through her ears and sent shockwaves through her head.

"Guess you have to get up now," Kiran laughed, floating toward the door. "It's Sisre."

Wren wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and went to open the door. The knocking continued before she could reach it and she winced before opening it.

"Hey," she said, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"You're still asleep?" Sisre asked.

"She's hung over," Kiran chuckled.

"How?"

"Cayde," Wren grumbled, retreating into her room while Sisre let herself in.

"You went drinking with Cayde?" Sisre smirked. "Is that why you didn't go with us to the ramen shop last night? Had a date?"

"Not in the least," Wren said, yanking the curtains closed before carefully sitting on the bed. "He talked me into going to some Hunter hang out to tell him the story of how I destroyed the Sword of Crota."

"And he got you drunk?"

"To be fair, I got myself drunk."

"Well, I came to see if you wanted to go shopping with me today. There's going to be a party at the ramen shop tonight to celebrate the destruction of the Sword of Crota and we're the guests of honor. I want something nice to wear."

"We? Rorick, you, and I?"

"All of Cerulean," Sisre shrugged. "We're a team. Even though the others weren't there, they're still part of our fireteam."

"I don't know—"

"Cayde will be there," Sisre sat beside her and flashed a wide grin.

"That's not a great way to persuade me. I think I may have embarrassed myself last night."

"How's that?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Wren said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"She was so drunk she had to hold onto Cayde's cloak and follow him halfway across the city," Kiran chimed in, his tone happy as a lark.

Sisre laughed and threw an arm around Wren's shoulders. "I told you he favored you. In that case, you'll want to wear something really nice tonight."

"I don't think I want to go."

"Aw, c'mon Wren. We're a team now. I want you to go with me."

Wren sighed and glanced up at Sisre's face. The Titan was giving her a pouting look and Wren couldn't help but smile.

"Fine. I'll go. But I let me sleep." Wren flopped over onto her side and pulled the blanket up over her head. "My head is killing me."

"Get dressed and meet me in the courtyard. I have just the thing for that headache and we can get our share of engrams and glimmer from the last mission while we're there. I don't want to go shopping alone and you literally have one thing to wear outside of combat. And your room…" she glanced around and grimaced. "I know we're not here often, but it needs to be your safe place. Your sanctuary."

"Okay, okay. I'll meet you up there."

"Good," Sisre said, patting Wren's hip before getting up to leave. "I'll meet you up there in ten or fifteen minutes."

Sisre let herself out and Wren laid in silence for a few minutes before hauling herself out of bed and slipping on the black dress she'd bought before. Kiran zipped around the room while she got dressed but stayed quiet until they were nearing the courtyard.

"I'll be bright out there," he reminded.

"Yup," Wren grumbled as she opened the door, the sun blinding her in white light. She shielded her eyes against its rays but ever shiny surface in the courtyard reflected the light back at her from other angles.

Sisre waved to her from near the tree by Banshee's shop and Wren went to join her.

"Here," she said, handing over a small glass bottle. "This'll make you feel much better."

The liquid was amber colored and had something thick and yellow floating in it as well as specks of… well, Wren wasn't sure. Leaves maybe?

"It looks terrible."

"Tastes terrible too. But it'll fix you right up," Sisre insisted. "Just hold your nose and take it in one gulp."

Wren uncorked the bottle but kept it away from her face to keep from inhaling it. She held her nose and tossed in back, the yellow substance coating her tongue in a warm, creamy, texture that made her want to vomit. She felt spice and burn all at once as it slid down her throat.

"Holy shit," Wren shuddered.

Sisre exploded with laughter. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to settle herself. "I've just never heard you curse before."

"I think that constitutes it."

"But being swarmed by Thrall doesn't?" Sisre wiped a tear from her eye.

"What was in that?"

"Best you don't know. C'mon. Let's see what Master Rahool has for us."

They sorted through their engrams, trading items the other needed more, and at the end of it, Wren had a new chest piece, some gauntlets, a cloak, an auto rifle, and a scout rifle Sisre swore she'd love. They tagged their things and put them in the Vault.

"Let's go see the Vanguard to get our Glimmer," Sisre said, heading toward the command room.

Wren stopped. "Can you get mine for me? I really don't think I can look at Cayde right now."

Sisre winked at her. "Sure thing. But you better get your head together by tonight."

Wren waited patiently for Sisre to return on the railing near the top of the stairs. She watched ships pass around toward the hangar until at last Sisre came up beside her.

"Here," she said, dropping a pouch in Wren's hand. "I knew we'd make a lot on that last one but I wasn't expecting this much. We're set for awhile on this haul."

Sisre tucked her Glimmer away and started off toward the city. Wren glanced down the stairs toward the command room, then trotted to catch up to her friend. Sisre didn't miss it. She giggled and bit her lip.

"Yes," she said slyly.

"What?"

"The answer is yes."

"I don't—"

"Cayde asked about you."

"I didn't ask that."

"But you wanted to know."

"What? No I didn't."

"Oh please," Sisre laughed. "You're blushing."

Wren looked away. She thought to argue; to say she wasn't, but she could feel the burning in her cheeks and knew there was no point in saying anything at all.

"Anyway," she continued. "He asked if you were alright after all that drinking last night. I told him you were nursing a hangover but that you'd be at the party tonight."

"This is going to be terrible."

"Don't be that way. He seemed excited to see you again. I told you he favors you. I'm sure you didn't make that much of an ass of yourself. You have to face him sooner or later, he's your Vanguard. May as well get it out of the way now."

"I don't want to think about it," Wren sighed. "Where are we going?"

"I know this great dress maker that can make up something perfect for tonight. And a few stalls I can think of might have something you'll like for your room. Is there anything you want for in there?"

"A thicker blanket."

"I think we can handle that. And what about a dress?"

"I don't know. I like this style," Wren said, looking down to the flowers around her shoulders. "It's not too fancy and it's easy to move around in."

"It's cute. I think I might get one like it myself. I think I want mine green. To match my eyes. You should get blue. I think you'd look great in blue."

"Hm, I don't know. My skin's already blue. Don't you think it'd be overboard?"

"Huh… yeah probably. What about red?"

"We'll see when we get there."

Sisre had helped Wren set up her room once they finally returned to the Tower. When they stepped back and looked at their work, Wren was impressed. They'd put thicker, plush gray curtains over the ones that were already there. Sisre had tacked a white blanket with a black and red mandala on one of the walls. Her bedding was soft grays, and black with a few red accent pillows and an extra throw blanket over the end. A fuzzy dark gray rug covered the floor by the bed and a full-length mirror hung near the closet.

"So much better," Sisre said. "It's so cozy in here now. Still think you should have gone gray and pink."

Wren plopped down on the edge of the bed. "Well, I could get some pink stuff if I ever want to change it up a bit."

"True. You could get some accent stuff. Anything will go with this gray. Anyway, we're going to be late if we don't get ready now. You mind if I get changed here?"

"I don't mind." Wren turned her back and started to strip out of her black dress. She was still a little self-conscious about being naked around Sisre, but they'd already bathed together twice, she may as well get used to it.

The dress she'd bought was much the same style as the first one, but more intricate. It was still cotton; soft and cool, but the front had two openings extending from the middle of the collar to both arm pits instead of one like her original dress. The body of the second dress was black with bright red flowers. The cap sleeves up to the collar were red lace, revealing her skin underneath. Red piping outlined the collar, sleeves, and the slit, which like the first dress, split up to mid-thigh.

Wren stood and smoothed the front, making sure the row of buttons was secured. The dressmaker had called them pankou. They were beautiful little knots and loops that kept the dress together. She turned to see Sisre in her dress, which was the same color as her brilliant green eyes with a white butterfly pattern and piping. Unlike Wren's Sisre's was sleeveless, the front connecting to a collar. It fit perfectly to her form and Wren smiled broadly as Sisre slipped into green flats.

"You look fantastic," Wren said. Sisre beamed.

"You look like you're about to break a certain Hunter Vanguard's heart."

"Oh please," Wren laughed.

"You ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll even be, I guess."

"Good. I'm starving."

The pair of them made their way to the ramen shop Cayde took her to the first night she was at the Tower. The place was absolutely crowded, people spilling out into the streets. Wren's stomach dropped and she considered going back when Sisre took her hand and led her onward. She pushed her way through, dragging Wren along with her.

The crowd pushed the jostled around her until at last Wren stumbled out of the group and right into Cayde's back. Pain shocked her nose and she clamped her hands over her face when he turned around.

"Woah there, slow it down," he said. "Hey, look, it's Owl! You okay?"

Wren checked her hand. "Yeah I'm fine. No blood," she said, showing a clean palm.

"Sisre said you had a hangover this morning? Can't say I'm surprised. You were pretty drunk…last…" his voice faded off as his gaze slowly fell to her dress. He snatched his attention back up to her face with a nervous smile. "Uh, I'll go get you a drink."

Before she could stop him, he was gone, disappearing into the crowd. A hand slipped around her waist from behind and her right arm was wrenched behind her back. She clenched her teeth as Flak leaned in from behind, burying his face in her hair and inhaling deeply.

"Dressing like that gets you far with the Vanguard huh?" he whispered in her ear. "I saw you with Cayde last night. Saw you get drunk and leave with him. I'm onto you." He pushed her away and when she turned around, he was gone. She shuddered and rubbed her wrist as Sisre and Rorick found her.

Rorick's eyes never left Sisre. He was obviously impressed and Sisre was pleased with herself, grinning ear to ear. She handed Wren a drink and held up her own before downing it in a few gulps.

"C'mon Wren, they've got a table ready for us. Have you seen Beorn and Franz?"

Wren's hand shook but she hid it as best she could by grabbing her glass with both hands. "No, I haven't seen them yet."

"Oh well, let's get up there." Sisre and Rorick turned to go back through the crowd and Wren had to stay close to keep from being drown in the crowd.

The table prepared for them was a booth toward the open kitchen, set up above the others. From there Wren could see over the tops of most people's heads. She let Rorick and Sisre sit down first, then Flak came up out of nowhere and sat on the opposite end of the semi-circle seat. He didn't give her so much as a passing glance.

Beorn and Franz scoot in beside Flak, pinning him in. It put Wren at ease knowing he couldn't easily get away. A round of drinks was brought to the table, but Wren hadn't even touched the one Sisre had given her. It didn't feel right drinking anywhere near Flak.

Rorick stood from the middle of the table and lifted his glass. Sisre let out a loud whistle that caught the attention of everyone in the room. They fell silent and Rorick's brown eyes scanned over the crowd.

"As Guardians we may feel the Darkness is forever closing in on us. We may feel we'll never gain a foothold in this war. But times like this show us what we are capable of. The Sword of Crota, slayer or Guardians, can never take a life again."

The restaurant erupted with cheers. When they calmed again Rorick spoke.

"Our team was given a tremendous responsibility with this mission and we're honored to be able to return to the Tower with this win. Well, that's enough with the formalities. Tonight, we celebrate!"

Everyone raised their glasses with him and took their drink together. Wren raised hers to her lips and took a sip, but no more. The crowd went about their business, and waiters came around to get their orders. Wren fidgeted under the table, unsure of what to order. Cayde had gotten her spicy ramen last time and although she didn't want it, she also didn't know what else to get. She waited until the others ordered before choosing to get the same thing as Sisre.

Flak glared at her from across the table, but then his gaze shifted to her right. A sweet looking man stood there, a waiter's tray in hand. He had messy blond hair, warm hazel eyes, and a crooked grin.

"Wren?" he asked, his thumbs clicking on the tray.

"Yes?"

"I um… I saw you in here before with Cayde, Franz, and Beorn. I made your spicy ramen that night."

"Oh," Wren was taken aback. She shifted to face him, feeling the eyes of the others at the table on her as she spoke to the man. "Yes, that was my first day at the Tower."

"My ramen was the first thing you ate?"

"Well, yes, I suppose it was."

"What did you think?" His cheeks flushed and he leaned in slightly.

"It was delicious."

"Thank you," he bowed. "Spicy is my specialty. Are you eating it again?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd try something else this time."

"Oh," his shoulders dropped slightly, but he picked himself back up quickly. "That's alright. I'll do my best for you."

Wren's mouth fell open slightly and she had no idea what to say to him but "Thank you."

He bowed again and scampered off, glancing over his shoulder once before heading into the kitchen. Sisre giggled and nudged Wren's elbow.

"Lookie here," she teased, "I think Koro's in love."

"But I… I don't even know him," Wren said, leaning close to Sisre. "What do I do?"

"Eat his food," Sisre shrugged. "I mean, he's no Cayde, but he's cute. Besides… I don't mean to discourage you or anything, but the whole time I've been a Guardian I've never known Cayde to be serious with anyone. Koro's a nice back up just in case."

"Wait what? Cayde? I never said I wanted to be with Cayde," she tried to keep her voice hushed but she still felt Flak staring at her.

Sisre patted her hand and looked over Wren's shoulder with a sly grin. "If you say so."

Wren turned around to see Cayde standing behind her with two drinks in his hands. His smile looked more forced than earlier when he set down one of the drinks for her.

"Just don't ah, you know, get too drunk tonight," he said. "Well, I think I see Emelie over there so… I'll be going now."

"Cayde—" Wren called out to him but he didn't turn around. He just walked down the stairs and out into the crowd. Surprising, she felt a twinge of regret and guilt. Maybe she cared more than she thought. That thought made her stomach drop. She couldn't get involved with him. She took a drink, never taking her eyes off the glass he'd left for her. She didn't even know what it was supposed to feel like to well… like someone.

She didn't have to worry about the drinks set out before her. Soon the others were so drunk they were drinking anything within arm reach. Empty bowls littered the table and Wren had been able to take the drink Cayde left for her and sip on it instead of the others, which Sisre had happily gulped down.

They talked and laughed, even Flak, who was listening to Beorn and Franz argue the retelling of a story. But Wren couldn't stop looking for Cayde. Every once in awhile she caught sight of him, moving around through the crowd, chatting with people before disappearing again.

Wren was getting antsy. It was getting hot in the restaurant and the over crowding was slowly eating away at her. She felt she had to get out and about that time she looked up to see Cayde walking out the front door. The others weren't paying any attention, Sisre too involved with whispering in Rorick's ear, so Wren slipped out of the booth and down the steps to push her way through the crowd and out the door.

There weren't as many people outside as there had been earlier so spotting Cayde walking away was easy. He turned a corner and she pulled up her skirt to jog toward him, dropping it only when she rounded the corner.

"Cayde?" she called and this time he turned around.

"Hey, they're gonna miss their star Guardian if you're gone."

"Not hardly." Wren forced a smile. "I'm sorry about last night."

"For what? Not the first time a Hunter's had one too many."

"Maybe not but just… I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for. So… what are you doing out here?"

"That's not really my scene. It's just too much. I thought maybe… maybe we could go on that Sparrow ride?"

Cayde blinked at her, then stared up at the Tower, looming between rooftops, casting a bright light against the night sky. For a moment she thought he was going to say no, but then he turned to her and said, "I'll meet you by the North Gate in half an hour. You better go tell Sisre where you're headed, or she'll freak out."

"I don't think that's necessary."

Cayde raised a brow and laughed. "Sis is a mother hen. Trust me, it's necessary. At least let her know you're leaving the party."

"Alright," Wren relented. "I'll see you at the North Gate."

Half an hour came and went and Wren stood alone at the North Gate. A few people passed her by but none paid any attention. Eventually she sat on a low concrete bench and stared up at the stars. There weren't many to be seen within the walls. Between the city lights and the glow of the Traveler, the sky wasn't dark enough to make out any constellations.

"Wren," Kiran said gently, "maybe we should go back now."

"Just wait a little longer."

After an hour Wren gave up, collected her things, and trudged back to the Tower, her legs heavy as stone. Why hadn't he come? Had something come up? Why hadn't he sent anyone to tell her he couldn't make it? She shuffled along, kicking stones across the path until someone called to her.

"Wren?"

She looked up to see Koro walking toward her, confusion twisting his face.

"What are you doing way out here?" he asked.

"I was supposed to meet someone. It's no big deal. I'm pretty tired so I'm just going to go home."

"I have to go that way for a delivery. Mind if I walk with you?"

Wren hesitated. She didn't want company, but she didn't want to be rude either. "Sure."

"You haven't been a Guardian very long, right?"

"No."

"How great that you've been able to do such great things in such a short amount of time. I mean, the Sword of Crota? That's crazy."

"That's one way to put it I guess." Frankly she was getting tired of hearing about it.

"It must be so weird; waking up one day and not knowing who you are or where you came from."

Wren's head snapped toward him, her gaze questioning. "It is."

"I remember meeting my first Guardian. I was just a kid and when I heard her story, I couldn't help but feel like I understood what she meant, but that I also couldn't grasp it."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"Well, my parents died when I was little. I don't remember anything before that. Nothing. They say I was in shock or something, I don't know. Either way, everything before then is just gone. The people who own the ramen shop took me in and gave me a home; a purpose. But I still wonder what I was like before my parents died. It's kinda sad to think about."

Wren didn't reply. She stared down at the road as they walked. She hadn't given much though to her life before being a Guardian. All she could grasp was all she didn't know. Learning day by day what things were and how things felt had been like putting puzzle pieces together with the picture side facing down. It was coming together, but it still didn't make much sense.

Her life before she died? Who had she been?

Koro spoke again and interrupted her train of thought. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get you down."

"No, it's alright. I just hadn't thought about it much."

"Do you mind if I ask who you were supposed to be meeting way out here?"

"I don't want to say."

They walked in silence for a few moments before Koro inhaled and asked, "Was it Cayde? I saw you walk out after him and just thought…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Wren said softly.

"You don't have to. But I don't want you to get hurt so I'll just say, I've known Cayde a long time and I don't think I've ever seen him with anyone as more than friends before."

"Why does everyone keep talking about him like I'm trying to be with him?" Wren snapped, stopping in her tracks. The look of surprise on his face softened her and she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Koro. It's just…Seems like everyone is making comments about me and Cayde and it's—"

"Hey, don't apologize," he said with a faint smile. "It's not any of my business. I'm sorry I upset you."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's not your fault."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. You're under a lot of pressure and you're not sure of how to deal with it all yet. I get it. But look, this is my stop. I'll see you around?"

"Of course," she forced a smile and he turned to walk down an alley.

Wren picked up the pace toward the Tower, Kiran appearing over her shoulder. He didn't speak all the way home and even once they were in their room and Wren had left her dress in a heap on the floor, he stayed close but didn't speak a word. He rested on her shoulder while silent tears dripped onto her pillow until at last, she fell asleep.