Cayde didn't wake in the same position he'd fallen asleep. In truth, he didn't remember going to sleep at all, or even trying to. The last thing his hazy memory could recall was Wren scooting in close to him, trying to keep warm while a storm raged outside.

It was quiet now. Light from the early morning sun glowed a pleasant yellow through the sides of the lichen netting he'd put up. Cayde had rolled onto his right side sometime in the night, his head now resting on a rock, right arm tucked tightly around… Wren?

She was still breathing. Slow and shallow. Still asleep. One of her arms was under her head, her fingertips barely touching his chin. The other hand was wrapped lightly around his wrist and tangled in his cloak that had been wound around them. He tilted his head up some to see the side of her face. She was kinda cute when she wasn't trying to rip his head off.

And she was sure to try as soon as she woke up, but he didn't want to move. Not because he was afraid of the flurry of angry protests, she was likely to have, but because well… he kind of liked laying there with her.

Sundance floated over his shoulder, her little light flickering. She was amused. Kiran appeared beside her and jolted back at the sight of Cayde cuddled up to his Guardian.

"Ah, um… we need to get moving," Kiran said. "The next pass'll be in about three hours."

Cayde tried to hush Kiran but it was too late. Wren stirred under his arm and he froze. She rolled and looked up at him, still bleary eyed.

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you," she said, her voice soft.

"My lips are sealed," he chuckled. "You ready to head up the mountain?"

She stood and checked outside. "The snow stopped. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. A couple feet deep I think."

"That's a problem."

"Why?"

"You'll be up to your neck."

Wren's eyes narrowed at him. "I could always leave you here."

"Aw, c'mon, I was only teasing. Besides, I kept you warm, remember."

"Watch it, Hunter," she grumbled as she helped him stand.

Cayde put his arm over her shoulder, resisting the urge to make a crack about having to stoop over some. She was trying. Kiran and Sundance darted outside a moment before Cayde and Wren, Kiran keeping close to the wall while Sundance went out toward the edge of the crevasse. Cayde whistled to call her back and Wren led him along the ledge to the right.

"We have to go up," she said. "Here, lean against the wall."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Wren pulled the rope from her bag and tied it around herself before helping him with his end. He opened his mouth to crack a joke when she pulled the rope between his legs but decided against it when she yanked the knot tight and glared up at him. She must have known, and he had to laugh.

"I didn't say a word."

"You thought it."

"That doesn't count."

"Let's go."

"You're just going to climb?"

"Do I have another choice?" Wren pulled off his gloves and put them in his hip pouch before grabbing her own now dried and blood crusted gloves. Better fit. She started up the wall in an area where the slope wasn't as harsh. Once she was a few feet above him, he tried to climb, pulling with his good arm and hop with his leg. It was awkward at best and he spent a good deal of that time smashing his body against the rock but Wren, she pulled his weight more than he expected.

She strained against the rope, pulling it taught between them. A few times she sent pebbles down on him and quickly apologized, sounding out of breath but still pushing forward.

Cayde pulled himself up a little more, launching himself on step higher with his good leg when he heard a yelp above him. He looked up in time to see Wren catch herself a few feet above his head. She'd fallen a few feet and was clinging to the cliff face, shaking like a leaf. Frankly, so was he. He couldn't catch her if she fell.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"If I told you I've been better will you be offended?"

"Maybe later when we won't fall to our deaths." She shook her hands out one at a time and readjusted to climb. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are."

Wren took a few deep breaths and pushed forward. Cayde felt the tension in the rope and using her help he hopped up one more rock, pulling himself close with his good hand. It was slow going to say the least but she was working hard and he didn't dare criticize her. Climbing with one arm and one leg was enough and well, she was pulling his weight.

The peak was in sight and Cayde had no idea how much time they had left. Surely not long. It felt like they'd been climbing for an eternity. The line went slack, and he looked up at her. She'd rested her head against the rock, sweat dripping from her chin. Her entire body shook violently, and her breathing was labored.

"Hang in there, kid," he said, realizing that without her pulling him, he couldn't advance any farther. "Uh, this might be a bad time to say so, but I think I hear a ship coming."

"Seriously?" she huffed, looking up toward the sky.

"Exo hearing. Pretty sure. Can you make it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

The sound grew louder and Wren started scrambling up the last ten yards until they reached the top of the ridge that made up the highest peak on the mountain. She braced herself on a rock and wrapped the rope around her hands, pulling him up until at last he flopped onto the relatively flat ground.

Wren collapsed onto her back, her breathing harsh and rapid. The ship he'd heard came in overhead and lowered a ladder.

"Let's go!" a voice called from the ship. "Fallen ships incoming."

"C'mon, kid." Cayde sat up and grabbed the end of the ladder to pull himself up but it took Wren to keep his balance. "I can't go any farther up. You go ahead. I'll hang out down here."

She shook her head and stepped on the rung one above where his foot was and wrapped her arms around those at chest height. "I can't climb anymore."

The ship didn't wait. In the distance Fallen ships came into view and there was no time to spare. Within second they were flying high over the mountains, wind whipping around them. Wren tucked her head into her arms and held on as tight as she could. Cayde's cloak slapped around her, creating so much noise he couldn't speak over it to ask if she was okay.

Several minutes later they flew over a field where cows fled from the sound of the ship. Slowly the pilot lowered them until they could dismount the ladder and the ship could land and they could climb aboard. The interior was largely empty except for a bench seat where two Guardians sat in full gear and a few shipping crates covered in netting. Cayde and Wren lay sprawled on the floor, trying to catch their breaths.

"Well, that was fun," Cayde laughed.

"Sometimes I really don't like you," Wren said, closing her eyes.

"And other times?"

She glared at him through half opened lids but didn't reply, only pulled off her gloves which had been torn to shreds on the climb to the top. The soft leather of the gloves wasn't meant for that kind of wear and her hands underneath were cut and bleeding. Cayde grimaced.

Kiran flashed in front of the wounds and healed them, but the blood remained. She stripped off the gloves and threw them into the corner before folding her hands over her stomach and closing her eyes. Her breathing slowed and the ship took off for home.

"You want to sit on the bench?" he asked after a few minutes of silence, but she didn't move. He sat up and waved his hand in her face, but she didn't flinch.

"Is she alright?" one of the Guardians asked. Cayde glanced up at him. Titan. A bit small for a Titan. His face was thin, but his armor was bulky. Trying to make himself look bigger? Sandy blond hair swept over his forehead in jagged clumps, as if he'd cut his own hair and didn't give a damn how it looked.

"Yeah, just sleeping. Kids these days. They can sleep anywhere," Cayde chuckled, shifting back to sit against the wall. "Got a name, Titan?"

"Corbin. This is Lulu," he replied, jabbing a thumb at the Hunter beside him. "I don't recognize her. New blood?"

"Are you kidding?" the other Guardian asked. "That's Wren. She's the one who destroyed the Sword of Crota."

Of course, the Hunter would know. She raised a brow at her companion, red hair falling in front of her green eyes.

Cayde grinned proudly. "One and the same."

"She's not even wearing armor on a rescue mission," Corbin grumbled. "Must be new."

"That's not what she was out here for."

"Why were you guys on the range anyway?"

"Classified."

"How'd you lose your arm and leg?" Lulu asked.

"That is also classified. Look, how bout we let the kid sleep, alright?"

Lulu and Corbin exchanged glances, shrugged, and sat back against the hull of the ship. Cayde settled back and watched as Kiran lowered himself onto Wren's shoulder, careful not to wake her. He thought back to waking up beside her and clenched his jaw.

Don't get yourself in too deep, he thought, but then chuckled at himself. Who was he kidding? He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, from the present to the past and everywhere in between. Smiling bitterly to himself, Cayde stared at the hull of the ship and let his thoughts consume him.