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57

All the way back to the Tower Cerulean talked about the Festival of the Lost. They spoke of times in the past and fun things they'd done with past fireteams. They discussed plans, something called trick-or-treating, and wondering what the decorations at the Tower would be like this year. They went over costume ideas and foods they were looking forward to and Wren listened on in silence.

The whole fireteam had their favorite things to do and years of experience with the festival, bringing memories from decades to enjoy. But Wren didn't feel left out. She felt excited. To experience these things with them and possibly with Cayde too.

Cayde crossing her mind made her smile drop slightly. She still had his cache in the cargo hold and it was calling to her. She wanted to have more time with it. To dig through it and figure out if there was some cryptic meaning. They'd been so busy she'd not had time to think about what the cache held. Dovie. The name stuck with Wren in an odd way. It was strangely familiar though she was sure she'd never heard it. Or maybe she had? What about when they found that first cache? Had Cayde mentioned it then? She didn't think so… he was elusive when it was found.

When they landed at the Tower Wren was eager to get out of the hanger and see the decorated courtyard for the first time. Her ship was dock and she hopped out, onto the catwalk and was a little disappointed to see that Cayde was nowhere to be found. She'd have to track him down herself.

Wren lagged behind the fireteam so she could glance around and see if she could find Cayde but he found her instead, yanking her behind a crate in the hall when she wasn't paying attention.

Before she could speak he was holding her at arm's length, checking her out head to foot, even spinning her to check her back.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Feeling alright?" His hand were all over her face and shoulders, pushing back her hair, turning her chin. It was overwhelming.

"What the hell has gotten into you? I'm fine."

He pulled her into a hug so tight she thought he might had split her lip against the buckle of his dagger belt. There was no room to be happy about his enthusiastic greeting when there was so much confusion.

"Cayde, what's going on?"

"I can't really talk about it. I'm just glad you're…" he paused and pushed her away to look her over again. "You're alright."

"Yeah… um… well, I found something of yours before we left. I was on a scouting mission and Kiran showed me a Golden Age bunker that had one of your caches in it."

He hesitated. "Did you tag it for pick up?"

"No, I took it with me. It's in the cargo hold of my ship."

Cayde looked over her head toward the hanger. "I'll get it in a bit. You catch up with your fireteam and enjoy the first night of the festival."

"Wait, aren't you celebrating too?"

"Nah, Big Blue has his eye on me after the Oryx incident. Just have fun and be careful out there."

Wren grabbed at his cloak as he ducked out from behind the crates but she missed by a hair and he was gone. She peered out around the crates to see him making a beeline toward her ship. What a crazy greeting. Something was definitely up but she didn't have a way to figure out what it could be so she left, jogging to catch up with her fireteam who were waiting on her in the courtyard.

She cleared the doorway and stopped in her tracks. The courtyard was gorgeous. Purple candles decorated the space along with strings of engram shaped light strung all over and purple and gold banners. The setting sun over the City added the final touch, casting the courtyard in golden light.

Guardians walked around in costumes, masks, and painted armor. One passed her with a Cayde mask on and she had to laugh and shake her head.

"What do you think?" Sisre asked, pulling Wren into a side hug. "It's really pretty this year, huh?"

"It's beautiful, I love it. So, what is this festival for? I mean, I heard you guys telling stories about the fun things, but is there something else behind it?"

Sisre's smile became strained, and she held Wren tighter to her side. "This is the time we remember those we lost. The whole City is involved, but for Guardians this time is special."

"We're never guaranteed to return," Rorick said. "And a lot of Guardians don't."

"We're gonna get changed and head down to get dinner, then go trick or treating," Franz said. "We have costumes from last year but we can get you a mask or something down in the City."

"Okay, I'll meet you all back here then?" Wren asked.

"Yup. Give us like, forty-five minutes."

Wren was ready and waiting long before her fireteam arrived. All she had to wear was a white and green dress she'd not been able to wear yet. It was long sleeved, which would be great for an evening in the City since it was getting colder at night, with a thick hood and skirt that poofed out a bit more than her usual outfits. Underneath she put on some white leggings and matching flats. It was more than what she was used to but she still didn't feel confident in her cheongsams and more revealing clothes yet.

While she waited, she stood at the railing of the courtyard and watched as Guardians in costume went from housing to the City to celebrate. A group of Hunters passed, all of them wearing Cayde masks and Wren had to laugh, but then an idea popped into her head and she stopped the group.

"Hey, where did you get those masks?" she asked.

"We got em' last year," a Hunter said. "They sell them all the time at shops in the City."

"Great, thanks."

The Hunters passed and the rest of Cerulean joined her. Rorick was dressed up in old armor painted silver, purple, and black. He wore a cardboard helmet with a high crest of purple that arched across the top. With the spikes on his shoulders and purple cloth hanging from his armor he looked even larger and more intimidating than usual.

Wren had no idea what Sisre was, but she was gorgeous. She wore a fitted bronze colored armor chest plate that fit her curves far better than typical Guardian armor. A billowing white dress underneath flowed in the wind that was a constant in the courtyard. A heavy crimson cloak hung almost to the floor and she had a bronze colored helmet similar to Rorick's, with a crimson crest along the top. As flexible as her armor and helmet were, Wren was sure they weren't metal but they were beautiful pieces anyway. She wielded a spear made of wood and a painted head with an owl carved into it.

All in all, their costumes left Wren in awe. Meanwhile, Franz and Beorn had be laughing so hard her sides hurt. They came up in a pair, dressed as giant bottles of ketchup and mustard.

"What, you don't like our costumes?" Franz asked. "I guess that means she doesn't wanna be the relish."

"You wanted her to dress up like a jar of relish?" Sisre rolled her eyes. "I swear, you two… how are you Warlocks? I don't understand."

"Shush," Franz waved. "Hey, is Cayde joining us?"

"No, Zavala is watching him like a hawk. But I have an idea," Wren said.

"We're listening."

"If you're breaking Cayde out, I don't want to know," Rorick said, holding out an arm for Sisre. "We'll meet you at the ramen shop. We can get something to eat before we go trick or treating."

"Don't get in too much trouble," Sisre said before taking Rorick's arm and leaving with him.

"So what's the plan?" Beorn asked.

"I saw some Hunters with Cayde masks on and they said you can find them all over the City. What if we get a stand in for Cayde and put them in a mask."

"That's ridiculous," Beorn said.

"And you laughed at us?" Franz sighed.

The Twins glanced at each other.

"We're in," they said in unison.

"I knew I could rely on you guys. Okay, so we just need a stand in. I was thinking about Derrick-66. He's an Exo that acts as a sort of doorman for a Hunter bar Cayde showed me once."

"Woah, woah… 66? That's…" Beorn hesitated. "Banshee-44 has enough memory issues. Do you think this Derrick can pull it off?"

"Actually I'm kind of hoping he can't. See, Cayde sets passwords for him for the bar and last time we were there it was 'Titans suck'."

"Wouldn't that be fantastic if he said that to Zavala?" Franz giggled. "Now look, I wanna go into this making it clear that this probably won't work."

"And we might get into some trouble," Beorn added.

"But I'm still in. Let's go get this Derrick-66 and see if we can pull this off. In the meantime, you better be thinking of how you're going to get Cayde away from Zavala and Ikora."

"Let me handle that. I have an idea," Wren said.

Within the hour they were back with Derrick-66, a terrible Cayde costume, but a decent mask. Wren stood back and looked at Derrick with his bright yellow eyes staring down at her through Cayde's mask. There was no way in hell this was going to work. Not and last. But they were too far in now and Wren was committed. She led him by the hand to where Shaxx was sitting, drinking coffee and reading a book.

Wren lifted her white and gold rabbit mask and waved hello.

"Ah, Wren," he greeted by raising his enormous cup. "What are you? A bunny? The tail is adorable. First Festival, huh."

"Yeah, I didn't have anything, so I just picked up something from a shop."

"The Twins didn't talk you into being relish I see."

"You knew about that?"

"They tried to get me to do it last year. Are you trick or treating with your fireteam?" he glanced to Derrick-66, then gently put his mug down.

"We plan on going, yes, but I had a small favor to ask. See, Zavala won't let Cayde out and I was hoping you could get him to come up here so I could—"

"Replace him with a look alike. I'm guessing you can't do as much yourself or it would be too suspicious." He let out a long exhale and for a moment, Wren didn't think he'd do it. Hard to tell through that damn helmet! "Alright. But only because of what you've done for the City as a whole." He stood and put an hand on her shoulder. "With you and your fireteam, I feel hope replenished here. And I am appreciative. Wait a moment and I'll get Cayde."

"Thanks Shaxx." When he was gone Wren looked to Derrick. "How are you feeling?"

"Glad to not be looking at that door," he glanced off toward the steps. "What's the password?"

Wren gave a sad smile. "What's your favorite one to use?"

Derrick stared, blinked several times, then looked down at Wren. "Zavala's head needs wax."

"Uh… that's a password?"

"Yes."

"Oh… okay… well, if you like it, that's what we'll use. Here's Cayde."

"What the?"

"Hear me out," Wren said as Cayde crossed his arms. "You want to go with me, and Derrick wanted to get out of the bar for a while and I thought—"

"Kid, you're gonna make Zavala put me under the jail."

Wren's shoulders slumped.

"Cayde, how could you say no to this adorable bunny?" Shaxx said, standing beside Wren and sliding her mask down over her face. "She has a cute little tail and everything."

Cayde sighed and shook his head but Wren could see the twinkle in his eye. "Alright, fine. But if I get in trouble, you're goin' down with me."

"Agreed!"

"Alright, Derrick, you go have fun in there. Give us five minutes or so to get outta here before you head down." Cayde patted Derrick's back.

"Here, I have something you can wear," Shaxx said. He knelt behind his counter and pulled out a black and yellow striped poncho and threw it at Cayde.

"What the hell is this?" Cayde asked, realizing it had small blue wings sewn on the back.

"It's a costume. Ah, here we go." Shaxx stepped around and put a headband with two springy black antennae topped with yellow puffs on Cayde's head. "Perfect. Have fun and take some peanut brittle."

Wren took a small bag of candy from Shaxx and waved goodbye as she pulled Cayde toward the steps.

"Stupid costume," he grumbled, pulling the poncho on anyway. "Why did he even have this back there? I can't see this bein' Shaxx's thing…"

"Who cares? It's cute, now come on. Rorick and Sisre have been waiting at the ramen shop for an hour." Wren led Cayde up the stairs where Franz and Beorn waited and other than a comment about Cayde's bee costume, they wasted no time getting down to the City where they could disappear in the crowd.

"Your costume's cute," Cayde said.

"Hm? Oh, it's just a dress I haven't worn yet. It was Beorn's idea to make me a rabbit."

"He made a good choice. And ya know what? I think the bee thing is growing on me."

At the ramen shop Koro came over to their table dressed as a prince, complete with a crown and toy sword at his hip. He beamed when he saw Wren and scooped her up in a big hug before side eyeing Cayde and excusing himself to get back to work. He stopped in a few more times to speak with them, but overall the restaurant was packed and he was too busy to stay around long.

However, seeing him again reminded her that she'd agreed to talk with him about how he felt about her once Oryx was dead and the issue was still lingering. She excused herself from the table, not missing Cayde's frown as she did, then went outside with him for a quick chat.

"It's good to see you," Koro said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You're outfit it cute, by the way."

"Thanks. Look, Koro, I've had a long time to think about what you said to me. About how you feel. I'm really sorry, but I don't feel the same way you do and I've been worried that telling you as much would ruin our friendship."

Koro sighed and forced a smile. "Yeah, I kinda figured that was the case. I still care about you, Wren, and I don't see that changing any time soon. But if you don't like me like that, then it is what it is. I don't want things to be weird between us. I'd like to stay friends, if you're okay with that?"

"Of course."

Someone inside called to Koro and he laughed. "The hungry wait for none. You have fun tonight and I'll catch up with you soon."

Wren was able to breath a sigh of relief before joining her friends again.

They spent the evening eating, laughing, and ignoring Zavala's calls. Cayde showed them the best areas to get good candy and as midnight approached, they had bags full of candy. A few times they had groups of children follow them, wanting to ride on Rorick's shoulders. Apparently, whoever Saint-14 was, he was popular with the residents.

"Are you guys ready to go to the temple?" Rorick asked and the group grew somber.

"Ready as ever," Franz sighed.

It seemed many more Guardians were also headed in the same direction as them, toward the south side of the City, away from the crowds and skyscrapers. Vendors on the way sold Traveler cakes, flowers, incense, colorful stones, and bells with cloth banners attached. There were all kinds of trinkets, toy swords, wreaths, and flags with classes on them.

Wren watched as her fireteam members bought various items and walked in silence toward a stone temple that was lit with orange and purple candles. Pedestals by the steps were thick with melted wax in every color and objects could be seen peeking out. These candles must always be here, and the wax never removed because even the pool of dried wax on the ground was thick.

Rorick removed his cardboard helmet and Cayde pulled off the poncho and headband, draping them over his shoulder. Wren followed suit and took off her mask, then hung it on her belt.

High columns framed the veranda and within were vaults on either side of the two-story structure. A high, vaulted ceiling arched overhead and between thick wooden beams were paintings of Guardians in battle. Some of the murals were flaking and could barely be seen anymore. Candles bathed this place in a golden glow that shimmered off bronze name plates on the vaults.

This place… it was a resting place for dead Guardians.

A black obelisk filled a massive portion in the middle of the temple, names etched on its surface in rows but half of it was still blank.

"What's that?" Wren whispered, sticking close to Cayde's side as they passed Guardians who were leaving things at the tombs of their fallen friends.

"It's a marker for Guardians whose bodies were never recovered or were presumed dead."

Just past the obelisk the temple split off into three hallways. One to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead.

"I think after this we're going home," Sisre said, dripping Rorick's arm.

"Same. I'm beat," Franz replied. "See you guys around then?"

"Yeah. Are you going to get Wren home, Cayde?"

"You bet," Cayde replied. "See ya."

The rest of Cerulean split off and Cayde started toward the center hall. Unlike the other spaces in the temple, this place was quiet and empty. The caskets here were much more ornate and had entire rooms to themselves. The ones closest to the door were very old, some cracked and the rooms much smaller than the ones that lay beyond. Eventually they came to a room with a marble casket that had an effigy of a man lying on his back with a staff held in his hands. It was as if he were sleeping with his weapon over him, ready for a fight, but his face was calm and serene.

Wren hung back as Cayde approached the casket. All around the room were steps where people before had left items and offerings and incense was heavy in the air. Cayde spoke to the effigy, but it was too quiet for Wren to hear. He rested his hand on the marble one and his head hung low.

"Are you okay?" she asked, taking a few steps closer.

"Yeah. This… this is Andal Brask," he explained. "C'mere. There's nothin' to be afraid of."

Wren hesitated, then joined him at his side. Up close she could tell that Cayde wore the same armor that had been carved onto the effigy. Andal was handsome. She glanced up at Cayde whose eyes were locked onto Andal's face. He looked so tired. She hadn't seen that expression for a long time and it twisted at her heart. She slipped her hand into Cayde's and gave it a squeeze.

He was a little confused at first, then he pulled his hand away and used that arm to tuck her close to his side.

"Andal woulda like you. Probably for the best he's dead, or I'd have stiff competition."

Wren shook her head. "You don't have to be like that around me. It's okay if you're sad. I don't know what I'd do if I lost someone, but I know I wouldn't be okay."

He stroked her cheek, then kissed her forehead. "When it happens, I'll be here for ya. It ain't easy, that's for sure, but it's better if you have someone to lean on."

"I don't want to think about it."

"Right. You ready to go home?"

"Can we go to the den instead? Feels like it's been years since I've been there."

"I'll take you anywhere you wanna go."

Back at the den it took a little cleaning before it was comfortable. They worked in silence to sweep and get the dust off the bedding before climbing up to the roof.

"We really have to get this place fixed up," Cayde said. "No use puttin' a lock on the door if the whole damn wall is missing."

"I'll start putting Glimmer back for it."

"I can too. So, what did you talk about with Koro?"

Wren arched a brow. "Jealous?"

"No. Just curious is all."

"Sure. I just told him that I didn't care about him the way he cares about me."

Cayde nodded slowly but he seemed to relax some.

They rifled through their candy, Cayde showing her some of his favorites, and all the while the questions chewed at the back of Wren's mind about his Queen, Dovie. And about Ace. And about the incident in his ship that they still hadn't talked about. She almost didn't want to talk about that one as she had no idea how to bring it up or even what she'd say about it.

Asking about Dovie wouldn't be any easier. How could she bring her up without admitting she went through his things? And he was so happy and content right now. Why mess that up? Too bad he picked up her discomfort before she could hide it.

"What's goin' on Sugarbird?"

"Hm? Nothing."

"Listen, I've been around long enough to know that 'nothin' is rarely actually nothin'."

"I guess I've been thinking lately about…" come on Wren, do something! "… about who I was before I was Wren. I mean, I don't remember anything from before and I don't know any Guardians that do. What about you? Do you remember anything?"

Cayde paused his chewing for a moment, and when he continued it was slow and deliberate. "I guess that's kinda complicated. See, I'm an Exo and I've had a few resets in my time. What's from before I was a Guardian and what was from individual times between resets gets a little muddy."

Wren picked at a candy wrapper. "Do you… what about your girl? The one with the hearts cards on the caches? Do you remember her?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I uh, kinda figured that would come up eventually, but I wasn't ready for it to be right now."

"You don't have to talk about it," Wren said, though anxiety clutched at her belly, fearful that he'd side step the conversation again and she'd be back to square one.

"Nah, I just… my Queen is a sore subject for me. I'm not ashamed or anything, it's just a tricky conversation. See, she keeps me from goin' dark. I wanna make her proud, and Ace too. He was my son before Clovis Bray got to me."

"So you do remember them?"

"Sure."

"What was she like?"

"She uh… she was beautiful. Short, light brown hair, big green eyes, and freckles all over. She was just… I don't know, she was cute and sweet but never backed down from a challenge. I appreciated those things about her."

Wren bit her cheek. That didn't sound anything like the woman she'd seen sketches of in the journal she found.

"Did you get your cache out of my ship?"

"I did but I haven't had a chance to go through it. Things have been a little busy around here."

Prying more right now would lead to some question she might not want to answer so she backed off about the cache and changed topics.

"What's SIVA?"

Cayde stiffened and dropped his bag of candy between his boots, knees pulled up so he could rest his arms on them. "I can't say much about it. I want to though." He looked her in the eye. "I gotta admit, you make it hard for me to keep Vanguard business private. I wanna tell you what's goin' on, and knowing your fireteam the way I do, I know you're only gonna get deeper into this."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared," she smirked, but he didn't smile back.

"I am. What we're up against is scary as hell, I'm not gonna lie about that."

Wren didn't like where this was going. She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"Very."

"Do you want to sleep here tonight or am I taking you back to the Tower with me?"

"I want to stay here. Can you stay with me? We're away from the Tower, no one has to know."

Cayde wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to lean across him some. "I can stay until you fall asleep but I have to go back. I wanna make sure that whatever you're going into, you're ready for it. Don't look at me like that," he laughed. "You can't do stuff like that, it's dangerous."

"Aww, I thought you were a tough Hunter Vanguard?"

"Tough only goes so far with doe eyes. Let's get you to bed before you change my mind."

Cayde hopped down and helped her off the roof, his hands firmly planted at her waist and he held her close. She put her arms around his neck, now face to face with him.

"Sure you don't want to stay?" she teased.

"Sugarbird, we gotta talk about where you picked these tactics up." He carried her over to the bed and set her down so she could kick off her shoes and crawl into the nest of pillows and blankets to cuddle with Colonel.

"You gonna be comfortable sleeping in that?"

"I'm so tired at this point, I could sleep in my armor." She curled up in the blanket he laid over her and for the first time, noticed how cold it had gotten. That feeling faded quickly when Cayde lay down beside her. His warmth was soothing and when she put her head on his chest the gentle whirring of his internal mechanisms relaxed her even more.

Funny how she'd come to be this way with him. She remembered the first night she had to spoon him to survive the freezing temperatures in the cave. There had been so much hesitation but now she lay next to him and felt comfortable scooting in close.

His thumb caressed her shoulder and soon, she slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.