"Clearly, she cheated. Nobody beats The Argonaut." Saint claimed in a full bar of people talking about the Crucible match.

"You're just mad that I took the Glimmer you had."

"Yeah, drinks are on you tonight," Osiris half joked.

They sat in her favorite booth near the window, people passing by wearing the colors of their team. Osiris and Saint sat next to each other. Maria sat alone on the other side. The warlock and the titan with a bottle in their hands, and she had a glass in hers, laughing and talking about the match. By Saint's second beer they were talking about the old days. The days before Sagira died, and Saint reminisced how they had first met. Maria leaned forward, listening intently to every detail. By Osiris's third beer, Saint was drunkenly singing a song she wasn't familiar with. She assumed it was a song from the golden age.

Too soon, it was just her, staring at the glass, the ice had melted into water, watering down whatever alcohol had been left in the cup.

"It's time to go back," Ghost reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She yawned and stood. As she stood, she nearly ran into another Guardian much taller and broader than her. She looked up, mouth open to apologize but upon seeing the face of the Guardian she closed it quickly. She recognized him. He had been so nice to her the first time they spoke. She left her glass for only a moment, all she wanted to do was use the restroom. She came back and took one last gulp before going home, and then she woke up in an alley, in a part of the city she wasn't familiar with.

"Why didn't you tell Ikora what happened? She was there!" It was the first time Ghost had shown concern for her.

"It's hard to explain, Ghost... In my time, it was just common sense for women to order new drinks if they left it. Call it...a survival skill. I thought that, maybe, with a different era came a different way of thinking but I guess...even here..." She had sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Look, you said it yourself, nothing happened. I just wandered and I'm just lucky. So, what is it they'll do to him if he didn't even touch me? He can always say he didn't do it." She shrugged. "Just don't talk about it anymore, okay, Ghost? I just had too much to drink, and that's the story I'm more comfortable with."

"Sorry, excuse me." The Guardian said with a smile.

Maria didn't return the exchange. She felt her stomach painfully fell to her feet and her heart caught in her throat as she walked outside, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. Of course, he didn't remember her. She wasn't even a face to him. Whatever she was to him…well, she couldn't think about it. She didn't want to think about it. She took a deep breath and continued on, walking briskly.

The two of them weaved through the city toward the Botza district. The endless night left the city colder than it should've been, and it blocked out any real clouds that should've passed over them. The prediction a week before was a lot of rain and some districts were preparing for more rain than others. There were more people on the streets now, most couldn't get to sleep and those that could didn't sleep for long.

"Rise up as one, march toward the sun," a little boy sang proudly with his mother, who hummed the tune along with him. It sounded like the tune she'd heard Lord Shaxx humming once or twice. She'd heard other Guardians humming it as well, now that she thought about it, but quickly shrugged it off.

Ghost was floating close by her head. She reached up and gave him a gentle pat. It snapped him back from his thoughts and he was quick to pull away, "Don't do that." He demanded.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing." He was too quick to answer.

When they finally arrived at the Botza district a ghost was being chased by hatchlings, newly out of their caretakers' arms, crawling around almost like a train, and reaching up in an attempt to catch the ghost.

Maria covered her mouth to hide her laughter, but one of the hatchlings saw her and she stared at Ghost, mesmerized, before the familiar looking ghost came past her face and she started to chase him again.

"Is that Glint?" Ghost's panels whirred, and finally Glint stopped.

"Yeah, it sure looks like it." Maria laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…reconnaissance?"

"Uh-huh, well you're doing a fabulous job at that, aren't you?"

If ghosts could blush, she was sure Glint would be a deep red. He dropped too low, and the hatchlings nearly got him, and he started the chase again. "Where's Crow?"

"Well, you see…" Glint zoomed past her at first, but soon doubled back, "Zavala said…" He came back again once the hatchlings caught up. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Glint quickly, much to his displeasure.

"Try talking without running away from children, Glint. Zavala said what?" She let go, and now he floated at eyesight with her.

"Zavala told him to stay out of sight. He really shouldn't have been at the Eliksni's Quarters last week."

Maria's stomach twisted as she thought about her offer to Crow. She hardly thought about it much, about the man Crow used to be. She didn't know Cayde-6 except in stories people in the Tower often told her. By the time she had entered the picture, Cayde-6 was dead, and a Guardian had been sent to kill the killer, and everyone was more than open to tell her who had done it. It wasn't hard to find pictures of Queen Mara and her brother either. Still, she didn't hesitate to smile when she saw Crow for the first time without his mask.

She sucked in a breath, "That sucks, I feel so stupid for inviting him out...but then what are you doing out here? Besides reconna-would you six knock it off?" She shooed the hatchlings, waving her hands, and careful not to actually hit them. They were trying to climb on her and failing to climb but nearly successful in bringing down her pants. Finally, she sat down and allowed them to climb her. Glint and Ghost didn't move downward to be with her.

"Crow's afraid it'll happen again."

"Well, you can tell Crow that everything's being handled. Does everyone really think I can't do this?"

"No, no, no this isn't at all-"

"Then why isn't he just asking Ghost?"

"I just don't think it came to mind, after all you aren't actually a Lightbearer so….and, and Ghost is still finding his own Risen so…um…"

Ghost chimed in finally, "She isn't mad that you're here on Crow's behalf. She is…frustrated that so many people are trying to protect her."

"I'm frustrated that this is the closest to fieldwork I get to have, is what it is. Even Amanda can go off into a fight whenever she's called! I am absolutely the worst Guardian here. Watch it!" She quickly lifted her hair into a bun on the back of her head and held it with her hand as she continued, a hatchling sat on her lap chewing on the strands of hair he was successful in tearing out. "It just…feels like no one thinks I can do anything, is all."

"That's…not true. If Ikora didn't think you could do it, she never would've sent you here." Glint reassured.

Maria sighed. "Still doesn't feel like it sometimes. Anyways, I should get to bed. Ghost has been trying to help me keep a sleep schedule since the sun's gone and everything." She stood abruptly, and the hatchlings scrambled off of her. "Have fun with your new friends," she laughed as she walked past Glint.

Ghost followed close to her shoulder.