Salutations Guardians and Huntsman, it is me once again!
It has been a long time, I do apologize for that, but I've had a busy summer. Sue me.
I'll try not to take too long with the next chapter, but I'll be updating my other story first within the next month hopefully.
Other than that, hope y'all enjoy and I'll see ya next time!
Chapter 3
Yet Another Second Chance
The Recollection
The first thing Salazar noticed when he woke up from his rather sudden state of unconsciousness was the fact that he was no longer in Aksis's chamber with Logan, listening to the pleasant sound of the machine's dying screeches.
The second thing he noticed was the burning pain in the back of his skull.
Groaning in pain as he tried to get up, the old wolf couldn't help but feel like he was just a bit lighter, but that didn't make too much sense. He was still wearing his armor after all, the black chitin/metal hybrid still covering his vital areas.
His leggings, gauntlets, and cloak were all similar to the design of the Days of Iron set ornamented for the Hunter class, though they were all webbed with cracks of neon blue energy that ran deep into the strange black material. His cloak was a deep red, torn and tattered along the bottom edges as well. The hearths that used to house bright orange flames now held muted black and white ones too, including the flames that licked around his neck.
His chest piece was a slim fit carved with the symbol of the Iron Banner, a tree beset with two wolves that acted as hearths, windows to the living Taken flames deep within. A set of six ribs black than the rest of his armor and void of the usual glowing energy lines the area under his chest and accented his simple set of belts, those of which had several pouches and a knife secured to them. Finally, his helmet was in the shape of a wolf's head, its maw open to reveal a mouth of Taken flames and it's eyes glowly a faint, eerie silver as the helmet's lupine ears stuck out through the top of the drawn up hood.
Holstered at his side was the old wolf's trusted firearm and a gift from a dear friend: The Ace of Spades. On his other side, a sword not so different from a knight's blade was sheathed. The blade and sheath were both a pitch black while the hit was a shining silver wrapped in deep red leather. Along with that, its hilt was a silver twisting pattern of tree branches, and the pommel of his sword was carved in the shape of a wolf's head, a black crystal in its maw. Finally, the bracer on Salazar's left arm was removed and replaced by a buckler in the shape of a wolf's head.
Shifting his gaze around the room, the Hunter quickly realized that he could only see about three feet around him, and the haziness in his eyes prevented him from making out any details that could have hinted at his location.
Haziness caused by the pounding headache.
The lack of light didn't affect his hearing though. At least, not too much. The darkness almost seemed deafening, making everything quieter than Exturn's Ghost.
Salazar would have laughed at his quip if he was in a laughing mood.
Staying as quiet as possible just in case, the old wolf attempted to get to his feet, pushing off of the ground with his aching hands only to hiss in pain and fall back to the ground. His entire body hurt. No, his body basically screamed at him.
Rubbing his wrist the best he could, Salazar realized that the fight with Aksis must have taken more out of him than he thought. He then frowned grimmly as he remembered that fight and how it had ended.
The bastard had a final stand they didn't know about, just like Oryx. Salazar forced the others to go while he made sure the machine died. Logan refused to leave, staying with him, and Scarlet had to drag Emily just to make sure they got out in time.
They made it out, Logan and him threw all they had at Aksis, and then they disappeared in a red miasma.
Which prompted the question of how he ended up… wherever he was in the first place. He didn't know. Running his hand over his handcannon's grip though, he knew he'd be okay for the moment. His trusty Ace was still there. Now if only he had a friend.
'Spector?' The Hunter thought, biting through his headache. 'You there?'
'... Yes, I'm here Sal.' The soft, female voice of his Ghost waited a second before answering. 'Did we actually beat that thing?'
'I think we did.' Salazar answered with a light chuckle, a small smile on his face. 'Another problem the city won't have to worry about, all thanks to my early release from… forced "vacation".'
The old wolf shook his head as he remembered how the Vanguard forced him to stay home for so long, 'recovering', only to hiss in pain as his headache flared up again.
'Do you happen to know where we are?' Spector then asked, a slight tone of confusion in her voice before suddenly appearing in a flash of white light and shining her light across the room. Her shell was the standard Ghost shape, yet it was a stark, clean, even pearly white, as if her shell was made out of pure quartz.
Squinting his eyes at the new light, Salazar used the new light to get a look at the room he found himself in. When he did, his breath hitched and his hand flashed to his handcannon, despite the pain that shot up his arm as a result.
Strange, dark and otherworldly metal made up the walls and floor of the room. Along the walls and ground, a weird, green organic material seemed to grow and pulse, and a crusty brown chitin like substance was dotted around the entirety of the room. Green lamps in the wall emitted a glow that was just barely visible in the Ghost's light, and the room was deathly silent.
"Spector," The old wolf started, forcing his legs under himself before he started trying to get up again, "Make a scan. I want to know how far we are below the surface of whatever planet we're on."
"I-I understand." The Ghost didn't question her Guardian once she too realized that they were in the territory of the Hive. To say that they had a bad reputation with them was an understatement.
Expanding her shell, Spector sent a pulse of energy in all directions, hoping that she would get some sort of reading. Meanwhile, Salazar had managed to get himself to his feet, gritting his teeth as he did. Yeah, Aksis did something to him alright. He could worry about that later though.
For now, the old wolf drew his handcannon in his right hand and raised a knife in the other. He wouldn't be able to properly wield his sword in his condition, so he'd have to make do for the moment. The Hunter just hoped that the Hive didn't already know where they were.
"Anything Spector?" Salazar asked, making his way over to the Ghost, who had floated a few meters away, with a limp in his step. Spector turned to him slowly, as if fearful of saying what she was about to.
"I've got… good news, bad news, and even worse news." Spector then hesitantly started after a moment, making the Guardian grimace under his helmet. "We're on Earth's Moon, which is the good news, but we're too deep to send a signal and we're… we're in the Hellmouth."
Tightening the grips on his weapons, the old wolf's breath quickened. He couldn't help it. Despite the light his Ghost emitted, he could feel the oppressive darkness of the Hellmouth enclosing in on him. Suffocating him.
The Hellmouth was where the darkest, evilest, and most vile creatures of the Hive existed. There were creatures here that could rival Crota's power, and maybe even Oryx's. That's not what scared him though. He had killed them both, so that wasn't the issue.
No, it was the sudden memory the Hellmouth provided him with. Oryx.
He could remember the Dark, the soul wrenching pain. To have his very essence invaded. It was ugly, it was terrifying, it was painful. What Oryx did to him. What the Dark did to him.
Take
Take
Take
"Salazar! Snap out of it!" Spector's sudden voice snapped the old wolf out of his funk. His breathing slowly returned to normal, though his grip didn't slack for a second.
"I'm okay…" The Hunter told the Ghost, his voice low as he shook his head. The headache was still there. "Get out of sight Spector, I don't want to risk you down here while we move."
"You can't be serious Sal!" The Ghost exclaimed in shock, getting Salazar to flinch as the noise hurt his head. "You may be able to stand and move, but your body's basically torn up from whatever Aksis did to get us here! You're in no condition to move!"
"You think I don't know that?" The old wolf asked rhetorically with a shake of his head. "If we don't get moving now, the Hive will find us and we'll be sitting ducks for whatever they want to do to us. It won't be pretty with what we've done."
Spector was silent for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with a retort. Ultimately though, she couldn't, accepting that he was right. Disappearing in a flash of light, the Ghost was back in her Guardian's head, where it was safe for her.
'Just be careful, okay?' She asked the Hunter, worry lacing her tone. 'There are people who need you back home.'
'Don't worry Spector.' The old wolf told her through their link with a small, kidding smile. 'For once, I'm not going to go in guns blazing.'
Spector didn't respond to that, but the old wolf could feel her smile. If Ghosts could smile that is, it's a strange topic.
'We're too deep for me to know where to go.' The Ghost then told her Guardian as he started towards the exit of the room, still limping slightly while his eyes remained adjusted to the dark. 'We're on our own as far as a route out goes.'
'We'll just have to be careful to stay out of sight then.' Salazar nodded as he left the room, immediately stopping as he did.
With a loud snap, claws of chitin shot from the ground and pierced his armored leg like a three pronged bear trap. The Hunter dropped his weapons and dropped to his knees, trying his damndest not to scream out in pain as he felt Hive magic start to pump into him from the newly acquired wound.
That didn't matter though as the roars of the Hive echoed around them. The Hive seemed to already know that they were there.
'Sal!' Spector's voice filled the old wolf's head again, but he couldn't focus on it. The pain was too great already, Hive magic trying to take root in his very bones.
Grabbing his Ace of Spades off of the ground, the Hunter fired at the claws piercing his leg, hoping to break them off. He reholsetered his weapon as it didn't work however, instead gripping the claw itself and pulling in an attempt to rip it out.
As he tried in vain, a green mist started to rise around him and the roars of the Hive got louder. They would have been deafening if not for the singing. The hollow, deep singing of the Hive that suddenly started echoing in the chamber.
Salazar knew what it was. It was the song of the Deathsinger. It was the same ritual the Deathsinger in Crota's throne world had used. It had never left his head.
'Well, there goes us being quiet.' The old wolf thought, gritting his teeth and cracking his neck as he drew his handcannon again, raising it above his head this time. As the cannon was raised, it started to shine with a brilliant golden light, a light that illuminated the entire chamber and brought a bit of clarity to the Hunter's mind.
Lowering the cannon, he then pressed the barrel up to the trap and fired, the light infused bullet tearing straight through and shattering the trap in one place. Salazar repeated the act with another of the three claws before standing up again and ripping the last one out himself and throwing it to the ground while saving the last round in his Golden Gun for a Hive Knight who had tried to smash him from the shadows.
The old wolf clutched his side as he stood to his full height, growling as the Hive magic continued to invade his system. With the Deathsinger present though, he couldn't really focus on that.
'Forget the magic for now and focus on getting my leg fully working again Spector.' Salazar told his Ghost, pulling another knife from his belt. 'I need to find the Deathsinger. You know, before we need to call for an encore.' The Guardian joked with a shrug, though the message was received without a reply.
Instead, Spector simply started to focus all of the Light that she could muster into healing his pierced leg. Feeling the healing start, the Hunter fired at the Hive that were quickly trying to suppress him.
It may have been deathly dark this far down into the Hellmouth, but the sounds of roaring Hive let him get a feel for the room just fine.
Ignoring the pain in his quickly healing leg, Salazar jumped to the side just as a Hive Knight slammed its sword down where he used to be. He then stabbed it in the back of the neck, silencing the Knight before sprinting through the green mist with gritted teeth.
A hoard of thrall met him on the other side, all falling as he fanned the hammer of his Ace, running past their bodies and never breaking his stride. The Ghost's quick work was already making that possible.
Still not breaking stride, the Guardian then rolled under several bolts of purple energy, flicking throwing knives from his wrists as he came back up. The knives soared through the air and claimed their spots between the eyes of several Acolytes, stopping them from firing another shot.
Salazar continued his path of death for several more meters before he came to a wall, a wall that he jumped on to and stabbed into with his knife. Reholstering his Ace, he drew another blade and quickly started to scale the wall, making a beeline for the Deathsinger he heard at the top.
Screw finding paths when you can make your own.
The old wolf quickly reached the top and rolled on to the flat surface above it, barely avoiding a large Hive blade that suddenly tried to pierce him as he reached the top. Salazar scrambled to his feet before the Hive Knight could try again, and that's when he saw that it wasn't a typical Hive Knight.
Standing taller than your typical Knight, the pale blue chitin of the Gatekeeper seemed to glow with an evil energy. Gritting his teeth, the Hunter figured that this Gatekeeper was holding up some sort of barrier for the Deathsinger, which sucked, because it could only be beaten with a Hive sword.
That and the Deathsinger was just behind the Knight, its hands raised and a green mist around it as its song began to quicken.
Rolling his shoulders, the Guardian brandished both of his knives and clashed with the Gatekeeper, letting its large sword hit the ground just to his side as he slashed its face. The Knight wasn't fazed by the action, only annoyed. Therefore, it roared and tried hitting him again.
Salazar simply dodged again, slipping into the Gatekeeper's guard this time and stabbing both of his knives into its grip and under its fingers. He then wretched the knives outwards, forcing its grip open and forcing it to drop its own sword.
Before the Hive Knight could even react, Salazar had wrapped his hands around the large sword's grip and hefted it up, slamming it down over its head as his armor's hearths flared with Taken flames. The flames seemed to empower his strike, sending the Gatekeeper in every direction as it shattered to pieces.
As it shattered, so did the mist surrounding the Deathsinger. The Wizard didn't seem fazed, intent on finishing its song as smaller Hive troops flooded towards the Hunter, intent on stopping him.
Gritting teeth once more as he recognized the last verse of the song started, the old wolf dropped the heavy sword and sprinted towards the oncoming Hive without drawing a weapon. Instead, Salazar jumped up just as he reached the Hive and used a Knight as a springboard as it tried to hit him. Reenforcing that with his double jump to get even higher, the Guardian then threw his hand forward.
Time seemed to slow as Taken flames suddenly started to form in his hand, taking the shape of a handcannon as his hearths grew even hotter. Being this close to the Deathsinger as the Hive magic flowed through his system, he could really feel the effects of it now, but he didn't care. He only cared about lining up the sight of his Taken Golden Gun with the Wizard's head.
Then, as the last twisted word of the Deathsong was uttered, Salazar's Taken magic fired and its bullet tore through the air, ripping into the Deathsinger's head. The Wizard screeched in agony as it's body was quickly consumed by Taken magic, yet it almost seemed to laugh as Salazar felt his body seize up, his own armor's flames going back down as the Taken gun disappeared.
The Deathsong was finished, and the old wolf knew he was too late to save himself as his head flared with pain. That was, however, until he felt his body get lifted by something else, something lighter.
The next thing he knew, everything was silent. The darkness was replaced by a pleasant star lit sky, and he seemed to float through an endless abyss of night. The sudden weightlessness threw him off, though he found himself unusually calm through it all. Very strangely so, especially concerning the fact that Spector was suddenly just as quiet as the space around him.
Salazar's attention was drawn to the stars above him, he couldn't recall why. Though, he could recall the sight of the stars drawing themselves together, forming constellations that etched themselves into his mind.
There was a crown, a sword, a staff, and a lamp.
And then suddenly, he was thrown into the darkness once more, the silence now true and tenfold.
(? - Early Morning)
Another groan escaped the old wolf, though this one was more out of discomfort than pain. The aches from his body were gone, which was a surprise considering what had just happened. Maybe it was the weightlessness from before? He had heard that some Guardians tended to let themselves float in a vacuum to ease the pain.
Though, it tended to be permanent, so he doubted it was that.
Groaning again, Salazar raised his arm to his face to get the bright sun out of his eyes. His armor was still on, so that was a good sign, and so was the sun. It was honestly a surprise, he would have expected to be stuck thousands of miles below the ground by now.
Or, you know, dead.
Needless to say, he was glad he wasn't in either of those situations.
Shaking his head, Salazar began to look around for a lay of the land. A blue sky meant an atmosphere, which meant he was still pretty close to Earth, one of the planets the Traveler had terraformed at the very least. A wide, tall forest (or jungle, he couldn't tell) surrounded him, and lush grass was compressed beneath him.
Okay, so he was probably on either Nessus, Io, or Earth, though it was most likely Earth, which was a relief. Still, it was better to get confirmation.
"Spector." The Guardian started, his voice hoarse until he coughed into his hand, standing up. "Spector, where are we?"
Silence was the only response he got, which was never a good sign, except maybe when he asked anybody if they wanted a second helping of dinner. He liked more for himself.
"Spector, you there?" Again, there was no response from the errant Ghost.
Okay, that was definitely bad. If he was on Earth though, he could get some help soon enough. He just had to find a Guardian outpost, which could be miles away or yards depending on where he was. There was no way to tell, so he would just have to choose a direction and wing it.
And so, checking that his Ace and his sword were still in their respective places by his sides, he chose lucky north and started walking.
Quickly, he realized things weren't exactly right. The forest continued on for ages as he walked, and that was exactly the problem. Earth had one last city for a reason, and that reason was that everything else had been invaded, mostly by the Fallen. Though, there were pockets of Hive and Cabal every once and a while, though Fallen were the most prominent force. With all that in mind, it was strange that he hadn't found a single piece of wreckage, scrap, or sign of life in general.
In fact, if it were like normal, the Fallen would be crawling all over him already.
So… where was he? A somehow untouched piece of wilderness? It was possible, though highly unlikely. The trees would prevent most ships from coming in, but that wouldn't stop most people, Humanity or not.
It was also possible, though even more unlikely, that he had somehow ended up on another planet. He would have to check constellations later, when it turned dark, to make sure.
The thought of constellations brought forth the memory of the vision he had not too long ago, the feeling of weightlessness and the sight of the four star formations in the sky.
Something about this whole situation just felt off.
(Wilderness - Later)
After a few hours, he sadly couldn't track the time exactly, he came across a raging river of clear, sparkling water. It was a very good find, he could follow it and find some sort of life since even the Fallen needed water. However, a sudden urge that took over him was a very bad sign for him.
He was thirsty.
Guardians didn't need water, or food for that matter. While some Guardians, mostly the ones in his circle, did eat, it was mostly to top off their strength and to let the Light funnel most of its energy into empowering, not sustaining. It was what made people like him, Lance, Scarlet, and the rest of his circle so powerful. Otherwise, the Light would and usually did take care of that need for them.
Which was why this was so concerning.
If he felt the urge to consume water, which he did with a cupped hand as his helmet laid on the ground next to him, then his Light wasn't taking care of it. He felt the creep of hunger coming on as well, but he could hold that off for far longer, until he could figure out what was going on.
Well, he technically already had. The second he suspected his Light was going haywire, he tried to cast it forward. And failed.
That was probably why Spector had gone silent. If there was no Light for her, meaning she was rendered immoble and useless. Thankfully, she was in his head at the time she went silent, meaning she was still digitized and safe to some extent.
Hopefully. The alternative was that she was just gone, which was something he didn't want to think about.
Standing up and shaking the water off of his hands, Salazar moved to put his helmet back on to his head before he stopped and hooked it on to his belt instead. The air was surprisingly crisp and clean, another point towards this not being Earth, and it was strangely refreshing. The slight breeze felt good as it ran through his short, messy grey hair, and his lupine ears twitched at the strange sensation.
Focusing on them always made the Guardian think. His ears were an anomaly as far as Guardians were concerned, no one else had them or had ever had them. It was doubtful anyone would either, since Spector had told him it was a mistake in his revival that usually tended to turn out worse than his situation.
It wasn't uncommon for people to die with animals and for their bones to mix, though it would cause trouble if a Ghost didn't notice.
Continuing down the flow of the river, the old wolf couldn't help but take in the world around him. Noises he hadn't heard before in the forests around the Cosmodrome or London, where he had revived. There were birds chirping, bugs buzzing, he had even seen a few small animals roaming around the bases of trees as he explored.
It was… weird, in a way. You didn't see very many wild animals on Earth, not after the collapse. Sure, they knew many of them were out there, and Saladin had even managed to find and tame wolves. Most creatures hid from the monsters though.
If this was Earth, it was definitely a portion of the planet that had gone undisturbed for the better part of centuries. There was no other way the wildlife here could be so comfortable roaming freely.
Of course, they tended to shy away from him. Whether that was because he was bigger, wearing menacing black armor, or his ears reminded them of a predator, it was ultimately hard to tell.
Sighing, the Hunter focused on the task ahead, shaking himself from the distractions of the world around him. He had to find an outpost before too much time went by. The faster he could contact the Tower, the faster he could figure out what was going on with his Light. He suspected it was in some way related to what the Hive had done to hime.
Maybe it wasn't a Deathsong the Hive were singing, but instead some draining ritual. That wouldn't explain how or why he was dumped here though. The Hive would never just let him go. He had done too much to them.
Images of Oryx flashed through his head before he could stop them, though he casted them off with a shake of his head.
Looking to the sky through the lush trees, Salazar watched as several birds flew overhead, cawing loudly as they went. They were much larger than the average bird, though they didn't seem aggressive, towards him at least.
Still, it certainly looked new. Big, black, and seemingly on the hunt for… something.
He would have to look into that as soon as he got back to the Tower, after sorting Spector out. Creatures like that could pose a threat to the city if they decided to attack. Then again, they probably wouldn't last long against the defenses the city had, so it was probably nothing to worry about. Hell, the guards posted up there could probably take them out with pop shots.
Salazar chuckled, the sudden thought of Scarlet shooting down birds with a bored expression entering his head. That would have been a sight to see.
"AAAH!"
The old wolf was suddenly torn from his thoughts when a shrill scream cut through the air, and he was already moving with his Ace drawn before the scream had even ended. The origin was a girl, that much was obvious from the pitch, deep in the trees and away from the river.
It didn't take long for the Hunter to find her, though he nearly paused when he saw the source of her fear. A large, bipedal wolf with pitch black fur and red, glowing eyes. Its fur was also littered with white plates of bone, like armor, though there wasn't much of it. Its claws were white and sharp, and the creature itself stood at nearly seven feet, about as tall as a Titan.
Seeing the woman sprawled out of the ground below it though, and with the beast raising its claws to attack, he didn't hesitate long enough for the monster to attack.
Raising his trusty Ace, Salazar let the weapon bark as his bullet slammed into the side of the creature's neck, tearing right through it. The monster wavered for a moment, seemingly confused, before it finally slumped and fell to the ground, the young looking girl scrambling away, as to not get crushed.
The monster was something he wanted to take a look at, though the girl was far more important. With a simple cream colored blouse (stained with dirt) and black flats, she was obviously a civilian, and that was only enforced with her hyperventilating.
Holstering his Ace, the old wolf stepped up to her and crouched down, ignoring how her eyes scanned him as he looked over her for any injuries. There was nothing obviously wrong with her, other than some frantic breathing, so he was relieved.
He was still worried about how she was even in a position to get attacked in the first place though. The girl couldn't have been any older than 12, which made him wonder how her parents could lose sight of her in the first place. In that regard, the kid was either a good sneak, or the parents were bad watchers.
Shaking his head, the Guardian ignored that line of thought for now and focused on the girl again. She was staring up at him with a bit of awe in her young eyes, though she still looked a bit shaken from the encounter with the beast. Anyone would, he had never seen anything like it before. It was… animalistic, but in a messed up sort of way.
"Do you have a name, little missy?" The simple question seemed to surprise the girl, but she didn't leave it unanswered for long.
"I-I'm Mary." Her soft voice carried itself to the old wolf's ears, and he couldn't help but grin. It reminded him of Emily when she was younger. "Are you the angel I saw?" She then added, throwing the Guardian off guard.
She seemed to realize that as she scrambled up, suddenly excited about something as she pointed off in the direction he had come from.
"I saw a bright light over there and just knew it had to be an angel coming to save us!" Mary exclaimed as if she had said it a thousand times before, jumping slightly. "Mommy and daddy said if I was a good girl, that we'd all be fine, and I know I've been really good! I did all my chores and everything this time, I promise!"
That managed to get a chuckle from the Hunter, though he hid a face of concern as he ruffled the young girl's hair. Just what was she talking about?
"I bet you have been." He then assured her before standing from his crouch. "I'd be glad to help, as long as you show me back to your parents."
The girl nodded frantically, uttering out promises to show him back, before turning and pointing into the trees to the right of where he had come from.
"Our village is over there! I think so anyway, I'm not the best with directions."
"Well, then we'd best be heading that way. Time is of the essence!" Salazar gave her a smile at that and held out a hand for her to hold, which she gladly took, grinning madly all the while.
(Wilderness - Later)
"-and then my friend Tommy said he was going to beat me up, but he's too soft for that." Salazar listened with a smile as Mary ranted on like she had for the last hour, seemingly telling her entire life story to the old wolf. "I don't think he'll even tattle on me for stealing his cookie."
"Ah, but you'd be surprised at the lengths people will go to for sweets." Salazar pointed out. "My own daughter would surprise you on the front."
Before anymore could be said, the duo passed through a few more trees and into the beginning of a clearing. As soon as the trees had cleared, The Guardian knew they had made it to the girl's village, if only because they had actually found one.
It wasn't the biggest place, but it wasn't just two to three homes either. The village easily contained a few dozen people. There were several rudimentary watchtowers positioned around the village, both inwards and at the edges, and they were all manned with soldiers in basic garb. They had very simple rifles though, nothing a Guardian would be caught using. In fact, he had never seen the model they were using, even amongst the Tower and city guard.
Down the main, cobbled path of the village, the Guardian could see various stores, homes, official looking buildings, and even a clock tower more towards the center of the place. Strangely though, there were no walls, though he figured that not every group on the planet could afford to set those up quickly, even if they expended all of their resources on it. That must have been why the towers were manned mid-day.
As soon as they were visible to the watchtowers, they reacted. Thankfully though, it wasn't in an aggressive sense. Rather, they yelled down to the town below, alerting them that Mary was back.
"Well, pup, it seems like we've made it." Salazar smiled down at the little girl, getting a giggle in response to the nickname as a few people came running into the street they were approaching. "Why don't you show me where your parents are?"
The girl quickly nodded and ran ahead of him, leaving the Hunter to follow with a chuckle.
It didn't take long to find them, or more accurately for them to find her, as a middle aged woman with the same chestnut hair as her daughter scooped the girl up, hugging her tightly while muttering what must have been a mix of worry and repramants. Salazar just shook his head before he looked up to what must have been her father as he walked up to him.
The man had a head of simple black hair, and he was wearing a simple green tunic with brown slacks. He seemed to eye the old wolf wearily, most noticeably his lupine ears since his helmet was still clipped to his belt. After a moment though, he seemed to let a small smile grace his lips as he held out his hand. The Guardian gladly took it.
"A Huntsman, I assume?" The man asked rhetorically. "I'm Chester. I'm sorry if my daughter caused you any trouble." He then apologized awkwardly.
Huntsman? Well, he had never heard that term before, but from context he could assume it was just some sort of slang for a Hunter. Wasn't that hard to make the connection, and it actually sounded kind of catchy.
"I prefer Hunter actually, and don't worry, she was no problem for me." The Guardian assured him. "I'm Salazar Stone, though most just call me Sal."
The man nodded as they released hands before he lowered his voice to a whisper, his tone changing a bit.
"Did… did she get in trouble with the Grimm?"
Grimm? Another interesting name, though he assumed that's what the black creature was. Certainly was fitting if anything.
"Just one." The father seemed horrified at even that prospect. "Was about to get her before I stepped in."
"You have my thanks for saving her then." Chester seemed sincere as he let out a small sigh. He then raised his voice back to it's normal level. "This town doesn't see many Huntsmen, especially ones with your kind of gear, so I apologize if you get a few stares. I for one would be willing to accommodate you for the night though if you need it, it's the least I can do."
Glancing around, the Guardian noticed that he was indeed getting a few stares. They seemed to scamper off when they realized he was looking though. He just smirked though.
"Don't worry about the attention, I get that all the time back home. I will admit that my armor is rather unique." He then chuckled before shaking his head though. "You won't need to worry about the night though. If anything, I'll just be looking for a way to contact the city and then I'll be on my way, I've been gone for too long as it is."
The man looked surprised to say the least, meaning that Salazar had raised some sort of flag. Whether it was a red one or not though, he couldn't tell.
"Can you not use your scroll?" The man asked before pulling out a small, flat device, almost akin to a phone except for the fact that it opened up into a translucent, razor then display, like a hologram. "You can use mine, or we can get you a new one, we have a few spare from our last supply shipment. Again, it would be the least I could do."
Okay, whether he saw it as a red flag or not, Salazar did. He had never seen tech like that in his life, and he doubted it was a relic with how new, and apparently widespread, it looked. It could have been Cabal tech, except it was blue instead of the orange a red he had seen from a few weird Phalaxes in the Sol system. Any new tech like that wouldn't be too widespread like that either, he hadn't been gone that long.
That could only mean two things though, none of them entirely good. One: he entirely could have been gone that long, in which case Scarlet would kill him as soon as he made it back to the Last City. Two: He was, in fact, on some unknown planet, in which case Scarlet would also kill him as soon as he made it back to the Last City. Things were starting to build more in favor of that, but he wouldn't call it until dark, when he could be sure.
It was only midday though, and he was getting kind of restless.
"I'd rather get a new one if that's fine with you, a few Grimm tore up my last one. Shame too, my daughter bought it for me." Salazar ended up lying with an awkward chuckle. Chester laughed along with him as he put his 'Scroll' away.
"I can understand that." The man said with a bit of mirth. "It was my oldest that convinced me to get one in the first place. We can certainly get you a new one though, shouldn't be more than an hour. You can wait at my home if you wish, I'm sure my wife could make you something to eat."
The Hunter was about to refuse the offer before the mention of food made him realize just how hungry seemed to be getting. Maybe a quick bite wouldn't hurt.
(Village of Arche - A Few Hours Later)
Well, he was right, a quick bite certainly hadn't hurt. Chester's wife made good stew.
Regardless, it hadn't been long before Salazar got his new 'Scroll'. Scroll, that was a weird name for a device, but he supposed it fit with how you opened it.
English was thankfully the default option, leading him to believe more once again that this was Earth, though that was quickly crushed as soon as he finished the divide's set up and asked where the library was.
He wasn't exactly bookish, but the urge to figure things out was just too much for him to handle, and it was certainly satiated.
Remnant was a unique name for a world, at least to him, but it was… it was one he found himself on now. All the things he had seen that day suddenly made more sense after a few books and a few hours later, sure, but the whole thing was still… hard to grasp.
He tried, as hard as it was, not to get caught up on that though. The crushing realization that he was lost on some unknown planet within the system would have to wait for later, or be taken in slowly anyway.
Actually, seeing as the sun behaved the same way here as it did on Earth, Remnant was probably in an entirely different system altogether.
Whatever the case may have been, he was in unfamiliar territory and was in need of information before he got himself killed. Thus, the advantage of being in the library at the time of his revelation.
The first thing to figure out was the Grimm he had encountered, and there was plenty of material on them.
The beasts seemed to be the only invading force on the planet, and it wasn't even technically invading the planet if he was to be completely honest. They were native to the land and seemed to spawn at will, though his research told him they were attracted to negative emotions, like those of fear, sadness, or anguish. They could sniff it out like a hunting dog.
There were countless types too, though some were far more common than others. The Beowolf he encountered for example. Since he was actually in Anima though, something that took him far longer to figure out but eventually did with his Scroll, Beowolves shouldn't have actually showed up. Creeps were far more common here.
Still, it was just like him to get lucky.
Speaking of Anima though, the place was mostly jungle and forest. There were a few small towns and outcrops, like Arche, but the only real place you'd find the routes to the other continents was Mistral, the capital. He was probably going to have to head there next if he wanted a chance at getting home.
Of course, he didn't have high hopes of that being an easy task. It was certainly possible, that much was bound to be certain, but there was a set of hurdles he would have to get past. For instance, space flight hadn't even been achieved yet, which meant he would have to do that from the ground up if he wanted a capable ship. Thankfully, he had picked up a few things from Spector and Amanda, so he could at least fake his way through making a ship.
This world's energy source, Dust, wouldn't cut it though. It was the sole reason space faring wasn't possible, since it stopped working past the atmosphere.
Either way, he would need some influence if he wanted to get the parts he would need. Either that, or he would have to steal them, but he didn't exactly want to challenge the world's military might over parts he was probably never going to find anyway. That meant the R&D was his job too, and he didn't exactly have a long time with his immortality now gone.
For now at least. He would find a way to bring Spector back.
Sighing, Salazar closed the book he was on and set it back into a pile on the table. It was a book about Huntsman, what Chester had called him. It turned out they were a lot like Guardians, and they were highly respected. That would have to be his way in, he just needed to get an Aura, a proper license, and an organization to take him in so that he could eventually climb the ranks to something useful.
The old wolf stood just as Chester came through the library doors, a smile on his face. He instantly locked eyes with the Guardian and came over, glancing at the stack of books as he went.
"I see you've been quite the busy bee." The father said, picking up one of the books and reading the spine with a raised eyebrow. "'Grimm Records: Volume 2'? I thought Huntsmen like you knew this type of stuff already."
"Doesn't mean we don't like to catch up on it every once and a while though." Salazar replied with a grin of his own, lying smoothly. Chester easily shrugged and set the book back down.
"I suppose that's fair. Say, that bed at my place is still open if you want." He then brought up, gesturing towards the window behind Salazar. "It's gotten pretty dark out there."
That surprised the Hunter, and he looked out the window to his back to make sure. Sure enough, it was dark save for a few torches and the moon above. The shattered moon…
Yeah, he certainly wasn't in Kansas anymore.
"I might just have to, Chester." Salazar laughed as he continued looking out. "You certainly make a good point any.. way."
The old wolf let his voice trail as he moved his gaze to the dark forest. It was peaceful, the trees swaying lightly in the wind, though there was a faint hint of red that caught his eye.
He probably imagined it, a simple trick of the window's glass, but…
"Is there something wrong, Sal?" Chester asked when he noticed the pause, walking up to stand next to the Guardian. Salazar hummed in response.
"Not sure…" He then said, pausing for another moment before facing the man and patting him on the shoulder. "I need to check something real quick, just to be safe. I'll meet you at your place alright?"
"Uh, sure." Was all Chester could say before Salazar started towards the exit to the library. "Mind telling me what you're checking?"
"Just a hunch!"
After leaving the library, the old wolf made his way to where he entered the town before, a small clearing that connected to the main road. He had actually seen some kids playing in it as he read the past few hours, but the clearing was barren now, save for the sounds of crickets.
Just like before, it was a peaceful scene, one that he almost wished he could still be on Earth to have. Of course, this kind of peace in the wilderness would be nearly impossible on Earth as it stood now.
Shaking the thought aside, Salazar focused on the clearing again. A small breeze swept through his exposed hair, and he let out a soft sigh. Everything seemed fine, it must have just been his paranoia acting up.
Then he heard it. Or rather, he didn't.
Slowly but surely, the forest grew silent, the sounds of crickets fading. He gave it a few moments, but the sound never returned, as if the forest itself had left him.
The Guardian slowly unclipped his helmet from his belt and held it as he tilted his head down, letting his lupine ears take over for a moment as he closed his eyes. His ears twitched in the open air as he tried to find something. Eventually, he did.
Heavy steps from massive paws.
"Get everyone inside, now!" Salazar didn't know who he was yelling to, but he only hoped that someone was listening as he threw his helmet on to his head. He then peered back into the forest and drew his handcannon, raising it to where he heard the footsteps.
"What do you mean, what's going on?" One of the watchtower guards seemed to hear him just fine, if his more than annoyed voice was any indication. "There's nothing-"
Salazar ignored him in favor of focusing. He waited until he saw the smallest flash of red, which didn't take too long, and he fired at it.
The gunshot was loud, but the explosion that indicated he had hit a headshot was far more so.
People came out of their homes to see what had just happened before everyone froze at the howl that suddenly rang through the forest around the clearing, which was followed by a chorus of the same. They seemed to just be around the clearing though, which was a good sign. For him at least.
The old wolf glanced back at the town and watched as people started to panic. Husbands holding wives, children getting teary-eyed, and people generally not knowing what was going on. He spotted Chester in the crowd looking towards him as if asking what was going on.
Instead of answering, the Hunter looked up to the watchtowers to see the guards with their rifles trained on the forest. If Salazar was going to fight though, he didn't want their bullets grazing him, especially since he couldn't revive.
"Hey!" The Guardian called up to the tower to get the guard's attention. "Have your men get these people under control, I'll take care of this!"
The guard didn't look so sure, though he nodded slowly nonetheless. Salazar chalked it up to them believing he was a Huntsman. They probably thought he knew what he was getting himself into.
In truth, of course, he didn't, and as the Guards collected themselves and started rounding up people, he figured that he was fine with that.
In fact, he was kind of excited. Sure, he was going to be protecting a lot of people that could probably be ripped to shreds by these creatures, but… well, he wouldn't lie when he said that combat for him was getting stale back home. The armies of the Darkness had always been the same story, and he chose not to participate in the Crucible anymore, so to have an enemy he knew near nothing about staring him down?
Well, it was strangely exhilarating.
The Guardian had to shake himself from his thoughts as another round of howling rang through the trees, closer this time. They were advancing, and so was he as he walked into the clearing, his hand cannon drawn and his sword still sheathed at his side.
It didn't take long for the Grimm to emerge, a pack of Beowolves slowly stalking their way out of the treeline on all fours, growling all the while. Again, it was strange to see so many of this type of Grimm in Anima, be he figured that the one he encountered earlier that day would have friends anyway.
It was only about ten in total, with a much larger variant stalking up behind them, already standing on two legs. It looked stronger and was obviously more well armored, so it was probably older than the rest, the alpha of the pack.
Not that the sight bothered Salazar too much. He had faced much worse in his time as a Guardian.
The alpha seemed to study him for a moment, locking eyes with the Guardian's helmet. It seemed to eye his black, chitin armor curiously before it let out a low growl.
It was almost like the beast didn't like him.
"Alright little doggies, this is gonna go one of two ways!" Salazar cupped his hands around his mouth, his cannon still in hand, and shouted. "One, you walk away, or two, I walk on your face!"
They barked angrily in response, and Salazar could hear some people screaming behind him as he sighed and pulled his hood over his helmet.
"They never make this easy, do they?" The Guardian shook his head before raising his Ace once more. "Alright, let's just make this quick then."
His cannon barked with a pull of the trigger and the head of the closest beast ruptured like a bursting pipe, ending its life before it even knew what had happened. Then, as the Hunter took off towards the creatures of Grimm, the body of the wolf exploded, sending shards of its bones in every direction.
He held up his left arm to ward them off with his buckler, but the rest of the Grimm weren't so lucky, getting pelted with shards of bone. At most, it made them stumble, but it gave the old wolf a chance to draw his knife in his left hand and fire his Ace again.
The cannon barked twice, sending two more creatures to the void as he fell upon a third with his knife. The Grimm didn't seem to have blood, so the slit throat simply resulted in a silenced Grimm, not a dead one. He figured that out as it pounced at him, intent on revenge, which it didn't get as he hopped back. He then jumped to its side and stabbed it in the back of it's head.
The creature went still quickly and slid off of his blade, confirming that they had a brain at least. Salazar didn't get to think about that too long though, flipping to the side as a Beowolf snarled and pounced at him. It missed, resulting in a free bullet to its head for the effort.
The Hunter jumped up and used the alpha as springboard to get high enough to dodge the resulting explosion and makeshift fragment bomb, that of which left the Grimm stumbling again.
Landing away from the remaining six, the Guardian took a moment to eye the group as he reloaded his Ace of Spades. The Grimm he was facing weren't exactly the smartest things, that was for sure. They almost seemed to challenge him one at a time, or, at the very least, they didn't have the sense to jump him all at once.
He could probably take the rest out easily if he was careful about it. Giving them time to recover like this while he thought probably wasn't the best idea though, but he was sure it wouldn't matter too much. What did matter was saving resources, namely things he couldn't make.
He recalled in the Dust book he read that Remnant used the substance to make ammo, not conventional gunpowder like he was used to. The substance probably still existed, sure, but Dust was the main component used. Since it was safe enough to use in home applications though, he wasn't sure that he could remake his rounds with it unless it was highly dense, enough to make up for the space.
He was probably overthinking it, but he tended to want to be safe. These things weren't tough to beat, but other Grimm would be. Thus, with a touch of hesitance, the old wolf holstered his trusty Ace at his side, bringing his hand instead to his sheathed sword.
Drawing the blade, he was delighted to have a good look at his oldest friend. The Blade of The Wolf Guard had undergone some changes since he first revived, but it was still the same sword nonetheless, one that had carried him through more battles than he could count, like his entrance into the city with Midnight using his own blades.
Not many Guardians used a sword, and he was glad to call himself one of the few.
Sheathing his knife and brandishing his sword, Salazar dashed back into the fray just as the Grimm regained their senses and roared at him in anger. The first contact swiped at him, but the claw simply soared over the old wolf as he ducked. He then slashed up and across the monster's chest, cutting a gash into it.
The slash was quickly followed by two more and a kick to the center of the chest to send it stumbling back as it fell to the ground dead. Salazar then twirled his sword until it was behind him, knocking a claw out of the way as he spun around and cut the Grimm in two pieces, those falling around him as he jumped back to avoid the Grimm that tried to capitalize on the new path made by its bisected peer.
The Hunter simply stuck out a foot and tripped it, spinning his sword into a reverse grip as he then stabbed down and into the monster's head, killing it instantly.
It was only then, with two Beowolves and their alpha remaining, that Salazar noticed the other, fallen boies of the Grimm begin to flake away, like embers in a fire being blown away by the wind. That certainly explained why he wasn't able to find any solid, internal diagrams of the beasts in the many books he tried.
It also meant he wouldn't get to examine them, but hey, free clean up was always nice.
The last two Beowolves charged at him together, leaving their pack leader by himself to watch the fight. In response, the Hunter flicked his wrist towards the beast on his right, sending a throwing knife flying into its forehead as he slashed at the Grimm on his left. The creature managed to tank a strike from his sword as its fellow fell and raised both its arms to strike him down.
To retaliate, the Guardian jumped to the side, letting the monster strike the ground where he just was before lopping off its head with a flourish.
Sighing, Salazar looked down at the two fallen beasts as they flaked away before moving his gaze to the alpha. "You know, you could still just run."
The Grimm snarled at him instead, getting down on all fours to pounce. Salazar shook his head and went into his own low stance, his sword held ready at his side. The two stared each other down for a few moments.
Before either could make a move though, the Grimm turned its nose to the air, alert by something. The action confused the old wolf, but what confused him even more was the monster's decision to bark and…
… Flee into the forest?
The Guardian stared at where the beast had fled for a minute to make sure it was gone before he finally relaxed his stance, his sword still held at his side while his other hand rested on his hip.
That was certainly more anticlimactic than he thought it would be. The Grimm seemed to have a brain, sure, but it was almost like they lacked the ability to use it. The Grimm were obviously still revered as horrible monsters and killers though, so he wouldn't be bringing that mentality into every fight. He just had to figure out why they were so-
CAAAAWW!
Just as Salazar began to think about how the Grimm could be so deadly, he got his answer in the form of a massive black shape passing over him. It moved the trees with the force its flight put off, and the Hunter was sure it would have blotted out the sun for a moment if it had been daylight.
The Guardian immediately switched back to his handcannon as screaming erupted throughout the village again, this time paired with a demonic cawing of another Grimm. This beast, as Salazar noticed when he ran back to the village, was an enormous bird, its main body scattered with plates of bone and a mask of the same substance covering its mouth and beak.
The bird hovered over the village and flapped its wings hard just as he reached the center of town, sending down its feathers like darts that slammed into the stone pathways and structures around them. The feathers embedded themselves into the buildings it hit while completely tearing up the streets. More people screamed in terror, but luckily none in pain.
Salazar's fist clenched at the sight of the feathers being used in such a way, but he shook that off in favor of raising his Ace and firing at the massive bird.
From this range, his bullets simply pinged off of the creature's tough armor, though it was still enough to get its attention. The Grimm flew over him again, cawing angrily as his Ace continued to bark. It only annoyed the thing more before he ran out of ammo, but it ensured the creature's attention stayed on him.
It worked, if he had to say, fairly well.
Before he got the chance to reload, the bird swooped down at him with its talons extended to grab him. The old wolf barely holstered his Ace before it reached him, and he jumped up and collided with its chest.
The Hunter just barely managed to grip on to its plumage as the wind got knocked out of him, and he could hear the Grimm caw in fury as it rose back into the sky. He ignored it though in favor of putting his grip to the test and slowly began to climb up and around.
He eventually made it on to the bird's back, plumage still gripped tightly as the creature stopped and reared its wings back again for another volley. Not intent on letting that happen, Salazar unsheathed his sword and slashed across the creature's back while he had the chance to.
The attack caused the bird to let out a sharp caw of pain this time, the blade finding exposed flesh, and it stopped it's attack as it realized he could hurt it. Instead, the Grimm tried to start to jerk him off, flying about much more recklessly than before. The Guardian just did his best to ignore it though, slowly trying to make his way to the monster's head.
At least he would have, if the bird didn't suddenly collide with the clocktower in the middle of town.
Salazar yelped in surprise at the sudden impact, losing his grip on his sword and causing it to fall to the ground below. He watched as it fell before stabbing into the ground, the blade sinking deeply. Not that it mattered, as the bird flew away from it quickly, still flying recklessly enough to force the old wolf to use both hands to keep a grip.
Okay, so he was out a sword, his Ace needed reloading, and he couldn't even think about reaching for it with the Grimm flying like it was. He needed another option. Thankfully, he had one idea.
Whether it worked or not with his current worldly circumstances was another story.
As was whether he wanted to do it at all. With the people screaming in terror below him though, that wasn't something he had time to think about.
Taking a slow breath in and out, the old wolf tightened his grip on the bird and tried his luck. Whether by good luck or bad luck, Salazar felt the burning sensation he was fairly familiar with by now rise from his core, spreading through his arms and into his chest.
The Hunter grimaced as the burning reached his hands, coating his grip in a miasma of black and white flames. It flickered in and out before it became solid, a testament to how long it had been since he last used the power.
And then, the fire spread.
Quickly, black and white flames of Taken energy spread from his grip and on to the massive creature of Grimm, growing like a wildfire on a dry summer day. The monster immediately took notice, cawing in absolute agony as it seemed to trash harder. Salazar could feel its will try to push him back, but the mindless creature had nearly none to speak of, so it was an easy battle to win.
The fire spread faster and faster as the old wolf exerted his will over the mindless beast, consuming it until it was in too much agony to fly. At that point, Salazar was lucky the monster had fled the village to fly just barely over the edge of the forest, because it quickly fell to the ground, breaking several trees as it crashed into the ground.
There, the Grimm writhed in pain and screeched in agony. It hurt the Guardian's ears, but he kept his grip tight on the beast as it slowly started to wisp away. It wasn't in the sense of dying like he had seen with the rest of the Grimm though. Instead, he could feel the creature as it flaked away, slowly being consumed into himself.
It took another few minutes, if only for the size of the creature, but eventually, the monster had been taken.
When it was finally over, Salazar closed his eyes and fell to his knees. His hands burned as if he had just touched a stovetop, and his chest was ablaze, just under his armor. His ears were ringing too, though he didn't know whether that was because of the taking's effect on his body or the creature he had just taken.
Either way, he rested there for what felt like hours before the burning and ringing eventually faded away. He could still feel it at his fingertips though, lingering there like a parasite.
The old wolf let out a few shaky breaths as he opened his eyes again. His vision was a bit blurred, but that was fixed with a few quick blinks as he stood up. He then stood there for another few moments before sighing.
It was done. Now, he just had to get his sword back.
(Mistral - 3 Days Later)
Salazar sighed heavily as he left the airship docks, people streaming out around him as he readjusted the straps on his backpack. A few people gave him looks, but he ignored them as he looked down at his Scroll, checking the time.
After taking the Nevermore, as it turned out it was called, a few days earlier, the people of Arche couldn't thank him enough. Sure, the village had still taken some damage, but even he was surprised to find that the only building that needed actual repair work was the clocktower the Grimm had used to try to shake him off.
They wanted to pay him for the effort, but he refused obviously. They would need the money for repairs. Instead, he only asked for some clothes and supplies, as well as a ride to Mistral.
The first two were simple enough. He picked out a few sets of clothes like the ones he was wearing now; a simple set of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt with an aviator jacket over it. His sword and Ace were still sheathed and holstered on his sides, as well as his knife and a few pouches for ammo and small supplies. He doubted he would need armor for every fight here, and it was going to get difficult and uncomfortable if he wore it all the time without the Light, so this was the next best option.
All of his armor was in turn in the large pack on his back, save for his buckler. He had managed to get that off of his armor and was wearing it on his left arm now. It had saved him more times than he was willing to admit, so it wasn't moving.
The transport to Mistral was also easy, if a tad bit tedious. Transport ships came every few days with supplies, and he was lucky enough to have gotten there the day before it arrived. After that, it was only a matter of riding it until they got to a proper transport depot and changing to a proper carrier ship straight to Mistral.
Claiming you were a Huntsman and having the gear on you to avoid an ID check was useful.
All that left him where he was now. Admittedly, it would have been nice to have some currency to use, if only for insurance, but he was sure he could find some. What he really needed first was access to one of the Huntsman Academies. They would check for ID, which he could just admittedly say he lost, but the real problem would be Aura.
All Huntsman and Huntress had it, which would make him stand out. Thus, getting it unlocked would be his first task.
Nodding to himself, the Hunter started moving just as people around him were starting to get pissed off. As he stepped on to the cobbled streets of the capital of Anima, he let his mind wander.
He was on a new world he had never heard of, Spector was MIA with no way to talk to her or tell if she was even able to be reactivated, he was without his Light, and he had no way of contacting Earth for help with any of these matters. On the bright side, he was still alive and armed. He also still had his… curse, which he hoped he wouldn't have to use again.
He would prepare better for next time.
He had a plan as well. While he had a severe lack of information still, he planned to fix that and get things rolling, and that all started now.
Or, at least, it would have if a girl didn't suddenly ram into him head on, despite the street being fairly spacious.
The girl fell to the ground with an 'oof' while he simply stumbled, surprised but stable. Looking down, he saw the girl was maybe in her late teens with hair red enough to match Scarlet's and, as she looked up at him with an awkward expression, eyes so green they nearly matched Emily's sparkling emerald. She wore a simple tan blouse with black jeans and matching shoes. She had a bag, which now had its contents scattered around them.
In all honesty, the resemblance to both his fiance and his daughter gave him a bit of whiplash, but the girl spoke up before that became apparent.
"Sorry!" Her words were more sincere than the situation probably called for, and the old wolf bent down to help her as she gathered her things. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"
"Oh, it's quite alright." Salazar told her with a bit of a chuckle. "We all have our moments."
Once her things were gathered back up, they stood and the Guardian took the chance to hold out his hand in greeting. "I'm Salazar by the way, but feel free to call me Sal."
The girl's face strained at the greeting, though she hid it well as she took his hand and shook it. She had a surprisingly strong grip, he noticed.
"I'm Pyhrra." She told him awkwardly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sal."