The cockpit of the ship shook Fate awake as the vessel landed in the large Tower hanger, it's powerful rotating engines letting out a high pitched whine as they cooled down. Fate sat up slowly, almost hitting her head on the roof of the ships cabin. She rubbed her eyes and made her way down to the back of the ship where Aspen transmatted her out into the busy hanger. Many ships were being lowered down into the ship storage from the landing area above their heads. Several columns of ships surrounded the Awoken hunter and her Ghost as they made their way to the crowded elevator. As she stepped on, she took notice of all the new Guardians onboard the elevator, all the new faces seemed to be glowing with excitement and wonder at their newfound lives as Guardians.
Fate scoffed in her mind before she looked over to Aspen with a serious look. "They all look so happy…" She said to him mentally with slight disappointment in her tone.
The green Ghost bobbed up and down to signify a nod of agreement. "It's nice to see Guardians smile. It's something that we rarely see."
"You think I don't smile enough?" She queried.
"Well since you ask, maybe-" Aspen stopped and stared at his guardian, holding back a laugh.
Fate was staring blankly at Aspen with her two index fingers in her mouth pulling her lips into a giant smile that showed off her brilliant white teeth, all the while keeping a serious expression that showed little to no emotion. The young Guardians around her only stared at her with confused and worried expressions but their looks didn't bother Fate in the slightest. She held her gaze at Aspen until he could not hold back his laugh any longer and let out a loud laugh that nearly caused the Ghost to drop to the floor which caused Fate to laugh as well. She let her hands fall from her face as she joyously giggled at herself, the other Guardians staring at her and her Ghost with bewildered looks.
Fate quickly stepped off the elevator once it had stopped at the bustling tower courtyard. As usual, there was a large crowd amassed by the Tower's Cryptarch, Master Rahool, and a second crowd gathered by Shaxx, the Crucible Handler. Zavala stood in front of a young Exo Titan and a fledgling Human Warlock. The two new guardians looked like kids dressed in their parents clothes, the robes the Warlock had adorned look almost three sizes too big for her small frame and her helmet which she held at her side resembled a crate more than a protective piece of gear. Next to her stood the black and yellow Exo, he appeared to be nearly six and a half feet tall which only made the already short Warlock seem twice as small. His armor fit better than hers but due to his large height and broad shoulders, the armor he wore looked a little too small for a man of his size. Slowly Fate began to make her way to the Titan Vanguard, eager to give him whatever information she had pulled from the Vex.
Before she was even in hearing distance Zavala spotted her and began to wave her over with a relieved look taking over his face as she came closer. "Fate! Would you come here for a moment?" He yelled to her over the jumble of sounds the courtyard held.
"Oh Traveler no." Aspen said mentally to her as she continued to close the distance.
"He wouldn't try and put us with another fireteam would he? And even if he did it wouldn't be rookies, right?" She asked her companion with a hopeful look upon her face.
Zavala smiled as he she stopped behind the two new guardians who were staring intently at the new face. Fate let her eyes wander to each of the young guardians for a moment, letting herself observe their features and expressions. The Warlock with the long red hair looked young, too young to be a guardian. Her pale, freckle spotted, facial features said she was eighteen at max but the expression she wore and her dark hazel eyes gave off a feeling of hardship. Fate figured she had been in the City during the Red Legion's assault, an attack that not only changed the City forever, but also its inhabitants. The Titan on the other hand, he looked like he had seen many battles in his previous life but his expression showed no competence, a clear indicator that he had forgotten his past life like almost all guardians had. His purple and white face held a confused look as his blue eyes looked at the cloak on her back. Finally realizing she was a hunter, he turned away and gave his attention back to Zavala. Fate turned her gaze to the familiar blue face of Zavala who was staring back at her with a grateful expression that only stirred up worry and regret in the hunter.
"We should have pretended to not hear him. It would have been a proper excuse too…" Aspen muttered in her head.
"I kno-" Fate was cut off by Zavala introducing the young guardians to her.
"Fate, it is nice to see you back home, I'd like you to meet Fuse-23," He gestured to the titan who gave a nod and held out a hand to shake which Fate returned reluctantly. " And this is Sarah Law, she is one of the first City-born guardians." He said with pride distinguishable in his tone. Sara gave a smile and held out her hand as well which Fate shook with equal reluctance.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both, my name is Fate." She replied, giving each a smile and nod before she turned to Zavala and tapped her wrist interface lightly, hinting to the information within. "Sir, I retrieved all the information I could from the Vex in the Ishtar Jungle. I apologize for the long wait." Fate said quickly, wanting desperately to get away to the safety of her quarters before the Titan Vanguard could dump the new guardians onto her plate.
"Ah, thank you Hunter. This information should shed some light onto the recent spike in Vex activity on Venus. I have another task for you." Zavala said with a hopeful look.
Fate wanted to turn and walk away, saying nothing to the people who stood before her, but knew she wouldn't out of respect for the one who helped her get over the loss of Marcus. "Yes sir?" She asked tentatively, desperately hoping she was wrong in her assumptions.
"I need you to watch over these Guardians, at least until we can find them a permanent team. I know you prefer to work alone and I wouldn't ask this of you if I had any other options." Zavala paused and a new, thoughtful, expression came over his face as he weighed his next words carefully. "The Red Legion's assault on our home may be over but the damage they dealt is still being felt today. Whether we like it or not, our numbers have grown thin guardian. If you can not accept this task I fully unde-"
"We'll take them." Aspen chimed in happily before Fate could turn Zavala down.
The Awoken hunter glared at her floating companion, her eyes shooting daggers at the Ghost who bobbed up and down knowingly.
"He would have kept on momolougining untill you accepted. I just saved us some time, besides this could be a good thing." Aspen said mentally.
"Then it is settled. Thank you Fate, and Aspen." Zavala said, turning to the two new guardians with a smile as his Ghost scanned Fate's wrist interface for the data. "Don't worry, Fate will take good care of you guys." He leaned in close and added in a whisper so Fate could not hear, "She's rough at first but she's got a heart of Light." He smiled before he looked to his ghost who nodded, confirming he had the data.
Fate groaned softly and put her helmet on top of Aspen who almost tumbled to the ground under its weight. She turned and walked away, motioning over her shoulder for the other two to follow her to the noodle shop her stomach had been longing for since the last time she was at the Tower. Fuse and Sarah exchanged a hopeful look to each other before following suit behind her, exchanging words in a hushed whisper as they watched their leader.
"Do you think she's gonna like us?" Sarah asked Fuse with a tone of concern and worry.
"I hope so, if not she probably won't be our permanent fireteam anyway, unless she decides to keep us." He said blankly, seemingly uncaring.
"She won't give up on you guys, if that's what you are worried about." Aspen chimed in as he dematerialized the helmet that covered him into Fate's storage vault. "She really does have a big heart, she just doesn't like to show it very often." He paused for a moment and pointed his optic to the ground below. "The last time she did, it hurt her badly." He said with a sad tone.
"What happened?" Asked Sarah curiously.
"I can't say. Its personal to her." He said quickly before flying ahead to Fate's side, who seemed to ignore him as she walked down a flight of stairs to the west wing of the Tower where all the food shops and City business were ran.
This area of the Tower wasn't as crowded as the courtyard had been but that was due to it being fairly early in the evening. Not many Guardians sat down to eat during the evening, most waited until the sun had been down for hours to eat, drink, and party until the restaurants and bars closed around three in the morning. The human warlock took a deep breath was was taken aback as a her sense of smell was broadsided by an armada of different smells coming from the different food shops that lined the well lit ally. Fate turned back and smiled as she heard Sarah gasp as the group walked past a food shop that cooked some kind of steak in front of a few customers who patiently waited for their mouthwatering meal to be done. Fuse was the exact opposite of his counterpart, his senses did not register the wonderful aromas that filled the air and instead, only registered the basic chemical compounds that created the mouth watering scents.
Fate chuckled at his lack of enjoyment and stopped in the center of two ramen shops. One had been her favorite to attend with Marcus, while the other was a place she had only tried after his passing. After a moment of indecisiveness, Fate decided to leave the past where it belonged and entered the ramen shop that she had been to after Marcus was gone. The shop was called Colonels Ramen and Bar. It had a nice outside eating area, setup with a few clean tables and red and white chairs that surrounded the tables. Inside the small room was lit with a light orange glow. On the left was a few rows of booths that lined the wall while opposite of the booths was the bar. Behind the bar stood a light brown colored man with his hair pulled back in rows of braids. He was cleaning a glass when Fate and her two new guardians entered.
Looking up from the glass, the man smiled and set the glass down as he greeted Fate happily. "Fate! It's good to see you in one piece again. How was Venu-" He stopped as he noticed the two young and unweathered guardians behind her and beamed a toothy smile at her. "Well, well, well. What ever happened to miss 'I only work alone'?" He teased.
Fate rolled her eyes and sat at the bar. "You know James, if you want I can take my glimmer elsewhere." She teased back with a smile.
"Yeah and then you would miss out on the best ramen on Earth." He replied before he looked back into the serving window that gave a view into the kitchen. "Three bowls of the Shoyu special." He said to one of the cooks working in the back before he turned to face the trio of guardians who had taken seats at the bar with a broad smile. "So, what brings you three to this part of the Tower?" James asked in the hopes of stirring up a conversation.
For a moment the two young guardians looked to each before they looked over to Fate who was staring into the kitchen window, patiently waiting for the food that she could already smell. She was oblivious to the question posed by James, her hunger taking over her mind. After a light tap to her shoulder from Sarah, she slowly turned her gaze from the window to James with a confused look.
"What?" She asked.
"James asked a question." Sarah said softly.
"Oh! Right, um what was the question?" She asked sheepishly, embarrassed at her lack of focus.
"Jeez, you must really be hungry. Aspen what did you feed her out there?" James asked as the large bowls of steaming noodles, vegetables, and meat was set onto the window.
"Spirit blooms, some tree pulp. It's not like it wasn't healthy or nutritious." He said as he materialized beside his guardian. "Hey wait a minute," He said as he turned to face Fuse and Sarah. "Where are your Ghost's?"
As soon as he asked one black and red Ghost materialized beside Fuse and bobbed up and down as a greeting to the fellow Ghost. "Hello." The female ghost said to Aspen who bobbed back. The two ghosts turned to look at Sarah with anticipating looks as James set the bowls of ramen in front of the guardians. Sarah only stared back at the Ghosts and shrugged before she turned away and began to eat quickly. This exchange caught Fate's attention and she took a few bites of her food before she looked over to Sarah again with a confused look.
"Do you not have a Ghost?" She asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. I wasn't resurrected like you two. I was born in the City and exposed to the Traveler's light all my life, at least that's what Ikora said to explain my ability to use the Light like a guardian." Sarah said before taking a few more bites of the delicious food.
"Hmm, so that means if you die you can't be brought back." Fuse said calmly as he stared down at the food.
"Yep, that's probably why my parents didn't want me to be a Guardian." She said coldly as she thought back to her parents.
"What do they think now that you are a Guardian." James asked.
"They don't think much about it. Hard to think when your dead." She said bitterly as she kept her gaze fixated on the steaming bowl of soup.
Fate looked at James and Fuse with a shocked look. Slowly she turned her gaze to Sarah and opened her mouth to speak but decided against it. She didn't know what it was like to lose a parent and if she did, she didn't remember it. The only loss she had experienced was Marcus and that was far from losing a parent let alone both. Fate looked back down to her bowl as an awkward silence fell upon the room, and poked the noodles with the fork, her apatite having died with the conversation.
"So," Aspen said after a few moments of silence, "What kind of Titan are you?" He asked Fuse in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness.
"What do you mean? Also can Exo's eat?" Fuse asked with a confused glance up to James then to Aspen.
"Yes of course Exo's can eat." James chuckled. "You can taste too, did your Ghost not tell you that?"
"No she didn't." Fuse said as he looked over to his ghost who was nestled on his broad shoulder.
"You didn't ask." She replied quickly.
Fate looked over to Fuse with a broad grin. "Try a bite, it'll be the best thing your sensors ever tasted." She said confidently.
"Aw, thanks Fa-" James was cut off.
"It might be your recipe but you didn't cook it." She said teasingly as Fuse took his first bite of food.
For a moment his facial expression remained the same though it quickly gave way to one of wonder and happiness as he continued to shovel noodles and soup into his mouth as fast as he could. His arms moved like a blur as noodles flew into the Titan's waiting maw. This earned surprised looks from everyone, including Sarah who had looked up from her bowl to witness the spectacle that unfolded to her left. With in seconds the large bowl of soup was empty and the Titans face was splattered with soup. The group laughed at the Titan who gave them a confused look as they laughed, forgetting all about the awkward silence moments before.
"Why are you guys laughing?" Fuse asked with genuine confusion which only added to the laughter.
"Have you never eaten before?" Fate asked through laughter.
Fuse thought for a moment before he shook his head no. "I do not remember ever eating before now." He said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin James handed him. "It is a very pleasurable experience." He said, sounding more like a Frame than an Exo for a moment. "So what did you mean by 'what kind of Titan' am I?" Fuse asked Aspen curiously.
"I meant what aspect of the light are you attuned to?"
"You mean like Void, Solar, and Arc?" Sarah asked.
Fate nodded and spoke for her Ghost. "Yeah like me for example, I'm attuned to the Solar aspect of the Light meaning I wield the Golden Gun. James is-" She stopped herself and looked to James with an apologetic look.
"Wait you're a Guardian too?" Sarah asked him.
James sigh softly and looked towards Fate with a forgiving look. "Its okay, they would have found out eventually. I used to be a Guardian, a Nightstalker, attuned to the Void aspect as a Hunter." He said with a soft smile that hid a pained look below its guise.
"Ikora said I was a 'Storm Caller'. That's the Arc side of the Light right?" Sarah asked, receiving a nod from Fate and James.
"I think Zavala called it the Ward of Dawn. I accidently made a giant purple dome once when I sneezed after being revived." He said proudly though he was quickly shot down by his ghost.
"You mean when I revived you and you got scared of me?" She asked teasingly.
"Shut up Ghost." He muttered jokingly.
Fate was quiet for a moment then realized Fuse hadn't called his Ghost by a name at all since they met. "Wait, Fuse, have you named your Ghost?" She queried.
Fuse looked to his Ghost then shook his head as she spun the front half of her shell. "No, I didn't know I was supposed to."
"Well I would like a name please." His Ghost whined.
"Every Ghost needs a name. Otherwise you'll confuse a lot of people by calling out 'Ghost' in the courtyard." Aspen chimed in.
"Yeah a name might be a good idea." Sarah added.
"So what should you be named?" James asked.
"Hmm…" Fuse's ghost said as she spun her shell thoughtfully.
After several minutes of deliberation the Ghost gasped in revelation. "How about Luna?" She asked hopefully.
The three guardians and former guardian all exchanged approving looks then looked to Fuse for an answer. Fuse seemed elated with her choice and nodded excitedly. "I like it!" He said giddily.
"Then Luna it is. Why do you seem more happy about it than she is?" Fate asked curiously.
In a hurry Fuse reached behind his back and fiddled with something at his waist for a moment before he pulled out a large red hand cannon and set it on the bar top. The gun looked like an early model of a weapon Fate had seen a few other Guardians wielding in the Crucible from back when she used to compete in matches, the Hawkmoon was its name. Engraved on the side of the weapon's revolving magazine was the name Eyasluna. Now his excitement made sense to the others and to Luna who bobbed up and down happily.
"Hm. I didn't see that when Shaxx gave it to you." Luna noted.
James reached under the bar and pulled out four glasses and set them out before the guardians and one for himself. Reaching back under, he pulled out a dark bottle with a old fashioned cork in its opening. The label of the bottle had long since faded into an unreadable piece of paper stuck to the outside of the glass. As James uncorked the bottle a strong, robust scent of whiskey filled the air around him and the others. Fate took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell, and let it out slowly as she looked to James with a smile.
"Only one for me." She said as she held out her glass to be filled with the golden liquid.
"What is it?" Sarah asked curiously as she held out her glass as well.
After pouring a glass for everyone and putting the bottle back, James answered. "You do know what alcohol is, right?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Of course, but what kind? In the City all we can get is what we can make or smuggle." She said as she looked at the liquid in her glass.
"It's called whiskey. I made it myself when I first became a Guardian. Zavala didn't approve but Cayde sure did." He chuckled before holding out his glass for a toast. "To Luna and her new name."
"And to a lasting team, hopefully." Aspen added, knowing Fate's thoughts on the idea.
She didn't object to what her companion said as she touched glasses with everyone before she sipped from the glass. This earned a subtle look of surprise from James who knew how she felt about joining a fireteam after what had happened to Marcus. Fate answered his look with a shrug as she continued to sip from the glass, being sure to take her time and to enjoy the unique flavor of the alcohol while Sarah downed the glass all at once. After an hour of meaningless chit chat and banter between the four, Fate stood and set her empty glass down on the bar with a smile.
"Thank you James, how much do I owe you?" She asked as she began to add up glimmer on her wrist interface for a transfer into his account.
"You don't. Tonight was on the house." He said with a smile.
"Are you sure? You brought out the good stuff, I owe you for that at least."
"Nope. You can repay me by bringing these two back again." He said as he gestured to the drunk Sarah and unaltered Fuse who was poking Sarah to keep her awake.
"Stop poking me you hunk of scrap." Sarah protested, wanting to fall asleep in the warm and cozy restaurant.
Fate sighed, knowing arguing with James was as futile as trying to arm wrestle a Cabal . "Alright we'll be back." She said with a smile as she let her wrist fall to her side before looking over at the two guardians. "Come on kids, lets go." She said as she helped Sarah to her feet, staying beside her to help her out of the door.
"I'm n-not a kid." Sarah said drunkenly as she stumbled forward, using Fate to stop herself from falling.
"Actually, you are the youngest one here." Aspen stated.
"He's right." Luna added.
"Shu-" she hiccuped, "Shut up."
"Come on. I'll take you to your quarters." Fate said with a slight laugh. "Fuse, you can go, I'll get her home." She said as she stopped and looked over to him.
Luna rested in his palm with her optic barely open. Fuse didn't speak and only nodded, not wanting to disturb his peacefully dosing companion. He smiled and gave a farewell nod before he turned around and headed to his own quarters on the lower floor of the Towers many living areas. Fate looked over at Sarah who was swiping at one of the several thousand wisps of light that came from the Traveler in it's now awakened state. The awoken woman chuckled as she watched the human miss repeatedly.
"You drank a lot for someone so young." Fate said as she continued walking towards the empty elevator.
"I did?" Sarah asked without looking up from the wisp she finally managed to catch.
"Yes, you did. People really only drink like that when there's something they want to forget." She tried to ask without directly posing a question.
Sarah looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and sighed heavily, almost falling forward as she did. "You t-think I'm trying to forget something?" She slurred.
"Well, why else would you drink that much? You are the only one who is this drunk." Fate stated as Aspen came to rest on her shoulder, his optic focused on the Traveler glowing in the dark sky.
"Look. Everyone has their o-own problems." Sarah mumbled, not wanting to talk about why she did.
"Well yeah, of course everyone has their own problems. If you don't want to talk about it I get it, just know one day, all the weight and blame you carry will crush you. When that happens I'll be here for you." She said with a tone that spoke from experience as they stepped onto the elevator.
"I thought you only worked alone? What h-happened to this being a temporary thing?" Sarah asked as she looked up at Fate through her mess of red hair that hung over her face.
"Well…" Fate paused and looked over to her and gave a soft smile. "Things change and maybe it's time I move on before I get crushed." She said softly, her voice trailing off at the end.
The was an awkward pause for a moment before Sarah spoke. "You know I looked it up, why you work a-alone." Fate looked away as the words stung her ears. "Marcus R-Ren, right? He died in the Hellmouth." Fate could tell she didn't mean to stir up her emotions but the alcohol removed all inhibitions and she continued. "The V-Vanguard said you blame you-" Fate stepped away and let Sarah fall to the floor of the elevator with a soft thud. "Ouch." She slurred.
"Please don't brin-" Fate started but was cut of by Sarah again.
"T-their report says you blame yourself. Is that true?" She asked as she propped herself up on her hands. Sarah's hazel eyes were locked with Fate's glowing blue eyes.
Fate didn't want to speak as she slid down against the caged wall of the elevator untill she was sitting with her knees up before her face. She let her head fall onto her knees as she sighed loudly, knowing Sarah and the Vanguard were right. She did blame herself and she had every right to.
"I-I'm not saying I'm an expert on this, but I do know what it's like." She paused and let out a loud hiccup before continuing. "I know wh-what it's like to blame yourself for something that isn't your fault." Sarah paused and sighed, knowing she was gonna regret getting into this topic, but also knowing she was in too far to stop now. "I re-remember the day they died. I was on my way home from work at the powerplant. It was so hot that day. When the first Cabal ship appeared in the sky I remember freezing and staring up at it in utter shock. At f-first I thought it was a joke but then it's cannons opened fire. The explosion shook the ground, even as far away as I was. The flames shot up so high into the air. I saw more ships come through the storm and, I-I ran. All the way home, ignoring the explosions and fires that sprang up all around me. I heard the cries of the injured and of the children who had lost their parents." She swallowed hard and paused as Fate looked up at her intently with a sorry look. "I ignored a child, he was crying for his mommy." She said as tears rolled down her cheek. "All I could think about was my family and when I finally saw them running towards me, I felt so relieved. They were safe," She paused for a moment and fought her trembling lip before she continued. "Then an explosion sounded off to their right. I looked up to see a housing complex fall, right on top of them." She paused and let her gaze fall to the floor as Fate stood and walked to her side, placing a hand gently on Sarah's back. "I know it wasn't my fault but… but if I had been home earlier, I-I wouldn't have let them take that path, they would still be alive." She said before finally giving way to her emotions, letting the tears fall like rain.
Fate could only wrap her arms around the sobbing Warlock and hold her shaking body tightly. She was right, she needed to stop blaming herself for what happened to Marcus, it wasn't her fault. Fate stood and helped Sarah to her shaking legs then made her way to the buttons of the elevator. The Awoken hunter looked at Sarah for a moment who was still crying before looking back to the panel and pressing the button for floor twenty-three, her floor. As the elevator descended Aspen floated off of her shoulder and looked at Fate, spinning his back half of his shell slowly, a Ghost's showing of sympathy.
"You both need to forgive yourselves. None of what happened to you or her was either of your faults." He said to Fate softly.
"If I had been there he might-" She started to argue.
"N-no he wouldn't have. If you were there too then the Hive would have had two g-guardians." This reply shocked both Fate and Aspen as it came from the trembling lips of Sarah who was looking up at the two with a sincere look.
"Wait how did you hear us?" Aspen asked with dumbfounded curiosity.
"You guys were talking. I do have ears." She said with a confused look.
"No, we weren't." Fate replied quickly with equal confusion as Aspen.
"We were talking mentally…" Aspen added.
"I could hear you though." Sarah was now just as confused as Aspen and Fate.
"How the-," Fate stopped herself and shook her head, dismissing the confusion. "We'll figure it out later. Right now we all need rest. Especially you, miss I'll just drink the whole bottle. " Sarah joked in an attempt to lighten the mood from the previously depressing conversation.
"It wasn't the whole b-bottle!" Sarah protested loudly, earning a shh from Fate.
"Others are sleeping. You ever wake up a Titan before?" Aspen asked.
Sarah shook her head in response and looked up at him with an intrigued stare.
"Good because you don't want to, trust me. When I was looking for Fate I came across a Titan camped out in the Hellas Basin and I woke him up. He swatted me like a fly while shouting obscene profanities that would cause a Colossus to shake in its boots." He said as the elevator came to a stop on floor twenty-three.
Fate stepped out of the elevator with her arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulder as the large doors slid open, revealing a long corridor of rooms with numbers next to each door. Aspen flew off down the hall and stopped next to a room with the numbers two-one-one-three next to it in fading red paint that was in desperate need of repainting. A blue beam of light emitted from Aspen's optic causing the door to slide open with a soft woosh. After a few minutes of trying to keep Sarah walking in a straight line they finally arrived at the doorway and stepped inside the dark room, letting the door slide shut behind them. Sarah seemed confused as Aspen turned on the lights that illuminated the sparsely decorated room. In the far right side of the room was a clean stove that looked relatively unused, an empty sink, and a small refrigerator with a picture of Fate and Marcus laughing tapped to the freezer door. Off to the right of the kitchen was a small bathroom that had a shower. At the center of the room was a table with a mess of papers on top of it and an empty mug that had dust gathering on it's inside. Beside the table was a red fabric couch and a small bed beside it with a nightstand to the right of the head of the bed. To its left was a window that held a stunning view right out to the City and the Traveler that hung just above the center of the CIty.
"Wait, this isn't my apartment." Sarah said after a moment of thinking.
"You are the most observant Warlock in the history of Warlocks." Fate said sarcastically as she guided Sarah to the bed.
Sarah tried to fight against Fate as she laid her onto the soft bed. "I can't stay here. This is y-your apartm-" She yawned despite her attempt to fight it. "Apartment." She finished.
"And you think you can walk all the way to the City in your condition?" Aspen asked rhetorically.
"Well I could." Sarah argured.
"I bet you could get to the elevator before you passed out." Aspen teased as Fate covered Sarah in the red and white blanket that lay at the foot of the bed.
"I bet you're wrong." She continued to argue with the Ghost.
"She's stubborn huh?" Aspen asked Fate who nodded her reply before she reached into her closet and pulled out a thick cloak.
Fate laid down onto the couch and covered herself in the cloak as Aspen transmatted her armor off of her body and onto the floor beside the couch. Pulling the cloak over her black jumpsuit, Fate curled up under the cloak and held out her palm for Aspen to land on, which he did gently before looking to Sarah. She was snoring softly with her hair sprawled out on the pillow like a red halo above her head. Aspen turned and looked back to Fate before he let out an electronic yawn, showing his exhaustion. Fate smiled at Aspen before she pulled him under the cloak and gently held him close to her body.
"Good night Aspen." Fate mumbled softly before he turned off the lights and her eyes shut.
"Good night Fate." He replied as his optic shut.
