Hey guys, sorry about the late release of this chapter, I got rear-ended in my car and I've been having some real problems with my sleep cycle... its kind of messed up my normal routine. Enough of my excuses!

A big thanks to Qrow, my beta reader and a real trouper for putting up with me :). Also, thanks to everyone reviewing, keep up the good work!

Enjoy!


Entry Log 104 - 00:15:03

"...He found it either way. Luck ass," Cayde's voice came on as the video focused, revealing the Vanguard room once more. He's leaning on the table with his forearms, speaking with his teammates, a cocky grin plastered on his face. "Leave it to Z to actually figure out where Shin Malphur's gun was hidden. Super sweet hip fire on that thing." It's a rather normal day, with Cayde boasting about one of his hunters. Zavala shakes his head slightly, amused if only slightly.

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing. With Corvan running around with The Thorn… It would have been wise to have destroyed that gun."

"Naw, Corvan isn't the type to turn on us. Yor was always a bit… unhinged, we all know that," Cayde offered in defense of his fellow hunter, having finally forgiven him. Ikora raised a dark brow.

"And what happened with Crota isn't a bit worrisome anymore?" At her statement, Cayde's eyes go dim slightly and he sighs.

"I'm not saying it wasn't, but he seems to have learned from his mistake. You didn't see the way he looked after Skylar when she was ignoring him outright. He cleaned up his act, Dredgen never even tried."

"Cayde does make a point," Zavala agreed. "If anything it will help that those three hunters are all friends. They tend to keep eachother in line." The conversation diverges from there, each Vanguard leader reporting their findings for the day. It's getting on the later side of the afternoon and slowly people are beginning to clock out of their shifts for the day. After eleven minutes have passed by on the clock, footsteps are heard and the camera swivels to greet Skylar as she walks down the stairs. Her helmet is nowhere in sight, the Ace of Hearts in place on her hip. She glances to Cayde for only a moment before walking over to Ikora and summoning Sterling so he can transmit data. The warlock's Ghost meets him halfway and the dark skinned human smiles.

"Welcome back from your first mission agent," she greets, raising her right hand in a fist and placing it over her heart. "Embrace a new skin and become the many," she states. Skylar smirks at her and echoes her gesture.

"We are as unseen. We are as death," she answers, the greets part of The Hidden's mandate. Ikora seems pleased as the video glances to Cayde, the Exo is watching from the corner of his eye as he reads over a report. There's a soft smile there, one that shines with approval despite the fit he had about losing her to a warlock.

"Looks like you found some good data," Ikora states as she looks over the newly transferred report on her own data pad. "I thought there might have been something hidden in that old church. This should give us something to chew on for a while. Nice work Skylar." Setting that pad down she nods once. "Try to get some rest for the last of the week. You were gone a while. I'm sure people have missed you," her words turn slightly playful at the end, eyes glancing at the Exo for the briefest of moments. It's still enough and Skylar flushes, smiling slightly before nodding her head.

"It is my honor," she states in return. "I'll see you later Ikora." With that the hunter turns to leave and because he's Cayde, he can't very well just let her go.

"Hey now," he calls out, stopping her as she half turns to look at him. "What about me? Come on, how can you ignore this face?" he raises his brow plates and Skylar can't seem to fight the smile on her face. She shakes her head and saunters over to him. Her posture is a bit tense due to the others in the room, but from the camera's wide view of the entire table, both other leaders have busied themselves and thus the video zooms in on the hunters.

"You know I wasn't," she grumbles half-heartedly. "I just figured since we were meeting for dinner in an hour you could wait."

"Ag. You sure you can't just take me with you now?" he complained and Skylar blushes again, biting her lip. The Exo blinks once and then seems to realise how she took his words. "Oh that is not what I meant and you know it."

"I know," she replies, smiling as she reaches out with a gloved hand but seems to hesitate, eyes flickering around the room again. It's a bit odd to see the hunter so unsure and it's reminiscent of the first time they were in an elevator again, back when everything had been too much and yet everything had been so little. The Exo just smirks at her and Skylar only gets a second to realise hes up to something before he grabs her hand and yanks her forward. It's exactly what he wants as he pulls her into a hug and she flinches, surprised and nervous all at once as she tenses. "I thought we agreed not to … to do this," she hissed, face flushing but Cayde just chuckles.

"We discussed it yes, but I never agreed to it. Even if I had well, I hardly ever follow the rules, including the ones I make." He seems to win that battle without any resistance and whether it's how warm he is or if it's just because it's his arm, Skylar relaxes and sighs, returning the gesture after a moment and pressing her temple against his own. Her eyes droop briefly, lost in the feeling of him holding her, of the feeling of safety it brings.

"I missed you," she murmurs and Cayde hums, his hold tightening in response.

"Course you did," he teases gently and then runs a finger and thumb over the edge of her folded up hood, stopping briefly over one of the metal tabs on it. "Missed you too Skyla." The clock counts ten seconds before he pulls away and Skylar takes a small step back but doesn't glance about like a deer this time. She just tilts her head slightly and smiles.

"I need to go clean up," she explains. "I'll see you in a little bit?" It's an unneeded question but the Exo doesn't seem bothered by it, nodding his head.

"Yeah, see you soon Sky," he breathes out and she watches him for a moment before turning smoothly on her heel and leaving the room without another word, cloak sailing behind her. Both the camera and Cayde watch her leave before the Exo hums again and turns back to the work in front of him only to catch Zavala looking at him, a small smile on his normally stern face. The Exo blinks twice looking hesitant before taking the bait anyway. "What?"

Zavala just shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head, picking up a report on the table. "Oh nothing," he replies. "I was just thinking about how Skylar is good for you," he answers off hand. Startled, Cayde stares at his commander for a moment before huffing slightly and getting to work, fidgeting with his gun. A few minutes pass in quiet working order before he seems to find a way to respond to that.

"Yeah, you're probably right."


Some more lore bits in here - mentioning probably two the biggest iconic hand canons to date. Anyone else worried about the state of Destiny 2?

Let me know what you think!

DROH