A/N:
I'm not dead I promise! I've just been going through a lot of shit lately. I'm in the middle of the next chapter already, but I have no estimate on when it will be finished. Hope you enjoy!
It was no silent feat as their sparrows screamed through the canyon toward The Forgotten Shore, which unfortunately could spell trouble for the Hunter trio if they were not careful. Up ahead Xanthe could make out the exit of the canyon slowing her sparrow and pulling her hand up in a closed fist to signal the sparrow formation to a halt. As the sparrows fell into line with one another, Xanthe dismounted, nodding to the others to do the same.
"We need to approach carefully, this area is heavily fortified with Fallen. If we want any sleep tonight, I suggest we walk from here." She would say, golden hues watching as her sister, and Feron both nodded in understanding. "It's not too far from here. The spot we'll be taking camp at. Stay close, stay quiet, and we'll be settled down before you know it."
Feron had occupied himself with staring off into the distance of the area, eyes watching as the sun settled in the crest of the mountains, preparing for its own slumber whilst they prepared themselves. He only realized the group was moving forward when Xanthe seemed to send him a glare of death, which brought his attention back to them quickly. They'd not gone too far, but it was enough for him to have to jog to catch up as they moved on.
"Sorry.." He would mutter, stepping back into his place of their wedge like formation. "No excuses."
"Just try not to let it become a habit. Falling behind could get you killed, and if we can't get there in time and a Captain seizes your Ghost, then you're done for. Remember that, Feron." Oniks would tease, passing a glance his way as they rounded the end of the canyon.
Snow speckled the ground before them as it opened into a large harbor like landscape. Gutted ships were strewn about. Their metals rusted and rotting on the now dry land. It was a wonder the Fallen hadn't stripped the place completely, or perhaps they had. These ships seemed to have little to no use due to their rusted out bodies. Feron doubted they would ever float, then again he realized there was no way to get them back in the water anyways, seeing as they likely weighed thousands of tons.
He would shake his head to focus, his pistol being held tightly in his hands as they trudged through a shallow puddle of stagnant water. Swarms of bugs rose from its surface, their bodies unfamiliar to the new Hunter. They reminded him of mosquitos, however he never recalled them being able to withstand the cold temperatures of this climate. Shrugging it off, he would only lift a hand to swat them away from his helmet, continuing forward as the group made way for a broken highway that curved up. What he failed to notice, we're a pair of glowing eyes that blinked at their group from the darkness of a nearby cave.
Within that cave was a lone Dreg, and though Fallen are typically viewed as stupid little cretins, this one was not such. Rather then shriek to alert the presence of the Guardians, he remained silent, watching patiently as they moved past. This would gain him back his second arms for sure, and he would gorge on Ether for days! Quietly chattering to himself, he slipped from the cave, quietly moving to cover to watch where these Guardians were headed. Though not skilled in Human communications, the Dreg figured they would be settling down to camp for the night somewhere close by. If he could figure out exactly where, and alert his Captain they could plot an ambush. He'd be hailed heroic for tracking an enemy alone and bringing this news back to his House!
Xanthe and Oniks could feel something was off, but the two Vanguards remained silent, pushing on and rounding the corner toward an abandoned outpost. Their boots were silent as they peered inside it nervously, clearing it and the area before settling inside. Feron remained silent, keeping an eye out and watching as a group of Fallen moved a cross one of the tubs in the distance.
The group leaned against what they could upon entering the abandoned building, chatting among themselves lightly as darkness fell around them. It would be a cold night, but they could not afford to light a fire for warmth, it would give their position away immediately. Feron shifted further into the building, and away from the cold doorway, his shoulder accidentally brushing up along Oniks back as she turned suddenly.
"Shit!" She exclaimed, jumping slightly while scowling at Feron, her heart racing frantically as she struggled to see through the darkness. "Watch it!"
"Sorry." He would mutter, trying to avoid her gaze as he shuffled to the side. "It's hard to see in here, my eyes haven't adjusted yet."
"Yeah sure whatever, you know you wanted it." She said suddenly, trying to mask her fear of the darkness by teasing at the man, which prompted a scoff from Xanthe.
"Don't flatter yourself, Oniks. You'd probably have him crying like a child in seconds if you had your way." Xanthe shot back, turning her head slightly. "Ratch, can you provide a little light? Red lense, hard to spot, but at least we'll quit running into one another."
Her Ghost quickly obliged, its lense sparking a few times before a red light illuminated the room for them. From what the group could see, most of the electronics had been stripped long ago, leaving large open computer carcasses, and stripped out wires everywhere. The group congregated somewhere in the middle of the room now, propping themselves up against objects that did not move under their weight.
"So this is fun." Oniks would chirp, pulling out her blade and carving into a stick she'd found laying in the dusty halls.
The glint of the blade under the red light drew Feron's attention quickly, and he gawked at the beautiful piece. The blade itself was large, but as it drew into the handle, the metal grew thin. Around its hilt was what looked like leather, bound tightly and wrapped intricately around it. At the very end of the blade was a circular loop, through said loop hung a chain, likely to insure she would not lose it, or merely for decoration, he couldn't tell.
"Fancy blade you have there." He would say, inching a bit closer to get a better look.
"Be careful she doesn't stick you with it." Xanthe would mutter, her hand ghosting over her own blade for a moment before arching a brow. "Do you not have one, Feron?"
"No, I don't." His gaze traveled up from the blade to Xanthe before back. "Never had the opportunity to grab one before we left the Tower."
"Shame, I'd lend you mine, but it's the only one I have. Usually a Hunter makes their own blade, so, sorry." Xanthe snorted, eyes following the male as he drug his pack closer to himself. "Is that.. a murse?"
"No, it's a makeshift backpack." He would grumble, watching as the two sisters attempted to hold their snickering at bay. Carefully he dug through the pack, retrieving the metal bar he'd scavenged before he hit the city. "I could use this, but I have nothing to shape it with or anything to heat the metal enough to morph the blade." He held the bar up, and the two sisters lost it.
"You carried that hunk of shit with you?" Oniks practically panted from laughter, nearly rolling to the floor from where she rested.
"You've got to be shiting me." Xanthe snickered, not nearly as out of breath as Oniks. "Okay okay, for real, why the hell are you carrying that hunk of metal around, you like gonna bash someone over the head with it?"
Feron scoffed at their reactions, shaking his head as they teased. He was beginning to tell there was more then just looks that defined them as siblings. They both seemed to share a rotten attitude and seemed to enjoy a bit of bullying. With a roll of his eyes he lifted the bar up.
"Yeah, starting with you." He huffed, plopping the metal bar down on the ground with a sigh. He wasn't sure what else he could do with it, and if the sisters insisted it was a horrid idea to keep carrying it around, then perhaps he should just leave it here. He could always buy a blade once they headed back to the tower.
The sisters shared a look, Oniks still trying to contain herself where as Xanthe finally caught on that perhaps they were picking at him a little too much. If he was expected to excel as a Guardian, they needed to be building him up, and not breaking him down. With a sigh, the eldest sister would reach forward to grab the piece of metal, tossing it up and catching it with ease.
"Perfect metal for a blade, actually. Light weight but sturdy." She tossed the metal at Oniks who snatched it out of the air with a scowl before it could collide with her chest. "Come on Supernova, do your 'heat' thing. Help him out a little?"
"You fucking kidding me?" Oniks scoffed as if it were the worst idea Xanthe ever came up with. "How are we even going to shape it? Let alone sharpen it?"
"My electric touch isn't just for the feel good, stupid." Xanthe would sneer, snapping her fingers to produce a bit of static between them. The blue light faded as quickly as it arrived, but she made her point.
"Lay off, bitch." Was Oniks's response before she finally obliged, turning her focus on the metal that rested in her hands. With a swift movement she pulled her cloak over her shoulders so that it draped over her and masked the light her hands would produce from any prying eyes in the distance. It was still enough to lightly illuminate the room around them, but it was not enough to give them away. Thankfully. By the time she flicked the cloak back to its rightful spot, the metal was glowing a bright orange.
"Fucking lower it before you get us spotted and killed you moron." Xanthe hissed, stepping forward to grasp at the end of the soon to be blade and sliding into an enclosed room to help hide the fact that they were inside.
Both Feron and Oniks shared a glance before immediately moving to follow, not trusting one another enough to be without another person to witness any potential problems. When they entered, they found Xanthe already running a current of electricity over the heated metal to both keep it hot, and shape it. Feron watched with obvious interest, while Oniks rested against the door frame to keep an eye out. It took some time, but eventually the knife was shaped perfectly, and Xanthe would hold her hand out as Ratch dropped something into her palm. She drug the blade across the object at different angles, shaping the sharp edge until she deemed it good. Several steps were taken toward Feron at this point, to which she spun her hand as if to tell him to turn around.
Confused, he merely did as asked. Within seconds the sound of ripping material and the tug around his shoulders had him nearly spinning away to see what she was doing. By this point she was already winding the material over the handle of the blade, having cut away a strip of his cloak to use as material.
"Sorry, needed something, and I sure as hell wasn't going to use mine. You'll find a better one eventually, promise." She offered a small smile before flipping the blade in her hand so that the hilt was aimed at him. "That should do it. Just make sure you don't lose that, because I will not be making you another one." She rolls her eyes and withdraws her hand the second he takes the blade.
"Er, thanks." He manages, stuffing the blade between his hip and belt. Without a sheath, it would sit like that until he could afford one. Just had to make sure he didn't accidentally stab himself or something equally embarrassing.
"Don't mention it. Really, don't." Xanthe would turn to her sister before nodding slightly to the both of them as if to say she had something to say. "There will be fire guard, we cannot afford the loss of our light over missing a few hours of sleep. One of us will be awake at all times. I will take the first shift." Xanthe would mutter, pulling a beautiful sniper rifle from her back and heading for the exit. "Oniks, you have next shift, Feron you are afterwards. I will wake you when it is time. Get settled." She would huff, exiting the building and hauling herself to the roof.
Feron could hear the foot steps above them, listening carefully as Xanthe shuffled around to get comfortable in her watch. Movement from the edge of the door caught his attention, and he would watch as Oniks slipped further into the room.
"Alright newbie. You sleep on that side, and I'll sleep on this side. If you snore, I'm gonna shove a rock in your mouth and hope you suffocate and die so I don't have to listen to it." She offered an eerie smile before laughing and plopping herself into the corner furthest from the door, angled so that she could see outside of it.
"I- uh alright sure. I don't recall snoring, then again I don't recall a lot of things." He responds as he shifts into the opposite corner, pushing a few rocks out-of-the-way so that he didn't have sore spots when he woke. Oniks is out within seconds, he can hear her breaths deepen and watch as her head falls forward, chin practically resting on her chest. It takes him a little while longer before he starts to drift off, the fear of either her catching him snoring and following through with her threat, as well as his nightmares, haunting him. Within the hour, his own breathing deepens and he falls into a dark sea of dreams.
