The City feels like it normally does on hot August days where the humidity is so high, it's like breath steaming air. Suffocating. Claustrophobic in an odd way. Skylar had never been a fan of that time of year and often went swimming with her clan. Cayde had gone sometimes, but never swam. He always said he 'didn't like splashing', but none of her other Exo friends seemed to have a problem with it. She never found out the real reason, it hadn't been important. He was there, that's what counted.

The problem was it wasn't August. It wasn't even warm — fall creeping in on them like slowly forming frost in the air. Still, the City was suffocating. From where she stood on the roof of the clan hub, Skylar could watch people mill about in small groups that seemed often more hurried then normal.

It was off – it made her uneasy in a way she couldn't rightly describe.

The sound of the rooftop door opening and closing perked her ears and had her turning from her thoughts and people watching. Haar and Talihina greeted her with smiles, both Exos slowly walking over to her.

She raised her eyebrows. "You guys made it back faster than I thought you would."

Haar shrugged. "Despite him speaking Russian, with Anna helping out getting answers from Rasputin isn't as hard as one might think." He tilted his head slightly. "Or maybe he just likes me."

"Everyone likes you Haar," Tali teased, green light flicking in her throat.

"No true. There's that merchant on west side that never forgave me for the joke Z and I pulled. If I'd known he was going to use that many tripmines, I never would have agreed."

"…Haar?"

"Yeah?"

"How many years have you known Z?"

The Exos stared at each other and Skylar watched with amusement as his ear pieces comically drooped slightly as he let out a sigh.

"I see your point."

Tali grinned at him and then looked at Skylar moments before both women laughed at the large Titan's expense. Haar, fairly used to it by now, took it all in with a small shake of his head. After a few more moments Skylar cleared her throat.

"That aside, what did you find out?" Her words had the effect Skylar had known would come. The smiles and the laugher died out as quickly as it had come, as if the suffocating tension of the City had risen to meet them. She hated that she had caused it, but leaders oftentimes had to think about what was important and the mood of a room wasn't very high up. She felt like she understood Zavala a bit better these days.

"Everyone is working frantically, you can count on that," Haar informed her. "It's nice to know not everything rest on our shoulders for once. Just wish it wasn't a worldending event that got everyone moving in the same direction. The Warmind has never been very willing to help, but for some reason he's changed his mind, and that's our only hope for really stopping this." He looked upward towards the sky, and it caused Skylar to do the same.

In the mid-day light of the afternoon, with little to no clouds, the looming threat was clear as day. Skylar had never been on the thing — when Haar and Z had gone to disable it, she'd been Lightless and unable to help them. Now though, she could see it all she wanted to as it slowly moved closer… and closer towards Earth.

The Almighty.

From what she understood Zavala and Ana had boarded it to try and find information and save a Guardian. What they'd found was that some left over Red Legion had also boarded it and taken out some very important equipment on the star destroyer. Mainly, what kept it in one place. Now the damn thing was headed straight for them, the thing being locked onto the City was its last order before its creators disabled it. Her eyes traced the shape again. It was huge, big enough that if that crashed into the Earth, it might very well greatly impact the planet, not just destroy the City.

Thankfully, Ana and her Warmind had a plan, one that was being carried out as quickly as possible. Mostly by other Guardians. Z and Noble were helping along with Haar and most of her clan, but the rest of the founders were off on other assignments. Corvan was off somewhere hunting down information on the Warmind by himself because the old Hunter didn't trust it. Skylar herself had just gotten back from a long, silent coms mission for the Hidden. She'd just heard about all this two days ago.

"On a slightly positive note," Tali spoke up, "I spoke to Ikora about the radar imagines Rasputin is showing us about the pyramid ships coming towards us. She doesn't think they're that close yet. She thinks we have time to as least fix this and gather our strength. I'm inclined to believe her. I also looked though the Hidden archives too see if there was anything of use. Sadly, in that regard, I can offer nothing of use."

Tali had once been a very highly ranked Hidden agent; in fact she'd helped Winter teach Skylar how to do the job of the Hidden. She'd joined the clan a year before the Red War, but during that awful event, the Exo had lost her Ghost and her chance at getting her Light back with it. She wasn't technically a Guardian anymore, and Tali had expected to be expelled from the clan because of that, but no one ever brought it up. Skylar wouldn't take her friend's home from them because of something like losing the Light. To do her part, because Tail felt like she had to, she did what she could for the clan from the City. Ikora still gave her access to Hidden intel, a favor to both the Exo and Skylar. The Hunter had heard that a lot of Guardians who lost their Ghost simply gave up entirely, so she only hoped that helping to give her friend purpose kept her from such a fate.

"Alright, thanks for looking into that for me," she told the other woman, "Saves me from falling asleep at a conceal in the archives." Skylar could admit that when it came to doing her homework, she was a terrible agent.

Tali just chuckled slightly. "It's not a problem."

Nodding her head, Skylar turned and looked back out over the City, watching as a group of kids chattered as they walked down the street, only for someone else to tell them to get home before it got dark – even though night was still a few hours away. It made something in her twist up inside.

"Do you remember when things felt… better?" she asked her friends, "I remember when I felt like I really was a hero. We always beat back the hive and the Fallen, kept them from getting anywhere near here. We even managed to keep gods out. The people here trusted us completely to always do so… and then Ghaul showed up and…. And it never felt the same again."

Suffocating. The people of this City were suffocating from a fear that they thought they'd gotten past. The Red War had taken a lot from them, including peace of mind, but they'd managed to come back from it well enough with time. Now though, with that thing in the sky, it was a reminder of the past. Of the horror and the pain and everything else that came with it. Everyone down below her, trusted the Lightbearers to keep them safe, and now it seemed like Guardians were constantly scrambling to even keep danger from crossing the City walls.

"If humanity were really as weak and easily defeated as they may seem at times, then this place wouldn't exist." Haar stated, coming up next to her, arms crossed. When she gave him a confused look he raised one jaw hinge in a half smile. "I was around during the Dark Ages remember? Not for very long in the grand scheme of things, but long enough to see just how strong they are when they have something to fight for. When they want to live and be happy. They'll get through this, I know they will."

"But these aren't the same people."

"Doesn't matter. If the City was gone, they'd be lost, yes, but soon enough they'd pick themselves up and find a solution." His words had her quiet for a moment. Haar was always so good at making her feel better, and she knew he wasn't lying to do so. She wasn't sure had had ever lied to her or and one else. she swallowed.

"You have a lot of faith in them," she commented.

"It's because they have faith in us," Tali chimed in before Haar could coming up on Skylar's other side. The ex-Warlock was looking over the City instead of at Skylar. "They know, even in times like this, we will fight for them until our last breath, our last Guardian. Some of us might say otherwise — might not trust the Traveler — but in the end, all of us care about the City and its people in one way or another."

Skylar could think of a few people like that. Before he'd disappeared, Tristan had been very honest on his opinion of their 'eternal servitude'. Tevis had mistrusted the god-like figure as well. Yet, she knew they'd have stood with the rest of them to keep the people safe. That's what matter to Skylar as well.

"True enough," she said finally, "Tell the other's I'll be joining them soon to help in the effort and-" a sharp beep cut her off and she blinked as Sterling appeared to her right, a small red light on one of his fins blinking. She felt her friends look to him as well. "What's up?" she asked her partner.

"I got Corvan on the line," he drawled. Well, that was surprising. Or maybe not. What happened on the moon had changed their dynamic quiet a bit — as least, she felt like it had. She wasn't sure if the other saw that much of a difference.

She nodded. "Patch him through."

A rush of static that lasted a few second before clearing was heard, and then the Dark Age Hunter was talking.

"Skylar?"

"I'm here. What's going on?" he certainly never called for just a friendly chat. Corvan didn't do much that was friendly, even if their relationship had changed.

"I found something you need to see," he told her and she raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"An underground bunker that Rasputin seems to be connected to, and strangely enough he's inviting me in instead of trying to get rid of me. Something is clearly going on." His words were clipped, tight like all of this bothered him. Skylar glanced at her friends, but neither of them spoke. This was Corvan, if he was calling it in, it was serious.

"Alright. Send me the coordinates, I'll ping the rest of the team and meet you there as soon as I can."

A pause and then:

"Alright. See you soon."

Click.

Skylar sighed, looking to Haar. "Back to work. Contact Noble, I'll see about getting ahold of Z." He nodded and turned, heading back into the building. Skylar looked to Tali and gave her a small smile. "Thank you for your work today, Tali. I'll talk to you soon." The Exo looked like she wanted nothing more than to ask if she could come. She knew better though — an unknown destination was dangerous and without her Light and things could do bad very quickly. Reaching out, Skylar placed her hand on the Exo's shoulder and squeezed. That got her a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. You guys just be careful okay?"

After a few moments of feeling guilty, Skylar nodded and followed after Haar. Her friend didn't follow her, but there wasn't much more she could do. Telling Sterling to get ahold of Sparks — Z's Ghost — she started down the stairs toward her office.

-Skylar-

' "The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds…' "

Skylar sat curled up on the couch in her office at the clan HUB, reading a book. Her favorite book. Sometimes, if she felt like it, she'd read out loud too Sterling, liked a good story just as much as her, but he was able to read so fast that she couldn't keep up. He said he liked hearing her voice, and since it didn't bother her, she humored him on occasion. Glancing at the little Lonestar-shaped Ghost who had sat himself down on the arm rest of the couch, she turned back to her book.

' "…There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn." ' She paused again the paragraph having ended, her eyes fondly re-reading the words once again.

"That's one of ya favorite parts, ain't it?" her partner asked, and she smiled slightly.

"I'm not sure if I'd say it's my favorite," she told him. "Rather it's just so… fitting for the world we live in." It summed her up rather well. Skylar had learn quiet a bit through hardship in the last few years, maybe even for most of her life. It was something a lot of Guardians could probably agree with in some way.

"What is your favorite part?" he asked, and Skylar smirked, not even having to look up the line.

'" Only fools want to be great . " '

Her Ghost laughed in that synthetic rumble only Ghosts could ever hope to mimic.

A knock at the door had her head turning to it, though she didn't make any other movement.

"Yeah?" she called.

"It's me," Cayde's voice both surprised her and did not.

She'd invited him to the monthly poker night that she'd started hosting about a year ago. Something akin to what used to exist when he'd been alike and they had it at Cayde and her own rooms in the Tower. She'd thought he could use some more familiar activities — something for him to look forward to. He had been rather excited about it when she'd asked a week ago. So in that way, it wasn't surprising that he was there, but she hadn't expected him to show up at her door. Glancing at Sterling, she placed a marker in the book and shifted till her feet were flat on the ground.

"Come in," she called, placing her book on her lap. The knob turned, and then the door swung open to reveal one blond-haired human with blue eyes and a half smile on his face. Nervous. He always seemed nervous when he was in places he didn't remember or know. Skylar couldn't really blame him. He took a few steps in and looked around the room curiously, eyeing the few guns she'd hung on the way that she never used anymore, along with a stray piece of artwork she'd found out in a mission — a beautiful wolf painting. Then his eyes came back to her.

"Z told me to come get you. Apparently, I was the last to show up," he gave a crooked grin. "Hunters are never really late though, it's just a flashy entrance." His eyes flicked down to her lap when her fingers twice, unable to not react to a line he's used as an excuse so many times when late to work. "What are you reading?"

The book you gave me.

She glanced down at it as well, biting back the words that came to mind. "It's just one of my favorites. Every once in a while, I come back to it for an easy read." She'd nearly memorized the poor thing, the spine indented lovingly.

"You read a lot?" at his question Skylar looked up again and met his steady gaze, curiosity clear as day on his face. She nodded her head after a few seconds.

"When I end up in old cities during missions, I look for stores or libraries when I have a break in the action. Try to find any salvageable books or recorded chips. There's a lady in the City that will turn the latter back to the former for a price." After Cayde had given her the first one, she'd decided that she liked holding the book more than simply looking at a screen. She liked the smell and the feel.

"That's rather Warlock-y of you," Cayde teased and she smiled at that. He used to tease her about that too.

"I suppose, but everyone needs a hobby."

"True." He looked back to the book in her lap. "What's the name of the one you're reading?"

"The Once and Future King." She watched a look of frustration pass over his face.

"I haven't heard of it." He sounded like he was getting tired of saying that. She couldn't blame him. She gave him another soft smile, somehow able to muster it so easily now. She wasn't sure she ever would again after what had happened, but when they'd talk on the roof a month ago, it had some how fixed a few things. Not all of them, of course — Corvan was MIA having gone off on some mission somewhere according to Noble — but it had fixed some things.

"I doubt you would have. This apparently predates the Golden Age." It had been an old story even when she'd been give it in her first life. Cayde looked a bit surprised by that, but more interested as well.

"What's it about?"

"The journey of a boy who becomes a king and with his trusted knights and friends working together, they strive to keep their home safe." She tilted her head at him. "It's always kind of reminded me of us: the Guardians and the Last City. The journey of a newly-risen becoming a well-seasoned warrior."

"Yeah that's… kind of true I guess." He scratched at the back of his neck. "Any chance I could borrow it sometime? I'd be careful with it. Promise."

She raised an eyebrow. "Cayde. You did everything in your power to not read as a Vanguard leader," she pointed out, not to mention he didn't really read at home.

He huffed. "That's different. Doing all of that ruined the act of doing it at all."

Her lips twitched and Skylar found herself trying to hold back a laugh. Yeah, that sounded about right. Standing up, she placed the book on the arm of the couch where Sterling had been and since floated up near her shoulder.

"Tell, you what, you win tonight, and you can take it home for a few days. If not, you'll have to wait till I'm done reading it again."

"Didn't you play with the group before I died?"

"Yes?" Where was he going with this? He smirked and crossed his arms.

"Then you should know I always win."

This time, both of her brows rose.

"Actually, I remember Tevis winning a fair amount of the games."

"That's because he cheated."

"I don't think he was the only one cheating, Cayde."

"Ouch, so little faith in your mentor, Sky…" Him saying her nickname caught her slightly off guard for a moment, but Skylar tried to take it in stride. No reason to make a big deal about it. It wasn't like he's called her his pet name for her or anything. The familiarity was nice in some ways, odd in others. Sighing she stretched her arms over her head and felt her shoulders pop.

"Come on then, you can show me just how wrong I am," she told him, shewing him out of her office and closing the door behind them. He just smiled that ridiculous smile of his and she led him back down onto the main floor of the hub. It was mostly empty — though with the drop in numbers, that wasn't too uncommon these days — the place cleared out for the private game. She spotted Shiro behind the bar, finished off a few drinks as it were and off to the left where the large table was, they found the rest of the players. Shaxx, Banshee, and Z, who'd become a staple about a year ago. In some odd way, it was like he'd tried to fill the void Tevis had left at the table. He wasn't nearly as good a player, though.

"Ah, with your arrival, the table is set," Shaxx stated, his hands already busy shuffling the deck. "Tonight, will end is glorious victory for the sole Titan on the battlefield."

"Last time I checked," Banshee said. "A table wasn't exactly a battlefield."

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong. Everywhere can be a field of battle, you just haven't looked at it right."

Z eyed the two of them, flipping his signature trip mine in the air as he leaned back on two legs of the chair, he was in. He was grinning, clearly enjoying the entire interaction, before his eyes slid to her and then flicked to Cayde.

"You two just going to stand there like a bunch of Warlocks observing paint dry or what?"

That, got Skylar laughing as she shook her head. "You better be glad Ikora couldn't come tonight. She'd have taken every cent from you for that one." It wouldn't be the first time the Vanguard leader had completely demolished the state of the board. Shaxx had seemed extremely wary of her participation at all — clearly what had happened in the games had scarred him for life. Ikora was probably the one and only thing that man was scared of and Skylar couldn't really blame him, her boss scared her too.

Cayde bumped her shoulder playfully to get her to actually move as he passed her, taking a seat between two empty ones.

Shiro huffed behind her. "Oh no, don't worry about me, I didn't need help anyways." His grumble had her turning around and walking to the bar. There were far too many drinks for the Exo to handle himself and he looked greatful as she picked up three of them and winked.

"We'll let Shaxx think he's winning for a bit before pulling the rug out from under him, yeah?" she said quietly.

"I heard that, you troublemakers!"

Damn, even with that helmet on his ears were too good. She just looked at Shiro and then they both started laughing as they made their way over, Cayde's own amusement chiming in. They took different sides of Cayde's spot, seating her next to Z as well after she set down some drinks. As Shaxx delt out cards, Skylar caught a soft, smile on Cayde's face, one she wasn't sure she'd really seen before. It wasn't like he'd faked the others, but this was certainly different.

It was something he could really grasp at, something he remembered even if some of the elements were either gone or new. Hiding behind her cards, she smiled to herself. She couldn't give him everything, hell she couldn't even begin to give him what he deserved, but she could do this. Something nudged her foot under the table and she twitched, quickly realizing it was another foot and from which side it had come from. Glancing over at the man she'd loved, he found him watching her.

"Thanks," he said quietly, the other four at the table chattering about something she'd been tuning out. She nodded her head and nudged her foot right back at his.

"It's good to see you back at the table," she admitted, and really it was. It felt better than she ever thought it could. Z had been right. When he'd held her in the shipyard and she'd fallen apart, he'd told her one thing that had stuck with her: At least he was alive. He was, and he was here and she got to talk and laugh with him.

She got to hear him laugh .

That was enough. It was more than enough.

More than she probably deserved.

Looking back at her cards, she smirked. She had quite the opening hand, now all that was left to do was to make sure she played her cards right.

N/A:

Quotes are from the book series 'The Once and Future King' by T. H. White.

Some softer content for this update, I hope you enjoyed it.