Arizona sat by the Pouka pond with Ghost while Saint and Osiris argued behind her. The clear waters brought her calm, but Osiris' voice was grating. "Empress Caiatl's forces will help push back Calus's advances." Saint explained coolly.
"We've done nothing but waste time!" Osiris screamed.
The Pouka Arizona had been playing with hid in her hand. She sighed audibly. "It's okay, he's just grumpy." She whispered.
"I understand…but I cannot lose you again in your eagerness to fight. It is…not the same as before…"
She stood when she didn't hear either of them for a minute and walked over to Osiris. "Have you always been so grating?"
Osiris glared at her. "You know, as Maria-"
Arizona pointed a finger inches from his nose, "I am not Maria, Osiris." She balled her hand up in a fist and sighed, dropping it beside her. "For a warlock you are quite annoying."
"For a warlock you are quite reckless. What happened on that Pyramid?"
Arizona waved him away and walked back to the Pouka pond. One of the Poukas began to flip itself backwards. "Strand takes away a lot of energy and I don't know why. I felt helpless and I needed to help…I didn't think Calus was going to show up like he did." Her reflection in the pond showed how tired she was. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair stood up in places where it should've been smoothed down, and her green eyes looked vacant. Finally, she looked at Osiris, "I guess recklessness is the one thing we three share."
"What does that mean?"
"It's not like I don't know what happened to Sagira. I know you went investigating something on your own…and you…or rather, Savathun pretending to be you, came back. And Maria died so that she and Saint could have you back. Topping that off with my finding out more about Darkness, I'd say that's all pretty reckless."
Osiris didn't look at her for a while. When he finally did, his voice was hard again, "I will contemplate your most recent outburst with Strand to see if there are any opportunities for improvement."
Arizona rolled her eyes and looked back at the Pouka, clapping and laughing as it looked like it made a bow. Ghost sighed, "It was out of control. We did the best we could." He defended.
"We need to do better!" Osiris's voice echoed off the walls. After a moment of his voice echoing, he sighed. "We don't know what Calus and the Witness want, but if it will have an effect on us all…" He shook his head. "I-I can't allow that to happen." It was the first time Arizona saw Osiris…almost mourning at the thought of what could happen.
Arizona scratched the Pouka's chin before leaving him be. Nimbus waited for her outside by the entrance. "That sounded like it went well," he joked.
She glared up at him, "Oh yeah. It's always a great conversation when the old man starts screaming to the point of…injuring his vocal cords…. Actually…I might be on board with it if it means he's quiet."
Nimbus laughed.
"I don't think he's mourned yet." She leaned against the wall, and they leaned next to her. "His ghost died, and he went into a coma for half a year. He's lightless. His next death will be the final one." She shook her head. "But that's not all he lost."
"So I hear. Who's Maria?" Nimbus folded their arms.
"She's…me…but she's not me. It's complicated." She sighed.
They nodded, "Try me. I bet I can keep up."
"Well, three years ago, I think, maybe it's two years, I don't remember the exact details…Osiris met a girl on Mercury. She was from a time before the Traveler came into the Sol system…before the Golden Age and Collapse. No one knows how she got into the Vex Network, but she did. Her name was Maria. Osiris grew close to her, and dropped her off at the Tower, at the Last City, so that she wouldn't be in any danger in the future. Ikora and Saint helped watch her, helped train her." She smiled, "Before that, though, Ghost met her. I guess he didn't really like her." She laughed. She sighed. "When Sagira, Osiris's ghost, died…Osiris was imprisoned in his own mind. A Hive god, Savathun the Witch Queen, took his form. Used the relationships he had to get more information, and when she finally revealed herself, she wanted to be separated from her worm, and only then would she give Osiris back. However, during the ritual, Savathun's sister, Xivu Arath, the Hive god of War, found out and attacked. Maria died only after Osiris was given back. I am Maria…but when lightbearers wake for the first time, we don't have memories of our past lives. The experiences that make me are my own. I have Maria's face and her voice, but I am Arizona. We're different in every way, right Ghost?"
Ghost chirped. "Almost every way. You both are stubborn...and reckless."
Nimbus laughed.
"I guess Osiris isn't the type to mourn, but I do wonder if I make it harder for him to mourn. When he looks at me, I can tell he doesn't see me…he still sees Maria, and then I start talking…and he gets snappy."
"Something tells me he'd be like this even if you didn't look like Maria."
Arizona shrugged and looked around. "Where are Fae and Argonaut?"
Nimbus nodded their chin toward the city, "Out on the next mission. They said you were still weak, and they wanted you to rest, so they went on without you to restart the CloudArk."
She nodded. "I should get back inside, then, and help Osiris with this whole…Strand thing."
"Need some back up?"
"Please, that would be of great help. Mostly…keep me from punching him in the nose. Saint would like him back intact this time."
Nimbus laughed. "I've still gotta help your friends make their way through to the CloudArk first. Then I'll come and check on ya."
"Fine but tell them to hurry up. I might kill Osiris before they finish." Arizona pushed herself off the wall and walked inside.