The Last Safe City of Humanity, Earth, Sol System
"Cass, are you sure I can't interest you in one of our authentic Guardian blankets?" the portly, copper-skinned merchant held up a piece of cloth that looked like it had been shot half a dozen times, singed in an explosion, and then hastily mended into a vaguely blanket-shaped article, "They're ethically sourced from real battles, and made directly from the capes of our great Guardians! A percentage of the price even goes straight back to the Guardian who once wore it! It's only 1,000 Glimmer, but," the man winked grandly, "for you, I'll cut it down to 750."
"Right," Cassandra snorted, "I'm good, thanks. I just need the usual, Roberto."
With a huff, Roberto carefully placed the "blanket" back on its display shelf, and rummaged through the bottom of his stall, handing her a small roll of fabric and some thread. Handing him the required Glimmer in exchange, Cassandra took the bundle and, with a small wave, wandered off into the street, Roberto muttering to himself behind her.
With a shake of her head and a wry smile, Cassandra began her journey back to her den, soaking in the atmosphere of the market on the way: the loud peddling of the merchants, the chatter of passersby, the smell of spices, and the sizzling street food.
She loved walking these streets like this, as a normal person. She didn't get the chance as much as she would like, but sometimes, on days like today—when she had no field assignments and too much energy—she would go to the market for supplies to repair her equipment, wearing plainclothes rather than armor and a cloak. Her Ghost, Pokey, would spend the day on her "Top Secret Missions", which just meant going to the Ghost Theater, and Cassandra could have a full day free from the weight of being one of the few Hunters left in the city. None of the civilians here, not even Roberto, had realized that "Cassandra the Hunter" was the same person as "Cass, the girl who has weird hobbies and messy hair". It was a nice reprieve, if temporary.
Stuffing the bundle of cloth and thread into her pack, and placing her hands in her jacket pockets, Cassandra paused at the next street corner thoughtfully. If her memory served her right, she wasn't too far from her favorite ramen shop. It was around midday, she hadn't eaten since she woke that morning, and it had been a while since she treated herself to ramen.
Screw it, I'm damned hungry.
Cassandra grinned to herself and began the short walk to blissful, noodly heaven. On the way, she let her thoughts drift to other things.
Hm, I need to make sure to stop by the Tower tomorrow, check in with the Commander and get my new patrol assignments. Maybe I can stop by and see how Terry's doing… It has been a while…
After their first meeting over a year ago, Cassandra had assumed she would never run into the famed Young Wolf ever again, but through some twist of chance, they had continued encountering one another at or around the ramen shop. Eventually accident became intention, and, when their respective free time aligned, they would meet at the ramen shop to chat—though, realistically, the vast majority of the talking was from her. The last time they had met up…
She blanched and groaned quietly to herself.
The last time she had seen Terry had been when he cancelled their semiregular ramen rendezvous to rush off on his wild goose chase to Europa—which had turned out to not be a wild goose chase at all, so she could forgive him that transgression—but that was 4 months ago!
I'm a terrible ramen friend! Cassandra moaned internally, idly rubbing her temple. And now, knowing him, he's probably caught up in that business with the Cabal Empress, and too busy to spend time eating ramen and chatting!
The wonderful smell of ramen pulled her out her spiral of self-pity, and she realized she had already arrived at the eatery. With a vow to herself to find Terry tomorrow and repent for her sins, she pushed her way through the door and into the bustling ramen shop. Upon entering, she experienced a strong sense of déjà vu.
The eatery was almost stuffed to the brim with eager patrons, every table and every chair in sight occupied. Except one.
That one just so happened to be directly next to a chair occupied by none other than Terry himself.
With a wry grin, Cassandra moved to the counter to order her ramen. Seriously, what is my luck? Is this ramen shop just blessed by the Traveler or something?
As she waited for her bowl to be prepared, she absently glanced back at him. He was wearing the same armor as always, Cayde's cloak firmly wrapped around his shoulders, but he had added a layer of fur to it since she last saw him, and his helmet was completely absent. He was watching the pair of people seated across the table from him, his scarred face lightened by a small, discreet smile.
Curiously, Cassandra followed his gaze, and took in the odd pair, one of whom she recognized, and one she didn't. The one she knew was Amanda Holliday, the shipmaster of the Tower, her shaggy golden hair run through with enough grease to set fire to—not that Cassandra was one to talk about poorly maintained hair—and laughing lightheartedly at the man beside her. Cassandra didn't know her personally, but you'd be hard-pressed to be a Guardian and not know who she was, vital as she was to the Vanguard. The man beside Amanda was clearly a fellow Hunter, judging by his black and white cloak, though she couldn't make out his features, thanks to the mask affixed to his face. He sat stiffly in his seat, and periodically he would carefully lift the bottom of his mask for his drink, or a spoonful of ramen.
Taking her steaming bowl of ramen from the kindly old woman behind the counter, Cassandra shuffled her way through the crowded ramen shop to the table, a sheepish grin on her face. The masked Hunter noticed her first, facing her as he was. He tensed and nodded subtly in her direction to get the others' attention. As the trio turned to see her, she met Terry's surprised eyes with an awkward wave.
"Hey, there, stranger! Mind if I have this seat?"
Brows furrowed in mild confusion, Terry pulled the seat out for her before she could even finish asking, the subtle smile on his face growing slightly.
"Cass? What are you doing here?"
Taking the proffered seat, she rolled her eyes amusedly, "Well, I was just going to treat myself to a bit of ramen, but since the Traveler seems to have a sense of humor, I guess I'm doing so with you!"
Giving a bemused shake of his head as she immediately began devouring her ramen, Terry turned back to the inquiring eyes of the other two at the table, "Crow, Amanda, this is Cassandra. She's a friend."
"Ramen friend!" she interjected with a sage nod, before diving back into her bowl.
"Right, right," he snorted.
The masked Hunter—now identified as "Crow"—relaxed slightly at that, though he still seemed stiff. Amanda, on the other hand, leaned forward, a sharp smirk on her face as she glanced between Terry and Cassandra.
"Guardian, I didn't think you had any civvie friends!" she drawled lightly to Terry, before turning back to Cassandra, her smirk widening, "It's nice to meet you, Cassandra. I'd say the Guardian here's told me all 'bout you, but 'fore now I'd never heard your name!"
Scratching idly behind his ear, Terry shrugged, "It never came up."
Swallowing another spoonful, Cassandra chirped, "Besides, us ramen friends take the secrecy of our duties very seriously."
Rolling his eyes to heaven in exasperation, Terry sighed, "Cass, we're not a conspiracy, it's just the two of us, and we just eat ramen."
"Exactly!" she responded with a grin, undeterred, "Ramen is very serious."
Crow snorted, and Amanda chuckled lightly, as Terry just heaved an even deeper sigh in resignation.
"Also," Cassandra continued between mouthfuls, "'M not a civilian, I'm just an off-duty Hunter."
Crow, who had just relaxed enough to go back to tentatively eating his ramen, jumped slightly in his chair and choked on the spoonful he just ate. All the tension that had bled out of him came flooding back. Patting his back, Amanda looked curiously to Cassandra, "Really? Don't think I've seen ya 'round before."
"Well, I don't really leave the City much, the farthest my patrol routes tend to take me is Twilight Gap," she glanced to Crow, somewhat confused by the magnitude of his reaction, "Sorry, Crow, was it? Didn't mean to startle you with that."
Shaking his head awkwardly, he muttered, "It's fine."
"Crow," Terry spoke softly from her side, giving Crow a complicated look, "She's a friend, you're safe."
"Right, sorry."
Cassandra and Amanda shared a confused and worried look, while Crow leaned back with a sigh, fiddling with his cloak. There was an awkward pause, as Crow seemed lost in thought, and Terry and Amanda watched him with concern.
Having finished her bowl, Cassandra rested her chin on her hand and turned to Terry, recognizing the need for a topic change when she saw one, "So, Terry, how's that business with the Cabal going?"
He faced her with a mildly startled look, "How did you-"
"It's a major, world changing conflict, it doesn't take a Speaker to guess you've involved," she scoffed.
"Oh, right," he paused to rub the stubble on his chin in agitation, "It's a messy, confusing ordeal; this new Empress-"
"Wait," Crow interjected abruptly, leaning forwards.
The other three at the table turned to him in confusion. Crow's eyes met Cassandra's.
"Why did you call him Terry?" he asked incredulously, his head tilted to the side in curiosity, resembling his namesake.
Amanda's head whipped around to look at her, eyebrow raised, the beginnings of a smirk on her lips. There was a moment's pause, before Cassandra turned abruptly to Terry, a massive, teasing grin on her face. He stared steadfastly straight ahead, the tips of his ears turning red being the only indication he was even paying attention.
"You've never told them your name?!"
Terry groaned, his head falling into his hands. Amanda and Crow glanced between him and Cassandra in shock, Amanda's mouth slightly agape. Even through his mask, she could tell Crow was the same. In eerie unison, the two turned to Terry.
"Your name is Terry?!" the pair exclaimed.
Crow began muttering under his breath, "I thought your name was Wolf, and you were just self-conscious about your age…" Amanda was shaking her head in gleeful surprise, her grin matching Cassandra's.
Terry groaned again, pulling his head out of his hands to say firmly, "It's Terrance, not Terry, that's just what Cass started calling me. And it just never came up! Everyone calls me by my titles anyway, I don't-"
He was interrupted by Cassandra's light laughter, which was followed by the same from Amanda, and then soft, quiet snickers from Crow.
Shaking his head in bemused resignation, he couldn't help a slight chuckle. The laughter didn't abate, and, as is often the case, their laughter just fed into one another, until all four of them were laughing, snorting, and giggling.
A few minutes later, wiping the small tears of laughter from her eyes, Cassandra glanced between the other three, glad that her distraction had worked. She had seen how uncomfortable Crow had become; he reminded her in some ways of Terry when she first met him: quiet, distant, and awkward. She also saw how concerned Terry had been for him, and how worried Amanda was. To Cassandra, any friend of a friend was a friend of hers, and she helped her friends.
Watching Terry laugh openly for the first time since she had known him, in the company of friends, Cassandra smiled.
-LINE BREAK-
AN/ As promised, second chapter of the week! Hope you enjoyed, take care of yourselves, and have a nice day!