Redacted

A Successful Chase

Edited: 4/28/2024

"I have him!"

Hearing Orion's shout resound through the trees, Akiva couldn't suppress a laugh as he heard the snapping of branches followed by a yelp.

"I don't have him…"

"It was worth try!"

Letting out another laugh as he heard Orion grumble through his coms, Akiva then turned his focus back onto the Dreg scurrying past the trees. The latter let out a squeak when one of the Revenants pair leaped in front of them. Akiva had to suppress another laugh as it promptly slid in between the Chosen's legs. He heard the latter curse as his hands grazed the Dreg's shoulders.

It was a straggler, one who had trouble keeping up with the rest of their group when the Eliksni realized that they had been spotted. It was the Revenant pair that Akiva and Orion had been teamed with – a Titan and a Warlock – that brought up the idea to capture the straggling Eliksni.

Although, they soon learned that although slower than the rest of its peers it doesn't mean that the Dreg wasn't quick.

For the past hour, the little thing had somehow managed to evade their attempts to restrain it. Fortunately for the Chosen and unfortunate for the Eliksni, it was still either slow or weak enough to properly escape their line of sight. Thus, Orion's bright idea to leap into the trees in an attempt of dive bombing the Dreg in hopes of catching it.

"By the way, how do you know they're a male?" Akiva asked, as the Dreg in question ducked under a branch. He leaned his shoulder forward and crashed right through it in response.

"Broader shoulders. Square jaws." Akiva couldn't help but blink at Orion's answer; the latter must have noticed the stunned silence, "What? It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Well." He started, "For us who aren't educated on Eliksni autotomy. No."

There is a scoff from Orion, "I'll cut him off. You grab him when I block his way."

"And the others of our team?"

"I say let us handle it." Again, Akiva blinked at Orion's words, "I'm just more concerned that they want to kill him than ask him questions."

A quick pause.

"Good point." Akiva admitted.

The instant the words left his lips is when Akiva then saw the familiar green and brown clad form of Orion dash past him, streaks of arc light giving him a boost. Akiva then looked on as the young Exo took a tight turn and disappeared behind some brushes. A high-pitched squeal was enough for Akiva to gather his light under his feet and propel himself forward, just as the familiar form of a dreg dashed out of the bushes.

"Got you!"

The squeak that Akiva received when he scooped the unsuspecting Eliksni into his arms was downright adorable, distracting him just enough where he almost forgot to pivot on his feet to give him the momentum to bring the Dreg close to his chest and tightened his grip around their waist. Fortunately, the distraction was short lived, as the squeaking quickly turned into snarls, Akiva feeling it struggle in his grip before feeling fists hitting pitifully against his grip.

Hearing footsteps approach from behind, Akiva turned, and his eyes settled upon Orion.

"I have a feeling he's currently saying not so nice words at me?" He asked.

Watching as Orion's helmed face tilt towards the Dreg, Akiva then smiled when the young Exo gave him a confirmed nod.

"He's calling you some pretty bad names." A momentary pause from Orion followed by a snort, "Even ones that Trikxas is surprised to hear."

Laughing at his fellow Titan's words, Akiva then took the opportunity to take a closer look at the Eliksni captive, humming thoughtfully as he spotted brilliant gold wrapped around his neck.

"Kings." He commented, looking up in time to see Orion give him another confirming nod, "Not very often you see them out in the field."

"They must be struggling then if they sent out that many scouts."

Humming in agreement to Orion's words, Akiva then heard the familiar approach of heavy boots crunching against dry hearth behind him, and thus, turned to greet the two Revenants. That is when he spotted the sidearm in the Revenant Titan's grip.

Instinct took over, Akiva turning at the last moment as a pop echoed through the air. Pain spiked through his side, prompting Akiva to let out a yelp and stumble. There was a short shriek of surprise from the Dreg, Akiva somehow keeping his grip tight around the Eliksni's waist as he regained his footing and took a glance at his side. A dent, but no blood. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Akiva looked up at the Revenant pair, "What in the Traveler is wrong with you?"

Although their faces were hidden by their helmet, Akiva can tell from the way the Revenants' shoulders straightened out, their bodies jerking back was telling enough of their surprise.

"What is wrong with us?" It was the Titan who spoke, "What is wrong with you?" He took a step forward and jabbed an accusing finger at Akiva, "You just saved a potential threat! Why!?"

"Questioning!?" If Akiva had access to his hands, he would have gestured vaguely at the two Revenants, "Interrogation!? Ever heard of it!?"

He can sense the scowl behind the Revenant's helmet, "Oh? And you speak Fallen?"

"Eliksni." Akiva found his frustration building but nonetheless, forced a smile; a vain attempt to keep his anger in check, "I can't speak their language." Then he nodded his head at Orion, "But he can."

From the corner of his eyes, he can see Orion nod once towards the Revenant pair and then turned his attention to the struggling Dreg in his arms. However, the struggles quickly ceased when the familiar rumbling permeated from the back of Orion's throat. Feeling the Dreg go slack in his grip, Akiva loosened his hold, and then looked back at the Revenants. He couldn't' help but feel smug at their stunned silence.

"I usually would not condone this kind of behavior." He heard Lex whisper in his ear, "But considering how they treated you and the others so far, keep this up." Akiva smiled at his Ghost's words, "I want to catch their faces while we're here."

Snickering, Akiva then quieted himself when he heard the Dreg chitter, the Eliksni's voice harsh but somehow, sounded resigned.

"What did he say?" he asked, looking towards Orion; he can sense the scowl behind the young Exo's helmet, "Something serious?"

"More than little." Orion confirmed, "The house of Kings, their Kell was killed recently."

Akiva sputtered, "What!? When!? Angel contacted them not too long ago!"

"A few days ago." Although unable to see through Orion's visor, Akiva knew his optics were narrowed, lights bright in concern, "said that a traitor within docked the Kell's arms and then slaughtered him where he stood." The young Exo then crossed his arms; Akiva took note of his tight grip, "The traitor then proceeded to massacre the House of Kings." He pointed with his head at the Dreg, "This one is one of the handful of survivors, alongside the groups that we were just tracking."

Then, without another word, a familiar flash of light materialized over Orion's shoulder just as the young Exo held up a hand, signaling to Trikxas to beam her light down into his palm. It didn't take Akiva by surprise when he spotted the familiar glowing cannister of ether, the young Titan holding out the precious substance towards the Dreg. Glancing down, Akiva can easily see the glowing eyes of the Eliksni grow wide, the latter glancing back and forth between the life sustaining Ether and the Exo before a quiet chitter echoed from his mandibles.

Seeing Orion subtly shake his head, Akiva wouldn't be surprised if the Dreg had asked if there was a price, which is an obvious no. After all, the young Exo would often go out on expeditions with Angel in a vain attempt to find the House of Spirits. There would be no doubt that Orion would have taken up the habit of handing out free Ether to Eliksni in need.

However, just as the Dreg took the cannister from Orion's hands, Akiva spied from the corner of his eye the Warlock of the Revenant pair take a step forward.

"What in the Darkness are you doing?" He demanded.

The stink eye that can easily be sensed behind Orion's visor prompted Akiva to let out a cough, forcing his laughter down his throat as the former answered, "Giving him ether to survive. What else?"

Sensing a scowl from the Revenant Warlock, Akiva decided to add fuel to the fire, easily sensing the shock from the Revenants as he lowered the Dreg to the forest floor, releasing his grip on the Eliksni as he helped him steady on his feet. Honestly, Akiva had expected the Dreg to bolt, to flee, thus he couldn't help but be a little surprised when instead, the Eliksni stayed, and watched as the latter eagerly went to release the most probably empty cannisters around his waist. As he continued to keep a careful eye on the Eliksni, Akiva spotted the trembling around the Dreg's hands, the haggardness around his eyes as he managed to clip the new can of Ether in. Then as the familiar click came from his belt, Akiva then heard the Dreg take in a deep breath followed by a chitter as the glow in his eyes brightened.

"He's Ether starved." Concern can be heard in Orion's voice, "I can only imagine what the Captains and the Vandals are going through."

Akiva winced, "Do you think that we should open a frequency for them?"

"Absolutely not!" The Revenant Titan took a step forward, "Expose the location of our base just so we can give 'hand outs' to straggling scavengers!? I say – "

Akiva made no attempt to stop Orion as the latter unclipped his hand cannon from his hip and pointed it directly at the Revenant Titan; the latter's words came to a sudden halt.

"Call him that again and I will put a bullet through your head." Orion snarled.

Looking on as the Revenant Titan raised his hands in surrender, Akiva heard Lex out a gleeful sound as the Chosen took a step back, signaling for Orion to lower his weapon and turn his attention back to the rejuvenated Dreg. As he spoke to him, it took no genius to see the gratitude in the Dreg's eyes, especially telling that after Orion spoke, he would respond back, gaze bright and clear.

"His name is Varathis." Orion eventually translated, "He and his pack have been wandering ever since the assassination of their Kell." A momentary pause as the Dreg – Varathis chittered once more, "They are without Ether and supplies, just the armor on their backs and the weapons they were equipped with when their Kell fell." Another short pause, "They heard of Guardians – The Revenants – living around this area. They had hoped to scout and then raid their base in hopes of gaining supplies."

"So, they were a threat."

Turning and giving the Revenant Warlock a glare, Akiva was pleased when he quickly went quiet.

"They do know that an attempt would be suicide." Orion continued, "especially when they were under equipped."

Under equipped is an understatement. A short glance at the Dreg showed that it had nothing more than his battered armor and a lone shock dagger around its belt.

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures." He heard Orion mutter.

Then, he went quiet again as Varathis chittered. Whatever he said, prompted Orion's shoulders to deflate followed by a subtle shake of the head and a few words. The disappointment in Varathis' eyes prompted Akiva to ask, "What did he say?"

"He wanted to know if I had more Ether, for the rest of his pack he says." Guilt edged Orion's voice, "I told him no, that I don't." There is a groan from Orion as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't want to be greedy and ask Angel for more than one cannister at a time. Ether isn't easy to process after all." He let out a heavy sigh, "Traveler damn it."

Giving the young Exo an empathetic look, Akiva went to speak, parted his lips to comfort Orion when there was a flash of quick movement, prompting him to zoom in on Varathis. The latter had reached out and grabbed Orion by the arm and of course, this prompted the young Exo to jerk back, a crack of arc light permeating from his shoulders.

However, it did little to deter Varathis and Akiva can see his four eyes grow wide, glowing bright.

"Aaangeeel?"

Akiva blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Aaangeeel." The Dreg repeated followed by a single syllable that Akiva recognizes from the Eliksni language, "Pure One."

That is when Akiva and Orion made eye contact, easily sensing the shock from the young Exo before he quickly sputtered the growling language back. Varathis' body jerked back into attention and the Dreg nodded profusely before chittering.

"Lex? Translation?"

"Sorry, but I'm not fluent in Eliksni." Akiva heard his Ghost mutter, "All I can catch is that Varathis heard of Angel before. But I can't understand the rest."

Letting out a groan of frustration, Akiva couldn't help but fidget when Varathis finally stopped, signaling to Orion to turn his attention back to him.

"Varathis is one of the Dregs that was under Baron Syliks' command." He said.

Akiva raised his brows, "Syliks? Angel's girlfriend?"

There is a pause.

"What!?"

"That's, that's supposed to be a secret." Akiva sensed the bland look Orion gave him, the latter obviously ignoring the Revenant Titan's outburst, "But yes, Angel's mate and according to Varathis, she and several other groups survived the massacre." The young Exo turned his attention back to Varathis before placing a hand on top of the Eliksni's head. Akiva heard the latter let out a soft purr as Orion patted it.

"The last order she gave him was to split up and find Angel, saying that he is the key to the survival of the last remnants of the House of Kings." He continued.

"Makes sense." Akiva murmured, watching as Varathis turned his four eyes towards him, "The kid is sympathetic towards the Eliksni and not to mention he has a steady supply of ether. Best option in their current predicament."

"But now the problem is finding the survivors." Orion hummed out, "and why Syliks had neglected contacting Angel." He felt the young Exo's optics settle upon him, "if the Kings had been in trouble, you would have though he would be the first she would call."

Good point.

"She is a Baron." Akiva suggested, "it may be possible that she was busy with her duties. And let's not forget our previous task of finding Jora."

A momentary pause from Orion, "Right."

Before Akiva could comment further, movement against caught his attention, prompting him to look back at Varathis. The Dreg was tugging on Orion's arm, pulling on him hard enough that it made the young Exo fumble a few steps forward.

"Let me guess?" Akiva commented, "He wants you to follow?"

"That obvious?" Orion said as Varathis continued to tug on his arm, this one more earnestly, "More than likely leading to where he and the rest of his pack are hiding."

Akiva hummed before flashing the young Exo a smile behind his visor, "Then how about we follow? Help these lost Kings out?"

"Excuse me!?" The Revenant Warlock's voice piped in; right, Akiva had momentarily forgotten, "What makes you think that it is a good idea to follow this Dreg?" he gestured towards the glowering Eliksni in response, "it might as well be leading you in a trap."

"If Varathis is this ether starved, I can only imagine the condition of their Vandals and Captains." Orion retorted, "Dregs after all, are used to surviving on meager amounts of Ether. Vandals and Captains, not so much. They will be in no condition to set up a trap." Then, there was a pause followed by a murmur, "And if any of their Barons and possibly their Archon survived, they may be near death by now."

Akiva winced at the truth in Orion's words; he wouldn't be surprised if the larger Eliksni were dead by now.

"But we have been called back to base." The Revenant Titan spoke, pulling Akvia's attention back; it was hard to miss the reluctance, the hesitation in their voice, "The others reported they had lost track of their group of Fallen and the Preceptor ordered us to return to plan out the next course of action."

"Then you go back." Akiva snorted at Orion's retort, "Akiva and I are not necessarily under your Preceptor's orders."

That made the Revenant Titan sputter, "We cannot return without you. The Preceptor would not be pleased."

If there is one thing Akiva would give the Revenants credit for, is their loyalty to the Preceptor. He wonders if there are any Guardians that are that loyal to the Speaker.

"Then don't go back." Orion's words pulled Akiva back, "Do whatever you want!"

It was then he finally allowed himself to be dragged away by Varathis, Akiva hearing Orion muttering to himself about 'indecisive rogues' as he disappeared into the trees, just as Trikxas disappeared in specks of light behind him.

Unable to hold back a laugh as he sensed the shock from the two Revenants, Akiva then gave the pair a two fingered salute as he said, "We will see you back at base. Need to help these poor fellows out first."

Then he turned and followed Orion. It wasn't long until he heard the crunching of leaves and debris behind him.

"They're following us." Lex commented; he can hear the glee in his Ghost's voice, "We must convince them to take off their helmets once we find these survivors. I want pictures of their expressions later."

Once again, Akiva couldn't help but laugh.