It was a nice sunny day in the Last City. Taking adventage of one the few last hot days before autumn, the streets were filled with different stalls and peoples.

One of them was a young girl with overflowing pink hair wearing a long summer dress with long gloves et high boots. That girl name was Louise and currently she was looking for a friend.

"Oh! Louise! Over here!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw a young female eliksni waving at her from a cafe with her right arms.

"Eido!" With a bright smile, Louise ran into her friend to hug her.

"Oh my... Good to see you too." Eido laughed while hugging her back. "Come on, I already ordered your favorite."

It's been two month since Louise was rescued from the vex on Nessus by the warlock that soon became her legal guardian.

The first days were really hard since she had to learn how to move and speak normaly again. The latter in fact was the hardest because her altered throat couldn't support normal speed and volume conversation. To avoid putting too much stress on her vocal cords, she had to learn sign language and to her surprise it was relatively easy.

In fact, almost everything is relatively easy to learn or memorize to Louise. It was like everything she wished to study was directly saved in her brain. A bonus of being part machine she gessed.

After the first month, she was allowed to leave the Tower and explore the city. It was that day she met Eido who was buying new books to read for the eliksni hatchlings. Soon enough, the two became friends over books, stories and research.

Apparently, Misraaks was quite reluctant to let his daughter be so close to Louise at first. Mostly because of the situation about the vex after the Witness death. However after seeing the two of them laughing and study together, he quickly accepted Louise as part of Eido's friends.

"So? What did you want to talk about?" Signed the pinkette.

"Well... I was copying some of the old archives that Variks sent me when I found this." Eido showed her an old book. "It's a tome about alchemy. More precisely, it contains various recipies for tonics potions."

"Tonics...potions..?" That idea felt close to Louise. Like it was something she should know.

"Yes! It was used a lot on Riis apparently for a lot of different heal or reinforce the body for exemple."

"And let me guess. You want my help to study and make them?"

"Yes! With your help I belive we'll be able to do this in no time!"

Louise didn't need to see the smile behind her friend's mask to know that she was really excited about this.

"Well... Okay..." The last word made her cough hard. "I'll help." She signed the last part while panting.

"Are you okay?!" Eido quickly got by her side to try and help her.

When she finally got her breath back, the pinkette nodded with a small smile. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

"Louise...of course I'm worried." The eliksni sighed. "You are way too stubborn for your own good you know ? Why don't you just use your hand signs to communicate ? Most people in the city had to learn it. If I remember well, it's to make people who need it feel accepted. A tradition from humanity's golden age.

"But I don't really need it. I can speak."

"Even if it hurts you?"

"It's just... I know it helps me. But everytime I sign, people look at me, at my body, at my limbs..." She looked at the ground with shame, hugging herself so hard it made her metalic arms groan under the pressure. "They look at me like I'm helpless, fragile and unable to do anything. I hate it. I feel like I've been seen like this all my life...and I hate it."

"Louise...look at me." Pink eyes filled with milky tears stared into four clear blue ones. "You aren't like that at all. You are smart, gentle and strong. You have seen hell and still manage to live somewhat normally. Few people, even guardians, can say the same."

"That's because vex don't like the risk of keeping a guardian alive. It's too dangerous for them." She looked at her gloved hand. "Kirwan, my guardian, said they did this because I have void light in me but...even if that's true...it's clear they weren't afraid of it because the vex knew I couldn't use it."

"Then learn how to use it."

Louise looked at Eido with a surprised expression.

"Don't look at me like that Louise. You know you live with a guardian. No, better than that, you live with a Voidwalker, a warlock who know everything about the void. What's keeping you from asking him to train you?

"I... I don't know. I just never asked I guess, nor thinked about it." She felt kind of stupid right now. "But what about helping you with potions?"

"I still need to find a place and the equipement to build my lab. Besides, your wellbeing is a much higher priority than any types of alchemy."

"Thank you. For being my friend."

"You're welcome little Louise."

"Don't call me that. I'm not little." She said pouting.

Eido giggled and started patting her head. "Sure. Sure."

"So you want me to teach you how to use the Light ?"

"Y-yes..."

He couldn't keep himself from laughing. She looked half shy half determined. It was just too cute for him.

"S-sorry! I just..." He bursts out laughing even louder.

"Not...funny... I just..." She started tearing up.

Noticing his mistake, Kirwan started to panic a little. "N-no wait! I wasn't making fun of you! I just found that the face you made was really cute and..." He sighed, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry..."

"Not...cute..." The young girl's face became the same color as her hair.

"Alright I'll do it."

She looked up to him surprised. "Really?!"

"Louise save your voice please."

"Sorry." She signed

"Thanks. And now to answer your question, yes I'll train you. I wonder why it took you so long to be honest."

"I just didn't thought about it." She looked to the side, embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it alright? I even know an exercise that you can do right now in fact.

"What exercise?"

"Meditation. Look into yourself, reach for the Light hidden deep in your soul. Do that until you start to feel it. Then try to visualize it and grave it in your mind."

Listening carefully to his instructions, Louise started practicig immediately.

Her curiosity made him feel proud. She had the heart and mind of a warlock and he was sure that she could do it but under all this pride, however, he felt worried. Even with her light, she was still a young girl without a ghost or any experience of the outside world.

The light of ambition in her eyes made him doubt for a moment. Was it really what he wished for her ? He wanted to keep her safe and that is why he accepted to teach her. But what if she wished to use her Light to do more than protect herself? What if she used it to protect others, to sacrifice herself...like the guardians, like him?

Kirwan didn't want to see another child, another student die before his eyes. He know that he would not not be able to take it.

Louise looked so much like Her. She was driven, smart, cute, pink and too powerful for her own good.

Little snores pushed him out of his reflection. Louise fell asleep while meditating. Laughing a little he caried her to her bed and tucked her in.

"Good night little light..." Smiling, he slowly left her room.

Alone in the living room, he took out an old picture featuring him and a serious teenager with long pink hair posing with their Ghosts in front of a dead Ahamkara.

"Good night Karin...wherever you are..."