Azra had enough wits left to act casual.  “Eris Morn, as I live and breathe.”  She strode up and made no pretenses she wasn’t looking the other Hunter over.  Her eyes didn’t miss the presence of the Speaker, a rarity in the Hall of Guardians. They didn’t miss Ikora Rey’s bright focus, or Cayde’s too-tense stance.

“The taint of the Vex clings to you,” the other Hunter said. Hive eyes stared unblinking from behind a rough cloth wrapping.  It was a bit disturbing, Azra admitted to herself, but… well, she’d seen a lot of disturbing things.  It’d take more than this to phase her at this point.

Azra shrugged.  “Always has, always will,” she said nonchalantly.  “A small price to pay, for the victory I’ve seen.  You, Eris…”  She didn’t know what to say.  Was she here as some sort of test?  Obviously a long-dead Guardian showing up out of the black, sporting some Hive-y body parts? Anyone would be a little suspicious, especially considering the track record of Hive-touched Guardians.  Azra wished Ikora or Cayde had told her about this beforehand.  Did they expect her to pick up on something they couldn’t?

Screw that, she decided.  Screw tests. Eris Morn stood steady, but there was no Ghost over her shoulder and the bandages around her eyes wept black oil like tears.  Azra knew what it was like to come back a changed person.  If the Consensus wanted scrutiny, she wasn’t going to give it.

Azra spoke the truth she wanted to.  “I know we weren’t really even friends, but it’s good to see you alive. This… it’s rough.  I know what it’s like.  If you need anything…”  She was awkward, the tension of the situation robbing her of her feigned ease.  What could she even say?

Eris obviously hadn’t expected a stilted platitude.  She cast a glance sideways at the Speaker, questioning.  “I am afraid to say I am confused.”  Of course- she wouldn’t know why Azra was here.  She had no context.  They’d just called up a random old acquaintance and they’d started rambling.

Azra sighed.  “They called me ‘cause this isn’t the first time a Guardian’s shown up out of the black after decades.”  She crossed her arms self-consciously.  It had only been thirteen whole months, but it hadn’t gotten easier to talk about.  “I didn’t get stuck in the Hellmouth, but I was… trapped, kinda, in the Vault of Glass.  It wasn’t…”  How to explain?  “I guess to say I was there a long time is a lie.  To say I was there a short time is a bigger one.”

She shook off the uncomfortable nostalgia and turned her focus back to the task at hand.  “But I know what it’s like, being alone in the Dark for so long. And I saw the horror at Mare Ibrium.”

“Perhaps you do,” Eris said.  “You echo like water blind in the night.”

“And you stink like a Hive Wizard.  Like them brittle half-rotten leaves you find in caves when the rain washes them in,” Azra replied.  She peered at the other Hunter with narrowed eyes, leaning more on her Lightsense than her sight.  Yes, the sense of dry rot, yes, bone shards and dust, but underneath it, still… oiled canvas, chamomile tea, that electric moment when you slip and your feet lose purchase and suddenly out of nowhere you’re in freefall- “But you still feel like Eris,” Azra concluded.

“You sense it, too?” Eris said.  “Curious, that we both find ourselves so adept.”

“I think Guardians who spend a lot of time in Dark places get more adept with their Lightsense,” Azra supplied.  “And I spent, well…” Again she ran into that impassible, undefinable wall.  How long had she been in the Vault?  How could she define the shape of it?

“Not a long time, but certainly not a short one?” Eris guessed.

“Forever,” Azra said.  “I guess I was in there for just about forever.”

“I suppose there is no use keeping it a secret,” Ikora Rey interjected.  “Mz. Jax was indeed called in to help determine if you would be a threat to the City.”  She looked pointedly at Azra.

The Arcstrider shrugged.  “Wouldn’t the Praxics be a better authority on this than me?”

The Speaker finally spoke.  “The Praxic order is always looking for threats.  They would find one anywhere.  On this matter, we need to see with clearer eyes.”

“I trust her,” Azra stated, without hesitance or doubt.  “Yeah, so she’s different than she used to be.  But nobody is ever the same as they used to be.”  She took another moment to glance at the other Hunter, but…  “If she’s hiding something, it’s nothing that I can sense.”

“That is enough for me,” Ikora said.  “Welcome home, Eris.”  Her eyes held a warm twinkle- she’d known this would happen, that Azra would come and throw her lot in with Eris.  Azra had sway now with the higher-ups, with her victory in the Vault and her continued dedication to the Vanguard.  She was the perfect person to absolve Eris Morn of suspicion.

It was still underhanded.  Azra decided she had no more time for all this testing.  She took a step forward and stuck out a hand.  “You have any questions, you need help, or an advocate, you come to me,” she ordered.  “The future is a confusing place.  You don’t need to walk it alone.”

“You are different than I remember,” Eris mused.  She reached out her own hand and they shook. Eris’s grip was wiry and strong.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, Eris,” Azra said.  “I’ve been through a lot, but here I stand on the other side.  And now here you do, too.”  A miracle, practically.  That they had both known terror and loneliness, and yet they were both still here to feel the sunlight.

“Perhaps…” Eris said.  “It has been so long…”

“Bibimbap,” Azra decided.  “And a hot shower.  And you’re welcome to crash in the Crew’s room-“

“Hey,” Cayde protested.  “That’s my bed you’re giving away.”

“Go sleep in your office, then,” Azra scolded.  “The woman hasn’t seen a pillow in seven decades.”

“Let us start with the Bibimbap,” Eris interjected.  “And we will see where the path leads from there.”