#orginal ghost

Paired with the fact the Wizard fired off a few stray attacks after Setara had finished them off with her last Pulse Grenade, the attack had punctured a major cooling system that kept the higher section of the Arcology cool enough for people to walk around.

Placing the bundle up cloth on her side to stem the bleeding as much as she can, Setara looked around for any signs that could tell her where she was on the Arcology but everything was covered in a Hive like chitinous gel and was it her or was everything starting to get hazy?

</Setara please, let me come out and heal you./> Glitches begged her, his voice modulator cracking slightly in fear.

“I’m afraid not sunshine, I- ugh, I need you to stay alive. Especi-especially if I pass, you can… can trust you to-to get a signal out.” She grunted out, letting out a hiss as she stood up again, albeit shakily. The heat was starting to get to her, she had worn one of the warmer armours from her inventory as Titan had a habit of being cold due to all of the rain and wind bringing up the fine mist from the waters surrounding the bases.

</Setara! Please!/> It was rare for Glitches to beg, completely different to his usual snarky personality. Setara just shook her head and walked in what she hopped to be a straight line. If she could just make it to an area that had very little Hive activity, and had enough Light to sustain Glitches, then she would allow him to heal her. She also had to finish the quest Sloane had sent her.

Find the stolen Methane Reactor and return it.

Sounds simple.

Should’ve been simple

Was told that it was simple.

Setara decided that if she makes it out of the Arcology, she’s telling Cayde that she's taking a week off and staying in the City or in an abandoned camp site up near the Norwegian Forests just to relax.

If she makes it out.

A low chattering could be heard over the channel she left open in case something happened, but this is the first time she’s heard any sort of feedback on the channel in the last couple of hours. Looking around, Setara just made out a sign that said she was on the lower sub-levels of the Arcology and that she needed to go down another level or two to reach the Basement area (that’s what she decided to dub it because the name was scratched out but something, and Sloane wasn’t clear on the name either), so rightfully- there shouldn’t be any chatter on the comm lines.

</Hello? Can anyone hear us?! Requiring immediate back up, we have an injured Guardian that needs urgent medical attention!/> Glitches called out, but was met with garbled jargon that sounded like an infant had grabbed hold of the device. The line finally cut out with a high pitched feedback that left Setara flinching back slightly and Glitches complaining in their link. Setara pushed on forward, and admittedly ripped a few strips off her cloak to help stem the blood flow better.

“You think Cayde will understand?”

</I think Cayde will buy you a new cloak at this point, y’know he sees you as family after you helped him with Andal./> Glitches pointed out, sounding almost tired and drained.

“Not long sunshine, we’ll… we’ll get out of here. I... and I promise you won't have to heal me for a week at least.” Setara promised, and was met with a grumble as everything fell quiet again.

As Setara carried on walking through the building, carefully making her way down fallen staircases and over bits of Hive Construct- she was left alone, which instead of making her calm, raised her heart rate and adrenaline. Where was the Hive? And the Fallen? She hadn’t encountered any since the Wizard and it’s Knight, this wasn’t right. Looking around, she noticed that more and more walls were covered in Hive Construct, but many were charred with blaster fire and the floors were littered with the empty husks of Acolytes and the severed heads of Thralls.

“Something beat us here.”

</Yeah, stay on your guard I’m getting enemy movement fifty feet in front of you./> Glitches added, nestling in her side bag, closer to her body, wanting to be out there with her, so instead he decided to nestle into the side of her neck as comfort.

Stopping movement for a small moment, Setara slowly moved her left hand behind her and did a quick rough count of how many arrows she had left in her quiver, after finding a substantial amount, she did a check on her shotgun and saw that she had seven rounds left in the gun and fourteen cases left in her ammo pouch. ‘Should hopefully be enough.’ She mulled over the possibility of finding any spare ammo on the floor, but knew the chances would be extremely low, so she just carried on walking quietly to where Glitches said the movement was, with said Ghost saying how many feet were left until contact.

However when they got there, nothing.

The space was empty, some Hive Construct here and there, but that was it.

No enemies.

No fight.

No struggle.

Nothing.

Until the ceiling above them fell through.

Jumping backwards into a roll, allowing her to bend the Void Light to her will- turning her invisible as she watched a large Fallen Captain fight off a large (larger than normal) Knight. Setara let out a gasp. She hadn’t seen any Fallen since her descent, even though she was warned that they did wander the halls. Now she knew why. She hid behind a steel girder just as the Void simmered out to show her again, but as she watched, she noticed that an Acolyte was sneaking up behind the Captain, and without thinking, fired off an arrow into its head, drawing everyone’s head to her position.

“Shit.” And she started sprinting around the room in circles, doing her best to dodge the oncoming fire from Acolytes, Dregs and Vandals; firing at the Acolytes in return and stabbing any Thrall that got too close for comfort.

During the brief distraction, the Fallen Captain had managed to get the upper hand against the Knight and was close to defeating it when the Knight froze, dropped its sword as it collapsed on the floor as Void Light crawled over its body, twisting and snaking through its armour. The Light did the same with the other Hive in the room, but somehow avoided the Fallen.

As the last of the Hive fell, and the Void Light pulled back, Setara stood in the middle of the Void Ball, her bow returning back into the red frame that it normally was. She had gotten surrounded and let out her Light, firing at her feet- keeping her in the centre of the Void, which kept her safe from any Hive that got too close while the Tethered Arrow burst and released its tendrils. Panting, Setara looked up at the Captain which showed confusion in its eyes.

She took a shaky step forward before falling on her knees, the strips of fabric wrapped around her waist had fallen off and showed the fall extent of her injury- her side ripped in two, blood falling out of her side, various Hive gels and Chitin shrapnel lined the wound, aggravating it further. The Captain recoiled back as she fell, the other Fallen doing the same. But when Setara took off her helmet to speak better, a Vandal ran up to her and shielded her from the others- hissing and growling at any that got too close to her.

The Captain took a couple of steps forward, but was surprised by the Vandal’s reluctance to move out of the way. Setara looked up at the back of the Vandal that stood in front of her and let out a watery laugh, grabbing hold of one of their secondary hands and brought it to her forehead.

[Forgive me, brother. I did not keep my promise.] She muttered as the Vandal turned around and helped her stand up, gently wrapping his arms around her side and helped her walk over to the Captain. The Captain was shocked by the Lightbearers' pronunciation of his tongue, and was more surprised when she called the Vandal her brother.

[Captain, allow me to take her back to the surface. She was one of my nest mates. I will not allow her to die down here.] The Vandal let out a whine when Setara coughed and blood flowed down her chin. Now intrigued by what the Vandal said, the Captain looked over the Lightbearer and took in the sight of her wound.

[She will not make it to the surface. Take her to the Skiff. We need to discuss some things Vreskes.] The Captain commanded and turned around, signalling for the others to follow.

That was the last thing Setara remembered before she let her eyes slip shut.

===========

When she awoke next, Glitches was floating around Vreskes’ head and the Fallen Captain was standing to the side, watching as the two conversed. Attempting to sit up, she let out a short gasp as she felt her said pull in an uncomfortable way- her Void Light snapping at the wound, trying to stitch it back up. Her gasp caught the attention of everyone in the room, and Glitches flew straight over to her, almost hitting her forehead in worry as he let out a series of short static noises before stopping, letting out a frustrated noise and carefully bumped one of his points to her forehead, Setara doing the same and let a small smile dance across her face, kissing his top point.

“Heya sunshine. How are you?”

</Angry, scared, relieved. A mix. You’re an idiot.> Setara chuckled and looked over at Vreskes, smiling and waved her hand, signalling him to come over.

He let out a happy chirp and small rumble, rubbing into her side. With his helmet off, Setara could see his attempt of a smile and she kissed his forehead as well.

[Hello little one. I’ve missed you.]

[I’ve missed you too. When we came back to the Forest and saw that your nest was gone, we feared the worst.] Vreskes let out an unhappy clicking noise as he sat up and looked her in the eyes.

[Yeah, the Taken was not good for us. We hid in the rafters at the Sludge. Kept ourselves hidden and made sure to keep other Lightbearers safe as well as any lost Eliksni.] She looked over to the Fallen Captain and sat up straighter, hiding her wince as she bowed slightly.

[Forgive me Sir. My manners slipped. I am Lo- Vreskes’ nest mate.] Setara stated, using the name the Vandal back at her old nest had given her after they had met. The Captain nodded and looked over at Vreskes, before looking back at Setara and stepping forward. Vreskes tensed slightly and held onto Setara’s hand a bit tighter, as Glitches moved to rest on her shoulder and hid behind her hair slightly.

[I am Misraaks. The Captain of this group, Leader of House Dusk. But most know me as Mithrax.] Setara nodded, and made to stand. Vreskes was quick to follow, leaning against her and kept her supported. Misraaks looked at her and tilted his head.

[Well, I think I overstayed my welcome. I understand that Lightbearer’s are not favoured among Eliksni, and I do not wish to unrest your crew more than I have.] Setara stated, ignoring her brothers displeased whine and went to go move to the door. Noticing that her chest piece was on the floor by the foot of the cot she was on, and was left in her undershirt and her armour’s leg set. Her boots were also by her chest piece. Going to grab her stuff, much to the displeasure of both Glitches and Vreskes, she didn’t notice Misraaks looking at her in wonder.

[You can stay for a bit longer Lo. Allow your wounds to heal fully. From what I’ve heard from Vreskes, you two need to catch up a bit more. My crew have accepted your presence here, and most are curious about you.] He let out a small grumble at the end of his words and proceeded to cross his primary arms and allow his secondaries to fall to his sides in a sort of placating manner. Setara looked up at him surprised by his offer, but nodded after a moment to think about it.

Vreskes let out a happy click while Misraaks let out a deep content purr, before opening the door and telling her that he would like to see her moving around in a couple of days.

=============

As the days passed, Setara learnt that she wasn’t on a Skiff like she thought, but in a Fallen Camp in a dense forest. The camp was covered in banners that showed off House Dusk’s insignia, but also acted as waterproof coverings for many areas. Small areas of carved out rock acted as storage rooms and ‘common’ areas, and some deprecrit buildings housed the many Eliksni there.

Vreskres didn’t leave her side unless he had to leave for a mission. Happy to have his older sister back, he didn’t want to lose her again. Misraaks was also similar. He had grown attached to Setara and wanted to learn more from her, especially the Lightbearer’s main language. When Setara prompted why, he simply said that he wanted to show others that not all Eliksni were bad.

Glitches spent his time around Setara, but was comfortable enough to go near the older Eliksni and help them with any Golden or Dark Age tech that they had found.

Currently, Setara was in a small building in the centre of the camp, surrounded by Hatchlings as they climbed on her as she happily swung them around; revelling in their happy squeals and chirps. Misraaks crouched through the door as he entered, letting out a click to alert Setara that he was there.

[Hard to miss you big guy, but thanks for the warning.] She didn’t turn around, but instead sat down and allowed one of the more curious Hatchlings to tug on her hair and play with it.

“I know, but it is what we all do. I do have a question though Lo.” Misraaks still couldn’t get the pronunciation of Setara’s name, so for the meantime, he kept to the Eliksni name till he felt more comfortable with it.

This got Setara’s attention as she turned around to face him, standing up and holding the Hatching in her arms while she stood. Setara wasn’t small like most Hunters, standing at six feet and five inches, but Misraaks stood at eight feet, so she still had to look up and he had to look down to maintain eye contact.

[And what is that?]

“I would like for you to come gathering with me. We are running low on some of the more edible food for you, and I would like to see how you hunt.” Setara looked at him in surprise before a smile graced her face and she nodded, setting down the now squirming Hatchling and walking over to Misraaks.

[Now?] He simply nodded, and with that they left the building, passing many Eliksni that waved or let out a vocal greeting, heading over to the ‘Armoury’ as Setara taught the others. Grabbing her bow (Subtle Calamity), donned her winter armour (The Seraph set) and let out three short, sharp whistles to get Glitches attention wherever he was at. Shortly afterwards, he materialised in front of her.

</We leaving?/>

“Yeah, going hunting. You’re coming just in case.” Bobbing in affirmation, Glitches disappeared from view and went into his pouch that rested on her hip. Her waist had healed a fair amount since the incident on Titan, but now had a large scar across her hip, a stark pale blue compared to her darker skin tone. Void scarring covered some of the edges from where she had stood in the centre of the Tethered Arrow as a form of protection.

They both left the safety of the Camp and made their way through the trees, listening to the thin layer of snow crunch under their feet and for any enemies.

After a small trek through the woods, they both finally came across a clearing, Misraaks cloaking himself and Setara crouching low. In the centre of the clearing was an Elk, large enough that would last Setara and some of the other Eliksni (who had taken to eating some more ‘Lightbearer’ food as they called it) at least a month and a half. Hiding behind a tree, Misraaks watched as Setara quietly scaled a nearby tree and knocked her arrow, waiting for the perfect moment. Misraaks had yet to see Setara with a bow, but from what the other Eliksni had told him- she was very precise and even used the arrows as knives if needed.

Snap!

The Elk fell to the ground as it let out a pained sound, Misraaks blinked slowly before looking at the spot where an invisible Setara had landed. [Lo, you are invisible.]

[Oh, whoops. Habit. Whenever I land from a high place, I roll to soften the blow- I guess my Light thought I was fighting.] Footsteps made its way over to the Elk before a bloody arrow was pulled out of its neck, followed by Setara reappearing and smiling at Misraaks, waving him over.

[Let me show you the custom Vreskes’ matron taught me when we went hunting.]

============

It had been three weeks since the incident at the Arcology, and Setara had to leave. In her time away, she got many messages from the Vanguards and from some Guardians that she trusted.

Asking if she was safe.

Alive.

Still on Titan or if she was somewhere else.

Did she need any help with the mission.

Standing at the edge of camp, many Eliksni came to wish her farewell.

Vreskes hugged her tightly, nuzzling her and letting out affectionate rumbles, taking in her scent and marking her with his scent. Chuckling, Setara nuzzled him in return and kissed his forehead before breaking away from him.

[I’ll be back soon, now that I know that you’re alive and well, I’ll stay alive as well.] Vreskes nodded and allowed her to move to Misraaks. Bowing in front of him, Misraaks repeated the motion and grabbed both of her hands in his secondaries as he looked at her in the eyes, head tilted he let out a pleased rumble.

[Lo, when we first met- I was sure you were going to die. But here you stand in front me and the group, bearing your wound with pride and honour. You are true Eliksni, and we are grateful to have you as a member of House Dusk.] Cheering broke out from the group behind them, chuckling Setara looked at Misraaks.

[I thank you for your hospitality and letting me be with my nest mate again. I will keep this Camp a secret that will come to the grave with me. I am honoured to be seen as a member, and as an Eliksni. Thank you, everyone.] Setara went to move away, but let out a gasp when Misraaks pulled her in and hugged her; she let herself relax and hugged him back, mimicking a purr she lent from her early years. They both let go and Setara stepped back, moving towards the edge of the Camp before turning and looking at everyone again.

[One day, if I am ever permitted, I’ll bring along my own Hatchling, and Vreskes- you can see my family.] Vreskres let out a happy chirp at the prospect of meeting his sister’s hatchling.

[If they are like you Lo, then they are welcome as well.] Misraaks eyes’ tilted up slightly at the idea of meeting Setara’s own and waved her off as she disappeared into the distance.

A thought on both Setara’s and Misraaks’ minds.