The Wolves II

Edit: Link to part I.

Bright sunshine bathed the Tower in golden warmth. Something Lira hadn't felt on her bare face in weeks. The human nightstalker sat on the railing of the Tower, eyes closed, face tilted to the sun, blond hair stirring in the gentle breeze. Only two days ago she had been much, much closer to the source of those comforting rays. She had been at the Lighthouse on Mercury, without a fireteam. She didn't need one, they would just drag her down, she felt. A soft footstep behind her betrayed the presence of another and interrupted her moment of peace. Without opening her eyes she could tell that it was Cayde-6, her Vanguard mentor. Before Cayde could speak the agile nightstalker shadestepped from her perch, directly behind the exo Vanguard who, to his credit, barely flinched.

"Careful where you put your hands." Cayde said, "That bow of your's wouldn't be nearly as effective with only one." He smiled as he turned to face his most competent hunter, taking the majority of the threat out of the statement.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Lira said, forcing Cayde to manually remove her hands from his metal backside.

"You know there's only one way this will end, right?" Cayde said quietly. "And it's not a happy one."

"I won't give up." Lira countered. She had been interested in Cayde for quite some time, since he had told her she was his favorite.

"You're only going to hurt yourself." Cayde warned as he stepped back. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He turned and began to walk back towards the Hall of Guardians. "Oh, and by the way, I'm assinging you to a fireteam. 1900 this evening, be there or be square." He smiled to himself and, anticipating her violent reaction perfectly, ducked beneath a purple arrow as it flew over his head.

<<>>

A large exo titan strode through the hangar. The smell of oil tickling his olfactory sensors. Commander Zavala was discussing shipping manifests with the shipwright and as he approached he wondered why the titan Vanguard was not in the Hall of Guardians at his post. He saluted as Zavala turned to acknowledge him and nodded respectfully.

"Thor," Zavala began. "I know you deserve to rest after your fireteam's recent success against the greatest threat we have ever faced but, we have a mission that only you can complete."

Thor stood straighter at the indirect praise. "Yes sir." he said. "My team will be ready to move whenever you need us."

"Not your team." Zavala said. "Only you, you will be assigned a new team for this mission." Thor shook his head.

"I can not leave my current team, Sir." he objected. "They are more than capable of succeeding against anything you can throw against them."

"Maybe as a team of six they are," Zavala explained, "but this mission calls for a team of three. Are any of them besides you as capable alone as they are together?" Thor was silent and Zavala continued. "No, they are not. Your team is built around covering for each other's weaknesses and only three members are not enough to do that no matter who you pick from Mjolnir. Your leadership makes that possible and that skill is why I have selected you to lead this mission. Fireteam Mjolnir will be disbanded and each member will be assigned to new teams of three." Thor narrowed his eyes.

"I will not leave my team." The leader of fireteam Mjolnir would not change his mind. His team had gone through too much to be separated now. He grit his metal jaw and asked, "Why is Mjolnir being disbanded?" He knew that Zavala may not provide an answer.

"I can not tell you, titan." the Vanguard commander said. "Just know that it is for the good of humanity. Report to the Hall of Guardians tonight at 1900. Dismissed"

<<>>

The small group of warlocks exited the lecture hall, eagerly discussing what they had just learned. The lecturing warlock looked up from ordering his notes on the podium. One student remained seated at the back. As he looked closer he realized they weren't a student at all. Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey lifted off her seat and descended to the lecture hall floor on a cushion of Light.

"Been a while, Doran." Ikora said warmly. "Still sowing the seeds of curiosity?" She smiled at one of her oldest friends.

"Oh no," the awoken warlock called Doran said. "Not sowing, no, I am merely admiring the fruit. I am not the gardener. That is the Traveler." he paused for a moment, brushing his lank black hair from his eyes. "Nor am I the harvester. That role is reserved for the Darkness." Ikora was thankful that her dark skin hid her blush. No matter what he said, something about his accent made her uncomfortably warm. Ever since that night, more than five years ago.

"Don't tell me you teach your theories about the nature of the Darkness to the new warlocks." Ikora was genuinely worried but she hid it behind a smile. Some ideas were best left undiscussed and Doran's personal theory about the nature of the Light and the Darkness was one of those ideas.

"Oh, you needn't worry love." Doran reassured her. "They must develop ideas and theories of their own. That is what Osiris has all wrong. You can't force your ideas on the universe. It must come to the same realisation as you have. Only then will you be certain you are correct. Now, I know you didn't come here just to listen to me talk, and by the look on your face you have orders for me that I will promptly ignore."

"I wouldn't be so sure." the master of the Hidden said with a smile. She leaned in and whispered in the other warlock's ear.

"That phrase means nothing to me." Doran said, confused.

"Just come to the Hall of Guardians at 1900 tonight," Ikora said. Doran just shook his head and walked away.

<<>>

Cayde was not surprised when Lira didn't show, she never did. He wouldn't stop trying though, to get her in a fireteam. One guardian wouldn't be able to complete the mission the Vanguard had planned, Hell, it would be hard enough for three and impossible for six. Zavala was having trouble getting his candidate to join the team as well. Damn stubborn Titan of his wouldn't leave his current team, after defeating Oryx they had become inseparable. That group was one of the most effective fighting forces in the history of the Vanguard, rivaling Saladin's Iron Lords and Shaxx's Redjacks. Ikora's warlock was worse, secluding himself in the deepest corners of the library, studying the light of the Traveler like some science experiment. His mind balanced delicately between godhood and madness. There was no denying his brilliance, however. His skill at wielding the Traveler's light was on par with both Osiris and Toland. Cayde supposed that his hunter's skill could also be compared to Jaren Ward or Andal Brask and the titan possibly Saint-14 or Kabr. He spoke up to his fellow Vanguard.

"You think your guys are gonna show?" he asked. "Mine won't, at least not tonight." Well, maybe later that night, he thought.

"No, my candidate is too stubborn to leave his team so soon after such an accomplishment." Zavala said. "I expect him to come around, but if he doesn't I will issue a formal order."

"He won't be here tonight." the warlock Vanguard said. "Too wrapped up in his theories and ideas. Tomorrow however, is another story. I know his curiosity will consume him otherwise."