3 weeks
“Another midnight stroll?”
Nalim began idly walking around the perimeter of the Farm. “It can’t be surprising at this point.”
“That my Guardian refuses vehemently to follow her circadian rhythm? No, it’s not. Trust me.”
“See? If you know, then don’t ask.”
Asha’s eye rolled. “Is there a reason for this one?”
“This walk? Because it’s nice outside.”
“And because you’re playing sentry. And probably to mope again.”
Nalim groaned. “If the Traveler wasn’t occupied right now I would love to ask for a refund.”
“Out of the both of us, who do you think is surviving that exchange?”
“Does it matter? Either way it gets quieter.”
“Nalim!” Asha bumped the side of her head in scolding. “Not the time!”
Nalim crossed a fallen log, chuckling to herself. She descended further into the Farm’s perimeter, pausing to look up at the tree cover.
A branch snapped.
In the blink of an eye, she was down on the ground, hood and helmet up, and holding her pistol. She mentally cursed leaving the rifle with Europa. Asha dipped to the ground between her and a log before transmatting away entirely.
Daring not to move, she listened for more movement. And it came. Leaves rustled, sticks broke, all manner of forest noises erupted from her approachers. She felt her veins go cold. For that amount of noise, she guessed Cabal had found them. How many were there? What were they? How many could she kill before they returned the favor? Where were Alexi and Europa right now? If she spoke a warning, would that kill them all? She tightened her jaw. With or without the Light, she’d be a Guardian. Time to guard.
She stood quickly, pointing her gun at the approaching-
“Nalim?”
A bright and massive figure stood at the front of a collection of refugees. White, orange, and fur. He had his hand in line with the barrel of her gun.
“Shaxx.” She lowered her gun, breathing out a sigh of relief. “It’s you.”
“You lived.”
She nodded, holstering the pistol. “So did you. And you've brought people.” The helmet disappeared from her face. “Congratulations on making it to the Farm, everybody.”
The civilians behind him looked at her in mostly thankful recognition, but they didn’t move out from his shadow until he stepped aside. He ushered them through, and only then did she realize he had a child shaped backpack on his shoulders. A white-haired, dark-skinned child backpack. His head swiveled to see the people passing him, and centered on her with knowing speed.
Nalim gasped. “Adrian?”
Adrian dropped off Shaxx, warranting a failed attempt to catch him. Shaxx turned to watch the child hit the ground running and meet her with open arms. He made a show to her of being relieved.
Nalim bent down. “Adrian, oh my god. Where’s your sister? Are you okay? Are you hungry? Are you hurt?”
He buried his face into her shoulder. “I missed you a lot.”
“Oh, I missed you a lot too.” She wrapped both her arms around him, knees in the underbrush. Asha materialized and scanned him, like an extension of her own mind. When she was done, Asha gave a nod. “Ash says you’re okay. Do you feel okay?”
“I’m okay. He took care of us.”
Nalim glanced up at Shaxx, whose attention turned back to ushering his group forward.
“Is Theodora with you?”
Adrian turned long enough to point out his sister from the crowd. A matching set of wild white hair, Nalim opened her arm, and Theo ran forward to meet her. The twins latched onto each side of her like cement.
“I missed you two so much. So much. I’m glad you’re okay. Theo, are you okay?”
Theo yawned into a nod. “Is Aunt River with you?”
Nalim thanked whoever was listening that they were not looking at her eyes now. “No, kiddo. She’s somewhere else right now. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Adrian sighed, loosening his grip to stay by her side. “A lot of people got split up.”
Theo mimicked her brother, and now looked up at Nalim. “Are your Guardian friends here?
“Euri and Lexi are.” She feigned a smile.
Adrian tilted his head, ever curious. “Where’s Cali?”
Now, when she looked up, Shaxx looked back. He seemed to be waiting for her answer as well.
“Cali is...somewhere else too.” It was easier to say it to him than to their faces. Shaxx’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
Theo nodded. “Maybe she’s with Aunt River.”
“Maybe she is.” Nalim stood, guiding them upward. “Let’s go follow the others. Try to get some sleep.”
They broke off from her to walk with the rest of their group. Nalim trailed behind, her and Shaxx walking in silence.
--
She sat on a table across the room,watching him work. He entered the rickety building with obvious intent, and now stood across from her setting up various devices. But until now, neither had spoken for at least half an hour. They simply knew the other was there. His presence was familiar, but his demeanor was different. Somber. She had no doubt as to why.
“Shaxx.”
He looked at her over his shoulder, briefly stopping whatever experiment he had in his hands.
“How long has it been since you’ve slept?”
Asha turned to look at her with a Ghost’s version of pure disbelief.
He chuckled quietly. “You’re still up as well.”
“Evading the question gives me the answer.”
He shrugged. “I will live.”
She smiled slightly, and the atmosphere returned to silence. Suddenly, the screens he had facing him flickered blue, and he put his hands on his hips triumphantly. Old data flashed in white across them.
“Nalim.”
It was her turn to look over at him.
“About your…” He sighed. “Student and your neighbor. I am truly sorry.”
How did he know River was her neighbor? How did he know River at all? She tilted her head, but he wasn’t looking. Asking verbally wasn’t something she wanted to pursue.
“It wasn’t you. No need to apologize.” She scoffed. “Unless you’re undercover.”
“No chance of hiding from you if I was.”
She raised an eyebrow at the subtle praise.
“Your student, Callisto.” He turned to face her fully now, folding his arms across his chest. “Tell me about her.”
She must’ve reacted poorly, because he immediately rescinded the offer. “If it’s too soon, I understand, I just-”
“Why.”
He stopped. “I thought sharing her memory would lessen the pain.”
Both of them stood in tense silence. She turned her face away, pulling up her hood, but he wasn’t wrong. And he spoke from shared experience. She just didn’t want to speak at all.
Shaxx sighed, leaning on the wall behind him. “I met her only a few times. But I remember your dedication to them. Admirable as always.”
She focused her gaze on the dead grass beneath him.
“I saw her again during the attack. How old was she?”
“2.”
“Right. Your oldest. I was ushering a group when she came whipping around the corner. Like fire was on her heels.” He chuckled, traces of his former enthusiasm lining his words. “She reminded me of you then too. So little hesitation. She was well-trained.”
Nalim now doubted she understood the purpose of his recounting. The tense silence thickened.
“Are there more Guardians here?” He pushed himself off the wall, momentarily giving up on his benevolent endeavor.
Somewhere in her chest, she felt a tightening. He was trying to help. But hearing the toll of everything on his voice only sunk her hopes further. And she was not exactly raising his. So he returned to work, and so did she.
“Yes. A good portion of them are young, though.”
“What’s your measurement for youth?” A tease.
“I don’t know, what’s yours, Warlord?”
He chuckled without the bitter undertone. “Fair point, Lady Nalim.”
She groaned. “Never do that again.”
“What, use your title, Lady Nalim?”
“You’re on thin ice.”
He laughed heartily. She smothered a smile.
“Most of them have been risen for a decade or under. Some are outliers.”
“So they know you.”
“Most people do.”
He nodded. “That’s good. They’ll listen to you then.”
“Mm. Is that what that means.” She deadpanned. “Why do you ask?”
Shaxx’s attention was on his screens, but his posture had straightened, shoulders broadened. “If we’re going to take back the City, we need to train. We need to be Guardians, light or not. I think if we want the best shot at succeeding, I need your help.”
“You want ME to help YOU run the CRUCIBLE?”
“I want your help in training our Guardians to live through a fight. And you’re a champion. I could hardly ask for more experienced help. I can run the matches, you can train them outside of the matches.”
“Shaxx, do you seriously think we can take back the City without the Light?”
He looked at her briefly over his shoulder. “What other options do we have, Nalim?”
No feasible or hopeful answer came to mind. No answer she wanted to tell him, certainly. He had the persisting habit of forcing ambition onto those around him.
“Fine. I’ll help you. Just tell me what you need.”
...
“Argo?” Her voice came out scratchy after hours of silence, and the mask muffled her words, but he only thought of how lucky he was to have that voice. “What do you miss most?”
The landscape opened up underneath them, falling below the hill and racing off into the horizon. The forests broke here, if only for a moment.
“From the City?”
“From anything we’ve lost.”
He hummed. “Easy. Safety.”
His response earned a pained laugh. “City wasn’t that safe apparently.”
“Hey, it could’ve fallen faster.”
“Yeah, maybe if we were trying to break a record.” She sighed into a bitter chuckle. “I don’t think I’m gonna feel safe anywhere ever again.”
“Callisto…”
She shrugged off his worry. “It’s not a whine. I’m just saying it.”
“I know, but.” He struggled for the proper words to mend her hope. “This….isn’t everything. Someday this will just be a bitter memory facing the toll of time.”
“Unless I die.”
Argo nudged her shoulder in the best imitation of comfort he could give. “That’s not going to happen. We’ll just be careful.”
The continuation of the forest approached ever closer, and for some reason he dreaded going back into those trees. Weren’t there ever going to be enough trees? How many had they seen over the course of a few weeks? How many more?
“If I die…”
“Don’t start this, Cal.” He tried his best not to sound so desperately pleading, but it slipped into his words anyway. “Talk about anything else.”
They walked for a few minutes in silence, entering the less-than-comforting domain of the trees. Until he watched her resolve tighten, and she spoke again.
“I miss cake. And company. And peppermint sticks.” Her hand reached out for the sewn-in spade, thumbing over the thread. “I miss...hmm. I miss trying to tilt my chair further back than Euri’s. I miss my apartment. I miss the clothes Alexi bought me that are all his size.” This time, her weary golden eyes turned to glance at him. She didn’t speak, but the invitation was offered.
“I miss...scarves. Pillows. That weird little cat hammock that Euri hung up in front of the window.” Argo’s shell twisted around while he formed his own reminiscent list. “I miss listening to the Tower’s radio. Or just the noises of everyday moving about. I miss the Tower’s view. Something about being all the way up there…”
Both of them in tandem remembered the storm that lured them up into the Tower in the first place.
“I miss the Tower view a little less now that I think about it.”
Callisto’s laugh was strained and barely audible, but he watched her eyes crinkle, and that was all he needed.
“Argo. How are you so hopeful?” Genuine curiosity, he recognized. Share it, She said. And of course he would.
“I wished for years and years and years to find you. And then I did. I just happened to back up over your soul. And then you started bleeding. And I happened to find the one Guardian for miles. And she knew what to do for you. And from that, you got a mentor for two years. Two of them, actually. People you could celebrate your birthdays with.” If he could really smile, he would. “With everything I list, the likelihood of you existing falls. But here you are anyways. If I can roll the cosmic dice and get you, I’m willing to believe in more miracles.”
She pulled his shell to her chest before he even saw her hand move. “I don’t know if the Traveler built you to love me, but I love you.”
“I love you too. If it did, then so be it. I’ll do my job. Whatever’s ahead of us, we’re in this together.”
She stopped walking. “Good. Because what’s in front of us is a lot of broken sticks.”
“What?”
“Like a LOT of broken sticks.”
He spun to see where she was looking, and she was right. The trail of the forest in front of them looked like there had been a bulldozer. She walked forward quietly, eyes flickering wildly around her surroundings. Ideas of what could've done this flashed through her head frame by frame.
He left her hands to scan something in the mud. “Come look at this.”
“What is it?”
“Just look.”
He shined a light on a footprint. She put her foot next to it. Around the same size. No extra toes. No missing ones.
“That’s...human.” She laughed quietly. “That’s human.” For the first time in a while, the glitter of hope shined in her eyes. “Look at how long this goes.”
“Where do you think they went?”
She strided forward. “Oh, I am about to find out.”
They started forward, adding her footprints to the muddy collection.