Calibrate Vol. II

Argo sat on his guardian’s chest, rising up, falling down. One hand was draped over him, the other holding onto her cloak. But she was sound asleep, warm and in a blanket. Dry. A hint of a smile on her face. The world outside threatened their lives nonstop, but she had already been through so much. It gave him hope just to see her smile again.
“How is she?”
His eye swiveled up. Asha’s jade shell twisted at him in the form of a wave. Her voice sounded like Nalim’s, almost. Just a tinge of motherhood. Nalim’s was harsher, Asha’s was smooth. They were so similar, but countered each other often. He wondered if he countered Callisto at all. “She’s okay. She’s...alive. Strong-willed.”
“Yes. She is. You chose well.”
“We both did.”
They sat in silence for a second. Callisto’s heart rate ticked in the back of his mind, the slowest it'd been since.

When the sun rose and peered through the window, it hit Nalim’s eyes first. She woke, and immediately her eyes scouted the room. Europa was asleep and alive. Alexi was asleep and alive. She looked down with a smile, gently petting the head in her lap. Callisto. Callisto was asleep and alive.
“Cali.” She bent down. “Wake up.”
Her eyes opened slowly, bright flashes of yellow meeting her teacher. She smiled. “G’mrnin.”
Nalim’s expression was rarely ever this happy, this calm. “Come on. Get up very quietly.”
“Where’re we going?”
Nalim mimed “shush”, standing slowly. They left the house without waking a soul.

“Sit.”
Cal obeyed, sitting in the grass. Nalim had already wrapped a blanket around her, and was now inside the barn doing...something.
Argo floated over her shoulder. “The sunrise is beautiful here.”
“Nice to see it outside the tree canopy.” She gave a dry chuckle.
Nalim emerged with a piece of bread and a red soup. She bent, handing it to her. “Eat.”
She obeyed. Nalim disappeared back into the barn.
“Oh my god, they do have soup.” She laughed. It was warm, actual food. A real meal. She grinned. “Tomato. I love tomatoes. I never want another berry again.”
Nalim emerged with a thermos of water, and she finally sat down. “Are you cold?”
Callisto shook her head, mouth full of bread.
“How’s your tongue? Still healthy?”
She looked at Argo and shrugged her shoulders. Argo spoke for them both. “Yes, it’s fine. It hasn’t been...forcefully removed after the invasion. Cleaning it hasn’t been too hard.”
Nalim nodded. “Good, good? Eat slowly. You’re malnourished. You eat too fast and it’ll hurt you worse.”
Cal stopped shoveling bread in her mouth.
“When you’re done, we’ll go to the docks and I’ll brush your hair.”
“Is it messy?” She giggled, blushing. “More than normal?”
Nalim smiled, in the old lady way she tended to do. “It’s just grown out. You don’t look any messier than all the other refugees here. And Europa’s bed head will make you look spotless.”
Cal snorted, which sent her into more giggles. “Oh, I missed seeing that for sure.”
“I’m sure she’s missed your teasing.” She chuckled, standing. “I think your hair has grown more in the last month than mine has in the last decade. Oh, the gifts of youth.”
“Hey, I don’t think I ever made it to thirty the first time around. This is the least they can give me.” She set her bowl down, holding onto the thermos of water. “I’m ready.”

It was familiar and slightly painful to let Nalim comb her hair on the docks. She would always meticulously go through her charges’ hair, the same way Alexi would hover over you if he thought you didn't feel safe. It was an act of love, but if you asked about it she would scowl and say it was because they “looked like stray animals.” They knew just the same.
“Tell me about the time you spent away.” Her voice was quiet.
Callisto sighed. “I woke up...2 days?” Argo nodded. “2 days after the initial invasion. After I fell from the ship. Broken ribs, broken leg, concussion, all the expected things from making a crater in the street.”
“A crater? I’ve no idea how you lived.”
“Spite.” Cal chuckled with a sad tone. “I only got two years. That’s not fair. Can’t kill me yet.”
“Good.” Nalim dipped the brush in water. “Continue.”
“We got out of the City slowly. There were Cabal everywhere. Just...wreckage. Blood. Fire. It felt so lonely to be the only one left alive in the City. Other than, y’know, the Cabal. They probably left me thinking I was another corpse.”
“We’re lucky they didn’t bother checking.” Her scissors trimmed away.
“Yeah. I was alone after that for a long time. We ran across a camp early on, but…” Her knees bunched up closer to her. “They were all already gone.”
Nalim stopped, squeezing her shoulders. “I should’ve been with you. I’m sorry.”
“No, there was nothing you could do. I was just too far away. And you kept Europa and Alexi safe. You evacuated people. People that lived long enough to come with me here. You couldn't have done any better.”
“Thank you, Cal.” Nalim sighed. “But I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” She continued to comb. “I don’t know why the Commander w-”
“I buried the dead guardians.” Nalim had barely noticed, but Callisto more resembled a ball now than a humanoid. Her spine stuck out of her shirt.
“Cal…”
Cal’s shoulders shook. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“I do. It’s alright. You’ve been through hell, Cal.” Nalim pulled her back, cradling her head. “Don’t be like me. Don’t hold it in.”
She was shaking like a newborn animal. “I buried...five people…. It took hours and it was so sad. If Argo wasn’t with me I would’ve never made it out alive.”
“Even then, you scared me.” Argo sighed, nudging her cheek. “She spent so much energy on burial that she passed out on the last one. A cabal ship passed overhead and I thought for sure we were done for.”
Cal chuckled through her tears. “Maybe I’m just a really convincing corpse.”

Nalim went silent. She stared over Cal’s head into the lake.

“Nalim?”
She shook her head suddenly. “You’re shaking. I’ll dry your hair. You go back to sleep next to Alexi. Don’t get up until you’re warm or Euri causes an issue.” Nalim guided her up, wrapping her blanket back around her and rubbing a towel on her hair. “You need to talk, you talk, alright?”
“Alright.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.”
Nalim wiped a tear off her cheek. “Stay with them. I do not want you alone. Understood?”
She’d shifted into her commander voice. It helped Cal to calm down. Focus on orders. “Understood.”
“I’m going scouting. Not for long. If anything happens, you tell Shaxx, and Argo, you tell Asha. Do NOT do anything strenuous. You need to sit around and eat and be warm.”
Cal sighed. “Alright. Fine.”
“Cali.”
She looked up.
“The fact that you survived this long on your own is a monumental feat. But now you let me keep you alive. You’re my kinderguardian. I don’t raise dumbasses and I don’t let them die of dumbass reasons. Do what you’re told.”
Cal chuckled. “I love you too.”
Nalim smiled, and her armor transmatted onto her. She was off before the rest of the Farm noticed, melding easily with the shadows.
...
“Asha.”
“I know.”
Nalim pounded her way through the trees. “Fuck. Fuck!”
“Calm down. Lim. Please.”
“Asha, I’m…”
“I won’t.”
“The Light is gone. And my dream WAS a premonition. Postmonition. I don’t know. You know what that means.”
“You’re my GUARDIAN, Nalim. I won’t do it."
“Ash, please. Please. I’m just Darkness now. I’ve been tainted a lot longer than this, but without the Light…I can’t.”
“And what about the others? You just got Callisto back. You’re just going to-?”
“That’s exactly the issue! She’s barely survived this much. If I get corrupted, and I hurt any of them, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Nalim, please listen to me just once in your fucking life.” Asha’s voice rarely ever wavered. She was more level headed than her guardian. It scared her. “You’re my Guardian. I am not killing you, I am not leaving you behind, and unless you shoot me your DAMN self, I am not going anywhere. Do you remember what Callisto JUST said to you? Think of everyone you’ve protected since we lost our Light. All the people that depend on you now. Maybe you’ve been touched by the Dark. I don't know why you see the things you do. It may not be either. But a month has passed and you haven’t done anything but help. Leaving those people behind would be a lot more deadly than if you just took the chance and stayed. You’re a stubborn asshole, but you’re clever. You’re a damn good hunter. You’re too loving and it's why you react so quickly to danger. And why you insist on being the one in front of the bullet. You’re invaluable to those people.”
“Ash.”
“Don’t be a little shit.”
“I was going to say I loved you.”
Her voice calmed. “Good. I love you too. Idiot.”
They stood in silence. Nalim sat on the ground, fatigued from arguing.
“Plus, if you did go evil, that’d make me look bad. I’d be the Ghost that picked an evil person. And I do NOT make bad choices.”
Nalim laughed. “You’re disgusting.”
“And you’re any better? Seriously. An excellent strategist and an expert killer but you get a little compromised and you sit in dirt and cry. If this had happened to any of the others you would’ve had it handled by now.”
“I am not crying.”
“Fine. You sit in dirt and complain. And try to die. Is that better? C’mon. Get up. Maybe your seer vision can tell us where some more wild fruit is.”
...
When she awoke again, it was Alexi’s voice that woke her.
“Cali. Caaaali.” His voice was rumbly and it made her head vibrate. “Awake up time.”
She opened her eyes. Her head was leaning on his shoulder, and Europa’s head dug into her side. They resembled dominos. “Mornin’.”
“Good morning. How are you?”
“Alive.”
He chuckled. “A surprise for the rest of us. Up.” He stood, guiding her up. “Okay?”
She stood weakly, holding onto his hands. Her head throbbed with minor pain, and she felt a million bruises react to the movement. It wasn’t new in the slightest. “I’m okay.”
Europa grumbled behind them, standing. “Alexiiiiii. I hate yooOooOu.”
“You need to eat. Cali needs to eat. No whine.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Cali?” She opened them suddenly, smiling. “Almost forgot my favorite surprise! How y'doing?”
Cal laughed. “I’m alive.”
“Let’s try to keep it that way this time around, hmm?” Europa clapped her on the shoulder and began leading them out of the Guardian sleep room. They were the last to leave.

The Farm buzzed with the same activity she’d seen when they first arrived, with the added energy of the new arrivals. They were all sitting in the heart of the Farm, surrounded by houses. Oendel waved to them with a soup bowl in her hands.
Cal tugged on Alexi’s arm. “Hey. Nalim gave me food this morning. I don’t need to eat.”
His face turned down to her with a look she’d memorized. Even with limited facial movement, he managed expressions quite well. “You are eating.”
“Lexi, I don’t wanna. I don’t want to take too much from everybody else.”
“You are eating.”
She thought about taking her hand off his arm and bolting. As if he could read her thoughts, he locked his other hand onto hers. No escaping Mr. Iron Grip now.
“Why.” She groaned.
Alexi sighed at her. “You are weak and little. You’ve done too much. You need to heal. Heal means eat. So you eat. I make you.”
Europa turned to walk backwards in front of them. “C’mon, you haven’t been gone THAT long. You knew Alexi was gonna assign himself as Cali’s Caretaker the minute he got the chance.”
She laughed. “So what’d you do while I was gone?”
He flicked his eyes towards Euri. “Caretaker. Crisis management.”
That’s what he meant. She smiled. “I really, really missed you guys.”
“Good, we’re kinda great.” Euri handed her a bowl. “Eat.”

They sat down with their food in the grass near the others. Cal shrugged the blanket off her shoulders. Alexi put it back on. She groaned.
“So,” Euri spoke with her mouth half full. “We have so much to tell you. First off, Shaxx and N-”
Alexi shook his head. He gestured upwards with his chin. Euri froze.
“Deliveries for fireteam Jupiter!!” Shaxx boomed as he approached the group with a small child in each hand. He dropped them, laughed, and rejoined another group.
Callisto’s face lit up. “Theo! Adrian! I didn’t know you two were here!”
Theo sat herself in Cal’s lap, hooked onto her neck and burrowed in. Adrian danced his spot, tapping her shoulder excitedly. “Mr. Shaxx said Aunt Nalim’s friend came back and he brought us to you! Hi! Hi! We really really missed you!” He gave a big toothy grin.
Cal giggled, and scooped him into her hug. “I missed you too! What have you guys been up to while I was gone?”
“I help the Guardians with um, um.” He wriggled in her grasp to sit next to his sister. “Um, I carry stuff. Nalim said I can carry wood and other thingies but I’m not supposed to touch guns.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Cal shot an amused look to her sister.
Theo spoke quietly. “Nalim said you and Aunt River were somewhere else. Were you with her?”
Alexi and Euri shared a panicked glance. They looked at Cal, shaking their heads slightly.
She mouthed ‘I know’ over the children’s heads. Euri looked confused and relieved. Alexi just stared at his hands.
“I didn’t see her, I’m sorry Theo. I wandered around a lot.” She giggled. “Your aunt’s a little smarter than that.”
She smiled, but there was something behind her dark young eyes. “It’s okay Cali. She is very smart.”
Adrian popped out of her lap. “Training is starting! I’ve got to go help. You’ll stay here, right Cali?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled.
He shot off to follow a line of refugees. Theo got up and followed after him.

“How did you find out?”
Cal tightened her grip on her blanket. “One of my group was Nalim’s neighbor. Saw it happen.”
Euri sighed. “I’m sorry you had to find out alone.”
“How’s Nalim?”
“She took it rough. Poured herself into keeping us alive. Had trouble sleeping until she had an incident with Shaxx and he forced her to sleep near him in the barn. She hadn’t slept in the communal with us until you reappeared.”
Cal nodded. “I can’t imagine what it was like.”
“Shaxx is keeping her together pretty well. She does her Nalim thing and cares for him. He does his Shaxx thing and cares for her.” She winked, leaning closer. “What I was going to say earlier is I think Shaxx has a crush on Nalim.”
Cal giggled, slapping her hand over her mouth. “What?!” She looked to Alexi, the mediator. He nodded.
“No, really. Listen to how he says Nalim. It’s so sappy. And he won’t shut it about what a good Guardian she is.”
“Oh my god.”
“It’s actually really cute. They’re like everyone’s little Guardian parents.” Euri laughed.
“And what about Nalim?”
Euri’s expression soured. “I’ve been watching. She’s still reeling from River’s loss. Hard. It’s gonna take her a while. But from how she acts around him, I’d say Shaxx is in luck. And I think getting you back has really helped her.”
Cal smiled. She thought about Nalim gently brushing her hair. “Happy to help.”
“Also, I told Shaxx you were in love with Cayde.”
“You HUH?!” Cal smacked her. “WHY?!”
“YOU WERE DEAD?!”
“STILL! SNITCH!”
“HOW COULD I HAVE POSSIBLY KNOWN?”
“I’M NEVER TELLING YOU ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!”

Alexi sighed.