Kat breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It wasn’t that taking down the Fallen is difficult...it’s just that...no. No, it’s difficult. She hefted her scout rifle to her shoulder and shot a guilty glance toward Lynn, who stood silently nearby, leaning against a rusted metal door frame. “Not bad,” Lynn said, her eyes blank. Kat groaned. “It was horrible,” Kat protested, waving her free hand around in frustration. “Did you see how much Light I let escape?” Lynn’s eyes softened some. Kat suspected she was enjoying this a bit too much. “Remember what I told you to do back on the tower?” Lynn asked, smiling, her short hair beginning to flutter slightly, disturbed by an unfelt wind. Tiny tendrils of light flowed around her. Kat sighed and cockily shifted her weight onto one foot. “Yes, but I’m sure it’ll be good to remind me.” The warlock chuckled and let more Light surround her. It circled her faster and faster, creating a double helix of white brilliance that flashed into a vibrant flame, flickering and spitting at Lynn’s feet. Kat let her weapon drop down to her side and shifted into a more respectful pose, watching intently. Lynn’s eyes closed, her hands remained clasped about her weapon, relaxed. In utter contrast her hair and robes whipped about her, creating a maelstrom of cloth and yellow-orange flame that slowly lifted her body into the air. The energy escaped through two chaotic jets near her shoulders, giving Kat the impression of flaming wings. Lynn’s body lifted until it was far above Kat’s head, the warlock’s robes and skin the color of gold, enveloped by violent flame. Once she reached the apex of her ascent, she opened brilliant white eyes and looked down at Kat. Kat felt intensely uncomfortable, sensing the power coming from the guardian. Lynn seemed completely alien. “What the hell?!” the hunter shouted, her eyes wide, her weapon held stiffly at her side. She let it dematerialize and unsheathed her blade. “And I’m just sitting here stabbing things with a knife?” “If you attempted the Crucible more than once you’d see many warlocks doing exactly this,” Lynn shouted back, over the roaring of the flames surrounding her body. Her voice echoed powerfully around them, bouncing off the rocks and decaying metal structures that made up the Mothyards. After several moments. Lynn slowly let the Light leave her, and dropped down to the ground, landing with a gentle [i]thump[/i]. A spinmetal plant nearby tinkled musically as the wind stirred. The warlock strode up to Kat and put her hand on her shoulder. “There is so much you can do. Trust the Light,” she said, repeating the words she had said at the tower. Kat nodded dumbly and repositioned her feet, suddenly very self-conscious. As Lynn backed away, Kat concentrated and reached for the flowing Light within her, letting it fill her being. Flashes of arc energy and static electricity webbed themselves over her body, jumping from her gun to her leg, to the ground, and back again. A sharp buzzing and snapping filled her ears, igniting her senses. She closed her eyes and nearly took a step forward, but before Kat had a tight enough grasp on the energy, it left her. Leaning over and grabbing her knees, she took several deep breaths. She was exhausted. Lynn frowned and crossed her arms, pondering. “You’ll need a quick break before you can attempt this again,” Lynn said, her voice vaguely disappointed. She stood slightly straighter. “All you need is practice.” She smiled comfortingly. Kat groaned and sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. “This is the best I’ve done so far,” Kat said. She picked up a pebble and flicked it away, annoyed. The pebble flew across the space between the guardians and into a nearby window, hitting something metallic with a small [i]tink[/i]. A titan appeared in the window a few moments later, looking slightly annoyed. Kat froze and shrunk slightly. The guardian looked at them a few moments and strode out the door, the light reflecting brilliantly off of her white and red armor. She stood at perfect attention, regarding them. Lynn looked at her for a moment, then gasped in recognition. “Tac, is that you?” she asked, tilting her head forward slightly. The titan looked at her and nodded. “I haven’t seen you in the tower in quite a while. Everything going well?” Tac looked down at Lynn’s gun and then at Kat. “I had an assignment,” she replied, her voice edged with an exo’s metallic static. Her gaze remained fixed on the hunter. Kat stood slowly. The group looked at each other, awkwardly silent for a few moments, unsure what to say. “Sorry about your arm-” Kat began to apologize, but Tac raised a hand. “Try it again, guardian,” the titan said. Kat stood slowly, noticing that her legs and arms felt less fatigued. How did she know where her Light level was? The titan waved her gun slightly, prodding her into action. Kat took a deep breath and felt the Light fill her again. Wait. [i]There[/i]. She opened her eyes and was just about to mentally move the energy, when it sputtered to a quiet stop inside of her again. She leaned over and glared down at the ground, her face reddening in anger and shame. [i]Dammit[/i]. Tac’s ghost appeared out of thin air beside its guardian, looking intently at the hunter. It then turned its eye toward Tac and nodded slightly, vanishing. Tac stepped forward and stood in front of the hunter, who was once again doubled over, out of breath. “The trick is breathing and concentration,” Tac said quietly. With those words blue arc energy began to trace over the titan’s body, emitting sharp cracks and a light electronic hum. “Breathe deeply, evenly. Let the energy hold you. You only hold it when it lets you. Once that happens,” she breathed in and exhaled sharply, “You let it go.” Tac leapt into the air powerfully, buffeting Kat with a violent gust of wind. The titan hovered dangerously nearly thirty feet in the air, and crashed violently downward, colliding thunderously into the ground nearly fifty feet away, churning up a massive amount of dust and bits of rock. Kat protected her face with her arm and stifled a cough. Tac’s glinting form materialized from the dust cloud seconds later, spotless. She walked up to Kat again. “That was-” Kat sputtered. “When standing,” the titan continued, hefting her MIDA scout rifle onto her shoulder ([i]now [b]that[/b] was a rare weapon, Kat thought[/i]) “keep your body balanced. Never put too much weight on one leg without intention. Always stay low. Powerful. That will put a lot of force behind your body and your blade.” The titan crouched slightly, feet apart, stance low and strong. She lifted her gun and pointed it at the hunter. Kat just stared at Tac’s faceplate. “Yes ma’am. Sir,” the hunter choked. As Tac stepped away, Kat straightened, repeating Tac’s words in her mind. “Try it again,” Tac said, falling into the same stiff stance she had taken earlier. Kat breathed deeply and tried to focus. A few seconds later, she felt the Light pool inside her once again. She breathed slowly. Evenly. [i]Let the Light take you. Trust the Light. Let it hold you until it lets you hold it.[/i] She breathed. And waited. And breathed. And waited. The energy built upon itself slowly with every breath, but once again, as always, it vanished without warning. Kat leaned forward again, not as exhausted this time, but just as angry. She grabbed a pebble from the ground and hurled it as hard as she could across the Mothyards. A distant [i]plink[/i] hit her ears at it bounced off the aged shell of a cargo plane. Tac stood watching her, impassive. She leaned her head toward Lynn. “Is this the furthest she’s gotten?” Tac asked quietly. “As far as I know,” Lynn said, her left hand scratching absently at her chin while she thought. “Is it possible she could be a better fit for solar energy?” Tac asked. Lynn shook her head. “I would feel some affinity to her energy if she were,” she replied. Tac turned and stared at the hunter, who had slumped to the ground in frustration, her once-clean crimson cape filthy with dust. Lynn looked at the titan curiously, and knitted her eyebrows. “What if…” Lynn trailed off, thinking. Tac looked at her, nodding slightly. Lynn sighed. [i]I knew it,[/i] she thought. [i]Blast it.[/i] x-x-x-x-x Alright, so I didn't write this one. My friend PuzzleDrone did. And boy is she good at this. Featured here are two of her characters: Lynn, a Sunsinger; and Kat, a soon-to-be Nightstalker. ;) (Seems Arc Light and Solar Light just don't work too well for her, huh?) The Titan is Tac, with whom you may already be familiar. And yes, she wields a MIDA. :P