Tired, she was so tired. She had been at the range for [i]hours[/i]it seemed. She was hungry, and her shots were starting to lag. When she looked to Cayde-6 after her next shot she found her mag was empty. looking down to her he blinked his cyan eye sensors and sighed. " Well, that was the last of the Synth, seems like we are out of ammo. fine, flip the safety up and let go get something to eat. " He looked down at her and couldn't help but grin at the relief on her small face. She flipped up the small knob that engaged the safety on the Scout Rifle and Caydes Ghost made a noise like it was clearing its throat, causing her to look at it. But she was not its intended listener, it was her ghost. Her Ghost expanded its apexes in surprise, and then looked around. " What?" He was confused. Caydes Ghost looked down at her gun and then back. " Store your Guardians weapon Ghost." He was slightly terse, Caydes Ghost seemed to be a bit stiff on a good day. Jadis' Ghost looked around in slight panic as if he had forgotten where the weapon was in those few seconds. Spying the gun right where it had been left on the lip her deconstructed it and stored the data in its physiomemory bank. Jadis smiled happily up at him, proud of him even if she didnt fully understand the significance. He had just started the long process of storing his Guardians tools for destruction. Standing and moving away Cayde-6 realized Jadis had not followed, causing him to turn around and look for her. She was standing tall, staring into the bright blue optic of her Ghost. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable, as if he were invading an intimate moment. She was communing gently with her Ghost, smiling distractedly as she looked from him to the hologram peppered by her last few shots. All in the head and shoulders. A [i]prodigy[/i], she would make a fine hunter if she was ever able to focus on the task at hand. But for now they needed to get something to eat. " Hey, Squirt, lets get something to eat." He barked contentedly at her, nodding when she looked quickly to him. Not too tired to put a skip in her step she followed him, her Ghost following behind them. What in the Travelers Light had he gotten himself into? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- She didnt know what it was, but it warmed her belly and tasted like rich earth and fresh green things. Cayde sat at one end of the table while Ikora and Zavala sat on either side of her. Zavala ate like he hadn't seen food in days, but the muscles straining the plain grey shirt he wore spoke otherwise. He was an Awoken, like her, his skin just a little bit darker than hers was, and even the way he sat at a table while he was eating she knew he was strong. He didn't slouch, chew with his mouth open, slurp. She took another bite of her plant protien mash and looked to Ikora, who looked back with playfully bright amber eyes. Jadis giggled, happy to see someone not as serious. " Ikora, after dinner, can we go play with the futball?" Jadis shoved another slightly stringy forkfull into her mouth and waited expectantly. Ikora seemed to grow serious as she pondered this. " Hmmm, well, that all depends on how well you eat. Finish all of your greens and all of your drink so that you can grow up strong like Zavala." She said with a playfully authoritative air. Zavala heard his name and looked up. finishing chewing a chunk of meat protein. Swallowing he smiled and brandished a well toned arm. " Yup. I cleaned my plate every day, worked hard and now i can do this." He walked over and picked Jadis up, chair and all, with one arm. She giggled and swung her feet, clinging to her chair. " Put me down put me down!!" She yelled, her voice rich with her giggles. Obliging he set her down lightly, deftly ignoring the disapproving stare from Cayde-6's metallic countenance. Zavala smiled at Jadis as he sat down. " Now, clean your plate and [i]I'll[/i] go play futball with you, show you a few moves. Care to join us Ikora, Cayde?" He glanced to each as they were addressed. Cayde made a dismissive noise and Ikora shook her head with a bit of regret. " No, I'm afraid i have to attend to some matters of security that i believe you were speaking of attending as well." She said to him sternly, then to Cayde. " Cayde, you can, can't you?" The question was less that and more of a Command. Cayde sighed, but nodded. " Good, now finish up Jadis so that you can get out there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She slipped around his right side clumsily, easy enough for him to take the ball but he refrained. Adding her to the current game would've offput too many Guardians, so he started his own. A few other Guardians had asked to join, mostly on Jadis' side, and mostly Titans. What was it with this girl and Titans? She kicked the ball between the two crates that represented the goal and they all cheered. Squinting at her he could see the happiness in her face, the joy he had heard so much about, the joy of being a Child. He had never been a child; he had never been ignorant, innocent, powerless. What must it be like to be so small, knowing it would be whole years before you could fend for and defend yourself? Maybe, she didn't think of it that way. However she thought about it, she was always smiling. A female Titan picked her up and swung her in a circle before setting her on her shoulders, and played the whole next game like this. Cayde sat on the sidelines and spoke to his Ghost about their plan to train her, setting up a list of to-do's and things to avoid. Training someone one on one like this was going to be taxing, he may need to draw on some help. When the other Guardians finally dispersed he led Jadis to her new room, where she would sleep until the time she felt it needed that she take up residence outside the tower. There were those loners, like Cayde, who liked to live away from the bustle, away from the noise and the constriction of the iron columns. It could get claustrophobic here. Leading her past The Speaker once more and down the elevator he caught her yawning widely, already rubbing her eyes. It was a big day, this her First Birthday. Leading her to a clean, spartan room he found some clothes Ikora had surely had purchased for her. She began to put them away and looked back to Cayde, as if waiting for him to leave. Oh, yes, right, privacy. He looked around uncomfortably, then muttered, " Er, uh, yeah, Goodnight." and turned to leave. But his efforts were to be thwarted as two small arms wrapped around him and a warm body pressed to his. Looking down she was hugging him, looking back at himwith bright green eyes. " Thank you Cayde, for teaching me to shoot today, i hope we do it again tomorrow." She whirled away and picked out her pj's, allowing him to leave her room. When next she emerged her Ghost was setteled on her pillow, waiting for her to emerge. " You did well today at the test range, do you like Guns?" He was curious, because he knew she was going to have to use them a lot. He watched her think about it as she settled onto the bottom of the bunkbeds she was afforded, her face serious in contemplation. " Yes, i do, but they make my arms sore, having to hold them when they, 'kick back'." She used a word she had learned from Cayde-6, the return motion of the gun as it shot. Her Ghost simply nodded to her and moved away from the pillow. Resting her head she closed her eyes, and slipped silently into sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------ Next Installation: Jadis goes on a nighttime adventure and learns a few secrets!