It was a rag-tag group, as they often were. Bedraggled and road-worn they looked up at the sleeping giant above them. They always did. It was an instinct. The two Titans and the Hunter that had accompanied them patiently herded them through the open gate as they stumbled along, unable to watch their feet while the Traveler held their attention. Zavala watched them from his post atop the wall. This was a duty he never found onerous. He enjoyed looking into those wide, awestruck eyes, the ones that asked him, ‘is this real?’. The Hunter in the group paused mid step, her helmeted head turned up, staring straight at him. He peered down at her. Nodded gravely. “Zavala?” She asked. His eyebrows went up. “Yes?” She pulled off her helmet and turned fully to give him a brilliant smile. “It [i]is[/i] you. It’s been a while.” “Alia.” He blinked. She shrugged her cloak over her shoulders, readjusting the lay of bow and rifle slung across her back. “I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.” “You proved hard to forget.” He told her plainly. Her smile dropped away for a moment before returning softer, somehow. More genuine, he thought. “And you’re still hard to miss.” She glanced over at the pilgrims she had helped guide in, ensuring they were making it into the proper hands. “As is the growth here.” She said, eyes still on them. “I noticed the new perimeter?” She turned, a question in her eyes. “The space within the original wall is proving insufficient for the numbers.” He said, holding a hand down to her, a silent offer to help her clamber up the wall. She released her helmet and it vanished, her ghost storing it away as she jumped up to the first platform. He watched her, still holding out his hand. It was obvious she didn’t need it, but he had made the offer after all. She made the final jump and grabbed his fingers, allowing him to tow her to the top. After giving her a moment to take in the view he started, “If you look from here you’ll see we’re enclosing the original wall within a concentric ring, an extra barrier for now.” He gestured. “But with plenty of space for when we overflow the original location.” He turned. “There will be six approaches, each guarded and fortified.” “Has there been trouble?” She asked, eyes traveling from the rough circle to the mountains beyond. “Not as of yet.” He replied, watching her. She seemed…older, somehow. Not that they could age, but time had tempered her, that playful woman he had met so long ago. He could see a hint of shadow behind those silver eyes and wondered what had put it there. “Small skirmishes on the outskirts, for the most part. However, with such a gathering there is no doubt at some point we will become a target.” She swept a gauntleted hand through the air. “There’s still quite a distance between the new wall and the mountains. Are you clearing it for a no man’s land?” He smiled, impressed. “Yes, for now. Should we require the space we will expand to build another past it. But that is looking far to the future.” Her eyes roved across the sprawling town, quickly becoming a city, taking in the scaffolds and workers. A large bus trundled by, she looked at it thoughtfully. Small groups walked beneath the wall, holding low conversations. “Do you remember?” She asked. He did not need to ask what she meant. “I do.” “Sometimes it seems like it was only yesterday. Sometimes it feels like it was just a dream.” “A fire still burns in the town center. There has been talk of making it into a monument.” “An eternal flame?” She asked. “I think I’d like to see that.” He cleared his throat. “There are numerous restaurants built around the location, perhaps you would like to join me there and we will…talk of old times.” She looked up at him, her silver blue brows drawn together as she examined his face. He coughed again and looked away. “When does your watch end?” She asked. He kept his eyes fixed on the gap outside the wall. “Approximately two hours, just before twilight.” She released his hand. He stared down at his empty palm. He hadn’t even realized… “Then I’ll meet you by the flame.” One last smile and she leapt off the wall. Zavala watched her disappear into the crowd before he turned, continuing his watch and trying not to count the minutes. --- “There are more of us now.” They had taken some time to walk around the city center, reading hand-written menus in the windows and drawn on placards. Finally they settled on a place where the scent of spices nearly overwhelmed that of the population. Small seating arrangements were scattered within and without the building. Their chosen table looked out over the square, and mutually, without even discussing it, they had chosen to move their chairs so their backs were against the wall. The servers didn’t comment, so they were more than likely used to the quirks of the Risen. “There are.” He agreed. “Many Risen have begun filtering in from further afield, off planet as well.” “How is that?” “Golden age ships salvaged from where they had lain abandoned.” “I would like to see some of those ships.” She murmured, eyes on the sky past the curved bulk of the Traveler. “But I meant more Awoken.” She made a face. “That’s what they’re calling us now, isn’t it?” “Ah, yes.” he leaned back, considering before giving her a long look. “I was revived here on Earth.” She raised her eyebrows, encouraging him to continue. “But apparently that was a fluke. All the others I’ve spoken to have come from much further off, near the asteroid belt. As they put it ‘where the light meets the dark’.” “My ghost told me the piece of ship I was found in had been flung back towards the inner planets, so perhaps that was my point of origin as well.” “And mine.” He agreed, “For I was also discovered inside a ship. None of the Awoken are natively raised here.” “So we’re aliens?” She murmured, sipping at her water glass. “Perhaps that explains it.” He leaned forward. “How do you mean?” The server chose that moment to arrive with their plates. Zavala inhaled the heady scent of spice as his was placed before him, steam rising from the rice and vegetable concoction. “Thank you.” He said. The civilian nodded. “Yes, thank you.” Alia echoed. She looked to Zavala after the man left. “I’ll answer that question, but after we eat?” “Of course.” He took a bite, feeling the flavors clash before melding harmoniously on his tongue. “Delicious.” She took her own first bite before coughing and taking a sip from her water. “Are you…” “I’m fine.” She gasped. “It’s very spicy. Wonderful.” She took another bite before taking another sip. “Delicious.” She gasped again. He felt his eyes crinkle in amusement. “We can order something else.” She shook her head. “No, I knew it would be spicy. It’s my favorite dish.” She laughed at his incredulous look. “No, really.” He shook his head as she took another determined bite, turning his attention to his own plate. By the time their plates were clean he was feeling very contented, looking out at the lanterns being lit around the square, the gatherings of civilian and Risen. Some larger knots formed and he felt his contentment slip slightly at the sight of the faction banners. Alia cleared her throat, bringing his attention back to her, “The first village I visited after I arrived on Earth they called me ‘blue girl’; they’d never seen someone like me. Nonetheless…” That shadow returned behind her eyes, dimming their light with memory. She pressed her hand to her forehead, eyes squeezing shut as she took long breaths. “I apologize…they made me welcome, though I was different.” She shook her head. “I suppose I’d assumed it would be the same everywhere.” “But it was not.” He nodded, ignoring the pause. “When I made my way here there were few, and I was accepted. But even so I was something different, more so even than the EXO. Those they had seen before. I assume you felt the same way.” “At times,“ He agreed. “But as more people filtered in…” “Yes.” She nodded, fiddling with the edges of her cloak before glancing up at him. “Did you…” He leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. “Some stares, particularly at first. But no outright hostility.” “It’s different out there.” She gestured, past the Traveler, past the mountains, out into the wild, before letting her hand rest on the scarred tabletop. “I’ve learned to keep my helmet on.” He reached forward, placed a comforting hand over hers. Her hand looked so small beneath his, but he knew well that her grip was strong. “I’m sorry.” She smiled, “We all make sacrifices. Keeping my helmet on is a small one, in the grand scheme of things. But now that there are more of us, perhaps things will change.” A commotion brought both of their attentions around. Her hand went under her cloak, no doubt clasping the hilt of one of the knives no Hunter ever seemed to be without. He rose to his feet. The two factions he had noticed gathering earlier had grown in number, scuffles breaking out around the edges where the two groups met. “There are more of those as well.” She murmured, watchful, her hand still hidden in her cloak. “Yes.” Zavala agreed, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Is anything being done?” “Things are in motion, but no, not yet. The general feel is that the day is coming.” He looked down at her, finding his resolve matched in her eyes. “Perhaps I’ll stay around for a while, then.” She said. “See what comes to pass.” He gave her a fierce smile. “Your presence would be most welcome.” She smiled back. “Should we break them up?” She asked. He shook his head reluctantly. “Unless it gets out of hand interfering will do more harm than good.” He sighed. “But we should make sure the bystanders aren’t in the line of fire, in case it does get out of hand.” He held out his hand. “Shall we?” She tossed some glimmer on the table and accepted his hand. “Are dinners with you always going to be so exciting?” “I certainly hope not.” Table of Contents: https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/226526566/0/0