There was so much ash. So much ash and destruction around her. The air smelled of gunpowder and the metallic scent of blood. [i]Fallen blood[/i] she remembered as she left her hiding place. All round her there were Fallen. Dead lumps to be exact. And it was all her fault. She sighed, the sound reverberating all around her in the empty room. No, not empty. It was just silent. She grimaced at the old saying the Warlocks would mutter after missions. [i]"Dead men tell no tales."[/i] was it? Not that she could understand Fallen speech. It was an accident if you were ask her. A routine engram run on Earth. But things got quickly out of hand when she had wandered a bit too far out. By far out, she meant that even the old colony ships were nothing but a speck in the distance. Out here, engrams were abundant, rare. She couldn't miss this chance. Instead of those rich treasures she was promised there was a Fallen Ketch. Being a little brave but foolish, she charged in to eradicate the inhabitants immediately. Her scout rifle took out the first that charged for her. And her shotgun became her best friend when a Captain had gotten a [i]bit[/i] too close. But as a Hunter, a Bladedancer no less, she had used the old invisibility tactics many of her brethren had used before her. In the end, they all crumpled under her relentless bullets. The spoils of war were nothing but Ether Seeds, some banners and blue engrams. She then wandered into the Ketch only to have to battle a few more Fallen inside. And here she was, kicking away useless rubble, not sure what to do next. But then she heard it. [i]Click click click![/i] Her scout rifle was at ready before she knew it. Stepping with almost no noise, she tried to locate the source. Where was it? More importantly, [i]what was it?[/i] She had never heard that sound before. And she had heard a lot of sounds as her life as a Guardian. [i]Click! Creee...[/i] [i]There![/i] There, in a small pod, was where the noise was coming from. All around her there were more pods but their glass hatches were either closed or cracked. There were pools of blood dripping from some of them. The sight disturbed her. What had happened in here? She hadn't stepped foot in the room so why was it like this? Her answer came in the form of one little hand peeking out of the pod that she was watching. Three fingers to be exact. Inching closer, the Hunter was prepared for something to fly out and strike her so her blade was drawn. When none came, she allowed her guard to slip a little bit. When her eyes finally landed at what was in this pod they widened. There, nestled on a red cloth, was a little creature. It's large four eyes blinked rapidly, as if it was not expecting her. She did not expect it either. A baby Fallen lay right in front of her, it's stubby four arms moving about. It clicked at her, questioning in its language. When no response came, it reared back, snarling. What was this strange creature? Where were his caretakers or his brothers? The silence scared him and he squeaked in fear when the creature lifted up a strange object over its head. Knife poised, she was ready to end its life. Another Fallen she wouldn't have to worry about, right? But staring into those wide, innocent eyes made her falter. [i]She had to kill it, right? Who would miss it? It's brothers were dead, their life put out early.[/i] The Fallen baby surprised her when it reached its four arms towards her and clicking rapidly. It's language spilled out in a garbled mess as it squeaked and cried. She surprised herself even more when she put her knife back and lifted it up into her arms. The other responded by wrapping around the her in an embrace, burrowing itself into her arms. She rocked it back and forth gently, unable to understand what she was doing. Within a few minutes, it was asleep, her eyes taking in the gentle rise and fall of its chest. "You're a strange one." She whispered to it, not wanting to wake it up. "But I guess I'm even stranger to have done this. You're so little, so frail, so innocent. I can't kill you." No, she would kill Fallen who came at her with blades and guns. Heck, she'd kill anything that did that to her. But she couldn't kill a baby, a [i]Fallen[/i] baby no less. "I will raise you, young one." She said to it, her voice resolute, "I will raise you to be like one of us. Not in a way others would see, but in a way that you could help us. And I will be here to make others understand that you aren't a monster." Engram hunting long gone from her mind, she slowly walked out of the Ketch, mindful of the little bundle in her arms. Summoning her sparrow, she made a makeshift sack out of her cloak to hold the Fallen baby close. She rode out afterwards, a whole new world opening up to her. "I hope you guys have diapers or I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining to Cayde when I get back. Also, I don't think there's a manual on raising Fallen babies. This is going to be hard." She smiled though, not expecting her day to turn out like this. Either way, she had found a little treasure of her own.