[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/114378752]Part 1[/url] “I did not look back at her, but I heard her coming into the bath and sitting down a few meters next to me. For a while we did not speak.” “‘I saw you the other day, you know, at the noodle stand.’, she finally said, breaking the silence. I looked at her in shock. She was leaning against the same side of the bath that I was, looking over to me with her green eyes that felt like they could pierce me any second. ‘You saw me? I’m... I’m sorry I... didn’t mean to be rude...’ She just stared at me for a moment, then she smiled a little bit. ‘I didn’t think that you were rude.’, she said, ‘I saw you again, several times, you come here quite often, don’t you?’ I tried to hide my surprise but I must have failed miserably, because she answered before I could even ask the question. ‘I’m a Hunter, you know. It’s my job not to be noticed.’ I simply nodded, I should have figured that out by myself. ‘If you saw me, why didn’t you try to talk to me.’ I felt like a fool, but I was still curios. ‘I was unsure what you were up to. And I was sick of talking to the Guardians at the Tower. I was not very keen to talk to a Guardian here, so whenever I saw you, I went to another place instead.’ She smiled and soaked her arms in the water. That made a lot of sense to me. I thought it was strange to never see her again after the first time. ‘I see. To be honest, I have been waiting to meet you. But it seems like you felt different about that. Why did you come now?’ I wiped the sweat of my forehead with a towel. ‘The other day when you weren’t here, I talked with the kids.’, she said and stared at the water, ‘They told me about a Titan who came here to play with them, but they also told me that he was always very quiet when they told him about their wish to be Guardians. I felt, maybe you and I have something in common.’ My mouth must have been open when she spoke, because it felt very dry when I managed to formulate a reply. ‘I thought the same thing when I saw you for the first time, that was why I came here, I wanted to meet you to have somebody to talk to about the way I feel.’” “We talked for quite a while after that. We also agreed to meet again at the same place. We would have many conversations and it turned out that I was right. She felt the same that I did. Disconnected from everything. Knowing why our fight is important but not feeling it in her heart. We both knew why we were fighting but we felt that it would not matter to us if the fight was lost. We continued to meet in that bath house for quite a long time, before we finally decided to become friends. After that, we also met at the Tower, making the place more bearable for both of us. We would sometimes meet and talk about our recent assignments and what we had seen, sometimes she would stay at my place until I or she fell asleep. I sometimes would wake up with a blanket over me and a piece of paper saying: ‘See you soon.’ It was the first time that I enjoyed being at the Tower, being a Guardian, but I still could not seem to get my head around why it was us who were fighting.” “Sometime after that we went to Venus, doing reconnaissance together for the first time. Having a friend with me made me feel alive on the battlefield for the first time. Everything went well. No problems and we both got commended by the Vanguard for our efforts. We both agreed, our relationship so far has done good for both of us.” [b]A moment of silence. [/b] “But one day something changed. She would start taking many assignments and go on voluntary missions without me. Whenever I inquired she said that I had to figure it out on my own. She did not reject me, she just did not talk about it. The time we spent together became less and less. She had no obligation to keep meeting with me, after all we were not in a romantic relationship, but I still felt a bit let down. For a long time I could not figure it out. What had happened? Why was she suddenly so distant? Did I do something wrong? Was it something that a human could not understand? At that time I never knew how wrong I was.” “When they brought her in from Mars, severely wounded, her Ghost damaged, I nearly started crying. I had not realized how much she meant to me beyond our past conversations. I waited day and night, next to her bed, waiting for her to get better. Waiting for her to open her eyes. I remember holding her hand, one night, feeling her warmth. She was still alive, but still in a coma. ‘I need you to recover... because... I can’t make it on my own. Please... Sky...’ She did not wake up that night.” “Her name was Sky. At least that is what she told me. After I came back from the Moon, following up on the disappearance of a Guardian fireteam, I got a notice telling me that she woke up but was still too weak to go home. I visited her on that day. We talked for a long time, and I can’t possible recite everything she said, but one part of the conversation I would never forget.” “This is important, Whisper. Are you getting all this?” [i]“Yes, do not worry, I recorded everything so far.”[/i] “Good, thank you... Do we still have time?” [i]“I think so. I did not hear anything for a while.”[/i] “Alright, let us finish this up just in case.” “When I walked into the room she was lying in her bed, looking out the window, down at the city. She did not turn her head to look at me. ‘I’m glad you came.’, she said. ‘I thought you might not care if I died.’ I sat down on the chair and took my helmet off. ‘Why would you think that? Of course I care. I came here every day since they brought you back.’ She turned her head towards me, her face still bruised, her eyes full of surprise, but as bright as always. ‘So you finally understand why I had to go?’ I shook my head. ‘No, I don’t. Why could you not let somebody else take the job? You knew it was risky. I know you always do a good job but it was a voluntary assignment.’ She looked sad and turned towards the window again. ‘I see. You have not figured it out yet, after all. I thought you would get it by yourself.’ I was frustrated, I did not know what she was talking about for quite a while and I was not about to understand it on my own just then. ‘Will you please tell me what is going on? I was worried about you. Don’t you think you owe me at least an explanation after all we’ve talked about in the past?’ She did not reply. ‘I just want us to go back to the way we were before. Friends, sharing our experience, us against everybody else, don’t you remember?’ She answered without turning her head. ‘Of course I remember. But that part of me is already gone, Temujin. It will never come back.’ She looked at me, and I could see sadness in her eyes. At that moment I knew that she was pitying me, but she was too polite to show it. ‘I did not get it for a long time. But I figured it out on my own. Don’t you understand? This war... This is all there is... This is the most important thing we ever had to fight for. You and I, we both know that. But we always felt that if we lost, it would not be any different of loosing our lifes in any other situation. But we were wrong, we were blind and egoistic!’ She turned to the window once more. ‘These people... The owner of the noodle stand. The old lady, the kids who always come and take a bath with us. If we fail, they are all going to die!’ ‘I know that.’ ‘And still you don’t go out of your way to fight for their future!’ ‘What are you getting all high and mighty about, you used to be exactly the same until recently!’ ‘Yes, I know... Figuring things like that out is what it means to be alive. We can make mistakes. But we have to learn and grow. I was weak. But you helped me to realize that there are things we need to care about. But when I failed to help you to realize the same... I did not know what to do, other than to let you figure it out by yourself. I should have known it would not be that easy. I failed you.’ I was stunned by her words. Even if I wanted to say something, I don’t think that any words could possibly have left my mouth. ‘We Guardians... We did not choose to become Guardians. Yes. It seems unfair. Why us, right? It is a burden, no doubt about it. But you know what...’ She looked at me and took my hand in hers. ‘It is also the most beautiful and honorable burden there ever was. The future, Temujin... The future is in our hands, don’t you see? It is us who decide, with our actions, if these kids, these people, everybody... Exo... Humans... Awoken... if we survive together and see the light together. Not just by the things we have to do. But by the things we decide. You can make a difference. Maybe you died in your past life. Yes. That is something we all have to live with. But you came back. You came back to make a difference. No matter how weak you think you are. You are strong. You just have to accept your Destiny.’” “I thought I saw tears in her eyes but I quickly realized that it was me who was crying. I had been wrong for so long, and I did not even realize it. I thought the problem was the world, but it had been me all along. My friend almost had to die to make me realize my mistakes, about the world we lived in, about the people and even about her. We talked a lot more, after I told her that I realized she was right. She seemed happy that I agreed, but I guess in light of the things we would have to do from now on it was only secondary. A few hours passed, but before I left, I turned around at the door. ‘Sky. You know... I think I love you.’, I said, looking down at my feet. ‘I love you too.’, she replied without thinking for a second. ‘I like to think that we might have been together in our past lives. Don’t you think that would have been great?’ She smiled. ‘Yeah... The best.’, I said.” To be continued... [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/114379736]Part 3[/url]