Drifting in and out of consciousness, Bree’s eyes slowly fluttered open. A few minutes of blurry unclarity and Mar came into focus, her helmet’s enhanced imaging technology fine-tuned the colors and sharpness. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming, awake or just flat out losing her mind. Bree had to look twice, Mar, was sitting next to the tree which was only a few feet from her, his chest armor laying next to him, along with his helmet and gauntlets. He sat in just his leather pants tucked into obsidian boots, a long sleeve black shirt covered his arms and torso. Mar’s face had gentle features, a strong jawline that was covered in a brown stubble, but it was his eyes that took Bree’s breath away. They were the color of two sparkling emeralds swathed in light. Gleaming, glittering, and shining, they mesmerized her. He only looked at her for a few seconds before he slowly closed his eyes, resting his head against the bark of the tree. “I must confess, I never really enjoyed wearing my armor. When I take it off, I feel like I can breathe, like I have a connection with the world around me that nothing can sever. The grass against my skin, cool water splashing against my face, a gentle breeze through my hair; I feel free.” Bree rolled over a little bit in order to have a better look at him. “What the Hell are you rambling on about now? Don’t you ever stop talking?” “There is a soothing serenity here, Bree. In this place, there is no darkness, there is only light. I know that you believe that darkness is the only thing that thrives within you, but it is only you clinging to that thought that makes it true,” Mar’s voice placid. “Your armor is riddled with an abundant number of scars, it holds memories and power. You may find that if you free yourself from it, your memories and pain will fade.” Bree slowly shifted to her knees. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I like my armor right where it is.” “Afraid to remove it?” Now, Bree rose to stand before him, Mar, stayed sitting with his back against the tree. “This armor protects me, if I were to take it off, who knows what you will try. For all I know this is all some kind of trap, and you’re just waiting for the right moment to kill me.” Bree glared at him from underneath her helmet, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. “You and I both know that your armor wouldn’t stop me from killing you,” Mar spoke as he slowly opened his eyes. “Bree, it is not removing your armor that you fear, it is what lies beneath. You’re afraid to show weakness.” Bree glared at, Mar, burning a hole through her visor. “Weak? Are you calling me weak? You have no f*cking clue who I am or what I’ve been through. Who the f*ck do you think you are, huh? Sitting in your pretty little cave shut off from the terrors that await the ones brave enough to fight against them, all high and mighty like you are some sort of collective of knowledge for the entire universe? Well, I got some pretty bad f*cking news for you, you don’t know shit about me or what I’m afraid of. You want me to take my armor off? You want to see what’s underneath? Here!” she screamed at him. The locks on her helmet were first. She pulled it off her head violently, the locks on her gauntlets came next, then, finally, her chest piece. Bree pulled everything off with the exception of her pants and boots, and slammed it all down into a pile by his feet. Her hands grabbed roughly at the skintight fabric of her undershirt, roughly pulling it over her head, she added it to the pile. Standing before him, topless apart from a thick band of fabric that wrapped around her breasts. Bree held her arms out to her sides as if she were a mannequin in a department store window. Her skin, if one could call it that, was burned, charred, and scarred. Angry red burns, welts, rashes covered her chest and arms. Long lines of grotesque cuts ran rampant along both arms and from the neck down. Bree’s face was covered in nothing scars from a precision knife like someone had run a band saw down the whole front of her body. Mar’s face sunk at the sight of all of her disfigurements she was forced to endure, the pain and suffering in them made him cringe away slightly while only slightly, it was still a cringe. The pain behind Bree’s blue eyes burned with fury as they glistened with moisture. “Here! You wanted to know why I am the way I am? Why I’m this f*cked up? Take a good long look, Mar,” acid dripped from his name as she said it, her face turned cherry red as she saw him flinch at the sight of her. “There! Happy now? All of my weakness, all of my pain and suffering. Now you’ve seen it. Go ahead and reject me just like everyone else does! Nobody cares as to why, nobody bothers to ask or try to understand who I am or what I’ve been through, all they see is a monster. And you are just like them, I can see it in your face.” “Bree, these scars are your weakness, but they can also be your strength. It is not what has happened to us or our past that defines us, it is what we do after. You have suffered a tremendous amount more than anyone I have ever known, a million times over, but you have the ability to use that to be a stronger Guardian and a stronger person than all of the rest. I look at you, Bree, and I am sad because I see someone who is still suffering. You have not yet been freed from your torture, but you can be; only if you choose to be.” Mar slowly stood, his green eyes never leaving her blues. His hands slid underneath his shirt and he peeled it up and over his head. Letting the shirt fall away, he stood before her as, Bree, now dropped down to the ground, on her knees, her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him. His body was covered in deep white scars. From his arms to his neck, they ran across, diagonally, and in every which direction. The scars burned with a white heat almost as if they were still being seared into his flesh, his eyes traveled down his own scars, his own torment before he slowly brought them back to her face. “Your life, your future, who you will become, is all under your control, Bree. Don’t let your past dictate your future. The lines may have been drawn in the sand today, but they can be washed away with the tides of tomorrow. You mustn’t dwell on the demons within, you must fight them; and you must never stop.” [i]Thank you all again for your patience and understanding, and I really hope you enjoy![/i] [i]Trials of a Guardian: The Trial of Corruption (Chapter 8)[/i]: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/116746553 [i]Trials of a Guardian: ALL Chapters (Appendix)[/i]: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/105589170/0/0