[b]I once saw a bird hit a window and thought it was too innocent. Now I'm sitting in Xbox parties being called the 'innocent one'. Bruh I'm 20 what do I not know?! Drokantoro is in this chapter Chapter 66: Confessions From A Scarred Hunter[/b] "Do you think she slept with a Fallen?" "What the hell man. Have some decency. She can hear us." "Why not? She's gonna be offed anyways, right?" "I want all of you to shut the hell up or I'm going to go back there and throw out your asses into space." Drokantoro's gruff voice commanded and the other Titans shut their mouths, some with a loud clack or a grumble. Vala snorted, watching with uncaring eyes as she rubbed her handcuffed hand. Bolt sat next to her side as close as he could, his eyes closed and trying hard not to whimper. One of his hands were handcuffed as well and the chains connecting to her. He was brave, trying to keep it all in. It was hard, but she managed to give him soothing back rubs with her chained hand. The air was tense, the back room of the ship she was sitting in flooded with Titans to 'watch her.' Drokantoro was in the cockpit, driving quietly but turned once in a while to snap at any Titan acting out of line. The cushions she was sitting on was soft, a small token of relaxation before shit went down. But her friends had a plan. She'd trust them to keep her son safe. At least they had allowed her to sit next to him by a not so gentle threatening by Drokantoro. The Hunter thought back to earlier, her memories replaying. The other Titan charges had all flocked in by the order by Zavala to surround her and Bolt. She had to suppress a bark of laughter then, not thinking herself as a big threat when outnumbered. "Hey Hunter." Eyes snapping up to a Titan who was sitting in front of her, she tilted her head to know what they wanted. "Yes?" Voice calm, she stared impassively as they began to fidget. Ha. This Titan was new too. "Do you ever regret what you did?" Vala would have snarled at the question right then and there but she stopped herself. The Titan's voice was not full of spite or loathing, but filled with curiosity and wonderment. Like a child finding something they did not understand and asking an adult about it. She chose her words carefully as she answered. "Because we were revived to only follow orders, Titan." The other Guardians froze at her words, a new level of tension rising but she continued. "I was revived and killed like I was ordered to, blood staining my hands as some sort of reward. I was praised and I thought being this way would be better." A hushed silence came over the crowd, listening as she slipped into the past with faraway eyes. "But then Andal came, a father figure to Hunters who showed a hand at mercy and a had gentle personality. He'd rather sneak past enemies than outright slaughter them. He gave us a reason to stop and think about ourselves for a moment, to ponder about what [i]we[/i] wanted and not what was expected of us." She looked to every Titan that hung to her every word, a smile playing at her lips. "I wanted to be a mother." She saw a female Titan twitch in the corner of her eye. "But Guardians can't have children. Then when Andal died, Hunters wanting to do nothing with everyone once more, I thought that 'well this is it' and tried to forget. Forget how much loving someone hurt. To forget how much someone means to you once they slip through your fingers. It still hurts. It will always hurt to have lost him." Her hand went to chest, feeling her heartbeat under it. She still felt the sting of that day, the blow to her soul, the sound of her heart shattering. It did still hurt but tears and wishes couldn't bring him back. No one could. "And then I found my son." She looked to each Titan, the audience raptured by her tale of loss. "Bolt was the miracle I had always wished for. I don't have to pretend that it was all fine as long as I had him. He kept me going, kept me looking forward to a new day." She looked the Titan across from her dead in the eye. "So when I look at him, I know I chose the right thing to have raised him. To not view him as a trophy or unwanted blood, but as family. I wasn't ordered to do so, but like Andal that taught us this lesson, I realized I [i]wanted[/i] to raise him. And I don't ever regret that." The Titan in front her looked away, Vala thinking that maybe what she had said was enough. Drokantoro coughed from where he sat up front, and Vala felt the atmosphere tone down a bit. "Do you really mean that, Mom?" Bolt said in a quiet voice next to her, making her jump in surprise. Her eyes softened when she spotted the telltale tears gathering in his eyes. "Of course." She admitted honestly, making the dam of tears overflow from his eyes. "You're the most amazing son I've ever had. The only one I'll ever have, really." With their position still slightly uncomfortable, she tried her best to hug him. Bolt latched onto her arm, burying his face in the crook of her neck to chitter lowly. She smiled, using a free hand to run a hand through his hair. "I love you." Bolt mumbled, drifting off to sleep from her ministrations. She hummed, forgetting where she was as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "I love you too." For a while they basked in silence which Vala dearly needed. Talking about the past brought up old wounds that still festered deep deep down in her soul. But Andal, well, a dream Andal, told her that this wasn't good. Vala still wouldn't let it go. Time healed all wounds but some wounds did not want to heal. "Hey Hunter." With a scrunch of her face, she faced the young Titan in front of her once again. Hadn't he already found his answer at her words? She looked at him, waiting for what he was going to ask with thinly veiled irritation. "Oh. Um I'm sorry." Quickly amending, the Titan backed off. Vala hummed in agreement, closing her eyes to maybe find a shred of sleep. "Nearing Earth. Amanda gave us a clear for landing." She cursed Drokantoro, the sleep whisked away and replaced by the fear she was trying so hard to ignore. "I'll protect you." She promised out loud, not caring at the looks she was getting. "I'll protect you..."