Excerpt 009: Unsettled (Open to All)

[rekindledtitan]

TYPE: Patrol log

LOCATION: The Nexus

PARTIES: Unconfirmed total [??]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [[personal profile] rekindledtitan]

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Rogers, Steve; Blaze-37; Pelsor; House of Winter


By the time she returns, spring is rolling into summer. There’s a great deal she needs to catch up on – and serious work to be done. Ghost sends out a short message announcing their restoration to the friends they haven’t met with – Tina, Natasha, Adia, Katsuya, the handful of others whose PINpoint numbers they have. Then they report into the Tower, at their commander’s insistence. A very long debrief later, Blaze feels the need to go blow off some steam. When she does get back to the Nexus, it’s with a few new dents

Blaze has no time for standing around the Plaza asking questions, though given the circumstances she’s kind of obliged to show her face. So when she gets back, the first thing the armored Titan does is stride into the centre of the Plaza. She brings her hands together in a thunderclap and a flash of Arc Light, and announces as heads turn to her:

“The Fallen kept their word. The truce is sealed.”

It brings her little joy to do so, but it needs to be done. She doesn’t stand around, though. She needs to get to work. The Fallen presence and its consequences are her responsibility, and she has ground to make up. Anyone who wants to ask her questions will have to keep up as the Guardian heads out of the Nexus settlement.

From there on she can be encountered once more patrolling the Nexus streets and the Wilds, on the watch for any sign of trouble. There’s no more sitting around chatting or tweaking her weapons in plain view. Now she’s on duty at all times. She has patrol beacons to install and monitor, borders to watch over. Darkness to scout for. And the Exo never seems to sleep. Though she returns periodically to the informal Guardian outpost that Steve’s house has turned into, she doesn’t rest there. During noonday sun or gloomy night, her boots ring on the pavement or crunch through leaf litter, and those who want to find her have a good chance of succeeding.

And if not her, then it’s always possible to encounter one of the other Guardians either keeping watch at Steve’s house or roaming about the Nexus. Unlike Blaze, they’ll occasionally stop at a café or bar to sample the local fare, sometimes at peculiar hours. If there’s a ramen bar that stays open until dawn, they’re there.


(( This post is open to any characters from the Nexus who might run into her after her post-Winter resurrection. If you want your character to encounter a different Guardian in particular or set the thread in one of the settings above, just let me know where in narration and/or the header. :) ))

Comments

[outpostcook]

When he sees Blaze and Ghost, Kinner salutes them. Blaze had been his general, if for a short time, and he's relieved to see that she's back in business.They don't know each other well, but she has the little cook's respect. He has questions, but first he wants to make it clear he's glad they're back.

"Hello, Blaze. You too, Ghost. I'm relieved to see you're back all right. Hope those brutes weren't too rough on you." Kinner sighs, sitting down. He has to bring this up, since Blaze is the only one who knows about what the Fallen are and how to deal with them. First, apologies and thanks are due. "Sorry I wasn't there to try and stop you from bein' taken - I was too busy trying not to get shot. Those bastards are good fighters. Barely got outta there alive. But when I heard you were back, I had to try and find you. Thank you for everything."

"Truce aside, there's too many of 'em to kick out." He looks in the direction of the Wilds. "The Baroness doesn't strike me as someone who'd pack her bags and leave if we asked politely, either. Guess we have to learn to live with each other, if she's willing." Kinner's not really happy with the truce. It was made under a threat to murder hostages, and the Fallen still refused to communicate properly. It's better than a war, but that doesn't make it a good option. "I'm surprised after everything she's pulled, that's all it took for her to back off. Do you think the land's what she wanted all along?" Kinner shrugs. In the winter, at the height of Pelsor's strength, he doubts she would have stopped at that. "I still think she'd have killed all of us without a lick of guilt back in Reynard's winter if it wasn't for those torches, but better late than never. You and the other Guardians around might help encourage 'em to keep playing nice for now."

Kinner doesn't like not knowing what the Fallen plan to do in the Nexus, especially since he has a feeling the aliens are keeping everyone out for a reason. They're pirates, Blaze had said. Somehow he doubts the Fallen intend to sit quietly in the Wilds and mind their own business. The way they strongarmed the Nexus into going along with their deal through taking hostages still rankles, and the fact they can go where they please while the Nexusers can't keep an eye on them feels unfair.

"As an idea, I was thinking we could do an inventory of what we know they took. Won't be perfect, but it might give us some clues and we wouldn't have to risk Pelsor's truce. There's just too many unanswered questions for me to feel completely good about this. How they got here, why they attacked us, what their plans are now..." The cook shakes his head. "We should be ready. There'll be another winter, and I'm not sure we can trust Pelsor to keep her truce if conditions change to suit her again. Someone who attacks children and the sick is hardly someone I'm willing to put faith in, and I doubt her attitude's really changed. Ghost, uh, did you see anything or get any sense of what they were up to while you were a prisoner?"

[rekindledtitan]

“Good to see you too,” she says, nodding to Kinner. The salute takes her by surprise, but it’s a pleasant one, and though she can’t smile she does give a salute in return. “I was glad to hear you and the convoy made it out all right. That’s all that matters.”

But then she ends up stopping and listening, because Kinner clearly has a lot on his mind and he’s determined to unburden it all at once. The Exo blinks, and when he seems like he’s coming to the end she holds up a hand, her optics narrowed in concern.

“One thing at a time. What’s this about Fallen attacking kids? I thought we had ‘em all in the safe zone. Same for the sick: Durant and Kirk didn’t let anyone head past the torches who wasn’t able to defend themselves. We had reports of them attacking family groups at the start, but no injured children. Did something happen I wasn’t told about?”

“Pelsor was adamant that her people didn’t target children," Ghost says softly. He’s staying close behind Blaze, almost unseen.

[outpostcook]

"I heard it through one of my team members, but he could've been wrong." He nods when Ghost says Pelsor claims she didn't attack children. "If she didn't go near children, and there's proof of that, I'm willing to grant her that and tell Van the same. He's a little heated and I think he fed me some bad intel, through his own anger."

Out of all the crew, Van Wall is the most anti-Fallen. Kinner's not fond of them, but he's willing to grant them more leeway than the Chief Pilot. He's just glad Van's misinformation was being corrected now. He'll have a stern word with Van later - it's a good thing it's early.

"I'll stick to two questions. Do you have any clue of what the attacks were about? The Fallen being territorial? A fear tactic? They assumed we were hostile because you were here?" Kinner shrugs, aware his anxiety's showing. "Or they just didn't like us? Secondly, do you think we can trust Pelsor not to restart the attacks next winter if conditions get bad again? We still don't know their long-term plans here in the Nexus, and I don't think they'll tell us."

[rekindledtitan]

“Kinda’ hard to prove a negative,” Blaze points out. “Not like we have tabs on every child who was in the Nexus at the start of Winter. Unless we find some evidence they did get hurt, Pelsor’s word is all you’re gonna get. My gut says she didn't make it up, though.”

She gestures down the Plaza. “I’m on patrol, so you’re gonna have to walk with me.” She will, at least, slow her relentless stride to let the human keep up. “I don’t know what their objectives were exactly. If I had to guess I’d say they were keeping us suppressed while they plundered the place and set up their base. But Pelsor said something about following Reynard’s rules, so maybe they were helping with his game.

“If you’re asking why they were hostile in the first place, anyone who isn’t Fallen is a viable raiding target, and most of the people here are human. They’re at war with humanity. Plus, you know, you were allied with a Guardian. Under my protection. If they followed me here, they knew that already.”

As for his second question, she grunts. Reluctantly, she says, “We’re counting on the Fallen code of honor, here. Not the kind of guarantee I’d like. But it means a hell of a lot to them. So long as we don’t break the truce, I don’t think it matters how the odds change around.”

[outpostcook]

"At least they're willing to behave themselves now they have that base." Kinner's still uneasy, but he's willing to trust Blaze's judgement. She was his field general and she knows the Fallen better than anyone else he fought beside. "I mean, just 'cause they aren't causing trouble here doesn't mean they won't cause trouble somewhere else. But there isn't really anything we can really do about that. Best we can do is make sure nobody wanders onto their territory and gets themselves killed."

He anxiously looks in the direction of the Wilds. "I would feel better if we had some idea of what they're up to out there." Pelsor hadn't said she wouldn't use the Nexus as a base to attack other worlds or gather weapons for the war back home. Kinner's worried about that, but realistically their hands are tied. Not that he's happy about that, but he's not one to advocate a losing battle. He's not fool enough to suggest they go spy, either. "I was wonderin' if you saw anything that could be a clue to their plans while you were there, Ghost."

"Game." Kinner laughs with a hint of veiled contempt. "So, all that was a game to him, more or less. Well, Reynard had his fun with all of us. I just hope he goes easier on us next winter."

He's intrigued when Blaze mentions the Fallen code of honor. "What's this code of honor about, anyway? I've heard of it before. Thieves and pirates aren't usually the honorable sorts of people, but from what I understand they aren't the same sort of pirates my world had. What kind of rules do they have?"

[readvondaniken]

"Oh! There you guys are!" Palmer comes to Blaze, a grin on his face. "I was real worried about you two when I heard what happened." He hangs his head slightly. "Sorry nobody was there to stop them from taking you, Ghost. It was nuts out there. You two did an excellent job. It was an honor. To tell you the truth, I almost left the Nexus after everything went down, but you two know what's waiting for me back home. The House of Winter are bad, yeah, but if I face the Thing I'll die."

Palmer considers letting Blaze know that her spot on his team is still open, but he decides against it. She's got bigger problems now. He mutters a four-letter word under his breath, directed at the Baroness. Pelsor might have screwed up his one chance at getting back to Outpost 31 safely, and he's not happy about that.

"I'm guessing Pelsor still hates us, even after we accepted her truce and gave her the home she wanted so badly. We were pretty generous, all things considered, after everything her House did to us. A 'thank you' would've been nice." The mechanic snorts in contempt. "That's gratitude for you. At least they're keeping their word." While they got what they wanted, the Fallen, if inadvertently, had kept Palmer away from his goal. The irony isn't lost on him. "As someone who was chased outta my home, I almost feel kinda bad for the Fallen after what Loki said about 'em. If they hadn't killed people and made a mess outta the Nexus." Palmer has the sense Pelsor would bite off any hand offered to her, however friendly. "Get the feeling they wouldn't return the favor, though." He cracks a bitter smile.

After a moment, Palmer turns thoughtful. "Loki seemed to think you could tell us why the Fallen hate everybody, Blaze. They think you took something from them. Light. You don't strike me as a thief. Maybe there's some kinda misunderstanding. They don't really give off a vibe of being great listeners."

[rekindledtitan]

“Thanks, Palmer. Nothing you could have done, though, we weren’t with the convoy. Glad to see you made it back in one piece.” She’ll give him a heavy clap on the shoulder to buck him up. But after that he's going to have to move to keep up with her patrol. Her promise to him is on her mind, and she’s about to ask him about it when he brings up the Fallen and she snorts.

“Gave her a home? Put on some brakes there, Palmer. I don’t think Pelsor’s here just looking for shelter. And last I checked, the Fallen won what they wanted and then told everyone else they were keeping it.” Warlord tactics don’t impress Blaze much. On the other hand, she doesn’t think Pelsor would be impressed by a demand for thanks, either. She’s seen Ghost’s recordings. “Pretty sure they’d say they were generous to us. I don’t know if Pelsor hates the rest of you. I think she just wants to ignore you.”

The Guardians are another matter. It’s safe to assume any given Fallen hates them, and Blaze can understand why even if her response is utter indifference. Comes with being a soldier, doesn’t it? It’s not like they haven’t inflicted plenty of grief on her. She does, however, give Palmer a confused look at his other question.

“Me? I don’t know anything the other Guardians couldn’t tell you.” She shakes her head and lifts her hand. As she closes it into a fist power surges around her armored fingers, crackling out in snapping sparks of Arc energy.

“That’s what you’re talking about. The Light of the Traveller. The power we were chosen to wield on its behalf. That? The Traveller left them long ago, Palmer. Centuries before humans even had spaceflight. Of course we didn’t literally go steal it from them.” As if you could steal it, hah. “The Fallen know that, they’re not dumb. If they’re calling us names they’re just mad that it came to us.”

[readvondaniken]

"So, what do you think they want, then?" Palmer raises an eyebrow as he walks. "If they're planning to stay, there's gotta be something here they want. They won't find any recruits for their war here, and they won't find any Light, either. Weapons, maybe, or resources. Other worlds to raid. We can't do anything to keep an eye on whatever they're up to without breaking the truce." There's something else he meant to ask. "What do they live off of if they don't need food, anyway?"

Judging by Palmer's frown, he's worried. He didn't expect much from Pelsor, granted, but there are too many open ends to this ceasefire to really make him comfortable. "It's a loss I'm willing to take. I mean, if the land's what they were after the whole time, we weren't using it anyway. I guess the question is what she's gonna use her shiny new base for. She doesn't seem the type to just settle down and play nice."

"I'm guessing that by 'generous', they'd mean 'didn't slaughter all of us after robbing us blind and take over the Nexus'. That's generous by their standards, I guess." Palmer shrugs. "Can't say I'm optimistic that this is the end of it, but hopefully the truce'll give us time to rebuild."

Palmer's suspicions about the nature of the Light are correct. He was a bit of a thief himself in his teenage years, though he's more-or-less reformed since he left his gang. He knows a thief when he sees one, and Blaze isn't the type.

"But that's not the only thing I wanted to talk with you about." Palmer shrugs off the subject of the Fallen. They're not his enemies to fight, at least not now, and he's got a bigger problem on his hands. "We had a deal before the winter interrupted it. My offer's still open." If Blaze accepts, Palmer will discreetly make sure Bob leaves the team. He knows the Thing isn't comfortable around the Guardians and the distrust is likely mutual. "You can still join my team, if you like."

[rekindledtitan]

"They gave you back a weapon capable of killing armies," Ghost says quietly. "Fallen don't spare Guardians. They definitely don't give weapons back to defeated enemies. That's a huge concession for a Fallen noble."

“We can’t go onto their turf, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t keeping watch on them. That’s what our patrols and surveillance are for.” That doesn’t bother Blaze. It’s not like the Fallen ever let their enemies in to inspect what they were doing before.

“They feed on ether. It’s a synthetic substance produced by their servitor robots. Kind of a white glowing vapor, the same stuff that comes out of their suits when you shoot ‘em. The others make it sound like some kind of substitute for Light. It sure isn’t naturally occurring, anyway."

Fallen biology isn’t really important right now though. She’s more interested in the mission Palmer brings up. “Good. I gave my word and I’m going to keep it. We’re in. Just tell me where and when. You got a full team now?”

[readvondaniken]

"That's true," Palmer says to Ghost. He wonders why Pelsor had allowed them to have Blaze back, especially if her actions were unusual by her people's standard - a concession to their need to defend themselves, a way of evening the playing field, or some sense of honor. He doubted the last one. The Fallen hadn't seemed overly concerned with fair play in the winter, when they had the advantage. "That is weird. I'd wonder why she did that, she could've finished us off outright, but I guess we'll never know."

Palmer nods in reply - the surveillance is a good idea, even if by necessity they can't spy directly on Fallen territory. "That's true - but there's still a lot we don't know. Whether they're planning to use the Nexus as a launch site for their raids, for example, or whether they'll try and expand their territory, or even if Pelsor still has contact with the rest of her House."

He guesses that the Fallen must have a way of manufacturing this "ether" in the Nexus, and probably took a handful of these servitors with them. Otherwise there would've been no point in setting up a permanent settlement, one which would slowly starve and presumably die.

"We have Prometheus, Cricket, Gina, Horvath, and Kinner's still on board, too. It's a solid team. Thank you for offering to help us. The Thing is more dangerous than the Fallen in some ways, I think. Don't want a creature like that wandering the multiverses."

[red_room]

It feels easier to refer to Steve's old house as Guardian HQ for the Nexus. It's not like any of them have been back much since Thanos. Might as well be theirs. When Natasha walks through the house it's still clear that this home once belonged to Steve Rogers. It's in the photos still lining the walls. The sketchbooks still littering the bookshelves full of eclectic mishmashed selections based on every suggestion that was ever given to his List. There's even hints of Natasha staying here, if one knows where to look. The other guardians have doubtless found her weapons cache by now hidden away behind a false panel but they've graciously not touched it.

It's second nature for the spy to load herself out with easily hidden weaponry when she arrives. The goal is a simple one today, even a meager one for a woman once so dedicated to watching over the Nexus. She's just here to get a few groceries. Or so she claimed, but this is a meeting Natasha has put off for long enough.

She sends Ghost a message as she's leaving the front door.

"Closest rendezvous point?"

[rekindledtitan]

The Guardians are still guests here, and for all their eccentricities they behave like good ones, keeping the house as undisturbed as possible. They talk of finding a more permanent base, and have some plans for it, but neither Steve nor Natasha has seemed interested in reclaiming their home. And by now Blaze isn’t the only Guardian who’d feel wrong about leaving it empty.

Ghost has been expecting this message since they got back. He’s not entirely sure how he feels about it. But he knows this is a talk that must happen, and he’s quick to respond.

The big windmill on the border of Downtown and the parklands. We’ll be heading around that way in ten minutes.

[red_room]

I know the one. See you in a few.

She's never seen Blaze or Ghost consume anything in all the time she's known them, so food as a peace offering is right out. The most Natasha can think of to do is carry Blaze's stolen sidearm with her when she makes her way out to the designated area. Even in a place as eclectic as the Nexus the windmill stands out quite obviously. Moreso for it's location than its function, but it still give Natasha the slightest bit of heebie jeebies.

Being a professional, however, Natasha would never admit to her discomfort with the towering structure. She'll find a place to wait standing in front of it so she doesn't have to look back at it's dark windows at the base of the mill. Things have been quiet here, since winter.It doesn't guarantee their safety now, but the odds are in her favor. A rare thing, since Thanos.

[rekindledtitan]

Small mercies: the suspense doesn't last long. She'll hear the crunch of Blaze's boots on the gravel path even before she rounds some bushes and the sunlight flashes off her armor. She doesn't hesitate in the least as she marches toward Natasha: Ghost told her, of course, knowing Blaze wouldn't shy away.

She tends not to wear a helm in civilian residential areas, so Natasha can see the golden optics fixed fierce and unblinking on her as Blaze approaches. Halts dead a couple feet away. The spy knows her well enough to see the tiny flexing of her hands, the weight shift as she stifles an impulse. Holds back the thing she really wants to do. Beside her Ghost bobs a hesitant little greeting. It's a short silence, objectively, but for Blaze it's uncomfortably drawn out.

"Was starting to worry you wouldn't come," she says gruffly.

[red_room]

Natasha's entire posture sags ever so slightly in relief to see Blaze alive and well. She's known since the Snap that the Exo and her Ghost were alive, but so much has happened. Natasha hasn't had the time to come and see the Guardian until now. But the smile doesn't come. The friendly quips and banter.

Instead, relief gives way to shame and guilt. The former spy drops her gaze from them. Reaches out to offer the sidearm back to Blaze.

"I shouldn't even be here now, with how much of a mess things are back home. But if I don't get out from the office sometime I'll go crazy. And.." She makes herself look Blaze in the eye now.

"I owed a friend an explanation. As well as an apology. No matter what I intended, my actions put you both at a permanent risk."

somewhere in the woods--no major agenda here, just reminding them Loki exists

[coldsong]

Blaze and Ghost will probably pass Loki's cabin now and again as they patrol the Wilds. It's at the edge, close enough to the Plaza that the AV field is thin but not necessarily inactive, and easily bolstered by Loki's shielding. No one will bother them, either way. The symbol of the twin-horned helmet and Asgard's royal crest on the door may clue them in as to who lives there, but aside from a redheaded girl peering through a window once, no one will take notice.

But Loki knows who passes close to his wards, and sooner or later he's bound to seek them out.

They probably weren't looking forward to encountering Loki in any form, but even if so, chances are this is not one they'd have expected. It's mid-morning when a whistle comes from the side of the path they're traversing, and looking up reveals a slender feminine form in white and green, perched in the bottom branches of a tree. The woman appears to be picking early summer apples, and she is not alone. Two others--a redhead who looks little more than a teenager, and a younger girlchild in a violet and gold dress--are higher in the tree. The redhead is picking. The little one is mostly eating.

"Blaze, Ghost," the woman calls in greeting, and drops to the ground to walk toward them. Barefoot and in long skirts, she looks like she stepped out of a John William Waterhouse painting.

"Hello. It's Loki," she says mildly. She's not in the mood to play games with her identity today, but she might just be curious to see their reaction.

Blaze secretly sad she missed the Chilly Blue Giant

[rekindledtitan]

Identifying that crest on the door didn’t dissuade them from coming out this way: they made a promise to look out for Loki’s other sort of wards, after all. Neither have they chanced coming too close. Still, the only surprise in hearing their names called is that it’s not Loki doing so- at least, it doesn’t appear so for a moment.

Blaze stops in her tracks, rocking her weight back and lifting a hand in greeting as she takes in the climbers. The Guardian is back in her polished white armor, rifle at her back and sidearm at her hip, holstered over the brightly embroidered cloth hanging from her belt. Her bright gaze flits over the young women: lingering on the one who speaks, flicking briefly to the red-haired youngster, studiously skating past the child. The woman calling to them is Asgardian from her dress, pretty and impressively graceful as she jumps down to the grass.

Blaze’s aesthetic appreciation, however, is overridden by the sheer fact that she doesn’t recognize the woman and that’s weird, for an Exo. She remembers every face she’s ever encountered. (So far as she knows. So far as she can tell.) The stranger is hauntingly familiar (something in the bone structure, those sharp eyes) but not immediately known, identified and catalogued already. ‘Can I help you, ma’am?’ is on the tip of her metaphorical tongue when Loki names herself.

“Oh.” Behind her shoulder, Ghost is quicker to get it: a blink of his optic, a spin of his points, and the little bot drifts further up into view. Blaze still looks nonplussed for a moment, while her programming catches up, but then she relaxes. “That explains it. I wondered who’d be yelling at us all the way out here.” She considers Loki again, as if updating her mental notes. “That another new look?”

Just wait until the weather cools down again.

[coldsong]

"New?" Loki's lips curl into a smirk. "Not by a long shot, but rarely used."

She spreads her arms wide and does a brief spin, light skirts and shawls flying out around her. "I've had both male and female forms since I was a child about the age of little Una in the tree there." She gestures back at the girl eating apples, then pauses and gives her a wave, as if to make sure she knows she's only being spoken of in kind terms. There's a little giggle and a wave in return, and then Loki returns her attention to Blaze and Ghost.

"You look remarkably none the worse for wear," she tells Blaze, then, though she knows looks may be deceiving.

"Did you ever get back to that tree we passed on the way back?" She asks Ghost. "I've been...otherwise occupied. With the children. With Thor. With general weariness.

[rekindledtitan]

“Huh.” That does put it in a whole other category, the way Loki says it. Not a trick or a tool but something that sounds more like a part of her. Something else to integrate with her mental model. Her gaze tracks sideways when Loki gestures up at the tree, audios tracking the little exchange, but she doesn’t look around. Ghost does, however, directing a little hello chirp and spin of his shell up at the two girls.

“Must come in handy, being able to shift around that way.” Blaze’s own background cultures – both the City and her origin - don’t much emphasise biological sex or gender one way or the other, so having some flexibility in that just sounds neat to her. Give her a little time to mull it over, though, and she’ll start to wonder more about the psychological side. Maybe, being a shapeshifter from so young, it’s easy for Loki to change his body drastically without side-effects? But there are more immediate things to discuss.

“It was an easy death.” She doesn’t sound bothered by it, either, but her hands flex and her weight shifts as she goes on. “Ghost’s the one who had to live through it. I’m more concerned with the fallout. Fallen on the threshold, the people we lost.”

Ghost pipes up quietly at the direct question. “We went there on our way to the border. The fungus creature didn’t come out again. But I think it’s still there. I took some scans of the tree… well, there’s not much tree left there.”

“Found some bones down among the roots,” Blaze notes. “Don't know if that thing could take on an average humanoid, but I wouldn’t let children close to it. Felt like something worse than a regular predator.”

[coldsong]

Blaze's intuition is spot-on. Loki's gender and form are fluid and comfortably changeable. She's been using this shape as a disguise here and there, but ultimately it's too much Loki to be a secret identity. A few people have even recognized her without being told who wears this shape.

"It can be handy," she says. "It can also be awkward at times. Wanting to be one shape when it's more prudent to wear the other." She shrugs. "Such is life."

"There will be ramifications for a while to come, I'm sure," Loki says. "And not just in the presence of the Fallen here. For the record, I do intend to keep up with the role I seem to have stumbled into. I will serve as messenger when needed, and escort strangers out of their territory if called to do so. I hope conflict will remain unnecessary."

She frowns a little at the talk of the fungus creature. "I'm glad you had a look," she says slowly. "I wonder if there should be some sort of general warning amongst the pamphlets in the Plaza. Where there is one such creature, there may be more."

"It wasn't familiar to me. Did the corruption seem to be spreading?" That's the real concern. An isolated monster is no big deal. Creeping rot killing the trees might be.

[fiveofnone]

Ghost's message to Adia is replied to quickly and with great relief. She asks after the both of them, making sure that they're both functional, and promising to visit them soon.

But it's not Adia who tracks them down on one of their patrols. It's Caspar. He intercepts them where the relative safety of the Plaza starts to give way to the Wilds, not saying anything at first, just looking at Blaze and Ghost as if needing reassurance with his own eyes that they're alive.

"You okay?" he asks Ghost specifically. He shifts his gaze to Blaze. "And you? What the hell happened out there?"

[rekindledtitan]

"We're fine," Blaze answers for both of them, but then there's a glance back at Ghost. "Much as we can be."

"I'm just glad to be reunited with my Guardian," Ghost says quietly. He's hovering extra close to her, blue gaze flitting between her and Caspar for a second. "The Fallen didn't... hurt me. But I'm grateful for your concern."

Even Loki commented on it. Blaze nods agreement, optics fixing on Caspar again.

"The Fallen attacked us while the convoy was heading for home. We broke through the line, but their commander took the field with her elite guard and some heavy weapons. I went to intercept her before she could assault the convoy. It didn't go to plan. Some Fallen vandal swooped in and nabbed Ghost before he could rez me."

[fiveofnone]

It's only until he hears it from the little bot himself that he hadn't been hurt during his imprisonment that he relaxes, a bit of color coming to his face. "Yeah... yeah, don't mention it." Seriously, don't. Thinking about Ghost trapped in a cage, alone and completely helpless, scrambled his emotions in a way that he doesn't want to revisit.

"It didn't go to plan," he repeats dryly. Leaves a lot unsaid, but he won't push it. He wasn't there, and anyway, he's too relieved that Blaze is alive again. Thank the multiverse that some robots can still be resurrected. "Do you know how the Fallen got into the Nexus in the first place? It's a crappy coincidence, happening when it did."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze wouldn’t mince words about what happened. But what did happen is between her and Natasha, and not so raw that she’s firing off about it everywhere. She might let it slip in an unguarded moment, but she won’t go out of her way to spread the knowledge. So she nods calmly and doesn’t elaborate. His other question, however, gets a dissatisfied grunt.

“They didn’t share their secret. Have to assume they trailed me here somehow, but I normally have a system to prevent that. My PINpoint routes through my ship, so I always go there first. I don’t know how they could have traced it or replicated the transit. Working theory is either we slipped up somewhere, or they had help from this side.”

[fiveofnone]

Sure, there is the possibility that Blaze slipped up, but it sounds like she had her travel system under control. No portal, just her PINpoint, and a secure location on her world, as well. Yet somehow her enemies slipped in. He's more inclined that they received help in the Nexus, a friendly nudge to bring them here, and though it's only because of their timing that his thoughts narrow on a convenient suspect. His jaw tightens in distaste.

"You don't think it was Reynard, do you? I've never heard about him creating portals, but it'd be awfully convenient for them to have them running wild during the Winter."