Hello guardians, this is AnonPig of [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/806204]The Collective of Fanfiction[/url] and I'd like to take this moment to invite all writers and readers alike to join! This is a single part of a much larger story, [b]A New Dark Shines[/b], to read from the beginning of the beginning: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99978879/0/0]Arttu and the Ahamkara-Chapter 1; The Spine[/url] [b]Hunters Belong in the Wild[/b] ~ days ago ~ "Heeyyyy Erik" Asger said cheerfully. "Anything else you want to call me?" "Yea, an idiot without an invitation to a new secret mission..." Erik let the last word hang there, enticing Asger to beg for it. "Oh c'monnnn, you were the one saying such cruel things before, you owe me!" Hanne-16 just sat there observing their spectacle, she wasn't one for much joking, but she was definitely a part of the team. "Fine, you can come along. It involves the Hive so how about we go down to the moon and familiarize ourselves with them a little first?" It wasn't really a question, Erik was always the leader. They went to the moon, Erik wouldn't tell them about the mission, not yet. It wasn't the right time. They should practice fighting the Hive without the worries of some new abomination. "So, ever notice how ogres have the same bone structure of a thrall?" Asger asked conversationally. "Think maybe they grow up to become one? Like, if they grow up?" He shot one in the head. "They don't grow up, it's the wizards, they do something. And frankly I'd rather not think about what that something is." Hanne-16 said with a shutter. "Well I'm just saying, wizards knights and acolytes are the same too, so what's to say a thrall can't become more than just an ogre? It's entirely..." "You were there weren't you Asger!" Erik cut him off. "My god, you have to stop going invisible and eavesdropping." "Can't help it, I get restless." Asger said unapologetically. "The two of you wouldn't get it. Warlocks belong in their books, titans their wall, but hunters... hunters belong in the wild." They all stood there. Quiet, barely even breathing. They understood what he meant, they felt it. It's not that warlocks weren't ready for a fight, or that titans were cowards behind walls, it's just that warlocks are meant to understand the ununderstandable, and titans are meant to protect. And that hunters weren't meant to sit behind a wall, or with a book in their hands, but to explore, and to learn the rules of the world outside, and to break them. ~ present ~ Erik stared at the scratching in the clasp for a long time, a short time? Was it even there? He didn't know anymore, but if it was there he wanted to keep it. Erik tied it to his mark and carried on. The more real everything around him became the more fake he made it be too himself. Maybe somewhere very deep down Erik understood that his friends were dead, but on the surface he was proud he carried Asger's cloak, and sad he didn't think to bring Hanne-16's hand, for when he met up with them. The dark does horrible things to a good man, especially a good man who lost a lot. Thankyou for reading, this is your friendly neighborhood AnonPig reminding you to live beyond the story! [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/101439942/0/0]Chapter 5; A Ghost in the Dark[/url]