Her hand clawed at the ground, pulling herself out of the shallow hole she was found in. Matted, red hair clung to her forehead, and she gripped the rifle in front of her, standing on her feet, shakily. Where even was she? She looked around at the abandoned area, collapsed buildings and broken down cars surrounding her. She shifted her eyes towards the rambling AI floating in front of her, which was moving back and forth excitedly. Something about looking for her a long time? And another thing about being a Guardian, whatever that meant.
She put the rifle at her side, holding the small device in her hand, and tilted her head. It identified itself as a Ghost, and she just had to smile at the ghost's enthusiasm. "We just got out of a really bad fight," the ghost continues. "We still have a ways to go before humanity is safe again, but, hey! You're here now!" The awoken tilted her head, questioningly. Ghost continued. Something about an entity called the Witness versus the Traveler, which was most likely the giant floating ball in the sky.
She pointed at the large, colorful triangle in front of it. "That's the portal into the Traveler. The Witness created it. We're trying to finish it." Ghost flew towards a building. She followed him(was it a him? Did ghosts even have a gender?), a comfortable silence settling over the two. She didn't know where they were going, or what they were after, but the talkative ghost would probably tell her at some point, right? She made a curious noise, looking at Ghost, then at the building they were approaching.
"I'm going to contact one of the best guardians around. She'll get you home, since there's no ships around" Entering the building, the girl looked around, shouldering the rifle. Ghost was now rambling excitedly, hovering over a console, his shell twirling as he worked. The girl sat down on the floor, crossed legs holding the rifle flat, and waited silently. It was taking what felt like forever, before a woman's voice crackled from the console.
"Who is this?"
"This is…um…" Ghost turned to the girl. "Do you have a name?" She really didn't have an answer to that. "This is the ghost of a new light, requesting a ride to the City. And…maybe a visit to the vanguard, either Zavala or Ikora. She's a hunter, but I don't know if there's anybody available to mentor her."
"On my way." The line cut out, and the awoken girl tilted her head in mild confusion again. Vanguard? Hunter? What did all of that mean? She opened her mouth, trying to get a sound out.
"What did…all of that mean?" she said, hoarsely. Ghost turned to her, a little surprised.
"You do talk!" Zooming over to her, Ghost hovered. "You've been so quiet this whole time I thought you couldn't!" Bobbing excitedly, Ghost explained. "So, we're getting a ride from the Young Wolf herself, Carman. You'll like her, I think. She's going to take you to the last city, where you'll get trained and get your own home. Well, apartment."
She nodded, falling silent again, lost in thought. Name? Names. She didn't really have a name. Wracking her brain for some semblance of a title, she started mixing sounds and letters together. A word stood out to her, a distant memory. "Yetta," she whispered, then repeated the name more confidently.
"Pardon?" Ghost perked back up. She fell silent again. "Is that your name?" Yetta nodded, a wide grin crossing her face. "Wonderful! I think you're going to like your new life, I really do."
. . .
As a matter of a fact, Yetta did, in fact, like her new life. When she wasn't falling to her death, that is. Her back snapped as she landed on the edge, and she heard Jason sigh through their link. As Yetta woke up again, pushing herself up from the ground, she tried to look at the ledges she needed to jump to. A path formed in her head. Carman crackled to life on the intercom. "You went the wrong way. Are you sure you don't need help?"
"I'm sure. I see where I'm supposed to go."
"Good, good. Remember to run and jump. Get distance, it'll increase your distance." Annoyance sparked in the young hunter's chest. She'd been told this lesson a million times over.
"Yes, ma'am." Turning her comms off, Yetta took a step back, then two, then three, until her back hit the wall. She put a hand behind her to brace herself, allowing herself a deep breath. Bright orange eyes opened, a spark of defiance in them. The edge wasn't that far away…she could only hope she had the room. Taking another deep breath, her back left the wall. Her hand moved from behind to in front of her. Her feet pounded the metal under her. The edge came closer, closer, until she was right on it…and she leaped. She waited until she started falling, and activated another jump, soaring higher.
Her hand caught the edge, pulling herself up. Scrambling onto the ledge, she rolled onto her back, and she breathed heavily. "That worked," she mumbled, in awe. Finally, she had figured out what the hell Carman was trying to teach her. Standing up, she called out, "CARMAN! Did you see that?! I made it!!"
"I saw." Carman's voice came from behind her. "Good job." Yetta turned quickly, her smile fading. She was half expecting Carman to launch into another scolding, what she'd done wrong, or anything of the sort. But Carman just nodded to the other ledges. "Now," she said instead. "Make it to the top by yourself."
. . .
Her bed was everything to her, after a day like today. Carman had been training her rather vigorously, and poor Jason, her ghost of a few months(really her only one) worked overtime to heal her various scrapes and bruises. She moved the volume dial up, heavy rock filling the small studio, and took off her helmet, sweaty hair falling into her face. Yetta suppressed a gag, heading into the bathroom and washing her hair in the sink.
"Does the shower *still* not work?" Jason beeped.
"Landlord says he's getting the stuff to fix it now. Tempted to do it myself. My neck will thank me, I think." She soaped up her hair, fighting to keep the shampoo out of her eyes. "My eyes too."
"Do you even know how to fix it?"
"Trial and error, right?" Jason sighed, dramatically. "It can *not* be that hard-"
"Every time you say that, it always ends up being that hard, or that bad, or-"
Yetta laughed, gently pushing her ghost away. "I can always ask Carman. She knows pretty much everything."
"You might have found something she won't know," he beeped again, settling on the sink, watching her dry her hair. "Bother the landlord again. He's putting it off."
Yetta huffed, stalking to her bed and flopping down. "He won't listen, he barely even listens to Ms. Noble, as it stands." The elderly neighbor above Yetta had invited the hunter over a couple times for tea, both of them just complaining about the landlord. Ms. Louella Noble had given Yetta some of her blankets in return for her company. Tea may not have been Yetta's thing, but the elder lived alone, and was the first person to talk to and even help Yetta as she got settled.
Jason made a humming noise. He liked the old woman as well. Every time Yetta was invited, the invitation always made Jason's presence mandatory. Ms. Noble thought highly of ghosts, calling them silly little creatures, and set out a pillow for any ghosts she hosted. Something told them both that Carman would get along well with Louella. If nothing else, Louella would, or might, have some authority over Carman, even, but the hunter doubted it.
She wasn't sure that anybody had authority over Carman. Not even the vanguard, both members scaring the hunter, personally. Commander Zavala looked like he was tired of everything, and was close to snapping at any minute. Ikora, who was calmer, and looked kinder, still had an air of importance about her that screamed at everybody to listen up.
Snapping out of her reverie, Yetta grabbed her data pad, shooting yet another reminder about the shower to the landlord.