Drifter whistled low as Yetta walked into the annex. "Rough night, Sister?" he called out as she took a seat on some of his boxes, picking up and playing with a gear.
"You could say that." She sighed. "Made some bad choices, cried. That deal." She tossed the gear at him. Drifter caught it, tossing it back with a soft *cling*. She caught it before it hit the ground. "I didn't even want to make the choices. I don't think I did, at least."
"Well, what did you do?" He leaned against the railing, trying to look her in the eyes.
"Fucked my boss."
"That'll do it." He whistled. "Heard about your stunt last week. Just dropped out of the sky, with a bullet chasing after you. Never saw Carman look so worried as she ran out of the tower. Never seen her look worried, period. She's pretty stoic."
"Believe me, I know." Yetta sighed, taking off her gloves. "I'll tell you what happened though." His curiosity went unsaid, hanging heavy in the air. Guardians don't just drop out of the sky randomly. Not that far from the tower, at least. Where it could be excused as somebody missing a jump, or completing a dare, or just having fun. So, she told him. Everything. The nightmares, the haunting rev of the Lament. The antlered helmet that the corrupted Carman had worn, looking like a devil's pair of horns, almost.
The symbolism wasn't lost on either of them. Whether it was intentional or not, Corrupted was a demon, and dressed accordingly. She took her gauntlets off, showing him the jagged scar on her shoulder. He sighed in shock, the kind of sigh that puffs your cheeks out before escaping. His fist closed around the gear, still being tossed between the two of them. "Tell you what, kid, I'm gonna say you are officially close to beating me in the trauma department, if you haven't already beat me." He tossed it back to her with a flip.
Yetta caught it. "Didn't know I entered the Trauma Olympics."
"You know what I mean. You can't keep this hidden anymore. Everybody's wondering how the hell you just appeared in the sky and started falling. And you're gonna be questioned, over and over." She nodded. Yetta hadn't been in the tower in a bit, but she could still hear the inquisitive whispers from guardians and civilians on the streets. "You're hot gossip right now," he continued. "Big blue almost started an investigation in that area. Carman stopped him. Wouldn't say why, but she stepped in before it could be carried out."
"Guardians don't just rain from the sky randomly," she agreed.
"Make sure you get help for that Vex bullshit, yeah?" He straightened up. "I got a gambit match I gotta head to in a couple minutes."
"In other words, beat it." She nodded, hurling the gear at Drifter, instead of her gentle tosses.
"Beat it."
. . .
Yetta stuck to the training room all day, working on her aim. She knew the footsteps coming up behind her were Crow's. He never snuck up on her, despite being as quiet as a mouse when he wanted to be. She reloaded her gun, aimed, and fired. Aim, and fire. She shrugged off the hand that was set on her shoulder. She ignored his sigh. And she tried to ignore the round of shots that joined hers.
"Can we talk about last night?" he finally asked.
"What's there to talk about? We fucked, that's it. Won't happen again." Yetta sat down, head in her hands. Crow sat beside her.
"Yetts…"
"No, I get it. Did something we shouldn't have. It's fine. Won't happen again."
"That's not the point." His mouth twisted. "You left. Early. Didn't wake me up or anything." Yetta looked away. "And don't try to say you didn't leave early. I woke up at six, with your side of the bed being completely cold."
"Needed to bother somebody." Yetta shifted, feeling uncomfortable with this topic. "You know, that whole 'going through shit' stuff. Needed an unbiased opinion. Somebody who wasn't going to pity me."
"Is that what you think Carman and I do? Pity you?"
"It's pretty damn obvious." She huffed. "All you've done lately is just look at me with pity. I don't want the pity, I want the fucking help."
"I've been trying to help," he stressed. "Tell me how to help."
"Well, when I figure out how to control me going back to hell, I'll tell you." She stood up, Crow grabbing her arm. "Let go of me."
"Yetta, I still care about you."
"Then stop looking at me and treating me like one wrong move is going to absolutely destroy me!" She yanked her arm away. "Traveler's sake, first you break up with me through text, then it's like you can't stop putting me to the sidelines. You want to know how to help? Maybe don't get me drunk then fuck me."
"You didn't enjoy last night, did you?" Crow dropped his hand, sitting down again. "I thought-."
"Fuck's sake. You thought. Thought what? That I'd enjoy fucking my ex, who's also my boss, while I'm drunk during a bad day?" She leaned against the wall. "That wasn't the help I needed, and you know it."
"I don't know what you need!"
"I don't either!" she yelled back. "I don't *fucking* know what I need! Stability? Friends?Beats the fuck out of me! What I do know is I don't need to be made drunk, and then fucked and then up at two in the morning feeling sad and lonely because let's face it. You didn't know either, but you gave me what you thought I wanted and not what you wanted and it was so far from the escape I needed, and so far out of what I'm comfortable with that it still fucking hurt."
"…" Crow fell quiet, looking down.
"Because Traveler forbid anything be simple. Last night was a mistake, on both of our parts. It won't happen again, cause I won't let it." She picked her gun up.
"You are pushing everybody away," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "Carman and I are just trying to give you a support circle."
"Well, don't. I'm managing."
"By forgetting food?"
"When will everybody just drop it?" She rounded on Crow. "I know! I know I'm not managing well, but I'm doing better than you did when Savathun-"
"You don't know anything about what I did."
"Run and hide? Oh no, I'm aware."
With a huff, and a scowl, Crow stormed away from her. "Come find me when you're done being angry at me."
. . .
*Thud, thud, thud.*
"Stupid…vanguard bullshit."
*Thud, thud, thud.*
"Stupid Crow."
Yetta kept swinging at the punching bag, her knuckles raw and bloody. Pain shot up from her wrists. Rap blared through the speakers in the training room, the hunter nodding her head with the rhythm as she got back into position. *Thud, thud, thud.* Three more hits. She swung with her leg, kicking the bag. Landing gracefully, she drew her knife, stabbing it in. Dust trickled out, becoming an outright pour as she withdrew the dagger.
She looked at the spiraling blade in her hands, sneering as she threw it to the side. The door opened, Carman striding in, dodging the flying dagger. "I take it the talk with Crow didn't go well?" she asked.
"What talk?"
"Hm." Carman flicked a bit of Solar out to Yetta, who sidestepped it. "Something happened between you two last night. Crow was very tight lipped about it, but it bothered him."
"Well, then he shouldn't have pushed." Yetta knew this game. Talk while training. Some of her closet secrets had been spilled to Carman this way. No Crucible, no Gambit. Not even a fight to the death. Just the training room. Knowing Carman, she'd already asked to turn the sound off on the cameras. Yetta drew a hunting knife, charging Carman.
Catching her arm, the warlock twisted, forcing the hunter to drop the knife. "It takes two, Yetta," she reminded. "Don't think I can't see those hickeys on your neck." She swung her fist at the awoken, who blocked it, taking her arm and forcing her to punch herself.
"Doesn't mean I wanted it." Yetta jumped away, safely landing on a ledge. "Not exactly."
Carman chased after her, gripping onto the ledge to pull herself up. Yetta kicked her hand off. The warlock landed on her feet, gracefully. "How do you mean?" Her tone was a little defensive.
"We were both drunk, we both thought it was what I needed." Yetta shrugged, jumping off the ledge and walking over to her water bottle. "It wasn't."
"And what do you need? You've been moving nonstop." Carman leaned on the wall beside her. "It's like, after you went to space, shit's just been hitting the fan for you."
"No idea."
"He didn't force you, did he?"
"No, he didn't. I could say no at anytime-."
"You just didn't." Carman nodded understandingly. "You should've."
"Yes, *thank you for your obvious observation*." Yetta tossed her bottle at Carman, who caught it, unimpressed. "If you want some."