Gift
Nessa-7 tilted her head back, letting her hood flop away from her face. The breeze was chilly this high up, but it was a pleasant break after a week of intense fieldwork in the caverns below the Cosmodrome, where nothing was truly fresh. Her helmet was quickly transmatted away.
There was no need for it, after all.
It was a few years after Twilight Gap. The scars were still borne by those who fought in it, but the City was safe.
The next three weeks were dedicated to the Dawning, under the careful eye of one Eva Levante. The lanterns had been set, and Ikora had set the luminous crystal of Light into the air, high above the City. Faint music could be heard, drifting from the Hangar.
“When do you think Tevis will be back?” Nessa wondered to her Ghost, who materialized next to her.
“Shouldn't be long,” Aegis replied, “I got a message from his ghost saying that Tevis promised to be here for the Dawning.”
Nessa sighed. “Hopefully he's not lying,” she muttered.
Aegis pretended not to hear.
“Well, no need to dwell. I'll hunt him down if I have to,” the huntress started towards the Vanguard Hall, passing a few wide-eyed greenhorns who had the luck to be resurrected during the Dawning. “For now, I need to get this sword off me.”
Nessa found Shaxx right where he usually stood. Hands on his hips, an imposing figure to any who was coming down the stairs.
Except a few.
Including Nessa, as she easily strode up to him, yanking a Hive sword off her back as she approached.
Shaxx lifted his gaze from his console, where a Crucible match was displayed. One side was...heavily losing. His eyebrows raised beneath his helmet when he saw the huntress carrying a sword easily more than half her own height (and possibly weight). “Hello, Nessa,” he greeted slowly, mildly perplexed.
“Hey, Shaxx,” Nessa grinned, offering the Hive sword to him.
“...thank you?” Shaxx took the sword easily. It even had a little orange bow wrapped around the hilt.
“I was underneath the Cosmodrome for a bit, found a Hive ritual and thought “hey, this would make a great gift to a certain swordsmaster”.” Nessa explained, brushing her hands off. Chitin residue was not very pleasant.
“It’s a good gift,” Shaxx placed it gently onto the table behind him, “and a resourceful one at that.”
Nessa barked a laugh, “...and I’m nothing if not resourceful, right?”
“Correct.”
“Happy Dawning, Shaxx.”
“Happy Dawning, Nessa.”
“Andal!” Nessa called.
“Hm?” the Hunter Vanguard turned from his map to see Nessa with a basket in hand, wrapped with a red bow. “What’s this?”
“Your Dawning gift, you idiot,” Nessa teased affectionately.
“Ooh?” Andal accepted the offered basket, which was warm to the touch, and smelled faintly of bread beneath the cliche checkered blanket covering it. “What is it?”
“Why don’t you take a look?” Nessa casually lifted herself to sit on the Vanguard table, not giving a shit about the frowns that Osiris shot her way.
Lifting the blanket revealed several loaves of bread of various shapes and sizes. Some, Andal recognized, others, not so much. Andal side-eyed Nessa with a grin, “Is this in return for the garlic bread?”
“Maybe.” Nessa laughed. Definitely.
“Happy Dawning, Nessa.”
“And a happy Dawning to you to, Gibbers.”
Nessa left the hall, snickering at Andal’s indignant spluttering behind her.
Aegis materialized next to her head, bouncing brightly. “Guess what news I have from a certain Nightstalker?” He spun his plates excitedly, not even waiting for Nessa to respond, “He’s in the courtyard right now!”
“Is he?” Nessa broke into a sprint, rushing past Shaxx and his new Hive sword. “Hopefully he takes some time to check his vault, else he’ll disappear and we won’t be able to find him.”
Aegis obediently materialized away, disappearing into a shower of light. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with his guardian.
Nessa burst into the open light, her keen eyes narrowing on Tevis’s purple cloak. She let out a war cry as she picked up the speed, almost blinking, and barreling into Tevis, who let out a squawk of surprise.
“Tevis, you asshole, the shadow of my life, you’ve finally come home!” Nessa lamented, barely able to resist bursting into giggles.
“Get off,” Tevis grumbled, shoving Nessa bodily off of him and standing, “Nice to see you too.”
“It really is,” Nessa’s excitement dimmed, though she was no less happy. She stood up as well and went to the vaults to her left, quickly pulling something from it.
“Welcome back, Tevis.” She offered the item to him, “I hope you stay a while this time.”
His eyebrows knitted together as he accepted the item. It was small, and radiated warmth to his palm. In his hand was a little arrow, fashioned out of Nessa’s potent solar light. The chain attached to it was almost pure arc energy, seemingly contained within a very delicate field.
“Do you like it?” Nessa awaited his response eagerly, “I had Aegis help with the chain, since even I am not that precise…”
“I fucking love it.” Tevis declared, closing his fist around it. The solar light was comforting, after so long with the void as his only companion.
“Happy Dawning, Tevis.” Nessa patted his fist gently, “Don’t let the void bite too much.”
“Happy Dawning, Nessa.”
Nessa sighed, fidgeting with her gauntlet. “Well, one more gift. Let’s see what Cayde’s up to today, shall we?”
She found the Exo chatting with some younger guardians in the little dance club in the Hangar. Surprisingly, but perhaps not, Andal was with him, spinning a wild tale that was likely only half true.
Nessa opened her mouth to greet them with a snarky remark.
“Having fun without us?”
Tevis’s voice interrupted her from where he had appeared at her right, hood drawn back to show his conventionally attractive ginger head off. A smirk danced perpetually at his lips, and Nessa noticed that at least three guardians swooned a bit at his appearance.
Without missing a beat, Andal flashed a sweet smile that looked horribly out of place on his face, “Never. We were just waiting for you to show up.”
“A likely story,” Tevis snarked under his breath.
Ignoring the two for now, Nessa crossed the short distance to plop down on a couch next to Cayde.
“I should warn you, Nessa,” Andal took a break from snipping at Tevis, “I already gave the kid some spurs.”
Nessa promptly burst out laughing, doubling over on the couch to contain her mirth. “This is fucking perfect for you, then,” she managed to wheeze out between giggles. From behind her cloak she produced…
...a cowboy hat.
Cayde’s eyes became moons as he gazed at the proffered hat. It was slightly modified, with some metal armor and thicker leather for both aesthetic and protection. “Now I can be a true space cowboy,” he breathed, taking the hat reverently and placing it on his head, over his hood.
“You look ridiculous.”
“Thank you!”
“Happy Dawning, all of you.”
A chorus of “Happy Dawning”s filled the air. Outside, the snow began to fall, covering the Tower in a light dusting of white as laughter and warmth emanated from the lounge.
A perfect Dawning, Nessa thought, watching her friends laugh and tease with a smile on her face.
Happy Dawning and Happy Holidays everyone! This is a little longer homage to some of my favorite characters, along with a few references to some jokes and headcanons we’ve had through the year in @nutshaxx ‘s discord!
Including; Garlic Bread Brask (GBB=Gibbers) and Tevis as a handsome ginger asshole who may or may not have slept with the whole Tower at some point. I was, unfortunately, unable to fit Andal’s Spanish musician tendencies.
A thank you to @lady-efriyeet for some of the gift ideas! And ya know what I’m tagging @guardiankisses as well. And you @abionbroadway . Thank you for making 2018 so wonderful and here’s to another year of ridiculous ideas!