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"Okay, easy now," Drifter's voice buzzed over comms. Lodi watched him move about in the crane the Aionian's lent out to them to retrieve the ship that had caught Lodi's eye. The chains connected to the ship weathered into Kepler's earth were pulled taut as Drifter tested the couplings.
Lodi circled the embedded ship by the cliff's edge, "Looks all good from here Mr.Drifter, when you're ready."
Drifter acknowledged with a grunt and began to pull up. The connected chain's pulled at the ship, the tension caused the metal to groan but unfortunately the structure hadn't budged. Lodi stood, his hands rested on his hips in contemplation on how to proceed when he heard a softest disturbance on the cliff face behind him.
The movements sounded careful and practiced, something that could've been easily missed under normal circumstances, however whatever The Nine had done to him left Lodi unbelievably more attuned to his surroundings. The impossibly quiet sound of the disturbed dust might as well have been crushed up glass, not to mention the fiery blue cobalt sensation that washed over him prickled at the back of his neck and made his mouth go dry. Lodi turned around off kilter.
There the Guardian stood.
"Oh jeez-Hey, Guardian," Lodi sighed and waved, pistol left holstered.
"Oh hey Hero," Drifter's voice connected to their Ghost, "Did ya come all this way out to help your pals new and old!"
"We were patrolling in the area and saw the massive crane," their Ghost replied back tired as ever, "Wanted to get a closer look to make sure it wasn't anything dubious, which considering you're here Drifter makes it inherently so." Drifter's laughed barked over the line.
"Hate to fall from your expectations, but I'm actually doing some community work," the chain lines went slack as the crane stopped moving, and Drifter poked his head out the side of the operator's booth. "Even though House Exile might not be a problem anymore, there's still a few stragglers and not to mention the Vex. I figured I'd volunteer in the Aionian's place when coming out here to help Lodi unstuck his rig."
Lodi saw the Guardian's Ghost beep with an eye roll.
"I couldn't quite figure out how to move all this by myself," Lodi waved to their dig site, "Mr Drifter's help had been great with setting this all up but..."
"The old girl's practically fused to Kepler," Drifter supplied, "It looked like a simple enough job, pulling it out the dirt but the Anomaly may of had some rippling effects."
"Sound's like you got your work cut out for you," the Ghost responded back, "Have fuuuun." Lodi watched it turn to float away, but the Guardian's hand lifted to gently grab and turn it back to face himself and his grounded bird.
Their Ghost buzzed out a long suffering sigh before gliding over to the ship. Lodi moved to stand beside the Guardian, arms folded over his chest as he looked on as the little light scanned the ship and sent Drifter the telemetry.
Ghosts were such interesting little creations.
He'd been told they were made by the Traveler to help protect the last remnants of humanity, although it was clear this one hadn't gotten the memo, or maybe it didn't care. Somehow. The Guardian's Ghost—Buddy, as many referred to it ironically—seemed completely, and stubbornly, indifferent to helping others. That said, Lodi had always seen it give in to it's Guardian requests with little to no push back every time and he had to admit, it was very endearing.
Lodi then thought to Ikora's Ghost—Ophiuchus—by comparison who was incredibly contemplative and selectively spoken. Lodi could feel the silent judgment of the Ghost although he came off rather… polite, and seemed to care a lot about the perspectives of individuals.
He's yet to meet Drifter's Ghost, at least Lodi felt fairly certain that Drifter had a Ghost on account of also being a Lightbearer. He just often wondered where it was.
His thoughts were partially disturbed as the Guardian shifted next to him, watching on as Drifter used their Ghost's data to readjust the crane. They swayed side to side as if itching for something to do, not that Lodi tracked their movements as much as he could feel the shift in the air around them.
He chanced a glance at them out of the corner of his eye—the human one—to study their strange armour for the umpteenth time. It was truly bizarre by the Earth standards he knew, but from what he gleaned from both Ikora and some of the stories Drifter shared, it was actually both very practical and fashionable for this time.
The Guardian was a hunter, if he had remembered correctly, so the cape wasn't just… a bold choice, but the Guardian's history. It was very long and weathered, with a decent sized hood that covered their helmet and bore a mark that looked Eliskni. Drifter had said once that the Guardian's cloak was, distinctive.
Lodi hoped to one day learn how distinctive. He recognised he probably could just ask the Guardian themselves but, he doubted he'd get much of an answer from them and more an exasperated explanation from their Ghost. He liked the little guy, don't get him wrong, but he'd enjoy to have at least one conversation without the blasé attitude present.
One of reasons Lodi hadn't taken offense to, Buddy, was because of how readily the Guardian jumped into action to help both him, and the Aionians considering their, uninterested, soul bond. Hell, they'd gone out of their way to return his journal back to him when he'd left it behind after Ikora told him about the Collapse. He also guessed the, 'visions,' he'd have of them hanging out in the future helped too, even without it Lodi had found he'd really come to call the Guardian a friend—a sentiment he hoped was mutual.
Whatever, the point was the Guardian didn't talk. At all, and Lodi had accepted that fact, so he was happy to wait for the answers to his questions whenever they may arise.
So he continued to look over the rest of the Guardian's armour. The colours both main and accented were bold, they were probably a statement of some kind too, and the practicality was easy to see now with how many knives they had strapped to themselves. Apparently they could conjure up knives made out of the Light, almost indefinitely with Solar Light, but it was still interesting how the Guardian kept so many regular throwing knives on their person. Probably in case of emergencies Lodi hypothesized.
The mould of their armor accentuated their mobility too, he had seen the Guardian fight and traverse though precarious situations and the Guardian's gymnastic ability was simply put, fantastical. Not that they were untouchable, though sometimes they were, but being able to actually dodge and weave through bullets, blades and clear strange hostile environments with ease was clearly a great feat of theirs.
Drifter loved to sing their praise whenever he could, clearly earned, but whenever Lodi heard Ikora compliment or tell tale of the Guardian it really stuck out more. Probably a subconscious association he doesn't know when or if he could let go towards the late doctor.
He now was fully facing the Guardian but had yet to notice himself, thoughts drifting to what they looked like beneath the armor—not sexually for the record, just Ikora had told him about Exos and the Awoken as additions to humanity.
Was the Guardian an Exo? An Awoken? Or did they look as human as he did? Okay maybe not like him now considering, but like an actual regular human. Ikora and Drifter certainly appeared human but the solid white circle of dim light over their non-reactive pupils kinda gave them away as "other". Lodi also guessed that weird eyes may be a Guardian tell too.
The Guardian cleared their throat, "So… do you have any Emissary powers that could help move your ship?"
Lodi blinked and then looked back to the ship in question, "Uhh I don't think so, I'm still trying to get a handle on all of…" he gestured wildly at himself. "Besides with your Ghost's help it shouldn't—holy mother Mary you can talk!" The Guardian startled.
"You can—I never—You've—I can't believe," Lodi stammers. "You," he pointed, "Can talk?!"
The Guardian's head nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry, sorry that's—that was rude. I'm just—" Lodi slapped a hand over his mouth. "I had sort of accepted you were incredibly reserved or quiet around me, but when Ikora or Drifter spoke to you it was the exact same response so I began to think you maybe, didn't talk at all and I—Sorry can we do that again?"
The Guardian seemed to want to reply, but Drifter's loud static laughter cut in, "Oh Kid, looks like you fell for it too heheh, I can tell ya right now our Guardian has quite a colourful vocabulary of spoken expressions that you've just not heard yet."
Embarrassed, the Guardian groaned, Drifter ignored them, "Though they were mute for a long while till only recent years, now they just talk only when they really feel like it." Lodi blinked rapidly a few times as the explanation settled in his brain. He intentionally ignored the sting that settled in his chest.
"Oh I see," Lodi coughed to cover the discomfort.
"Nah don't take it personally, Kid," Drifter added on, "They're like this with everyone they meet. Well actually, I still think there's a few folks who've known 'em much longer and still yet to hear so much as a peep from them."
"I apologise," the Guardian was quick to tack on, "If you felt it was personal, Lodi, I'd not meant for that. I've been… it just felt like I could never find the right time or words."
"I mean, I guess it has been pretty hectic all round. Still, could've snuck in a tiny 'hello." Lodi turned to face further away from the Guardian, an awkward laughter escaping as he scratched at his stubble.
He was a bit taken by their voice. The range of it was deeper than he had expected, although he didn't really have any expectations, but it carried a lightness to it too… It actually sounded pretty kind and… strong. The accent was weird too, no that's not right, it sounded...
The Guardian shrugged, "I suppose. Just, seemed like there were more important thing to talk about. My duty relies a lot on just listening and doing and I uh, still struggle with my words."
"Plus that's more or less my job," Buddy jumped in, "Pleasantries score rather low on our list of priorities, even without the whole, anomaly about to blow the planet sky high and the resurrection and death 2.0 of sentient space dust."
Lodi looked toward the Ghost as feelings of disrespect clawed at the back of his mind but… he didn't feel disrespected. He couldn't parse exactly who specifically or however many did, they don't make themselves known anymore past this slight, but the feeling ebbed and flowed through him.
The Guardian's head moved to look at their Ghost, head tilted in a way that followed more along the lines of non verbal communication Lodi's come to understand from them. Felt like something admonishing.
"Like I was saying," They looked back to Lodi, "I hadn't meant to be rude just the… never felt right."
"But now you feel okay, to talk?," Lodi raised a brow. The Guardian fiddled with a knife strapped to their chest plate,
"I've wanted to say something to you after Ikora told you about the collapse—or what she could tell you anyway," their hand dropped as they sighed, "When we went looking for you, to return your journal, I'd wanted to make sure you were okay and, when I found you it seemed you needed more someone to just be there and to listen."
He tried to not choke on the air stuttering through his lungs and windpipe, that was a month or two ago, "Oh. R-Really? That uh, that long huh."
"It's really not a strong suit of mine" the Guardian paused, "Today… We were patrolling but I was actually out looking for you too. I was, actually hoping to take you up on your offer?"
"What offer?" Lodi knew he was looking at them rather eagerly. His curiosity now overriding much of his feelings, he wanted to know what had pushed them to finally reach out like this. It's now clear to him they had thought of him as a friend too but was simply too awkward for the follow up.
"You said you could speak many of the old languages, back when we found this ship you offered to teach me one of my choice?" Oh Lodi could've jumped for joy. He nearly did.
Instead he made his tone very serious. "Are you telling me, the reason I finally peaked your interest for having an actual verbal conversation with me was to ask me to teach you a language?" He knew he'd thrown off the Guardian.
"I. Yes, that's correct," their head swiveled to look off to the side and then back to Lodi.
He then cracked a smile and softened his tone, "I would love nothing more than to teach you—what language did you have in mind?"
The Guardian deflated, clearly relieved they hadn't accidentally hurt his feelings again. They tilted their head, in thought this time, the fins on the hood making them seem rather dog-like oddly enough. After the visual deliberation the Guardian straightened.
"I think the language was called, 'Welsh?'" They questioned. Lodi smiled wider.
"Sure is, you remembered right! Welsh is, uh, was a British Celtic language where only a small percentage of the population actually spoke it," Lodi replied with palpable excitement. "I'd kill to teach you."
"Not to interrupt," Drifter chuckled, finding some humor in the interaction, "Mr Man, weren't you also interested in learning a language too?" Lodi looked back to the crane with mild confusion.
"Uhh I was? I tried to sneak in a bit of study of Eliksni between, well, everything," he adjusted his glasses, "The most I could sparse was identifying their language structure, similarities and a few common phrases to indicate hostile intent."
"Well then how about that!" the Drifter replied back a bit cryptically.
"Oh," the Guardian perked up, apparently able to understand his meaning, "Well that is quite funny."
"I have no idea what's happening right now," Lodi couldn't help but look between the Drifter and the Guardian.
More static from the Drifter's line indicated he was laughing again, "Oh come on smart guy, you really think all that space crab motif the Guardian wears is just for show?"
There was a moment of silence. Lodi really put into thought what Drifter had implied. While he, again, refrained from jumping with elation, he could not stop his arms from suddenly grabbing at the Guardian's own and shaking with enthusiasm.
"You can speak Eliksni!" Lodi exclaimed.
The Guardian shifted as if a little embarrassed, "I do, would you like me to teach you in return." The question was rhetorical.
"Oh course!" Lodi answered anyway, "I can't believe it, so this whole time you could understand exactly what House Exile was saying, without the Ghost's translator?" The Guardian nodded, matching the linguist's excitement.
"That's incredible," He then remembered himself and let go of the Guardian. Lodi took a step back to further ensure he was no longer invading his friend's space, "Ahem. Could you say something in Eliksni, please, I'm curious how the vocalisations translate."
The Guardian thought for a few seconds, and then breathed, "YOU ARE A PASSIONATE MAN, YOUR LOVE OF LANGUAGE IS EVIDENT."
"Woah that's…" Lodi observed the Guardian in awe, "That is phenomenal." The alien language glided off their tongue; their tone, confident in a way unlike it was in English, and without the insect-like chittering, Lodi's confidence in his original assertion with the similarities to Finnish. Wait, that's what their accent reminded him of. Fascinating.
He needs a second to think. Then he asks, "How'd you learn it?"
The Guardian cleared their throat, "I'd spoken it longer than I have English. At least after I was rezzed, there'd been many factions of Eliksni and they'd also been the only people out there with me worth bartering with. Buddy would speak to the occasional human on my behalf, but I wanted to establish something with the House remnants myself."
"Always been a bleeding heart for the Eliksni this one," Drifter added, Lodi glanced back to see him now sat on the window edge of the booth. "They can wipe out Hive, Vex, Cabal, Taken, you name it in a flash, but they always did show the dregs more mercy than their old Houses ever did."
"House Devil might've been an exception," They shrugged.
Lodi didn't want to get too sucked into the history yet, but he did want to ask a few questions, "So how many Houses of Eliksni are there?"
He watched the Guardian raise a fist to tap against their helm, "There are a few more with recent years, Exile is actually an older House if a minority compared to the size and social structures of others," they explained, tapping their helmet a few more times, "To put simply, there have been over nine notable Eliksni Houses."
"Nine notable ones huh," he found this amount a little funny, and as much as he wanted to further inquire about what was clearly a fountain of knowledge for the Guardian, Lodi held strong. "I see, and one more question if you don't mind?"
They motioned for him to continue. "Is Eliksni a commonly spoken language? Is it now the standard curriculum," Lodi half joked.
"Nah, it's actually only a handful of Guardians that even bother to learn the spoken language," Drifter answered. "Many can identify the common symbols and social hierarchy but Eliksni usually learn English to communicate with us, not the other way around."
"Huh, guess I should consider myself lucky to have stumbled upon a teacher." Lodi thought aloud, "Can you speak Eliksni Mr.Drifter?"
The sound Drifter made indicated something equivalent to a so-so motion, "A little, nothing as eloquent as our friend here, but enough to know to when one might be outliving their stay if you catch my meaning."
"I see, well," Lodi extended his hand towards the Guardian, "I would be very happy to teach you Welsh, and very honoured to learn Eliksni from you!"
The Guardian grasped his hand with a firm shake, "I'M THE HONOURED ONE, TO HELP PRESERVE FRAGMENTS OF HUMANITY'S PAST. IT'S IMPORTANT."
"Still love that you can speak so fluently but that's also not fair," Lodi replied in jest, "Come on, what'd you say I want to know."
"They said, 'if you nerds are quite done setting up play dates can you refocus on moving this stupid ship," Lodi looked to his shoulder to see Buddy hovering it, it's shell dropped with what he assumed to be immense exhaustion over the social interaction.
"No they didn't," he snorted.
"Whatever. One, or both of you, need to readjust the couplings," the Ghost explained, "that is if you still even want the stupid ship."
"I do I do I promise," Lodi moved towards the sunken ship.
Buddy then turned to its Guardian, "It'll be helpful if you can make a Strand support system thing too, so the whole thing doesn't fall to pieces afterwards—Drifter get back in that box!"