Doom of the Dragons, Part Five: Scars

Greetings, Guardians, here's part six of Doom of the Dragons! Here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/236904437?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]part four[/url] if you missed it. As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! Cupun opened his eyes. He sat up in bed, put his head in his hands, and groaned. “Let me guess,” his ghost said, floating up next to him, “hangover?” Cupun blinked, and then nodded. “I feel like a Walker stepped on my skull,” he said. “Let me help with that.” His ghost shined a blue light down on him, and Cupun’s headache vanished. “Better?” The titan grinned, and lifted his head up. “Much better,” he said. “What is?” Cupun turned around, and saw Lyra lift her head up off the bed. He smiled. “Didn’t mean to wake you.” “It’s fine.” Lyra sat up, her signature ponytail lying across her back. She looked over at him. “Guess that whiskey hit you hard.” Cupun chuckled. “You could say that,” he said. Once again, he was amazed by Lyra’s tolerance for alcohol. He moved to get up, but he felt Lyra’s hand touch his shoulder. Her fingers moved along his skin until they reached the puckered scar on the back of his neck. “Do you know how you got this?” she asked. “Do you remember anything at all from your first life?” Cupun was silent for a moment. “Bits and pieces,” he said. “I -“ he frowned. “I remember. . . cold.” He had a flash of memory - running across an icy landscape, his hands covered in woolen gloves. “And then. . . heat.” In the memory, he felt red-hot pain coursing through his spine, and the sound of screaming - his and others. “Then, there’s dark. A fire. Someone else is with me.” He remembered a dark cavern, firelight flickering on the walls. A face looked down at him, silky black hair hanging around its sides. He tried to make out the face, but all he could see was a featureless blur. He shook his head. “And then there’s nothing.” Lyra began tracing the scar with her fingertips. She moved down the nape of his neck, and slowly wound her way between his shoulder blades. Her fingers moved across his spine, finally stopping where the scar tampered off, just above his pelvis. “Our scars are our stories,” she said at last. “Even when we don’t know how to tell them, they remain ours.” Cupun was silent. Only a few Guardians had significant memories from the times before their ghosts had found them. Many remembered nothing at all. Cupun had been resurrected by his ghost in the depths of an old cave in North America. By his side had been some ancient boxes, an auto-rifle from the Golden Age, and a few piles of lonely bones. With that rifle, he’d trekked his way out of the cave, and, a little while later, found a lone dreg. He’d killed it, and taken its pike. He’d used that to drive across the frozen Bearing Straight until at last the power cells had died. Then, he resumed his trek until he was found by a few Guardians, patrolling the northern fringes of Old Russia. They’d then taken him to the City - taken him home. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Cupun heard Kim’s voice coming from the other side. “Cupun!” he shouted. “Cupun, are you in there?” Cupun sighed. “I’ll take care of him,” he said. “Please do,” Lyra said, sliding back under the blankets. Cupun got out of bed, and pulled on a gray jumpsuit. He then walked to the door, and opened it. “Yes?” he said. “There you are!” Kim said. The warlock was in full battle gear, his black robes fluttering in the hallway. Only his helmet was missing. “Listen. Have you seen Lyra? Marcella said she wasn’t -“ Then, he peaked into the room, and his cheeks reddened. “Oh.” “Good morning, Kim,” Lyra said. Cupun nodded. “Well. I’ve seen her. And so have you. Now you can leave.” He began to close the door, but Kim grabbed his arm. “Wait!” the Warlock shouted. “That’s not the only reason I came down here!” Cupun sighed. “What else?” he asked. “Well, ah, you see, a fellow Warlock contacted me about some strange readings he was picking up from one of our satellites. You see, they were operating on a fractal wavelength, but exhibited paracausal characteristics that are unlike anything we’ve -“ Cupun put a hand over the warlock’s mouth. “Kim,” Cupun said, “I don’t speak Warlock. Get to the point.” He removed his hand from Kim’s mouth. Kim nodded. “There’s a mission for us,” he said. “To Luna.” Cupun frowned. “Luna? You mean the moon?” Earth’s own moon was a mystery to most Guardians. Expeditionary missions had revealed the remains of a Chinese lunar colony, laid to waste by the collapse. Along with structures of a decidedly more. . . unearthly . . .origin. “When do we leave?” “Today,” Kim said. “Mission briefing is in the Hall of Guardians in an hour.” “Got it,” Cupun said. “Anything else I need to know?” “Not particularly,” Kim admitted. “Then goodbye.” Cupun closed the door. Lyra sighed. “Well,” she said, “I suppose it’s time to get to work.” She slid out of bed, and pulled on a blue jump suit. She then held her arms out to her sides. “Ghost?” “On it,” her ghost said. The little orb floated up to her, and began scanning her, starting at the feet. She then transmatted Lyra’s armor onto her tall frame. Soon, the process was complete, and the Titan stood in full battle-gear. Lyra flexed her neck. She turned back to Cupun. “Time to get ready,” she said. Cupun sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll meet you down at the Hall.” Lyra nodded, and walked to the door. She opened it, and walked out of the room. Cupun watched her leave. He felt a vague sense of unease come over him as the door slid closed behind her. “What’s wrong?” his ghost asked. Cupun shook the feeling away. “Its nothing,” he said. “Just a feeling is all.” He held out his arms. “Get my armor, please.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=237678825&sort=0&page=0]Part Six: Greenhorn[/url]