Chapter Text
“Oh Daughter Mine”
~Set before Warlock Ezekiel met Warlock Icarus~
Ezekiel wasn't having the best of days. Quite the opposite actually. He had been thrown out of the city for two months to ‘reflect’ on what he did to a hunter wearing a spine and skull of an Ahamkara. He could hear the dragons whispers. They all recognised him, and he them, though not by name.
He hissed as he crashed to the ground, bullet wounds in his stomach and leg aching. Oh yes. He had been shot twice and beaten by the hunters’ fireteam.
He sighed, arms quivering as he pushed himself to sit up. Once again his ghost offered to heal him to which he quickly brushed away. He didn't like light magic, it was odd and had even odder effects on his body.
Moving his hands about and humming a series of words and noises, Ahamkara magic swirled around his hands, golden and calm. He smiled at it, the gesture immediately vanishing when he heard something. Or rather, someone.
His ghost vanished back into his helmet, and he held completely still. It didn't help he was bleeding all over the place, spreading his scent all over the ground and trees when he stumbled here.
At last his query passed him. He was situated in some bushes around the foot of a tree, quite hidden. The figure stopped, only a few feet ahead of the downed Warlock. He would only be able to do so much if it decided to attack.
He flinched as a stick stabbed at his wound, and then his eyes widened as the figure turned around and looked directly at him. He shivered. Some thing was wrong with this creature.
Static was heard, then a rough voice and startlingly a cough. “Ezekiel..*static* You..needed..”
The male froze, easily recognising this ‘hunter’ as the male from stories. Surviving the stranding on Venus and engraving himself with Vex print. This was hunter ‘Christian’ or better as his nickname described him, ‘Minds of One’ or ‘Vexx’
The male grunted and shakily stood, which did not go passed the male. “Fix yourself.. we then.. *static, screeching* Move..”
Ezekiel nodded, quickly shifting his hands around, removing the bullets and healing them just enough to not burn.
Minds hummed, sounding more like a Vex Conflux then a person. The male Warlock glanced at him and then gestured for him to move. The Hunter made some off sound of confirmation, and then started off, disappearing in a shift of color and Vex particles.
Ezekiel pinned his life signature and followed him. He had already met this hunter, but it was a long time ago, before he was made into this.
The male took the time of walking to think. He limped after the hunter, said vex male stopping every thirty feet to wait, and then he moved once more. He could go much faster, using the vex energy, but he had to wait for the injured Warlock.
The taller male grumbled as he looked up into a tree where the infected hunter sat. “What are you doing.” He hissed out, not about to climb a tree.
The hunter smiled down at him in an odd manner, showing too many teeth and having a dangerous glint in his red eyes, “Oh come now, Ezekiel.” his voice was consumed by static and his eyes widened slightly as he coughed and flashed away. Something was wrong. The flash of fear in the hunters eye apparent.
Ezekiel glanced around, but found no signature of his life. He grit his teeth and clenched his hand that was not on his stomach.
“Great. Now I'm stranded in the middle of the forest.”
Not able to go any longer, he backed up against a tree and slouched to the ground. He sighed and brought out his ghost, the little star not saying a word as it dropped a small Ahamkara skull in his lap.
The Warlock took off his gloves, knowing they had blood on them, and then, gently, he picked up the skull and ran his hand over it. Over the crest of the head, down, feeling it's eye sockets, following the ridge of the nose, and finally to the teeth. He mumbled a series of words and phrases, a flash of light, and small little eyes like glowing embers flicked around in the sockets.
Opening his eyes, he smiled down at the skull and brought it up so he could look at it, “Hello, oh Daughter mine.”
Something seemed to flash in the Ahamkara skulls’ makeshift eyes. It could have been recognition, but he wasn't sure. He hummed softly like he used to and relaxed against the tree. He had personally killed the guardian that had slaughtered his adopted Ahamkara daughter.
He made a soft noise at the skull, it's eyes dancing around happily. Oh how he wished she wasn't dead..
Waking with a start, he almost lashed out at the owner of the hand over his mouth, but then his eyes came into focus. It was only Vexx.
He narrowed his eyes, silently demanding what he was doing.
Vexx shifted, now having his helmet on, the bright glaring eye staring lifelessly at him. “Shh.. others.. looking..” He whispered, sounding like he was using a tin can for a mic.
Ezekiel froze. Oh no.. He immediately put away the prized skull and shifted to stand. He had no doubt they were looking for him, “Vexx. We need to get off this continent.” He hissed out quietly, eyes flicking around nervously.
Vexx hummed and took both of Ezekiel's hands after the taller Warlock had put his gloves back on.
The Warlock raised an eyebrow, but watched quietly as Vexx closed his eyes and started to make noises. They were quiet at first, but soon turned loud. Ezekiel looked around, eyes widening as he spotted one of the guardians.
Looking back at the hunter, he realized what the male was doing. Christian opened his eyes, now glowing brightly. He tilted his head back and cried out in pain. Something was wrong. He began disassembling into vex ‘blocks’, which Ezekiel soon began doing as well, though it didn't hurt him. The Warlock kept his eyes glued on the hurting Hunter, his cries getting more desperate for the ‘pain’ he was in to stop.
Just as the other guardians were about to attack, the entire area flashed in bright white, temporarily blinding the others.
Not as if they would see anything. The hunter and Warlock were gone.
Ezekiel yelled as he was thrown into a tree, dots filling his vision as he slammed into the thick trunk of a large tree.
He caught his breath, and then looked around. None of this looked familiar, red trees that escaped the world through their expance, the ground as bleached bone. But one thing he did recognise was the blocky texture of the rocks. Vex tech?
He heard a groan, and immediately looked around. He gasped, getting up a little too quickly and almost making himself fall. He rushed to the fallen hunters aid, a worried look on his face.
The male had his eyes shut tightly, but the glow from his red eyes was still very visible. His helmet had since been discarded, allowing him to breathe.
“Christian?” He asked, hesitantly touching the hunters shoulder, “Hey, are you okay?”
The male flinched, shaking his head slightly, and then he attempted to speak, “Need.. shelter..” and after that, he passed out, going lax. His body relaxed, showing how much tension was actually in his body. Ezekiel picked him up, keeping the hunters head close and secure, holding the smaller hunter against his chest.
Shifting on his feet, he looked around for a secluded area to hide in. Spotting a cave, he immediately went towards it. Something was odd about the entrance, a dot with an arch over it. Something he had never seen before. He hummed softly and shrugged, going into he tight cave entrance and following the hall.
An odd aura surrounded this place. Mystery and secrets seemed to flow from the dark. He couldn't help it, the scholar in him screaming to go into the cave.
He kept going, occasionally spotting small relics as he went. He didn't pick them up as his hands were occupied, but he did put small markers on his HUD to remember where they were.
He immediately jumped behind cover when he saw a patrol of two goblins. He grumbled and pressed against the wall behind a rock, putting the unconscious male against the wall to hide him.
Waking up suddenly, Vexx took in a large breath, starting to struggle against Ezekiel's hold. The male shoved him down and held him close, trying to make him stop.
The smaller male vanished and the Warlock fell against the wall with an oof. A noise was heard, and the goblins suddenly looked around, making their own noises. They were communicating with whatever was making the noise.
He watched over the rock, avian helm peeking over the dirt covered rock. Vexx popped out, the Warlock realizing he was the one that the sounds were coming from. He had his helmet on, Vex eye glowing brightly.
The goblins made a noise and ‘bowed’ to him, making the Warlock relax and step out of cover.
Immediately they drew on him, but Vexx made a sharp noise that demanded their attention.
They complied, moving closer so the shorter hunter could hold out his hand and give himself paint, the color a bright crimson like their eyes.
He began painting on them, marking them on their crests, arms, and torso.
“Mark them… friendly.. are... of.. my mind.” Vexx said, voice not breaking up into static, but he still spoke slowly as if it was difficult for him to say human tongue.
Ezekiel nodded and shifted as his ghost fixed his HUD, marking them as ‘Goblins, Minds of One’
He had heard about hunters in the wilds seeing a fellow fighting alongside the Vex, but he had never believed it. Now he knew where they came from.
The male watched as the Vex disappeared, eyes searching the smaller male. Vexx shifted, and then looked at Ezekiel, “We.. Are on.. Nessus..”
Ezekiel froze. Nessus?! That was so far away from home! No wonder Vexx was in pain, they had moved across the system!
Ezekiel immediately felt worry for Christian. How much damage had he done to his body? “Are you okay? You need to rest.” he said and grabbed Vexx's arm and tried to pull him into a nook that the old Warlock had spotted earlier.
Surprisingly the hunter did not fight against him, just allowing the Warlock to pull him along and into a dark little hole in the wall where they could both relax and have a quiet moment.
Ezekiel went in first, realizing they would have to sit very close together. He sat down and Vexx hummed mechanically, and then decided abruptly to sit on the old Warlocks lap. All the smaller wanted was warmth and a soft place to sit.
The Warlock still startled and pressed against the wall, tensing up as the hunter relaxed and laid back on him, but then he looked back at the larger male and realized how uncomfortable he was. “Oh..Sorry..” he said and shifted so he was sitting on the ground and had his legs on the Warlocks’.
The older male felt bad, but he didn't like what the hunter had done. He sighed and laid back, eyes blinking tiredly as he yawned, arms crossing over his chest.
The hunter started to shiver after he started to sleep. The Warlock looked at him, gaze flicking around and then landing back on the hunter. He sighed and shifted so he could take off his heavy Warlock coat, and then set it on the hunter.
Seeing Christian relax and stop quivering, he sat back and fell asleep easily. He liked the cool better anyways.