Season of the Drifter has me excited for the story of Destiny in a way that Black Armory just didn't. Gambit, the Drifter, Dredgens, Thorn. It's inherently more interesting than some mythical never-before-seen Forges that gave us some guns that, while cool, feel like any other guns. The Allegiance quest has piqued my interest with it's story possibilities. My recent acquisition of The Last Word by my Hunter, along with my Titan's current quest for Malfeasance, and the upcoming quest for Thorn, combined with my Guardians picking a side in The Allegiance led me to a conversation between Taylor, my Hunter, and Edie, my Titan. It's also just sort of a weird justification for transferring weapons between characters. This is a quick draft, but as complete as it'll ever be. I've been meaning to do something like this a bit more often, after writing up the small bits about my characters for that Year 1 fashion show thread.

"I can't follow you down this path. Not this time."

Flashes of sunlight illuminated the shaded balcony, reflections from the massive shards orbiting the Traveler. Faint sounds of construction drifted down from the old tower. Repairs had been a long time coming, but progress was finally being made.

Taylor didn't like it. The section of wall the Vanguard now called home was perfectly serviceable. It seemed wrong to spend the resources on the tower when huge swaths of the city still lay in ruins.

Edie, though, she understood the power of symbols. And, make no mistake, the Tower was a symbol. It could either be a symbol of strength and recovery, one of safety and hope, or it could remain a symbol of weakness and failure, a constant reminder that maybe the city wasn't so safe.

Taylor sighed. She picked up her coffee mug, but she didn't drink, just held its warmth in her hands. It was comforting. "I wouldn't ask you to follow me. But I hoped you would understand. I thought you'd have my back."

"What's to understand?" Edie leaned against the railing, gripping it hard, looking out upon the city. She knew Taylor came here to be alone. To sulk, usually. On any other day, Edie would be content to let her. They never did quite seem to be on the same page about methodology for protecting humanity. Taylor spent her time in the outer system, searching for things that might be better left alone. Edie was a protector in the literal sense of guarding the walls, fighting the things that were knocking on your door. Normally, she wouldn't push Taylor on it, but this . . . "You're turning your back on the Vanguard!"

"No!" Taylor put the coffee down, stood up. "No, I'm not abandoning the Vanguard. But look out there! The Vanguard failed! The Vanguard is no longer enough! I'm just trying to find a way to protect these people. I don't trust him, but The Drifter knows things, and if I can just find out--"

"Find out what? How to get another one of those?" Edie nodded to Taylor's hip. A sickly pale glow reflected from the Hunter's cloak.

Taylor put her hand on the weapon. Malfeasance. She wouldn't admit it, but Edie was right. If she could find another Malfeasance . . . well, she wouldn't refuse it. Taylor might not see the importance of symbols, but she was drawn to power. Too much time spent alone in the outer system meant that she took what she could get. Her survival depended on it, and, she reasoned, so did humanity's.

"That's not fair. You gave it to me!" Deflecting, as usual.

"I know. And the things I had to do to get it . . . I wish I hadn't. That weapon is the first step on a dangerous path, one I no longer wish to walk. I should not have led you to it." Edie turned back around, looked out on the City. She could see the crater and the ruins where the Fallen had hidden, where Insurrection Prime was destroyed. She could see the parts of the City that were smouldering from the Red War not that long ago. She hated that Taylor was right--maybe the Vanguard was no longer enough. No, Edie thought. I won't work with him again. Whatever the faults of the Vanguard . . . well, they wouldn't have created Malfeasance. "If you will continue on that road, I cannot go with you. You will walk alone."

"Not alone." Taylor said softly, and pulled her cloak aside. A flash of gold on her other hip.

"How did you . . ."

"Someone gave it to me. I'm not walking into the dark blind. I carry a light."

Edie sighed, short and sharp, almost half a laugh. "I still don't like it. I don't trust him. People die in there, you know, in whatever new thing he's running."

Taylor frowned, shook her head, not believing.

"That's what I've heard. Just rumors, maybe. But I don't think so. This isn't the Crucible or some game. He's messing with the Taken. How do you think we made that cannon you're carrying? He's putting the whole system at risk. Who knows what's really happening in there?"

"I intend to find out." Taylor drew Malfeasance in her left hand, spun The Last Word in her right. "I'm prepared for anything."

"And if you're not?"

Taylor smirked, looked at the cannons in her hands. "Then . . . I guess we'll see."