Serene, Tranquil. Violent, Hurtful.

"You're quiet, for once," Carman observed as she kept watch next to Yetta. The two had a sort of game going, to see who could get the most sneak attack kills. Yetta had been in a mood lately, sourly doing her patrols as she thought. "And not the blessed quiet I rarely get from you. This seems bothered."

"Do you know your past life?" Yetta asked randomly. 

"You know I don't," Carman replied simply. "That's a taboo-."

"Taboo subject. I know." Yetta set her rifle down, sitting against the rock. "I didn't get a choice," she said. "It was either I know who I was, or risk pissing a queen off."

Carman looked over in alarm. "Mara didn't," she gasped. "Tell me she didn't."

Yetta simply nodded. "Met my cousin, he was, um. He's Crow's ex. That's fun to know, I guess."

"Didn't know Jolyon had a cousin. You're sure?"

"…yeah. Had a whole meeting with him and everything."

"And?"

Yetta closed her eyes, enjoying the slight breeze. "I have his number," she finally said. "In case I want to keep in contact, and know more. Or just keep in contact."

Carman sighed, softly. "I can't tell you what to do here," she said gently. "There's no teaching I can do, or advice I can give. Except this: take this slow. If you choose to go down this path, don't learn everything at once. This is something you take in small bites. Don't rush in headfirst like Crow did."

"Speaking of Crow- actually nevermind." A blush spread on her cheeks, and she picked the discarded rifle up again.

Carman looked at her with interest. "Do go on."

"No- I can't." Yetta shrugged, nailing a hostile, before it could even look up. "It's awkward."

"Oh, so you mean it's juicy?" Carman asked. "Better to rip the bandaid off, dear."

"How do people do this whole…sex thing?" Carman choked as Yetta blurted the question out. The huntress didn't even know it was possible for an exo to choke.

"Well-," the warlock croaked. "Uhm- ok so- basically-."

"You have no idea, do you?"

"None at all. Elsie and I have never done that, and have no *desire* to. And some people don't, some people do. Some exos get mods specially for that as part of their humanisms. It's completely normal and- oh, dear Traveler. Why are we having this discussion?"

"Sorry?" Yetta offered.

"No, no. It's quite alright. It's, um, just not what I was expecting to talk about." Her shot missed, for once. Carman sighed, sitting back. Yetta was in the lead, by one. "I shouldn't have pressed, so *I'm* the sorry one here."

"You missed," Yetta helpfully pointed out.

"Yes, thank you Dear. I *know*."

. . .

She typed her report into the system, sitting alone at the bar. Crow was busy in another meeting, this time to discuss proper etiquette and relationships within work. She felt safe enough with the knowledge that Crow had pledged to stay at her side, for as long as he could. There was no way he'd take it out of context, this time. She clicked another key with a small smile, her fingers dancing over the keyboard.

Somebody settled on the stool next to her, scooting closer. She scoffed, not paying them any mind. "Hey, beautiful," they flirted. "Come on, lemme buy you a drink." They sounded drunk already, and she looked over, and yep. The guy was already drunk, ordering a drink. Apparently, he was bar hopping. 

Yetta sighed and put her pad away, moving to stand up. A hand snaked around her waist, pulling her back in the seat. "Come on, pretty girl. Look at me." Yetta sighed softly, picking the offending appendage up and moving it to the side. 

"I'd rather not, thanks," she hummed. "Please go away."

The man leaned closer, placing his hand on her arm. "You look cold, and lonely. I could fix that for you," he cooed.

"Didn't you hear me?" She narrowed her eyes. "Fuck off."

"Would rather fuck you."

"Ew." Yetta shook his hand off, walking away. The man swallowed his drink down, and followed her to the door, trying to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "You have two seconds," she warned.

"Before what? Hm?" He leaned in close. 

"Before you don't have hands. Get off." She dug her elbow into his gut, listening to him double over in pain. She looked down her nose at him. "Disgusting," she jeered, opening the door and stepping into the cold, wrapping her coat tighter around her. Snow fell around her, the wind blowing it into her face. Yetta shivered, tucking her hands into her pockets to try to warm them up.

A coat wrapped around her, gently. She swung around, her fist poised to connect with a face. Jolyon caught her hand, raising a white eyebrow. He broke into a smile. "Hello to you too." Yetta pulled her hand away, looking away, embarrassed. 

"Sorry. Just jumpy tonight," she explained. "Some drunk jackass at the bar tried to flirt with me. Wouldn't stop touching me."

"Ah." He fell into step beside her, basically escorting her to the house. "So. You and Crow? Hm?"

"Uhm, yeah. Hope that doesn't complicate things."

"What would it complicate?" he asked, shrugging. "Uldren died. He was dead long before he shot Cayde. And you're- sorry. *She* is dead now too. My cousin has been dead for a while." He shook his head as he spoke. "Mom and Aunt Saaf, they…" He shook his head, dismissively. "The family no longer talks to each other."

"I'm…sorry," Yetta said softly. "Must be hard."

Jolyon took a deep breath. "It was long coming, to be honest. After y- after she disappeared, they started arguing. Blaming each other."

"Hm. You're having a hard time adapting to this, aren't you?" Yetta braced herself against a cold gust of wind. "Fuck-."

"What about you?" he asked, deflecting. "I heard about the time line."

"Big news?" Her tone hardened. She really didn't want to discuss it.

"Well…not quite. Mara was messaged immediately once you and Crow vanished in the middle of a restaurant. I couldn't help but listen in on the initial meeting, either. I wanted an explanation." He took a big breath in. "He's um. He's good to you."

"He is," she agreed. "Jolyon, what is this visit about? I doubt you came to the same place I was in just for some tourist shit."

"I just want to catch up."

. . .

She pushed the door to the dark house open, the heater kicking on. She sighed, turning the lights on and tossing her sack onto the table, her data pad falling out. Jolyon stepped in after her, sitting at the table. "Nice place," he commented. "Who picked it out?"

"Crow did," she absently answered, fetching a couple mugs. "It was his idea to move in together."

"Before or after you started dating?" He leaned back in his seat. 

"That's…a complicated answer," she admitted. "Not something I want to go back to right now." Turning the stove on, she poured some milk into the pot, stirring it to keep it from burning. "How rich do you like your hot coco?" she asked. 

"Oh- I didn't- I'm ok without it," he answered. "Really."

"It is currently fuck-all-degrees outside. Colder than a dead man's dick, if you will. Are you *sure*?" She leveled him with an impatient look. "How rich? And do you want cayenne in it?"

"Like the pepper?" He wrinkled his nose in distaste. 

"No, like the person. *Yes*, the pepper." She grabbed it off of the spice rack, gently tapping it into her mug. "Yes or no?"

"No…thank you." He took his mug from her hands, smelling the rich drink. He took a careful sip, smiling softly. "Some things never change."