World Tree MUSH

    After the soupy mess of a swampy incident involving zombies, a very dead Thanatos-4 picked himself up and proceeded to grouchily walk it off, after his Ghost gave him the necessary jump. He decided he was done with heroics for the day.
    So, a quick jump in the Styx Adrift to a nearby inhabited planet finds the Warlock in a cantina, hunched over a table and nursing a bottle and glass of a horrifically toxic looking, neon green, concoction. What it could be is a mystery, and it's probably lethal to most organic life, which means it's just right for an Exo such as himself.
    There is a second glass set at the opposite end of the table. Waiting.

    Being caught up in the middle of a battle in a foreign world isn't exactly an ideal way to ease back into the motion of things, and while he hasn't any complaints about hitting the ground running, watching a fellow Guardian bite it while you weren't standing more than ten feet away just kind of gnaws at you in a guilt-ridden kind of way. Kind of.

    "Ahem." The awkward sound of a forced clearing of one's robotic throat would herald the arrival and subsequent approach of the Hunter Vanguard who somehow manages to saunter over towards the table occupied by the other Exo in the most casual of manners. Well, that's Cayde for you.

    "Hey there," he greets, nudging out an empty seat with his foot as he invites himself to join Thanatos. Fingers drum against the table for a moment.

    "So um. That was a thing."

    The mysterious green fluid sloshes in the bottle as Thanatos pours it into the second glass an nudges it across the table, on Cayde's arrival. 
    "That was a thing." He agrees, voice rough and irritable, though not directly at the Hunter Vanguard. The Warlock spends a moment in silence, nursing the contents of his own glass, he helmet resting at the edge of the table to reveal the black and red-plated almost ever present scowling face. "Good stuff." He notes, for Cayde's reference, before taking a lazy sip, and jumping right down to business.
    "I find myself curious, as I often do about many things in this wide, wide universe, just how you precisely managed to get away from Zavala and Ikora. and what the Hunter Vangaurd of all people is doing off The Tower."

    Not the sort to need any real invitation to drink, Cayde's brow plates lift slightly before he reaches over to sweep up the glass poured for him. He takes a swallow, emits a heavy sigh. 

    "Oh, you warlocks and your curiosity," he says, tone teasing as he looks at the liquid in his glass as he swirls it about. He doesn't seem inclined to answer the question, or rather the insinuation of one, as becomes evident when he takes another, longer drink. 

    Scarlet optics level on the other Exo as Thanatos gives his drink a lazy swirl. The silence that follows is long and pobing as he stares rather intently for several long seconds before snorting.
    "You hunters and your evasive tendencies." He quips back, voice dry in spite of the drink he had just taken mere seconds before.
    Slippery as eels. Make life in the Crucible a nightmare with your damned katanas." He adds before throwing the rest of his drink and pouring himself another glass.
    "Well. I promised I wouldn't tell Zavala. And I've been out of contact with Ikora for some time now. It's been maddeningly difficult to find my way back to Earth. There's something about this... Tree that makes it a problem. As though our world isn't fully connected to it."

    Cayde laughs, clunking his now empty glass on the tabletop. "Eh, guilty as charged," he says, still chuckling as he reaches over to help himself to a refill once Thanatos has served himself, perhaps revisiting some of his fonder moments in the Crucible. 

    "I would say that next to Hunters, Warlocks are the next on the list to go scarce if they've got business elsewhere." ...although what the other Exo admits next does sound a bit troubling. 

    "Yeah, about that..." Cayde says, glowing gaze dropping back to his drink. "How long have you been out here?" Because he'd like to know just how bad an explosion he might be in for if he can't find his way back to the Tower within reasonable- well okay, reasonable timeframes are probably well out the window by now, and knowing Zavala, whether Cayde's gone AWOL an hour or a few months, it just quadruples the Titan's length of his 'talks.'

    "Warlocks often have places to go, and research to perform." Thanatos notes before replying: "Two months, on the dot, as of today." His answer is as mercilessly honest as it is mirthless. A finger traces the rim of his glass as the articulated plating of his face puckers with a soft buzz into a scrunched look of contemplation. "I've found several Earth-like planets, but not ours. It's fascinating. It fits in with several of one of my colleagues theories of a greater multiverse, but it's all connected to one big tree. I mean big." The Warlock mutters.
    "If you were thinking of finding a way back, good luck. There are too many branches to count, and they all lead somewhere new and fascinating. But the path back must have gotten tangled up somewhere along the way."
    Cayde probably won't have the best time with Zavala, later, that's for sure. But the more dour of the Exo pair lifts his shoulders into a shrug. "Never thought it would be something so simple as a tree."

    Honestly, Cayde's not //that// concerned about what trouble he might be in with Zavala. This whole matter seems to be completely out of his hands, and being the Hunter that he is, Cayde's already decided to make the best of it. Really though, what all's he missing back at the Tower? Longwinded meetings? Fresh-faced Guardians dancing on his table? Already this is a vacation to him.

    "Two months, that's....uh. Wow. Seen anyone else of ours about while you've been out gallavanting?" he asks, taking another sip. "I guess finding a way back should be a priority..." But there's probably //oh// so much to do in the meantime. Places to see. Stuff to find.

    He'll worry about Zavala later. Unless of course the Titan suddenly finds himself out in some world beyond as well, in which case it'll sure make things a lot awkward but less trouble to explain at the very least.

    "So. When you say treeeee....you mean like...actual tree, with like, the twigs and leaves an' stuff?"

    "A tree." Thanatos confirms. "A tree." Repeated for emphasis. "It's fascinating. Each world is like a leaf, connected by branches and vines. I've never seen anything like it." The Warlock states, pausing only to knock back his drink like a man of knowledge who has just has his whole life of work and research shaken by one simple revelation..
    That is kind of what he is, now.
    But indeed, the other members of the Vanguard are a problem for Future Cayde to deal with, because in the right-here-right-now of it, Thanatos shakes his head.
    "You're the first other Guardian I've seen in the entire time. Dis and I have been on our own. Frankly I'm surprised the first Guardian I run into isn't another Warlock."
    The curiosity runs deep in that sect.
    He pauses though. 'Oh so much to do'. "Mmh. About that. With new worlds comes a new Darkness, Cayde. There's an evil around almost every corner. Shadows of new kinds trying to strangle the Lights of many other worlds. I've already encountered another world bathed in 'Twilight'. And you saw those zombies last night. If those were not of a dark force I don't know what is."

    "Interesting..." It's the only thing Cayde can say for now, because he's not quite sure what to make of it, himself. The thought isn't nearly so mindshattering to him so much as boggling. 

    He plays around with his glass a bit, nodding. So, he's the first one, eh? Not sure what to make of that either. He snorts in mock offense. "You guys go lookin' for knowledge, and we'll go looking for new ground to cover and potential things to keep an eye out for." This could just be seen as one very complicated scouting mission. 

    Lowering his glass from another sip, Cayde pauses as Thanatos continues. His optics lid slightly as he mulls quietly over the words, the comparisons. "New Darkness, huh..." he says quietly. He remembers the original Darkness well enough, one of the scattered remnants of his past memories that he's managed to hold onto, definitely not the most pleasant, but it's still //his//. He grabs the bottle, tops off his glass, and then upends the latter into his mouth before setting it down soundly.

    "New worlds, new Darkness- new threats. Well, guess that means we make ourselves useful while we're stuck out here."

    As soon as Cayde knocks back that shot and sets his glass down, Thanatos is pouring him another, and then refilling his own glass subsequently afterward. Though he nurses the drink like something much finer than the rotgut it actually is. Then again only an Exo could probably stomach whatever the concoction is.
    "I left the Last City looking for the secrets of the universe and I find a tree." He snorts, "The search for knowledge can go in very strange directions. Literally and figuratively. I simply thought it would be another Warlock venturing out past the bounds of our much smaller world. Leave it to a Hunter to prove me wrong. I stand corrected."
    But then the dour Exo nods his agreement. "Regardless of our reasons for leaving The Tower, it's our duty as Guardians to fight off the Darkness and protect the Light. I'm all for being useful if you are."

    Brushing aside whatever momentary flash of solemnity he'd slipped into, the Hunter Vanguard smirks, pulling his refilled glass towards him again. Nothing near as good as his favorite haunts in the Last City, but for the moment, it suffices.

    "Not much of a gambler, are you?" he chuckles, taking his time with this glass. Sitting up a bit, Cayde nods at the Warlock then. "All a matter of perspective, my friend. Plus, we'd be doing ourselves and our world a favor heading off any potential things of dark intentions before they might find a way to slink home." 

    And it is a sound excuse to feed Zavala and Ikora whenever they do manage to get back to the City. Always good to be on the same page when you need a potential alibi.

    "No." Thanatos is an honest man. "I don't leave things to chance." He admits. A gambler he is not. He prefers his data much more empirical than left to probability. Unsurprisingly and bread and butter for a Warlock, no? But he leans back in his seat, tilting his glass for a slow drain of the noxious contents, and a deep gulp. "But I can see your viewpoint."
    It would be advantageous for The Last City to stave off any encroaching Darkness from beyond the known home galaxy. Or at least having something to report back to Ikora with and send the entire Warlock community into an uproar over this entire tree business. Having something to feed Zavala would probably just be a bonus for both he and Cayde.
    "I'm going to see about investigating the tree itself as much as I can. If you want something to look into, there's a princess in need of aid dealing with her Twilight problems. I'm sure having some royal thanks and backing might pad things in your favor with the rest of the Vanguard when you make your glorious and triumphant return."

    Damn Warlocks.

    Eyeing Thanatos for a moment, Cayde then shakes his head, snorting as he picks up his glass. "Princess, huh? Well, I'll make a note of it. Something to do." Pointedly saying nothing in regards to the rest. Why couldn't it have been another Hunter he ran into out here? At least then there'd be some real understanding...not that it's been any great secret how much Cayde wanted to be anywhere but working a glorified desk job.

    The rest of his glass is drained in one swig, opposed to the slow finish of the other Guardian, and the emptied glass is turned upside-down. Probably enough swill for his internal systems. He rests his gloved hands upon the table for a moment as though something comes to mind to keep him from pushing off to his feet.

    "Er...hey," he starts, flicking a glance sidewise as he leans forward a bit. "So whenever you head out...you think I could like, bum a ride from you?"

    Alas, Cayde, you must deal with a gun toting bookworm.
    "Something to do." Thanatos confirms. "Better than nothing. I'm not wrong, am I?" He muses before he finishes his last drink as well, taking the opportunity to cork the bottle when he sees Cayde turn his class over.
    It is as Cayde starts to rise and then pauses, looking thoughtful, that the black plated Exo quirks one of the plates that comprises his brow.
    Cayde-6 wants to bum a ride.
    "Yeah. Sure." Thanatos sees no reason why to deny the Hunter.