Tale of the Phantom

Chapter 35: Entry Log 111- 00:18:41

The camera clicked on to the sound of a gasp and a rather hard slam. Due to the rather odd angle and the fact that only the ceiling was visible, one could only assume the Ghost hadn't meant to turn on its camera. Sundance floated upright, the screen panning down and focusing in on the darkness of Cayde's living room. All of the lights were off except the dim hall light that had apparently been left on to the right of the room.

It focuses in on the middle of the room where the couch is, and just barely has moved to it to see Cayde nearly jump a foot in the air at the sudden wake up call. He was on his feet in a second, Ace of Spades out and ready.

"Where's - what's going on?" he snaps, robotic eyes flickering around the dark still room before coming to rest on the camera. It zooms closer, Sundance panning the feed as she moves to rest near his shoulder and he looks around. "Sky? Skylar w-" his voice cuts off and the feed finds out why, the audio just now picking up on a rapid sound. Breathing?

Skylar as it were wasn't on the couch where she must have been before, a disheveled blanket left behind and a data pad on the ground. Sterling is hovering near the end of it, looking in the same direction but oddly not moving towards it. The bladedancer is across the room, back to the wall, knees pulled up against her and one hand gripping her knife as it lays on the ground. She's breathing hard, gasping for air and the light on the feed picks up dilated eyes and shivering shoulders. Her armor is gone, a simple t-shirt and her gear pants in their stead, both appearing darker in places while sticking to her unusually pale skin. The only explanation is that she had Blink Jumped in a panicked state, a lamp nearby knocked over explaining the sound. She holds up her free hand for a moment as if telling him to give her a minute and closes her eyes.

It's all too familiar to three months ago when Cayde woke her up during a nightmare. After a moment she ducks her head and pressed her forehead into her knees and Cayde curses under his breath as she uses her free hand to dig nails into her scalp. One look at the Exo tells you everything you need to know: this has happened before but the worry on his face hasn't seemed to lessen. He put his gun away and then carefully made his way over to her in the dark room, crouching down beside her.

"Sky?" he murmurs and she flinches slightly but doesn't look up, her breathing still loud enough to be heard on the microphone. Cayde waits a second before slowly sitting himself down against the wall as well. He silently reached out an arm and wrapped it around her bowed in shoulders before pulling closer to him. She doesn't resist and seems to relax slightly into the warmth he provides. He takes a moment to use his other hand to get her fingers away from her head, threading his them through her own and laying them on his lap. Then without a word he uses the hand on her shoulder - his thumb more precisely - rubbing a small circle into the side of it at an even pace. "It's alright," he assures her as a tremor racks up her spine. "Just concentrate on my hand Skylar. I'm right here and there's nothing else but me."

It's odd to see the normally energetic Exo so calm, but he needs to be for her. Ikora had told him as much when he'd asked if there was anything he could do. In times like these he had to be the calm one she'd said, and so that's what he is, an anchor for her to hold onto. It takes several minutes. Nearly five tick by on the clock before Skylar let's her arm relax a bit, fingers uncurling from the knife's handle, and her breathing beginning to even out. Her head tilts back and hits the wall behind them with a soft 'thunk', her half lidded gaze haggard as it slides to meet his. Cayde offers her a smile that she doesn't return.

"Sorry," she whispers and closes her eyes, brows scrunching. Cayde's arm just tightens around her in response.

"I keep telling you not to apologize," he responds. "I'm just glad I was here this time. It's worse finding out you had to deal with it alone." There's worry on his metal face as she makes an expression and then sighs, opening her eyes again. There's a sense of dread in her look, or maybe it's exhaustion, bone deep and half defeated.