“I’m glad we could fight side by side one last time,”

The memory of Uldren drifted down to stand before her with a soft smile on his face, but Hawk could sense him slowly fading away. 

 

Footsteps from the hall caught her attention, and to her relief belonged to Eris, helping a wounded Zavala, and Crow holding up the rear. Bright crimson against the scales of his armor was the only hint of his anguish not minutes before. His face turned pale when his eyes met the sight of the hunter and the memory standing before her. Uldren gave Hawk one last warm look and turned to meet his successor. The smile that grew on his face was one she could never forget, and in its last fleeting moments, they were free. Crow stumbled forward a step, his eyes wide, but it was only after Uldren had faded into specks of dust and light that she turned to him. Time stretched into an eternity as he held her gaze from behind her mask.

 

Hawk broke the tension, tearing her gaze back to the remaining lights, a myriad of thoughts flashing through her tired mind. As Crow watched her silent figure, his aching heart came to a single conclusion: What once he saw as a curse, was instead a blessing. His throat clenched he watched her stillness, even after the others had moved away to leave this place of defeat. Eris offered a hand on his shoulder, looked back to where Hawk stood, and then too left them to their silence. 

 

Forcing his legs to move, he slowly approached her. She stood with corpse-like stillness, and her ghost made no attempt to beseech her. “Hawk?” He began to reach out his hand, but hesitated when the visor of her helmet met his eyes. After a moment, he noticed the shaking of her hands, and forgot all notions of fear. He grabbed her hands, then the cheeks of her helmet, and held her there for the longest time. Cries wracked her body as she collapsed to her knees. His arms found solace wrapped around her, and with reverence, he bore witness to the first time her emotions had betrayed her in the longest time. She slowly removed her helmet to reveal the rivers of tears cascading down her face. He brushed his thumbs over them to stem the flow, but his gaze became ensnared by her eyes. They shone like newly birthed stars in her face, all the more brightly as they drowned. And within them he found confirmation of the truth. Within his, she longed for release, burdened with the loss of a life she couldn’t remember.