Iron Wake was always empty late in the evening, which was why it was a perfect place for four Tenno to have a sneaky little get together. Frost brought the tent, Volt brought the blankets and snacks, Ember made a fire and Saryn had managed to buy some bottles of drink from a villager on Cetus. According to her, the villager literally pissed itself when she handed them fifty thousand credits for the seven bottles of whatever they were.
“They’d either never seen us before, were amazed by how much money you gave them or were scared shitless!” Ember exclaimed.
“Or they were amazed at how beautiful Saryn looks…” Frost tried his luck, but Saryn wasn’t really listening. She was busy throwing leaves into Ember’s fire.
Volt inspected one of the bottles. He was about to open it, when he suddenly realised something. “Uh, we going to, you know, actually drink these?”
“Of course!” Saryn threw her arms into the air. “The whole point of this date was to get to know each other better! And that means showing our true, Tenno selves! That’s why Ember asked you to bring snacks.”
Volt glanced at the pile of food he’d brought. Admittedly, he’d just ransacked a Grineer resupply drop and had no idea if any of it was edible, but he didn’t want to tell that to the others. Made sense now that he’d thought about it. Saryn snatched the bottle away from Volt, then stood in that all too familiar position. Her true self, her Tenno body, sparkled into view. She was wearing one of those Corpus-themed dresses in green and pink, with a frilly skirt. Her black and green hair glistened in the light from the fire.
“Wow…” Frost gasped. “You’re even prettier than I imagined…”
Saryn’s Tenno form grinned. “As much as I like calling myself Saryn, my real name’s Elxy.”
Immediately, Frost stepped forward, his Tenno self leaping from his body. “I’m Thenok.” Thenok was also rather attractive. He was tall and skinny, and used Quills-made armour to make himself look bulkier, and a heavy helmet to hide his bright silver hair and scars around his white eyes.
Ember hesitated for a moment, before also coming forward as her Tenno self, introducing herself at the same time. “My Tenno name is Inquiay, but I honestly prefer being called Ember.” Inquiay’s suit was quite simple and pleasant, a smart, jumper-like top and long sleeves covering her arms and legs. She wore a small, square tiara over her long, red and pink hair, something she’d managed to buy from the Void Trader.
The three Tenno all turned to Volt, waiting expectantly.
“You want me…” Volt worried.
“Yep!” Elxy beamed.
“Really?” Volt sighed. “I don’t like showing my true self. Makes me feel weak and helpless. Why would I leave the safety of my Warframe to show others what I actually am?”
Thenok shrugged. “We’re safe here. And it’s not like we can’t instantaneously regain control of our Warframes if we really need to!”
Volt shuddered, then stood up, allowing his Tenno form to stand in the fading light.
“Of course you’re wearing that yellow suit!” Thenok laughed, only for Inquiay to slap him. Thenok grunted, then changed his tone. “You haven’t… done anything? Not even taken your…”
Volt’s Tenno sighed, then unzipped his hood. “You can call me Retvik. Or Volt. Volt is a better name. I never saw a reason to change anything about my Zariman suit, apart from altering the colours…”
“Why are all Volts like this?” Elxy whispered.
“No idea…” Thenok sighed.
Inquiay though seemed rather happy. “You look so normal! That’s awesome! And I get it, I prefer being called Ember, you prefer being called Volt…” Inquiay paused, then looked up. “Do you guys here that?”
The four Tenno all switched back to their Warframes. Frost instinctively cast a Snow Globe around them all, forcing a mortar to bounce off and explode harmlessly in a nearby bush. More mortars started to fall, just as a battalion of Grineer charged in through the main entrance to Iron Wake.
Saryn stared at the ground, where six of the seven bottles of drink she had bought had all shattered.
“THOSE BASTARDS RUINED MY DRINKS!” she screamed as she pulled out a Scoliac whip and charged into battle.
Frost shrugged, then chased off after her, grabbing his Penta grenade launcher as he did so, leaving Volt and Ember alone.
After a brief but awkward silence, Volt sighed.
“You know, I was kinda looking forward to a quiet evening. Even the whole getting to know each other stuff was alright.”
“Doesn’t matter!” Ember beamed, turning on her Ignis flamethrower. Of course she was using a flamethrower. “Come on, let’s go kill some Grineer.”
Volt shrugged as he grabbed his Supra Vandal. “Yeah, sure…”