Scherezade's chest tightened with each word. The air between them felt dense, charged, as if the very gravity of her past and his presence pulled her in conflicting directions. Every confession she'd just laid bare was a fresh wound, and yet Kael sat unmoving, anchored, present, and unflinching. The weight in his brow, the silent vow etched across his face, carved a space inside her that was both terrifying and strangely comforting. He wasn't turning away. He wasn't retreating from the parts of her she often tried to hide even from herself.
He called it bravery, not shame, but the line between the two was razor-thin. Scherezade had walked that edge for so long it blurred together, leaving her unsure which feeling truly belonged. And yet, beneath the quiet strength of his voice, a promise took shape, solid, real, something unspoken yet undeniable. A vow to be true, to be steady, to be the kind of home she'd never let herself hope for before.
Doubt still gnawed at her edges. Scars this deep didn't vanish with words alone, and the fear of being forced to choose again echoed in the corners of her mind. But despite that, something in Kael's warmth, his honest intent, cracked open a space she hadn't dared open in years. When he broke the silence with a grin and an offer of mischief, it was as if the heaviness lightened just enough for her to reach out and take his hand.
Maybe this was the moment the story bent toward something new. Not shattered pieces, but a fragile promise of building something whole. For now, the galaxy's pull softened, and for the first time in a long time, the chaos felt like it might settle just a little bit.
Yet all she could do was blink.
Kael had shifted from assuring her that he would never make her choose, to speaking of a lifetime. Yes, she wanted to fall into that statement, let it encompass her entire life and soul, but… When someone like Kael said
lifetime, it meant
his lifetime. Not theirs. Even if he survived the next five decades, he would look and feel like an older human, and would eventually waste away due to natural causes. For Scherezade, the natural causes would be getting killed in battle. But never of age.
Still, she took her hand with a confidence that had been lacking but moments ago. She used the movement to wrap herself beneath his arm, and grinned as she allowed his physical warmth to engulf her. She would worry about the age and forever bits later, when they'd been through a week or a month or few together. It was not a worry for the right now.
"Pretty Kael," she smiled again,
"welcome to the Giggledust! This is one ship of five, given to the children of Shery deWinter and Lorcan Dessel. This ship went to their eldest, Morgaine. Morgaine, my aunt, was… Is… a spice addict, hence the name. She used this ship to make and to smuggle spice all around the 'verse, and at one point she started collecting poop in it."
That… Was a whole different story.
"It took me forever to make it stop stinking. Sometimes I still find hidden compartments with fifty year old spice. If you find it, never touch it."
Grinning, she turned around, arms flailing about.
"This is the cockpit. You'll notice the endless papers and scrolls and pieces of machinery about. It's also where I do some of my weapon creation, and a lot of my planning for mischief."
Grabbing his hand, she pulled him through the very long hallway which was just as much of a mess of the same type of items, before they got to the common area, a circular room with seven doors leading out.
"You already know the elevator," she pointed at one of the doors,
"and my room."
Bouncing, she opened a fourth door.
"Here is the bacta tank, infirmary, and laundry room. I take healing very seriously," she nodded, "you've seen my body. This tank is why I survived long enough for those scars to develop rather than let the wounds kill me."
Another door opened,
"kitchen. You'll notice the mess here has more to do with preserving meats. I used to not get any money, so the little bit that I did manage to scrap together was used to pay for bacta tank refills and gas. So I learned to hunt, hunted a lot, and then learned to preserve the meat. I have had at least one bite of every type of animal I've ever killed, including ones affected with various Sith diseases. Not an experience I recommend!"
And then,
finally, she remembered that she was supposed to breathe. The show-host tone disappeared, and back came that smile that she hadn't yet realized was one she had only when she looked at Kael.
"The last rooms are office and storage," she said as the door opened. And… she hadn't given false information. She just hadn't given the
full information. As the door hissed open, various equipment actually rolled out of there. There were so many things in that room that there was barely any space left to breathe. Piles of seemingly junk and papers filled the area from floor to ceiling.
"It's a tiny ship," she admitted,
"with no weapons or shields. But full of potential. There's also compartments everywhere. I use them to store food that doesn't have any space in the kitchen or needs longer to dry for the preserving."
Another breath. Then she stood in front of Kael again, bouncing onto her toes, flattening her feet, and bounce again.
"It's not just a ship," she explained,
"This is my home."
Kaelon Virex
