Private Law of Nature

[Colette]

Drifter

Colette's lips thinned until her dimples curled themselves over into a frown. There was nothing wrong with calling someone a mother, at least not unless that person was Colette Noble. The sting of abandonment wasn't as sharp as it had been when she was a child but it had still hollowed out some small part of her mind where 'nurture' should have been.

"No, I guess not." She grumbled. "Or, at least it shouldn't be."

Colette paused, looked around the room for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"I was abandoned, left to die as an infant." She kept from rolling her eyes. The words felt so empty, pointless, unremarkable. "I've seen what mothers are, but I never felt it — at least not until I was old enough to get by on my own."

"It's hard to not feel like it's an insult to call Valery mother. She never abandoned me, she never left me to die. I got close once, and even then she was right there when I woke up in the hospital. Like something I've been told a mother should have been."

"But she's nothing like my parents. I don't want to put that on her."

 

[Drifter]

​

Interacting With: Colette

Drifter stopped mid-sip from his ridiculous straw pouch, the visor angled toward her in a way that suggested he'd gone still behind it. Not uncomfortable. Not pitying. Just… listening. Really listening.

He set the pouch down and leaned forward a bit, elbows resting on his knees, the armor creaking softly with the shift. When he finally spoke, it was in a tone that was earnest and thoughtful in its own way and stripped of the usual swagger.

[ Sounds to me like you already know what she is to you. ]

He let that sit for a moment before continuing, softer still.

[ Blood doesn't make a mother. Not really. Plenty of folks've been born from the same people who never acted like family a single day in their life. You? You found someone who showed up. Who stayed. That counts for somethin'. ]

He leaned back, arms crossing loosely, helm tipping as if studying her from a new angle.

[ You ain't insultin' her by feelin' that. You ain't replacin' anybody either. You're just callin' things what they are. ]

He gave a small pause as the faint hum from the ship filled the quiet.

[ And if Valery was there when you woke up? If she cares enough to be that person... you don't gotta worry about puttin' weight on her. Folks like that? They can carry it. ]

He nudged her bowl toward her gently with two fingers.

[ Eat up, kid. Food's better when you're not arguin' with yourself. ]

It was light, almost teasing, but the warmth behind it was real beneath the scoundrel façade.

 

[Colette]

Drifter

Right, but Valery already carried the weight of a galaxy on her shoulders. At least she had done so once. Sword of the Jedi was a silly title but it did carry an unusual weight to it. Always representing something, always being more than you truly were. Idolization in all the wrong ways. Valery was good at not letting it get to her, but Colette knew there had to be some part of her 'mother' that resented it.

To then add an outsider's need for a 'mother' on top of all these things…

"Yeah…" Colette sighed and put the spoon to her lips. She gave the steaming hot liquid a cautious blow before she plopped it into her mouth with a content smile.

The food lingered for a moment, the savory taste coating her tastebuds and she took the time to feel each and every one of them out.

Her eyes opened and she looked over at her company.

"Thank you, Drifter." She spoke with a warm smile. "I needed this."

The moment was allowed to last for a moment before she glanced at him with a smirk; a challenge.

"So, really, why the Black Sun?"

The answer to that, however, was between them. The evening and the simplicity of the joy it brought would eventually turn into a happy memory for her during a time when she was crawling out of a crisis.