Private Take a Breath

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

The snap-hiss of Trextan’s saber igniting lit the fog in a flash of blue, cutting through the smoke like lightning through storm clouds. Blasterfire flared all around him, red bolts ricocheting off the corridor walls as he moved through the haze with sharp, efficient precision.

“Keep firing, Choli!” he called up. He wanted to draw their attention and cause confusion.

He stepped into the smoke, holding his breath. His white blade came down sharply. It was surgical. He was forced to deflect a bolt that screamed toward the catwalk. Another twist of his wrist sent one trooper sprawling.

He used the confusion to leap through the air onto a walkway. Instead of fighting the nearby troopers he swung his blade down in a wide arc.

The walkway was severed and two troopers went tumbling down, Trextan falling after them to the bottom floor of the prison hall.

Then something changed.

The next pulse wasn’t a blaster. It was pressure. Heavy. Cold. Like gravity itself had turned to stone.

It was a wave of presence pushing into the edges of his mind. Familiar, in a way that turned his stomach. His grip tightened on the saber hilt as the smoke began to part. He dashed into the darkness, trusting Choli now she had an opening.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

"On it!" Choli shouted, firing a few quick bursts into the haze. The flash of Trextan's saber below lit the fog and the crash of the collapsing walkway made the pilot grip the railing tight.

"Trextan!" she called, her heart slamming in her through as she scanned the smoke.

From the far end of the hall, a tall figure emerged, his armor black and polished, his cape trailing through the settling haze. A crimson saber ignited with a hiss that seemed to vibrate through the metal around them.
Lord Orryx.

The crimson blade snapped forward before she could say more. Lord Orryx moved quickly, his saber cutting through the smoke in a violent red arc aimed at Trextan. Their sabers cast sparks of blue and red, the Knight of Ren shoving Trextan back hard, attempting to foce him back several steps as sparks and light filled the corridor.

Choli didn't think she simply fired three quick shots right at center mass. But Lord Orryx turned his wrist summoning the Force to deflect the bolts, sending the red and blue light colliding in flashes that lit the steel walls. The Force rolled out from him in a crushing wave right after, making her slam into her chest and knocking her back into the railing.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Lord Orryx stepped from the fog. His black armor was patterned in faint red sigil. His presence pressed outward. His was power twisted and refined by years of practice and obsession.

Trextan barely lifted his saber in time. The first clash sent shockwaves through the smoke, blue and red light dancing across the walls as sparks rained down into the dark.

The troopers fell back without command, leaving the two alone in the corridor’s heart. Trextan could see where Orryx had emerged, a reinforced door ripped from its hinges.

Then Trextan stepped forward, saber arcing in a blaze of silver as Orryx’s crimson blade roared to life to meet him. Three blows exchanged quickly taught Trextan a lot and none of it was reassuring.

"Why did you bring us here?"

"Arrogance," the Ren muttered, driving Trextan back with a few quick blows. "Another Voidstalker."

"You fought..." but Trextan couldn't finish the question. The flurry of strikes took his breath.

"Arrogance that you think I might be here for you."

Orryx leapt straight upwards. Trextan's eyes followed him. He should have looked forwards. The huge doors came flying towards him.

Choli would see Trextan vanish. The door was slammed into the far wall. His presence in the Force became faint.

The Ren turned towards Choli. He was twenty paces away.

"You," he muttered, his voice modulated by the mask. "How did you escape?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli froze, her blaster still raised as Lord Orryx stepped through the smoke, that crimson blade flooding him with a deadly crimson aura. His words hit her harder than the sound of Trextan slamming into the wall. How did you escape?

Choli felt her pulse spike.

This wasn't about Trextan. It was about me.

Just like that, her fear hardened into anger. She straightened, jaw tight as she jutted out her chin.

"Make me tell you," she shot back.

Orryx's blade tilted toward her.

"So be it." He snapped out before he lunged with his saber, and Choli dropped low, rolling to the side as his saber carved through the wall, sending sparks across the floor. She came up firing three quick shots but each one was deflected in a flash of red light.

He pressed forward coming righ tat her and Choli drew her lightknife to meet his next strike, the short blade clashing against the saber with a sharp hiss. The force of it jolted her arm, but she twisted, slashing across his gauntlet and drawing a glowing mark.

Orryx shoved her back with a wave of power. The air crackled, dust swirling around them. Choli gritted her teeth, fired again, then charged in close, blade flashing. Their weapons locked, red and gold light flaring between them.

"Tell me how did you escape!" Orryx growled.

"Why don't you ask that scientist first?" she snapped, kicking him square in the chest.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

The unnatural calm around the Ren dissipated. The snarl came through his voice modulator after he was kicked in the chest.

The girl's mind gave away nothing. That matched the last reports they had received which suggested they had moved onto physical and chemical means.

She was quick to counter his blade instead of cowing before him. Their arrogance made him angry, but he couldn't simply crush her like he had the Voidstalker.

"I came to ask you," he snarled. He stalked forwards. He was more careful with testing strikes.

"How does it feel to be back here?" he asked. "Tortured by the Ren twice. Shall we make it three? Tell me how to get to Rave Merrill's vault ship and you get a quick death."

His mask tilted, looking towards the blast doors leaning against the wall. Trextan hadn't emerged yet.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli steadied her breathing, her skin slick with sweat even as the bright red of the saber flashed across her face, the hue of her yellow light knife crashing against his to block.

Rave Merrill's vault ship. He wasn't here just for her, no what he wanted was something more. But even she couldn't fully shake off the taunts of her being back here and tortured again. Of what happened in the past.

So that's what this is about.

She took a step back, lightknife angled low, those colorshifting eyes siwrling into an inky black as they locked on him.

"You're wasting your breath," she growled out, her voice steady despite the tremor in her arms. "If you think I remember anything worth your trouble, you're wrong."

He advanced as if he wasn't going to take that as an answer.

"You lie," he growled. "They always lie before they scream."

Choli's jaw tightened. Her body screamed to run, but she held her ground.

"Then maybe you will have to remind me," she snapped, feinting left and firing two quick blaster shots at his shoulder. He caught one on his saber, sidestepped the second and then came at her fast.

His next strike crashed against her blade, the impact rattling her bones. Sparks scattered across the floor as she ducked under the next swing and fired again, grazing the edge of his armor.

He roared and lashed out with the Force, sending a shockwave through the corridor. Choli hit the floor hard, her blaster and light knife skidding out of reach. Tjhe Knight of Ren shoved the Force and pressed her against the wall, and Choli couldn't move, every movement slowed by the weight pressing down on her.

"You think I'm still that prisoner?" she gritted out, defiance flaring in her eyes. "You have no idea who I am now."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"I don't care who you are," Orryx snapped back. He twisted his hand in the air and the pressure became even more intense.

"I was here," he explained. "I didn't want the exchange. I told them I could wring every last shred out of you all. And I would have enjoyed every..."

Orryx turned sharply at a loud crash behind him. The pressure holding Choli to the wall dropped away.



Trextan woke up. The first thing that he realised was that he had been knocked out. Then he realised he was upright but in darkness. Finally he heard the clashing lightsabers.

He couldn't figure out why he was upright for a few seconds. Trextan realised he was pinned by his arm. In the last moment before being crushed he had lifted his prosthetic arm. The solid phrik was wedged between the wall and the blast door that had been thrown at him.

He couldn't move. His elbow was in the wall behind him, his fist in the blast door.

He lashed out with the Force and sent the blast door crashing away.



Trextan stumbled forwards. He took a knee. He looked up to see Orryx looking back down. Choli was pinned by the Force to the wall.

He didn't feel angry. Seeing that determination in her gaze gave him focus.

Trextan stood up. His lightsaber jumped into his hand.

"We're not done!" he called up.

"Well from here," Orryx started, "You look like..."

His retort was cut short. The section of walkway beneath him crumpled in on itself and he fell. Choli was suddenly released.

Orryx landed just a few metres from Trextan. They both reignited their lightsabers.

Trextan backed up, giving Choli space to join them on the ground floor and attack from a new angle.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

The second the pressure lifted, Choli hit the floor hard, lungs burning as air rushed back into them. Her vision blurred for a moment -- then she saw him.

Trextan.

He was alive. Beaten, bloodied maybe, but standing. The sight sent relief, and something fierce and electric, through her chest burning away the fear and leaving only fury.

"Fuck this," she hissed under her breath, pushing to her feet. The lightknife flared back to life with a sharp hum.

Orryx turned toward Trextan, crimson saber crackling in the dark as he swung at the Voidstalker. He didn't see Choli lift her free hand, summoning the Force with a raw and furious yank, pulling a half-broken cell door, and wrenching it from its hinges with a scream of metal.

"Hey!" she shouted out to draw the Knight of Ren's attention.

The door slammed into him with a crash that echoed through the chamber, sending sparks and dust flying. Orryx staggered as his armor screeched against the floor.

Choli stalked forward all purposeful strides, determination over her olive face as her jaw clentched with her lightknife raised.

"You're done talking," she said in a low voice that shiook with rage.

Then she lunged, cutting in sync with Trextan's swing as their two blades flashed against the crimson light.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan had caught the look of defiance on her face as she was pinned, but he hadn't seen her quite as determined. He felt a swell of pride, even as he tried to maintain his focus.

Her memory of this place had been wiped clean. She couldn't remember it all and yet the spectre had followed her around for year. As it became real she didn't cow from it. She faced it head on.

As lightsaber crackled and sparks rolled across the prison floor, one thought rose loud through his thoughts: I still love her.

The Ren, armour bent and cracked, saver crackling, started to give ground. He was done talking, using all of his energy to resist two blades.

With a grunt, Trextan drove the scarlet blade upwards. The Ren's boots skidded a few inches across the floor.

"Stab him," Trextan grunted. The Ren's left side, from armpit to waist, was left exposed to her.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli didn't hesitate.

The moment Trextan gave the opening and the pilot moved fast, instinct taking over. Her lightknife cut through the air and seh gave a grunt as she drove it hard into the gap beneath Orryx's armor, feeling the surge of heat and resistance as the blade bit deep.

The Ren gave a raw and metallic roar, his saber flaring wildly before sputtering. Sparks rained across the floor as he stumbled back, knees buckling. Choli pulled free, chest heaving, her face lit by the dying red light.

"You do not get to own me," she snarled out fiercely.

Orryx tried to rise but Choli acted; that same door she'd thrown grabbed with telekinesis and slammed against the Ren with a distinct crunch, leaving only silence and the harsh sound of their breathing after.

Choli stood over the fallen Ren, the light from her blade fading as she shut it off. Her hands shook but she kept her head high.

"Let's finish this," she said, eyes flicking to Trextan. "And burn whatever's left of this place."

At this point, Choli was ready to lay this all to rest.

She didn't need to know what happened.

That part of her life was dead.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Choli stood over the fallen Ren, the light from her blade fading as she shut it off. Her hands shook but she kept her head high.

For a few seconds, Trextan could only stare. The echo of the final impact still vibrated through the metal underfoot. The air stank of ozone, scorched flesh, and the sharp tang of melted circuitry. Orryx’s saber had rolled out beyond the debris that had crushed him.


Trextan exhaled slowly, lowering his blade until the hum died, leaving only the low whine of the failing facility systems and Choli’s ragged breathing above it all.

He had the sense to wait and let her have this moment. It was her victory.

"Let's finish this," she said, eyes flicking to Trextan. "And burn whatever's left of this place."

He took a step closer, there was no sign of movement from the Ren, no trace of his life in the Force.

“Yeah,” he murmured, voice low but certain. “It’s done.”

The Force still thrummed around them, wild and unsettled. He could almost feel the storm of adrenaline in Choli and the edges of old fear finally burning themselves out. She’d faced what had been haunting her and ended it on her own terms.

Trextan turned toward her.The darkness was broken only by the pulsing red emergency lights and a faint shaft of natural light from above.

He reached out, not forcing the gesture, just letting his hand hover near hers, open. A silent offer.

“Let’s finish it,” he agreed.

“Vee, keep scanning. We’re torching everything.”

There was a soft chirp of acknowledgment over the comm.

Trextan looked back at the ruined corridor, the broken pieces of the First Order’s ghost operation and the bodies it had left behind.

Then his gaze shifted to Choli again, steady and sure. He smiled. A thought struck him.

"Let's go check out the shuttle they came down on. We leave it behind. All of it.”





Trextan let Choli hit the button on the rigged control. They had taken the fuel cell from the First Order shuttle and carried it back into the hidden wing of the prison.

They stood on the ramp to their ship, looking out towards the distant structure.

There was no flash of light but a second after she pushed the button he felt the thud through the ground. Trees shook. Birds took off.

"Kind of expected a bigger explosion," Trextan muttered.

The thick blast walls that hid the prison wing had contained the explosion, but everything inside had just been wiped away by a refined coaxium detonation.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli watched the distant rise of smoke twist into the gray Chalcedon sky, her thumb still pressed to the detonator long after the explosion had faded. The blast hadn't been huge -- there was no towering fireball, no cinematic finale, but the tremor that rippled through the ground was enough. It was gone. All of it.

Finally.

The Warden let the hand fell to her side, the little device still warm in her palm. For a long moment Choli just stood there, staring out across the jungle, the gust of wind tossing the loose tendrils of dark hair against her olive skin and over her slanted colorful eyes now a pitched black.

"Doesn't have to be big," she finally said in a quiet, almost emotionless deadpan. "Just has to be gone."

The words hung between them and she swallowed hard. She wasn't even sure if she was talking about the facility or everything that came with it.

She just felt numb. Lost. Empty.

After a few seconds her shoulders rose and fell with a long sharp inhale, and then she turned to look at Trextan. There was grime streaked across her face and a bruise already darkening along her jaw, but her eyes were clear again. Lighter somehow.

"Let's get off this rock," she said, nodding toward the Verre. "I've had enough ghosts for one day."

Vee's cheerful call broke the silence as the little droid zipped past them into the ship, oblivious to the weight of it all. Choli followed, glancing once more toward the ruins.

As the loading ramp began to lift she murmured under her breath, "Guess that's one less nightmare."

Then the Verre's engines roared to life, dust sweeping out across the clearing as they rose toward the clouds, leaving the smoldering wreckage and everything it stood for behind.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan stood beside her in silence, the shockwave still humming faintly through his boots as the plume of smoke curled skyward.

He didn’t say anything at first. There was nothing to say that wouldn’t sound small against what they’d just burned.

When Choli spoke, his gaze drifted to her. Her words caught somewhere between closure and exhaustion.

"Yeah," he said finally, quiet but certain. "Gone’s enough. Let's go."

Trextan rolled his shoulders back, the ache of the fight settling deep in his muscles. He looked over at her again. He looked at the streak of grime across her cheek and the bruise along her jaw. As he felt like he could collapse she stood straighter than anyone had a right to after what they’d just been through.

He managed a hint of a smile. There was pride there and something softer. Relief, perhaps.

"Let’s go," he echoed, following her up the ramp.

Vee zipped ahead, pleased to have been part of a real operation before he settled down for a nap.



Inside the hum of the ship took over, steady and alive. He dropped into the copilot’s seat, buckling in with a weary exhale.

"They've got a cruiser in low orbit," he reported. "They've not seen us."

They didn't pick up the Verre until it broke atmosphere. By then, all they could do was splash the ship with some sensors before they made the jump.


Trextan stepped away from the cockpit. Choli would hear a faint hiss, then another.

"Beer," he offered, as he returned and took his seat. He offered her a glass bottle.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli sank into the pilot's seat, swalloing hard as she let the familiar hum of the Verre fill the silence around her. It should have felt comforting but all she could feel was the hollow thrum of adrenaline wearing off. She was on automatic pilot -- her hands moving on instinct over the piloting controls, flipping switches, and setting coordinates.

Keep busy. Keep moving. That was easier than thinking.

The ship climbed through the atmosphere, stars stretching thin as they broke into open space. Chalcedon fell away behind them, just another scar on the map.

Gone. Finally gone. So why did it still feel like she hadn't left?

The soft hiss of air drew her back. Trextan stood there with two beers in hand, looking as wrecked as she felt. His grin was faint, but real. She managed to crack a small one in return.

"Guess we earned that," she said, taking the bottle. The glass was cold, and she twisted the cap off just to have something to do with her hands. The first sip hit her tongue bitter but fletting. It didn't help much, but it was something.

Vee beeped from the back compartment settling in to recharge. The sound almost made her smile. Almost.

Leaning back, Choli stared at the streaking lights of hyperspace. Her reflection in the viewport looked older somehow. Tired. The silence stretched before she broke it.

"We actually made it out." A pause. "Not bad for two idiots with a droid and a stolen detonator."

She looked at Trextan trying to pull something lighter from the weight pressing on her chest.

"So what now?" she asked, forcing a faint curve to her lips. "You planning on sleeping for a week, or should we see who passes out first?"

The words came easy but any warmth behind it didnt -- She was still trying to feel like herself again.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan slumped into the co-pilot’s chair, his head resting against the back as the Verree cut through the cerulean Swirls of hyperspace.

The explosion on Chalcedon still echoed somewhere behind his ribs.

He looked across at Choli, watching her in the pilot’s seat. He watched the set of her shoulder and the way her jaw tensed and relaxed. He wished he could brush up against her mind.

She was running on fumes. So was he.

"Two options," he said after a moment. "I give up and pass out here or I actually poke around and check if any wounds need treatment or my arm needs a look. Leaning towards the first."

The streaking lines of hyperspace painted faint light across his face. Trextan leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"You were incredible down there," he added quietly. He wanted to ask what was going through her head but she might not even have known.

He glanced at her reflection in the viewport, then gave a faint, weary smile.

"Not sure it feels like a win, but we lived. Think he was behind everything you've been through."

He lifted his bottle in a small toast before leaning back again. The Verree hummed softly around them, steady and alive, carrying them further from Chalcedon with every passing second.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x


Choli turned her head slowly at the sound of Trextan's quiet words, the low rumble of his voice threading through the hum of the cockpit. Her eyes caught his in the pale blue-white light of hyperspace, those colorshifting irises flickering through confused shades, like they couldn't decide what to settle on.

She swallowed hard. Looked at him -- really looked. The grime on his skin, the faint sheen of sweat and oil on his temple, the way that unruly mop of dark hair hung over his forehead, curling just behind his ears.

They'd survived. Somehow.

"Lived…" she murmured under her breath, the word barely there. The sound drifted into the hum of the ship, small and uncertain, like she wasn't sure she believed it.

Her bottle tapped softly against her leg, the sound sharp in the quiet. She stared at it. Once. Twice. Three times. Then lifted it to her lips and took a long drink. Bitter, cold, rough going down. When she finally set it aside, her pulse was steady, deicsion made.

The nav was on autopilot. There was nothing left to do. Nothing to stop her from moving.

Choli stood.

She crossed the short space to him, her expression unreadable, her steps sure. Trextan looked up, brow furrowed in faint confusion as she reached for his hand -- no, his beer -- and pulled it from his grasp without a word.

The bottle gave a soft clink as she set it on the console. Then she turned back, closing the distance.

Her knees brushed his as she moved in closer, then she straddled him, her hand sliding up to the back of his neck. Her fingers found the curls there, tugging purposefully as she leaned in and latched her lips to his.

Trextan's breath hitched. Choli's vanished.

No hesitation. No words. Just the sound of their breath tangling in the low hum of hyperspace.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

When she stood, Trextan looked up at Choli. He couldn't sense her intentions, her eyes refused to settle on a colour. His gaze followed the bottle.

Trextan had barely managed a breath before Choli was on him, her weight settling against his thighs and her hand threading into the curls at the back of his neck. The suddenness of it struck through him like a jolt, stealing the air from his lungs. A very familiar sound left the back of his throat as she gripped him.

For a heartbeat he simply froze, stunned by the heat of her mouth against his.

Then he moved.

His hands came up to her waist, fingers curling under her jacket and into the fabric of her tunic as he gripped her tight.

The kiss deepened with a fierce and aching familiarity that pulled every other thought out of his mind. The taste of the beer on her lips, the warmth of her breath, the faint tremble in her hold on him. All of it hit with the force of memories he had pushed aside for years.

They were alive. Nothing else mattered in the moment.

Trextan drew in a sharp breath through his nose, his heart hammering against his ribs. Strong hands had worked lower, hitching her tighter into his lap. He pulled back only when he needed air. His forehead came to rest gainst hers, their breaths mingling in the narrow space between them.

"Choli," he managed, voice low and unsteady. He opened his eyes, finding hers inches away. Those deceiving eyes had finally settled on a colour. This time he didn't need any guided to see what was behind them.

He took just a moment to see the determination there. After all they had been through, it was instinct to check her footing when the ground beneath them had only just stopped shaking. His thumbs brushed gently at her waist as he held her there, close and steady.

"We have all the time," he said quietly. "Hold me tight."

He nudged her nose with his. A smile met the corner of his eyes before he tilted his head and kissed her fiercely.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

For a moment, Choli didn't think… didn't breathe. Just felt.

Trextan's words brushed against her skin, low and rough, and that was all it took. The second kiss hit harder, deeper, like all the adrenaline and fear and relief that had been coiled tight inside her finally snapped loose. Her hands slid from his neck to his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his shirt like she needed something solid to hold onto.

Outside in the black ink of the verse, the hum of the engines, the faint clatter of Vee somewhere in the back all fell away. There was only the heat between them, the sharp taste of beer on her tongue, and the thud of her pulse syncing with his. Every thought about what came next scattered like dust in hyperspace.

It was achingly familiar. It was new. It was a heat that ignited like the fire of the Twin Suns, setting her ablaze as memory and reality bled into each other.

When she finally pulled back, she was breathing hard, and the blue-green hue of her irises had darkened into a rich, deep indigo; her breath fanned his face even as he told her that they had all the time and to hold on tight.

There were no other words. Not as he captured her lips and swallowed the faint, low sound that hummed at the back of her throat. Hands dove and clutched at his hair, and this time, Choli was just sinking into what had been long overdue.

Between heated breaths and low, needy sighs, Choli lost herself in Trexten in a way he had only ever been able to take her. She needed him. Needed this.

If only just for the night.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Morning on the Verre came slowly. Trextan had tried three times to get the lights to come on automatically in the morning gradually. Instead they blinked on and added to the soft blue light of hyperspace.

For a little while Trextan lingered on the edge of sleep. A lot had happened in the last day. They hadnt gone to sleep quickly. After their time in the cockpit they had sat in silence for a time before letting exhaustion take them.

"Morning," he murmured when he heard Choli shift in the bunk beneath him.

"Can't promise much for breakfast," he said. "But I can do coffee. Kellan insisted on a proper press."

His legs would dangle down from above before he hopped down from the cramped cabin. He moved like someone who had lived in small spaces too long. Wearing loose grey pajamas he searched under the counter for a vacuum sealed tub of caf.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli blinked against the sudden ceiling light, squinting at it with a low groan before rolling onto her back. Every muscle hurt and her brain felt like it was still catching up to the last twenty-four hours.

Trextan's voice drifted down a little hours and was rough with sleep. For a second, she had to blink a bit before recalling where she was.

Oh. Right.

Then the flood of everything came back.

"Morning." she murmured, her own throat a bit rough. An olive hand came up to rake through the long length of her black hair, shoving it away from her face as her almond shaped colorful eyes couldn't help but trace the way Trextan moved.

She took a deep breath and quickly told herself to keep her mind on the important things.

Like caf. That word cut through the fog.

She shoved herself upright, dark hair a tangled mess around her shoulders and dropped her feet to the floor.

"Caf is good," she said, finally looking up at him. The sight of him in rumpled pajamas was just too --

"Better than good, actually. Necessary."

Choli dragged a hand through her hair and padded over toward the tiny galley, wrapping one arm around herself against the morning chill.

"Want me to get the water going?" she asked, "or are you guarding that caf press like it's sacred relic tech?"

Her tone was dry, but lighter than last night. Still tired, still worn through the edges… but steadier.