I watched her go up, and smiled, catching a view of below as I made my way up behind her. Having ladders was so nice sometimes.
"This is about as close to leave as I've had in a while. After we eat, there's a gas giant over there getting hit by comet fragments. Real pretty stuff. I can get in close for a view, want to?"
Stepping over the small ledge and onto secure footing, Saricia glanced down at Sanis and smiled, "That sounds lovely. I think it would do me good to see what space has to offer besides a sickened stomach."
"Well, whatever we can do to prevent that."
I laughed.
"I mean, I just cleaned up. This Rebellion gig is probably the best thing that Layla's ever seen. Ship hasn't been this clean in a year."
Making my way up, I gestured to the galley at the back, where a spread was already waiting for the both of us.
"Well, galaxy traveler, I'll start punching your ticket by letting you sample the humble and boring food of my native land."
The cooking smells were actually appealing. It was a pleasant surprise. Eyes drifted over the offerings before falling upon Sanis with a shy smile, "And what shall be on our menu tonight?"
I went to work, ladling out two portions of the stew into bowls.
"Red Sabaa stew. It's one of the few things about my homeworld that are worth talking about. I was raised on the stuff, whenever I could find enough credits to put together for it."
I eased two steaming bowls to the table, and broke a loaf of warm bread in the middle.
Saricia inhaled deeply with eyes closed as she pulled out a chair, "Well, it smells delicious."
She opened her eyes with a smile and looked at Sanis fondly. "Thank you for sharing this with me. Something from a home, it helps me to forget where I am."
Memories of a better time with her own Mother came forth - simple days of plowing, feeding the kudri, and baking bread were vivid in her minds eyes as she sat down.
"Well, as long as it doesn't make you think you're on Nar Shadaa."
Fetching two glasses, I poured wine into each and set one in front of Saricia and one for myself.
"But I guess I can understand wanting to forget where you're at. I've done that more than a few times. Space does that to a lot of people."
"Since I do not know what Nar Shadaa looks like, I am sure we are safe in presuming I could let my mind wander there," she replied, setting a napkin in her lap. "Have you ever considered any place a true home? Where you were happy, even briefly?"
I leaned back slightly, and gave the bulkhead a slap.
"This is my home. This is where I'm happy. I know where everything is. I can step out to find new and wonderful places, and if they end up being not so wonderful, I can leave."
I sat forward again, thinking about her words as I took a drink of wine.
"Life before I had my ship was just surviving one thing or another. I learned how to get whatever I needed to make it, but it's not anything glamorous. I've always been sort of envious of people who had parents and a family, and that whole scene, even if I say I'm not."
Finally dipping my spoon into my stew, I gave it a brief stir before a quick taste.
"It was pretty easy for me to kick Nar Shadaa off my feet. I imagine it was a lot harder for you to let go of your home."
"In a way ... yes." The spoon slid into the stew, parting vegetables and meat but Saricia had yet to sample any of Sanis' cooking as thoughts of home permeated her thoughts now. "But also no. My mother had died recently, so much of my connection to Sacorria had been severed. I do miss the simple life with my mother. Farming, sewing, tending to the herd - a far slower pace then the life I find myself in now."
"Well, I don't know about that. Most of the time we spend on stand-by out here. At least back home you got to milk a, uh, Dewback, or something."
I paused, my brow knitting.
"I don't think you can milk a Dewback, wait. Nevermind. Shows what I know."
Considering Dewbacks were reptiles, Sanis' comment was quite comical and Saricia had to cover her mouth in fear of food being seen, or shot out from laughing. It did not help that she had pictured Sanis as the one attempting the impossible ...
"I do not mean to laugh, but" she placed a hand upon her chest and swallowed her food before continuing, "But it felt good to do so. Thank you."
It was spoken with much sincerity.
It was good to see her laugh, and I laughed along with her.
"Well, never promised I'd amount to anything on a farm. All that waking up early and so on."
I had another bite of stew and thought about her earnest enthusiasm.
"So, tell me about your trip into space? You met s'Il, just like that?"
"You become used to it. I must admit that the time before sunrise comes is my favorite part of the day. Everything is so still and so very dark, but just glimpsing the first rays of the new day revitalizes me." She talked with a reverence to her old habits, but her eyes were tired. The young Lupine had yet to wake up to the morning sun for months now. It was difficult to adjust.
"But to your other question - Yes. Just like that. When I departed the General's ship, s'Ilancy was there. We were both surprised at each other's presence."
"I'm the opposite about that. I rise and fall to a chrono. Going planetside messes my insides up. Touch down wide awake and it's the dead of night, that sort of thing. If I stay more than a few days on a planet, I have to crash out half a day to find a rhythm."
I patted my inside coat pocket for emphasis, a metallic clink sounding forward.
"Good to keep a flask handy if you need to catch a few z's on the hurry. At least, that's my experience.
I thought about what she said about her meeting with s'Il and Dan, and my brow knit a little.
"I can imagine so. I think the last thing she expected to find was another Lupine."
"You could say that," she responded darkly, "With the greeting I received, I was not sure if I would be friend or enemy."
Saricia had been a cowering little pup in the presence of the Elder Lupine. She was fortunate that the misunderstanding was easily rectified and now had a confidant to speak with, something she missed since her mother's illness and eventually passing.
"But that has changed. We have grown closer and I am thankful for that."
"I know Lok's had a bit of an obsession over finding other Lupines, so it's quite a bit of serendipity to see she finally lucked up."
Breaking a bit of bread, I sopped it in some stew as I thought.
"Did that sort of thing come up much for you?"
She stopped in mid-chewing of her meal, looking positively, and sincerely baffled by the question that Sanis poised. Clearing her throat, and wiping a bit of stew sauce from the edge of her mouth, Saricia hoped she was answering the question correctly, "You mean in my discussions with Lok? Often enough. She is quite ... determined that us Lupines return with our history and knowledge intact."
The young Lupine was being polite. Lok was possessed in all truths when it came to the matters of Lupines.
"And is that what you want?"
It seemed to to be a valid question, or at least one I would ask myself in her shoes.
"Having a heritage and an identity out there waiting for you, I mean I think that's interesting and I have no idea what it's like. Does it feel with that heritage that you've got some kind of expectations put on you?"
It was a valid question.
"It's all that I have," she responded quietly, head focused upon the food before her. She idly played with it, batting at a morsel of meat with the fork in hand. "I have little choice in the matter."
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