Dark Dunes

[Seo Linn]

With Mereel she had found everything she could have wanted and more. She knew the love of a family and dreamed of having that on her own. Smiling as she thought this after the passage of the day, Seo ran her fingers through his hair as they laid there. Other than that, she did not move and it was the only sign she was even aware.

Maybe it was the poison that brought on his lethargy, but she didn't think so. She felt this was totally brought on by their previous actions.

Rolling her eyes to get a guess on the time, she knew there should still be another couple hours of day light left. For now though, she wanted to just lay here in his company. Not moving hardly at all, her eyes wandered along his form and that little smile remained.

This is who she belonged with and there wasn't anything that would stand in her way of making that happen. She could only hope he felt the same.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

A weary smile spread across his face as he felt the cool touch of her fingers combing through his hair. If he could have returned her touch, he would have, but his entire body felt like it had become a puddle. The only exception to the rule of inertness controlling his body was his heart, which was in a continious state of transition between fluttering erratically and pounding like the beat of a drum. His resting eyes slowly opened to the sight of the most beautiful woman that he'd ever seen. Despite her beauty, he knew that his heart wasn't skipping beats for her because of lust.

Their romantic relationship so far had been short, but he thought that it was something that had been in bloom for a while now. He may not have fully realized that he was in love with her until the festival of lights, but she made him act differently on Carida, back when he was patching up her slug round wounded legs (and this would be a feeling he would later discover that she reciprocated during their first visit to Veradune). Not only that, but she had followed him aboard the bounty hunter's ship, despite his multiple pleas telling her to not fight for him or follow him.

If she would've asked him to do it right now, he would have left the Jedi Order, turned over his co-command of the Iviin'yc, and stopped the search for his sister if it meant he could sweep her off of her feet and take her to live off the land on a temperate backwater. It was a direct contrast to the life he normally wanted, but if he could do it, if he had to become a normal civillian farmer, he could actually see himself doing it with her, and he wanted to build his own family with her, a family that would be on par with what he had seen in her own. A family In which he could be the father to his children in a way that he always wished his own dad would have been like for him.

But those were just the wishes of a romantic dreamer, and the galaxy wasn't forgiving to dreamers, romantic or otherwise. He knew a large part as to why Seo was so compatible with him was because that they were both wanderers. Nomads never tied down to one place. She was always on the move, following her call of the force, and he was always on the move, following the list scribbled down in a flimsi notepad on his nightstand - the list containing all of the planets he wanted to visit before he kicked the bucket.

Still, there was one dream that still shined on in his eyes as he looked at her. They could still build a family all of their own, and there was even a decent chance that they had already begun that task. Unless she was taking Ho'Din herbs or she was on something else, they hadn't taken any precautions to prevent nature from taking its course.

Par the course for him, Mereel jumped the gun and read into it, making the assumption that she wanted to build a family between them too. Unphased by reality, the dreamer's light continued glistening in his eyes as he smiled at her.

####​

The dunes around them were quiet. He hadn't seen a single animal since he had started leading them away from the camp, be it on sandy ground or in orange tinted sky. He hoped that it would remain that way, but kept his rifle nestled tightly in the crook of his arm just in case their luck didn't keep holding out for them.

Mereel looked at her with a warm smile, but a tinge of uncertainty laced his voice, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

Eventually the time passed enough and they needed to get moving before it got too dark to see anything. She walked next to Mereel and watched the desert around them. Clearly able to see the tracks Mereel left, the ones her son did were too far away for her sight.

He may not have seen any animals, but if he had looked up in the sky, he would have seen birds of prey soaring above. On the ground, she saw signs of creatures though. None dangerous to them and luckily no sand worms were around. Over her shoulder the rifle rested and she wore her pack on her back.

Not seeing any signs of insect burrows or hives, her intuition continued to speak to her on the subject of what caused Mereel to be in the condition he had been the night before. As the got closer, her eyes were drawn to where Aodhan had hid the night before and made note of the location. When he spoke and asked if she wanted to go through with this, she nodded. Mereel might be smiling as he asked that, Seo didn't feel much like doing it.

A simple nod was all he got as an answer before she squeezed his hand and continued on. That contact remained unless he took his hand away as they walked.

She saw his discarded and soiled bag and walked in its direction. Following the path he took, her eyes now looked to the ground to find what she was looking for. About five steps before reaching that bag, she bent over and held up something that shouldn't have been there. Licking the tip of her finger, she deftly touched the side of dart and licked it again. Spitting out right away, if Mereel thought he had seen anger in her the night before, what he saw now was a great deal more.

"Aodhan hit you with a tranquilizer. What he used though wasn't meant to kill you. I guess I should be thankful for that at least. We need to go back."

Her tone belied her emotion though and Seo sounded quite calm. Body language would say the opposite though. Taking the rifle and bag off her back, Seo carefully placed the dart into it and put both back onto her back and shoulder. If he wanted to gather up his pack and bring it back, that was fine. She on the other hand had slowly started to walk back to their camp.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

The smile on his face dipped for a single second as she first just merely responded with a nod of her head. The reassuring squeeze of her hand lifted his spirits though, and he was able to retain a small grin as he kept the warmth of her hand in his right as they walked.

When they neared his discarded backpack, his face flushed up a little in embarrassment, but he didn't say anything about it. Nor did he move to retrieve the pack; he was far too focused on Seo, and more specifically, how she had tensed up after spitting out the dart toxin. He took note that she had also receeded back into her withdrawn, tone of calm and sighed.

He wasn't going to try to stop her from confronting Aodhan on this because truthfully he felt lucky to be alive. Shooting someone with a tranquilizer while they were actively on a hunt could have very well have been a death sentence, albeit one that made the victim look like they had died of natural causes.

He didn't stop to take back his ruined backpack and began following alongside her as she walked back to the camo straightaway, "Okay.. Just promise me you won't test every potential poison like that from now on.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

Being familiar with the effects of the drug, Seo did not make any comment to him about the fact he had gotten sick on his bag. It made her mad that her son would do something like this. When Mereel fell into step with her, her hand came out again. A small gesture to make, but right now, it was about all she could offer.

There was a fine line within Seo. She was a Jedi, but she was also a mother, daughter and half-sister. Having thought she had found a balance between her two lives, she knew they were going to be crossing paths soon.

Taking her time in returning to camp and keeping silent, the aura and feeling coming off her indicated thought. They did not just dwell on Aodhan, but Mereel as well. With what had happened the night before, her own feelings and those of her son...everything needed to be considered. Eventually they reached the camp and she looked up again at the sky.

She took the rifle and bag off her back and laid them down just outside the reach of the fire and sat down. His statement made so long ago finally registered on her mind and she looked at him slightly confused. At some point after they arrived at the camp, Seo did let go of his hand and now wanted it back again. More than that, she realized she needed him.

"How else is one supposed to know if or what poison was used?"

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel could easily tell that she was still hopping mad, but when her hand reached out to him he didn't hesitate for a second to take it. It was a good thing he had started walking after her on her left side since his right hand was the one that could still feel. He would make it a habit to always walk on her left side in the future.

Unlike their speeder trip to her village after reaching Lorrd, the silence went both ways as they backtracked over the sand dunes. He could sense that she was steeped in thought, with and without any passive use of the force, but he just assumed that her thoughts were squarely on Aodhan and what the boy had done. He would try to comfort her, but whatever she decided to do about Aodhan was something he wouldn't try to alter. She had remained supportive but unabrasive during his trip to his father's, it was now time to return the favor. As they neared the camp, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze shortly before she had to let go of it to comfortably take off her rifle and pack.

He stopped holding his rifle with either of his hands and allowed it to freely swing in front of his torso by the rifle sling over his shoulder. As Seo settled down by the firepit, he got to work leaning logs together out of the leftover that they still had from the night before. He stuffed oasis palm fronds under the logs for kindling, and once everything was leaned together he shot one of the fronds with his rifle to get the fire burning.

With all that taken care of, he finally thumbed the rifle's safety on and walked around the fire to sit to the left of Seo. Not leaving any space between them, their shoulders would rub unless she adjusted herself as he sat. When she finally asked a question about what he said earlier, he stopped staring at the heart of the fire and titled his head towards her with a concerned look on his face.

"Bring a sample to a crime lab. I'm serious about you not testing poison like that from now on."

He moved his rifle from its position in front of his chest back to its proper spot on his back. With that out of the way, he put his right hand over Seo's left. The warmth of her hand made him feel far warmer than a fire ever could.

"The Iviin'yc has its own medical crew that can test for poisons, and if you're in a city you can find a crime lab to analyze it. If you can't promise me that you'll never drink poison again.. at least promise me you'll try either of those options first."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

When Mereel sat down next to her, she only adjusted her position slightly to make the contact more comfortable for her and leaned against him. As his hand closed over hers, she relaxed more. For the moment setting aside the issue that would be taken care of the next day, Seo just living in the moment. Listening to his answer, her brows furrowed just slightly before returning to normal and she spoke own opinion.

With a wave of her hand to indicate where they were, she did not move to look at him as that would mean pulling away. Something she didn't want to do at all and she needed him more than anything right now.

"Not out here there isn't all of that, but when we aren't on my world, I won't do that again."

Raising one finger and wagging it back and forth a little, this was probably the most action or body language he had seen from her ever. Just a small sign of how comfortable he made her and how open she was becoming with him.

"Unless my theory is as spot on as it was about what happened with you. Also I didn't quite drink that...I'm not that stupid."

There was some humor in her tone when she said the last part and most of anger had faded from her. Right now, Seo was a woman that was happy and would deal with the trouble later.

"Are you hungry?"

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

As she didn't twist or turn any to get a better look at him, Mereel made a similar effort in keeping himself still to let her continue resting against his shoulder. Luckily, a slight tilt of the head was all that was required for him to see how expressive she was being. He bit his lip and stared ahead into the fire for a second before a small grin broke out on his face. Seo shared all of the obvious physical features of the woman he had met on Anaxes, but that distant investigator on Anaxes was no longer who he would see when he looked at her.

"Alright, thank you. We totally could've had the Iviin'yc out here in fifteen minutes tops though if we needed a lab.." His voice was teasing as he said it, but on a world that wasn't under the control of a government that would've killed both of them for being Jedi, it was normally true.

Mereel's shoulders sank a fraction of an inch as he noticed that she had almost simmered down entirely from her earlier bout of being upset that her son had tried to kill him.

"Drinking, taste testing, using it as mouth wash - as long as we're talking about putting poison in your mouth you're going to find that I'm pretty against it." Although he was joking with her about it right now, those were his actual thoughts on the matter. In their line of work the galaxy was a dangerous enough place without sampling poisons that you found laying around.

"And yeah, I'm a bit hungry, but just wait a second? Right now you're making me feel warmer than the fire."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

She might have calmed down, but that was more on the surface. It was enough to keep from running back home in the dark and risking their lives getting there. Considering what had happened, it was better to spend this additional night together. Seo both wanted to just get the confrontation over and to be here with Mereel. Logic spoke saying they should stay and that is what she listened to.

He accepted her answer about the poisons and she finished relaxing. On this world, she knew what could or couldn't be made. Since he had returned to the camp, she knew the poison wasn't deadly and had felt confident what had been used. If there was anything to be thankful for out of this was her son hadn't actually wanted to kill Mereel himself. As bad as the thought was, Aodhan really would make a good assassin if he could control his temper. Maybe it was time for her to start taking him along with her. As that thought crossed her mind, she tilted her head just slightly to glance at Mereel out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you mad at Aodhan for what he tried to do? What do you plan to do yourself?"

Two questions she felt he should answer. Aodhan might be her son, but his actions had been directed at a man she loved. Not just that, but a man she could see herself spending the rest of her life with. With what they had shared since they arrived here, she wanted to include him in the life of her son too. He had accepted his presence and even lived through the attempt on his life.

When that thought crossed her mind again and how there had been a chance the attempt could have worked, Seo moved quickly and instead of facing away from Mereel was facing him and hugging him in a fierce hug. She couldn't apologize to him for the actions of Aodhan, but wanted him to know just how much he meant. Words couldn't say it enough and so this would have to do.

Of course him comment about him not wanting her to move was ignored, but she felt this was a much better position for now. Fitting quite comfortably with her arms wrapped around him, she let out a small sigh that was sort of an agreement to his comment about feeling being warmer.

"I don't think you and I even need the fire to keep warm."

Planting several kisses along his jawline, she hoped the message was clear about pretty much everything.

"Dinner can also wait if you want it to."

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

"Mad? No. I mean, I was for a bit, but I got it under control. He's your son, there's not much I can do about it at the moment. Right now I'm just relieved to be alive more than anything, really."

That was the full truth of the matter. He wasn't sure what he could do about Aodhan, so he wouldn't do anything right away. He'd see how Seo handled it and would react accordingly - unless she encouraged her son to continue shooting darts at him, he had a feeling that he'd largely be on the sidelines.

Her hug sent a flood of warmth through his body, and a large smile broke out across his face. He returned her hug by wrapping his right arm around her and resting his hand on the small of her back. Her sigh encouraged him to apply more than a fair amount of pressure to pull her in tighter.

Possessing a mind that oft thought first to the dirtier side of things, what Seo said about the fire got his blood going, and her kissing made the intent of her message crystal clear, although he hadn't had any doubts about it.

"You're right, we don't need the fire."

Not wanting to move his right hand from her back, he put a cold metal finger under her chin to gently lift her lips to his. He gave her a quick peck before pulling back just enough to speak.

"Dinner waits then."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

"Neither of us can do anything about it at the moment. That'll happen tomorrow. You could have died because of him. Myself I am still quite mad, but like you have it under control. He is of an age where he's going to need to decide on his future. He's not like us with the Force, so that might limit what he can or can't do. I would like him to have the opportunity to see the galaxy beyond this world, it's all he's known though.

"You told me you needed to go hunting alone to prove your worth to him. I ask you again as a male, what would he be most responsive to at his age?"

Mereeel had given her insight into how her son might have been thinking before the hunt and she hoped he could do it again. When he said there wasn't anything he could do about it, Seo actually liked that answer. He might be an important part of her life, but he had a line he wasn't going to cross. That was made clear to her. Whatever she ended up doing about her son's actions, he wasn't going to interfere.

Smiling at what he said about the fire and returning the kiss when it was delivered, when he agreed dinner could wait, she pushed against him slightly. Hopefully just enough to tip them both off balance and into the soft sand waiting behind the log they were sitting on.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

"Ninety-nine percent of the galaxy gets by without being force sensitive. Unless he wanted to become a Bendu monk or a Jedi Knight, not being able to do this -"

Mereel grinned as he reached out into the force to run an invisible "hand" down Seo's upper back.

"- won't majorly hold him back in day to day life in the slightest."

Seo's pushing caught him by surprise, and he fell backwards off of the log without offering any resistance. He hated getting sand stuck on him, but he took a great amount of comfort knowing that he wasn't about to get sand everywhere just because of himself. Rather than just dragging her down beside him, he moved both of his hands to her hips and started pulling her over to the side to get her to land on top of him.

"At his age I was on my own and.." He almost said that he hadn't been using nonlethal measures like Aodhan had, but he didn't want to talk or think about killing anymore than he had already right now. He forced his thoughts away from the dark corner in his mind and instead focused on how he could now feel a slight breeze - his pants, which were far too small and somewhat uncomfortable, had inexplicably managed to fail their singular duty during his fall into the sand.

"I'm not sure what he'd respond to best, but my head's not clear at the moment."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

Listening to what Mereel said about the percentage of those that could use the Force and what her son might or not want to be, that he couldn't use it was not going to be a big deal. Then the light brush of the Force on her back brought a similar sensation to Seo that telepathy did to him and he would feel a small shiver go through her. He would not see it physically though.

Luckily her act of pushing against him halted him from doing it again and maybe he had missed her reaction. Not holding her breath on that though, Mereel was starting to get just as observant about her as she was about the world around her.

His action did not catch her by surprise at all and Seo went freely with the movement. Being as expressive as she was, he would hear laughter from her and when they landed, she was on top and ran her fingers across one of his cheeks before leaning for a kiss.

"I'm glad. You have no idea just how content I am."

If this time could last forever, Seo would be so happy. Pushing aside again the troubles that would happen tomorrow, she focused on Mereel.

"I do think you're going to need new pants."

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Since she was on top of him, the shiver that ran through Seo was next to impossible for him to miss. Mereel's eyebrow raised for a second before a knowing stare replaced the curious look on his face. He quickly formed a theory as to why she had shivered in his head, but didn't attempt to test it immediately. If either of them were going to be shaking tonight it wouldn't be because of the force - or maybe it would be because of that. A sly grin formed on his face as he thought about peculiar applications for telekinesis that would have otherwise alluded him if it hadn't been for Seo.

His dirty thoughts were temporarily stowed away when he heard and felt her laugh, and his sly smirk was replaced by a small smile that reflected the warmth he felt as she leaned in for a kiss and her fingers stroked his cheek. The rising and falling that was the breathing of his chest slowed, his pants problem was made worse, and longing filled his eyes. Just like Seo, he would've been perfectly happy to have what they had right now last forever, but he knew tomorrow they would have to go back to her home and their 'vacation'.

"'I might not see the full extent of it, but I think I have a decent idea. You're making me pretty happy right now too."

Leaving his left hand where it was on her waist, he ran his right hand up her side until his fingers were resting on the back of her head. Leaning up, he pulled her head down and closed his eyes. Grazing his upper lip between hers, he gave her bottom lip a short, gentle nibble before disengaging just enough to speak and be heard in a low voice.

"You're right, I'm going to need more pants like this. As for you, well, I'd prefer it if you were wearing less pants"

He knew it'd feel cold, but he couldn't leave her to deal with what he'd just said alone. He leaned back in for another kiss, and hooking his left thumb under the side of her pants, he partially busied himself to helping her out of her clothes.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

As soon as the grin crossed his face, Seo let out a small curse. Of course, she was not psychic enough to know how he was thinking, but that didn't matter. Smiling down at him totally when he spoke, she kissed him. This was the most comfortable and expressive as she had ever been with him. Laughing when he said he was going to need more pants like that, she shook her head.

"No you won't. Proper fitting pants that won't fall apart at the strain of being too small."

Even though her voice was full of humor and emotional warmth, it also carried a sense of authority. Feeling his hand working at her pants, she didn't stop him and actually attempted to help him. Wiggling slightly, they would come off easier. Cold and chill made little difference at the moment and Seo gave no reaction to that, but only the hint of behind the movement.

In another simple motion, the rest of what she had been wearing was off. Under the light of moon, her pale skin showed and she laid her head down against Mereel. Just taking a moment to enjoy the touch, her hand started to remove what was left of his shirt. With that same look of love and passion he had, the heat they shared would be warm enough to last the rest of the night.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel's eyes opened to the sight of red morning skies. He almost started panicking when he couldn't feel his right arm, but then he realized that was because his arm was under Seo and had only lost feeling because it had fallen asleep.

Breathing out a small puff of air in relief, he tried to keep himself perfectly still to keep her from waking up. He wasn't looking forward to starting the day, but he knew that they couldn't keep putting it off.

He closed his eyes to attempt to fall asleep again until she woke, but his stomach growled at him in protest. Since he had taken the initiative the last few nights, last night he let Seo lead, and to his enjoyment they hadn't gotten back to eating dinner.

Unable to fall back to sleep, and unwilling to wake her up, Mereel did the only thing he could think of doing in his position. Tilting his head an inch, Mereel opened his eyes to take in the beauty of the woman next to him.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

She was home, out in the desert and in touch with the world around her. Having grown up here, Seo quickly readjusted to the life of her people. Staying asleep a little longer than Mereel, when she did wake up, it was sudden and she was wide awake. Not a touch of being groggy. In the last few minutes of her sleep, a dream had come to her. Not just a dream but a nightmare. Mereel might not have noticed the look in her eyes and she quickly buried the upset the dream had brought.

Mereel had been gazing at her when her eyes opened, so he most likely had seen that look before she could bury it. Taking a breath, she decided to tell him about it.

"I have a recurring nightmare. Had it again just before waking up."

Looking away from him, licking her lips before speaking on. What she had to say was going to be difficult. An aspect of her life that had been lightly touched on earlier, but never explored more. Sitting up, so she didn't have to look at him when this came out, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. For the first time in all the times they had been together, she actually looked like a person in pain and weakness.

"There is a reason Aodhan doesn't have a father. I killed him. When the Dominion came in and liberated us, I picked up my first weapon and killed my slave master. We rioted and it seemed I was his prize. He kept me close most of the time. Well, opportunity struck and I took it. Mereel, I killed somebody in cold blood that day. I don't regret my decision to do that though."

Still not looking at him, Seo was almost that wounded little girl again.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

While he hadn't slept with Seo nearly enough to say he confidently knew her sleeping habits, he knew something was different about how she woke. For a short second, there was a disturbed look in her eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. He almost asked her if she was alright, but she took a breath and began speaking before he commited to asking.

The mention of recurring nightmares struck a chord in him, and a knowing pain shot into his eyes. As she sat up and tucked her head to her knees, he slowly sat up too. She wasn't looking at him, but he knew how she was feeling from her body language. Scooting himself a little closer to her, he stopped when he felt their shoulders touch.

He didn't try to look into her eyes as she told him about what had happened with Aodhan's father, instead his eyes were focused straight ahead. Staring into the few smoking cinders that were the only remnants of last night's fire, his right fist clenched involuntarily. He already had his own reasons for hating slavery, but if he hadn't Seo's life would've been a perfect reason in and of itself.

"If you hadn't killed him, do you think Aodhan would have been a better person for it? I don't, and I don't think anyone would blame you for what you did in that situation."

He didn't know how to comfort her. He had never seen his father attempt to comfort anyone for anything ever, and he certainly didn't have any precedent of his own for something as awful as Seo's situation. All he had were his own nightmares, but he didn't think they would help her.

Mereel sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist, "This might sound twisted, but I'm glad you don't regret it."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

"Sometimes I wonder."

Mereel provided an answer to his own question and his words comforted her. Still not looking at him, her eyes travelled the landscape as she looked up from her knees. His arm around her waist and their shoulders touching made her feel accepted. Slanting her head slightly, Seo looked up at the fading stars above them before deciding to meet his eyes.

"In a way, it is similar to my upbringing. Why do you think my sisters are so much younger than me? Even Aodhan is older than they are."

If he was intelligent enough, she wouldn't need to explain things further, but then again she wanted to. Taking a hold of his hand on her side, she gave it a squeeze and leaned against him. The skin on skin contact felt wonderful and provided some warmth in the chill air.

"Daithi is not my biological father, but he raised me as his daughter. So he is my father and loves his family, even my son. I know nothing about my family. For all I know I could be some sort of royalty, but I don't think so."

Standing up, she held a hand down to him to help him up. Her bare skin was pale in the rising sun.

"We should eat, pack up camp and get back home. There is something I need to deal with."

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

The understanding look in his eyes turned to dejected grief. It was terrible to him that Seo ever had to wonder about whether or not Aodhan's father would've made a good dad. He wouldn't be in his right mind if he told her not to wonder about it though. He wondered what his life would've been like if things had gone differently a lot - what would've happened if his mother was still alive, if his father wasn't a crook, if he hadn't run away from home, if he hadn't failed to kill Detrik - the list of What Ifs and regrets went on, but he didn't regret the events that had unfolded on Carida or Glacies Domum, and certainly not what had happened on Ciomia or here.

When Seo finally stopped looking around their surroundings and met his eyes, his subconscious willed a grin to his face. His grin didn't stay for long. In a way he had already known, and what she had said about her upbringing hadn't surprised him. She looked too different from her parents for him to have not suspected it.

He tightened his hold on her waist, it was the closest thing to a hug he could give her in their position.

"You know plenty about your family, Seo. Aliit ori'shya tal'din. The crew of the Iviin'yc is my family. Daithi, Saraid, Aodhan, your sisters - that's your family.

Mereel nodded and took her hand when offered. Putting his metal hand in the sand, he pushed himself to his feet with it and simply gave her hand a gentle squeeze. His eyes looked her up and down before he flashed her a sly smile. "We can eat during the speeder trip back. I'll unpitch the tent. Mind not getting dressed so I have something to look at during?"

[member="Seo Linn"]