Private Lost Signal

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra had spent a fair amount of time trying not to remember where had come from. Somehow piecing together the mess she had left behind was always a task that shut her down and left her numb.

Last week she had spent time in this rural tribe. They didn't like technology or modern medicine. Their healer barely spoke basic, but they had let her in after earning their trust and she had come to learn about their struggles. They were in a century-long feud neighboring village. Countless had died, and with each death resolution seemed further away. It was almost as if they were destined to be eternal enemies, nothing they could do would stop it.

It was strange to see parallels in their lives. They couldn't be anymore different if they tried, but she recognized the blank look of a girl who watched her sister be killed in a raid.

She watched as the family fretted around her in a constant worried buzz.

She had felt a lingering sense of guilt ever since.

Can you feel me...

Her sister's face kept catching her when she was unaware-- in her sleep, her day dreams, as she walked through a crowded street. It was as if Romi was walking over her grave or whispering her name into the Netherworld. She did not know her sister was seeking her out, but she followed the draw all the same. Something in her knew it was time.

She followed the nudge to a water world and left her ship to be refueled. She took for the docks... wandering aimless....

Can you feel me...

She could feel her.

Romi Jade

 

[Romi Jade]

Can you feel me...

The shrill pierced the veil, and left chills along the curvature of her spine. It was much stronger...much closer this time around.

Slinking through the plumage of hard, extraterrestrial bodies as she ascended for more open space along the edges of the dock -- it wasn't super crowded anyway.

It's been hard over the last several months. She never thought she'd admit it but her mental took a dive during her galactic tour. Those who knew, knew she was never the type to sit face to face with her weak spots...

Kyra was one of them.

She'd reschedule dates later...

She sauntered into the next open square -- I feel you...we're close.

She spun on her right heel, whipping her hair as she looked over her shoulder; there was a deep rooted pulsation, one akin to those you feel when you're near a loved one. No force needed.

Muffled, "Kyra..."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Their eyes met across the docks, and suddenly it was as if the last two years had never occurred.

The wars, the lost limbs, the comas, the rescue missions, the drugs, the death. Everything that had been a wedge between Kyra and her family stopped mattering. She broke out into a run, her lithe form dodging bodies and bags alike as she closed the space between them. They collided into a fierce hug, hair catching inside arms as she gripped her tightly.

She had missed her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

About the baby? Or what she had done? Sometimes, they felt one in the same. She should have been there. She should have done a lot of things, but she hadn't.

Stupid tears streamed down her face. She rubbed them into Romi's jacket before braving to pull back and get a look at the source of the force's call. "Is everything okay....?"

Romi Jade

 

[Romi Jade]

She hit spin on the ball of her foot, and their blue eyes interlocked -- she fronted a smirk.

Kyra had gotten light on her feet faster than she could, Romi got a single stride in before embracing her younger sister. Pulling her in with what maternal and familial language she could call on; what she knew.

Jade didn't have many people in this galaxy...and Kyra was one of few people she truly cared about. "Kyra--oh my--" The blonde cradled her head and simply let go in her arms.

"No. I'm sorry--"

She pulled back simultaneously.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" She looked her over, "...You look great." Smiling she gripped her arms tighter.

"I--"

She didn't know where to start.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"I know," she confessed, cutting over her. It hardly a thing to say in the middle of the streets. She had been following the draw without really listening to it. Facing what she felt inside scared her; the bottled up came out with no care the location or the timing.

A blubber of grief caught on her chest, her hands gripping Romi's arms in return. "I know, I saw it." And what else was there to say? She hitch for a breath, then took Romi up in another hug.

Subtly was never a Perl thing.

It was only then, after the cards were laid on the table and she could catch her breath, that overwhelming became manageable and she pulled back again.

"Are you staying here? Let's get a hotel. I have time. You have time, right? Let's catch up," she rattled, because some things never changed.

All the while she didn't release Romi. Her hands slid down the woman's arms and clasped her hands, the illusion of choice shattered as she clung tight.

 

[Romi Jade]

She swallowed her jumbled words, knowing that she at least knew her intention; it was a lot to process...at least now it was.

The exchanges were welcoming, and set the tone for a prosperous reunion. She admit she wasn't sure what the energy was going to be like when they came face to face again. There was a lot left unread in their previous chapter. When she'd come to realize that Kyra could help her get to the root of what she was feeling...she wasn't sure if she'd even want to see her.

Wasn't something to dwell on anyway...they were here.

"I can, yeah. I've got all the time...let's grab a spot."

She broke out in a sigh giggles, being playfully tugged along.

Honestly, her mind felt lighter now than it did in quite a bit. She trailed alongside her sister.

"So, what's been all the rage? What's new?" She glanced over, "I feel we can at least start there."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra grimaced and gave a rather closed off shrug.

"I left the order. ...By I guess you'd already know that. Dad helped me tweak my ship and now I've just been..." Another shrug. "Throwing my weight into what feels right." And she looked better for it. She was clean, to start with, and her frayed nerves had calmed. The only tick was the subtle fidget of her free hand, rubbing nervously against her belt loop. Dare one say that was even normal for a moment like this.

She looked healthy ...And fully grown, her bra too small under a baggy shirt that hid that woman she had become. Everything had changed. For both of them.

Kyra opened her mouth to comment on that, only to think better of it and eat the words. Yes, right. they were still in public. She shot Romi a concerned look as they entered the swishy doors of a hotel.

"Double bed please," she ordered, sliding over a credit chip. "With room service."


"I have my own money," she explained, tilting towards Romi as the order was tendered. "Got pretty flupped up one time in this museum and the lawyers.... well." She shrugged again, the image of Kana Truden face floating like a distant haze in her mind. "C'mon." She took the room key and squeezed Romi's hand, trying to manage a reassuring smile as they were led into a much more private space.

 

[Romi Jade]

"Coren huh? Nicee" she softly interjected under her sisters notes. After an extended sigh -- "I hear ya."

Romi could feel Kyra wanting to ask like it was on the cusp of the wind, and heck she even thought it'd be easier to bring up if she did...but was it appropriate? It should be Romi who brought it up though; right?

Seemed like an unnecessary burden to put on Kyra, especially because she knew she was empathic.

...but that's how she already knew she knew.

There was an unspoken air, and Jade smirked it off, silently acknowledging that it was alright.

"So you hit the big bank...heck I should come work for you."

She giggled, glanced over at the counter service and mouthed Room service

Before playing being tugged along, she followed in the cadence behind the Zeltron.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's lips quirked up in an idea.

"Oh, you could design my closets." The smile faltered as she looked down. Cargo pants, a thin tee-- "...Not that I dress up much lately. ...Kinda miss it, actually," she admitted, opening their hotel door.

She was having a sudden sleep over with Romi. It felt so serendipitous, like they were children again. She let her bag slump to the ground at the door and basked at the cooled air that blew over them.

She released Romi's hand and broke right for the fridge. Cans of soda and bars of candy lined up in nice rows. Her fingers rang across them and faltered as they hit little alcoholic nips.

Oh. Right. Yeah, those would be here. She faultered, which made her all the more away of Romi's own stress behind her.

She could feel the way Romi's confliction ran through her in endless circles.

Talk.

Don't talk.

Concern for Kyra.

Maybe talk.


"Yeah," she answered softly, her fingers wrapping around two cokes as she closed the fridge. "I know." She offered Romi one, her face pinched in a subtle grimace. "Do you.... wanna talk about it? Ordoyouwannagetpizza, cause I can order pizza," she rambled quickly, pointing to the phone book.

She wasn't hungry at all, but this moment wasn't about her, was it? Her eyes went wide with confliction as she tried to feel out Romi. She was no less than one second from attacking her with another hug.