Private Wicked Game

[Inanna Harth]

Despite the cooler climate the planet was best known for, an Alderaanian rainforest in summer could feel as sweltering as the jungles of Dxun. By human standards, anyway—the Shi'ido crammed into the Maranatha customs office all seemed quite comfortable with the hot and humid weather.

Well, all except for the visibly pregnant Tiamat. She was seated close to a fan, her eyes closed as the air tousled her hair. Given her condition, she technically didn't need to be there, but she had insisted on working, even if work consisted of little more than filling out paperwork. Enkidu suspected she had fallen asleep, but he wasn't about to disturb a perfectly good nap.

Enkidu Duran sat behind a desk strewn with datapads. He was now Maranatha's chief of security. Much of his job consisted of filling out paperwork and placating the Alderaanians who came to complain about the high crime rate in the new sanctuary city.

But Count Alicio was different. He was partly responsible for bringing them to Alderaan in the first place—Enkidu didn't feel like he had to go on the defensive with him. In fact, the entire affair so far had been almost relaxed.

"Is this going to be an official visit, or something more low key?" he asked. He pitched his voice a little lower in volume, not wanting to wake Tia. "You'll have our guaranteed security either way, it'll just affect the procedure."

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio hadn't been back to Alderaan in a while.

Ever since he had taken up the position of Senator on Coruscant, time spent on the planet he was representing had dwindled. Which, despite making him mildly homesick, hadn't been much of an issue thus far. Sanctuary City continued to prosper, the Houses were playing nice for the most part, and Maranatha's construction was unhindered by Alderaanian detractors.

There were still issues, though. Issues Alicio hoped to, if not fix, at least understand better.

"...Official," the Count said into his own datapad, his shuttle rocketing out of hyperspace over the beautiful green and blue jewel of Alderaan. "Maybe then your critics will finally understand that you're doing all you can."

He knew about the violence in Maranatha. It was all the uppity nobles could talk about when he brought up the city. And, in all fairness, the news Alicio heard was... grisly. But the senator knew that this violence would happen no matter where the Shi'ido went. He'd only hoped that with a new abundance of resources, it would slow.

There had to be a solution. But he couldn't help find one from half the galaxy away.

"When will you be ready for me, Enkidu?" Alicio smiled. He rather liked the large-presenting Shi'ido. "I can be there in twenty minutes, but if you need more time, I can always loiter around the planet for a day."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

Enkidu sighed. So Alicio had heard. Well, that was to be expected. Still, he had clung to some dreamer’s hope of bringing the issue up to a fresh-eyed senator with no preconceptions…

“We’re working on it,” was all he said on the matter.

“Do you like opera, by any chance?” he asked. “Because tonight there’s going to be a performance of The Heretic King. It’ll be the first public performance ever held in Maranatha. We didn’t have such things in the camp, so it’s a pretty big deal. I know you politicians like your… your… uh…”

The word in Basic he was searching for was optics. Enkidu heard what might’ve been a titter from Tiamat, though when he glanced her way her face was calm and placid.

“...The symbolic things you do to make a statement, take advantage of the press. You know what I mean.” He waved his hand vaguely. “If you really can get here in twenty minutes, I could still get you a good seat. All the Shi’ido can sing in perfect pitch, so it shouldn’t hurt your ears.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

“We’re working on it.”

Alicio nodded. Then, sheepishly realizing the shapeshifter couldn't see him, he added "I understand. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."

They were an independent group, the Shi'ido. But if they wanted his assistance, they would have it in a second.

The Count's eyes lit up with interest as Enkidu mentioned an opera. "I don't usually have the time. But I'd love to see it. No smiling for cameras necessary." He didn't like putting off work, but to honor the new Alderaanians of Maranatha, an exception could be made.

"I'll be there in fifteen!"

It was a short flight to Alderaan's tropical belt, his shuttle touching down on a small cleared landing pad. The exit ramp hissed open, depositing Alicio, dressed in somber blacks and toting his cane. His face carried equal parts determination and mild excitement, as he waited for his entourage.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Will do,” Enkidu replied. “Thank you, senator. I’ll see you soon. Signing off.”

As soon as the call ended, Enkidu heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair a little, taking a momentary break before he rushed through the final arrangements.

“Optics.”

Enkidu glanced over at Tiamat, whose eyes were now open. “Beg pardon?”

“The word you were looking for is optics,” she said.

“Oh. Thank you.”

“And I’m not going to any opera, just so you know.”

“I didn’t think you would.” Enkidu chuckled. “Someone else will take your place in the usual lineup.”

“Inanna won’t come,” Tiamat said suddenly.

“Well, she is on Nar Shaddaa right now,” he lied. In fact, Inanna was back on Alderaan—but only Enkidu was supposed to know that. “I don’t think she could make the trip within twenty minutes, let alone the senator’s promised fifteen.”

“It’s not the distance I’m talking about. She won’t come because of Alicio.”

Enkidu’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Forget it, you don’t understand.” Tiamat stood up and headed for the door—only to stop and turn around again, her tone incredulous. “Haven’t you noticed they’ve got bad blood between them?”

His eyes wandered as he searched his memory. “... No.”

Shaking her head, she left the room—then came back a few seconds later, poking her head in. “Is it true that she just had a baby?”

Enkidu could already see where this was going, but he decided to humor her not-so-secret taste for workplace gossip for the fun of it. (Well, that and telling the true story from which the rumor was derived would’ve taken more time than he was willing to explain…) “And what if she did?”

“Have you seen it?” she asked in a low, conspiratorial voice. "Does it look like him?"

“No, but it does look a little bit like me.”

She gaped at him in shock, then scowled and slammed the door.

Enkidu caught himself still smirking in amusement at the memory even as he waited on the landing pad fifteen minutes later. He quickly wiped the smile off his face, standing at attention beside four other bodyguards as Alicio descended the shuttle ramp. Inanna was indeed noticeably absent from the party; Enkidu stepped up to take her place as Alicio's guide.

“Good evening, Senator,” he greeted, holding out his hand. “Welcome to Maranatha.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

There was a moment that the nobleman's face searched the gathering of Shi'ido, apparently looking for something. Upon not seeing what, or who, he was searching for, Alicio let out a silent sigh of relief, then perhaps a stab of guilt, before addressing Enkidu and his entourage.

"Evening," he said, taking the Shi'ido's hand happily as he exited the ship. As the city was mentioned, Alicio spun on a heel to take it all in, his modest smile growing more genuine. "This place is incredible, Enkidu! The Shi'ido did all this? In such a short amount of time?" Issues of violence aside, Maranatha looked like a mystical paradise.

Alicio blinked the stars from his eyes, pulling his attention away from the edificial wonders around him, and back to present company. "Apologies. I just... Maranatha is very nice, is all. Forget the opera, I could stare at this view for hours."

"But, um... we've got a show to catch." Alicio fell easily into the rank and file of the Shi'ido, trusting them to protect him.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“It’s only part of the city, not all of it is like this,” Enkidu said, though he couldn’t help but smile at Alicio’s exuberant reaction. The Senator had gone from serious politician to excited little boy almost immediately upon glimpsing Maranatha. “We managed to convince your people to let us plan the city ourselves. I think it turned out well enough. It certainly reminds me of home…”

But there was no use talking about dead planets and ravaged homelands. Not here, not now.

“Of course. If you’ll follow me, Senator…”

---

The theater was one of the largest and most elaborate buildings in Maranatha. It was no wonder then that Enkidu had suggested it as a good location for a publicity stunt.

The place was already packed with people waiting to see the show. To avoid the crowds, Alicio was led through an unoccupied passageway straight to a reserved private box near the stage. Once everything was arranged, Enkidu stepped out into the hallway for a few minutes, intending to make one final comm call. But before he could dial the number, he noticed one of the two guards he had posted outside the door was missing.

“Where’s Officer Samyaza?” he asked the remaining guard.

“He went to use the ‘fresher, sir. Said he wasn’t feeling well.”

Enkidu grunted at that. “He should’ve said something to me about it. I’d have sent him home and called in a replacement.”

He turned his attention to his datapad, only to hear the first stirrings of the orchestra behind him, muffled through the door. A powerful feeling of bittersweet nostalgia bubbled up in him; he suddenly felt very young, as if the nearly five centuries he had already lived were yet to pass. He’d attended the premiere of The Heretic King as a child in Goshen, and listening to it again was enough to take him back…

His reverie was interrupted by the sudden appearance of an Ortolan, who came running down the hall and up to the door. “Enkidu!” they exclaimed. “It’s me, Inanna! You’ve got to let me in there!”

Enkidu blinked. “Uh…”

“There’s an assassin sent to kill Alicio! I’ve been chasing them all day—the bastard hit me with Shiftglue, and now I’m stuck like this for the next few hours!”

“Slow down, please.” He held up his hands. “Prove that you’re really Inanna.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

The venue was wonderful.

Alicio sat tall in his seat, overlooking the stage area. Perhaps if he had grown up in noble society, he would be more used to the glitz and glamour of the opera, but they had always been a rare treat in his youth. His mother would take the children to shows as their father worked, keeping young Alicio close to her side, so she could point out little details. This is called an overture, she would say. It tells us the show is starting. Gives us a sneak peak of the music to come!

He would tell her the music tasted good, and she'd give him one of those quiet smiles, as if to say 'Oh Alicio.'

A nostalgic, half-sad smile graced his features for only a moment, as he heard the overture begin, the taste of sweet fruits and undertones of chocolate hitting his tongue. Swooping, dainty, nebulous strings captivating his attention, as he hung on every note.

Before he could truly fall into the music, however, he heard the sound of muffled shouting from behind the door. Alicio turned back, his enjoyment shifting to mild concern, as he stepped towards the door, listening more intently.

"Hello? Is everything okay?"

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Someone is trying to kill you!” Inanna shouted back at Alicio, though her voice was unrecognizable.

“All right, enough of that.” Enkidu pulled the Ortolan-ified woman away from the door. “Come on, think of something only the real Inanna would know.”

“Okay okay, uh... Dad used to tell a story about how you and he once explored an ancient tomb when you were kids. You got scared and ran away, leaving him behind…”

“That’s true,” Enkidu murmured. While Tammuz had returned unharmed, he’d felt terribly guilty about it for years. “But it doesn’t prove anything. Our enemies could’ve just plucked that story out of the real Inanna’s head with the Force, or brainwashed her into believing there’s an assassin, or whatever. There’s a dozen different ways to do it—”

“Argh, for the love of—Alicio!” Out of desperation, she resorted to shouting at the door again. “It’s a terrorist group called Free Lao-mon! They’ve been plotting to kill you for months! They hate that Maranatha exists! We thought we had taken care of them, but there are still some left! And at least one of them is here, right now!”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

“Someone is trying to kill you!”

Alicio stepped away from the door, narrowing his eyes slightly. It was a danger slowly growing more common for the Count these days. Perhaps the only useful thing to . His gloved hand found the cane, and with one swift, practiced motion, the hilt of his lightsaber came off in his hand.

The senator listened intently at the door, trying to parse exactly what was happening, though every third word was muffled and distant. This person knew Enkidu, that much he'd been able to understand.

And apparently, knew him, too. They knew him better than to just call him Senator, or Your Excellency. They called him Alicio.

"Okay!" he shouted back, despite the incurable urge to remain quiet during a show nearly stopping his breath. He wheeled around keeping his back to the door, eyes peering out towards the crowd below. He let his muscles relax. He let himself trust.

The power of the Force expanded his perceptions, as the Count looked a second, two seconds, three seconds into the future, as he casted his senses across the room, looking for malcontents. He took up a quiet pose, standing deceptively still, glaring imperiously down into the crowd.

And he passed his mind over the Ortolan's, to see if his suspicions were correct.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

In the crowds down below, there were faint ripples of irritation at Alicio's shouting, but the theater was well-designed. The right sounds carried while the wrong ones stopped short.

On the other side of the door was Enkidu. One too many bad experiences had made him paranoid in the extreme, and that led to him making a fool of himself, though he was not really a fool. The guard standing beside the door was confused, but also developing a growing sense of guilt and alarm. He hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, and he might've nodded off at his post once or twice. Had someone gotten in while he wasn't looking?

And the Ortolan…

Her mind was an open book full of tangled sentences in an alien tongue. Shi’idese, to be exact. But some meaning could be gleaned, a general gist. She was furious, embarrassed, annoyed yet determined—and the Shiftglue had given her a terrible headache.

As for the other guard who had gone to the ‘fresher, he appeared to be unconscious, though his aura in the Force reeked of poison. That certainly explained why he hadn't been feeling well.

There were guards inside the box as well, their expressions and auras in the Force bewildered at the Senator's behavior. Mostly.

One was more decided than the others, making up his mind to do what he had come here to do, and to do it now. The muzzle of a slugthrower pistol glinted in the dim lights as it was raised, and the trigger pulled back. They had told him that Force Users couldn't block bullets. They had assured him...

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio had never touched Inanna's mind before.

It had been a conscious choice by the noble; he knew just how damaged her psyche had been by others, and he didn't want to contribute to what trauma she'd experienced. But he recognized the ease at which he could spy within, the very specific flavor of his friend-turned-more-turned-scorned.

And he sensed one of his guards more determined than the others. He regarded the potential future the would-be assassin wished to take part in, gave it a moment of thought, before deciding to disallow it.

Alicio looked at the Shi'ido guard the moment before he raised his slugthrower. As he fired, Alicio simply tilted his head ever so slightly out of the way, avoiding the first slug, and raising his lightsaber, igniting the blue and black blade pointed at the man's chest.

"You've failed. Surrender," he commanded, perhaps a bit more pleading in his tone than he meant to have. Not for his own life, but for the assassin's.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

A miss. The sound drew a few short screams from the audience, but the music didn’t stop. Most people in the theater had no idea what was happening in the box near the stage.

Enkidu heard it and immediately opened the door, weapon drawn. He saw Alicio with his lightsaber out, pointed at what looked to be one of his officers, who was holding a pistol.

“Easy now,” he said. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Some of the other guards had also drawn their weapons. With multiple guns pointed at him, the assassin didn’t seem to notice. Nor did he listen to their warnings. He had made up his mind.

With a curse in Shi’idese too foul for translation, Inanna pounced on the assassin just as he pulled the trigger. Regardless of where the bullet landed, he was knocked to the floor, where Inanna began punching him.

“Where’s the Shiftglue?” she bellowed. “Let’s see how you like it!”

For a moment there was a stunned stillness from Enkidu and the guards as they watched Inanna, still in the guise of an Ortolan, locking tusks with the would-be murderer. Then Enkidu finally moved to confiscate the gun, which had been knocked from the assassin’s grasp, while the other guards pulled the two combatants apart.

“Are you all right?” Enkidu asked Alicio. His words were partially drowned out by the swell of the orchestra as the music reached a crescendo.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio wanted to believe that the man would put down his weapon. See that this wasn't the way to make change, repent, as naïve as that was. So, maybe he wasn't looking at the future as objectively as he should have.

He was blindsided as Ortolan-Inanna burst into the room, and the assassin got off one last shot. Alicio was able to get his lightsaber between himself and the slug, but that didn't stop the molten slag of the bullet from striking him in the chest.

Still, he didn't realize the danger he was in, as he watched his attacker fall to the ground, clobbered by Inanna. Alicio deactivated his lightsaber, and managed to reattach it back to his cane, suddenly finding the need to lean on it a bit heavier. "Inanna, please don't..." he protested quietly, a gloved hand pressing against a new burn against his ribs.

“Are you all right?” Enkidu asked Alicio.

"I... think I've been shot," he commented mutely, leaning against the wall behind him, trying not to slide to the floor as blood began to push through his fingers.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

As far as Inanna was concerned, things between her and the would-be assassin were personal. He had made her day considerably more difficult, thanks to his knocking her unconscious and spraying her in the face with Shiftglue. She’d awoken some time later with her hands and feet bound, locked in a pitch-black supply closet, unable to shapeshift, with her head throbbing. To make matters worse, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed, hadn’t known whether it was too late to stop his plans from being carried out. All she could do was free herself and rush to the theater—and she’d found him this close to succeeding…

Alicio’s pleas slowed her down just long enough for two of the guards to haul her off of her quarry. Security swarmed the assassin, pinning him to the floor. One administered an injection to keep him from shapeshifting. Serves him right.

"I... think I've been shot."

Inanna froze, her fiery anger snuffed out by icy fear. She heard Enkidu say, “Easy now, son.” He spoke in a strange voice, one that she had never heard him use before, grim and ragged with something she couldn’t quite identify. “Keep your hand on the wound. I’m getting you out of here.”

She watched him lift Alicio up as if he were a child, leaving his wound untended to. Pushing through the paralysis, she followed him out the door. Enkidu saw her but didn’t protest, evidently no longer worried that she was an impostor.

“Hey Alicio,” she greeted awkwardly, barely keeping up with Enkidu’s brisk pace as he hurried down the hall toward the nearest exit. “It’s Inanna. You probably don’t recognize me. I’m in disguise. Believe it or not, I've been on the trail of that nerf herder who shot you for about a week now…” Her fingers were too large and clumsy to unclasp the Star from around her neck, so she snapped the chain and laid the healing crystal against Alicio's chest. It was the least she could do.

To her amazement, no one else in the theater seemed to have heard the second gunshot. No doubt an order to evacuate would be issued for safety reasons, but for now the performance was still proceeding as planned. The overture had ended and now they were in Act I, Scene 1, which was set during a funeral.

“Barely been here half an hour before someone tried to kill him…” Enkidu muttered. Inanna finally recognized what she was hearing in his tone. It was shame.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Before Alicio could really figure out what was happening, he was swept off his feet by Enkidu. Vaguely, he heard from the large Shi'ido to keep pressure on the wound, and Alicio kept his hand held tight, frowning a little as he felt the molten slug burning against his flesh. "Okay," he said slowly, nothing in his tone betraying any pain.

The nobleman tilted his chin down curiously at the bobbing form of Inanna, nodding quietly. "Thanks. You..." Alicio coughed into one of his gloves. "You saved me. I wouldn't have been ready, if you weren't there."

Alicio accepted the stone, grimacing as he felt the calming light sooth his chest. The Count thought about pouring some of his own healing energy into it, before quickly discarding the notion. He could barely concentrate, much less heal a near-fatal wound.

Maybe fatal, had it not been for the bullet cracking against one of his ribs.

Despite it all, Alicio picked up on Enkidu's dishonor, and simply smiled at him. "I'll be... okay," he assured the man, his face beginning to pale even more than it usually was.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

Hours later, Inanna sat in a hospital waiting room. The effects of the Shiftglue had finally worn off, allowing her to lose the Ortolan disguise. She was back to looking like a white-haired woman again, the form which she favored most.

Enkidu stood next to her with his arms crossed over his chest, brooding and miserable. His gaze was focused on the nearest holo screen, where the news had already broken about the assassination attempt.

They hadn’t spoken much since arriving at the hospital and turning Alicio over to the medical staff. But now, the security chief turned to her and asked, “You know more about humans than I do—could he actually die from this?”

“He said he would be okay,” Inanna replied. But then she recalled the sight of red blood seeping between Alicio’s fingers, and watching his face grow even paler than usual on the ride to the hospital. He had been shot in the chest, which could easily prove fatal for humans. Looking at all the evidence, Alicio’s death suddenly seemed a very real possibility.

Apart from the awful, sinking feeling that followed this revelation, she found herself with many things left unsaid. If he was dead of a bullet from the gun of a Shi’ido terrorist she had failed to really stop, none of it would matter—unless she also intended to apologize to Amani Serys while bringing her Alicio’s notice of death…

Enkidu seemed about to say something else, but they were interrupted by the arrival of a medical droid. “The operation was a success,” it announced. “The patient is recovering.”

“Can we see him?” Inanna asked.

“With the patient’s authorization,” the droid replied, before floating away down the hall.

Glancing at Enkidu, Inanna followed after the droid until it reached a door. She waited outside while it entered, essentially announcing to Alicio that he had guests.

timeskip (unless you actually wanted him to die I guess) Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

The slug had stopped after hitting his fourth rib.

It had been a close call. An inch higher or lower, and the Count would have been at the very least still deep in intensive care with a popped lung. He had been lucky; that is, if he still believed in luck at all. The medical personnel had been quick to remove the burning lump of metal from his chest; they had told him they expected a full recovery, with him being in working condition after about a month. With magical space healing, he figured he could cut that time considerably.

The Count sat up tall in the hospital bed, hands folded neatly in his lap, watching a holoscreen in the corner of his room with tired, grey eyes. As if Maranatha needed more bad press. His holopad was likely exploding with notifications, though he wasn't sure where it was. He glanced around, noting the device on a table across the room. He frowned.

So close, yet so far away.

A mechanical voice apparated from the hall, belonging to a medical droid. "Mr. Organa, you have guests. Would you like to authorize a visitation?"

Alicio considered the robot, knowing without needing to peek into the future who had come to see him. "Yes, please," he finally said. "Thank you."

Alicio sat up a little taller as the Shi'dio assumedly stepped through, casting an apologetic glance over the taller one. "I'm sorry, Enkidu. This... isn't the kind of publicity Maranatha needs right now." He straightened his sheets with the swipe of a hand. "I swear, I'll help smooth things over as much as I can with the Noble Houses once they let me leave."

Finally, he turned his storm-battled gaze to Inanna, a multitude of emotions twisting behind a veneer of wariness. "Hello," he finally decided on, refolding his hands over his lap, and pointedly staring at them.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna didn’t quite believe that Alicio had survived until she saw him sitting up in bed. A rush of relief ran through her, stopping her in her tracks just shy of the room.

Enkidu seemed to share in her reaction, though he was less paralyzed. “You really had us worried there for a minute,” he said, ducking through the open doorway. Alicio’s apology lowered his spirits again, but the security chief shook his head. “The damage has been done, I’m afraid, but it could’ve been much worse. We are glad that our… friend is alive.”

Our friend. Enkidu had paused before saying it, as he did whenever he couldn’t find a proper translation of a Shi’idese word or phrase and had to settle with a Basic term that wasn’t quite the same. But Inanna thought it was an apt descriptor.

Alicio looked at her then, and she saw the tangle of emotions in his eyes before he averted his gaze. She bit her lip. “Enkidu, would you mind waiting outside for a few minutes? I’d like to speak to Senator Organa alone.”

Enkidu glanced at her curiously. “I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“I’m not an impostor, I swear.” She held up her hands. “But I would like to debrief him on what I learned while I was undercover.”

“All right.” Enkidu turned to go. “If you need me, I’ll be right out here.”

The door slid shut behind him. Inanna stared at the floor, before gradually gathering up the courage to look Alicio in the face. “I will tell you what I know about who did this and why, but first I want to apologize,” she said softly. “When I saw you that night at the gala, I was… not ready for it. I let my emotions get the better of me, and for that I am sorry. I know I owe Amani an apology as well, if I ever see her again.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio found a morbid smile. "Well... I'm glad I'm alive, too."

“Enkidu, would you mind waiting outside for a few minutes? I’d like to speak to Senator Organa alone.”

Alicio's mouth tightened, but he simply nodded to the large man, as if to give him an extra layer of permission. The Shi'ido left, leaving Alicio alone with the woman who's heart he broke, and who tried to break his in return.

And she apologized.

A bit of surprise colored Alicio's face as he stared at his hands. But the shock was gone quickly, replaced by a quiet observation. He let her finish, and thought about her words for a few moments, mulling them over in his head.

The Count had always been quick to turn the other cheek. But he was hesitant this time.

"Intention means a lot to me, Inanna. And at the gala..." He found the words caught in his throat. She'd tried to hurt him, told him as much. Alicio felt a slight sting somewhere in his chest. "...That's hard to forgive."

"But... thank you, for saving my life today. Really." Alicio finally looked up. Even if he couldn't forgive her yet, he'd be happy to try.

He paused.

"Have you... healed?" There was an apology somewhere buried in Alicio's tone, but he didn't voice it.

- Inanna Harth -