Setting: What Was Lost: Sacrifice

Chiana sat alone in a remote part of the ruins. At first, she had been excited to see D'Argo, but that excitement had quickly been tempered. She knew that her behavior with Jothee had hurt him, but she had thought they had been moving toward recovery. Even though they had chosen separate paths, she had always thought they would meet again one day. After what had happened to her in their time apart, she was ready for his comforting embrace and soft words. Her childish innocence was lost, and she was now ready for a mature relationship.

It had never occurred to her that he would not wait for her. When she had seen him and Jool together, she had known that she no longer had a place with him, that she would receive no comfort from him.

Now, she was staring at the ground, throwing the occasional rock to relieve her boredom. She had no idea what she would do now. D'Argo had been a stabilizing force in her life since her arrival on Moya. He had been there for her, comforted her, been her friend and lover. She had always thought that he would be there for her. The fact that he would so completely give up on her had caught her off guard. She never realized how lost she would be alone.

"You look lost," Tarnat said.

Chiana jumped up and moved away from him. "What do you want? Have another gun you want to point at me?"

"Forgive me. You were strangers, and I was concerned about the safety of the dig." He slung his rifle over his shoulder, taking a non-aggressive stance.

"Why do you care about me? You think I'm a tralk."

"I misunderstood what Joolushko told me about you. She has since corrected that misunderstanding." He took a seat on a broken piece of the temple. "You look like you could use someone to talk to. I thought I would offer my friendship."

She looked at him warily. "Yeah? Why would I want your friendship?" Strangers on other worlds had offered her their friendship, and it had always led to pain. What they had meant by friendship was a recreation partner.

"I know what it is like to be alone, to have no one to talk to. I have run away from my problems in the past, but I have found that it solves nothing in the end. Joolushko told me that you and the Luxan were close once."

She replied defensively, "Is that so? Well, she has a big mouth."

He smiled and chuckled softly. "I have noticed that."

Even after he stopped laughing, he continued to look at her. She felt uncomfortable being the center of his attention. Looking into his eyes, she felt that his offer of friendship was genuine, not a precursor to getting her into bed. "So you feel sorry for me? That's why you want to be my friend?" she asked suspiciously. She did not want to let him get close; it would only lead to pain.

"No. I'm sorry it sounded that way to you. I just find you interesting. You know, you remind me a lot of me. I went through a period where I didn't have a lot of direction in my life and was quite rebellious. There's also the fact that I've learned I don't know a lot about different species, only what I was taught in school, and much of that has turned out to be wrong. If we are going to be together on the planet for a while, I think it would be best if we got along, don't you?"

Her need for compassion finally led her to reluctantly trust him, and she sat next to him. "I suppose you're right. It's just…very hard for me to trust new people."

"That's a very good attitude to have. There are some very rough places in the galaxy. Did you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now." When the silence stretched on, she asked, "Why did you come here?"

"It was a good way for me to get away from my demons. And I've found this is a wonderful place for reflection."

"So, your demons are gone?" she asked hopefully.

"Not exactly, but I have learned how to live with them. I know that I have horrible things in my past, but they are in my past. Letting them affect my future does me no good. Would you like a tour of the ruins?"

"Sounds good," she replied. After he rose, he offered her his hand, and it took her a moment to realize that he was offering to help her. She was not used to people treating her with respect.

As they walked through the ruins, he pointed out various artifacts and their historical significance, at least according to Instructor Vella. The longer they walked and talked, the more she relaxed. While he had once called her a tralk, he was now treating her as an equal.

She slipped her hand in his. "Thank you for being a friend."

"I could say the same. Vella and Joolushko see me as something less than them, so I don't really consider either of them my friend."

"I know you have work to do, but I thought that you might like to get together for dinner. I really enjoy your company." She really didn't want to let him go, but she didn't want to get him in trouble.

He turned to face her and brushed her cheek. "I would enjoy that very much. I'll meet you tonight."

When he bent down to kiss her, she didn't pull away but instead encouraged his affection. While it was not a particularly passionate kiss, it was filled with warmth and caring, and it left her breathless. "Tonight," she whispered.

For the first time in ages, she felt safe.