"As if Aya could have gotten any more beautiful..."

Ryder's first visit to the paradise since Meridian's activation was finally happening. It gave new definition to the word paradise. Little bro Scott, he was seeing it all for the first time. It was the best 'welcome to actually being awake in the galaxy' present Sara could think of. She couldn't wait to go on a brother sister safari around Havarl, but here was best for now she knew he could really relax here. Warm sun plus soft breeze equals happy Ryder twins.

Most of the Tempest crew were horsing around in the Tavetaan, getting to know some new faces and catching up with those more familiar. It wouldn't be surprising if the Tempest crew had a bit of a reputation in that bar. Sara had paused on her way past and watched Liam telling a story that involved a lot of wild gestures. Flying on remnant gravity wells? A flailing dead architect? It was probably a tale that most of the team had heard on more than one occasion, but it was getting genuine laughs from Scott. Liam was good at that, making people feel included. Looked like her brother was settling in. Wouldn't Evfra be pleased. He still didn't exactly care for Sara's continued existence, despite everything she, Sam and the Tempest crew had achieved. Just kinda swooped in and saved Heleus for ya, no biggie! That angaran could win the lottery and remain underwhelmed. Probably get suspicious of the credits and give them all away.

She continued over to the railings skirting round Aya's marketplace. Leaning over the edge slightly she took a peaceful breath. The view was changing everyday. Growing, terraforming, nurturing those who lived within it. It was barely a month since her previous visit, back when this was a little green bean on an otherwise mostly uninviting planet. It wasn't home here, but it sure made her appreciative of her team's work around Heleus. Avela was appreciative too, apparently her museum was attracting more footfall. Proudly, she had stated it was one of the first places people visited on their vesaal. Those seemingly random relics must have been worth it, Sara hadn't believed so when first tasked with their collection. One of the only museums she had visited was on Earth and to be fair there were a lot of cracked pots and rusty nails in the exhibits. Maybe it was more about the age of the thing rather than the thing itself? Or, more likely, it was about the discovery. The thrill of the unknown and piecing together the mystery. That was something Sara could fully appreciate. Or, even more likely, it was the little Milky Way exhibit that was newly opened...

A little over ten minutes had passed when Sara heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind her. She turned with a smile to greet a worried looking Jaal. Before she could vocalise her greeting, he was apologising.

"My apologies Sara, for arriving late, I was trying to... it was not my intention to keep you waiting..." he trailed off with a low rumble. Sara tried to mask a deep inhale, she really enjoyed the rumbling.

"Jaal, stop worrying, please? It was relaxing just to be here for a while." She took his hand, which even in this sun was wrapped up in a frankly adorable mitten, and turned back to the view. "Everything has been so fast paced since we arrived here, its a luxury to be waiting." Shifting her weight towards him she leaned back into his shoulder and he pressed his palm against her stomach. "Although if there's one thing that can improve on all of this, its this guy." She smiled and patted his forearm. It was so true. Sara didn't always realise how much she missed his touch until it came back.

"Then I am glad that I failed to procure your gift."

"Aw man!"

Jaal laughed and kissed the top of her head. "I am sure I will be able to think of something else to please you." Knowing exactly what he was referring to and subsequently feeling a little flush of heat on her cheeks, Ryder hid her face in his rofjinn. Sometimes Sara was sure he tried to make her blush on purpose. She made a mental note to return the favour another time. Well, attempt to.

It had been quite a while since the unlikely pair had explored each other by Aya's most beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately, there hadn't been much of an opportunity to revisit those feelings. There was definitely more to explore but there was also always somebody within earshot. Jaal made it known he had no issue in that regard, but Ryder couldn't bear that level of shame. Human nature strikes again. Assuming he was as attracted to her as she was to him, he must have found it quite frustrating to be told no so frequently. It wasn't something he had mentioned, which was unlike Jaal, he loved complaining. Still, maybe she owed him an apology? Now wasn't the time, but soon.

With a pleasant chuckle Jaal changed the subject, gently extracting Sara's head from his clothing. "Come, let us start our day together. We have clearance to travel as far as we wish." Sara and Jaal headed down into the newly growing wilds of Aya, to 'pathfind'. Sort of. They had offered their time to complete a preliminary risk assessment that would be completed later by a handful of Evfra's men. That's how the paperwork read.

Time was flying as the pair were clambering about the growing oasis. It seemed kinda lame to Sara to be having fun whilst, for all intents and purposes, just doing her job. In a less perilous capacity of course. Usually the peril was the fun part, when did she get so boring? Exploration was still a standard of her working day, but with just Jaal by her side and no real aim or target it did feel like they were doing something totally different. It wasn't exactly easy to match her usual pace out of her pathfinding gear, she kept getting scratched by over reaching plant life. Sara had chosen to leave her usual leather jacket and scarf with Scott at the bar, they were a poor choice for the warmth on Aya. It was still not ideal in the long sleeved Initiative uniform, but it was breathable and the sleeves rolled up easily.

"I take it nobody's relying on us to do this is in an official manner? Cause I'm not really paying attention. "Sara called down from a tree. Jaal pulled himself up behind her effortlessly, his strength made everything seem effortless. For somebody who had expressed hesitation when asked to climb a tree, Jaal was resting up on the branches with Sara in no time. He nestled down with back up against the trunk and his legs stretching out along a couple of thick, wide branches. "Unless I get bitten, poisoned or generally end up dead, I'm declaring this safe for Evfra's guys." Climbing trees was a favourite pasttime for the Ryder twins. They were both as bold as each other, resulting in plenty of heart stopping moments for their mother. One time, they had reached as high as the branches would allow. All of them were weakening and crackling under the young pair's weight. Still they attempted to continue, testing each step, snapping footholds that fell down to their worried mother. Sara remembered the moment she knew they had finally climbed too high. Scott was beside himself laughing. She looked over to find that he was clinging to a thin, vertical, twig of a branch which was swaying wildly ready to crack at any moment. Neither of them fell. A fact they regularly used in argument with Ellen.

Jaal laughed, extending a hand towards Ryder. "No, this is just for fun. In reality, our input is quite unnecessary to Evfra." He paused. "Are you? Having fun?" he asked, pulling her onto his lap to face him.

"Of course I am Jaal, this is great, have you not noticed all the smiling?" her words were sincere, but her voice came out hurried as she felt what Jaal had placed her on top of.

"I always notice the smiling, among other things. I like looking at you, watching you. I still find you fascinating." his words were calm and clear, as much as he confessed to not being confident, he certainly sounded it. One day Sara hoped she could be as at ease with her feelings as her boyfriend was, maybe then she wouldn't be so awkward in these situations. Maybe he just hadn't noticed what she was sitting on.

"I figured as much..." Sara thought of the number of times she had turned around to find Jaal pretending he wasn't watching her, or stumbled across him in an odd place. She clearly remembered sitting with Liam one evening discussing the Nomad. Tiredness caught her with a yawn, she sat up and stretched her arms to their limits. As she slowly opened her eyes she saw the sudden flick of a rofjinn over by the bathroom door. She narrowed her eyes curiously at Liam. He later confirmed that Jaal had been bending backwards, peeking round the bunks and had snapped back upright at the last minute. Stealthy.

"I like looking at you too Jaal, particularly your arms!" Embrace the awkward. She tried with both hands to encircle his upper arm, for this circumference she needed a third hand. "They're huge." He flexed a little, the muscles moving smoothly under her hands.

Jaal gave a little hmph. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? The others are quick to complain of my size, Peebee and Cora particularly." Sara looked up, recalling a few of the comments that she had been present for. By this reaction, they had obviously made him a little uncomfortable.

"Its definitely a good thing." she began carefully, hoping to fix any minor damage to his self confidence. "Human males would be jealous!" Liam may have to deal with some peculiar questions after this conversation. "They only complain in the Nomad, there isn't much room back there. Trust me, they've noticed in good ways too." Jaal returned her smile.

"Liam told me the same thing, but I wanted to check." I guess he had already handled the peculiar questions. Lord only knew what they discussed in her absence.

"If you're concerned about me finding you attractive Jaal, let me end that right now. As a species I see our differences, but I see many more similarities. Everything I see, I like." He seemed happy, but she always felt her words weren't enough. When Jaal spoke to her it was like romantic poetry, it sounded more sincere and flowed seamlessly. Whenever Sarah tried to compliment him or express her feelings, it was a mess. She put both hands on his chest and found a few better words. "Your eyes and your skin... its like staring into galaxies, like you're made of stardust." That was the most angaran way she could put it. It felt a little cheesy, but she knew he would love it.

Jaal smiled warmly and genuinely. Ryder twin #1 was learning some serious moves. Cupping her small face, Jaal closed the space between them and kissed her. He shuffled about and made space to recline further against the tree trunk drawing her with him, locked into the kiss. She let out a small relaxed moan as her body melted against his.

"Pathfinder" Sam buzzed into life in her head. Jaal's hands meandered down her back, she ignored Sam.

"Pathfinder, some of my faculties have been forced offline." Sara began to grind absent mindedly into Jaal as his hands reached lower. A zap of electricity jolted painfully through her.

"Sam?!" Grey spots greased over her vision and her head began to swim.

"Jaal?!" Another jolt, and the pathfinder was down.