AN: Nope, still don't own Star Wars, but Solo is still awesome.
"A Unique Kind of Human"
By EsmeAmelia
There was something different about this human.
Beckett, Val, and Rio had gone to sleep, but the human called Han who had saved Chewie's life remained awake, staring into the fire as if deep in thought. Chewie – he was already used to that nickname even though the human had only given it to him earlier today. Why was that?
It had been years since any human had treated Chewie like an equal. When the Empire rose, the Emperor declared Wookiees to be animals only good for slave labor. Chewie shuddered slightly, trying not to think about how he had been forced to eat prisoners, but the memories came anyway. He'd been treated like a savage beast and he'd acted like a savage beast – but what were his options when they beat him and starved him?
"Hey, you okay?"
Han was looking at him now, the firelight highlighting his youthful features. In Wookiee years, he would still be a child, but even in human years he was barely into adulthood. Why was someone so young already an outlaw?
[I'm fine,] said Chewie. [I was just . . . thinking.]
"Bout what?" asked Han. "How you tried to eat me?"
Chewie flinched, and the human instantly seemed to realize that he'd hit a sensitive spot. "Hey, don't worry, I ain't mad about it."
[I ate others . . .] Chewie found himself saying, maybe because he didn't want to keep secrets from this human.
Han's eyes widened and he gulped, but he still didn't appear too surprised. "Well . . . they were starvin' you," he said in a low voice, as if he were trying to reason it out to himself. "You didn't exactly have much of a choice."
[Would you have eaten other sentient beings if you were the one kept down there?]
Han went back to staring at the fire. "I dunno. I don't exactly have the claws and fangs necessary for that, but I damn well know what it's like to be hungry. Back on Corellia, Lady Proxima had a rule: if you don't deliver, you don't eat."
[Lady Proxima?]
Han blew a cloud of air out of his mouth, his breath merging with the fire's smoke. "She was a gangster who rounded up street urchins to steal for her. After my parents died, I was left wandering the streets and begging for spare change, any spare change, till Proxima's goons found me. At that point, I was willin' to do just about anything for a meal." His voice softened. "Hunger gnaws away at you until you barely know who you are anymore."
Chewie reached over and ruffled the human's scruffy hair. [I'm sorry.]
Han just kept staring into the fire as if his mind were somewhere far away.
Chewie cleared his throat. [And, the girl you want to go back to? Was she one of Lady Proxima's street urchins too?]
"Yeah," said Han. "Qi'ra and me found each other and kinda started leanin' on each other for survival. We'd split the goods we stole to make sure we both got to eat." He swallowed. "After this job, I'm gonna buy us our own ship and we'll make a new life for ourselves. Maybe even start a family, who knows?" He gave Chewie a crocked grin. "Maybe we'll even come visit you after you find your friends and settle into wherever you settle."
Now Chewie was the one staring into the fire and watching the sparks leap out as they crackled. [I don't know where we can settle. After the Empire took Kashyyyk, the Wookiees who could escape scattered.]
"Huh," said Han. "Guess it's safe to say that the Empire doesn't like either of us."
[No, they don't.]
Han was smiling a bit, perhaps thinking about the girl he'd left on Corellia. He seemed so sure that not only would she be there when he returned, but that she would instantly jump on his ship and fly away with him. It didn't even seem to enter his mind that she might not be there or that she might have gotten together with someone else. Chewie found himself pitying the young human and his innocence.
[So,] Chewie asked after a few minutes, [how did you learn Shyriiwook?]
Han chuckled a little. "At the Imperial Academy, believe it or not. Well, kinda. See, in one of my classes they taught about 'useful' species – meanin' species that made good slaves. Wookiees were one of 'em, and I thought they were kinda cool, 'specially how they had this whole language in their growls. So even though I wasn't s'posed to, I looked up archival stuff on the HoloNet and started learnin' the language. I'm pretty good at learnin' languages."
[You must be,] said Chewie. [Most humans can't pick up the subtleties in our language. However . . .] He let out a snicker. [. . . your accent leaves a lot to be desired.]
"Hey, I got human vocal chords, ya know. Still got us outta there."
For some reason, that statement caused them both to burst into chuckles, only stopping when Beckett groaned in his sleep.
[You know,] Chewie said, consciously softening his voice, [hundreds of years ago, I would have been expected to owe you a life debt after you saved my life.]
"Life debt?" Han asked, cocking his head and raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"
[I would have been expected to stay by your side and protect you for the rest of your life or the rest of my life, whichever of us died first.]
"The rest of our lives?" Han's exclamation caused Beckett to groan in his sleep again. "What the hell's up with that? Sounds like slavery to me."
[Well, why do you think it faded out of practice?] Secretly, though, Chewie was thinking that there would certainly be worse ways to spend his life than by this human's side, but if he did that it would be his choice.
"I don't get why it went into practice in the first place," grumbled Han. "Sides, I think that was a mutual life-saving. We saved each other, so we're even."
[I can agree with that,] said Chewie, inhaling the cold, crisp air as he ruffled Han's hair again.
"Hey!" Han exclaimed. "Why do you keep doin' that?"
[Because it's a sign of friendship among Wookiees.]
Han ran his hand through his hair in a vain attempt to neaten it. "Okay, yeah, we're friends."
[Anyway,] said Chewie, [we've got a big day tomorrow, so you should probably get some sleep.]
"What about you?"
[I'll take the first watch and wake someone up in a few hours to take over guard duty.]
"Fine," said Han, scooting down to a lying position and curling up under the blanket in which he was wrapped. "Just don't wake me up – I like my beauty sleep."
[What about your guard shift?]
"Already took it," said Han, shaping his pack into a makeshift pillow. "Not my fault that you were up with me."
Chewie couldn't help but laugh. This human was a crafty one.
"By the way," Han continued. "That whole showering-together thing – it ain't gonna become a regular thing, right?"
Chewie shrugged. [We both wanted to get the mud off and there was only one shower stall, so why force someone to wait?]
"Okay, yeah, I get the logic there, but humans ain't exactly as comfortable bein' naked in front of people as Wookiees are, so that was a one-time thing, got it?"
[Yes,] Chewie said with another chuckle. [Now go to sleep.]
"Fine." Han closed his eyes. "Night, Chewie."
[Good night.]
It only took a few minutes for Han to fall asleep, his snores blending with the fire's crackling. The chilly breeze brushed through Chewie's fur as he gazed down at the human who had somehow managed to become important despite the fact that Chewie had only known him for a day. After ruffling Han's hair again, Chewie covered him with one of the spare blankets – after all, since Han didn't have fur, he could use an extra layer of warmth.
For some reason, Chewie had a feeling that their bond wouldn't end after this job was over.
THE END