The city market was much larger than Tiny had even imagined. When she had walked through it the first time, she had only seen what was along the street on the way to the apartment. Now that Caesyn wasn't trying to keep her so hidden he lead her up and down city blocks in all sorts of directions. The market just seemed to go on an on.
He didn't seem to have any intended direction. He just lead her from one interesting thing to another. He would explain to her how one thing worked or what another thing was used for, but after a while, Tiny felt herself trying less to understand things and more just watching and listening in awe. There were so many interesting and exciting things here, so much of a world she knew very little about. Her excitement never wavered throughout the entire day.
She wasn't sure if the day had really been as short as it seemed, or if the time just slipped away because she forgot to notice, but as they had sat for a short time outside a little food stand, Tiny began to notice that the sun was being blocked by the streetside buildings. Without the light directly on her, it seemed to get rather chilly in a hurry.
Tiny pulled her little capelet around her tighter and placed her free hand between her thighs as she ate the last tidbits on her plate. Her little mask was handy in the fact that it would come loose at the bottom without having to totally remove it, so she could remain hidden and still be able to eat behind the veil. She tightened it back once she was finished and looked up at Caesyn to see if he was done as well. She caught his eyes just in time to see them flick away back off to looking at nothing in particular.
She smiled behind her veil, feeling a little smug about him not being able to see her expressions. He was staring at me again.
"All finished?" Caesyn asked as he straightened himself in his chair.
She nodded and stood as he seemed to be getting ready to leave.
"Well I suppose we had better be getting back. It's going to be getting pretty cold here shortly."
Tiny tried not to look too disappointed. She wanted to see more and keep exploring, but she didn't want to seem ungrateful so she just nodded.
"Hey don't look so sad. We'll come out again."
"Oh, I'm not sad," she said trying to seem encouraging. "I've had a wonderful time. The best time really."
Caesyn gestured for her to follow him and they headed off back down the alleyway.
"It isn't hard to tell what you are feeling you know, you kind of wear your emotions on the outside."
Tiny had to think about that for a moment. "You mean, like, on my face?"
"Yeah, your face, the way you hold your body, that kind of thing. Sometimes the way you go about it is a little hard to understand, but I guess that has to do with where you came from. But still, you are a very expressive person."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Caesyn nodded to his right as they reached another street intersection and she followed.
"No, it's not a bad thing, it's just the way you are. Course I guess that means you don't lie very well." Caesyn grinned at her with some amusement.
"But, I wasn't lying, not really, I did have a good time, I just didn't want to seem disappointed about going home when you have let me have such a good day." Tiny began to feel a little worried. She didn't want him to think that she would lie to him, especially after she had waited so long to tell him about the people that were after her.
Caesyn laughed again. "It's ok Tiny, I'm just picking on you. I guess that doesn't go over well through a translator either. Besides, people do that kind of thing all the time. It's called a white lie. It's something not necessarily truthful, but you say it for someone elses benefit."
The concept wasn't something she was able to grasp right away.
"I don't see how it can be to someone elses benefit to be deceived."
Caesyn averted his eyes for a moment and all the amusement fell from his face.
Oh no, is he thinking about when I hid the truth from him on the ship. He barely talked to me that entire day after I confessed to him.
But his odd expression didn't linger long. "Well like what you were doing before, you didn't want me to have to worry about you being sad about going home so you said that you weren't."
"I suppose I see what you mean." He has to know I won't hide anything from him like that again. "But you said you always like to know about problems so you can know how to better fix them. I think I'll just stick to the truth. It seems much more simple than trying to figure out when it is ok to lie."
Caesyn laughed softly. "Well when you put it that way it certainly does sound like the better course of action."
Caesyn came to a stop at the next street corner. "Ah, here we are. I just wanted to show you where we are going to go tomorrow, that way you have something to look forward to."
Tiny looked up at the massive building and then found herself pointing impulsively to the sign that hung outside. Caesyn just laughed and resumed walking.
"What's in there? Why is there a Twi'lek on the sign?"
"That is called a department store. It's kind of like the market, only all pressed in to one building so you can find things easier."
Tiny skipped along sideways trying to face him as they walked. She was eagerly awaiting the answer to the second part of her question, but he seemed to have forgotten about it.
"And…? And, the Twi'lek?" She finally asked.
"Oh the sign? That's just to advertise the store. It's pretty common to use attractive people on signs and other advertisements. I guess so people get the impression that if you shop there you will be as good looking as the person in the ad."
Tiny turned around and walked backwards for a moment while she looked at the sign.
"But I haven't even seen any Twi'leks on this planet. Why advertise to a species that isn't here?"
Caesyn looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. "Just because there aren't Twi'leks here doesn't mean people don't still want to look like one."
None of this made any sense to her so she eventually tested another theory. "Are there Twi'leks inside?"
"Not that I saw, but they do have a lot of clothes that will fit Twi'leks, which is why we will be coming back tomorrow so we can find you something else to wear."
Tiny looked down at her clothes. "Are these not ok?"
"They are fine Tiny, just most people don't wear the same clothes every day. If nothing else we need to get you something so you don't have to wear a blanket while you do laundry. Besides, come to think of it, you don't even have socks or… underwear."
"I had underwear," she said staring down at the sidewalk stones. She didn't mean to seem pouty, but it wasn't her fault. Caesyn cut them in half after her room caught on fire. Not that it was his fault either.
"Hey, don't sweat it, I thought you would be excited. Girls generally like shopping for new clothes."
Tiny only lifted her head a little and looked sideways at him. "But I like these."
Caesyn chuckled at that. "No one is saying to get rid of them. You can still wear them whenever you want. You just need a few more outfits so you can change from time to time. That and so you don't have to do laundry every day."
"But you wear the same thing every day."
"Not exactly, I just have many shirts and pants that look exactly the same."
So that's how he does it! And here I thought his species just didn't get dirty or something.
"Don't worry, you'll have fun I promise."
They reached the apartment just as the sun had disappeared entirely. Causing them both to enter their home shivering. Inside it was nice and warm though as the climate controls kept it optimal all the time.
Tiny sprung onto the couch and kicked her boots off after unclasping them. Then pulled out her datapad to resume her self educating. She looked up a few times as she did so to see what Caesyn was doing, but after putting away a few things they had picked up from the market, he just came to sit down in the chair across from her. His attention was, likewise, quickly absorbed into his holopad.
She suddenly remembered the veil on her face and removed it. She held it fondly in her hands for a moment. It was such a silly thing, wearing something on your face. But she kind of liked it. Besides the fact that it let her go outside and have such a wonderful time, it was pretty. Maybe tomorrow when we find new clothes I can find something else pretty to wear.
She thought back to when Caesyn had told her she was a very pretty purple. Maybe he would like to see me in something pretty.
She set the little veil down and picked her datapad back up. She needed to find something in the translation before Caesyn got too involved in whatever he was doing. He was always so good to her, she wanted him to know how much it really meant.
"Caesyn?" She asked, and waited for him to look up at her. Then she read from the datapad sounding out the words as best she could. "Th-ank yoo… for a won-der-fil…. day."
He smiled wide enough to make his eyes squint a little. "It was my pleasure Tiny."
It wasn't long before both of them were yawning and struggling to stay awake. The short night and day lengths were wreaking havoc on their sleep cycles. Caesyn eventually stood up and walked over to the bed. Tiny tried not to seem like she was paying him any attention, but she was secretly hoping he would go to bed first so she could climb in next to him. She slept so much better with him near by and she didn't want to risk him deciding to sleep on the couch if she got in the bed first. Sure enough, he kicked his boots off and laid out along the bed.
"Are you going to sleep?" Tiny asked while peeking over the back of the couch.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I figured I'd lay down and see where it got me, but I don't think my brain knows what an appropriate bed time is anymore."
"Between sleeping on a ship with no day and night, and then here, with short days and nights, I would just think you should sleep whenever you get tired." She said still, watching him. He laid there with one arm draped over his eyes, kind of like the first time she had seen him sleeping.
"That sounds pretty sensible when you put it like that. Oddly enough, it doesn't always turn out to be that simple."
He was silent for some time and barely moved so she decided it was as good a time as any. We slept in the same bed last night, that means its ok... right?
She stretched and yawned with perhaps a slight bit of exaggeration, then got up and grabbed a little stool from under the kitchen table to put beside the bed. She wanted something to set her datapad on so it would be closer, just in case he wanted to talk. He didn't stir the whole time she was setting it up on her side of the bed and continued to remain still as she carefully climbed into bed and slid herself under the covers.
She had just gotten comfortable and allowed herself to exhale when his head rolled to the side to face her and his eyes lazily opened.
He is awake, or did I just wake him up?
"You fading too huh?" He said wearing a smirk on his face.
She waited for him to mention the couch or to get up and leave her in the bed alone, but he just centered his head on his pillow and let out a heavy sigh before closing his eyes again.
Is that it? This is ok? Tiny tried not to let her victorious smile linger too long on her face.
"Yes, fade ing," she said in Basic. "Soon crash."
Caesyn looked at her again briefly, and with a smile and a nod resumed his sleeping endeavour.
Tiny watched him for a moment before closing her own eyes and nuzzling into her pillow. It didn't take long for her to drift away as she was lured to sleep by the soft and steady breathing of her newest friend, just a hand's reach away.