Leia inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of her surroundings. The village had smelt like herb trees and incense ever since their arrival and it seemed to permeate even the aromas of nature as she walked along the paths beside the little creek. It was so peaceful here that she could hardly remember why she was supposed to be in such a rush to leave.

The Hodan's were quiet, for the most of what she'd seen, and seemed to value a sense of serenity most of all. That was one of the reasons the her hunter-friend Chanko said that his people didn't like the group who'd kidnapped her and Han. They "fought against the harmony" he'd translated roughly.

The boy was no older than seventeen maybe, and had inherited a knowledge of Basic from his grandfather, who'd learned the tongue from anthropologists of the Old Republic when they'd studied the Hodans years ago.

It had been a relief to know that she would have some means of communicating with their hosts during their stay, but she also found listening to Chanko speak his native dialect to be fascinating. She hadn't yet picked up enough to carry on a conversation, but he had praised her on her mastery of the accent in so little time.

Han was healing quickly, and despite the initial thought of that being good news, it reminded Leia that they'd have to go back to reality soon. It was strange that throughout the little venture, she'd actually found herself not so much enjoying the experience– particularly in the more life threatening situations – but rather preferring it to her normal life. Did she hate her existence so much as to favor her own kidnapping?

Her eyes followed the path of the bank of the creek as she walked, and she saw not to far ahead of her a young boy no older than Anakin, rough housing with his brother in the water. She diverted her eyes, thinking of how much she wished Anakin would have that, how much she wished she hasn't robbed him of the opportunity.

She wanted so much right then to live in this kind of a place, simple and kind. A home that didn't require so much of a person, that just let you live. It was funny how she'd changed from all those years ago. She would never have even dreamed of living in such a place when she was a child, aspiring to places of high office, trying to help so many people in just one lifetime. But what was all that worth to her now? Was her unhappiness worth it all? She wasn't sure that the answer would make her any more content.

"Qué ond shet!" Leia heard a voice yell from behind her.

She turned to see a girl running up to her, Chanok not far behind. The young woman was sixteen at the oldest, with honey brown hair and a tan-pale complexion supporting green eyes. Her features were exotic, but it struck Leia that they weren't so in what could be considered an extravagant manner, they were simply pretty and kind.

Chanok overtook the girl in stride and they came up to Leia side by side.



Leia's hunter-friend took her hand between his, palm to palm and spoke a greeting. She remembered the expression and took her free hand, placing it on his cheek and repeating the phrase he'd taught her.

"This is Héna," he said, gesturing toward his companion. "She is my..." he searched for the Basic equivalent but appeared lost.

Leia tried to remember the relational system which he'd briefly explained before. The two didn't look genetically related so she made a much relieving assumption that she wouldn't have to recall any of the complex kinship terms he'd mentioned.

"Your wife?" she guessed. It was an unrelated and generic label which she wasn't sure would mean anything to him, but she could see he was a little embarrassed at being at a loss for words.

"Is close," he replied. "She wanted to prepare you for the festival tonight."

Héna smiled at Leia. "We wish you rest and to rejuvenate."

Leia wasn't so sure what that meant in the long run, but as long as the whole thing involved a bath, she was generally up for it. Besides, the rest and rejuvenation bit sounded rather appealing.

- - -

It was a few hours later that Leia emerged from Héna's hutt and the moons were rising up over the trees, adding to the illumination of the fires that were lit around the village. She could hear music echoing all around and a joyful spirit going with it. She felt a little silly in her outfit, but nonetheless in a good mood.

Héna had explained the importance of the rituals as she and three other girls attended to Leia. It annoyed her that they wouldn't let her do everything on her own. She had to deal with servants and the like on Hapes, and she didn't want to have to do so on this occasion, which was the closest thing she'd had to a vacation in years. However, the girls had been very explicit as to why they must clean her and dress her themselves.

The Hodans, apparently, value hospitality above almost all else, and find it to be an insult to the gods if they don't care for guests with the same kindness they would for a deity. Leia wasn't all to thrilled about the deity comparison, it wouldn't be the first time someone had made *that* analogy and it had never ended up well.

What was refreshing about all of the trouble they went to, was that after everything was said and done, they really hadn't done much. They put no paint on her face, no make-up, even the dress she wore was of simple tanned animal hide sewn together. She felt more restored and presentable than she ever had when in Hapan costumes and courtly gowns.

Judging by the look on Han's face as she approached him, he tended to agree.



"You look... wow, you look great." He sat next to a fire, propped up against pillows and a tree stump with a plate of fruit by his side. He had to consciously close his mouth and the action almost forced a giggle out of her.

"You look... better than you did," she replied, taking a seat next to him. It was the truth, he'd regained some of his coloring, and with any luck, he might have regained some of his blood.

"We've got ourselves a nice little tribe of doctors, if you ask me," he glanced over at her again, "and they ain't bad beauticians either."

Leia cracked a reluctant smile. "Apparently they would have considered it an insult if I didn't let them clean me up, so I did it out of courtesy."

"I'm not complaining." He took a bite out of some fruit and they both remained quiet as he chewed it.

Leia wondered how long this nice conversation would last as she watched the festivities. It wasn't even awkward, which, in itself, threw her for a loop. She couldn't let it go back to the way it had been, but if they kept going down the path they were traveling, he might venture again into the territory which she desperately wanted to shy away from. He almost brought it up that first day in the village, she could only hope he wouldn't do it again. She couldn't guarantee her ability to hold back so many truths that wanted to be told.

"We can't stay here much longer." She said, changing the subject quickly.

"I know," Han replied, his tone solemn. He seemed to have grown attached to the place as Leia had. "We're not going to do these people any good."

"Chanko told me of an outpost a few kilometers from here that has a comm unit you could modify. It transmits regularly so you could send it out as static and it won't cause any alarm."

"So tomorrow then?" he asked.

"If you're up for it."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be..."