"So, how was Athenas, killers? I heard it's quite a beautiful place." Lilith asked the other Vault Hunters, as they all lounged around the crew's quarters, seemingly wanting to play a game of cards of sorts.
"A very nice place, too bad for the Maliwan bastards lying about." Moze replied to her as she distributed the cards to the others.
"Them Maliwan ships are ruining the scenery, we had to do something about them feckers." Zane took a swig from his bottle.
"I suppose Maya could tell you more than us but..." Amara worriedly glanced from her place to the couch where Lilith was seated. "Is she really..?" she frowned.
The Firehawk nodded. "Yep, she's sound asleep." she smiled down at the blue haired woman dozing off with her head on her legs, an open and discarded book lied on Maya's lap. "I don't blame her."
Lilith tangled her hand on Maya's long blue locks, stroking them gently, not wanting to wake her up, the other woman didn't even stir at the motion, she was out cold.
She had spotted Maya lying down on one of the couches in the crew's quarters, completely engrossed in a book like she always used to during quiet times, ever since they met, she had asked if she could join her, so she sat down as well, and Maya decided that she wasn't feeling like sitting up to read, and kept lying down, this time using Lilith's legs as a pillow.
She must have fallen asleep sometime after, and Lilith did not feel like disturbing her so she just sat there, the rest of the Vault Hunters just joined in later, so she started talking to them to pass the time.
"She has been fighting those Maliwan soldiers to defend her planet far longer than us, and alone, impressive certainly, but even the strongest beings can get tired." Fl4k commented the scene.
"Honestly, I feel like the whole oath of non-violence of the monks is just an excuse. Remember the ECHO we found?" Moze snorted.
Amara nodded at her. "One of the monks was the culprit behind this attack, he called Maliwan to invade the planet, it wasn't the Calypso's doing this time."
"He had said something about wanting to get the monastery back, his words were very hostile towards our new Siren friend." the Beastmaster slid the recording towards Lilith, who put it in her own ECHO and and listened to it, making sure to lower the volume.
She had a permanent frown as she listened, clearly not happy of what she was hearing, she had one hand holding the device close to her ear, and the other still petting Maya's head.
"I can't believe they would still be doing this kind of things, stabbing her in the back again, over and over..." she half-growled as she put the ECHO down on the table.
"What do you mean commander?" the robot asked, their companions glanced at her, equally confused.
Lilith glanced again at the sleeping woman in her lap. "It is something that happened even before Maya and I met years ago, before she even came to Pandora, but... I don't think I should be the one telling you about this."
"It's personal, isn't it?" the Firehawk just nodded at the Gunner's statement.
"Very, only a few people between the Raiders know about this even. I'd say to have Maya listen to this recording, then she will decide what to do, and what to say. This is a matter that only she should solve, that monastery is her home after all, and, if she'll need help she'll say it."
Lilith sighed heavily. "I feel so bad for her still..." the Vault Hunters didn't dare to press the issue further though, wanting to respect their fellow Siren friend and her secrets. Everyone had it's own demons after all.
She kept stroking Maya's hair as she still slept, finding the motion quite soothing for her nerves too. "For now it would be best to let her rest up, she needs it, everyone does, and we've got to use all of these small occasions of peace to the fullest to recover."
The others just nodded at her words, they also knew how important it was to be able to stop and just breathe, even for a little bit, every second mattered, tired people made mistakes, and in their world, mistakes meant a grim fate, a death sentence in most cases.
Silence feel over them, no one meant for this to become such a heavy conversation, they were here to chill for a bit, away from the constant conflict going on planetside.
Zane coughed, gaining everyone's attention. "So... are we going to resume playing or what?"
"Ah sure." Moze replied, a little startled.
"Do you want to play too sister?" Amara glanced at Lilith as she took her own cards.
The Firehawk just shook her head. "I'll pass, this time, I'll just watch."
She was way too engrossed with petting Maya after all, she was starting to like her new long hair, well, like them more than what she already did, and she was pleased to see that the other woman wasn't bothered in the slightest and just kept sleeping, small snoring sounds coming out from her mouth every now and then. She looked somewhat like a purring lazy cat, certainly, she was just as cute.
Amara giggled at the sight. "Don't you all think that there's something sweet between those two?"
The statement made everyone laugh as well, and Lilith did not feel like contradict them, at all, if not she agreed, and she wasn't afraid to show her weak spot for Maya, and she didn't care if it ended up in constant teasing or something, she was content in having her by her side again after so long, they had been close before, and they weren't going to stop now, regardless of what other people thought of them.
"Maybe..." she grinned.