It was broad daylight when Zace woke, feeling stiff from not moving all night. Ruusaan was rummaging through a cabinet, turning when Zace shifted to prop her chin on her hand.
"Jate'shya?" Ruusaan said, smiling. She left the cabinet and picked up a steaming mug, handing it to Zace. "Shig," she said.
Zace sat up and took the mug, taking a cautious sip. It was tangy, with a sweetish edge. She took another drink, relishing the unfamiliar flavor. "Mmm. Vor'e," she said, wondering what the word for "good" was. Ruusaan seemed to have gotten the message, for she smiled and turned back to the open cabinet, and Zace crossed her legs under the blanket and took a good look around.
The room she was in was modest in size but gave the impression of being terribly efficient. Drawers, shelves, and cabinets provided ample storage for all Ruusaan's medical equipment, and a door in the rear wall probably led to her bedroom. Ruusaan, frowning, shut the cabinet she was searching through and went through the back door, leaving it open. Zace could see what appeared to be another bed and more cabinets. Ruusaan opened a particularly tall one, and Zace almost spilled her shig. In it was a set of armor, not unusual in itself on a planet as far from civilization as this one seemed to be. What was unusual was the helmet with a familiar T-shaped eyeslit. Zace's stomach lurched. Mandalorians! All her life she'd heard tales of the Mandalorian reputation for ruthlessness, and now here she was, trapped on a planet with what seemed to be an entire clan of them! She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Surely they couldn't be all that bad. They had taken her in, fixed her nose, and gave her food and a place to sleep. She took another sip, her mind racing. Davrel. Davrel didn't seem ruthless. He had saved her. He hadn't slit her throat, or cut off her fingers one joint at a time, or… And Ruusaan. She could no more imagine Ruusaan with a blaster than-
Ruusaan came back into the room, bearing a stack of folded clothing. Zace opened her eyes and tried to look composed while the older woman set the pile on a countertop and held up the first item, a v-necked tunic identical to her own. She set it down and held up a pair of pants to match the tunic. She motioned for Zace to stand up, then held the pants up to her before handing both tunic and trousers to Zace. Zace took the bundle of clothes in one hand, still holding the mug in the other. Ruusaan shooed her into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Zace stared around helplessly before noticing the tub in the corner. She laid the clothes out on the bed and hurriedly drank down the rest of the shig, setting the empty mug on the floor before undressing and stepping into the shallow tub. There was a cloth and what seemed to be a bar of soap sitting beside the tub, and Zace took what was probably the shortest bath of her life, hurriedly drying off and throwing on Ruusaan's clothes, which hung loosely from her thin shoulders. Ruusaan was taller than she was, though she hadn't seemed it last night. She picked up her own clothes and opened the door cautiously, to be met by Ruusaan who handed her a carved bone comb and took the dirty clothes from her arms.
Zace smiled, said her one word of what was apparently Mandalorian, and sat back down on her bed to untangle her chin-length brown hair. It didn't take very long, and she was struggling to make a straight part with no mirror when Ruusaan reappeared and took the comb from her, parting her hair neatly down the center. Zace felt slightly out of place. Everyone she'd met was being so nice to her… she wasn't quite used to it, although she felt that it would be a nice thing to be able to get used to. Straightening up, Ruusaan produced a small plate of pastries from another cabinet, presenting them to Zace with the air of one introducing a delicacy. Zace took one and bit into it carefully. If anything, it was even better than the stew. She finished the entire plate and decided that she could quite happily die right now, clean, with a full stomach, and feeling ever so slightly at home.
Someone knocked at the door, and Ruusaan opened it to reveal Davrel, in his suit of dull emerald armor, with that helmet tucked under one arm. Zace's full stomach lurched slightly.
"Su'cuy, Ruusaan," he said. "Good morning, Zace."
Zace smiled, trying not to let her nerves show. "Good morning," she said politely.
He stepped inside, slipping off his boots. "Ruusaan thinks that fresh air is good for healing. Would you like to come with me this morning? Ner vode are practicing with beskade, and you may like to watch."
She wondered who ner vode was, and what exactly they would be practicing. "Um, yes. That would be nice."
Ruusaan held up one finger and spoke to Davrel. "She says that she will check the bacta patch first," he translated, "and leave it off if it looks well enough."
Zace nodded, and Ruusaan gently peeled off the patch. It didn't seem to hurt as much anymore, and she told Davrel as much. He nodded. "It heals well. Ruusaan says to leave it off this morning and she will look at it again later."
Zace smiled and bent over to slip on her boots, only to have Davrel kneel, setting his helmet on Ruusaan's spotless floor, and put them on for her. She blushed and tried not to look at him. Her gaze settled on Ruusaan, who gave her a knowing smile. She quickly looked back down, into Davrel's dark hair.
"Um, I really think I can manage-" she began, but he had already gotten to his feet.
"Ready?" he asked, smiling. She decided that discretion was the best course and simply nodded.
He led her to just outside the village, where several armored young men and, she noticed with surprise, women too, were gathered around a ring of trampled earth. Inside it, two fully-armored men were sparring fiercely with sabers, which she realized must be the beskad. She watched in interest as one caught the other's hilt with his saber point somehow, twisting it neatly out of the other's grasp. It flew shimmering into the air, to land point down embedded in the earth about five meters away. The now-saberless man put up his hands in a gesture of surrender, taking off his helmet. Zace recognized him as Davrel's friend from the day before. He barked something to the other man, grinning, before spotting Davrel.
"Dav!" he cried, walking to retrieve his saber. "K'olar bal ni muun'baji gar."
Davrel shook his head. "N'ibi'tuur, Orade. Ni ti Zace."
Zace looked up at him, guessing the question. "Oh, don't let me stop you. Go ahead."
He looked at her. "You are certain?"
She nodded. "I'd like to watch you."
He quickly slipped on his helmet. "Tion'ad me'dinuri val'kad?" he called.
The man who had disarmed Orade took off his own helmet and offered his saber hilt-fist to Davrel. He took it and hefted it, walking to a point midway between the center of the circle and the ring of onlookers. Orade replaced his helmet and took a position opposite him.
"Solus, t'ad, eyn, slana!" the crowd chanted. On the last syllable, the two men in the center blurred into motion. Zace had never seen anything quite like it. It was almost a dance, and quite beautiful, with the brightly-colored armor and the glitter of sabers in the bright morning sun. She was held breathless with anticipation as each came very close to what seemed like certain dismemberment, only to avoid it at the very last millisecond. She was so caught up in the drama of the moment that she only noticed that she had been yelling herself hoarse along with the rest after Orade's saber had performed a second shining arc in the air. Both men slipped off their helmets and clasped hands, and Davrel handed his saber back to its owner, collapsing on the grass beside Zace.
She sat crosslegged beside him. "That was amazing!" she gasped, her face alight. "Can you teach me?"
He laughed breathlessly, wiping his brow with a wrist. "Yes, I can. We will make a proper daughter of Mandalore of you yet!"
She didn't even flinch.
Dav watched Zace out of the corner of his eye. She was obviously enjoying the display of skill as pair after pair sparred. He willed himself to relax and simply enjoy the day, to watch the combatants instead of her… Rana and Keb were dueling now, Keb's long blonde braid hanging from the back of her helmet. The two women circled, feinting, dodging, engaging with a clash before whirling away to seek another opening. He sneaked a glance at Zace. She was watching the spectacle, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. He jumped back suddenly as Rana's saber spun through the air and landed right where he had been sitting. Rana laughed and said, "Watch it, Dav. That'd make your eyes water!"
He grinned, pulling it from the earth and offering it hilt-first to her. She sheathed it, removing her helmet and taking a spot next to Zace. "And this is your friend from the stars?" she asked, smiling at the girl.
"Yeah, this is Zace," he replied. Switching to Basic, he said, "Zace, meet Rana. Hello is su'cuy'gar."
"Su'cuy'gar, Rana," Zace said, grinning.
"Su'cuy, Zace," Rana said, sweeping her short dark hair from her eyes.
Zace turned back to Dav. "Can you tell her she's a very good fencer for me?"
Dav smiled. "Why don't you? It's Gar akaani ori'jate."
Zace carefully repeated the sentence, and Rana grinned, saying, "Vor'e."
Zace beamed excitedly. "Oh, I know! Um, ba'gedet'ye, right?"
Dav nodded. "You learn quickly."
The rest of the morning passed quickly, between watching the matches and teaching Zace some more of the language. She now knew you, I, and them, as well as fight, saber, armor, helmet, and I'll make your eyes water! She chattered incessantly about the swordplay over lunch at Ruusaan's.
"Can you really teach me, Dav? I don't think I'll be very good, but you and Rana are."
"Rana and I trained for years," Dav replied. "You will not be as good at first, but you learn Mando'a quickly, so perhaps you will learn the kad quickly too."
She nodded. "I hope so!"
Dav paused and seemed to be thinking. He opened his mouth, shut it, and compressed his lips. Zace raised her eyebrows, waiting.
"I do not mean to offend, but does that mean you are planning to stay here? There is a- ah, I mean, there are traders who come, and you are surely waiting to get back to your family…" His voice trailed off, and she sighed. She had known it was coming, sooner or later.
"Well, actually…" She laughed nervously. "Funny you should ask. I, um, don't really have a family to go back to. I hid on that ship to get away from CorSec. They don't really like orphans who borrow rich brats' fast speeders without permission."
Dav's face was a complete blank, and she felt her stomach sinking. She had blown it. The one chance she'd ever had, with people who genuinely seemed to care… Sure, N'karr and the other boys in his little gang of street kids cared, but they weren't- She couldn't bring herself to think the word. Not now. She'd been a fool to even entertain the idea.
Dav's mind raced. She didn't have a family; she couldn't go back; she was—she was looking positively stricken. "I'm sorry. I'll go-" she began, but he held up a hand, smiling.
"You stole-" he began.
"Borrowed," she corrected, looking slightly more hopeful. "Borrowed without permission, but with every intention of returning-"
"Fine, borrowed a speeder, was chased by CorSec, whoever they may be-"
"-Corellian security-"
"And ended up hiding on a cargo ship that lifted off with you still on it and then exploded?" She nodded sheepishly. "Zas'ika, that is the worst run of luck I have ever heard of. I'm not sure we want you to stay."
She opened her mouth, but realized he was joking. She raised an eyebrow. "Well, if that's really how you feel…"
Dav leaned his head back and shook with laughter. Zace mock-scowled and punched his arm, wincing as her knuckles hit his beskar shoulderplate. "So you think it's funny, do you?"
He wiped his eyes, serious now. "We have a saying, aliit ori'shya taldin. As close as I can say it in Basic, family is more than bloodline. If you choose, you have a family here." He glanced at Ruusaan, who was watching him carefully. He knew she couldn't have understood any of the conversation except for the proverb, but she had an uncanny way of almost being able to read his mind. She smiled, very slightly, and inclined her head, almost unnoticeably.
Zace stared down at her plate, not wanting Dav to see the tears welling in her eyes. He coughed uneasily. "Ah, I am sorry if I have offended you."
She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the lump. She blinked rapidly, looking up. "You idiot. Of course I want to stay." Her voice was rough but steady. Dav grinned widely, looking younger than usual. Ruusaan raised an eyebrow, smiling, and addressed Dav. He sobered, listening, and then turned to her.
"Ruusaan reminds me that I am young and impetuous, and that you are not a child to be taken and taught our ways. In this, becoming one of us, you receive our soul, and this is not to be taken lightly."
She gazed steadily into his golden-brown eyes. "Anything. I can't think of a thing I need more than a soul." His words had struck a chord in the empty space behind her collarbone, and she felt pricking at the corners of her eyes again. She dashed the back of her hand over her eyes and sniffed. Dav nodded.
"We can talk of this later, if you wish."
He seemed to be quite sensitive to her emotion, for a male. She looked back up, meeting his eyes once more. "No. Tell me what I need to do."