Chapter Seventeen: Compromises

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nichyn answered Lera's smile with his own as he passed her in the hallway. "Hello, Lera. I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

As usual, Lera had spent much of the day with Shanya and Nichyn. She talked with the former and had taken to helping the latter with some of his academics. Not long after Arelyk returned from school, however, she had left to help her mother prepare dinner. And since then, Nichyn had watched with some interest as Arelyk threw a rare, explosive fit of temper.

"Yeah, well, the food's in the oven," Lera said now. "Actually, I thought I'd invite you and Arelyk over for dinner. My parents wanted t-to thank you f-for, um—you know." Over a week after her near-drowning, Lera still wouldn't talk about it. "Plus, th-they've only really met you that one time."

Nichyn was quick to notice that Arelyk had also been invited. "I think Arelyk's 'grounded'. That is the correct term, right?"

Lera nodded at his word usage, but then frowned. "What? Why?"

He gestured for her to follow him to the kitchen. "He got…upset earlier. He yelled and threw things around—with his mind. Shanya said he 'won't be leaving this house for a week.' I assume she will remain firm in her punishment."

"D-do you know what got him so upset?" She glanced up at the ceiling, as if she could see into Arelyk's room. By her increased stutter, it seemed she had a dawning idea.

"I believe it had something to do with…" Nichyn decided to lie when he saw Lera's guarded expression. "That is, with final exams." Well, they had come up. Arelyk had been studying underwater lifeforms for his science exam when he exploded.

"H-he isn't exactly a scholar," she agreed, almost weakly.

"So I gathered." Especially when it came to being reminded about how his best friend almost died.

"Well," she said, "i-if he actually used the Force to throw stuff, there's no way Shanya will let him come over. She's—she's big on self-control." Lera's expression sank briefly before she looked back at him. "Well, do you want to come, then?"

"Well…" Yes. But did she really want him there?

"I promise neither Mom nor I are horrible cooks," Lera quickly told him. He didn't know why she'd assume otherwise. "I mean, Dad does it most of the time, but we can make good pasta. Really. Y-you can't burn pasta."

"If you're sure…"

"Of course I am." Lera grinned as her hesitancy left. "I think you'll like my dad. He's a big advocate of men's rights here in Crala. You could talk to him about NLY." For a second, she froze, as if just remembering something. "But…m-maybe you shouldn't. I—I mean…I d-don't know if—uh, if—"

"That's all right. I will… I'm sure there will be other topics for discussion."

Lera smiled, relieved. "Okay. I just—um. Dinner's in half an hour. Why don't you tell Shanya you're coming over to my house tonight? We can walk over together, then."

"Do you want me to ask her if she'll let Arelyk off the hook?"

The girl seemed to think about it for a moment before she shook her head. "Nah." She smiled. "Tonight can be your night. Arelyk's probably eaten enough Verili pasta for a while."

He nodded before walking away. When she couldn't see, his smile grew.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Dinner did not go well—by any measure.

As soon as Nichyn walked through the door, he knew he'd stumbled upon the explanation of Shanya and Timmis' shared looks. The reason Zuleika always dramatically rolled her eyes when Lera spoke excitedly about her parents.

Hallis and Jamut Verili did not act like Timmis and Shanya. Jamut had, apparently, arrived "late" for supper. Hallis sniped at him, and used the dinner as an excuse. Jamut rolled his eyes, and told his wife to "play nice with the guests." Although they managed from that point on to keep up a civilized veneer, the air was charged with words unsaid.

Lera looked torn between apologizing, crying, and running off.

The conversation between husband and wife was terse; the overall atmosphere unbearably tense. Lera tried to start up conversation a few times, but after repeated failure, she sank into her chair. On her plate, food was pushed around but remained uneaten.

Nichyn wished he knew an appropriate excuse for leaving the table. He wished he knew how to say anything that wouldn't cause more trouble. He wanted to get away from the lafit dinner, and he wanted Lera's parents to stop making her miserable. He accepted and ate the dessert only because he didn't want to see the silent bragging in Jamut's eyes.

Escape finally came, but not for Lera. "I-I'd better s-stay and c-cl-clean up," she told him. Her face flushed scarlet, and she wouldn't look him in the eye. "I-I'm s-so s-so-sorry a-about this, I-I really… Th-they p-promised…"

Their conversation was interrupted by Hallis and Jamut's yelling, and Lera flinched. "I-I'll see you t-tomorrow," she muttered. Barely waiting for his reply, she closed the door in his face.

That had been two hours ago.

The yelling had escalated, and Shanya and Timmis had given up on their surreptitious glances. They now watched intently from the side window, a deep frown marking both of their faces. Nearby, Arelyk sat on the floor. He was pretending to play a card game, but he hadn't flipped a card in fifteen minutes. No one called him on it. Certainly, Nichyn was too tense to make a remark.

Finally, a door slammed violently, and Nichyn heard a speeder roar into the distance. The following quiet was marked by the argument, but slowly the Rym parents moved away from the windows. Only the rain broke the silence.

"They do this a lot," Arelyk explained after a moment. "Fight, then eventually make up and pretend it's okay. Lera'll be… It's over, for now."

"They wouldn't—they don't involve her in their fight, do they?" Nichyn asked. It had been one of his more prominent fears.

"Physically? No. They'd never lay a hand on her." The sandy-haired boy regarded Nichyn solemnly. "Never. I don't know what it was like, on your planet, but—Lera's parents love her. They just can't stand each other, sometimes. A lot of sometimes."

"She shouldn't have to—"

"Why do you think she's over here so much?" Arelyk interrupted. "Besides the fact that Mom, you, and I are here, I mean. She likes it here. Mom and Dad love her like their own, too."

Nichyn sat across from Arelyk on the floor.

"She'll be here a lot more, now." His foster brother looked down at the cards. "Give her some time to get herself together before you go see her—she won't thank you for walking in on her crying. I'd go, but…she knows she can always come to me."

"And you're grounded."

Arelyk frowned. "Do you think I wouldn't be out there in a second, if I thought she needed me? We've done this many times before, Nichyn. She'll come."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Despite Arelyk's assurances, Nichyn waited just under an hour before he left to find Lera. Arelyk may have done this before, but he hadn't. Nichyn wasn't about to just assume Lera was alright. Maybe in a few years, when he knew her better, but not yet. When he realized where Nichyn was going, Arelyk had simply told him to invite Lera back to watch some holo-net.

Nichyn planned to knock on the front door and then enter whether or not someone answered the door. In this case, however, it wasn't necessary. Lera stood in her front lawn and in the rain. She must have changed since he left the house, because she wore lounge pants and a t-shirt. Neither clothing article had saved her from being soaked to the bone.

Nichyn approached her carefully, but with growing concern as he took in her appearance.

"Lera? What are you—"

She rubbed her arms numbly, but didn't look at him. "They both left," she told him, almost under her breath.

"Your parents?"

She nodded and closed her eyes. Her soaked hair strung around her neck and made wet marks on her camisole.

"What happened?"

"They fought." Sighing, Lera looked up at him. "But you probably heard that. Dad took the speeder and raced off at twice the speed limit. Mom strode out of the house a few minutes later."

"And now?" He pointedly looked at her drenched appearance. "How long have you been out here?"

She frowned. "Since a little after they left. A…half an hour, maybe?"

Nichyn ran a hand over his face, and realized that already he was nearly as wet as her. "Lera…"

"I'm waiting for them." Her teeth chattered. "I'm not going inside until they come back."

"Alright." He took off his jacket and said, "Take this. You're freezing." His shirt offered minimal protection, but Nichyn was used to poor weather. Gallinore could not even conceive the strength of a Na'Lein storm.

She looked at the sweater for a long moment before taking it hesitantly. "I'm waiting," she insisted.

"So am I." He helped her pull on the sweater, taking her wet hair out of the neck. The cotton would get drenched quickly, but at least her arms were covered.

"What for?" she asked, staring out at the road.

"For you. For everything," he added.

Her frown lessened briefly. "Then you can stay."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Another thirty minutes passed before Arelyk ran out, a parka protecting him from most of the rain. "What are you guys doing?" he called as he stopped in front of them. "Lera, you look like you just—" He stopped before he said drowned. "You're soaking wet." Glancing up at Nichyn, he added, "And you don't look a whole lot better."

"I'm waiting," Lera whispered through chattering teeth.

Arelyk's expression softened, became more tentative. "I heard your parents, Ler. I'm sorry."

"They left." As she spoke, Nichyn noticed that her lips were turning a little blue.

"Come on inside, then," Arelyk said, taking her by the arm. "We'll get you warmed up, and you can wait by the fire. You don't look so good."

She jerked her arm back. "I don't feel so good, either, Arelyk."

Arelyk shot Nichyn an annoyed look. Well, as annoyed a look as ever Arelyk gave. "Aren't you going to help?" he asked. Under his breath, he added, "She can't stay out here. She'll get sick or something."

The dark-haired teen stared at him. "Didn't you hear her? We're waiting."

"The cold's gotten you, too?" Arelyk shook his head. "You can wait inside. There's nothing wrong with the dry inside."

Lera stared down the road, through the rain, searching. Nichyn looked at her feet and saw that the puddles had soaked her feet, and he worried.

"I'm waiting," she whispered, lips trembling.

"I'm not leaving her," Nichyn warned his foster brother.

Arelyk looked to the clouds. "This is going to turn into a storm, though."

Nichyn scowled at him. "Go back inside, Arelyk. She isn't leaving until her parents get back."

The blond fought internally, but he recognized the stubbornness in Nichyn's stance and the desperation in Lera's. "She can't stand around in the rain for much longer, Nichyn. Not in what she's wearing."

Lera wrapped her arms around herself, but she didn't speak.

"I'll take care of her," Nichyn told the other teen. "Na'Lein storms are worse than this. Get back inside."

Obeying, Arelyk made it very obvious that he was reluctant, glancing back every step. Nichyn ignored him.

"It's…cleansing," Lera muttered. "The rain."

"It is." Nichyn looked up at the sky. "But you don't need it," he added softly. If she heard him, she didn't reply, but only shivered. Stepping closer, he rubbed her arms firmly, trying to make sure she stayed warm.

She dropped her arms and leaned back, just a little.

As Arelyk had predicted, the rain turned into a storm. Nichyn kept an eye and ear out for the thunder and lightning. When the storm got too close, he knew they would have to leave, waiting or not.

Lera whispered a count under breath between lightning and thunder. When she counted only to three, she sniffled, sobbed, and turned around, throwing her arms around Nichyn's waist. Wrapping his arms around her, he tried to comfort her, however awkwardly.

"Why don't they come back?" she cried, her shoulder shaking as much from her sobs as from the cold.

He had no answer; this world was too different for him to know.

Ten minutes later, the lightning was too close, and he ushered Lera into the Rym house. She stayed in front of the fire all night, not letting Nichyn out of her sight until she fell asleep on the couch.

Her parents—a few hours apart—returned a day later, when Lera's cold had just started.

They'd left her waiting too long.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Lera woke up, and immediately knew it was going to be a bad day. Her "early" morning free write ended up going on for pages in unintelligible scribble. Her head ached, and she went through twenty tissues in just as many minutes. Of her parents, only her father was home. He remained silent and resigned through breakfast.

Mostly, she knew it would be miserable, because the sun was out. Blaringly humid, with the bugs out early and ready to…well, bug people…it was the kind of day under which Lera wilted. She'd wish for rain, but her normal reaction to it would probably worry Arelyk and Shanya.

(Nichyn would get it, though.)

Lerasina?

She was up in her room, trying to write, when the voice interrupted her thoughts. Lera jumped before recognizing it as the one from…

"H-hello?" she half-whispered as she looked around her room. "Is—is s-someone there?"

Hello, Lerasina.

"Um, I-I don't suppose y-you could—uh—show up, somehow? So I know I'm not going crazy?"

"Of course, I'm sorry." Slowly, a man appeared several feet in front of her. Lera blinked. "It's—no one's been able to see or hear me before this, so I never thought… I apologize."

A sneeze cut off any questions she might have. "Ugh, excuse me." Turning away, she blew her nose quickly. Cold medicine, unfortunately, seemed to take forever to start working. "Y-you—uh—caught me mid-cold. Um… D-do you—uh—take a seat?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine." The man stared at her, uncertain.

Okay, so he wasn't about to start the conversation. "Who are you?"

"My name is Devnos Klis. I'm—that is, I am Sanar's brother."

She frowned a moment before it clicked. "Nichyn's uncle?" He did have a basic resemblance of her friend.

"Yes. Of course, you know him better."

"If you're…in…Gallinore, why isn't Nichyn living with you?" It may have been the cold, but she couldn't seem to really make him out.

"Having a severely limiting case of dead." That seemed to settle something in his mind. Before Lera could adjust to the fact that there was a ghost in her bedroom, Devnos continued. "Lerasina—"

Surprisingly, all she could think to say was, "Call me Lera."

"Lera, you're the only person I've been able to contact since my death. I've been…blocked from the people I need to reach."

"Why me?" she asked. She stared at him, stunned. "I-I mean, I'm just—I'm m-me. N-nothing special."

"I don't know why. But—please, it's my sister. Sanar, she's…" He swallowed convulsively. "I—I can't warn her. But…Prophecy—she's—"

As he explained the situation, Lera's eyes widened in increasing horror. Sanar's prophesized fate had the girl crying, and agreeing to help in seconds.

"I don't know if it'll work," he told her helplessly. "But I can't…I can't just give up on her."

"I said I'll do it—anything—"

"You need to think about it," he snapped. "This is serious, Lera. It's going against Prophecy, and It won't take it lying down."

She sniffled, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Devnos—"

He continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I've gone over it, and I can't think of any way it could lash back at you, but—"

"It needs to be done," Lera interrupted, almost sharply. Something cold had taken up in her eyes where the tears had been. "So I am going to help."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nichyn sneezed right as he opened the door, and only just missed the person standing there. "Sorry," he rasped.

"S'okay." Lera smiled weakly. "After all, I'm the one who gave you the cold. Y'gonna let me in?"

He did. "Everyone else is out right now."

Lera nodded with something that looked like relief. "That's okay—I just… Do you wanna hang out for a while?" She sniffled. "I brought some holo-vids."

Nichyn smiled, his miserable day brightening. "I assume you know how to work the machine?" The Na'Lein boy had early discovered his mechanical ineptitude in the Ryms' household.

"That, and I know where Shanya keeps the ice cream. So you set up the—" she sneezed "—the tissues and cold medicine in the media room."

He had done so, and even (with much cursing) hooked up the holo-net, when Lera met him in the room.

"It took me a while to get this player, too," she said. Crouching next to it, the girl punched in a series of buttons before pushing in the holo-vid chip. She only barely swayed in dizziness. "It's pretty new, and you have to orient the system. And it's really finicky."

When everything was set up, Lera curled up next to Nichyn on the couch. "This is one of my favourite 'vids," she told him.

On the screen, opening credits rolled. Lera set her bowl of ice cream to her side, and opened her flimsi notebook. "Don't mind me," she said at his look. "'Ve just got an idea."

She relaxed against him as her left hand flew over the flimsi. In the dim lighting, Nichyn glimpsed chicken-scratch words, and his brow crinkled. He wouldn't have expected her writing to look like that. But, then again, he could count on one hand the number of the girls he knew on NLY who could write. Some of the boys he knew had possessed the ability, but most of them had been more interested in "Pucijir's work."

Lera's eyes shone, mesmerized with—he assumed—the tale she spun. Ideas flowed from her heart to her pen then paper, faster than he could ever read. He soon let his eyes drift away from her, and he watched the holo-vid.

She was right—it was a good story. Interesting, and humane. The love story, though, for all Lera's comments, still seemed strange to him. "Happily ever after" was supposed to lead to marriage, but he could not imagine his parents behaving like the romantic couple of this 'vid.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Two hours later, the closing credits scrolled down the screen. Nichyn straightened carefully, looking down at Lera. She hadn't moved during the 'vid. Only now did she seem to startle; she blinked rapidly up at him.

"Did you fall asleep?" he asked. Although amused, his voice was hushed.

She sat up with an air of confusion. "Um…no…" She cleared her throat. "I—I got…distracted." She snapped her notebook shut. The pages crinkled from all her writing.

"Working on a story the whole time?"

"Uh—yeah." Her voice was still raspy and slightly nasal from her cold. Somehow, though, it sounded a little better than before. "Yeah, I just…you know, got really into it."

Beside her on the couch, Lera's iced cream had completely melted.