Piper kept her promise to the broken master. Even though her request was born out of some subconscious need without any true consideration or mental cohesiveness, Piper sat by her bedside the entirety of the night, gently holding her hand as she did.
Piper awoke with a start as the old merb placed a hand upon her shoulder.
"Miss Piper, you have visitors," he said, motioning to the door.
Piper sat up in her seat, lifting her head from the soft linen that decorated the bed. In the doorway of the infirmary Starling stood, face passive yet tight and almost apprehensive. She was wearing her new cape and the shoulder strap rank insignia which followed when she was appointed to the Sky Knight Council. Piper looked towards Starling and then at the young woman sleeping upon the bed. She locked eyes with the healer who spoke words of reassurance.
"Do not worry, Miss Piper. I shall attend to the master while you are away. Now, go."
She released the girl's hand and stood up. Bowing to the old merb, she took her staff and approached Starling who began to lead her into the hallway. Once they left the room, Starling spoke without looking back at Piper.
"Surely one of our own needs your attention more so than this witch," Starling said, no hint of pleasure within her voice.
Piper paused. She struggled to keep up with Starling's fast paced walk. "I'm doing what you - what the Council - assigned me to do."
Starling maintained her stride, making her way down towards the foyer of the asylum. Descending the stairs, she began to address Piper once more. "I'm not going to stop you. I'm here to warn you. You're not here to make friends. You're here to complete a mission."
Piper followed, not used to being scolded by the older girl whom she had idolized most of her life. "The report will be delivered on the date as agreed upon. I promise. But Starling, please listen to me. She needs more than this place. She needs a home; safety, friends-"
"You're not here to cure her, Piper. She cannot be cured. You're here to collect data necessary for the Council to make an assessment as to whether or not it's safe to keep her alive. You already know my opinion on the matter."
"I do," Piper mumbled, eyeing the floor.
A softer look took its place upon Starling's face. A look which hadn't seen the light of day nearly as much after she was appointed to the Council.
"She's not who you think she is. When she recovers, if there is a recovery, she won't be the person you're hoping she will be. She'll hurt you. And when she does, it's going to be an emotional scar that you will carry. This is what she is, and I'm not convinced that there is any other person in there."
"I know this. Do you think that I do not? The boys and I have suffered her tyranny as much as everyone else. But still, I..."
Starling stared into Piper's eyes and Piper into hers. There was no hatred in the gaze that they shared; however, a conflict burned between the pair. She could find no agreement in the girl's eyes.
Piper sighed, stepping from the bottom step onto the cool tile below. She wanted to say more to Starling but the words were lost to her. She began to open her mouth, to allow her emotions to find the proper combination of phrases so that they could flow forth to make their way to Starling.
Starling looked as if she was about to say something, however, when they left the building and stepped outside, Aerrow was there, waiting for them on his Air Skimmer III Ultra. His tousled mop of bright red hair was slicked back and he looked more tired than usual. He raised his hand to greet them.
"Hey, girls!"
"Aerrow!" Piper fell upon him, embracing him in a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"
Now that Piper began to think of it, she wasn't sure what Starling was doing here either. She definitely didn't come to the asylum to visit Cyclonis, that much was made clear.
Her squadron leader began to speak to Piper with a huge smile on his face. "I was worried." He embraced her back tightly and whispered in her ear. "I thought… I thought something happened when you didn't return to the Condor last night."
Piper could feel her throat tighten and her stomach grow tight. Three distinct thoughts hit Piper at once. She had worried Aerrow to the point where he went out looking for her. Neither Aerrow nor Starling trusted Piper's judgment or sensibilities in visiting Cyclonis. They, and probably everyone else, believed that Cyclonis was and would always be, dangerous.
Piper grimaced as she hugged Aerrow tight. She looked at Starling who stood close by, arms crossed, somewhat awkwardly.
AN: In this story, the Sky Knight Council is currently the ruling authority of Atmos. This is not made very clear in the show, however, from what little I could gather, this is correct lore-wise. Please let me know if I am wrong. As you can see, Starling was appointed to be a member of the Council after the war ended. The New Alliance is a union established by Atmos' people after the war against Cyclonia to avoid further conflict.