Kara keeps her grip on the knife tight, nervous about whether or not she'll have to use it. For Astra to have given it to her, it means that Astra herself isn't confident that she'll be safe waiting here alone without some form of protection. That's a terrifying prospect.
They are surrounded by these people, and they couldn't take even a quarter of them on if they had to, any trust they had built got destroyed the second she fought with Zin-Ra.
She can hear the sound of unfamiliar voices downstairs near the door, completely muffled so she can't make out a single word but for her to be able to hear them at all, they must be standing right outside.
Nobody is meant to come by this way until Astra gets back so this is not a good thing at all. It's probably better to be safe than sorry though, so Kara decides to take some precautions.
She tiptoes down the stairs towards to door, trying her best to ignore the ache in her muscles as she does. She can practically feel the bruises spreading across the expanse of her back and torso. The way she's holding the knife is making her knuckles ache, the tight feeling of her skin making her uncomfortable where the blood has dried.
Kara's acutely aware of the voices, trying to make out the words but unable to because the door is that thick. She presses her back to the wall on one side of it, wishing that it opens outward instead of sliding so she would have more cover when it does open.
Still, she will have the upper hand if they do come in, she'll have the element of surprise and even if there are multiple people, being fast and unpredictable is something she knows how to use in her favour.
She holds herself steady, waiting for something to happen, for the door to open. She doesn't know why there is people right outside, she doesn't know what they want, but she's ready. She'd be even more ready if she wasn't so on edge from her earlier fight with Zin-Ra.
Her ears pique with interest when the steady drone of voices changes its tune, the voices getting louder but somehow less intelligible. Something is going on.
It makes her jump when the door does begin to move, her focus on trying to make out what was going on just outside made her forget herself for a moment, but that's all it was – a moment.
She still has a good hold on the knife. It's heavy in her hand, the leather handle firm and comforting to her palm.
Her eyes widen. Maybe it's fear or anticipation or adrenaline, maybe a mix of all three.
A breath.
Astra leads Lena through the doorway, dragging it shut behind them without a glance, probably a statement in of itself to whoever was outside. It's silent now, Astra must have won whatever argument had ensued or scared them into backing down.
Astra catches her out of the corner of her eye, her hand shooting to her other knife that is strapped to her thigh. It falls away when she recognises Kara though, sighing in relief.
"You were prepared," Astra states, a tiny smile in place at her niece's protective stance.
Kara steps towards them, gesturing for them to head back upstairs. "Yes. When someone hands you a knife it doesn't do much for your nerves. I figured it would be best to be ready just in case."
Lena doesn't take her directive, she steps into Kara's space, her hands coming up to cup her face, eyes pinned on her black eye and cuts. "Oh my god, you're really hurt."
"I'll be just fine, I can hold my own." Kara's fingers wind around Lena's wrists, keeping her hands in place because they are nice and warm against her cheeks.
"I don't like seeing you hurt." Lena can't seem to tear her eyes away and it takes Kara pulling her in for a hug for her to just sink into the embrace.
Astra gives them a moment, standing silently off to the side for a minute. There are important things to discuss though, and it can't really wait much longer. "Let's move this upstairs, I don't mean to rush you but there have been some developments."
Lena pulls away from Kara, taking her hand in her own and clasping them together as they make their way upstairs.
Astra stays close, slowing her own pace so that she doesn't move too far away from Kara, her overprotective aunt instincts kicking in.
Lena practically pushes Kara down into one of the chairs, taking up her rightful place beside her. Astra pulls another chair up to Kara's other side. "There was a commotion out in the living room. I had a trusted guard outside the door and there were members of The Rebellion in favour of Zin-Ra and his actions that were trying to get in here. My guard stopped them."
Kara gulps, her eyes lowering to the floor as she thinks. "I figured it would be something like that when I could hear voices."
Lena leans forward, not entirely sure of the situation. "Can someone start from the beginning? I'm a little lost here."
Kara looks between Lena and Astra. "You didn't tell her what happened?"
"I was more concerned with getting everyone to safety. The rest of your group has been moved to a separate room, but they are staying together. I have someone I trust guarding their room."
Kara takes a deep breath before launching into her story to get Lena up to date, and Lena listens intently to every word and keeps herself surprisingly calm despite everything that she's being told.
Kara is expecting Lena to have some questions but the one that comes out of her mouth is not one she is expecting. "How long will we be able to stay here so Kara can recover?"
"Not long," Astra replies.
"We'll have to leave and make a camp for a few days to give her chance, then," Lena concludes, her eyes now fixed on Astra, the two of them having the conversation between the two of them and leaving Kara to sit there awkwardly watching them.
Astra sighs. "You will have to leave. I already made an agreement for the payment that The Rebellion demands for helping your friends and bringing them back here. I think it's best that you go before it can be rescinded."
"What's the agreement?"
"You will continue on your journey, but you will journey closer to The Scarlet Jungle. You will retrieve samples for us and then meet us in Kandor afterwards." Astra keeps her voice steady, telling them exactly what they need to do and not letting them debate it.
Lena leans back into her chair, her hand resting on Kara's leg now, her fingertips gripping tightly like she's afraid that Kara will just drift away.
"And we get to go our separate ways afterwards?"
"Yes, as much as it will hurt me to do so, we will have no more contact after you hand over the samples."
Kara nods along. "And they are just going to let us walk away to go get these samples?"
Astra pauses, her internal debate obvious, cutting through the tense air. "No, that's why I will get you out of here tonight when everyone is asleep. We will not give them a choice."
A pregnant silence fills the room, everyone sitting in their own heads as they try to rationalize everything.
Kara is just speechless. She's fairly certain at this point that Zin-Ra must have knocked out a few of her brain cells because her brain is working a lot slower than Lena and Astra's are. She's pretty much competing with chrome when she's internet explorer.
"Do you think it will be that bad if we don't?"
Lena grips her legs a tiny bit tighter. "Kara, we have to go. It's why we're even here in the first place. We have a mission to complete and we can't stay here or else we won't be done in time."
Kara shakes her head, accepting that Lena's right. "Right, of course. You're right."
Astra takes Kara's hand, the one closest to her, being careful to avoid touching her sensitive knuckles. "I can get everything prepared for you, including the Kelex that you so interestingly adapted to your needs. I am very impressed by it."
"Thanks." Lena smiles. "And not just for the compliment, for everything: Keeping us safe, bringing the others here, bringing me to Kara, everything.
"Of course, and as for bringing you here to Kara, you both are long overdue for your courting discussion. I will take you back to your room soon, perhaps you can have that talk whilst waiting for me to collect you tonight before you take your leave." Astra gives them both a pointed look. "It's time you both embrace your connection."
Kara sneaks a glance over in Lena's direction, not really surprised to find those beautiful emerald eyes looking back at her. Her heart is beating out of her chest and her nerves are driving her crazy, but she manages to dive. "I think that's a really good idea."
A gentle smile crosses Lena's face. "Me too."
"Is there anything else you need to know before I take you back to your room? Any questions you have for me?" Astra asks, squeezing Kara's hand to get her attention.
She takes the time to think, trying to remember all the millions of questions she had earlier that day but have disappeared now that she's actually here. "I have more but I can't remember them." Kara's voice comes out full of timidness, a shock to herself as much as it is to the others.
Lena hears it and jumps to the rescue, "that's alright, I remember some of the ones you wanted to ask, I've got it." She shifts her attention over to Astra then. "Why do the red plants from The Scarlett Jungle keep spreading?"
Astra's lips quirk up. "We are spreading them. The more we spread, the fewer places Krypton's natural resources can be diminished because it will become too unsafe to do so. It is our attempt at prolonging the life of our planet."
"And why did you add the tower in here? Why hide the antidote the way you did?"
"Because we must be notified when people have been here. We are the only people to have been here for months, but I am fully aware that this is still an accommodation owned by the science guild and should they want to show up, they can. We have to be careful and that's what we were doing. I wasn't aware that entry to the tower could be figured out without prior knowledge."
Kara can't wipe away her smug grin at that. She's pretty good and finding things that aren't meant to be found, be that for better or for worse. She can tell that Lena wants to smile too but she's got her CEO negotiator face on and when Lena wants to hide her emotions, she has no real difficulty doing just that.
Lena crosses one leg over the other, getting comfortable. She must have quite a few more questions that Kara doesn't know about. "Why the sword then if you weren't expecting anyone to get into the tower?"
Astra shrugs slightly. "That was up there for safekeeping mostly. That sword is a family heirloom, Kara. The only way I could keep it here where it would be safe was to make it into that trap. It would definitely get stolen if I just had it in a cabinet somewhere, so I hid it and put it to work. Turns out it got stolen anyway."
At the pointed look she's on the receiving end of, Kara holds her hands up. "Sorry, sorry. Does that mean that I'm not getting it back though?"
"We'll see."
Kara can barely wipe her grin off her face at that. She knows that even now, she has her Aunt Astra wrapped around her little finger, so she'll get that sword. She wanted it before she found out it's a family heirloom, but she wants it even more now.
Lena keeps asking her questions and Astra answers them as thoroughly as she's willing to, all the while Kara sits there watching on as two of her favourite people interact with each other, knowing that this may be the last time they all get the chance to sit down together like this.
Kara pretty much zones out for the rest of the conversation, maybe due to being hurt, maybe just because she's tired. She really couldn't say but she jumps a few minutes later when Lena uses the hand on her thigh to shake her a little.
"Hey, you ok?"
Kara rushes out a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. Just a little out of it."
"Maybe we should get Alex to take a look at you. We'll have a lot of walking to do through the night and then for the next few days to get far enough away for us to be safe to stop and rest so you need to be as healthy as we can get you."
"Actually, I have a plan for that." Astra interrupts. "I'm going to have someone I trust take you out in a pod, we can get you far enough away that nobody will come after you, you can just set up camp when you arrive and then rest for a few hours, you'll have to keep travelling after that though, you can't linger for more than a day at a time in the same place."
"Thank you." Kara forces herself to smile even though it hurts her swollen eye to do so. It has gotten worse now, she can barely see out of it because of the swelling but she just has to put up with it, it will probably heal on its own.
Astra smiles back, hiding her frown at the sight of Kara in pain because she can always see right through her. "If all goes to plan, you will be taken about a day's trek further than you had previously gotten."
"That will get us right back on track." Lena's happy to be getting out of here despite the circumstances that have expedited their departure.
"I will now take you back to your room, I have much to plan and arrange for tonight." Astra stands, prompting Lena and Kara to do the same. "Please be safe, keep the knife close." Astra pulls Kara into a tight hug being mindful of hurting her.
It's an awkward walk back through the living room and the hallways, almost every guard looking at them with disgust and hatred. They are not popular here. They never were before but they had not experienced outward hostility in the way lips are now curling and snarls darting in their direction.
Lena's hand in hers and Astra's strong, confident posture as she leads them down the hallway keep her focused though, stop her from showing any weakness. She holds her head up high and supresses the urge to hunch over from the pain in her back, if they want to see who they are up against, they are going to be up against Supergirl.
Her shoulders drop and she flops right down onto the bed the second they get through the door but she's proud of herself for machining it all the way back to the room with no issues.
"I'll see you later, I will come and fetch you and then we will go and get the others. I will go and see them now to fill them in on the basics of the plan. We need them to be ready for us."
Kara pushes herself back up, she needs one last hug before Astra goes. "Come here."
"I have so enjoyed getting to spend this time with you, little one. I wish you could stay longer."
"Me too." Kara squeezes her tight, not wanting to let her go but knowing that she must.
Astra throws one last smile over her shoulder as she leaves, and Lena senses that this is hard for Kara and moves close to her, sliding her hand around her waist. "I'm sorry, darling."
"Me too, I just wish that I got more time with her."
Lena nods solemnly, "I know the feeling."
Lena then manoeuvres her back onto the bed. "You sit and rest, I'm going to make sure all of our stuff is ready and then we can talk."
Kara can tell that Lena is trying to put off the conversation that they both know is inevitable. It's happening tonight, even though they have done a marvellous job of avoiding it, it was always going to catch up with them at some point. That point is now.
"We will have to talk though."
"We will, I just need a minute first," Lena reassures her.
Kara doesn't push, the past hour or so has obviously not been easy on Lena either so she's willing to give her the time she needs, even if it is making her anxiety shoot through the roof. "Take all the time you need."
A silence follows, comfortable but full of longing and puzzling. Both women use the time to plan and come up with what they want to say, trying to piece together the best way to express themselves without putting their hearts on the line, both coming to the conclusion that doing this means that protecting themselves isn't really an option.
Kara watches Lena check through their bags and tidy the room up, and only when there is nothing else she can do does she come and take a seat next to Kara.
"Is there anything else you need? Some water maybe?"
Kara shakes her head and clasps her fingers around Lena's. "I think it's time for us to talk. We've been avoiding this conversation for a long time, but I don't think we can avoid it anymore."
Lena can barely hold eye contact but nods anyway. "Ok, let's talk."