Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Elara stared at her arm, flashing a red light on its embedded display. It was a warning.
Pyralis’ heart rate was going wild, jumping up to inhuman numbers, and then suddenly spiking down to zero.
Beep.
Suddenly- it was back. A little lower than usual, but stable.
“Something wrong, Callisto?” Handler’s voice pulled Elara’s attention away from the worrisome sight. She looked up at the Handler standing in front of her, staring down the panicked pilot.
Elara nodded, her lip quivering, afraid she was going to be reprimanded for turning her attention away from Handler. Pyralis was going to be okay! Handler was right here. She wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Handler stepped forward, kneeling down until her face was right up to Elara’s. Elara could feel her warm breath, and savored every last moment of being allowed to be so close to her savior.
A tear trickled out of Elara’s eye, a result of the mix of fear and awe that she was being bombarded with. It didn’t reach the center of her cheek before Handler reached her gloved hand out, wiping away the droplet.
Elara shuddered at the feeling of cold leather grazing her skin, leaning into the momentary touch. As Handler broke contact, Elara realized once again how empty she felt without Handler’s touch. She let out a small whimper, earning a little smile from the Handler.
Suddenly it was all worth it, as she was basked in the beauty of her Handler’s smile. She had made Handler happy. Her goal was completed with one little reaction.
But just as soon as it had arrived, the smile was gone. Replaced with naught but the constantly irritated expression that the Handler wore all day.
“Just what’s got you so distracted, hm?” It wouldn’t do for Handler to not know what was going on in Elara’s mind, of course. Especially if it was affecting her performance during their ‘training’ session.
Elara choked down her hesitation, letting herself speak almost automatically. “It’s Pyralis, Sir. A small fluctuation in her heart rate.”
Handler put a hand on Elara’s head, running her fingers through her ragged hair. Elara shuddered as she felt pleasure course through her system, endorphins being released in waves for every moment she was in contact with Handler.
“It’s okay, Callisto. She’s safe. As long as you’re here with me, she’ll be safe.” Handler reassured the dazed girl. Elara did her best to nod while still keeping her head in Handler’s palm.
Handler’s words seared into Elara’s memory, becoming an immutable truth. Pyralis would be safe as long as she was by Handler. She finally relaxed, leaning further into Handler’s grasp. She would stay by Handler’s side. Pyralis would be alright as long as she was here.
“Now, my question, Callisto,” Handler reminded her. Elara bolted to attention, clearing the haze that had drifted into her mind as Handler demanded her answer. She looked up at Handler, her eyes glinting in the light as she stared into her master’s eyes.
What does ‘home’ mean to you?
Elara knew her answer should be here. In Handler’s arms. She didn’t deserve to belong anywhere else now.
But- she couldn’t bring herself to imagine this place as her home. It was a place of safety, of warmth and comfort, but it wasn’t where she belonged.
Did she belong back at Rebel Base Weaver, though? Back with Pyralis? She had been defeated, taken. Broken. She wasn’t sure how much of Commander Callisto was left, only the girl who had jumped headfirst into a war for her lover.
Moonrise came to mind, the cockpit she had spent so many hours in. She once felt safe in its seat, relaxed as she jacked into the machine, feeling the metal move around her as if it was her own flesh and bone.
That was until she was ripped out of its chest. Birthed from a gash made by Imperial plasma cutters. Her machine had been painted with Imperial black, staining it with the color of her once enemy. Moonrise wasn’t hers anymore. It was Handler’s. It was for her Hound.
Home.
Date : Imperial Year 3064, Day 13
Elara grabbed her satchel, throwing it up onto the chunk of concrete in front of her. She jumped up, pushing herself up with her arms until she rolled onto the rough stone.
She caught her breath for a moment, before grabbing the bag again. Elara headed into the open side of a destroyed building, jumping over a crevice formed by the piles of rubble. She called out into the dark, “Hello? Are you there?”
The sound of gravel crunching echoed through the empty floor, and Elara could see a head of red hair peek out from behind a run-down wall. Elara flicked on her flashlight, illuminating the ragged girl in front of her. Her eyes gleamed in the torchlight for a moment, before she recoiled away from the sudden brightness.
Before long, she reappeared, adjusting to the bright light in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak before stopping herself, instead nodding at Elara.
Elara held up her bag, beaming a smile at the girl in front of her. She had met her a while ago on a wasteland expedition, handing out food to those displaced by the war. The girl had introduced herself as Pyralis after some time, although still tended to stay on the quiet side.
Pyralis glowed with excitement at seeing Elara’s satchel, quickly nodding her head before taking a seat on a particularly large piece of concrete nearby.
Elara approached, approaching Pyralis as if she were a wild doe, afraid to spook her. She sat down on the ground across from Pyr, opening her bag and taking out some cans and other containers.
Preserved foods, so that Pyralis wouldn’t have to scavenge for at least a little while. Elara made sure not to bring too much each time, not wanting to make the girl a target for others to steal from.
This time was special though. She had brought a little extra for them to share, taking out a little cloth and laying it between them. Pyralis took some of the canned goods, putting them in her own bag, before crossing her legs in anticipation for their shared meal.
Elara opened up some of the larger sealed containers, and the smell of cooked meat wafted up into the air. Pyralis felt herself begin to drool at the scent, looking hungrily at the open box of fried bird. It was still warm, despite the journey.
Pushing it over, Elara gave a little nod to Pyralis. She passed her a spoon and knife, and Pyralis began to eat. She whispered a little “thank you” after swallowing her first bite, her eyes still focused on Elara even as she cut another chunk off.
This time Pyralis held out the spoon at Elara, tilting her head. “You um- are you hungry?” She felt a little bad, eating the girl’s food without offering her any.
Elara was taken by surprise by the gesture, having been entranced in watching Pyralis eat. Her stomach rumbled at the offering of food, and Elara blushed in embarrassment. She nodded, leaning forward and eating the meat off of Pyralis’ spoon.
Pyr blushed as she fed Elara, taking back the metal spoon after she was done and looking at it for a moment.
She put her mouth on this.
It shouldn’t have mattered much, but she gripped the handle of the utensil a little harder as she thought about it. She reached down, taking another spoonful of the crackled meat and gently taking it into her mouth. Pyralis felt herself grow warm as she swallowed, licking the juices off of the head of the spoon. She yawned, blinking a few times before going back in for another cut.
The two took turns eating from the spoon, Pyralis feeding Elara until the container of fried bird was empty. They sat there in silence for a bit, glancing at each other for a moment before Elara broke the silence.
“Can I sleep with you?”
Pyralis paused as she took in the sentence, and her eyes widened as she processed what had just been asked of her.
Elara quickly held her hands up in front of her, shaking them as she realized what she had just said. “No- I mean, I’m going to be in the wastes for a little longer and I just thought it would be warmer for the night and-”
“Okay.” Pyralis interrupted Elara, not a hundred percent sure what she had just agreed to.
Elara froze in place, feeling blood rush to her extremities as she stared at Pyralis. She put her arms down, suddenly feeling small in comparison to the girl half her size.
Pyralis got up, still holding the spoon that the two had been eating from. She pocketed it, not entirely sure why, and headed over behind the wall Elara had first seen her at.
Elara sealed the containers, packing them away before following. She turned to see a dirty pile of blankets on an old mattress. She remembered giving a clean set of warm bedding to the girl on her third meeting, happy to see she was putting it to use.
Pyralis wordlessly walked over to the pile of blankets, pulling them up and crawling under them. She looked expectantly at Elara from under the covers.
Elara’s face was red now, and she looked off to the side nervously as she walked up to the bed. She took off her traveling boots, setting them by the wall and crawled under the uplifted blanket, doing her best to keep at least an inch between herself and Pyralis.
The distance was quickly closed though, as Pyralis wrapped herself around Elara. She had wanted to do this to stay warm, didn’t she? She wedged her head into the crook of Elara’s neck, enjoying the heat that radiated off of the embarrassed girl.
Elara had the best rest of her life that night, drifting off to sleep swiftly in Pyr’s arms despite the embarrassment.
“With Pyr. Always with her.” Elara couldn’t bring herself to lie to Handler. She demanded nothing but the truth.
Handler nodded, removing her hand from Elara’s head. Elara shook, worried that she had answered wrong somehow. Maybe Handler had wanted her to lie, to believe that home was with her.
“You’ll see her soon. I promise,” Handler responded. She knelt down, leveling her head with Elara’s. “I’ll make sure you return home.”