"Oh, this old thing?" Daani struck a pose, and the sisters laughed.

It was ...nice. She'd been bounced around systems with Cirr and Sanis long enough that she knew she wanted to live in the stars, but she also felt the extreme weight of expectations and cultural responsibility from the razor's edge she had to walk at the Sun Palace. To find support for her dream of being a pilot from T'yeellaa was different.

They had never been close, their ages were too far apart and Daani barely remembered T'yeellaa from before she joined the Trade Navy. However, in that moment in the locker room, a connection forged between them. Even if they approached things differently, T'yeellaa knew what it was to buck her mother's wishes. And even if Daani went along with what Taataani wanted as far as a marriage, that didn't mean she was going to be a traditional Cizeri female.

Daani threw herself at her sister, wrapping her up in a hug. Surprised, T'yeellaa wrapped her arms around her little sister, then pressed her face into the wild mess of curls as she hugged her close. "Thank jyou," Daani whispered.

As they walked to the starfighter for some hands on piloting lessons, Daani felt a weight lifted, at least partially. Maybe there was someone who understood her after all.


FIN