Falling

Chapter IV

Rain wasn't unusual on Bracca. Hell, general gloominess wasn't uncommon. Neither were accidents.

But after living there for as long as she could remember, it didn't really faze Nima anymore.

How she ended up on that desolate junkyard she preferred not to talk about. Then again, she never really thought about it, and neither did she care. She just kept up her work ethic, helping where she could.

Even though she wasn't strong enough to climb for long periods of time yet, her small form made it easy to get to hard-to-reach places. She used the safer ways to get around, keeping up with everyone around her.

Those who knew the little twelve-year-old understood not to underestimate her abilities. They knew that if they offered her their own finds or some of their credits so that she could have enough to take care of herself, she would refuse no matter how insistent they were.

"You had to give a lot of effort to earn that," she would always say. "Let me earn mine."

Which was why she was wandering the transit with her little collection of items. Nima sighed as she excused herself as she passed people, humming softly. She opened the end door and then the entrance to the next car, fiddling with the leather around her wrist as she went in.

She liked the silence of the storage cars. It gave her time to look through the grated doors to see what little stars were visible from her home. It also let her think, gave her time to dwell on her dreams and the news she had heard from others.

Order 66... what was that? Something about the Jedi, right? And the Clone troopers? Was that what they were calling it? Whatever it was, it didn't sound very good. It made her really sad to think about it, almost as if she had lost some close friends when the order was given.

The thought made her brows furrow. No... she wasn't sad. Someone else was.

The little girl turned to her right, eyeing some of the crates of metal. Her eyes narrowed as she cautiously approached. She crept around them quietly and peeked around the corner.

A boy was sitting with his back against the crate, his chin on his knees.

Nima frowned curiously, stepping out as she looked him over. "Who're you?"

He flinched, scrambling to his feet. He looked around frantically as if searching for an escape. "I... uh..."

She gave him another once-over now that she could see him more clearly. His eyes were green and wide. His red hair was unkempt. His face was smeared with grime and some sort of burn streaked across the right of his jaw. He wore some kind of dirty robe with a brown belt tied around his waist.

"What the heck are you wearing?"

He swallowed thickly, and it was then she realized he was afraid, almost panicking.

She raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just wondering what you're doing here."

"W-what are you doing here?" he shot back, taking a small step from her when she came forward.

She rolled her eyes. "I come here for quiet time. They don't mind me being here. You, on the other hand, look like you snuck on here without permission."

His eyes grew wider if possible. He was terrified.

"I'm not gonna say anything, if that's what you're thinking," she promised.

"How do I know that?"

Wow, this kid had trust issues. "I'll tell you what. You stick with me and don't say anything when we get to the Guild, and you'll fit in just fine. Unless you want to look suspicious," she added with a shrug.

He scanned her over warily, the tension in his shoulders melting away. After a long moment of analyzing her, he nodded.

"Great. C'mon. You can wear my poncho so they don't see your clothes and suspect anything. And I'll give you some of my scraps, but this is the only time I'll do that for you, okay?"

He nodded silently again, flinching when she stuck out her hand.

"I'm Nima, by the way. Nima Tahlee."

His eyes flickered between her and her hand. Finally, very hesitantly, he shook it.

"You're not gonna tell me your name?"

His gaze became skeptical.

She huffed, blowing her wild black curls out of her eyes. "Fine. But I have to call you something." She thought for a second then took tight hold of his wrist and dragged him over to her things. "Come along, Red."

—

"For the last time, I don't want the poncho back."

The ginger frowned and lowered his head, pulling the hood over it. He felt horrible for taking her things, for allowing her to walk in the rain. Still, he had no choice but to follow her.

The young boy glanced around at the many tents and canopies that had been pitched up in the area. Workers ducked under canopies and climbed ladders to get to hammocks.

"These are the camps," his guide told him. "You're gonna have to buy yourself some shelter at some point, but for now, you can bunk with me. C'mon."

He followed her to a decent-sized tent and ducked inside, scanning around.

There wasn't much on the interior. Drops of water leaked through the material and dripped into a few metal bowls. He watched the girl pick up the bowls and pour the contents into her canister. He glanced at her cot, seeing it was the only thing that was dry and in decent shape.

"You take that."

He looked to Nima to see her snag the sleeping bag he had just bought and roll it out on the wet floor. "What?"

"Take my bed," she told him. "This is all wet after the walk. I'd rather let you have a good first night than not. Get some sleep."

His shoulders fell slightly at her generosity. He looked at the cot, still a bit on edge after everything that had happened. Still, he felt horrible for making this person sleep in a cold bedroll. "Are you sure?"

"It's fine, Red." For the first time since they'd met, she shot him a smile. "Get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow."

He watched her crawl into the sack before doing the same with the cot. "Thank you."

"What am I supposed to do, leave you jobless? What do you take me for?" She yawned and lay down, propping her head with her arm. "G'night, Red."

His lips twitched up slightly. He looked down and hesitated.

Trust only in the Force. Those were his last words to him. He wanted to honor them well. But there was something about her...

"Cal."

She turned her head to him. "What?"

"That's my name. Cal."

Her brows quirked up. "Huh." She looked down and nodded before looking at him again. "Well, then g'night, Cal."

He grinned slightly and lay down. "Good night, Nima."