Kissed by Fire: Cal Kestis

Chapter 6

Cal pulled off his poncho and set it aside once he sat down on the cot, noticing she already tucked hers away somewhere on the Mantis. Just like before, she put on her gloves approached him carefully. "Where does it hurt... the worst, I should say?" she began, Cal giving a chuckle at her words.

He pulled the collar of his shirt down, showing the painful black and blue that was beginning to form on his collarbone, just above his pectoralis muscle. She winced at the sight, Cal grimacing at the feeling of just moving his arm. "Hit me pretty bad, huh?" he jested, trying to lighten the mood.

"At least you didn't break anything," Y/n claimed, stepping back. "This won't require much, just a bacta patch to help heal the blood vessels." She grabbed the familiar sticky patch from her boxes on the wall, walking back over to him as she ripped off the seal. "Pull your collar down more."

Cal did as she said, feeling the warm touch of the bacta to his skin as he winced at the pressure on the bruise. "Already feeling better," he commented, and she shook her head with a laugh.

"I would say don't do any strenuous activity for a few hours until we reach Kashyyyk, but I think you'll figure out a way to get into some trouble on the ship," Y/n said as she stripped off the gloves from her hands, discarding of them.

Cal repositioned his shirt, his eyes catching a glimpse of the ring on her finger. Clearing his throat, he spoke up before she left. "Hey, remember what I asked you back on Zeffo?" he questioned, gaining her attention.

"Hm?" she hummed in confusion, until recognition filled her expression. "Oh, yeah. You wanted to know how I met Cere and Greez."

"Cere just seems to care about you a lot," Cal pointed out, his stance on the cot small.

She turned with a nod, leaning against the wall to face him. "She knew my mother, quite well, actually. She often came by our home when I was just a little girl, but... the Empire rose. And with it, so did my mom's station." She shook her head, trying to find the right words. "I left to escape the Empire, to try and explore the galaxy, but I only found myself in a worse situation down in the fighting rings. I practiced to be a doctor while aiding the injured fighters. I had a little clinic and everything for civilians to stop by. The boss helped keep it up as long as I kept her 'merchandise' up to her code for the battles."

"You helped the civilians?" Cal asked with a smile. Her ambition to her job was admirable, as was her want to help people such as those who can't reach the medicine they needed in Coruscant.

"I did. Everyone down there called me 'Doc'," she laughed at the memory. "I learned to fight, I learned how to shoot, and for two years I just... survived. Until the Mantis came flying down to Coruscant." Cal sat up straighter. "Cere had been injured, and the nearest planet was Coruscant. They couldn't take her to a higher end hospital for help because of the risk of being recognized, so they went deep into the center of the planet and by some miracle they ended up finding me. We remembered each other almost instantly, and of course Greez was hesitant to trust me at first," she said, the two sharing a laugh.

"I can imagine that." It was good to see a smile on his face. Y/n notice that Cal seldom smiled since he got on board, but seemed to be getting more comfortable with the people around him.

"I patched her up, told her to get out of Coruscant before someone noticed either her or the ship. By this time the Stinger Mantis had already made a little bit of a name for itself," Y/n shrugged lightly. "But she noticed the situation I was in, how I was living, and she said she couldn't let me stay like this knowing she could help. I was sixteen when I joined the crew of the Mantis. That was almost a whole year ago."

Cal nodded his head at her story, hands leaning on the cot. "I can see why Cere is so protective of you now."

Y/n gave a little scoff, but her face showed good nature. "She doesn't need to be. I can handle myself perfectly fine."