The Force Betrayed: Cal Kestis x OC

14.

The Shyyyo bird carried the pair up through the Origin Tree and landed on a circular, cozy alcove hidden in the branches. Sakana had come up here plenty of times to meditate and read the journal, though never for long.

Cal hopped down from the bird first and offered his hand out to Sakana, who respectfully took it. As soon as her feet touched the bark, she hurried over to the small pile of twigs she kept stocked on the edge of the branch.

"Can BD make a fire?" Sakana asked, looking over at the droid as she collected the wood.

"I don't...think so?" Cal half smiled, eying the droid.

"Tweedle beep," BD-1 responded, and Cal shook his head yes. 

"His blasters can warm the wood if you already have some," Cal said, looking around for a pile of sticks. 

"Perfect," she responded, standing up quickly so she could grab a few twigs from her usual pile. 

Sakana moved the wood into the small firepit she had fashioned on the bark, straightening the stones that formed around it in a circle. It was quite small since she rarely spent nights up here, and when she did, she was by herself. It didn't get too cold up here at night anyways, but she still hoped it would be enough to keep Cal warm.

After a few minutes of tending to the fire, the flame became steady and big enough to light up the area around them, replacing the sunlight that had just faded over the horizon. Cal sat next to the fire with his legs crossed and his palms out as he tried to warm his hands. 

"We're not going to die from a lack of oxygen up here right?" Cal smirked, the fire casting an odd light over his face.

"No," she laughed, staring into the fire. "The Empire's emissions closer to the ground would probably do more damage these days. I've spent the past year mostly in the lower branches and I turned out fine."

"Ehhh," Cal laughed, lightly punching her shoulder.

"Hey!" she giggled, gently punching him back. "The fire's burning just fine."

"Yeah," he sighed, a smile still spread across his lips. "Thank you for that."

"Thank your droid," she grinned. "I don't usually have visitors, so...this all feels a bit weird to me."

"You...still come up here often? I thought you stopped climbing the Origin Tree after..." he trailed off.

"I stopped going so far up," she said tiredly, pulling her knees to her chest. "The longer the Empire was here, the harder the air became to breathe. I was in hiding, too, you know," she sighed, looking around. "This was the farthest I ever climbed after...she died. At least, before you came along."

"I'm sorry such a beautiful thing had to be tainted by something so terrible," he said, looking over at her. The light of the fire shrunk Cal's pupils, making his irises more prominent, and Sakana couldn't help but stare. She felt like she could know a part of him by getting lost in the color, a hue so familiar and comfortable though she had only known it for a few days.

"Unfortunately, it seems the whole galaxy has been tainted," she scoffed, shifting positions so she could cross her legs. "I see that now."

"The Empire has done a lot of damage," Cal said, his eyebrows creasing together as he spoke, "but we can't give up now."

"I'm not giving up, it's just..." Sakana sighed, looking up at the sky. "I know it's probably for the better, but I can't help but think that if I had been there that day, she would still be alive." She paused for a moment as she looked up at the sky and realized she couldn't see any stars from their position, so she closed her eyes to imagine the sky full of them.