The Survival of Two

Limited

Osha's eyelids fluttered open. She rolled over in bed and drowsily blinked away the bright sunlight. Stretching, she let out a sigh as she pulled off her blankets and stepped onto the cool floor. She looked around for Qimir, surprised to find that he wasn't cleaning up after their tea. In fact, the cups were clean and, at least from across the room, looked dry. Confused, she left the cave, scanning the beach for Qimir. She didn't see him, though her search was unaided by the glare coming off of the water. She shielded her eyes, realizing that the sun was much higher in the sky than it was when she had first laid down to rest. She hurried down to the beach, anxious to find Qimir and figure out how long she had been asleep.

She wandered the coast for a while—wondering where he could have gone—when she saw a dark figure on the other side of a pebbled dune. Qimir was seated, holding his hand slightly aloft. His eyes were shut gently, and she could see the rise and fall of his chest—his breath in sync with the rolling waves. In front of him, a fist-sized rock rolled in the air. It passed back and forth in front of his face, making lazy arcs with its path. Osha was aware that he likely already knew she was approaching, so she decided to make her presence clear.

"Qimir! I woke up, and you were gone. Why did you leave?"

"You've slept most of the afternoon, Osha. I had no reason to believe you'd even be awake before nightfall."

Osha stared in shock. She knew she had slept longer than she'd planned, but she never would have imagined that she had slept through most of the day.

"You should have woken me up! I really wasn't that tired, I don't know what came over me"

"The work you did today was draining; your body will have to get used to such strenuous activity. It will likely take a while until you're able to build up the stamina you'll need. Besides, we had finished training for the day; there was no harm in letting you rest."

"I'm not fragile, Qimir. This won't break me."

"It won't, but until you've adjusted to the exertion, you're going to be limited."

Osha felt heat prickle the back of her neck. She had never bowed to limits. She knew that if you didn't push the limits, you got left behind. She had surpassed expectations on Coruscant, only for her progress to be crippled by her past. After that, she swore that she would never be held back again. She built a life for herself with her own two hands; she taught herself to become a meknek—and a damn good one at that. She had to constantly improve, adapt, and learn from her surroundings, or else risk her life for her work. She went to bed each night exhausted and sore—but the last feeling on her mind as her body gave way to sleep, was satisfaction. She hadn't survived and pushed through so much only to be limited again. She wasn't going to be left behind.

"I'm ready for more, Qimir. I don't have to wait."

He laughed, doubt and amusement written across his face.

"I've given you the option to recover, Osha. I won't be so generous with your training in the future."

"I don't need to be coddled! I'm not a child. If I could train then, I can train now."

He shook his head, a hint of admiration in his eye. He dropped the rock into his hand as he rose to his feet.

"This is your last chance to change your mind."

"I told you. I'm ready."