celestial | cassian andor

01 | WHAT YOU TAKE.

"What you said earlier," she murmured, "about losing everything, was it your family?"

Cassian sighed, leaning back against the unyielding metal, feeling the vibrations of the ship moving at hyper speed through space. With every passing second they traveled millions of light years, yet time seemed to stand still as his mind took him back, revealing memories he wished would stay locked away.

"Amongst other things," he smiled ruefully, turning to watch as the stars streaked past, a brilliant blue emanating from the windows.

From the view up front, the stars seemed to blur together, rushing towards the ship and burning through the glass, reaching, calling...

"Cassian..."

"Cassian!"

before.

Fest, 14 BBY

"Huh, what?" He woke with a start, looking this way and that as he took in his surroundings.

"You weren't even listening!" She pouted, stomping her foot as she always did when she was upset.

"I'm sorry, Alma, what'd you say?" He asked, sitting up and pulling his knees to his chest.

"Well, I don't wanna talk about it now," she huffed, raising her head indignantly and turning the other way.

"Alma..." he sighed, getting up on his feet so he could console her.

Her tensed body eased at his touch as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes as she turned to face him. "He died last night," she whispered. 

Cassian exhaled, hand falling back against his body as he processed the news. He couldn't imagine how much this must've hurt her, they had been so close...

"I'm so sorry," was all he could think to say. And he knew that nothing else would reassure her more than him just being there. So he allowed her to rush into his arms, burying her face into his chest as sobs wracked her body. 

"Tomorrow will be kinder," he murmured, a saying his mother used to always soothe him with. It  always made him feel at ease, so he only hoped that it would work for her in this moment. 

And it seemed to, because after a few moments Alma's breathing went even, and she stepped away to look up at him. "Thank you," she smiled softly. 

Cassian only nodded, returning the smile as they turned to keep watch over the castle's edge. 

"Just keep your eyes on the horizon," he advised her, handing her the rusted electrobinoculars they had found years ago buried in the snow. It was a miracle the thing even worked, considering all the tinkering he'd done since finding it, "maybe, if we're lucky, we'll see them when they come marching."