The taste of Jakku sand still lingered on her tongue, but as soon as Lyra took a bite of a sweet pear, it all went away. Maz had sat them down at a table off to the side with a wide spread of food at the center, and Lyra wasn't shy about digging in. Rey followed her lead, smiling as she took a piece of a bright yellow kiwano off of the platter. Finn, still stewing, looked at them like they were crazy.
"It's good," Lyra nodded at him between bites. "You should eat something, it might put you in a better mood."
Finn, maybe just to spite her, took a sip of water and nothing else.
"So, what is so important about this droid?" Maz asked once they all settled.
Bee was more than happy to explain, proud of himself for carrying such an important artifact around. He chirped out a shortened version of the story.
"A map to Skywalker himself?" Maz clicked her tongue at Han and gave him a side-long glance. "You're right back into the mess!"
"Yeah, well," he said gruffly, turning his head to look directly at Lyra. "She has a special gift for dragging me back to the Resistance against my will."
"It's not my fault you can't keep track of your ship. Coincidence, both times," Lyra told him wryly, taking another bite of the fruit in her hand.
"I would say it was a little more than luck, hm?" Maz adjusted herself in the seat.
Mid-bite, Lyra just stared at the woman. What did she know about this?
Slowly, Lyra set the pear down on the plate in front of her, not breaking her stare with Maz. She knew more than she let on, centuries of secrets hiding just behind her larger-than-life eyes. They were here to get a droid back to the Resistance, not to confront the swirling whirlpool of Lyra's confusion. Still, Maz looked at her with grim satisfaction. She had just confirmed something with herself, and Lyra was afraid to know what she was thinking.
