Callum woke up the next morning before Bel and carefully snuck out of bed. It was unusual for him to wake up before her. Like his sister, she didn't seem to sleep enough. He was delighted to find Jella and Shargi awake as well. When he proposed his idea of making her breakfast, Jella was so excited that he thought she might wake up her mother before they could even start. But they were able to make some of the fluffy cakes that Jella wanted to make before Bel woke up. When they came in with a tray full of food, Bel stirred and blinked her eyes open. She was speechless for the first time Callum could remember. She turned her face away for a moment, making him a little nervous, but when she turned back she had a smile that slayed his soul.
Bel took her cakes and she and Jella ate off the same plate. The two of them talked and laughed. Callum felt a lightness in his heart that he hadn't truly felt since the night his sister was taken. Shargi, inexplicably, started crying and Callum took her in his arms. When he asked what was wrong, she said she was happy. Callum didn't really get it but he was relieved.
A message came in and he opened his hand display to check it. It was from Yemoramato, typically short and sour. It told him that their practice was canceled today because she had more important things to do but she expected him to do something productive with his time. Callum closed the message and decided he would do something he'd been looking for a chance to do for awhile now. He didn't particularly care if Yemoramato thought it was productive. It was past time to visit his sister.
After saying goodbyes to Jella and Bel, and getting a kiss from the latter that made him a bit uncomfortable with her daughter right there, he and Shargi headed home, changed clothes and took a train deep into the ship.
Callum was a little surprised when they entered the area of the ship set aside for the humans. It seemed a little rundown and was crowded with people. After the almost empty apartment complex he lived in, he had thought there must be plenty of living space on the ship.
They asked around and eventually managed to find the building that Reilly lived in. For some reason more people recognized his description than Catriona's. As they walked through, Shargi got plenty of stares but he started to get some as well. Whispers followed him and Callum realized they knew who he was. It startled him but he realized he was being foolish. In their shoes, he would have been very interested in a human mech pilot like himself.
Callum stepped up to the door of the building and knocked on the door. It swung inwards. Callum glanced at Shargi and went inside. There was a narrow, dim hallway that he couldn't see the exit to and a narrow staircase just inside the door. "Reilly?" he called out. He waited for a moment and then shouted louder, "Reilly? Are you in here? It's Callum!" After another moment, a figure appeared at the top of the steps who he had not expected. She was tall for a woman, with long, black hair and deep blue eyes the exact shade of his own. Her face was beautiful and angelic, even though it was somewhat tighter after her harrowing experience at the hands of the carcha. She was wearing a long dark dress with a white apron over it, which she was using to dry her hands.
"Cal?" she said softly.
"Cat!" Callum exclaimed happily. "Do you live here too?
"Cal!" she barreled down the stairs toward him, surprising him. She slipped near the end but he managed to catch her in his arms. She hugged him fiercely.
He hugged her back but was taken aback at her emotion. She didn't usually express so much and things had been a little awkward between them lately besides. "Is everything all right?"
She pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. "I should be asking you that. None of the fie would tell us what happened to you. All they said was that you were being 'taken care of.' There were rumors that Mikan was here a few days ago but nobody knows for sure."
Callum felt like a heel, though he wondered why the fie hadn't explained things better. "Sorry for not coming sooner. Things have been…" He put a hand to the back of his head. Where to even start? "Do you live here, too? I was told this is where Rielly is staying."
Catriona nodded. "All these buildings have four 'apartments.' Me and Rielly live in the ones upstairs. Callum nodded. That was good. At least his friend was able to watch out for Catriona. He'd proven on Ragrun that he was willing to risk his life for her.
Shargi had gone so quiet that Callum had almost forgotten about her until he saw Catriona looking over his shoulder. "Oh! This is Shargi. She's been helping me out with getting used to the ship." Shargi bowed and Callum was suddenly very aware of how skimpy her clothing was. He'd gotten used to it but now that his sister was seeing...
Though she seemed a little taken put off, Catriona said, "I'm glad to meet you, Shargi."
"Shargi has heard much about you, Mistress." She straightened up and then looked in the direction of Callum, though she was looking down rather than at him again. "Shargi will wait here. She does not wish to interrupt your reunion."
"Don't be silly, Shargi," Callum said at the same time Catriona said, "You are more than welcome."
"Shargi will wait outside," Shargi said and scurried away.
Callum and Catriona both stared at the door she'd bolted out of. "What was that?" Catriona asked.
Callum shook his head. "Every time I think I start to understand her..." He shrugged. He could chase after her and she'd probably agree to come in but it would be uncomfortable. "Let's leave her alone. It will probably make things worse if we try to force her."
"If you say so," Catriona said doubtfully. She led him up the narrow staircase and into her apartment. Callum looked around, nonplussed. There was a combination sitting room and kitchen, as well as two doors that presumably led to a bathroom and a bedroom. It was similar to his own place but less than half the size. 'I guess pilots really are well taken care of.' Catriona bustled about, preparing a snack. Callum watched her contentedly. She seemed to be more like her old self. "So where is Rielly?" he asked while she worked.
"Helping get people settled and handing out supplies. Most of the men have been doing that everyday since we got here. I guess this part of the ship was shut down before we came and it is taking some work to make it livable again. The fie have tried to explain how we will be getting food and other necessities going forward but I can't make heads or tails of it…" Callum nodded solemnly. "For now, though, the fie are giving us supplies and we have to sort it all out. Not too different from the carcha, actually. Except the work isn't nearly as dangerous and the fie are much kinder." Callum grunted. That was an understatement.
Catriona came over and set down a plate in front of him. It looked like crackers, some kind of meat and maybe a sliced fruit. She sat down across from him and said, "Enough of that, though. Tell me what you've been up to."
"Not too much, actually," he said, popping a slice of fruit into his mouth. It was tart but tasty. He explained that he, Mikan and Valencia were training as pilots now, though he didn't get into much detail on that. He wanted to spare his sister a graphic report on Yemoramato's harsh training methods. Then he began to explain about where he was living and how he'd been shown around the fie's city inside a ship. Naturally that brought him to Bel and once he started talking about her, he found that he couldn't stop. He talked about how funny and gracious she'd been showing them around, the amazing breakfast that she'd cooked and how she was helping him learn all sorts of things. He talked about Jella and how adorable she was. Almost he stumbled into confessing some of his sexual escapades with her and that's what finally clammed him up.
Catriona listened with a small smile, responding appropriately but never interrupting his long soliloquy. When he finally stopped, she said, "She sounds like a very special person."
Callum nodded. "She's like a ray of sunshine." He flushed at uttering such a silly line and Catriona laughed warmly.
"I hope I can meet her soon." Callum nodded eagerly. He picked up a cracker and a slice of meat and ate it. The food had gone forgotten while he was rambling on. "But, Callum, I do have to ask," his sister said, now serious, "whether you've properly sorted things out with Valencia. And Mikan, for that matter." That was a bucket of cold water. Callum wasn't mad at her, though. She was right. The expression on his face must have told her the answer to his question. She reached across the table and put her hand over his. "Callum, I'm not blaming you but you do need to speak to them. Silence and avoidance only hurt in the long run. I've learned that lesson myself, recently."
Her arrow hit the mark and Callum nodded bitterly. She hadn't told him the monstrous things the carcha had done to her while she was in captivity, hoping to spare him the horror and spare herself the recrimination she feared might come from him. But her silence had hurt them both badly, far more than the actual conversation they'd had about what happened. "You're right, Cat," he said heavily. "I know you're right."