CLOSED:

[deosil]

WHO: HERA and CHISE
WHERE: Heropa - Hera's home
WHEN: BACKDATED - late November
WHAT: post Girl Talk
WARNINGS: mentions of human trafficking, but TBD


[ Chise had arrived borderline excited, gleeful. This was, the back burner of her subconsciousness registered, an entirely normal reason to visit someone. Something to be excited for. Chise had never had friends, growing up or anything present to speak of. Hera was welcoming, and kind. Nothing in the periphery of her already limited foresight implied Chise would find this visit penetrating. Uncomfortable. ]

Hello!

[ Announcing herself, calf to verbal slaughter, Chise was congenial as she stepped out her shoes in the doorway. The paper bag she was carrying crinkling in her arms. ]

I brought braeburn apples and some mulling spice. I thought you might like it.

Comments

[phoenixleader]

[ She's got a kettle on, the table set. Two mugs, herbal tea ready to serve. Honey on the table, and a smile on her face when she enters their abode. This is going to be a tricky situation. Much like Sabine had been when they had first picked her up. ]

Mulling spice? You'll have to tell me how to use that.

[ She pours hot water into Chise's cup, then her own, taking a knife from the kitchen to cut the apples. ]

So. We might as well continue our girl talk now that you're here- give the tea a few minutes to steep.

[deosil]

[ Chise happily steps through a threshold of what she believes is a mundane and relatively comfortable environment. There was something that smelled vaguely of chamomile and vanilla. Nothing to ping her already dulled situational awareness. ]

Mulling spice is boiled in apple cider or red wine. [ She blanches ] Maybe I should have brought cider, is it hard to find in Florida?

[ Chise takes a seat and watches the steam rise from her mug. Idly interested in the the sheen of the knife as it went about cutting through the apples. ]

I'd love to, yes.

[phoenixleader]

It's not common. I've seen it at the store, but...

[ She smiles calmly, and sits across from Chise, picking up one of the apple slices. So. Time to figure out how to approach this delicately.

She wanted to know if she and Kanan were married, mentioned something about explaining it to "him" and being called "his wife". Well. She might as well be blunt. ]

Are you married, Chise? I have to admit, Kanan and I really haven't had the time in our home galaxy, and here... It'd be difficult to have a traditional ceremony.

[ She knows how to get information while softening the blow, feigning curiosity in her own ceremony. But if she's nervous about this man arriving, she'll do everything in her power to protect her. ]

[deosil]

[ A clammy sort of embarrassment snaked up Chise's stomach. Not the sort to make her face became stained the color of her her, instead she paled. ]

Oh, I suppose traditions from another world would be difficult to recreate here.

[ She said, trying not to make assumptions while waiting for the color to come back to her face. Was her situation with Elias something that really needed to be prodded? But...she could trust Hera. The woman never gave her a reason to think otherwise. ]

More like a few mutual acquaintances we share seem to think I am. Elias is more of a teacher to me and really he hasn't even brought up his misguided proposal since the night he bought me.

[ So casually said it was to be cautious. There wasn't any fear in her voice, only a slightly nervous laugh like she had said something inappropriate. ]

[phoenixleader]

[ There's a long, heavy silence as the last words hang in the air. A misguided proposal after this man- this Elias- bought her. Something twists inside of Hera at that, like drinking vinegar. Bitter as bile at twice as strong.

Slowly, she removes the tea strainer from her cup and swirls a spoon of honey in it. Drinks deep from the cup in order to swallow down the bitterness of her reaction. ]

He bought you?

[ She can't help the cold in her voice. The way her sharp canines bite at her tongue to keep her from- from what? This Elias isn't here. ]

And then tried to make you his wife?

[deosil]

[ Chise had the rim of her mug to her mouth. She sputtered at the glacial reception she had received from Hera as if the woman had shouted. The circles she had moved in lately were at least aware of the black market for rare creatures. Chise more or less forgot it was a completely out of the blue, disarming thing to say. ]

It's not what it sounds like! [ She relents, then less defensively and with her shoulders slumped slightly. ] Well, it is...but I know how bad it sounds. It isn't, I promise!

[ Defending someone who wasn't even here to someone that had a right to find the situation distasteful was certainly one way to find yourself between a rock and hard place. ]

At the time, I didn't see any other choose than to go on the black market. Yes, Elias bought me and yes he said I would marry him but I think he believes being his wife just means I won't leave. Staying with him was pretty much the only way I could survive! Really, I'm more sort of just his experiment in understanding people.

[ Well, when you put it like that...

Chise wished this mug she was gripping white-knuckle would turn into a wall for her to hide behind. ]

That doesn't sound better, does it?

[phoenixleader]

[ The girl almost seems to react like she's been slapped, and Hera can't help but wonder if she approached this wrong. Chise isn't from her Galaxy. May not even be from her Universe. She doesn't necessarily know all the implications, all the anger that Hera holds for the system of slavery and how deeply it's effected her home world, her clan.

Slowly, she sets the cup down, and sighs. ]

It doesn't, no. But. I don't have all the information.

[ Warmth comes back into her voice in bits and pieces as she speaks to Chise, trying to make the young woman understand. It's not her she's angry at. It's Elias. It's this system. It's- ]

... On my homeworld, many young women sell themselves into slavery because they think it's the only way they'll survive. They have debts, or need protection, or are faced with starvation. Sickness. Homelessness.

[ Slowly, she reaches across the table, and she squeezes Chise's hand tight. ]

I'm not angry with you for making that choice. You said it was the only way you could survive, and maybe it was. But if this Elias comes, you don't have to answer to him. Just like I will never have to answer to Azmorigan.

[deosil]

Hera were you...

[ Bright green eyes widened with realization when they meet their counterpart. Before Hera had even said an unfamiliar name, Chise knew what was being said between Hera's words when a hand slipped over her own.

Chise squeezed back without hesitation. ]

I'm sorry [ Words formed around a throat that started to tighten, Chise swallowed wetly. Thankful her eyes were still dry. ] Asking dumb questions brought this up.

[ Her second endeavor into girl talk had fallen flat on its face. Chise ducks her head in embarrassment. ]

I don't even want to compare my situation to the horrors of what happened to your home. When Elias bought me after I sold myself I just...wanted someone to give me one. A home, I mean. And he did.

[ Worrying her lower lip, Chise flushed as she spoke about him. ]

Part of me wants to see him, part of me just wants to know if I really can take care of myself. [ She flashes Hera a half-smile that didn't reach her eyes. ] Bit of an idiot, aren't I?

[phoenixleader]

[ She realizes too late how her statements could be construed, and as Chise apologizes she feels herself flushing three colors too dark, summer green blooming across her spring colored cheeks. ]

No! No, I was lucky. I stayed out of the system- kept my freedom even when I went out into the Galaxy alone. Azmorigan was a fluke, a plan gone bad. He "bought" me and within the hour I had knocked him out with a fruit tray and ran.

[ She smiles sheepishly, embarrassed by the slip. ]

You're not an idiot for wanting safety, Chise. Or stability. My crew- my home- was formed by many people trying to find that safety and belonging.

... you have a home here with Kanan and I. Our door is always open. And if Elias shows up, we can help you, no matter what you decide to do for yourself.

[deosil]

[ Watching the spring green of Hera's face dye itself in the shade of deep summer was something else. She had seemed almost too calm for an emotion so base as embarrassment. The very idea of Hera was too...regal, for that.

Enough that she was more flabbergasted Kanan could be in the good graces of someone of this calibre. Than her pitying her situation let alone having briefly brushed against it.

Chise leans into an embrace that coils around deceptively stong shouldes. ]

It's alright. Please, it he ever comes just trust me.

[ I'm really an awful person, She thought as she hugged Hera tighter. I'm selfish. I want them both to stay with me. ]

[phoenixleader]

[ She isn't surprised when that slip of a girl wraps her arms around her. She's experienced similar with Ezra, Sabine, and even Zeb once or twice. All of them had been so cautious, so wary to join her and her crew- each one of them seeking something. Finding a place where they belonged.

Hera hopes she can be that for this girl. Give her a place safe from Elias and Thrawn. A home. That, perhaps, one day if she and Kanan moved out into their own housing... maybe she could convince Chise to come with her. ]

I will. You know your own situation better than I do. But I want you to know you always have the option of coming to Kanan or I. Staying here for a few days. Or longer.