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Un’hee knocked softly on the compartment door. She knew it was the middle of the sleep shift, and that he needed more sleep than Chiss did, but he had said if she couldn’t sleep she could come and talk to him.
The door opened with a soft hiss and Un’hee turned her face upwards to see Eli looking down at her in sleepy concern. “Un’hee?” he asked. His face, so different from her own, was tinged pink as if he had just rolled out of bed. A glance at his hair furthered her suspicions.
“Un’hee what’s wrong?” Eli asked again. He crouched down so that they were eye level, something Un’hee was grateful for. None of the caretakers aboard The Steadfast ever did that. They just looked down at her, not understanding what she needed.
“I-” Un’hee began. Without warning, she felt herself begin to cry.
Eli immediately pulled her into a hug, his arms surrounding her much smaller frame. “Hey, hey,” he soothed. “It’s okay. Un’hee, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Un’hee grabbed onto Eli’s sleep shirt, grounding herself. Eli was safe. Eli cared about her. Eli wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Was it another nightmare?” he asked. Un’hee nodded into his shirt, not trusting her voice. “Do you want to come inside?” he asked again. She nodded again and pulled back.
Eli stood up and held out a hand. Gratefully, Un’hee took it and walked with Eli into the small room. There wasn’t anywhere to sit besides the bed, so that’s where they went. Un’hee pressed herself as close to Eli as possible. She always felt safer when Eli was with her.
There were a few minutes of silence as Un’hee regained control of her breath. She had stopped crying, but her cheeks were stiff where her tears had run down her face.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” Eli asked softly. It wasn’t a demand or a request. Just an offer for someone to listen. He was one of the only ones who did that.
“It was the Scratchlings again,” Un’hee whispered. She felt Eli’s arm around her tighten just a little. “I-” She closed her eyes, willing the memories and nightmares to go away.
“Can you tell me a story?” she asked instead.
Thankfully, Eli didn’t push. “What kind of story do you want?”
Un’hee had her answer ready before he had finished his question. “One about Lesser Space.”
“Lesser Space, huh? Let me think.” There was silence for a moment. “Oh I know,” Eli said. “Once upon a time, there was a Chiss warrior.”
“But Chiss aren’t from Lesser Space!” Un’hee said. She did know that much.
Eli chuckled. “I know that Chiss aren’t from Lesser Space, Un’hee. But if I tell you the story, you’ll see why a Chiss is in Lesser Space, okay?”
Un’hee blushed. She should have known that. “Okay,” she mumbled.
Eli looked at her, not breaking eye contact. “It’s okay to ask questions Un’hee. It’s really good in fact. But sometimes, if we wait a little bit longer, we’ll get the answer without having to ask the question itself.”
Un’hee nodded. That made sense, and it made her feel better about asking the question in the first place.
“Now where was I?” Eli said. “Oh right! Once upon a time, there was a Chiss warrior. And this warrior was given a mission by his people; to learn about potential allies to the Ascendancy. But it wasn’t as straightforward as they all thought it was going to be.”
Eli’s voice washed over Un’hee, her eyes slowly beginning to close. But she wasn’t afraid to fall asleep this time. She knew Eli would protect her. And as Eli told her how the Chiss warrior stood down an emperor, she finally drifted asleep.