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It started as a brash joke made by Kay El after Gaa’eng grabbed her from the common area for a “Lady Talk”
“Well, because I’m the only one she considers an Adult~”
“I’m an adult as well???” Kay El questioned.
“Don’t interrupt me,” she yipped “Anyway when Gaa’eng is missing her family back home, she comes to me to talk about her memories. It’s a womanly matter, we got a whole system.”
“So what, you both get drunk and cry about your wives??”
So maybe biting him for that was an overreaction. And yes, she’ll admit that dislocating her jaw again hurt like a bitch; nor was it worth the slight on her or the D’jombam woman. But their conversations were more than just drunken sob-fests! It helped Gaa’eng process!
It gave her the chance to remember the good things that she had. Like the woman she loved, the friends she led, and help suppress the fear that she’d never see any of them again!
… Maybe Yoko should start a Lady talk herself.
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Bad news! Yoko realized that she’d probably prefer to open up while shitfaced. So she’d probably be proving the human man right.
Good news! Yoko then realized she had no clue what substances D’jombams took for fun. So her preference to not kill Gaa’eng alongside not wanting her friend stuck Kitcaring Yoko’s drunken self; meant that she would not be getting drunk. Take that, Kale boy!
Bad news! This meant she had to talk about her feelings(eugh) while sober(Eugh).
Yoko carried the two bottles of water to the Giants room, having to set the heavier of the two(salted to Gaa’eng’s preference) down to knock on the door.
Gaa’eng had opened the door before she could finish knocking.
“Yoko?” The dots along her neck turn pink, a color Yoko recognizes as an imitation of her own complexion “What brings you here?”
Right, Yoko had never been the one to initiate a Lady Talk.
“Weeellllll… I was wondering if I could maybe, possibly, talk to you. About my own ‘pod’” she separates the term so hopefully Gaa’eng understands the non literal meaning.
Gaa’eng stared for a moment, six eyes studying the small aliens form. The dots along her neck suddenly flicker in rhythmic hues. A pattern she’s seen when the towering woman realized the secondary meaning of another’s speech. Understanding.
“Oh! You wish to lead our Lady Talk! I accept, please come in.”
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Gaa’eng grabs the bottle Yoko set down as the small woman makes herself at home atop her desk. Desk being a generous term, considering how Gaa’eng would need to practically curl in on herself to use its surface.
“So, what do you wish to say about your Pod?” Gaa’eng was intently listening, halfway lying down to bring their eyes to the same level.
“Well, they… abandoned me.” Yoko replied, deciding to rip the bandage off.
Gaa’eng’s neck had turned a shade Yoko hadn’t seen before. But her tensed body said enough. Distress.
“I… I see.” The woman looked away. “What do you wish to say about them?”
“Honestly? I don’t know anymore.” Yoko turned her snout to the ceiling. “I got to know most of my division pretty well. I thought we were maybe friends. But when it came down to it, and they could either try and help me or make sure they got away, they hopped in our rickety ship and left. Without me.”
The bed creaked as Gaa’eng sat up, her look of distress worsening. “They were your people.” Yoko felt a large paw rest on her arm. “The other kroolie from your ship. They were your pod?”
“Gaa’eng, listen, its not like tha—“ Yoko began to whimper.
“No, it is! I was told to attack you, I was the reason you lost your people! It is my fault that you are—“
Yoko grabbed Gaa’eng’s face in her hands, claws grazing, but not damaging her skin. Once the beak between her hands had shut, and the six eyes had locked on her lone pair, she asked a simple question:
“Did you want to do it?”
“I-Obviously not! But th-they had left me no choice! They said if I wouldn’t work for them, Xho’eng and Kig’eng could be next! I was—“
“Scared?”
“…terrified.” Gaa’eng’s tension was still present, but thankfully lessened.
“So it wasn’t your choice, and you did it for your pod’s safety?”
Gaa’eng slowly nodded, and the small hands fell away from her face.
“So I don’t blame you for my division deserting me, and neither should you.”
“…I suppose so.”
“Besides,” Yoko wheeked. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I wouldn’t be suprised if I did something to piss our pilot off—“
“No.”
A shiver ran up Yoko’s spine at the intensity of that one word, the power was somewhat reminiscent of her former superiors reprimanding her, but lacked the aggressive bite to its tone.
“…I may not know your ‘division’ as you call them, but I know you.” Gaa’eng orange eyes seemed to burn as they stared her down. “You are a compassionate and intelligent woman. If those who knew you were aware of a chance to help you, they would take it.”
“I…”
“It is like you said about me,” The woman softened “They were afraid, and wished to keep their ‘division’ safe.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
There was a breif silence, the D’jombam broke it first.
“I’m glad you allowed me to ‘navigate’ your thoughts.”
Yoko stared, broken out of her stupor “Was that a joke??”
“Would it have been a funny one?” Gaa’eng asked, spots shimmering in shades that were seldom shown, but magical to see. Amused. Happy.
The two cackled in the small room. Once Yoko stopped shaking from her wheeks, she grabbed the smaller bottle; one of the two neglected on the floor.
“How about a toast?” She asked, holding the metal bottle.
Gaa’eng blinked, confusion evident even without the mood telling spots. “Is this not a drink?”
Yoko, sighed. She couldn’t exactly blame the woman’s struggles in Common tounge, considering it was the empire she had been born in that taught her the language.
“Toast can mean a celebratory drink.”
“Ah.” She relaxed. “What shall we be ‘celebrating’?” She questioned as she grabbed the larger bottle.
“A drink for those we lost, and the hope that we may see them again.” Yoko raised her bottle across to Gaa’eng.
“To home.” Gaa’eng replied, voice laden with catharsis.
“To home.” Yoko copied as they thunked the metal bottles together.