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The night was warm. Zam was not.
The wraiths from earlier haunted her like waking nightmares. They were dead, but the lingering feeling of dread was not. She stared up at the sky as if it could fix all her problems. The usually benevolent stars seemed grim, as if deciding her fate. She felt the grass move beside her. Sausage sat beside her, eyes gentle.
"I- I killed them."
"You did. You were very brave. I'm proud of you." He soothed, moving closer.
"I killed them." Her voice shook. Didn't he understand what she had done?
"I know. It was scary, wasn't it?" Zam nodded meekly, burying her face in her knees. She couldn't look at her friend any longer. Her stomach turned. An arm wrapped around her, and she found herself tucked into Sausage's side, despite being several inches taller than him.
"You did something very brave, okay? If you hadn't done that, the wraiths would've hurt Kara, or Captain, or Graecie."
"I wouldn't want that." She mumbled.
The man nodded in understanding. "I wouldn't either. That's why I fight. To protect all of you. I don't want anyone to be hurt, but I especially don't want anyone I love to be hurt. And sometimes, if you don't kill someone else, they'll kill you. Or someone you love."
Zam hummed in understanding, shuddering at the thought of anyone hurting her friends. She leaned into the warmth of Sausage, letting her breathing slow to match his. He ruffled her hair, the whir of his arm seeming a bit more comforting than usual.
"You feel better?"
"A little."
"Yeah? Here, how about this. We go back to the academy, I can make us cider- or you, if you want to. We can play a game of cards, or hang out with Twilight and Penny. Maybe Graecie will join us, I saw her earlier."
"That sounds good." She admitted, and he stood, proffering a hand.
"C'mon." Zam took his hand, and began the moonlit walk back to the castle that loomed in the distance. It seemed a little less intimidating, knowing her friends were inside it.
~~~~~~~
Zam bustled around her kitchen, every pot full to the brim as she threw in ingredients. She had been hard at work ever since the kitchen had been made, determined to make sure the remaining students had a safe, reliable food source. Every barrel had been stocked, but she was the best chef in school- it was her duty to make good food.
The door clicked softly as Legs stepped in, surveying the scene with a frown.
"Zam?"
"Hmm?"
"Weren't you up to this, like, three or four hours ago when I came up to say good morning?"
"Oh, um, yeah." The alien replied distractedly, tasting a soup and shaking her head in dissatisfaction.
"Have you taken a break?" He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as she brushed by him, moving like a whirlwind.
"Not really." Zam dug through a shelf, finding diced potatoes and tossing them into the same large, bubbling pot.
"Should you?"
"No." She ladled the soup out into bowls, pushing them to the end of the counter for someone to take. Legs gently grabbed her arm, but Zam removed herself from his grip.
"Wrong answer."
"I'm fine, really. I used to work a lot longer than this on Mars. Besides, someone needs to make food for the students, they-"
"The students can wait." His voice was soft as he shepherded her into a nearby chair. Legs took her hands, crouching to look into her eyes. "You matter just as much as they do, okay? Besides, you've made so much food, everyone has enough to eat for weeks! You've been at this for hours. Take a break."
He tugged her up to stand, and this time she didn't resist. Zam found that in the moment to breathe, the exhaustion had quickly seeped in.
Legs guided her into her room, letting her sink into the couch and joining her.
"There we go." He hummed, tugging her to rest against him. She was careful to settle herself in a way that didn't crush the smaller. They managed to situate themselves in a way that got everyone happy, dragons tucked between riders and limbs tangled together.
Everything seemed a little less stressful tucked in between the cushion and her friend.
~~~~~
Zam was crying.
Zam was crying as ugly and loud as she could- which wasn't very much, considering her nature. She hiccupped a few times as she stared at the smiling face of her best friend in front of her, who was also crying.
The second everyone else had left, both of them had lasted about five seconds before breaking down. Graecie was cupping her face, trying to remain somewhat composed and mostly failing.
"I was- really- scared- in- in there." Graecie whispered, after a moment.
"I was scared- out here." Zam replied, letting the other wipe away her tears before pressing their foreheads together.
"I really, really missed your voice. I had to ring your bells a- a lot."
"I missed- missed you too. I could hear you- sometimes- in there. You talked to me- a- lot. I'm glad." The pale, tired, awake girl said, managing to get a hold of herself.
"Really?"
"Yeah! When you would talk to me- I could- I could hear it." Graecie sniffled.
"I'm sorry."
"No! Nononono, Don't apologize. It really helped. I was so so scared, and then I'd hear you, and- I was happy. To hear you."
"Oh. Okay." They lapsed into silence, before Zam broke it, hesitantly, as if afraid to ruin the peace.
"I'm really glad you're back."
"Me too." Graecie wrapped her arms around her, and Zam returned the favor. They remained like that a moment, each basking in the feeling of having the other to hold again. Graecie was the first to tug away.
"I should probably sleep. At some point." She sounded small. Zam didn't like when she sounded small. The pink-haired girl nodded, thinking.
"Sleepover?"
"Yeah, that sounds- nice. Please."
Zam would've given her the world if it sounded nice. They collapsed into Graecie's plush bed, letting Fleece and Twilight curl up beside them, content. Zam had never felt safer while protecting someone else. Her chest was a relieved, quiet hum compared to the usual noisy buzz. She fell asleep curled around the other three.
Maybe Earth wasn't so bad after all.