”I don’t like it much either.” Kes replied.

”Is that why you left then?” Lanam asked, curious. ”Because they were being mean?”

That caught Anara and Tresit’s attention both. ”No… No, that’s not why.” Kes answered.

”Then why?” Lanam asked, kindness and innocence in her voice.

Kes smiled a little. ”Because… I was in love with someone. And she didn’t love me back, she loved someone else.” She looked over to Anara to see her reaction. She hadn’t told her wife about Tae yet. Or, at least, not that she’d had feelings like that for her, not explicitly anyway (though she had to think Anara might at least have suspected something of the kind). She had meant too, it was only, she’d gotten… detracted, by Anara’s lips. And she’d honestly not thought about it again until now. She would have liked to talk about this with Anara in private (or, at least, as close to privacy as they could have), but she couldn’t bring herself to not give Lanam an honest reply right now. ”Her name is Tae, she… was my best friend. I… saw her kissing the boy she liked, and I couldn’t… I just couldn’t stand to stay, so I left.”

Anara moved to hold her hand. ”Then she was a fool, and I’m… very grateful to her for it.”

Lanam giggled. ”I like it when they talk like that. It’s pretty.” She said.

Tresit sighed. ”I suppose it is.” He agreed reluctantly. ”I would like to lay down for a while to think on this…” He stood up and went over to his and Lanam’s cot.

”You… haven’t decided you want to go?” Anara asked, sounding unsure of herself. Kes moved to pick Lanam up in her arms and carry her over to her and Anara’s bed to sit down across from where Tresit was going. Anara came along and wordlessly snuggled up to her, resting her head on Kes’s shoulder for comfort.

”I will go.” Tresit said, laying down, looking thoughtful. ”Wherever my family goes, I will go. I simply…” He closed his eyes. ”I have things I must consider.” He said.

Kes got the feeling that he was trying to act like he thought a Kazon male should act again, and wished he didn’t have to feel that kind of weight on his shoulders. She wondered again what he was thinking about and wished she could simply look into his mind to find out… Technically, she could of course, but she never wanted to do anything like that without permission, and she didn’t want to ask Tresit for his.