Tresit looked at her in confusion. ”That doesn’t make a difference though. All that matters… is that we would have died, and it would have been for nothing. My uncle… he would have still been alive.”

”…You would have still been alive, if you’d gone with him… Would you make a different choice, now? Even if I hadn’t happened by, and you’d have died with them? Even if it was inevitable that you would die? Would you have done it any differently?” She asked.

”No, of course not!” He said, as though she were accusing him of something horrible.

”So why is it better that he would have lived when you wouldn’t have?” Kes asked. ”If you wouldn’t want to have a life like his anyway? If you think… that living a life like his would be worse than dying?”

”I… I guess I never thought about it like that.” Tresit admitted.

”Your father died, in a battle he wasn’t able to win… right?” Kes asked softly. ”But you’re proud of him for that?”

”…Yes.” Tresit told her.

”Then… wouldn’t he be proud of you? For doing the same thing? For fighting a battle, even if you couldn’t win? And… and seeing it to the end?” She asked. Somehow… somehow, she understood, this was the right thing to say. The thing Tresit needed to hear. She wasn’t quite sure how she knew that, but she did know it. Maybe… maybe she’d gained more than language when she’d touched Anara’s mind like she had. It… it certainly felt like she had. Though she couldn’t quite put a name to what that meant.

Tresit was quiet a moment, looking down at the ground between them. But, then he raised his head and met her eyes. ”You’re right. He… he would be proud of me, wouldn’t he?” He said, a little wonder in his voice. Kes could tell, he honestly hadn’t thought his father would have been proud of him before.

”And besides. Now you have a second chance, right? And I’m here to help you.” She told him. ”Okay?”

”Okay.” He said. ”But… but I’m going to pay you back one day, zaraya. One day, I’ll save you from something, maybe.”

Kes smiled to him. ”Maybe you will.” She said, sitting up and offering him her hand to hold.