Kes was glad she didn’t ask the other obvious next question: ’and why did you leave?’. ”What’s it like…? Very peaceful, mostly. Content, you could say. As I said, the Caretaker gives us everything we need, and most of my people are content with that.” She told her honestly.

”Not you, though?” Anara asked intuitively.

Kes smiled at that. ”No, not me, you’re right. My friends and I, we believed in doing things for ourselves. We started growing plants, gardens of them, in the caves. We made medicines with them, ate food we grew ourselves. And we practiced with our mental abilities. We, I, believed that our abilities used to be much greater than what they are now. The legends of my people say that they were.”

”From my own experience with you, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.” Anara told her.

”Some of the elders didn’t like what we were doing, but they made no effort to stop us…” And Kes again thought how different her people and Anara’s seemed to be. Although she’d already conceded that any race of people who had Anara and her children for members must have it’s positive, even wonderful, aspects, as well. It was just, perhaps they were hidden. Of, perhaps Anara, Tresit, and Lanam were simply… happy exceptions. Much like… much like she herself was, she supposed. She had traits that most of the rest of her people didn’t possess – it wasn’t a stretch at all for her to imagine the same might be true for others, of other races of people.

They talked a while longer, sunset not far away by now. Lanam and Tresit had woken, and they’d all had a sparse meal together, conserving food and water, not eating much more than they needed, though Kes ached inside to be able to offer Anara and her children more. The obvious solution was taking them back with her, below ground, but she didn’t mention the idea yet. It might be a little selfish, but she really didn’t feel up to that particular conversation just yet… thankfully she had the time. Anara, Tresit, and Lanam wouldn’t be strong enough to make the trip for a few days yet probably. Being with Anara and her family like this… it felt like it was healing something inside of her somehow. She just, she wanted a little more time with that feeling before she had to test it against what might be a reality she wasn’t ready to handle.