Falling

Chapter I

Nima sighed in boredom as she scanned the worker's transit. She noticed Prauf and Cal murmuring to each other and sparing glances around themselves, almost as if they were afraid someone might hear them. Her brows furrowed in concern. What were they so worried about?

Nima allowed them to finish their conversation before heading over and seating herself on Cal's left. She gave him a small nudge to get his attention. "You doing alright?"

He met her eyes briefly and nodded. "Yeah."

"You sure? You look like you're brooding."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward at her concern, but it didn't meet his eyes. "I'm okay. Really."

She raised a brow at him. "You do know you can talk to me, right? As I've told you a thousand times."

Now, his eyes glinted with gratitude. "I know." It faded as something seemed to dawn on him, and he glanced at Prauf who looked back at him warily. "Listen, um... Nima?"

"Yeah?"

He scratched the back of his head, a nervous habit of his. "So it turns out that I... need to go away for a while."

A pit formed in her stomach. "What?"

Cal faltered, swallowing before sitting up a bit straighter. "It's not forever. I'm... I'm coming back."

"When?"

He opened his mouth only to shut it. His eyes flickered over to Prauf again. "I don't know," he admitted slowly. "Someday."

Her chest ached with despair. This didn't make any sense. Why would he need to leave so suddenly? "When are you leaving?" she asked in a breath.

Again, he hesitated. "I'm gonna contact Tabbers once I pack my things."

She nodded. "Right. He owes you."

He nodded, not meeting her eyes.

She pondered for a moment then let out a sigh, pulling her walls back up and shrugging. "Welp. I hope you don't die."

Now he gazed over at her, confused. "What?"

"What? It's not like I can do anything about it. You have your reasons. Just bring me a souvenir when you visit, 'kay?" She fell back in her seat and crossed her arms with a smirk as she jerked her head for him to join her. "Why don't you get some rest? I'm sure you've had a long day."

Cal furrowed his brows, but he knew that was her signal for ending the conversation. Guilt panged in his chest, but he nodded, leaned back in his seat, and pressed his shoulder to it, shutting his eyes.

For a few minutes, the transit was filled with awkward silence, at least between the trio. But eventually, Nima let out a sigh and slouched in her seat, glancing over at Prauf. "How're you doin', big guy?"

The Abednedo gave her a small grin. "I'm alright."

She hummed, biting the inside of her cheek to try and come up with a conversation topic. "I heard that one of the wings collapsed. That must've been hellish, huh?"

"Yeah, that, uh... that was us, actually."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, what?" She was tempted to scold him for not telling her sooner even after the previous conversation, but she decided against it. "Are you guys okay? Did you get hurt?"

"Nah. Well, I mean..." He looked to his lap. "I injured my leg, so I won't be able to work for a while."

She frowned. "What about him?" she asked, nodding to the ginger who was now slumped against her. "Is he okay?"