There was so much she remembered about the quiet boy she’d known on Akada, and so little of it reflected back at her from the face of Abelard. She pursed her lips and gazed over the expanse of his vessel. It was… well, it was a bit disappointing, if she was being frank.

“What are you doing these days?”

“Mostly running from things,” he said a little too loudly, turning to inspect the hull of his ship with his hand. “I made a few enemies after father’s death… Not really what you wanted to hear, is it?”

“I don’t want anything from you,” she lied.

He looked at her, hard. “So what are you doing here? ’Thought you’d want to stay on Akada forever after what you saw.”

“I saw far more on Akada after you left. I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back.”

For a second, she swore she could see a chink in his cold armor- a flickering around his eyes. But he didn’t say a word. She sighed, and began to pick up her bag.

“Well, as long as you don’t know where you’re going, you can go nowhere with me.”

Eloise smiled.