A Whore at Dread Harbor Ch. 08

Deckard circled the map table. Corani flinched at his presence, but did not resist when he enfolded her into a hug. She sighed. Leaning her head against his chest as she wept softly into his shirt.

"Stay strong, little mouse." Deckard said, planting a gentle kiss on top of her head. "I'm here; we'll get through this together, come hell or high water."

"I know. I'll be okay." She whispered. "I just... I needed to let that out."

Deckard remembered moments like this on Dread Harbor, when the pressure of their terrible circumstances had seemed too much to bear. Corani had broken down once or twice like this, but only in the quiet moments. Never on the mission, never when their life was on the line.

Deckard recalled how he'd managed to calm her down before: with idle stories of his days as a misplaced orphan on Jai-Na-Yoh with his adopted, alien family. The lonely Catian had delighted at the tales he told of he and his sibling's hijinx. It had calmed her in a time where animal panic was always just a sound away.

Then again, these were different circumstances. Maybe Corani didn't need comfort, but rather courage. She had mentioned that she wanted to know about his adventures while out on the Frontier. Perhaps now was the time to tell her one of the more wholesome stories from that time.

As she shivered in his arms, Deckard felt a wave of protectiveness sweep over him. Whatever happened on this mission, whatever might happen to him personally, Deckard knew he could not let this fragile creature suffer.

What story does Deckard tell Corani?

A quaint childhood story about him and his Catian siblings on his home planet.

A thrilling adventure he had during his ten years out on the frontier.

An embellished story about himself and a Catian Princess alone on a deserted planet.