There isn't much immediately around her; just scrubby bushes and flat rock. The stone formations a little farther away should at least offer shade, though, or perhaps there's a cave in those cliffs.

She thinks the cliffs look more promising - there's also the potential to be able to get high and get a better idea of the lay of the land. So she heads for those, keeping fairly low to the ground in an attempt to avoid notice from anybody (or thing) that she has failed to spot.

Some kind of large bird circles curiously overhead, but flies off after a minute; otherwise the journey is uneventful.

There are no immediately obvious caves, but the cliff face looks fairly easily climbable.

Then climb it she will. It's harder than she thinks it should be - given her injuries, that probably isn't too surprising - but she still makes fairly decent progress. She's not quite overheating when she makes it to the top, but she certainly doesn't feel good. She perches on the edge of the cliff and shields her eyes to try and see what's around her.

Nothing like civilization, that's for sure. Scrub, rocks, rocky scrub, stone pillars - a glint of something reflective, way off there in the distance. It doesn't seem to be moving.

She chews on her lip, and, eventually, decides to at least find out what that reflective surface is - if it's a ship, she can stow away and hopefully get back to where she was. And if nothing else, hopefully water. She can probably get an idea if either of those two hopes are likely from enough of a distance to keep herself concealed if it happens to have people around it - she's pretty good at sneaking.

It's quite a trek, but there's nothing to stop her from trying it.

She hasn't gotten very far at all when she hears the noise of some sort of machinery, very quietly but, if she waits to find out, getting louder.

She'll wait, but is there anywhere she can hide? She doesn't want to be out in the open if there's someone - or something - coming.

Not really. If she backtracks a little there's a rockfall she can hide behind.

She will backtrack and hide then. Better to be out of sight. That way if she needs to defend herself she has a better defensive position.

The noise continues getting louder; it seems to be headed right for her hiding spot.

Either it doesn't know she's here and it's just a coincidence, and there's no reason to move. (Unlikely.) Or whatever this is has some way of tracking her, and there's no point to moving.

She hasn't seen anything yet. (Except an ominous red flash that made no immediate sense.) So she curls down slightly tighter and pulls the small knife out of her sleeve - just in case.

That does trigger something - a woman, saying... something, trying several different languages, walking around the rockpile that's serving as a shield. She doesn't drop the knife (too high a risk), feints an attacking lunge in an attempt to give herself room to run. And then there's a sound like a laser cutter igniting, a red blade flashes, and her vision blacks out.

So whoever is approaching is potentially dangerous. And she probably shouldn't even feint an attack if she wants to survive this.

The sound comes up to the far side of the rockpile and stops, and a moment later a woman's voice - the one from her vision - announces something in an unfamiliar language, annoyed.

She doesn't move. Irritating this woman might be a bad idea, but she can see if the woman will go away. (She isn't holding out much hope really, but it is worth a shot.)

In a word: no. She tries her announcement in three more languages - vaguely guttural with big rounded vowels; sharp and angry; brisk and tonal - and then strides around the rockpile, tensed for a fight.

She considers her options. Which are not very many.

She tucks the knife half away - easy enough to pull free again if she needs to - and slips out of her hiding place once she approximates the woman to be at the furthest point from it. The attempt to run is probably stupid, but she has to try. (Distance between the threat and her.)

The woman is supernaturally fast. In barely a handful of seconds she's in front of the girl, brandishing a glowing red bar as if it's a sword and asking a sarcastic question in the first unfamiliar language.

She skids to a halt and takes two quick steps back - not running, just putting a bit more space there. She holds her hands out - hoping that works as a gesture of 'not a threat' - eyes focusing on the red blur. (No vision, so no immediate threat, she'll do her best to keep it that way.)

To look at, she isn't much. She looks young, maybe fourteen or fifteen at most, but her dark eyes seem old. Her skin is a dark crimson red, covered with scratches and bruises - and bruiselike marks under her eyes speak more of lack of sleep than injuries. She's obviously malnourished - her cheeks are near hollow, and her clothes that look like they should be close-fitting hang somewhat loose on her frame. Her black hair is brittle, and cropped short and unevenly. Her sleeves don't really hide the burns on her forearms - she's too used to having them rolled back to her elbows - and there's a few other scars visible, the most obvious the one perilously close to her carotid, the one over her eyebrow visible with close observation.

"I- I'm sorry. I don't understand," she says, pointlessly really, she's almost certain this woman can't understand her in turn.

The woman peers at her - suspicion, confusion, anger, concern - and shifts to a less aggressive stance; saber still out but just guarding, now.

She looks away, down to the side, biting at her lower lip. She's not seeing anything. Which means she's not in immediate danger. But-

She drops to her knees. She has no idea what to do. She's used to not understanding people, but normally she has some sort of cue as to what she needs to do. Here...

She just does her best to project not a threat. (Without actually projecting that, just in case the woman's psychic, that wouldn't end well.)

"Sorry," she mumbles again, not entirely sure what she's apologising for. (She's light-headed now, she hasn't has a drink in too long, has overheated too much, but she's doing her best to push that away.)

The woman peers for a moment more, and then the red blade retreats into the copper casing in her hand. She gestures downward - stay - and heads back around to where she left her vehicle.

She stays - that's a gesture she can at least recognise. But at least the red blade's vanished - for now. It's one less thing to track.

She does try to get a look at the vehicle, sheer curiosity concerning mechanical things overriding her more normal caution.

The vehicle is long and slender, weathered silvery metal. The main body has a leather seat long enough for two people to sit on and a small storage compartment behind it, with handlebars for steering, and two poles hold some sort of small apparatus out in front of it.

The woman retrieves a translucent blue jug of water from the storage compartment and brings it around; she pours some water into her hand and drinks it demonstratively before levitating the jug toward the girl.

She can't glean much from the external - it doesn't look like anything she's seen before, but that doesn't really mean much.

The jug does catch her attention, along with the drink the woman takes from it. And then it's levitating. (She'd seen some evidence that people had abilities beyond psychic and her own, but not anything like this.)

She hesitates, before slowly reaching for the jug, half concerned this is some kind of cruel trick. Provided it doesn't get yanked away, she'll take it, and drink a few sips, pacing herself like someone who has experience drinking too fast after going a while without. And then puts it back down - before she could be properly rehydrated, but she has enough for now.

The woman watches, still wary, and then sits on the ground, legs crossed, still holding the copper tube, and waits for a moment before closing her eyes.

If the woman isn't going to take the jug back, and isn't going to actively watch it, she'll sneak a few more sips, until her thirst is actually quenched. All the while watching the woman, at least as warily as the woman is watching her. (She isn't going to risk an attack, she's pretty sure she wouldn't win that fight.)

The woman stays put, eyes closed.

After several minutes, there's a faint sense of presence that fades, then grows, resolving into a sense of concern and annoyance and then carrying a message: How did you come to be in my territory, and where were you before?

She flinches (psychics projecting never meant anything good), and then, is...startled. Because... That's... Not painful?

Eventually she manages to respond: Sorry, didn't mean to, ma'am. Just...ended up here. She pauses. A...Waystation, ma'am. An impression of a press of people, none of them pleasant, metal walls, and a stale, recycled-air environment. She shuts the impression down fairly quickly though.

Concern annoyance confusion. Do you expect to be followed?

The annoyance makes her flinch again, and it's clear she's not...comfortable with communicating this way. (Along with a gratefulness that she can communicate.)

I... she gives a barely perceptible shrug. If Ma'am, and that's slightly different from the 'ma'am' she's been using to refer to this woman, can figure out how I ended up here, she will. But- I don't know what happened, ma'am. It...I don't expect it. Can't ensure it won't happen, ma'am. Sorry.

The emotional aspect of the communication channel ebbs back, though this does make it a bit harder to hear overall.

I will notice if she does, unless she is very good at shielding. For now you will come with me. I can't maintain this channel while I'm not meditating but I can read your mind, so you can speak to me; if you have a language my droid can learn it and translate. Be polite to the droid.

Yes ma'am, she agrees, almost subserviently. As you wish. Sorry to be a bother.

She gets back to her feet, lifting the jug with her, and waits for further orders - gestures or otherwise.

I want to know what happened to you, comes one final message, but we should get out of the heat first. And then the woman stands and leads the way to the speeder, sitting at the back of the seat so that the girl can sit in front of her. (She can still easily reach the controls from there.)

She nods, not sure how she'll explain that, not really wanting to explain it. But there is an implicit order, so she follows and takes the seat - not quite reluctantly, she doesn't like close contact, but she likes angering people less.

Such is the nature of the speeder, unfortunately. She stays as still as she can, and waits a moment after turning the speeder on to make sure this isn't too alarming - it hovers up by several inches when she does - before setting back off the way she came.

There's a slight jump at that, but she settles quickly - and there's a fascination there that she's obviously trying to hide. She's tense, but she's also paying attention to where they're going, and their surroundings.

The Sith keeps to a slow enough speed to allow her... guest... to note landmarks; the trip takes nearly half an hour, and the final stretch of it takes them past two places where the rocks have been decorated with embedded metal in abstract patterns. Eventually they come to a trio of buildings, one larger than the other two but none of them big, all made of white adobe. A silver humanoid robot heavily decorated with variously colored metal flowers stands by the sculpture in front of the biggest building, watching anxiously as they approach.

The decorations on the rocks catches her attention briefly, but she doesn't understand the purpose, not really - she's never seen something that was built for purely aesthetic reasons rather than practical.

She shrinks down slightly as they approach the trio of buildings, watching the...robot? cautiously - they don't really have humanoid robots where she came from. Robotic systems, yes, something like this? Not so much. She remembers being told to 'be polite to the droid', and hopes she manages that, although she has virtually no experience being social with anyone. (She can admit that the decoration on the droid is very pretty, even if she doesn't understand the reasoning behind it.)

Well, that's not surprising, really. (The art, that is. Not knowing about droids is weird, albeit not much weirder than not knowing better than to try to run from a Sith at close range.)

She pulls the speeder up outside the garage and turns it off before letting the girl dismount; the droid keeps her distance.

She slips off the vehicle, and immediately puts some distance between her and the woman, while trying to stay a non-threatening distance from the droid as well. She doesn't go far, wrapping her arms around herself and looking for some cue as to what she's expected to do now.

Yeah, fair enough.

She dismounts, retrieves a pack from the speeder's storage compartment, and gestures for the girl to go to the larger building.

She obeys, scanning her surroundings. Looking for anything that might tell her more about the woman, and just to get an idea of where she is now - knowing her surroundings is important.

The space around the buildings is mostly flat, dusty ground, with a few points of interest - a small patch of blackened earth ringed by small stones, a large twisting metal sculpture, a tree shading the door to the big building, a well by the door, a few paths leading off in various directions. The second small building is hidden behind the large one, from here, but she had the opportunity to spot a patch of green next to it on the way in, presumably a garden. The nearer one is probably a garage, from the large doors and the way the speeder is pointed at it.

The room immediately inside the large building is clearly a workshop; a huge table surrounded by benches takes up most of the space and is cluttered with parts and tools and an abandoned half-eaten plate of food. Bins on the right-hand wall contain more parts, some of them sorted by color, some not, and a closed wooden cabinet decorated with more metal swirls and a few large tools take up the back wall, leaving room for a door. The left-hand wall, that the entry door is nearest, has a small window, some sort of workstation set into the wall, and a second door. Where the walls would otherwise be empty, they're hung with draped fabric in bright jewel tones.

She wonders if the tree is something she could climb, but that's something to find out later if she gets the chance. Along with exploring further and mapping out more than the route to where she was, and the immediate surroundings of the buildings - and perhaps figure out what the third of the buildings is.

She maps the room quickly, notes the parts and tools - the woman, builds or fixes things? (The half-eaten plate of food is given a hungry look, before she manages to conceal her feelings again.) The fabric however, fascinates her. She's never seen a room decorated like this, too used to sheer metal walls of ship. She drifts over to one of the drapes, fingers brushing over it, before snatching her hand back, trying to look like she hadn't been touching it.

The woman is right behind her - and also still reading her mind - so she does see, but gestures magnanimously: go ahead. She then gestures more complicatedly to the droid, who nods, takes the plate and scrapes it into a bin in the workstation, and then begins working there.

The woman herself sits at the table, her back to the far wall; she's much calmer now, though still watchful.

Then she'll go back to stroking the material, although she will keep the woman and the droid in the corner of her vision. She watches the more complicated gestures closely, but still isn't entirely sure what it translates to - for all she knows, the droid would have done those things anyway, so she can't be entirely sure they're instructions.

She eventually retreats to the corner by the door to the outside and slides down the wall, tucking her knees up against her chest, just watching.

It quickly becomes obvious that the droid is preparing food, from the smells coming from the workspace. After a bit, she turns back to the woman with a plate of food in hand and signs something to her, which she responds to by nodding and levitating the plate over to the girl - sliced fruit, a scrambled egg, and fried potato slices.

She looks at the plate, and then at the woman - not directly at her face, but at her. After a moment she takes the plate and looks at what's on it in confusion. She can guess that it's food - the smells were similar to ones that sometimes came out of the galley after they'd restocked - but none of it's actually familiar. She looks back at the woman again, she doesn't think she's likely to take the food back, she certainly didn't take the water back.

Then she prods at the food cautiously. The fruit proves too sweet when she nibbles on it, and the fried potato just a little too much flavour. The eggs are bland enough though - although not entirely bland, just, the blandest thing there. She doesn't however finish the egg, although she eats enough to be full.

She stares at the still mostly full plate. "Sorry for the waste," she murmurs, tensing slightly as she tries to figure out what to do with the leftovers and the plate.

She has her own plate, by then, but is still watching, and gently levitates the plate back to the workstation for the droid to scrape into the bin. Then she closes her eyes again, like last time she wanted to communicate.

She doesn't exactly relax when the plate is taken from her and dealt with, but she leans her chin on her knees, and watches her host, waiting to see if she does communicate again.

She's a little quicker to establish communication this time, but still fairly slow; she's less annoyed and more curious, now. It won't be wasted, the goat will eat it, she sends, with a brief impression of the animal, and I wouldn't be upset at you even if it was. Do you need anything besides blandness? Normal human nutrition, or something else?

There's some brief confusion at what a 'goat' is, but it's quickly quashed with a thought of 'animal of some variety'. Thank you, ma'am. Um...Normal I think? It's not something she's ever really thought about - just eaten the tasteless nutrition pastes she'd been handed.

Concern tinges the channel again, with an undertone of annoyance. Okay. We don't have that but we'll do what we can. Do you need anything else?

What I ate was fine, she says hurriedly. Um...not really? I don't...take up much. She'd learned not to. Something to do would be good, she's always had a use before, but it isn't...critical.

I can find something for you to do, she sends, with the impression of a nod. For now you should focus on teaching Daisy your language, once you're settled in.

Thank you, ma'am, she replies. I can...start now? If that's...okay with... She pauses, trying to figure out how to refer to Daisy (she was told to be polite). Miss(?) Daisy?

Just Daisy. Now is fine. There's a sense of momentary thoughtfulness. She'll be going into town in a few days and can bring back a few changes of clothing for you, and I'll see if I can fit my travel cot in here if I move some furniture around; is there anything else you might need in the next month?

She nods and files that away. That's very generous, ma'am, thank you. You-you don't have to bother with the cot. Floor's fine. That sounds like it'll be an inconvenience to relocate things. No, ma'am. Don't need anything.

- I can levitate the furniture, too, it's less inconvenient than it would be for most people.

She sits silently for a moment, trying to figure out if it would be worse to continue refusing, or just agree.

If that's what you want to do, ma'am, she says finally. Still, the idea of a cot seems awfully exposed (and strange), but if that's what the woman wants, she's not going to argue.

I'll put the mattress under the table, how does that sound.

...That would be good, thank you, ma'am. There's surprise there, she's not used to people taking her preferences into account.

One thing does occur to her: How, um, do I teach Daisy my language? Do I just...talk to her? That is not something she's ever had to do before.

Mmhmm. I'm reading your mind, I'll tell her what you mean.

It still takes a moment, but she will start speaking, quietly, and watching carefully to make sure she isn't being irritating. She starts by describing what she sees in the room as best she can, for lack of any other idea what to say. When she's finished with that, she just starts saying words, which is much more disjointed, but she really isn't used to talking this much (which might be obvious in the way she stumbles over her words occasionally).

Nothing bad happens and neither of them seems to be irritated; the droid sits with them and the woman signs to her as the girl speaks, and when she starts to run out of things to say the droid tries asking questions to fill in the gaps in her vocabulary.

She does her best to answer the questions, some needing more thought and prodding than others. And some of the words are cobbled-together, half made up to describe concepts she doesn't have the words for. (Mostly mechanical things, related to fixing engines, but also some very common things, that she knows, but never got told what they were.)

The woman seems upset at more than a few of the things she doesn't have names for; she hides it, but not perfectly.

After a couple hours, the droid calls a halt - "This is good for now. We can talk more later."

She apologises for those gaps in her knowledge - she doesn't like people being upset, that tends to end badly.

When the droid - Daisy - calls a halt, she nods. "Okay, ma- mis- Daisy." She wonders what she's supposed to do now, and wonders if asking to learn whatever language her host speaks in is a good idea. (Or something she's even capable of, she knows she isn't all that smart, got told that often enough.)

The woman signs; the droid translates, still somewhat clumsily. "She needs to work. I can show you the other places. She needs to be more sure we're safe before we teach you things."

She nods again, that is perfectly understandable (she's not worth the trouble if Ma'am does manage to come looking, and she's still a stranger), and she doesn't want to disturb her host.

"If you don't mind showing me?" she agrees carefully.

"I don't mind."

The droid leads the way to the garage, first; there's space inside for the speeder, and a few more large tools, and metal shelves holding a variety of things, most of them unfamiliar. A significant portion of the back of the garage is taken up by a set of metal rods and large flat pieces, which Daisy describes as "to stand on to work on large things."

She follows Daisy, at just a little more than arms length.

The garage is fascinating - unfamiliar things or not, she's always liked machinery, it makes sense and doesn't change the rules on you.

At Daisy's explanation for the rods and pieces at the back of the garage she frowns slightly. "Like the..." she pauses, not having quite the right word. "Metal-thing out front?"

"The sculpture," she offers the word in Basic. "Yes."

She sounds the word out under her breath. "Thank you," she says. She'll drift around the garage for a little bit longer, before moving closer to Daisy again, tilting her head, ready to move on if Daisy is.

And Daisy leads the way to the third building. She stops outside, first, to show the girl the garden; "food," she explains.

"You..." pauses, thinks through words, "make, grow your own?"

She's never seen food in this state before, hadn't thought of where the non-nutrient paste the rest of the crew sometimes got came from. She almost asks how it's done, but doubts what she's managed to tell Daisy so far will have the words to describe it.

"Yes." The droid seems to have picked up on her curiosity; she picks a tiny red growth from one of the plants, squishes it, and retrieves a small object from inside. "Seed," she says, again in Basic, showing it to the girl, and then bends to dig a small hole in the ground and cover it with soil. "Needs sun," she points, "and water, grows, makes more."

There is something somewhat satisfying about that idea, and she watches closely (quietly sounding out any unfamiliar words).

This is something she could probably help with. "I...can help?" she offers.

The droid's body language shifts; she seems pleased. "Yes. Not now, the sun takes too much water now."

"Thank you," she says, lips shifting into a very unpracticed smile. Then she half gestures towards the building to suggest they carry on.

And in they can go.

This building is small, dim, and a bit smelly. One wall is dedicated to a large cage; obviously not meant for humans, as it would be easy enough to dismantle the wire enclosing it, even with bare hands, and the door leading into it is held shut with a simple latch that would be relatively easy to reach from inside. Two squat fat birds are scratching around inside, while a third dozes on a bar near the back. "Chickens," explains the droid.

She stares at the birds, repeats 'chickens' thoughtfully. "What's their use?"

"Food. Eggs." She goes into the cage and checks the nest boxes, and brings one out to show her. "Makes what you ate."

"Oh," she says, looking at the egg curiously. "It was...good. That is useful."

She looks around the rest of the building.

The other side of the building is a large pen, with another chicken poking around inside and two troughs by the fence; one is empty and the other is half full of water. "For the goat," Daisy says, and then goes to open the door on the back wall.

After a moment, curiosity encourages her to follow, at the same careful distance she's been maintaining.

The door opens onto a staging area, which opens onto a larger pen, half shaded by the building, containing two more chickens and a larger short-furred brown animal with small horns and strange-looking eyes that comes trotting over when it sees the droid. "The goat makes milk - like water but food." She reaches over the fence to scratch behind the creature's ear and feed her the remains of the cherry tomato from the garden.

She hangs back, but nods at the explanation, and watches the interaction curiously. These are the first animals she's encountered, they're not a common thing off-planet, and she hasn't spent any time on-planet. (And she's not sure what to make of those eyes.) She expects that they take at least some caring for, but she's far less confident offering help here.

The droid gives the goat another pat and turns her attention back to the girl. "Any questions?"

It takes her a little while to respond to that. Part of it is figuring out if she does have any questions. The second is actually asking them.

"What can I help with?" she asks eventually, and then hazards the one that might get a bad reaction. "Would it be bad if I climbed the tree?"

"You can help with the food, and ask Pradnakt about other things. You can climb the tree, but -" She gestures for the girl to follow her and heads back out through the barn and around to the other side of the house, where there's a ladder bolted to the wall. She points up to the top of it. "This is Pradnakt's. Don't go to it unless she says you can."

She nods rapidly. "I won't," she promises. Angering the woman - Pradnakt? - is very obviously a bad idea. "Um. Is there...anything else I should avoid doing? Rules?"

The droid considers, and then shakes her head. "The rule for most people is to not come here. I don't know what the rules will be for you."

"Oh. Okay." She's pretty obviously uncomfortable with not knowing the rules, but she doesn't push any further. "Is there...anything you need me to do now?"

"No. We can go inside, or go look at some sculptures. Or you can climb the tree."

She considers it, but... she doesn't understand the sculptures. They're pretty to look at, but... she doesn't understand their purpose, not really. Going inside means being quiet and trying not to disturb Pradnakt - which she can do, but she normally messes up some time.

"I'll...climb the tree," she says, more so that Daisy knows what she's going to do.

And she goes and does that, before settling in the higher branches, content to just watch her surroundings from here.

Daisy waits for her to settle, and then goes back in.

The surroundings here are largely the same as where she appeared; rockier, and with more glints of metal on the stone, but otherwise the same mix of scrub and dirt. She can see the roof, though, and the raised wooden platform at the top of the ladder. It doesn't look like much; there's nothing there but a single cushion.

Well, it's still Pradnakt's space, and she's not going to invade that - she understands liking high spaces though. Better vantage points. Harder for others to sneak up on you.

She spends some time contemplating the sculpture in front of the buildings, and squinting at the glints of metal that she guesses are other sculptures - is their purpose just to be pretty? That seems...like a waste of materials. But...this isn't a ship, or a Waystation. Maybe materials aren't as hard to come by?

Either way, she's happy to sit up here until someone tells her she can't.

The sun gets low in the sky, and Pradnakt comes out and climbs to her perch. She catches the girl's eye and nods companionably, once, and then ignores her, just enjoying the evening.

She nods back after a second of hesitation, and then relaxes back into her perch, half watching Pradnakt, half watching the sky. This is a new experience for her. Almost everywhere she's ever been doesn't really have changes in light like this - it's normally on or off.

Watching Pradnakt puts the sun behind her; after a little while, the part of the sky that she can see from there begins darkening to indigo, and the woman gestures for the girl to look behind herself.

She is cautious to turn, but, there's nothing suggesting anything bad is going to happen - not even her losing her balance and tumbling from the tree - so she follows the gestures, and-

Wow. Her breath catches just slightly. Because that is...

Possibly the most incredible thing she's ever seen.

Yeah. Not only is the sky a blaze of orange and pink, but dozens of installations scattered across the landscape reflect the color, too, glittering.

Ooh.

She suddenly doesn't care that these sculptures don't seem to have a purpose other than looking pretty, because...

Wow.

She isn't entirely coherent watching this, isn't sure she's fully processing this. Just knows that it's spectacular. And part of her doesn't want it to end.

It does, eventually, but nothing interrupts her in the meantime. (Daisy goes by, quietly, headed for the barn, but doesn't so much as glance at the tree.)

She half tracks Daisy, but she is mostly still staring at the sky. Then she looks at the sculpture below her. After a moment, she slides out of the tree and moves closer to it, touching the metal cautiously - almost as though she expects it to hold heat, not entirely sure how the phenomenon she just witnessed works.

Did that happen every (she searches for the right word) night?

Pradnakt appears at the edge of the roof and sits, legs dangling, looking slightly smug. She waits until she has the girl's attention and then signs - holds up two fingers; points to the horizon where the sun just set; holds one hand still, palm sideways and facing the girl, and moves the other, fisted, from above it to behind it; points behind herself; repeats the palm-and-fist sequence in reverse, the fisted hand rising from behind the other.

So...the star (she doesn't have a word other than that for it) goes down where she just saw, and comes up in the opposite direction?

She wonders if it coming up is as spectacular as it going down?

She watches Pradnakt to see what the woman intends to do now.

She considers, and then closes her eyes to communicate again.

I'm going to meditate next; I'll be up here for a while doing that. It's not very safe to interrupt me while I'm doing it, so talk to Daisy if you need anything - you should eat again, actually, I'll tell her to make you something.

Yes, ma'am, she nods, even if Pradnakt can't see her. She jerks at the suggestion of eating again. I'm fine, I- don't need anything more. Really.

What are you afraid is going to happen?

She doesn't know how to answer that. Just... Ma'am was so unpredictable. What was good one day meant punishment the next. But being a burden, taking more than she needed, that was never good. (She shudders, and wraps her arms around herself.)

She realises she hasn't said anything. Don't know.

She sends the impression of an understanding, if irritated, nod. It's important to me that I'm not like that; that's not going to happen here. It's normal to eat at least three times a day and you should probably be eating more often than that, if you have trouble eating much at once. If I'm going to keep you here I'm going to make sure you're getting enough to eat and drink and things.

She hesitates, that sounds...far too good to be true. She isn't, however, going to argue.

As you wish, ma'am.

Was that a cue to go back inside? Or can she stay here? It's interesting seeing the sky from this perspective.

You can stay there, I'll have Daisy bring it to you.

I am going to practice lightsaber forms - an impression of the red-bladed weapon - when I'm done meditating; you should go inside for that.

Yes, ma'am. She makes a note to keep an eye out for Pradnakt being done meditating so that she can obey that.

Until then, she's going to sit down and watch the sky, arms wrapped around her knees again.

The sky is cloudless, full of unfamiliar stars, with a pair of moons hanging overhead.

After a while, Daisy brings out a tray with a small bowl of bland mashed potatoes and a glass of milk, and pauses a little ways away to see if the girl would rather come and get it or have the droid approach her.

She would rather come and get it, with a quiet thank you, before retreating back to where she was sat.

Both are new flavours, but the mashed potato is...pleasant (and that's a new word to think of in terms of food), the milk is...very different. She's never had a drink that wasn't water before. It is not...bad. Just different. She still doesn't finish the mashed potato, but she manages a little bit more than she did of the eggs.

Daisy waits nearby while she eats, and then offers to bring the tray inside, again letting her approach rather than getting too close.

She looks at the tray, and then back at Daisy. "I- can do that? If you show me where things are?"

"Okay."

Leftovers get scraped here; tray gets wiped down and goes here; cup and bowl and fork are washed like so and go here and here.

She follows the instructions, grateful for something to do.

"Thank you," she murmurs when they're done. She looks at the door, but she's not sure how long Pradnakt meditates for, so she isn't sure whether or not she should go back outside.

Daisy sees her looking, and opens the door to check; the red light playing over her torso makes the answer obvious. "I can learn more words?"

She nods, now, she supposes, is as good a time as any to do that. There...should be enough words between them that she can manage that.

So, she'll go back to talking, trying to explain words - somewhat inexpertly, but enough to get the general meaning across certainly.

The droid retrieves a pad of paper and a tin of colored pencils from the cabinet before sitting down and offers them to her; that will probably help.

Her drawing skills are a little better than her speaking ones, and it's certainly faster than listening to her struggling to define a word without using it.

Daisy is patient regardless.

Eventually, Pradnakt comes in, and nods approvingly at the two of them as she heads into the back room.

She tracks Pradnakt as she moves through the room, but that seems to be more of a habit than any true concern.

She'll keep working with Daisy then, unless Daisy herself seems to think they should stop.

Daisy continues; after twenty minutes or so Pradnakt comes back in in a different outfit - baggier heather grey with embroidery at the cuffs and on the shoulders - with damp hair and smelling faintly of soap, to join them.

She stops when Pradnakt rejoins them, and will shuffle to put a little more distance between them. She seems to be waiting for permission to continue.

...she signs to Daisy, who translates: "She won't hurt you."

She can't believe that yet. But she nods anyway. Agreement seems like a better plan.

After a moment, she manages to persuade herself to say: "Used to needing permission. Seemed better to wait."

Pradnakt and Daisy have a short signed conversation, at this, ending with Daisy reaching over to hold her hand for a moment, and Pradnakt nodding and leaving for the back room again.

Daisy then turns her attention back to the girl. "The word for someone who belongs to someone else and needs their permission for everything is 'slave'. Pradnakt doesn't keep slaves; that's very important to her."

"Oh..." she looks down, the word isn't familiar, but...it isn't an inaccurate description. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset her." She just doesn't know how else to be, she's never had to be anything else, not really.

"It's okay. We know that it's hard - droids are slaves, too, because people think we aren't people and need to be slaves, and it was hard for me to learn to be something else. But she needs to know that when you do things like that it's because it's hard to do something else, not because you think you need to."

"I'll...try?" she says, not sounding entirely sure, but also sincere. She isn't sure she doesn't think she needs to, but... if it upsets Pradnakt she can try not to think she needs to.

"Okay."

"While you're here she will keep you safe, unless you try to hurt one of us. If someone tries to take you she won't let them."

"I- I wouldn't!" that's important to get across. Because it's not worth fighting back, not unless she's going to die. She looks sideways. "I- Not worth it. I- I'm not worth the risk."

"...she's a Sith. ...I don't know how to explain. But she won't let anyone take you."

"O-okay," she says quietly, somewhat confused by that. She stares at nothing in particular, not entirely sure what to do now. It doesn't seem likely that they're going back to language learning after that conversation.

She stifles a yawn.

The droid gestures under the table, where a thin mattress is neatly centered on the floor.

She pauses, and then slides under the table, curling up on the mattress and closing her eyes.

It will take her a while to fall asleep though, especially if Daisy and Pradnakt are moving around audibly, although the quiet is also something of a barrier that she's not used to. She's used to engine noise when she's trying to sleep.

Daisy leaves, quietly, and there's no sound from the back room. She'll be left alone until she wakes up.

It's just a few hours later that she wakes, freezing, and holding a breath for a moment while she assesses her surroundings and remembers what happened the day before.

Once she's done those things, she slides out from under the table, and looks around the room, half looking for the house's inhabitants.

Pradnakt comes out after a minute and looks questioningly at her.

She ducks her head immediately, hunching her shoulders. Then she remembers what Daisy said the night before, and makes an effort to look up. She still doesn't manage to get much past Pradnakt's shoulders.

"Hello, ma'am," she greets.

"Hello," she echoes. "...okay?"

"Yes," she says with a nod. "I- I'm sorry I upset you."

"Okay."

She sits and meditates. The connection comes noticeably faster this time, and the primary emotion is tiredness; it seems like the her getting up might have woken the woman. It's okay. I know that's going to take a while. Daisy thought I should explain Sith to you?

She holds back an apology for waking Pradnakt - she isn't sure if that comes under the things that she should try not to do, but she gets the impression that it might.

If it's not too much trouble? she responds.

No trouble.

So, very few people can do the things you've seen me do - the speed, the levitation, the lightsaber. I can do those because of my connection to the Force, which most people don't have. And around here, people with that connection become Sith, because it's other Sith who will notice them and train them. Understand so far?

What is the...Force? But other than that, yes.

The Force is - she sends an impression of a vast energy, and a sense of companionable mastery of it, like a powerful engine at the hands of an engineer.

Anyway, Sith. The important thing to know about Sith is that there's really only one rule for us: we can do whatever we're strong enough to get away with. If two Sith disagree over whether one of them gets to do something, they fight, and the winner gets what they want. And if a Sith seems weak, well - that's going to be tested, that's for sure.

She sighs. Most Sith aren't nice people, at all, I'm sure you can imagine. But personally I find that what I really want is a nice quiet life where the people around me are okay and I can just tinker and make art and not have to deal with that. I don't want slaves, I don't want an army, I want this, and I was strong enough to get it and smart enough to keep it, so here we are.

But if someone tries to take you - if I'm strong enough I can keep you, and if I'm not I have bigger problems, because if they're stronger, they can take whatever they want, and I don't think they'll stop there. So keeping them from taking you isn't some extra thing, it's part of making sure we're all safe. And I think I can keep us all safe; I don't know much about the person who might come for you, yet, but I haven't been very impressed so far. Okay?

The impression is...frankly terrifying - the size of it. That Pradnakt feels that comfortable of her mastery is reassuring.

She listens carefully, filing the information away. Okay, she confirms at the end, and then pauses, biting at her lip. She nods, and folds her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms. I see things, she is nervous, edgy about revealing this. Fights. Combat. I...you probably don't need it. But...I can tell you if I see something?

She sends calm reassurance. I can do that, too, but if it's the only thing you can do you're probably much better at it than I am, so, yes, that would help. - I can tell that you have a connection to the Force; it's strange, and you definitely don't look like a Sith, but I can see that it's there and how strong it is, and if you didn't have one you wouldn't be able to hear me like this. So it's not a surprise; I'm not going to do anything different now that I know a little more about what it is.

Her head comes up sharply, and for a brief moment she's looking at Pradnakt's face before her gaze skitters away again. She does, however, relax slightly - and there's a tiny pleased glow at the implied compliment. The idea of being attached to the Force is intimidating, but she can't exactly change that.

Yes, ma'am, she nods. Thank you for explaining, ma'am.

She smiles, pleased: You're welcome.

I'm still trying to figure out what options you have in the long run, but if you'd like me to train you, that might be possible.

She isn't sure what to respond to that. Isn't sure she wants to be able to do more than what she can. Eventually she settles on: Whatever you think best, ma'am. . Followed hurriedly by: You know better, ma'am. Have more experience. Which is true, even if the first response was reflexive more than anything else. She doesn't want to upset Pradnakt.

She stays calm. We can talk more about it when it matters; there's no rush.

Yes, ma'am.

She waits a moment. Was there anything you wanted me to do- Anything I could do? Both sincere questions, but the latter an instinctual phrasing, the former hard to phrase even in the (not-complete) privacy of her mind.

Vaguely amused: Go back to sleep? For now if you're awake I need to be, too.

Yes, ma'am.

Easier said than done, but she'll creep back under the table and try to sleep again until Pradnakt is actually ready to get up.

She goes back to bed and dozes; it's better than nothing. After a few more hours - while it's still dark outside - Daisy comes out and starts on breakfast.

She thinks about it for a moment before sliding out from under the table again.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asks quietly.

"Not now, but you can look." A couple of fingerling potatoes are boiling in a pot of water and she's heating up the skillet, at the moment.

So she watches closely, still staying just out of arm's reach.

She narrates as she goes, using Basic vocabulary where she doesn't have the words she wants in the girl's language - melting butter in the pan, breaking an egg into it, scrambling the egg; taking the potatoes out of the pot and mashing them with tiny amounts of butter and milk and water. When it's all done she arranges it on a plate, pours a glass of milk, and sets it on the counter and backs off so the girl can come and take it.

She takes it, and retreats to the corner by the front door again to eat.

If nothing has happened before she finishes (as much as she can eat, reminding herself she was told she needed to eat more), she'll clear her dishes the way she was shown last night.

Pradnakt comes out while she's eating, and Daisy makes pancakes for her; when she's done she sits at the table to leave the kitchen area clear.

She'll offer to clear Pradnakt's dishes as she moves over to the kitchen.

Sure, but, sign sign - "You don't need to," reports Daisy.

She looks down, because she didn't so much offer this because she had to (even if there was a small but ever present instinct to do so), as...

"No point in doing them separately?"

Sign sign "One of us can do it," and Pradnakt moves - carefully - to do just that.

She still flinches back slightly - more because it's instinct than any real fear. She seems confused by Pradnakt doing it - she's the Captain here isn't she? She might not keep slaves, but why would she do this if someone's offering?

More signing, and the droid gets out the pencils and paper again and sketches out a triangle divided into layers, with one stick-figure person at the top and more on each lower layer than the one above it. "We don't do this," she says, when she's done drawing.

"Oh," she says quietly, still staring at the drawing. She looks up, trying to figure out what to do. She feels unbalanced, everything changing too fast.

So she retreats back to the corner, curling down in it, knees up to chest, head down and arms around her head. (She's not aware she's apologising aloud as well as in her head.) She hates not being sure where she stands in relation to others.

Pradnakt hands dish duty off to Daisy so she can meditate. Hey, she sends gently.

After a little while she will get, more focused, but utterly miserable: I'm sorry. Although there's no clear reasoning for why she's apologising (apart from a confused jumble of being a nuisance, an irritation, being unable to adapt, being so dumb).

Sigh. Not your fault, kiddo. I'm pushy sometimes; if I'd known it would upset you like this I'd've been more careful.

I...I don't know where I stand with you? It can't be wrong to ask right? You're being nice, and giving me more than I need, and...and not asking for anything in return? There's a not quite worded feeling of 'people just don't do that'.

I disagree that it's more than you need.

I- I- she can't argue with that, it's not an objective fact, it's an opinion, but... I still don't- What do you want?

Sigh. I'm still working that out. But I want you to be okay, physically and mentally, whatever else happens. And that means not being two missed meals from starving to death, and it means having some sense of your own value and some expectation that other people will see it too.

There seems to be a disconnect there, like she can't quite understand what Pradnakt's telling her. Because she is okay. Apart from the confusion, she feels better than she possibly ever has.

She says as much, but can't argue any of the other points. (Hard to argue when all you have to say is 'that's just how it is'.)

How it was. Not how it's going to be, if I have a say in it.

Oh. She uncurls slightly, arms wrapping around her legs, chin resting on her knee. She isn't sure she believes that, but equally, Pradnakt has no reason to put so much energy into trying to convince her of this if the woman doesn't think it's true. Okay.

Good.

Sunrise's started without us, but we can go watch the rest if you'd like. And yeah, those are every day, usually.

Please? she sounds almost excited about that, even though she doesn't really move. She remembers how pretty it was last night, and wants to see if this compares.

Go ahead. She drops the meditation and waits for her to get moving before standing to follow.

She's out the front door the minute permission is granted, and immediately scales the tree again for the vantage point, remembering Pradnakt's directions - down facing out from the house, up behind it.

Pradnakt follows and settles herself on her perch. There aren't any installations to catch the sunrise's colors, but it's only slightly less glorious for the lack.

She still watches in slightly breathless awe.

Everything here is much prettier than home. (It helps that her precog has barely triggered at all.) But there's so much more colour in the environment - the sky at least, at these two times of day.

And Daisy's flowers, and the hanging fabric in Pradnakt's workroom - even her apparently-habitual black outfits are accented with colored embroidery.

Not that any of that does anything to make this less magnificent.

It's all very pretty. And she's almost dreading the inevitable return to what has been her reality.

Still. It will be nice to have memories of this. And of eating something that is actually pleasant. If she had a less clear grasp of reality and dream, and more colourful, less painful dreams, she'd be wondering if this was real.

She sends quiet feelings of gratitude at Pradnakt.

Yes, good.

It's less straightforward to pick out when the show is over, this time, with the much more subtle fade into the blue of day. But eventually Pradnakt yawns and lies down and, apparently, meditates: Is there anything you want to do this morning? I don't have plans in particular.

She goes still at that question. Before there was always stuff to do, but she didn't exactly have options.

She doesn't even know what there is to do around here - except, potentially, look after the animals and garden, and Daisy had said something about other sculptures.

Not bothered, ma'am, she settles on after a moment.

That, tinkering, making art - reading poetry, once you know the language, and I have a few books and things, too. You'd probably be more interested in seeing how the speeder works, but I'd rather be a little more sure of what's going on before I teach you anything like that; sending you first would be a strange way to start an invasion, but I'm still not sure it isn't one.

Tinkering and making art get almost immediate interest - the former a sense of familiarity, the latter pure curiosity. The idea of reading seems relatively alien. She is definitely interested in the speeder, but understands the caution.

Could be a spy they knew you would be unlikely to suspect? she does know something about how covert ops would work. She does however flinch when she realises what she just suggested. (She isn't a spy, she'd just been offering a conclusion her own brain had defined as logical.)

Yeah, something like that. Sending someone who could sneak around and learn things from other people would make more sense, though - sending you only makes sense if they're targeting me specifically, and if any of my enemies had a way of doing that they could do something much more dangerous with it. She sends the impression of a shrug. You're obviously not complicit, whatever it is, I'm not going to be mad at you for being somebody's pawn without even knowing it.

Anyway - do you know how to read? Or - education in general?

She drops her head again, staring at the tree trunk. She knows how to do engine repairs and can recognise numbers - and even do fairly complex maths when needed. Reading had not been considered a need.

Limited, she admits, somewhat embarrassed by this fact - which wasn't something that had ever occurred to her to be before.

I'm sure that's not your fault.

I'll have Daisy bring some things from the library for you to learn with.

She almost wants to say 'that's not necessary', but...

She's not going to turn down an opportunity, even if she can't, she'll at least try. Thank you, that would be good.

(Progress!)

Is there anything you want to do first? I'm thinking basic astronomy, maybe - how stars and planets go, what makes sunrises and sunsets - or some biology, how plants and animals work. I'll have her get some engineering things, too, but I do want to wait on that - if they're going to pull you back and make you tell them everything you've learned I'd rather that not give them anything too interesting.

Astronomy sounds interesting, she says, interesting and useful. Biology as well. She nods. That makes sense, even if there's a slight disappointment, it wouldn't make sense to risk giving away information on tech.

I'm not going to make you wait very long; I don't think that's likely at all. And if I assume something like that is going on, this seems like a test run, and I'm a little surprised they didn't pull you back right away if they can do it remotely; if you're here more than a couple weeks I think we can assume they'd have to follow, and then they have to deal with me.

She sort of shrugs. I wasn't exactly with anyone when this happened, she admits, and then wishes she hadn't. But...Ma'am would come looking soon. And if she can find a way to get me back, she will. The time-frame doesn't seem unlikely either. She considers. I- I don't think she'd be able to beat you in a straight fight, though?

Especially if she's not expecting a Sith, yeah. So, high alert for a couple weeks, and then we can relax.

Yes, ma'am, she agrees. Then, quieter, an offering, I...haven't seen anything happening over the next day or so? Don't see much further than that normally unless it's big.

That's good.

What counts as big?

It...can change. But it normally involves lots of death. She sounds subdued by that.

Pradnakt's been doing her best to keep the emotional aspect of the channel quiet, but a little wave of sympathy comes through anyway. Okay.

She's obviously not sure about the sympathy - why it's being offered - but she doesn't say anything, instead, staring at the sky for a few moments longer. Was- Is there something I can do, ma'am? She isn't used to being idle, there was always something that needed doing before she came here, even if that was just finding somewhere secure to hide.

We can go in, but I don't have anything in particular for you to do; Daisy's probably free to keep working on your language, though. Or draw or something, if you'd like, you don't have to be busy all the time.

She pauses for a moment, considering the idea of not having to be busy. If Daisy's free I'll do that, ma'am, she says, not entirely sure what she'll do if Daisy isn't free. So, she slithers down the tree again, waiting at the base of the trunk.

Pradnakt comes around the side of the building after a moment, and gestures the girl in; Daisy is nowhere in evidence. She checks the back room, shaking her head when she returns: "Busy."

Which...leaves her at a loose end, and she doesn't want to bother Pradnakt by pushing for further suggestions. She looks around for the pad she'd been using earlier. She'll...do something with that if she can find it.

It's in the cabinet, right where Daisy got it from before.

Pradnakt settles in to fix a machine taken from one of the bins.

She retrieves it cautiously, finds pencils, and retreats back to the same corner she's been occupying. She watches Pradnakt working out of the corner of her eye, sketching absently on a blank page. At first it's swirls and random patterns, then she starts sketching the engines of Ma'am's ship, but that starts turning into the machine Pradnakt's working on. It's not a perfect artist's impression, looking more like a technical drawing for building the machine in the first place, although it's clear she doesn't know enough about the machine to replicate even that accurately.

She goes back to drawing engines she knows fairly quickly, which she can fill in more details on.

Pradnakt seems to be ignoring her entirely; she's free to draw whatever she likes.

She keeps drawing the engines for a while. Then, she starts trying to replicate the flowers she saw on Daisy, rather inexpertly.

She likes this, although it's frustrating when a line doesn't do what she wants it to, becomes more diagram than picture.

At midmorning, Daisy comes out and asks if she'd like some potatoes or a glass of milk.

She thinks about that. "Some milk, please?" She's a little hungry, but milk will be easier than cooking. She almost offers to get it herself, but isn't sure whether that's allowed.

Pradnakt looks up, at that, and signs to Daisy, who nods and pours a glass of milk and sets it on the table for her to come get. "You can get milk for yourself, it's okay. Don't worry about taking too much, we have more than we can use."

She quickly retrieves the glass and settles back in the corner. "Okay," she says quietly. She files that away, if they mean that, it's good information to have. She sips on the milk, pad in her lap, but watching Daisy and Pradnakt for now, in case they want her attention now.

They have a brief signed conversation that involves a significant amount of nodding in her general direction; talking about her, apparently.

She continues to watch them, dropping her eyes so it's less obvious, fingers winding together and twisting in a way that is not precisely comfortable. It doesn't really matter what they're saying, and she's used to not understanding what people around her are saying, but that doesn't mean she's ever managed to be entirely comfortable with it. She stays quiet, and still (apart from her twisting fingers).

Padnakt calls a halt, and then signs one more thing to Daisy, who turns to the girl and waits to have her attention.

She doesn't have to wait long, the girl is almost immediately giving her undivided attention.

"I'm going to go get things, soon, and Pradnakt was telling me what things we need for you. If you want to know what we're talking about you can ask, we won't be upset about it."

"Thank you," she says. "I- didn't want to interrupt." That has the dual benefit of being true, and not touching too much on the fact that she hadn't realised she could ask.

The droid pauses, thinking about this answer, but eventually just says "okay." She looks to Pradnakt, who signs something - "I'll tell you what I'm getting when we're done."

She goes to say that's not necessary, and manages to stop herself. "Okay," she agrees with a nod, and, if it looks like Daisy and Pradnakt are going back to signing, turns most of her attention back to the pad. (She'll try drawing Daisy's flowers again seeing as she's in the room to sneak looks at.)

They do, but not for much longer; Daisy comes back over when they're done and sits cross-legged on the floor, out of arm's reach and without penning the girl in.

She looks up almost immediately, and tilts her head quizzically. She does notice where Daisy's placed herself, and is grateful for that, but is hesitant to draw further attention to it, and has no idea how to thank someone for respecting a boundary she's only just been allowed to keep.

"I can tell you later if you're busy."

She looks down at the pad in her lap, and then back up at Daisy. "This- isn't busy," she says. "I- You're ready to tell me now. Shouldn't keep you waiting." She is also curious as to what was discussed, and after a moment, decides to add, quieter, cautious of what the reaction is going to be, "and I want to know?"

The droid nods; her body language suggests she's pleased. "Okay -" and she goes on to explain, somewhat haltingly, what she's been asked to get: a few changes of clothing, a blanket and pillow for the bed, a few chickens and some more potatoes - she digresses to explain that they have enough food, even if she doesn't get those things, but this is more comfortable for Pradnakt than eating things she'd like less - and then a variety of things from the library; picture books for her to learn the language from, and some science books, and some music and maybe a few holoshows for general entertainment. "I can look for things you want if you tell me what to look for, or I think next month you can come too and see what they have."

She stops herself, again, from saying that this isn't necessary. Instead, she listens carefully, nodding occasionally (her fingers winding together again, worrying about how she's going to repay this). "That sounds very generous," she says eventually, still trying to figure out some of the things she has no other context for, "I can't think of anything else I would need."

Pradnakt calls to Daisy, quietly, to get her attention, and signs something - "The library is for this, I will bring those things back later. The other things you need, or - it would be strange not to have them. You don't need to give us anything."

"Oh," she looks down again. They seem to mean that she doesn't owe them anything for now. "I...Sorry for misunderstanding. Thank you." The last seems to be aimed at the fact that they're getting these things for her. She fidgets slightly, unsure if she should say something else, or if something else should be happening here.

"It's okay." She waits another moment to see if the girl has anything else to add.

She doesn't, and seems somewhat uncomfortable at the silence now.

It's only a moment, and then she checks in with Pradnakt and returns to the back room.

And Pradnakt herself gets back to work.

She goes back to sketching for a while, but eventually stops, running out of things to draw. She goes back to watching Pradnakt carefully, hoping it doesn't irritate the woman.

She doesn't appear to notice.

Then she'll keep watching, shuffling a little closer to get a better view.

She finishes her milk, has a quiet argument with herself about getting more, and eventually creeps over to do so, keeping most of her attention on Pradnakt. (Just in case.)

Look at how intent on her work she is, surely she isn't paying any attention to anything else at all.

She suspects that Pradnakt is not quite as engrossed as she appears, but it works in her favour here. She gets her milk and moves to sit back down, a little bit closer again, still not actually at the table.

She keeps watching, but starts sketching out individual components as best she can.

It seems to be some sort of radio; a complex one, and many of the parts are unfamiliar, but enough of the basics are recognizable to infer that at least.

...she probably is paying attention, from how she keeps waiting until the girl is done sketching things before removing them from view.

She frowns at that, but if Pradnakt is seemingly happy to do that, she'll let her. (It might help things get back onto a more understandable keel sooner rather than later.)

It will eventually become apparent that she needs to get up and move, but is trying very hard to stay sat.

Pradnakt pauses to stretch and get a snack of sunflower seeds; while she's up she pours a few into a little bowl and levitates it to the far side of the table from where she's been working, with a 'go ahead' gesture.

She stands up, stretching as she does so, and moves to take the bowl. She pokes at the seeds cautiously, before trying one. She is...not sure what to make of it. So she tries another one. She's not sure she likes them. But they're food. (And she's still getting used to having an opinion on that.)

She stays on her feet for a while, looking at the bins and their contents - but not touching - as she stretches out her limbs. She eventually goes back to being sat against the wall, sketching again.

And after a few more hours, Daisy comes out to make lunch: a hard boiled egg and a couple of baked tiny potatoes on one hand, and lentil meatballs in tomato sauce in a fresh-baked bread bowl on the other, with half a meatball and a little dab of sauce added for the girl to try after Pradnakt prompts Daisy to do so. "These are... very," the droid warns when she sets it out for her.

"Thank you," she murmurs as she gets her plate. She actually manages to eat all of the egg and potatoes, and is pleased about that. She leaves the meatball and sauce for last, poking at it somewhat cautiously.

She takes a bite, and has to force herself to swallow it - the flavours are far too full, and the sauce tart enough that she gags slightly, although she tries to hide that. She stares at it, wondering whether she should still try to eat it. Although she's fairly sure that throwing up would probably be a worse idea. Although there's no vision, and that's worrying, she's never gone this long without one. She's starting to worry that she won't see if Pradnakt is going to do something (although she had that vision back when they first met). She goes to take another bit of the meatball.

She regrets the bite the second after she's taken it. She knows she's going to throw up, and even as she starts to gag, throws herself to her feet and lunges for the sink in the kitchen, making it just before she actually starts heaving. (At least it'll be easier to clean up.)

Daisy waits for her to be done and move away, and starts cleaning up.

And Pradnakt sends I'd rather you be more careful of yourself than that; it really is okay to let things go uneaten.

She scurries back to the corner by the door, knowing she's messed up here. "Sorry, ma'am," she mumbles, and finds she can't stop saying that, even around the taste in her mouth. She curls up again, defensive, sure that something is going to happen, even if she hasn't Seen it.

Daisy brings over a glass of water, reaching briefly into the girl's personal space to set it within reach before backing off to the table; meanwhile Pradnakt retreats to the back room.

She flinches away and goes silent, and then stays very still until Daisy is back at the table. She doesn't reach for the glass until Pradnakt's left the room, and even then it's a jerky, hesitant movement.

She takes a few sips, wincing at the horrid sickly sweet taste in the back of her throat, but at least her mouth tastes a little better.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I messed up again didn't I?"

"A little bit," she says, kindly, "but - maybe not the way you're thinking."

"I don't understand," she says, sounding small and lost.

"I'm guessing, but I think you're thinking you messed up because you upset Pradnakt?"

"...Yes?" How else could it have been?

"We want you to be okay - not to be scared or hurt or sick or upset or hungry or anything like that. Some of those are habits, and it's going to take a while for you to stop, and that's okay, but we still want you to stop. And one of those things is - thinking that you aren't allowed to have things, or feeling left out; we don't want those. And the way for us to help with that is to make sure you have things, and that you get to do what we're doing - but you don't have to do it, you just need to have the choice, you shouldn't do it if you don't want to or if it will hurt you."

"Oh," she says. "I-" She stops, trying to figure out the words for this. "I- This is-" She stops again. "I'll try harder to remember that," she manages eventually. "It's...new."

The droid nods. "Yeah. It's okay if it takes time for you to get used to it, or to remember all the time. Pradnakt will be upset about that, but it's because you're hurting and she doesn't want that, not because it's not okay for you to need time. Understand?"

She looks back up at Daisy - getting as far as her torso. "I- think so."

"Good.

I think Pradnakt will want to go outside for a while, if you feel okay about her coming through here."

She looks honestly confused. "...Why wouldn't I be okay with that?"

"It looked like you were scared of her."

"Why would that-" she starts (because it hasn't mattered whether or not she was scared of someone before), and then stops.Thinks about it, thinks about what Daisy said about it being important to have choices. Actually thinks about the answer to the question, doesn't just give the reflexive 'yes' (questions are just orders phrased in another way, really).

"I'll be okay," she decides eventually.

More subtly pleased body language: "All right."

She fills a canteen and brings it with her to the back room, and a minute later escorts Dusk through the room.

"Do you want to wash yourself, while she's out?"

She avoids looking directly at Pradnakt, but doesn't seem incredibly uncomfortable (maybe a bit confused at Daisy escorting her through, but not enough to think about questioning it).

"I- Please?" she says. Because she is not going to turn down an offer to clean up.

"Okay." And she leads the way to the back room.

The first impression of the room is of clutter; almost every free spot is taken up with something decorative, whether the embroidered comforter and mound of pillows on the gigantic bed, or the fabric and small sculptures hanging from the ceiling, or the art - framed and sculptural both - on the walls, or the nick-knacks and decorated boxes on the shelves next to the bed. The space nearest the door they come through is the clearest, offering the only open floor space and three more doors leading from it; Daisy opens the nearest one to reveal a room the size of a large closet tiled in gently shimmery blue and green and brown.

She looks around, a little overwhelmed. Like so much of this, this is completely different to what she's used to. It's pretty, and colourful, and she thinks she likes it, but she's used to everything being orderly and stark.

She moves a little closer to Daisy that she is perhaps entirely comfortable with in order to see in through the door she's just opened, staring at the walls.

The droid goes in - there's not really room to stay out of arm's reach, but she tries anyway. She demonstrates how to turn on the shower, and then after a thoughtful pause sets it to a comfortable temperature and leaves it running while she shows the girl the soap.  "This one doesn't have a smell," she explains, pointing out the largest bottle, "and these do," of a collection of small ones. "You can use the little ones, but the smell stays on you, so only do that if it's one you like. Okay?"

She listens carefully, and nods at the end. "Okay," she agrees. Then pauses. "Um...is it okay to use that towel?" she asks. (And there's a slightly reflexive flinch there, but she hides it pretty well.)

"...wait, I'll get one," and she attempts to leave the room without getting too close, with limited success.

She shifts slightly to accommodate that, and the moves over towards the shower. She pokes at the bottles, and picks up one of the smaller ones to sniff at.

It's sweet and fruity.

It is...not unpleasant. But, on the whole, she thinks as she puts it back down and looks at the other smaller bottles, it is probably better to use the one without a smell. At least, for now. She looks back at the door, waiting for Daisy to return.

It only takes a minute or so, and she returns with another towel apparently identical to the hanging one. "You can leave it on the sink when you're done. Anything else?"

Her automatic response is 'no', but... "Would- would a change of clothes be possible?" she asks quietly. "It's- not a problem if it is."

"I don't think we have anything that will fit you, but I'll look." She goes to do that.

She watches the door cautiously, not sure if Daisy's going to be back quickly. She is...wary of showering when she doesn't know where people are, or they might reenter the room she's in. She holds her hand under the water for a second, wanting to know just how cold-

It...isn't cold. That is. Surprising.

The room is actually starting to steam up, now that the door is closed.

Several minutes go by.

Then, she will eventually shed her clothes, and quickly shower - lingering a little longer than she's normally allowed, enjoying the warmth of the water. It still takes her a very low amount of time to finish. She stops herself from really lingering (her mind stuck on time limits and the results of lingering too long, and other people) and switches it off.

She dries off, wraps the towel around her as best she can, hugs her old clothes to her chest and sticks her head around the door to see if there's anyone in the other room.

No, but the door opposite the door to the workroom is half-open.

She hesitates, and eventually steps back into the bathroom and pulls her own clothes back on. She folds the towel onto the sink, and then leaves the bathroom. She raps her knuckles against the door and waits.

Daisy appears almost immediately, with a pair of pants draped over her arm. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh. Yes. I was just-" she waves at the door to the bathroom. "Finished."

"- Ah. Well, these will be okay while I wash what you have, I think," she offers the pants, which will be very big on the girl but have a drawstring, 'but I don't think we have a shirt small enough at all."

"That's fine, thank you for looking," she takes the pants, and if Daisy doesn't stop her, will retreat to the bathroom to change her pants quickly, and then come back out, obviously not entirely sure what to do now.

When she comes back out, Daisy is holding a tub with a few pieces of clothing in it already. "I'll take those," she says of the pants, and then leads the way back to the workroom, where she sets the tub on one of the benches while she clears a spot on the table for it.

She hands the pants over obediently and then follows Daisy into the main room.

"...Can I help in any way?" she asks.

"You can clear a place for this while I go get some water, but only if you want to."

She pauses for a second, and then sets about clearing a place, stacking things neatly out of the way, and as organised as she can manage. It's not necessarily that she wants to do this, but she does want to do something, and this is a thing that needs doing.

And Daisy goes out and returns after a minute with a bucket of water from the well. "That's fine, thank you," she says, and sets about washing the clothes, pants first.

She looks a little startled, as if she's not used to people being grateful to her, but also somewhat content. She retreats a little, but keeps watching Daisy's actions - she might be able to help with this at a later point if they keep her around.

It seems straightforward enough.

She lays the clothing out on the bench as she's done with it. "It'll be dry in about half an hour."

She nods. Considers for a moment. "Is there anything that needs doing?" She is looking at the door to the outside out of the corner of her eyes, wondering if she can ask to go out again.

"You can go out if you want, but come back in if you start feeling bad, it's very easy to get too hot and get sick."

She nods, and is quick to head out the door (before Daisy changes her mind), and climbs back into the tree, settling further down than she previously has in among the branches and tries to sort out this entire situation in her head. Tries to get her brain to adapt to how they want her to think - because upsetting the people looking after you isn't a good idea.

She is probably paying less attention than she should to her environment and how she's feeling.

Perhaps twenty minutes after she comes out, Pradnakt returns on the speeder and heads inside.

She watches her go in, and tries to decide whether she's supposed to follow or not. Pradnakt had wanted to be alone. But equally, she wants to make sure that Pradnakt is alright - she hadn't meant to upset her.

She slides out of the tree, blinking slightly and feeling strangely dizzy. She shakes her head slightly, ignores the sensation and creeps back into the house.

Pradnakt looks up from the signed conversation immediately; Daisy follows her gaze and goes to pour a glass of water for the girl.

She stops in the doorway, and then side-steps into the corner for now. "I- I'm sorry for...upsetting you," she says.

"It's okay - " she signs to Daisy, who signs back - "it's okay."

"Okay," she murmurs. Her voice rasping slightly makes her realise just how thirsty she is, and she carefully circles the room to nearer to Daisy and the kitchen.

Daisy sets the water down and backs off; Pradnakt seems on edge.

She edges forward to take the water, keeping Pradnakt carefully in her peripheral vision. She appears to be trying to make herself seem smaller.

The woman goes still; closes her eyes, takes a breath, relaxes. Daisy sits next to her and holds her hand, which seems to help.

She retreats back to the corner with her glass of water. She thinks that apologising again is probably a bad idea. She wants to ask if Pradnakt is okay, but she also doesn't want to break the silence.

Sign sign sign sign - "She's okay. She's upset that you almost got hurt."

"I-" She tries to think how to phrase this. "It was my own fault? I- I should've known better than to try it again?"

" - no - just now, staying in the heat too long."

"Oh," she says. "I-" Daisy had told her to come in. "I- Hadn't noticed?" she says, seeming slightly sheepish. "It...I just thought it was...part of my headache? I...hadn't realised it was distinct."

Emphatic signing, and then Pradnakt meditates while Daisy talks. "That's not good, and we might need to take you to see a doctor. Pradnakt is checking to see if she can figure out why you have that headache."

"Oh, it's...I think it's precog related?" she says. "It...can get worse after visions? Or it used to. I...think it's less painful now than it was?"

"That's good, that it's getting better."

And Pradnakt comes out of her trance with an unsettled hiss and a burst of rapid-fire signing.

"Oh dear," the droid says, when the Sith finishes signing and stands to pace along the space behind the bench. "The way you're using the Force, you're using too much at once, and that hurts you more than just the headache." More signing - "if you practice enough you won't have that problem any more."

She flinches slightly at Pradnakt's movements, curls in on herself further, and tries to make sense of what Daisy is saying. "I- It...hasn't been voluntary?" she says, because the visions aren't, really. "I- Practice...I..." She isn't sure what they expect there. But. "I...might-" she closes her eyes and makes herself ask the question. "I might need some help with that?"

"Of course, and we can do that. Once she calms down." The droid sighs. "Wait here." And she herds Pradnakt deftly into the back room.

So she waits, biting at her lip, and obviously on edge.

Daisy is not back especially promptly.

She gets up and washes her glass, hoping that the 'Wait here' wasn't meant to be interpreted exactly. (Sometimes it was, sometimes it was just a 'don't follow'.)

The droid returns a few minutes after she's done with that. "Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

She thinks about that for a moment. "Yes?" she says, frowns slightly, and then repeats that sounding a little bit surer. "Is Pradnakt okay? She seemed...angry?" There's a little fear in her words there, but she seems more concerned about whether or not Pradnakt is okay than whether she's angry.

"She'll be okay. She was more upset than angry, and not upset at you."

"I...it's good that she'll be okay," she says, looking down at her hands, fingers twisting together again. It's good that she's not upset at her either. "I- Should I-" she sort of gestures, tries to figure out the words. "I should stay quiet for now?" Which is not exactly what she wants to ask, but it's the best she has words for.

She nods. "Is there anything you want to talk about, or ask me?"

"Um...what is- What is Pradnakt's routine normally like?" she figures it'll be good to know, she can adapt to that, be as little trouble as possible.

Daisy pauses thoughtfully before explaining. "She usually sleeps in the morning, and works," she gestures at the table while she speaks, "in the afternoon and evening, and spends the night outside."

"...would it be... She said she needed to be awake when I was. Would it be better if I slept in the morning?"

"If you can, it would help," she says kindly. "But it's more important that you both get enough sleep, morning or night doesn't matter very much."

She sort of shrugs. "I...sleep when it's convenient," she says. "And...if it's better for her to sleep then, it's fine?" She's still getting used to there being an actually day cycle rather than just constant, rarely dimmed lighting, so she's fairly certain she can adapt to sleeping at the time best for Pradnakt.

"All right. Good, that will help."

That gets a tiny smile that looks awkward - like it isn't an expression her face is used to doing. (She likes being helpful, it's good.) "I- Don't think there's...anything else?" she isn't sure. "I-" She looks down, the smile disappearing into a frown as she works herself up to asking: "If I think of something later can I ask?"

"Of course." She sounds pleased.

The smile grows a little bit. (She's managed to do something that matches with how Daisy wants her to act.) She retrieves the pad (can she think of it as hers?), and retreats to the corner. She sketches for a little while, but, if she's not overly disturbed, will doze fitfully against the wall, because today has been...emotional.

Daisy doesn't disturb her. Pradnakt doesn't reappear, but after a few hours can be heard, quietly, reciting poetry in the other room.

She becomes a bit more alert when she hears Pradnakt's voice. She can't understand the words, but the cadence, tone and rhythm are... something. Calming? Maybe. It is, she thinks, a positive thing, she just doesn't have the words.

She sits forward slightly, straining to hear better without moving.

After a minute, Daisy goes to the door and signs something to Pradnakt. When she sits back down, she leaves the door ajar, making it easier to hear the poetry, which resumes.

She seems content listening to Pradnakt reciting for now, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, but also quite obviously alert.

The poetry continues. Eventually Daisy starts making dinner.

She moves over to offer Daisy help, observe so that she can help at a later point, but still keeps a lot of her attention on the poetry.