Adiron has his feet up on the comm station, his hands behind his head as he gazes out at the screens. They read off a bunch of stats, but I don’t know what any of them mean. I’d like to, though. In addition to the stats, there’s a view of the current space lane we’re heading through, the stars whizzing past at rapid speed. It feels cozy to be here on the Little Sister with them. It’s nothing like the Buoyant Star, but there’s a shabby, lived-in sort of feel to it that I really like. “Good morning, Adiron.”
He turns his head to look over at me, grinning. “Well well, how’d you sleep, Helen?”
“I slept very well with Mathiras,” I tell him. “And he’s going to keep sleeping with me, just like we did before.”
“Sounds like he fought so hard,” Adiron comments, amused. He puts his feet down. “Was he mad that you were there?”
“Not really.” I shrug. “He fussed a little but in the end, it was just like before.”
“Just like before, huh?” Adiron looks surprised. “Totally innocent?”
I nod and make a face. “He insisted upon pants.”. At Adiron’s suspicious look, I volunteer, “He’s in the shower right now.”
“Mmm. Been there a while?”
Wow, he knows his brother well. “Yes! How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.” Adiron smirks. “I suspect my big brother is working out some of his stress.”
In the shower? But the floor’s so slippery. It seems an odd place to work out. “I should work out some stress, too,” I suggest. “Will you help me?”
“Uh…” Adiron suddenly looks extremely uncomfortable. He sits upright, a vague frown on his face. “I’m gonna need you to be specific there, Hel. What is it you want my help with?”
“Working out, just like I said. I should learn how to use a weapon, right? Maybe you can teach me how to use my rolling pin against the bad guys.” I beam at him, imagining it all. “Or a blaster. Or a knife! Oooh. What about a bat?”
“A bat,” he echoes. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Hmm. I don’t either, really. Alice used to say that if anyone touched me, she’d take a bat to them. It’s not a weapon?” At his shrug, I sigh. “Maybe just a blaster then.”
Adiron gets to his feet. “First of all, let me just say I’m very, very glad you specified. Second of all, no one’s giving you a blaster.” He leans over the station I’ve sat down at. “But it’s not a bad idea to train you with weapons, since this could be dangerous. I’d feel better if you can defend yourself.” He gives me a thoughtful look, rubbing his chin. “We have to wait for Mathiras to return, of course. If he’s as stressed as it sounds, that might take a while.”
“Do you think he fell?” I venture, worried. “Should we go look for him?
He barks a laugh. “Kef no. I am not going anywhere near that shower for a good while. As for him falling, nah. I’m sure he’s just getting a good, strong, one-armed workout.”
I’m not sure why anyone would work out just one arm, but Adiron knows his brother best. “If you say so.”
Adiron gets up from his seat and stretches. His back cracks in three different spots, and he grabs his arm, holding it tight across his chest. “We’re in a dead zone right now anyhow, and Matty should be here soon. Why don’t you and I head down to the gym? You can show me your stuff and I’ll see what we’re working with.”
I jump to my feet, excited at the prospect…and then hesitate. This feels like something Mathiras would want to know about. He always says he wants to know what’s going on with me so he can guide me to make the best possible decisions. He looks out for me. “Should we wait and tell Mathiras what we’re doing first? To make sure he’s okay with it?”
Adiron stretches his other arm, unhurried. “Here’s the thing with Matty, Helen. My brother is never okay with anything. He’s ridiculously overprotective because that’s how he shows he cares—by smothering you.”
Oh. “So we…don’t tell Mathiras?”
“You think he’ll approve of me arming you?”
Hmm. Now that he mentions it, no. “I think he’ll be scared I’ll hurt myself.”
“Exactly. Now I’m gonna let you in on a secret that me, Kas, and Zoey share when dealing with Mathiras.” He windmills his arms in the air and then takes a few cocky steps forward, putting a hand on my shoulder to guide me off the bridge. “We do what we want and apologize later. There’s a human saying about forgiveness and permission but it’s a lot of words and I forgot ‘em all. Just make sure to give Matty sad eyes when he yells at you and he’ll go quiet pretty fast.”