Ziva’s shoulders were straight and square as she moved toward the door, her stride full of purpose. Already, she was shaking off the blow of Silas's rejection.
"If only some of us were capable of taking our own advice," Raider mused, joining Kira.
"I'm simply discerning in the people I choose as friends." Kira faced the gate as the Tuann arranged themselves in preparation for travel.
Silas stood in front of it, waiting. "Are we finally ready?"
Kira shot another look over her shoulder at the door. Still no Jin.
She fought to hide her disappointment. No matter how angry he had been, she hadn't thought he'd let her leave without him.
Seeing her hesitation, Silas offered. "We can wait a little longer for you to say your goodbyes."
Raider nudged her. "Tin Man will forgive you. He always does. Give him a little time to come around."
Kira jerked up a shoulder. She knew he would. That didn't make the intervening time any easier.
She didn't like leaving him behind. This felt wrong—down to the very core of her soul wrong.
Kira took a deep breath. Sometimes to do right, you had to do things that felt wrong. This was one of those times.
“Right now, he’s angry with you and them. They may have made it clear he wasn’t welcome,” Raider said in a quiet voice.
Kira shot him a sharp look. Raider lifted a shoulder in answer.
That still didn’t explain why he hadn’t come to say goodbye.
After several more minutes where it became increasingly clear Jin wasn’t coming, Kira forced herself to face the gate. “We can go."
Waiting would prolong the inevitable.
Jin would cool off—eventually. Until he did, the only thing she could do was take the first steps to repair the breach between them.
"Let's do this." She met Silas's gaze, resolve in hers. He gave her a tiny nod of respect.
In Tuann, he barked several words, of which she only caught a few.
Without Jin here to translate via the comms patch inserted into her ear, she was left reliant on her own language skills. She knew some Tuann but she was far from fluent. It was a weakness she'd have to address.
There was a thrum as the runes along the edges pulsed. Blue made an interested sound, her eyes as wide as a child seeing a magic show for the first time. She drifted closer, her gaze wondering. Resigned, Kira grabbed her by her shirt and hauled her several steps back.
Blue was smart, but sometimes her curiosity got the better of her.
"Let's keep our distance until we get the all clear," Kira warned her.
Blue barely acknowledged Kira's words; her attention still fixed on the gate. "Whatever you say, Nixxy."
Raider glanced at Blue before shaking his head in resignation. "You're fighting a losing battle. She's going to latch onto it eventually."
"But perhaps not until after it does its thing," Kira shot back.
Raider shrugged. "Whatever you say. You're the boss."
Kira kept her grumble to herself. If only that were true.
A pulse went up from the gate; one Kira felt through her bones. It set them vibrating, not exactly unpleasant but not comfortable either.
Light coalesced in the center of the arches until the air rippled.
