"But I wasn't. Not at first."
"You almost rolled off the platform. I saw it out the window of our ship!"
"That was after. This is now, and I won't go back on my promise."
"Evidently not. You're already dressed like them." Adryel said and sounded displeased about it.
"If I had my things, it might be different. Instead, I had to wear what was available." Janae looked down at her dress. It was tight at the ribs, plated like armor, and her shoulders had similar protection. There were heavy sections of the dress underneath to protect her body. It took a bit of walking to get used to it, but by the time she reached Adryel's apartment, she was used to the feel of it. "It's a Kantenan style. It had armor in it." She leaned back, revealing her ribs. "Here, hit me."
"I'm not going to hit you."
"There's armor in it."
"Janae."
"Try it! It's solid.” It had made her giddy when she realized why it was so heavy and stiff.
"You are way too excited about this."
"Do you know how many fights I was in and what some armor like this, sewn into my clothes, would have done for me? It would have been world-changing." Just thinking about how armored clothing would have made her life so much different and easier when she fought for everything on the streets.
And she wasn't a good fighter. She had to recoil in pain far too many times.
"Were you in that many fights?"
"I lived on the lower streets of Trinity Alpha Prime."
Adryel flinched. The reputation of Trinity Alpha Prime's lower levels was well known as a rough area. The deeper one went, the more dangerous the environment became.
"Now, ask me how many I won."
"Do I want to know?"
"Very little. I wasn't strong. And I couldn't defend myself well." She ran her hands over the dress and grinned. "This makes me feel strong." Once she got into the armored dress, her confidence seemed to increase. It wasn't that she felt pretty or anything. It made her feel more secure. Like she had another layer of protection wrapped around her. From what she'd seen in the database that had created her dress, much of what females wore were of a similar design. Clothing that was designed to protect as much as to be seen in.
It may seem strange to Adryel, but it was important to her.
"Well, then I'm thrilled for you." Adryel’s gaze ran over her. "I just want you to be happy. If this Kantenan makes you happy, then I'm all for it. But if he doesn't, you know that I'll let him have it."
Janae laughed. "I'll warn him. Though I think it will be okay. He has been quite respectful so far. It's been a bizarre journey. How is it going for you? Is there someone running this now? Like who's in charge?"
"No one I know. It didn't register how isolated we were from the rest of the ship and the crew until now. Faces I don't recognize are working with the Kantenans to organize everything since Graecey is gone."
Again, they both sat in silence for a moment, and Janae sipped on the tea she was drinking.
Khalzin had not told her much about how things were going.
But to be fair, she hadn't asked.
It wasn't that Janae didn't want to know, but part of her was almost afraid to ask. What else would happen? Though she should ask something because it seemed that there wasn't a lot of information yet for her and the other potentials.
If Adryel didn't know it, then no one did.
She could get information out of a wall.
But at least she was safe.
"What are you doing to make sure you're protected?"
