Redhawk Caldera quiet on set

The trip back was largely uneventful until they could see the caldera looming on the horizon. Alyx felt awkward in Caracal's company. She didn't know him very well and didn't think they had much in common besides Towhee. The trip there was comfortable with the Sovereign's presence to tie them together, but coming back without her just felt weird. More than once she found herself chewing the inside of her cheek and casting helplessly about for conversation topics to distract her little brother, who grew more despondent the further they went from Towhee.

When he suddenly hit the deck and started bawling, Alyx hovered nearby, patient but uncertain. Turns out she wasn't the best big sister in the world. Wasn't he, like, almost six months old now? Alyx couldn't imagine throwing a fit like that at six months old just because her mom wasn't there, but immediately she knew she was wrong and felt guilty for it. She had had an outburst about Niamh not spending time with her, it was just different than this, and she remembered how much it hurt to be called a crybaby for it. Caracal didn't need her to humiliate him; he was probably already humiliated enough.

She'll be right as rain and back before you know it, Alyx said when he calmed down. Raven's supposed to be the best healer, like, ever. She turned her nose back toward the caldera in hopes it might placate Caracal if she didn't openly look at him while he recovered from his meltdown. When he was ready, she returned his grin with a shaky smile and kicked it into a light trot. She was eager to be home. Do you wanna give the official report, or do you want me to?