[ truthfully, the trip to the beyond left cassian with fewer knives than he'd taken with him — broken and lost against various dangers, not least of which were the blood-drinking tree aliens (monsters). but there's still one in his boot — both of them — and he's acutely aware of them now. he knows how long it'd take his fingers to slip around the handle of one, what kind of ruse he might need to employ to do so unnoticed. not bothering to replace one in easier reach was the stupidest kind of negligence; he knows better. it doesn't matter that he's newly returned from a long, arduous journey. it doesn't matter what exhaustion pulls at his limbs, clouds his mind. he's gone longer without sleep. he knows better.
but whatever he might have said to jyn a moment ago, or her to him, there is one thing he knows with a startling clarity: she will watch his back. just as he will hers. whatever they're going to face, it's better that neither of them are alone.
(and if he notices any aborted motions by her hand, he doesn't let on.)
instead, his eyebrows rise as he takes in the girl who appears in front of them. her hard eyes, slight but strong frame. he knows her, of course, even though he's never seen her before. when he'd read jyn's dossier, before setting eyes on her, he'd imagined what she might have looked like when she was part of saw's cadre. even after he'd met her, in truth. on route to jedha, while in the holy city, he'd imagined her younger and perhaps angrier, the girl raised by saw gerrara. she'd looked something like this.
he looks from her to the jyn he knows — still, so still, nearly as still as she'd been when he found her as jedha crumbled around them — and then back again. he has no idea what they're supposed to do here. all the things they've seen, ghosts of the past and all, and this is still a new one. but,
he slowly raises his hands, palms to the young girl. empty. he says, ]
Hey,
[ and his voice isn't gentle, but it is nonthreatening. pitched to defuse a situation. ]
Hey. No one's coming any closer. Okay? [ with his boot, he nudges at jyn's foot. ] We're not going to cause any trouble.
no subject
but whatever he might have said to jyn a moment ago, or her to him, there is one thing he knows with a startling clarity: she will watch his back. just as he will hers. whatever they're going to face, it's better that neither of them are alone.
(and if he notices any aborted motions by her hand, he doesn't let on.)
instead, his eyebrows rise as he takes in the girl who appears in front of them. her hard eyes, slight but strong frame. he knows her, of course, even though he's never seen her before. when he'd read jyn's dossier, before setting eyes on her, he'd imagined what she might have looked like when she was part of saw's cadre. even after he'd met her, in truth. on route to jedha, while in the holy city, he'd imagined her younger and perhaps angrier, the girl raised by saw gerrara. she'd looked something like this.
he looks from her to the jyn he knows — still, so still, nearly as still as she'd been when he found her as jedha crumbled around them — and then back again. he has no idea what they're supposed to do here. all the things they've seen, ghosts of the past and all, and this is still a new one. but,
he slowly raises his hands, palms to the young girl. empty. he says, ]
Hey,
[ and his voice isn't gentle, but it is nonthreatening. pitched to defuse a situation. ]
Hey. No one's coming any closer. Okay? [ with his boot, he nudges at jyn's foot. ] We're not going to cause any trouble.