Kanan's gaze lingered on the girl as the laughter faded, the silence that followed feeling heavier than the crumbling walls around them. He finally asked the question that had been circling in his head since they met her.
"Why are you still here?" His voice was steady, though there was a rough edge of disbelief. "This town is nothing but bones and dust. You could've left. Why stay?"
The girl's eyes narrowed slightly. Her hands brushed the hilts of her daggers, a habit of hers when pressed. "Because this is my home," she said simply. "It may be broken, but it's all I've ever known."
Nilo snorted, squatting down again, chin tucked against his knees like always. "Home? There's nothing here! No food, no fire, no one else alive. You've been talking about hope, about stories of rice and gods and oorja. Hope can't fill your stomach!" He gestured around them at the shattered stone and sand. "Look at this place. It's dead."
Her jaw tightened, but she didn't answer.
Kanan crossed his arms, watching carefully. "He's right. The ruins won't protect you forever. Sooner or later, scavengers, raiders or something will find you. And then…" He left the thought unfinished.
The girl looked away, toward the cracked horizon. "I can protect myself."
"Sure," Nilo cut in, waving his hands. "You're good with those shiny toothpicks of yours, I'll give you that. But even you can't fight off hunger, or loneliness. Listen, me and my brother here, we've been wandering all our lives. No home, no fields, nothing. Just dust in our teeth and bugs in our bellies. And still, we keep moving. Because moving means maybe just maybe we find something better."
Her lips parted slightly, as if to argue, but Nilo leaned forward before she could.
"Why chain yourself to ruins when you could walk with us?" His voice cracked with a mix of boyish pleading and stubborn determination. "We're not much, but we've got each other. You could… you could have that too."
The girl tilted her head, studying him. There was something in her expression, softness, but also a guarded wall. "And what would I be to you?"
Nilo blinked, caught off guard. "You'd be… you'd be you. That's enough, isn't it?"
Kanan sighed, shaking his head. "You're hopeless, Nilo." But his tone wasn't sharp it carried a strange warmth, as though part of him agreed.
The girl's fingers tapped against her daggers. She glanced between the brothers, then at the ruins once more. For a fleeting second, something flickered in her eyes: longing.
Nilo grinned. "See? You're thinking about it. Admit it. You don't want to rot in this place. You want to see what's out there."
Her silence was answer enough.