The shuttle takes off as the attendant completes their speech.

“Do you travel often?” Sefon asks.

It’s a simple enough question but dangerous in its weight. I hadn’t decided how honest to be. Quickly, I find a safe middle ground: “I used to travel a lot as part of my work, but I’ve been travelling less lately.”

“I noticed you seemed pretty comfortable and figured it wasn’t your first time.”

“Couldn’t I just not be scared? Lots of people aren’t afraid of inter-dimensional shuttles.”

He shrugs. “But many are. There’s also something different about the ease of someone well-travelled.”

“You’re just saying that since you were right.”

He grins. “You caught me. I just had a feeling.”

The worry bells start ringing in my mind again. He’s too easy to talk to.

“Were you in Wrenis for work?” I say it hoping Sefon will talk about himself and I won’t need to answer more questions.

“Just visiting some friends. And you?”

“I’m living there now.” The lie falls smoothly from my lips and I relax slightly.

“But not for long I take it?”

I pause for a second too long. “Why do you say that?”

He shrugs. “You don’t smell like Wrenis. No copper or salt or steam.”

He’s been smelling me? “Steam doesn’t have a scent.”

“It does once it’s been through some pipes.”

I sigh. “Well, your guess is right again. I settled there recently.” And I wonder if it was an honest guess or if he gave me an out to see if I would take it.

“You’ve been liking it?”

“Well enough.”

“Say—you saw what happened with that shuttle that crashed?” A bucket of cold water splashes down my back.

“Yeah,” I say and curse for replying so quickly that my words almost step over the end of his, “it was all over the news.”

“The place I was staying wasn’t too far from the crash site. Pretty wild stuff.”

“On the news, they said no one died.” I had checked for updates every hour at the hospital and where I could find a screen the day after. They’re still not sure if anyone is missing.

“Fate must have had more in store for them.” Sefon smiles then and it reminds me that this is meant to be casual small talk.

I force a return smile. “Must be. Hopefully good things.”

He nods. “Hopefully things that can help them grow.”

I’m genuinely startled, too much so to hide it. “You think they need to overcome flaws?”

“Shuttles are pretty hard to crash. Nothing good could have led to them being aboard one that did.” He shrugs. “Maybe Fate is trying to tell them something.”

I worry it would be rude to say something like ‘Or they could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time,’ so I instead opt for a more neutral, “Makes sense.”

Sefon smiles largely. “You think it was just bad luck?”

My grin is more sheepish. “I mean…”

He laughs. “It’s fine. I don’t expect every stranger I meet to share my beliefs—”

“Well I do.”

He blinks at me startled before bursting into laughter.

I laugh along a bit. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“It was unexpected. That’s the best kind of funny.”

“Really? More than cleverness or snark?”

“It’s true that I enjoy some good sarcasm on occasion.”

We keep talking, mostly sticking to light topics like things we miss from home or where in Setsi we’ll be visiting. I learn Sefon has read a book I like, and we spend some time talking about that. If he is after me, he’s putting in an unreasonably amount of effort to get on my good side.

I don’t check the time while we’re talking, so it’s a surprise when the attendant announces that we’ll be landing in Yebran soon and I realize that two hours have passed.

Sefon and I share a look that lands somewhere between amused and surprised.