[It was no magical cure, but one incident, one hard push, and a second choice was enough to create a spark—enough to make embers flicker again in her drowning heart. This was necessary conversation, but it does put a slight damper on basking in the warmth. Fang at least takes a moment to consider the question.]

Both, but that's nothin' new, [She murmurs back honestly; Chariot would've known if she wasn't being truthful. The question reminds her a little of prior conversations with a certain merrow. Deserve was such a tricky word, and had roots so much deeper than this incident.] After smashin' a chunk outta a small planet, guess I don't deserve much.

But that's not the point, is it? Life never gives anyone what they deserve. Only matters what you have.

[There's a bit of cynicism, buried in that. It's a bitter truth Fang's come to harbor over the course of her long life.]