Serix wasn’t surprised when the human saw through his bluff. It didn’t matter. Even if she bought it, he couldn’t act on it anyways. If he were to actually bring her back to the ship, the pilot would know he was disobeying his orders. The human would end up dead and he would be in trouble as well. It was looking more and more like he would have to kill her while they were trapped here. But why did he feel so strongly against it? He shot the beast from earlier without a second thought. Why was the idea of doing the same to this human so off-putting? Getting information out of her wasn’t nearly so important that he would repeatedly ignore his orders like this. He looked her over again. Maybe it was because she was so similar to the Lunairans. It almost felt like he would be murdering one of his own. Yes, he decided, that was the problem: the humans were just too much like the Lunairans for him to just shoot them like mindless beasts.

The human female offered him food and drink, but he just shook his head. He was beginning to feel hungry, but she could easily slip poison into his meal. He didn’t trust her enough to accept edibles yet. Just then, another deafening boom shook the vessel and Serix closed his eyes. He cursed himself for his irrational fear. The human wasn’t showing any signs of impending danger, so whatever was making the noise obviously wasn’t a threat. The rational part of him knew he had no reason to feel such anxiety. To make matters worse, the human had noticed his discomfort.

[b]“What's the matter, scared of a little storm?”[/b] she drawled condescendingly. Serix glared at her. He wanted to snap at her that he wasn’t afraid, but he bit his tongue. It was pointless. His body language had given him away, so it would be useless to try and cover it up with lies. He leaned into the metal door and slid down to a sitting position, refusing to meet her gaze. He hated the weakness he was showing. He needed the human to be afraid of him so he could get what he wanted from her, but so far she only thought of him as some kind of joke. In fact, they had almost reversed their roles. She had taken him into her home, where she had the advantage if she were to try and fight to escape; whereas he was trapped by the raging leviathan she called “Storm.” He would have laughed at the irony if he wasn’t so panicky.

[b]“Oh....oh wow, you really are scared of the storm aren't you?”[/b] the human spoke again. This time, her tone was surprisingly gentle. [b]“It's just water. Okay, and maybe thunder and lightning, but it's not going to hurt you. Unless you walk around with something that attracts electricity that is, but here inside the plane we're safe.”[/b] Serix looked up at her warily. Was she trying to [i]comfort[/i] him? After all he’d done to her, she was being… nice? He suspected it was some sort of trick, but what would she gain by making him feel better? No matter how he looked at it, it made no sense.

[b]“Storms are something normal here on earth, so if you’re staying a while you'll have to get used to it. It's just part of life here,”[/b] the human continued. [b]“If it helps, think of it as just the clouds playing bowling. When the lightening comes, that means they got a strike and the thunder is like them celebrating. But, wait... you probably don't know what bowling is... hmm... then how can I explain it in a way it’s not frightening...”[/b] She trailed off, knitting her brow in thought. Serix didn’t doubt now that she really [i]was[/i] trying to comfort him, but instead of feeling calmer he was only growing more confused. Her behavior was so illogical. Why wasn’t she taking advantage of his panic to make a move against him? She had nothing to gain by her current actions. He found himself almost wanting her to attack him because it would be less stressful than what she was doing now.

[b]“Okay,”[/b] the human went on. [/b]“Think of it like those huge ships of yours. Imagine standing here on earth and looking up at the sky. What you'd see first is the lights from the ship, but then a few seconds after, you'll hear the roar of it as well. Lightning and thunder are kind of like that. Does that make sense? Or....even help at all?”[/b] Serix just stared at her. Her explanation did sort of make sense, but he was still just as perplexed as before. The human just shook her head and lay down. [b]“Eh, who am I kidding. I'm talking to a bloodthirsty alien. You don't care about what I have to say. You probably weren't even listening to me.”[/b]

“Why?” Serix said quietly. He couldn’t stand it anymore. Her actions were too confusing. He had to know what she was plotting. He looked back down at the floor and shook his head. “Why are you trying to help me? You said it yourself: I’m going to kill you eventually. So just what are you trying to do?”