Serix just rolled his eyes when Cassie insisted he was attacked by the ‘dogs’ because she wasn’t with him. He followed her again and she led him to a smaller storage room full of round, metal containers. “Pick what you want. Sorry it’s all canned, but that's all that could stay good during all this time,” she grabbed one for herself.

All of the containers looked the same, so Serix just chose a random one and took it down from the shelf. He turned it over in his hands. It didn’t look like it had a lid. How was he supposed to get the food out of it without breaking the container? He snuck a glance at Cassie to see that she was opening her container with a small tool that she twisted around one of the flat sides.

Serix held out a hand to take the tool from her when she was finished using it. When she gave it to him, he looked at it more closely. The device had a tiny grip on the inside that fit the rigged edge of the food container. He fit it on the metal edge and copied Cassie’s twisting motion until the side popped off. The smell of food set his stomach to rumbling again.

Inside the container were small wedges of orange fruit. He pulled one out and sniffed at it. He had never seen anything like it, but it smelled delicious. He bit off a piece of it and widened his eyes. The strange fruit tasted sweeter than any of the food he’d ever eaten back on the ship. All he had available there were the dehydrated and heavily salted rations provided to the Lunairans by the higher powers. The food was dull and tasteless, only eaten for the nutrients it contained. Serix devoured the Earth fruit ravenously.

“So what's your plan now?” Cassie asked. “Are you going to go back to the ship for your next check in, or do you have something else in mind?”

“I don’t have to report back for another two days,” Serix said, sitting down across from her on the floor. “But even then, I’m not sure. Sometimes I think it might be easier to just not go back. Play dead, in a sense. Maybe the pilot would just write me off as a casualty to one of those… eh… dogs.” He shook his head. “But I know he won’t let me go that easily. Not after losing track of me twice. Maybe I should just go back and let him turn me in to the leaders.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “It might be easier than just prolonging the inevitable.”

Cassie listened to what he had to say, and she could kind of understand why he would think it might just be easier to give himself in to the pilot. After all, it sounded like the easiest thing to do. It would just be skipping a lot of running and would just end things quicker. But, Cassie really didn't like the idea of him doing that. Sure, when she had first met him and he had threatened to either kill her or bring her into his people, she had sad he could and she wouldn't have cared, but that had all just been a bluff. Cassie still had the fight to survive, and look where it had gotten her. She was still alive and well, and actually, she was kind of happy. She had a great place to hide and for now she had some company. She just couldn't see anybody giving their lives up so easily like he was talking about doing.

But, then again, he was from a different society. They had been taught differently. Brain washed almost. She pursed her lips as she thought about this and looked back to him, speaking, "And....what if you didn't go back? You could always stay here. I have plenty of supplies and room. Besides, why give yourself in? Isn't that just giving into what they want? With that your sure to die. But....with not going back, you at least have a chance to live. Why would you want to throw away that chance?" She asked quietly, looking down at her own can of sliced pineapples and spoke again, "That's like saying you don't value your own life. And I don't know about your kind, but to human, life is precious. We cherish every life and don't give it up so easily."

Seeing him quickly finish up the first can of fruit, she plucked another off the shelf and tossed it to him, "Anyway, I guess that's all I have to really say on the subject. What you decide to do is your decision, but just know you have more options than to just give yourself up to them like that." With that, it feel silent for a long moment and when she was done with her own fruit and she saw he was done, she sighed and stood up, "Anyway, it's getting kind of late. I don't know about you, but I need some sleep." Stretching, she walked from the small storage room and across the hall was the bedroom. It had two beds, which she assumed her parent shad put in there so that they would have one and Cassie herself would have one if they had all stayed there together. But, since her parents were gone, that left the two beds for her and Serix if he wished to use the other.

It was a pretty plain set up with the beds on opposite sides of the small room in the same position against the wall and each bed had a small table beside it to set things upon. On the table beside the bed she had claimed when she got there, sat the photo album and on top of it was her father's pocket watch and the necklace her mother had given her. She moved over o the table and put both things inside of the photo album for safe keeping before she sat on the edge of the bed, speaking to him, "Feel free to take that bed if you get tired." She crawled into her bed and curled up under the blanket, giving a yawn, "Goodnight Serix." With that, she rolled over, her back to him as she fell asleep.

Serix contemplated what Cassie told him about life being precious to humans. It was the same for the Lunairans, but for different reasons. The higher powers wanted to keep them alive because of their dwindling numbers. If their population fell below a certain level, they may never be able to repopulate enough to escape extinction. The only ones who cared about individual lives were mates and their children.

There’s no one left to care if I die, the morbid thought crept into the back of Serix’s mind. Both of his parents were gone, and he had neither a mate nor children. He doubted he ever would at this point. He had sacrificed any possible happy future he might have had for this human. And as he was the only child of his parents, his line would die with him. It was a strangely lonely feeling to know he was the last one.

Serix looked at Cassie’s sleeping figure. She was probably feeling ten times worse than he was. She had lost not only her immediate family, but also the rest of her species as a whole. And yet she pushed on, fighting to survive in a desolate planet with no one to fall back on but herself. If he gave up so easily to the higher powers, it would make a mockery of her efforts to go on living. He had to keep fighting, too.

He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, suddenly tired. He got up from the floor and flopped down on the empty bed on the other side of the room, rolling over to face the wall. It didn’t take long for him to drift to sleep.

--

Serix awoke in mild confusion. The constant stream of electric lights made it difficult to tell what time it was. He sat up on the bed and looked around. It must still be early, because Cassie had yet to wake up. He got up slowly and stretched until some of his lingering fatigue began to wane. His eyes wandered back to Cassie, who was still sleeping soundly.

He crossed the room and leaned over her. He was still curious about her unusual human features, but he had never really gotten a chance to take a closer look. Her light hair fascinated him. He liked the way her golden locks caught the light. It was something he had never seen occur with the long-haired Lunairan females. He leaned a little closer.

Suddenly, Cassie began to stir. She was waking up. Her blue eyes flickered open, meeting Serix’s gaze. He stumbled to pull away, but he was off-balance from leaning so far over her that he fell forward instead of backward. He let out an undignified yelp as he landed right on top of her.

“Ow,” Serix mumbled. He opened one eye to find that he was nose to nose with Cassie. He swallowed. That was a big mistake.

Cassie didn't really have any trouble falling asleep. This bed as much more comfier than the make shift bed he had made out of plane seats back at the airport, and so it hadn't taken her long to feel relaxed laying there. She drifted off soon, curled up with her blanket wrapped tightly around herself. It wasn't like it was cold, but her blanket being wrapped around her like that was just something for comfort. It made her feel safe and gave her a false sense of being blocked off from the rest of the world in some ways. When she had been a little girl and her parents had still been alive, she had a habit of crawling into her parents bed and sleeping in her mother's arms. After her mother died, a blanket being tightly around her was as close as she could get to that an she had just continued to do that through out the years.

The next morning though(at least it could be assumed morning. in the dark room lit by dim electric lights it was impossible for her to tell what time of day it was), she felt a strange feeling of someone being much to close to her and that sent a shiver down her spine. Her eyes flew open and grew wide when she found Serix staring down at her rather closely. She let out a surprised yelp, and to make matters worse Serix, who was apparently as surprised about all of this as she was, fell forward, landing right on top of her, the two of them nose to nose. This had to be possibly the most awkward she had and would be in.

Serix opened his eyes and his violet eyes stared into her for what seemed like a long moment, her own eyes wide, a bright pink color coming to her pale cheeks, unsure of what to do at first. But then she got over that unsure emotion after a moment, "Get off!" She exclaimed and shoved at him, causing him to roll off of her and land with a hard thud on the floor.

Sitting up, she looked down at him, an annoyed look coming to her face as she sis, crossing her arms over her chest, "You really need to work on how to probably wake someone up. I don't know what your kind does, but staring down at someone and being super quiet is definitely not what we humans do." Still, as she said this, the bright pink color remained on her face and feeling it still there she stood up and walked to the other side of the room, averting her gaze and trying to will the flushness to leave her cheeks, "Let's go ahead and eat breakfast now. I still have to go out and get that wire." She stated, trying to get off the topic of what had just happened. She looked at him from over her shoulder and then made to her way to walk once again across the hall into the food and supplies storage room.

She grabbed a can of pears this time and opened it, trying to eat and get past this awkward moment.

Normally, the whole ordeal would have been quite uncomfortable for Serix. Cassie had caught him staring at her while she was asleep, and then shoved him to the ground in a startled frenzy. He wasn’t even sure how he would explain his logic to her. Somehow ‘I wanted to look at your hair’ didn’t sound like the best thing to say to defend himself.

But instead, something else had caught his attention.

During the short period of time where they had been close enough to share breaths, Serix had noticed something odd. It might have just been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw flecks of violet in Cassie’s blue eyes. But that wasn’t possible, was it? She had said violet wasn’t a color in the spectrum of human eyes. It was probably just wishful thinking. Maybe he was getting homesick. There was no way Cassie could have purple in her eyes.

Serix suddenly recalled something she had said back when they first met: that human-sympathetic Lunairan female. Cassie had said she spent a lot of time with her father. Could the Lunairan have been…? He pushed the thought away. No. That was impossible. They were of two different species. Interracial breeding couldn’t happen. The human beings looked similar to his people, but their genetics couldn’t be so alike that they could have offspring together, right? Cassie’s father was probably just a human that the Lunairan communicated with. Nothing more.

Serix looked up at Cassie from where he sat on the floor after she had pushed him. Her face seemed to have a bit more color to it than before. Refusing to meet his gaze, she said something about getting ‘breakfast’ and left the room, heading down the hallway to the nearby storage room.

Serix clambered to his feet and trailed after her. In the storage room, he took another container of food, using the same tool to open it. The contents were fruit bits again, but this time the pieces were yellow squares. He ate slower than the night before, enjoying the sugary taste of the food. He also used the time to sneak glances at Cassie, trying to catch a glimpse of the violet color he thought he saw in her eyes before. But of course, after a few tries he saw nothing different, so he gave up. It was just his imagination after all.

“So,” Serix said, putting an end to the silent tension that dragged on between them. “Where is this wire you need to find?”

Cassie looked over to him when he asked where the wire would be at. Well, that was one way to break the silent tension between the two of them. She shrugged slightly, eating another piece of fruit before she spoke, "There's an old abandoned hardware store next door to this building actually. I'm pretty sure there should be some wire there I can use." She informed him, going to sit down on the floor again like she had done the night before as they ate. Her mind was continuing to wander back to that very awkward moment that had happened to the just moments before. Why had she suddenly felt herself blush and her heart to race at the proximity of the two of them.

Her own eyes staring into his violet ones was something she would have thought would freak her out, but instead it had made her only want to stare at them longer. That thought scared her so much. There was no way she would even think of him in that way. He was an alien after all. They were two different species. It was obviously jut the fact she had spent so much time alone that she would even think he was in the least bit attractive. Yes, that had to be it. It was just her mind messing with her. She just had to get over it and realize that. Shaking her head at herself, she looked back to him, "It shouldn't take long to get the wire though. I'm sure it will be fine."

She hoped it would be fine. But, what could happen right? If Serix was the one that had been searching this area then it should be okay to go the short distance next door. Right? Right. She sighed and took another bite of her food, glancing over at him once more and when she did, she couldn't help but notice him staring at her a little harder than he had been previously doing, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Looking away she finished up her fruit and then stood up "I think I'm going to go get it now actually. Shouldn't take me too long so just....do whatever until I get back." Maybe when she got back this awkward tension would be in the past and they could get back to just talking and surviving.

With that in mind, she went to grab the Silencer from the bedroom and put it in her waist band again, calling out to him as she did, "I'll be back soon. Don't get yourself into any trouble while I'm gone." Then, she gone, walking up the hallway and heading out of their hide out.

Serix just nodded absently when Cassie said she wanted to leave and implied that she wasn’t going to bring him with her. After what he did, she probably wanted some time to herself so he didn’t try to follow her out. She would be fine on her own, right? The building Cassie was going to wasn’t far away and the chances that she would run into another Scout were slim. It’s not like it was a dangerous trip.

Serix looked around the now empty room. Cassie might be fine by herself, but what was he going to do while she was gone? He couldn’t go back to the robotics storage without her, as the door wouldn’t unlock without her handprint. He stood up from the floor and headed back to the room with the beds. Maybe he could find something to entertain himself in there.

He rummaged through drawer next to his bed, finding a few old books. He thumbed through the pages for a while, but he didn’t see anything that interested him so he put them away again. His eyes wandered over to the short table by Cassie’s bed. She had put something in the drawer last night. He wondered what it was.

Serix crossed the room and opened the drawer. Inside, he found her old photo album. Cassie had let him look through it the last time she had shown it to him, but he had been distracted by other things at the time so he never got a close look at the pictures. He wanted to go back and see if he missed anything. Surely she would be okay with it if he went through it once more?

He carefully picked the album up and sat on the floor with it in the middle of the room where he opened it up to the first page. To his surprise, the first thing he saw wasn’t pictures. Cassie had stashed a few trinkets behind the cover for safe keeping. He hesitated. She probably had a reason to hide them from him, but eventually his curiosity won out. He picked up a round object and turned it over in his hands. There was a small button on the side. He pressed it and the lid popped open to reveal a circle of numbers sealed behind a thin layer of glass. Three needles of varying length and thickness pointed in random directions.

No matter how he looked at it, Serix couldn’t figure out what the object’s purpose was. He closed the lid and put it back in the album, and then picked up the second trinket. He knew what this one was: a necklace. He had seen plenty of Lunairan females wear jewelry like this back on the mother ship. In fact, this particular necklace looked almost identical to them. He narrowed his eyes, holding the pendant up to get a better look at it. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

The necklace looked like Lunairan jewelry because it was Lunairan jewelry. The pendant displayed the symbol of one of the ancestral families: Lyrr. There was no mistaking the familiar markings painstakingly engraved into the stone pendant. How did Cassie get her hands on an artifact like this?

An idea began to form in Serix’s mind. He had to find a way to confirm it. His eyes fell on the photo album again and he flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. Cassie must have put the photos back that she had taken out the last time, because this particular image was definitely not there when he looked through the pictures on the human ship.

He had found a photo of Cassie’s entire family. Both of her parents’ smiling faces looked towards the invisible image recorder. It was the first time Serix had seen Cassie’s mother and he had to say, she looked just like her – well, apart from her mother’s dark, brown-black hair and glowing violet eyes.

Serix closed the album and stared blankly at the cover. His mind was reeling. Cassie was half Lunairan? Why didn’t she say anything before? She must have known if she hid those pictures of her mother from him before. She had intentionally kept her parentage a secret.

He heard footsteps in the hallway. He hurriedly put the photo album back in the drawer and closed it, and then headed out the door to meet her. She was coming down the hall with a coil of wire from the store. He stopped her in her tracks, putting one hand on each of her shoulders and pulling her close. He stared into her eyes. Just as he expected, there were small flecks of purple swimming in her bright blue irises.

“I didn’t imagine it,” Serix breathed. He looked at her with wide eyes. “You’re half Lunairan, aren’t you? That Lunairan you mentioned before; she was your mother. I’m right, aren’t I?”

It felt kind of good to be out of the hide away Cassie had to admit. Once she had stepped out of the building she took a deep breath of the fresh air and took in the cool breeze for a moment, taking in the morning sight where the sun had just barely started to peak out from the horizon before she traveled on, across the deserted street to the hardware store. She hadn't been to this store in years and it, like every other building in this town, and possibly the world, was run down and past its prime. She had to break the front window open with a rock and slip inside, carefully walking around and trying to find where the wire might be. It took her a few moments to pinpoint exactly where it was and even then there was different sizes of wire. She probably needed to get some electrical tape as well. She thought for a moment before deciding maybe it might just be a god idea to take all the different sizes of wire and the electrical tape, just in case she needed it.

She took little time in slipping them over her arm much like one would do a bracelet, and immediately went for the window, only to pause when she heard heavy footsteps and things being thrown around as if someone was searching. Her eyes widened and she crouched to hide under the window, eyes wide as she peaked out, seeing a figure with violet eyes unmistakably glowing the dark of early morning passing by the building she was in. She held her breath in fear, watching as the person rounded a corner and went down another street, thankfully missing the store she was in completely. She waited another moment, letting out the breath she had been holding and then when she was fairly sure she would be safe, hopped out of the window, making a dash as fast as she could to the building across the way.

She was relieved to find the Lunarian Scout hadn't come back her way ad hadn't seen her sneaking back in to the tall skyscraper. She would definitely have to be more careful next time when going out. This was too close of an encounter and she didn't need to be caught. Not so soon into this new invasion. She rushed into the back office and into the lounge, where she was fast to unlatch the door and shut it back, going into the hall. Her heat was already hammering from the close threat and so when Serix came out of the bedroom so suddenly, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close, this made her even more tense, looking up at him with wide eyes when he put his face right next to hers, his eyes staring into her own wide ones.

“I didn’t imagine it,” Serix's voice was breathy as he looked at her with those wide glowing eyes of his. “You’re half Lunairan, aren't you? That Lunairan you mentioned before; she was your mother. I’m right, aren’t I?”

"W....what?" Castiel looked at him confused, narrowing her eyes at him when he spoke, "How did you...." Suddenly she seemed to realize how he had figured out her secret and she felt her cheeks heat up, only this time, it wasn't from embarrassment or their closeness. This time it was from annoyance and anger as she pushed him away from her,, a disbelieving look in her eyes, "You went through my things! I can't believe you!" She said, walking around hi to go quickly into the bedroom and to the draw she had put the book and such in. It wasn't hard to tell with the way it was put hurriedly back in there that it had been taken out. Picking it up, she turned her frustrated gaze to his, holding the album close to her, "What made you think you even had a right to go through my things? You are just so...so...urg! I don't even have words for how I feel about this!" She paced little before walking back over to stand in front of him, her eyes looking up into his again, pausing before she spoke once more, her voice level lowering, yet that frustrated look was still on her face, "Yes.....mother was Lunairan. And she was the one I spoke of."

Moving over, she walked to the bed and sat on the edge of it, opening the album and flipping to the picture that had her mother in it, speaking quietly as she stared down at it, "Go ahead. Make fun of me for it. Call me a freak against nature. After all, I don't belong to Lunairan race, and yet I don't belong to the human race either." She shook her head and closed the photo album, running a hand through her blonde locks, "To your people I must seem like an abomination."

Serix flinched at the ferocity in Cassie’s eyes when she accused him of going through her things. He didn’t think she would be this mad. She pushed past him and went into the room with the beds, heading directly for the drawer where he had hastily shoved the album moments before her return. He followed her back, but lingered by the doorway while she retrieved the album and held it protectively to her chest.

“What made you think you even had a right to go through my things?” Cassie said angrily. “You are just so... so... urg! I don't even have words for how I feel about this!” She started pacing, full of frenzied energy. Serix just watched her in silence. He wasn’t sure what to say. He had gone through her book without permission, so she had every right to be mad at him.

Finally, Cassie stopped pacing and walked up to him, “Yes… mother was Lunairan. And she was the one I spoke of.” Her rage seemed to have faded. She walked back to her bed and sat down, opening the photo album to the picture of her mother. “Go ahead. Make fun of me for it. Call me a freak against nature. After all, I don't belong to Lunairan race, and yet I don't belong to the human race either. To your people I must seem like an abomination.”

That’s what she was worried about? She had kept her parentage a secret because she wanted to fit in somewhere. This was just another thing Cassie was suffering from. Not only had all of the other humans died, but she just found out one of her parents belonged to the race of beings that murdered them. She was trapped between two worlds.

Serix stepped towards her, hesitated for a moment, and then walked across the room to sit next to her on the bed. He kept his eyes focused on a spot on the floor, averting his gaze from Cassie’s dejected form.

“I don’t know what the rest of my people would think of you,” he said quietly. “They might call you an abomination or a crime against nature. I don’t think that’s right though.” His voice wavered slightly as if he was unsure of what to say. “I think you shouldn’t look at yourself like that. You’re unique. You’re probably the only half-human-half-Lunairan in all of existence. Isn’t that something to feel proud of?” He glanced up at Cassie’s face. “You’re one of a kind; living proof that our people might have been able to coexist if they had given each other a chance.” He paused again and sighed. “I’m no good at this, am I? Just… think about what you said to me before. You told me that all life is precious. Doesn’t that include your own?”

Cassie stayed staring at the floor when she heard his footsteps approaching her and he even sat on the bed next to her, speaking to her and seemed to be at least trying to make her feel better. Some of the things he said weren't things that she wanted to hear, like her being the only half Lunariran-half human. That was such a lonely thing to think about. But, at the same time, some of the things he said made her feel a little bit better. Like her being unique and proof the humans and Lunairans could have gotten along. After all, if her mother and father could have gotten along enough to actually come to love each other and have a child together, then didn't that say both species could have gotten along if they tried?

The last couple of sentences he said made her pause and hesitantly look over at him, her gaze meeting his when he put what she had told him into her own situation. How could she argue with that when she had been the one to give him that advice just the night before? Her eyes meeting his, she sighed, a somewhat sad smile coming to her face as she nodded, "Yeah I guess it does." Looking back down at the photo album, she opened it up, taking the two trinkets out and hold them in one hand as she used the other to flip tot he page with the picture of her parents.

Her fingers ran over the two trinkets slowly, thinking about her parents and took a shaky breath, her hand clutching the necklace and pocket watch tightly in her hands after a moment, "I remember....when I was younger, my mother used to hide her Lunairan appearance from everyone other than me and my father. She used to put these contacts in her eyes to make her eyes seem green and not violet. I used to ask her why she did....I had never really understood why she would hide her eyes when they were so pretty. I thought it was so cool that they glowed the way they did. She would always reply to me that people wouldn't understand and might hate her if she showed her eyes to them....back then that was so confusing for me....my mother was such a kind and beautiful woman....it never made sense to me that someone might hate her for her appearance because it was a little different....

"And then I saw you and it was then that it clicked. I never had seen a Lunairan before I saw you so for me to suddenly realize my mother was your kind was like taking my whole world, everything I knew abut myself and my parents, and turning it upside down..." She shook her hand and scratched the back of her neck, growing quiet again, running her hand over the picture of her parents as well as holding the two trinkets close to her.

"I guess I just....I wish my parents were still here...they always knew jut the right things to say and how to make me feel better when I was child. Maybe they would have the answers for me I want to know. Like how much of a Lunairan am I? What abilities or traits could I have? Or am I just a human with a bit more durability? I mean, there's so many questions I want to ask them that I know I'll never be able to."

Serix was glad that he could cheer Cassie up in even the slightest bit. She even managed a weak smile. Then, she went on to talk about her mother and her father. He closed his eyes as he listened, sharing in the ache of losing both parents so suddenly to such tragic circumstances. It was a terrible thing to be orphaned like that, especially in the midst of a war.

“I guess I just... I wish my parents were still here...” Cassie said sadly. “They always knew just the right things to say and how to make me feel better when I was child. Maybe they would have the answers for me I want to know. Like how much of a Lunairan am I? What abilities or traits could I have? Or am I just a human with a bit more durability? I mean, there's so many questions I want to ask them that I know I'll never be able to.

“If it helps, I can tell you a couple of traits that I’ve noticed,” Serix said, looking away again. “You have your mother’s eyes. That’s the first thing I saw in you that tipped me off about what she was. You have a little bit of violet right around the middle of your iris. Up close, the mix of colors is kind of striking.” He felt his cheeks take on a pinkish hue. “You also definitely inherited your mother’s durability. The fact that you survived the Silencer is proof enough of that.

“I know I can never replace you parents,” he went on. “But I can try to help you find some of the answers you’ve been searching for. I’m a Lunairan, too, after all.” He offered her a small smile. “I can teach you things and we’ll see if you’re able to do them.” He stood up and reached out a hand to her. “Come on. Let’s see what other Lunairan traits your mother gave you.”

Cassie listened to him speak and when he did, her weak smile grew slightly in a real smile, though it was still small and held still a little of the sadness she felt. He was really trying hard to cheer her up and it was a really sweet sentiment. Especially when he said she had her mother's eyes. Her mother had been a beautiful woman and so to hear that she was anything like her was a great thing in Cassie's opinion. It made her feel a little better about herself and a little less like a freak.

She even felt herself blush as well when he said he thought her eyes were striking. Why she was blushing she didn't know. Yes he had just complimented her out loud and in his own words, but he was merely just trying to cheer her up. Right? He didn't mean it in a romantic way. She needed to stop being so confused about the things he always said that seemed like something someone might say to someone they were trying to woo.

Looking up at him, she smiled slightly when he made the offer to try and help her find some of the answers she was seeking. Sure, it wouldn't be as good as her parents getting her the answers and he probably could only help her figure out certain things, but it was worth a try. And who knew, maybe this could really be a big help for her since he was a full Lunairan who knew things about the Lunairan society she would never know without him. He was her best shot at connecting with her Lunairan side and she was going to take him up on his offer.

Looking up at him again, she let her eyes meet his for another moment before she nodded slowly and reached out, taking his outstretched hand. She didn't know what she had been expecting when she took his hand, but the fluttering of her heart in her chest was not it. It made her feel a little unsure at the moment, but she let it pass quickly so he wouldn't notice. Taking a deep breath she spoke, "Okay. Let's go see if w can figure this out then." She paused, looking back up to him once more, "On more thing....how exactly are we going to see what traits I have? How do you even test that?"

“You’ll see,” Serix gave her a knowing grin as he took her hand and lifted her to her feet. “We can test the differences we know about first, and then try to figure out more later. Come on.” He realized he was still holding on to Cassie’s hand and quickly let go, hoping she didn’t notice his lingering grasp. Why was it that she seemed to make physical contact – something completely normal in his society – so energizing?

Serix led her out into the hallway and sat down with his back against one wall, gesturing for Cassie to sit across from him. “We already know you’re physically more adept than other humans,” he said. “So we don’t really need to test that. Instead, I thought we could start with your mental capabilities. This hallway is a good spot because it’s so bare. There’s nothing around to distract you.” He paused. “This… is something we do with young children when they first develop the ability to communicate mentally. You’re going to have to get over your need for ‘personal space’ if you want to do this.” He smiled mischievously at her. “Physical contact and being in close quarters with one another is something we Lunairans are immersed in from a young age. You’re just going to have a late start in learning to get used to it.”

He moved forward until he was sitting close enough to bump knees with Cassie. Despite his words about contact being normal, he found that his heart rate was beginning to pick up. It was strange. He had done exercises like this since he was a child, and yet this was the first time he felt excitement upon sitting so close to someone else. It must be because she’s half human, he told himself. Contact with her is just different. In spite of the unusual feeling, he kept his composure, refusing to let any sense of discomfort show on his face.

“Here’s the part where you get over your fear of losing ‘personal space,’” Serix said, meeting Cassie’s gaze. “Close your eyes and lean forward.”

Cassie couldn't help but notice his lingering touch of her hand in his and despite how it might have seemed a little awkward when they let go, in the back of her mind she wanted to hold his hand again. Why was that? She had already established that even though she was half of what he was there was no way he would find her attractive and she shouldn't either. And yet here she was giddy like a child whenever she came into contact with him? Yes, she had to admit that he was indeed good looking. Handsome even. But, wait. What was she even thinking? Did she just think of him as handsome? Her cheeks flushed at that thought and she mentally watched to hit herself. But yet, she couldn't take that away. He was handsome and there was no denying she thought that. She just had to keep that in check. After all, it wouldn't become anything other than a slight attraction to him. That was it.

Following him out in the hallway, she frowned when he said that she was going to have to get over her need for personal space. Great. Meaning n order to test her mental abilities they were going to be rather lose to one another. This was something she really didn't like the idea of, but if he was going to help her figure out if she had any of the same mental abilities the Lunairans did then it was just something she would have to deal with she supposed.

She sighed and sat down in the hallway with him, her back to the wall and soon Serix was scooting for as well, enough that their knees were touching. This sent her heart racing and caused butterflies in her stomach. Still, she did her best to try and not let how this affected her show and instead focused on his words and him telling her what to do for the training. She didn't really like the idea of getting any closer than they already where and not for the fact that she didn't want to be closer to him. It was the fact that she actually did want to be closer that she didn't like and her own thoughts actually made her even more nervous.

But, even with these feelings, she wanted to see exactly what training he had in mind for this, so, she obeyed and did what he said, closing her eyes and leaning forward closer to him, waiting for his next instructions.

Serix waited for Cassie to do as he instructed, and then he did the same thing, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. He waited a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. If he tried reaching out to her mind now, he might accidentally leak some of his emotions to her. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. It wasn’t like he was attracted to her, or anything… was he? She was an exotic female, like no one he’d ever seen before, and he did catch himself staring at her more often than he’d like to admit. Am I attracted to Cassie? Suddenly he wasn’t sure what to think.

He tried to ignore the question and focus on the task at hand. He took a steady breath to calm himself, as he had been trained to do as a child. Then, he reached out to Cassie’s mind. Again, the connection felt strange. It must be because of her human side, he decided. The odd feeling would be the neural pathways in her brain rerouting to function according to her Lunairan abilities, allowing for mental interaction.

All Lunairans I’ve ever known learned to use telepathy at a young age, Serix thought to her. Because you’re starting out so late, it might take you longer to learn how to do it. I know you’re able to hear me, which is a good sign that you’re likely still able to communicate back with me. You just need to learn how to do it. He hesitated, then reached to take her hand in his.

If you ever start to feel like you’re blacking out, squeeze my hand twice, he continued, careful to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t want to leak anything to her except for his words. The best way to start is by blocking out all external distractions; hence I had you close your eyes. Now then, we usually start children out by having them imagine a tunnel – visualization helps beginners strengthen the mental bond. Try to picture a tunnel leading from your mind to mine. If you do it right, you should feel a change in how we’re communicating right now. It’s hard to explain… I guess it will feel like an extension? Oh, and you don’t need to try replying yet. I’ll feel it too, so I’ll know when you’ve done it.

He was taking a rather long time to do whatever he was planning on doing. She had been waiting there for her eyes to close before he had finally pressed his forehead to her and after letting out a breath he let his mind connect to her and began speaking to her mentally like he had done before in the plane. It still felt weird for Cassie to have their mind connected like this. She wasn't sure if she would ever get used to sharing her mind with someone. For the longest time, her mind was the only safe place, and to share that with someone was just bizarre. But, maybe it would come in handy later on if they needed to talk to one another without really talking out loud? This was a good way to prepare for that.

She listened to his voice inside her head, him telling her it might be a little harder for her to learn this skill because she was older than those on the ship usually learned this. And though he didn't mention it, she knew that her being only half Lunairan was a set back fro the as well and would make it take possibly even long for her to do as well. They wouldn't know until they started trying though, and so she kept her mind open to be linked with his taking in his advise and burning it into her memory for later us when practicing this.

Feeling him take her hands, she felt her cheeks heat up once more and was glad that he couldn't hear her thoughts or feel her emotions right then. She would be by far embarrassed if he did. Her heart raced another moment before he gave her the next part of their little exercise and that was to envision a tunnel leading from her mind into his that would help to better connect her mind with his. She wasn't sure if this would work or not but it was worth a try.

When he stopped talking, she took a deep breath and did just that, imagining there was a tunnel opening up and running from her mind to his. She wondered if what she was doing was working because if it was then that was a good sign right? It felt like something had hanged as she did this. Like there was a slight opening n the link between their minds. A small one but it was something. Yet, that something was making her mind feel suddenly weak and her head to spin jut a little. Was she about to pass out or was that a side effect? Maybe both but either way it wasn't a good feeling and if she didn't let him know she might regret not letting him onto the fact she was feeling so dizzy. Taking a shaky breath she squeezed his hands twice, holding them tightly for support a little after.

Serix felt Cassie make the connection. The communication was no longer one sided. Considering her situation, it was actually quite impressive that she managed to connect with him so quickly. He grinned. Maybe he had underestimated her. Maybe being half human wouldn’t hold her back from unlocking her Lunairan abilities.

But as soon as the link had been formed, it faded out again. He felt her squeeze his hands: their signal that she was blacking out. Suddenly worried, he broke off his connection and opened his eyes. Cassie looked pale and weak. The effort had taken more energy out of her than he thought it would. He just hoped it didn’t do any serious damage.

“Cassie,” Serix’s voice was laced with concern. He brought a hand to her chin and tilted her head up to examine her eyes. “Are you okay?” It was a ridiculous question. Of course she wasn’t. She had signaled that she felt like she was about to faint. He wasn’t a medical expert, so he wasn’t sure what to do in this scenario. Dozens of possible treatments flitted through his mind. Water was good for nearly everything, sleep was the fastest way for the body to recover, bright lights could overstimulate the brain and should be avoided… But he didn’t have any solid method to help her get her strength back.

Serix continued to hold her chin up so Cassie could look him in the eye. “You know what?” he said, offering her a half-hearted smile. “You did it. For a second, you made the link. I felt it.” It wasn’t much, but reassurance was the best thing he could give her at the moment.

“I think we’re done for today, don’t you?” he went on. “Do… you need help standing up?”

When Cassie felt the link go away, their two minds not being connected anymore, she slowly opened her eyes and sure enough it felt momentarily like the room was spinning. She had to blink a few more times to get it to stop and even then when the spinning went away every other second there were flashes of black in her vision. This was not a welcoming feeling she wondered if it would be like this every time she tried to make the connection for now on, or if this would only happen for their first few mental lessons together. Time could only tell she supposed.

She could hear the concern in his voice as he said her name and in feeling his hand on her chin, she allowed her head to be tilted up to look at him, her eyes meeting his and for a moment, though she couldn't see it, the violet in her eyes had spread ever so slightly during their communication and now that the link had gone away, the violet color was shrinking back to the small slivers it had been until they were barely noticeable as before and the blue was the prominent color in her eyes once more.

When he told her she had made the connection a weak smile formed on her lips and she let out a sigh of relief, "Well....guess that means you and I have one more thing in common than we thought. Who know maybe after some more practice I'll be talking you to death verbally and mentally." She said in a weak joke.

She nodded when he asked if she needed help standing up and gave him a sheepish smile, "I think so. I don't want to fall out in the middle of trying to stand up you know?" She stated, feeling her legs were weak and her body trembling slightly, "Maybe a nap too would be nice. Probably would help me get my strength back." She looked to him, "Wanna help me get back to the bedroom?" She asked, reaching out to have him help her up.

Serix smirked at Cassie when she joked about talking him to death. “You can try, but I learned a trick to block people out of my head,” he retorted, standing up and taking her outstretched arms. He pulled her to her feet, draping one of her arms over his shoulders and holding onto her wrist so it wouldn’t fall down. Then, he wrapped his free arm around her waist to give her some extra support, pulling her close to his side. It was the standard procedure for escorting an individual who couldn’t move on his or her own, but Serix’s heart began to race again. He marveled that Cassie couldn’t hear it hammering against his chest.

“Back to the bedroom, it is,” Serix said. He led her slowly down the hallway and into the proper room. As they walked, he was acutely aware of how well her slender frame fit against his side. Now isn’t the time to be thinking like that, he silently reprimanded himself. She’s only half conscious. Still, the thought lingered in the back of his mind.

When they reached the bed, Serix gently lowered Cassie onto it. He let her lay down by herself, figuring she wasn’t so weak as to need his help with that. He sat on the edge of the mattress and looked down at her. The situation reminded him of that same morning, when he had been trying to take a closer look at her golden hair. He had made a fool of himself not only by getting caught staring, but also by falling on top of her. He flushed at the memory and turned away so Cassie wouldn’t be able to see the color in his face. He needed to get his feelings towards her sorted out.

“I was thinking about going out to explore for a bit,” he said, looking back at her again. “Just to pass the time, you know? Maybe I could find something useful in one of the other abandoned buildings.” He shrugged and his expression turned a bit sheepish. “But… I could stay here. If you want me to, that is.”

Cassie allowed herself to be pulled up to her feet and soon she was being pulled close by Serix, her arm over his shoulder and his arm around her waist, and despite this being only so he could help her get tot the bed room, his arm around her waist and her being so close to him was something that left her heart, which was already racing from almost passing about, beat faster, making her a little more weak at the knees than she wished to be at that moment. She pushed through the feeling though and the two of them went down the hallway toward the bedroom.

One there, she was lowered down on the bed gently and she moved to lay down, looking up to see Serix sit down on the edge of the mattress as well. Earlier this morning ran through her mind, how he had been leaning over her and staring at her, and not only that, had fallen on top of her. Her face flushed slightly as well and tried to make the thought of it go away as he spoke to her, saying he was thinking about going out and exploring a little bit. It took her a moment with her still slightly light headed spell to remember why exactly that sounded like a bad idea. When it did come to her she looked up at him, worry in her eyes.

"When I was out. Getting the wire. There was a Scout." She said, her eyes meeting his, "I hid and they didn't see me but...if you want to avoid the others it may not be a good idea to go out right now..." She said quietly. By now she was feeling her tiredness from exerting her mental abilities take over and was ready to take her nap. Yawning, she gripped the end of his sleeve as if that would keep him from leaving the hideout, "Just....stay in here....don't go out there..."

With that she curled up, her hand still clutching his sleeve slightly as she dozed off, falling asleep for her nap.