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.

[i]There’s no one left to care if I die,[/i] 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 [i]forward[/i] 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.