Serix let out a short laugh at Cassie’s dumbfounded look. He must have given her quite a shock with that last move to leave her so breathless. For some reason, the knowledge that he could startle her like that left him grinning. It was entertaining to tease her. But that wasn’t the only reason he was amused. Their entire relationship was an oddity in itself. He found that he was beginning to treat her as he would an old friend, even though his society had always dictated a heavily enforced division between unmated males and females. Because of this, he was a bit surprised at how easily he was warming up to Cassie. Had it really only been three days?

His smile faded a little at her mention of obtaining more dangerous weapons. He really didn’t want to use deadly force on his own people. Every fiber of his being screamed against it. But what other choice did they have? Cassie was right: knocking the other Lunairans out for a few minutes at a time would only get them so far. All they had to do was gather all the Scouts together and attack. He and Cassie would be badly outnumbered, and while the Silencer hadn’t killed her the first time, he wasn’t sure if her heart could take another jolt like that. If another Scout were to shoot her, she might not recover again. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

“Do you... think we should try to get more weapons?” Cassie asked hesitantly. “I mean... I know where the weapons store is, but... it’s just a matter of getting there with those Scouts out there... Do you think we should try to go soon or do you think it might be better to wait?”

Serix shifted uncomfortably. He wished he could think of another way to fend off the Scouts without resorting to the use of deadly force, but he drew nothing but blanks. The thought made him feel sick, but it was looking more and more like the human weapons were their only option. He could only hope that they would never need to use them. But you know the likelihood of that, a sinister voice whispered in the back of his mind. What will you do when the Lunairans come to repopulate the Earth? You’re bound to be found out sooner or later. You’ll be arrested and Cassie will be— He blocked out the rest of the morbid thought.

He looked at Cassie. Right now, the last thing he wanted to do was put them both in harm’s way. Leaving the safety of the hideout would definitely jeopardize that plan. But at the same time, waiting could prove to be a far more dangerous option. Right now they only had to deal with two reluctant opponents. The pilot might send more if the first Scouts don’t find him. In a few days, the city could be crawling with searching Lunairans. If they were going to stock up, they had to move quickly.

“We should go now,” Serix said at last. “The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back, right?” He looked around the bare storage room, lit by the constant flow of electricity. “It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s probably starting to get dark outside. We can move under the cover of shadows. It’s our safest bet if we want to get these… guns.” The word tasted bitter on his tongue with its malicious connotations. “Come on then. Let’s go.”

Cassie looked to Serix when he said they should go now so they could get back sooner. She could somehow tell just by looking at him that he didn’t seem too keen on getting the weapons to use against his people and she could understand that. If the roles were reversed and she had to go get weapons to use against other humans she wouldn’t be comfortable with it either. But she would understand, just as he was understanding right now, that it was for their protection.

“Okay. Let’s hurry up and get these things so we can get back before those Scouts can try and get a hold of us.” Walking out of the empty storage room, she went to grab her back pack from the bedroom once more and made sure she had the Silencer on her hip, “The weapons store is a few streets over, so keep an eye and ear out for any of the Scouts.”

Turning to him, she walked over to him, giving him a serious look, “And be careful. Please. You may be able to fight, but two or more of them might be able to take you out. Let’s just do our best to stay hidden.”

She sighed and made her way down the hallway with him and up the stairs, unlatching and pushing the metal door open for the two of them. One they were out, she locked it and hid it under the rug once more, hiding the key again before the two of them made their way quietly from the back of the building and to the front entrance, peaking her head out. So far, everything looked clear and so the two of them quickly made their way out walking swiftly and silently down the streets, hiding behind different things and such.

So far, thing seemed to be going really well. They were getting closer and closer to their destination, and just when they were one street ahead, Cassie froze, standing on the side of the street, hearing footsteps quickly heading toward where she and Serix were. She began looking around, trying to spot a good and quick place to hide, when she felt a hand grasp her arm. Next thing she knew, Serix was tugging her toward an old trailer, hitched to the back of a truck.

It was when he was opening it that she realized just how small it was and suddenly, her heart was racing and her body trembling at the thought of going into such a place. Her feet were planted on the ramp of the trailer, unmoving as he tried to tug her forward, her eyes meeting his, her gaze wide and panicked as she shook her head, trying to signal to him that she couldn’t go in there. She just couldn’t. It was too much for her. It was like a bad memory coming back to haunt her and she wasn’t going to go in willingly.

The moment they stepped outside the building, Serix was on high alert. His eyes were already flickering between shadows as he scanned their surroundings for any sign of movement or brief flash of violet grow. The cover of darkness was a double-edged sword. The other Lunairans could hide in its shadowy cloak just as easily as he and Cassie could. They would have to be extremely cautious.

They moved swiftly and silently, ducking through pockets of shadows and stopping to wait and listen whenever they found adequate cover. So far, everything was progressing smoothly. They had yet to catch either sight or sound of a Scout. Serix began to feel his tension ebb away. Maybe the other Lunairans had moved on to a different sector of the city. He and Cassie had chosen the perfect time to leave the hideout to stock up on weaponry.

As if fate were mocking him, Serix saw a flash of movement up ahead just as the thought passed through his mind. He froze. The sound of footsteps echoed off of the nearby buildings. The Scouts were coming their way. He frantically looked around in search of someplace to hide. The buildings were most likely all locked, and they couldn’t waste time trying to open the doors. The alleyways would only provide cover until the Scouts got close, and then they would be completely exposed. The details zipped through his mind.

Then he saw the wheeled vehicle. It looked like an odd mode of ground-level transportation, but by now it was probably too old to run. What caught Serix’s attention was the compartment attached to the back. It was a small, windowless box barely large enough to fit three or four people, but for their purposes it was perfect. Better yet, the compartment’s door was cracked open. It wasn’t locked.

He snatched Cassie’s arm and hurried over to the door, pulling it open wider so they could slip inside. He started to step inside, but felt Cassie tug back. He turned to her, wide-eyed. What was she doing? They didn’t have time to waste. The Scouts would see them standing out in the open at any moment now. They had to hide.

He faltered slightly when he saw her expression. She looked stricken with fear at the sight of the compartment. He wondered why she would be afraid of such a harmless looking thing. Was there some hidden danger to it that he wasn’t aware of?

He didn’t have time to ponder over it. The footsteps were drawing nearer. Whatever frightened Cassie about the compartment couldn’t possibly be worse than getting caught be the Scouts. He cast her a brief, apologetic look and yanked her inside, closing the door behind them. It locked with a soft click.

Serix blinked against the pitch darkness. He strained to listen for the footsteps of the other Lunairans, but the metal walls of the box blocked out any noises from outside. The only sounds he could hear were those of their own labored breaths. Cassie’s sounded short and tight with panic. He held her close to himself, wrapping his arms around her lower back, and silently willed her to stay quiet. If she broke down and screamed, they would get caught for sure.

“It’s okay,” Serix murmured gently against her ear, keeping his voice as soft as he could. He tried to sound encouraging in spite of his own racing heart. “We only have to hide here until they pass us by.” He brought one hand up to press her head against his shoulder. Her hair was soft against his fingers. He shuddered and closed his eyes. “Won’t be long, now.”

Cassie didn't want to go inside that thing. It was too small. Too much like her hiding place within her old home. So when Serix gave her that apologetic look, jerking her into the very place she feared going into, she immediately went into a panic, her breathing turning into gasps, it taking everything she had in her to keep from screaming. She quickly turned to the door, pressing her hands against it, fingers frantically searching for the latch to open it back up again. It was very lucky for the both of them that Serix wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him because over wise she might have made a run for it and gotten them caught by the Scouts.

She continued to gasp her fear-filled breathes, a few sobs mixed in with them as she buried her face against his shoulder, his hand on the back of her head soothingly trying to comfort her. She closed her eyes tightly, bringing her hand up to her mouth as she kept herself pressed close to him, letting hi calm her down as she pressed her fist to her mouth, willing herself not to scream. She had the urge to scream and try to bust out of this place as soon as she could, but she knew doing so would likely be the end of their lives. It was kind of surprising how much he helped her in keeping her panic to a minimum. Normally in a space like this she would be screaming and trying to get out with all her might.

It had happened before once or twice with her uncle when they were hiding from other humans during the downfall. When the aliens left Earth and she had only her uncle to care for her, she had learned very quickly that humans were their own enemies to an extent. As resources deplenished and people started dying of the disease, tensions were high and many humans had started killing other humans in horrible ways. Whether it be for what they had or just for the sake of killing she could never figure out. For each death she guessed it was different, but either way it left she and her uncle very wary of other people and they had often hid from them.

Her uncle, when hiding them in places like this had never tried to calm her. No he had just let her scream it out, saying only she could get past this fear and no one could help her do so. That was the old army man he had been, always about independence. She knew he had meant well in trying to teach her that, but it had gotten them caught so many times before and had ended in the humans trying to attack them getting their heads blown in by her uncle's gun.

She shuddered at the memories and pressed herself closer to him, thankful for his comforting. It helped her to keep from screaming and making a big commotion, but her panic was still set, her mind whirling and her body ready to bolt the moment he gave the okay. She was not functioning well in this situation. Not thinking straight. She pressed her face against his in attempt to muffle her loud gasping breathes, "I want to leave.....I din't want to stay here......It's......it' too much......I.....when can we go?......I want to go...." Her voice was trembling , hands clutching to the front of his shirt a she stood here, tightly against him to fight off the urge to do something stupid, "Please....let' go........I don't want to stay in here...."

Serix gently stroked Cassie’s hair and held her more tightly to try and sooth her. She was breaking down. Her panicked words were evidence enough of that. She wouldn’t last much longer. He tilted his head slightly, listening in vain for a sign that the Scouts were passing by. It was no good. The metal walls blocked the outside noises out too much. How were they supposed to know when the coast was clear?

“Shh,” Serix hushed Cassie lightly. He brought his hand around to wipe a tear from her cheek and lift her face up to look at him. “We’re going to be fine, okay?” By now, he had realized the real source of her anxiety. The compartment wasn’t dangerous in any way; she just feared being trapped inside of it. He wasn’t yet certain whether it was the darkness or the closed in walls that terrified her – maybe it was both – but that didn’t matter. He just needed to distract her somehow.

“We have to wait a little longer,” Serix went on softly. “Just focus on me, okay? Don’t think about anything else.” He paused. There was a muffled sound outside of the compartment. He held Cassie’s head against his shoulder again, hoping she would stay silent. If he could hear the Scouts from inside the box, they must be very close.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. One of the Scouts was trying to open the locked door. Serix tensed and held Cassie protectively against his chest. His heart pounded. If the Scout decided to break down the door, they would be trapped. Even if they tried to fight off the first one, the other Scout would surely stop them before they got away.

There was a muffled voice outside. Serix guessed it was the other Lunairan, since it sounded distant. To his surprise, a second voice answered. It wasn’t the person standing outside the compartment. There were more than two now? It would be bad if Cassie lost control now. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Remember: focus on me. Don’t worry about anything else.”

The Scout outside the compartment finally spoke up. “No, the pilot said to check everywhere,” he called back to his companions as he tried the door again. There was an unintelligible reply from one of the others, then: “You never know. I’m just following orders… Well, maybe he lost his weapon and tried to hide and got stuck in here… I don’t know… Heh, you’re one to talk… No… Fine, whatever. Just don’t blame me if the pilot gets mad at us.” There was the sound of receding footsteps as the Scout descended the ramp. They were leaving. Serix let out his breath and relaxed his tight embrace around Cassie. The immediate danger had passed.

“Let’s just wait a couple more minutes,” Serix said quietly. “To make sure they’re really gone. Then we can get out of here, alright? I know you want to leave as soon as possible, but we should put some distance between us and them first. Think you can last a little bit longer?”

Serix was trying very hard to keep Cassie calm and him comforting her helped somewhat, but that tightening in her chest just wouldn't go away. She felt herself sobbing quietly now as he had her look up at him, closing her eyes tightly when he wiped her tears away, opening them back up a moment after to look up at him. He was telling her comforting things and trying to get her to focus on just him instead of the tiny compartment they were trapped inside of for the time being. This didn't help much considering all around them was the darkness of the space and the tightness of it caused them to be pressed so closely together. Still, she nodded slightly, trying to do her best to just concentrate on him. His words, their breathing, his calm and her gasping between quiet sobs, the feel of his heart beat thumping against her own. It was almost enough to calm her down.

That was, until the loud noise of someone trying to force open the trailer door rang out, her yelp being muffled by Serix pressing her head against his shoulder. She kept herself pressed there, shutting her eyes tightly as the voices from the outside could be heard. She tried to concentrate on his voice in her ear and the other things about him she had mentioned before and even more now that she was held even tighter to him. Like how warm he was. Or how her small frame seemed to fit so comfortably against him. Even his smell was soothing, as weird as that sounded. She continued to keep herself tightly against him, trying to keep her sobs inside and if one escaped she would muffle it against him. Just a little longer.

Yes, the Scouts had left it seemed, but they were gong to wait a little longer to be sure until they went out, which was like torture to her. Sitting here in the dark tight space she wanted to scream and try to bust out. Yet, being close to him in this moment was enough to keep her from completely breaking down and doing just that. Shakily she nodded and hugged herself tightly to him, burying her face against his chest and trying to picture herself somewhere else until he would say it was safe to head out again.

As Serix waited in the darkness, his mind began to wander to strangely simplistic things. He noticed how small Cassie was, how it seemed like he could bury her in his embrace. He noticed her smell, the texture of her clothes, the touch of her hands, the subtle brush of her hair. He had to remind himself multiple times that they weren’t safe yet. He had to focus and keep listening in case the Scouts returned. And yet his thoughts continued drifting back to these trivial details.

“I think it’s clear,” Serix broke the silence after a few minutes. He slowly released Cassie, finding that he was somewhat reluctant to let go of her. He traced his fingers down her arm to find her hand in the darkness so he could guide her to the door. He fumbled for the latch for a moment. When he found it, he gave it a sharp twist. The lock clicked and the door slid open.

Serix peeked out of the compartment to double-check that the Scouts were gone. Once he was certain they were alone again, he led Cassie out of the metal box and over to a nearby alleyway, where they could stop in the shadow of the buildings. He let go of her hand and turned to her with a smile.

“You made it,” he said. “That took a lot of courage.” His expression turned a bit sheepish and he looked down at his feet. “Sorry I dragged you in there like that. I couldn’t find any better places to hide, and I didn’t know it would scare you so much.” She was probably furious at him for forcing her into such a position. He closed his eyes, waiting for her sharp retribution.

The waiting seemed like forever as they waited there in the darkness. Her breath was shallow and she continued to remind herself of what he had told her before. To focus on him and nothing else. So that's what she did. Closing her eyes, she focused on his breathing the beat of his head, and anything else that had to do with him. It somehow made the time move faster yet slower at the same time. Slower because she wanted being next him in such a way to last, yet faster because her mind continued to race and wander as she took in every detail of him she could. He pulled away all too soon and told her it was probably clear, son the two of the leaving out of the trailer and hurrying down the street and into an alleyway.

She stopped with him in the alley, looking to him when he told her she had made it through all that trauma and even apologized for having jerked her in there when they heard the Scouts coming. Slowly, Castiel nodded, looking to him before she in a quick movement, hugged him tightly, letting it last only a few seconds before she pulled away again and took a step back, "Thank you. You did what was best for both of us.....and even though I was a bit of a wreck, you kept the fear away at least a little bit. Normally when something like that happens it gets a lot...worse."

Yes, worse. Like screaming and pounding on the door. But she wasn't going to tell him that or even go into detail about why she was so scared of being locked in a place like that. She just didn't really have the mind set for it right now. Instead, she took a deep breath, "Now, let's go get those weapons. It's just a few buildings down. We can take the roof. A higher ground will keep us out of their sight and we'll be able to see them before they see us." With that she was climbing up a ladder on the side of one of the buildings and heading tot eh roof tops, the two of them roof hopping like they had done when they had first run into each other.

It wasn't long before they had made it to the weapons shop and once in, Cassie began loading her bag up with three or four guns, as well as a lot of ammo and a couple of pocket knives. Once she was satisfied she had what she needed, she made her way out with him. The way back to the hideaway was uneventful compared to the way tot he shop, and soon they were back inside and hidden away from the Scouts. Sighing she set her bag on the ground, flopping down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, "No more going out for a long while....that was...crazy."

Serix thought he would be ready for any reaction Cassie threw at him. Yelling, hitting, accusations… he was prepared for it all. What he didn’t expect was for her to wrap her arms around him in an embrace. It caught him so off-guard that he didn’t even think to return the gesture. He just blinked at her in surprise when she pulled away and thanked him for doing what he did, saying that her panic attacks were usually much worse. He managed to smile again. At least he had been able to make the whole experience less traumatic for her. That had to count for something.

“Now, let's go get those weapons,” Cassie said. “It’s just a few buildings down. We can take the roof. A higher ground will keep us out of their sight and we'll be able to see them before they see us.”

“Sounds good to me,” Serix agreed. He followed her as she found a ladder on a nearby building and began to ascend it to the top. They travelled along the tops of the buildings, leaping across the gaps between each one. He was reminded of the time they first met. Except back then, he had been pursuing Cassie like prey during a hunt. He looked at her now, golden hair streaming in the wind. She seemed to be shrouded in an eerie glow with the moonlight reflecting in her hair and eyes. It was no wonder he had been so fascinated with her that first night. He had just been too wrapped up in the thrill of the chase to notice the draw of her unearthly beauty.

They continued running along the buildings until they found the weapons store. Cassie led the way inside and wasted no time in filling her bag with supplies. While she was busy doing that, Serix wandered among the shelves of guns and other weaponry. It was the first time he had gotten a close look at any human-made instruments of war. Many of them were similar in size and shape as the Lunairan Silencers and ray guns. He picked up a long gun from a rack. It was surprisingly heavy, quite unlike the featherweight weapons of his people. He wondered how it would have been used in battle.

Serix saw that Cassie had finished loading up on supplies. He put the gun back where he had found it – they would have enough weapons already – and walked back to join her at the entrance. On the way back, he stopped by a glass display of weapons labeled ‘pistols’ and leaned over the case. One model in particular had caught his eye. It had a sleek, black-and-silver build and was about the same size as his Silencer. Something about it just looked Lunairan to him. He moved around to the other side of the glass display to open it up and take out the gun. It still had the characteristic heaviness of human weaponry, but in comparison with the other guns he had come across, the pistol was much lighter. He took it with him when he went to rejoin Cassie.

The trip back was welcomingly uneventful. They managed to make it all the way back to the hideout without catching even a hint of the Scouts. When they were back in the storage room, Serix sat down on his bed and leaned back against the wall it was propped against. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head tiredly.

“No more going out for a long while... that was... crazy,” Cassie muttered from her own bed.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Serix said. To exaggerate his weariness, he let himself fall sideways until he was lying down and then let out a groan. “I could sleep for days.” He met her gaze across the room. “At least we got what we needed, right?”

Cassie layed there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling until Serix spoke and she turned her head to look at him, a smile coming to her face before she full out laughed at the dramatic way he fell down and groaned. She herself turned over to her side she was facing hi, snuggling her head into the pillow, getting comfortable as she spoke, "Yeah, we got what we needed and more. We should be set for a long while in weaponry at least." It felt a little strange, the two of them laying there and staring at each other from across the room. Yet ,why did it just feel right for them to be staring like that?

She sighed and turned over again so that this time she was laying on her stomach, her face in the pillow to hide her blush but at the same time playing it off like that movement had been because she was just tired, "Sleep for days? Man, I could sleep for months. Just like Sleeping Beauty." Glancing over his way, she saw he didn't exactly get that reference and sat up again, a curious look on her face, "Have you never heard that story? Or any story like that at all?"

She thought for a moment, "They are stories my father used to tell me at bedtime. Sleeping Beauty was my favorite. It was about this princess who was cursed by an evil witch. Basically long story short, the curse made her fall into a deep sleep on her sixteenth birthday and when that happened the prince came along and broke the curse, waking her up, by kissing her." She paused, scratching the back of her neck, "It's a pretty good story if you have the book. I'm not very good at telling stories like that."

Reaching down she opened up the bag she had put the weapons in and went to change the subject, getting out one of the pocket knives and tossing it to him, "Here, take that. It's got a knife and a few other tools. It comes in handy a lot." She looked up to him, "If you want, maybe tomorrow I an give you some lessons in shooting?"

Serix grinned when Cassie laughed at his dramatic collapse on the bed. It was a pleasant sound, and it was pleasant to know that he could draw it out of her like that. He then noticed a silence had fallen between them as they stared at each other across the room. However, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It almost felt natural.

As they looked at each other, Serix took in every detail of Cassie’s face: her blue eyes with their hints of Lunairan violet, her golden hair that framed her face; those were always the two things he noticed the most because they were so exotic. Now, as he lay staring at her, he picked up on her more subtle features: her long lashes, the narrow bridge of her nose, the faint freckles that dotted her cheeks. He was struck again by her beauty.

Cassie turned away all too soon, rolling over so that her face was buried in her pillow, fully hidden from view. He frowned. Maybe staring at someone for so long was considered rude in human culture. He hoped he didn’t cause her any offense. He was about to ask her what was wrong, when she turned back to him again. Was it his imagination, or did he see the remnants of a slight flush in her cheeks?

Cassie went on to explain something called a ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ He didn’t understand most of the verbiage she used. Princess, witch, curse, prince… the terms only served to further confuse him. He thought he understood what she was trying to say, though. Apparently it was a story in human folklore about a female called ‘Princess’ who fell into an unnatural sleep. He wondered if Curse was a type of illness. If it was, he hoped it had long since died out. It would be bad news if he or Cassie fell into a coma like that.

Cassie went on to explain how the thing called Prince revived Princess with a kiss. By that, he assumed Prince was the female’s mate. But how was it possible for one to heal a sickness with no medicine or surgery? The concept made no sense to him at all. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Princess overcame the disease when her mate kissed her. Of course that could lead Prince to believe that he was the one to make her well again. Or maybe the storyteller was the one to spin their tale into something more fantastic.

Cassie suddenly switched courses by reaching into the bag of weapons and tossing him something. Serix caught the object and held it up to examine it more closely. It didn’t look dangerous at all. It was just a rounded case with a metal button on one side. Curiously, he pressed it and a tiny blade sprang out from the side. The knife was so small. He imagined trying to use it in a fight, but the image was so ridiculous that he just laughed.

“Here, take that,” Cassie said. “It's got a knife and a few other tools. It comes in handy a lot.” Another thought seemed to cross her mind and she met his gaze. “If you want, maybe tomorrow I can give you some lessons in shooting?”

“Thanks for the offer,” Serix said, tucking the blade back into its case and setting it on the table next to his bed. “But I think I know how to use a gun.” His eyes glittered teasingly as he looked back to Cassie. “From what I can see, it functions just like a Silencer. It just uses different ammunition, right? There’s not much of a difference. I can adjust.” He stretched out his legs and rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. “We should go to sleep, since it’s probably late. It’s so hard to tell with these constant lights. It almost feels like it’s still the middle of the day.” He frowned and glanced back at Cassie. “Is there any way to turn them off—at least in this room? They’re messing with my sleep patterns.”

Cassie smirked lightly when he said he could adjust and shook her head to herself, "Ooookay. if you say so." She stated, looking up at him when he laughed at the knife and shook her head once more, the grin on her face. A knife was a very useful tool in the world they lived in. It was funny how his mindset was still in the Lunairan mindset where all these humans tools either seemed useless or simple to him. Where as, in reality, a lot of these tools were made just for the purpose of worlds such as this one. Worlds were they had to survive with everything they had.

When he mentioned the lights she thought for a moment and nodded, "Yeah, I think I can. If I'm correct there was a breaker in the room with the generator." She stood up, "I was thinking about turning them off in here anyway. It's kind of hard to sleep with the lights on, you know?" She walked to the door and nodded for him to follow, "Come on, I'm going to show you where its all at. Wouldn't hurt in case I need you to turn it back on Mr. I Can See Better In the Dark."

Once he was following her, she walked down the hall and to the room where the generator was. Over to the side was the breaker, which she opened it up, showing him all the switches, "Here we go. All of these are labeled with each room. All you do is flip the switch," She did just that, flipping it so that the lights in the bedroom would turn off, and looked to him, "And out goes the power in that room. It' pretty simple."

Yawning, Cassie moved to walk around him, "Well, now that is taken care of, let's go get some sleep like you suggested. Tomorrow we'll see how well you can shoot that gun." She teased, knowing she was going to get a kick out of his reaction to the kickback of the guns.

Once they were back to the room, she opened the door, finding it pitch black, "Well, I guess this will have to do for now. Maybe I can build a lamp or something out of some scrap parts in the next few days." Flopping down onto the bed, she looked over to him, the door cracked just enough to give a little light, but not much. Still, it was easy for her to see him because of how his glowing eyes stood out in the dark, "Serix, I have a question. As a kid, did the Lunairan's tell stories? You know, like any types of stories? If they did, I'd really like to hear one."

“Yeah, I think I can,” Cassie said as she stood up. “If I'm correct there was a breaker in the room with the generator. I was thinking about turning them off in here anyway. It's kind of hard to sleep with the lights on, you know?” She walked to the door and nodded for him to follow. “Come on, I'm going to show you where it’s all at. Wouldn't hurt in case I need you to turn it back on Mr. I Can See Better In the Dark.”

“Hey, you can blame genetics for that,” Serix rolled his eyes and hopped out of the bed to follow Cassie into the hallway. “Besides, you’re half-Lunairan. You might have the same type of vision as I do. We still haven’t formally tested that theory yet.” He let her lead him down the hallway until they reached a room with a large power-generator. Cassie showed him a covered box on the wall. The inside was full of switches, each one labeled for a different room. Cassie flipped one of them to turn off the lights in the bedroom and turned back to him.

“Well, now that is taken care of,” she said, walking past him to head back down the hallway. “Let's go get some sleep like you suggested. Tomorrow we'll see how well you can shoot that gun.”

Serix narrowed his eyes slightly at her tone. She almost sounded like she was mocking him, but he couldn’t figure out why. She was leaving something out. Was there some hidden trick to the guns that he didn’t know about? Somehow her smugness made him feel like he was missing a huge detail about the weapons. He might have made a mistake in his cocky assumption that they were the same as Lunairan technology.

When they reached the bedroom, Serix found that it was completely dark. He found his bed and sat down on the edge, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. After a few moments, he could see dimly again, so he glanced across the room at Cassie. She was already lying down again in her own bed. He did the same, propping his head on one arm as he lay down on his side.

“Serix, I have a question,” Cassie spoke up.

“Hmm?” Serix responded lazily.

“As a kid, did the Lunairans tell stories?” she asked. “You know, like any types of stories? If they did, I'd really like to hear one.”

“We do,” he said. “But not in the same way as humans. Our stories aren’t told orally. We share them mentally by thoughts and feelings. It makes them more personal and easy to remember. For example: I bet you can still clearly remember both of the images I showed you of my home planet a few days ago. It’s the same with stories.” He paused to yawn, and then continued, “I suppose I could tell you one, but you won’t get the same effect as you would if I shared it telepathically. Do you still want me to try?”

Cassie watched hi as he layed down side ways, the two of them looking over at each other from across the room again and as they did, she layed sideways, her head snuggled against her pillow once more as she pulled her blanket tight around her and stared at his eyes in the darkness. So, they told stories telepathically. She guess that would make it more visual, but at the same time, telling a story in a more verbal sense just seemed like it would have more power behind it. After all, using words and tones to tell the story was what made it so...fun. But then again, she had never had a story told to her through her mind before so how would she know which was better and which was not?

When he said would would tell her one and asked her if she wanted him to try, she nodded happily, smiling softly over at him, "Yeah. I want to hear what kind of stories your people tell each other." She sat up after saying that and feeling her way across the room, she went to sit on his bed as well so that she would be right there and he wouldn't have to be telling her the story from across the room. She sat there, cross legged, her back against the wall as she looked at him, waiting for him to start. What kind of stories did the Lunairans tell? Was it all about their own kind? Warriors? Maybe of different species? Was it anything like the fairytales they had? Or were they more serious? She was very curious to find out. "Well? Go on. Or do you not have a good one to tell?" She teased, grinning over at him.

One of these days he was probably going to tell her off for her sassy attitude toward him. In fact she had been that way even before they had been on friendly terms. It was just who she was and she couldn't help that. She couldn't help but wonder if she sometimes got on his nerves doing that as well. Well, if she did, he hadn't spoken out about it yet, so she guessed he didn't mind thus far.

Smiling at him, she motioned her hand for him to start telling her the story, an expectant look on her face.

Serix propped himself up on his elbows as Cassie came over to sit on his bed. She scooted back to lean against the wall and crossed her legs, looking down at him expectantly. He was too tired to sit up, so he just shifted to lie down on his back, resting his head on his arms again so he was angled in a way that he could see her. He took a moment to decide which of the stories would be the best to relay verbally.

“Well?” Cassie said, smiling at him through the darkness. “Go on. Or do you not have a good one to tell?”

“Patience,” Serix hushed her, closing his eyes. “I’m thinking.” He paused again. “Okay, I’ve got one. Close your eyes and try to put pictures to my words.” He stopped to give her a moment to do so. He kept his own eyes closed as well to better imagine the story in his mind.

“Long ago, in the beginning of my people’s history, our home planet was teeming with life. Tall forests covered the land with trees so tall, one could never see the tops. These trees formed an impenetrable ceiling and divided the world from the heavens with their wide, intertwining canopies. They blocked out all light from above, so that the forest floor was lit only by the dim glow of luminescent mosses and plants that grew along the ground and the sides of the trees.

“Hidden within these wild forests was a small village, where my first ancestors lived. They survived never knowing what was beyond the high ceiling of branches above their heads. For all they knew, there was nothing else. No one had ever climbed high enough to see over the top of the canopy. Over time, they dismissed the idea as impossible. No one could ever climb that high, they thought. And so, they went about their daily lives, never wondering what lay beyond the trees.

“Except for one young Lunairan, that is. His name was Sevix,” He smiled to himself. “It’s actually an ancient variation of my name. My parents named me after him because they always said I was a curious child, just like he was.

“Anyway, Sevix was a dreamy Lunairan, always sitting outside of his home and staring up at the tangle of branches and wondering what was on the other side. The other villagers just thought he was mad. Why would he waste time daydreaming when he could be helping them gather food in the forest? They didn’t understand his fascination with the treetops.

“But Sevix wasn’t bothered by their aloofness towards him. He was determined to prove them wrong. He wanted to show them that it was possible to climb to the top and that there was something worth seeing on the other side. So one day, he gathered his courage and set out to make the journey upwards.

“He chose a tree with some low-hanging vines and started to climb it. The other villagers called to him, telling him to come back, shouting that he would fall from exhaustion and die. But Sevix wouldn’t listen to them. He climbed on without looking back until the Lunairans’ desperate pleas faded away.

“Up and up he went, climbing the tree for days. As he moved further from the moss-lit ground, the forest grew darker. He found it harder to see where to put his hands and feet. He slipped many times, fumbling in the dark, but he refused to give up. The blackness was disorienting. He couldn’t tell if the canopy was right over his head or if it was an eternity away. Yet he moved onward.

“More days passed. Sevix’s strength was beginning to wane. His arms and legs trembled from exhaustion, threatening to give way and send him plummeting down to the ground. His eyelids were heavy and he had to fight to stay conscious. His resolve was starting to break. Maybe the others were right. Maybe it was impossible to reach the top.

“But his fears were put at ease when he reached up and felt a wall of branches against his fingertips. He had finally reached the canopy. He drew a knife from his belt and began to hack at the thick tree limbs, slowly opening up a hole just large enough to squeeze through. He wriggled between the branches and climbed through to the other side.

“The sight he beheld was more glorious than anything he could have imagined. The night sky was littered with shining stars, and Lunair’s three, ringed moons hung suspended overhead. Sevix reached up with his arms to touch the heavens. After all of his efforts, he had finally made it to the other side…” Serix trailed off when he noticed Cassie’s soft, steady breathing. He opened his eyes to see that she had drifted to sleep. She slowly slid down the wall, falling out of her sitting position as her body relaxed.

He smiled and shook his head. She must have been more tired than she let on. But how was he supposed to move her? He didn’t want to wake her up again. He glanced back at her. She looked so small, curled up at the side of his bed like that. He carefully sat up, moving tentatively so as not to wake her, and draped his own blanket over her slight frame. He could survive one night without it, and he was far too exhausted to get up and retrieve the blanket from the other bed.

He lay down again, hazily aware of Cassie’s proximity, but too tired to let it bother him. His eyes drifted closed again and sleep swept him into unconsciousness.