“And [i]you[/i],” Serix smiled in response to Cassie’s flattery. “Are an amazing mate. I couldn’t ask for better.” He wrapped one arm around her as she curled up against his side. “I love you, Cassie.” He yawned tiredly and closed his eyes, enjoying her warmth as they lay together. Being as comfortable as he was, it didn’t take long for him to drift off to sleep.

--

Serix slept through most of the night, but there was one point at which he did wake up. As there was no external source of light, he could only guess at what time it was, but he did know that it wasn’t yet morning. This was the first strange thing he noticed in the fog of his weariness. The second thing he noticed was the noise. It was muffled by the rock walls that surrounded their room, but he could hear what almost sounded like shuffling, uneven footsteps.

He lay still on the bed, keeping his eyes trained on the curtain door. Who was up this late at night? He took slow, shallow breaths as he strained to hear anything else from outside. The dragging footsteps sounded like they were getting closer. He tensed, his heartrate picking up. Was it finally happening? Was someone trying to ambush him in his sleep? There was only one exit point from the room. He had no way out if one of the humans decided to attack him now.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped outside his curtain. Serix heard a whispery voice, speaking quiet words he didn’t catch. Then another voice responded to the first, equally as soft and indistinct. He held his breath. There were two of them. He prepared himself to jump up if the curtain shifted, but there was no need. After another moment the footsteps continued on, fading as they grew more distant until he could hear them no longer.

Serix watched the curtain for a few more minutes, but it seemed like the two people really were gone. He let out his breath again in a silent exhale and closed his eyes. It was probably just a couple of humans making a late night trip to the bathroom. There was no reason to worry. He forced himself to relax, focusing instead on Cassie’s comforting presence until he eventually managed to forget about the midnight voices and sink back into the arms of sleep.

--

In the morning, Serix woke to find himself still in the room with Cassie curled up by his side. Nothing seemed to have changed since they first went to bed the night before. Perhaps he had just dreamed up the footsteps? He wouldn’t have been surprised when considering what he had eaten at the bonfire. The high amount of sugar in the marshmallows likely could have affected his sleeping patterns since his body wasn’t used to it. Well, whatever the cause of his vivid dream was, it didn’t matter. He and Cassie were still safe.

“We should probably get up soon,” Serix murmured to Cassie, although he made no effort to move. The bed was wonderfully comfortable and he was still tired from the busyness of the past two days. He wanted more than anything to sleep in that morning, but of course there would be no chance for that. After just a few minutes, he heard the curtain to their room slide open as someone stepped inside.

“Wakey wakey, lovebirds,” Quincy’s amused voice interrupted the tranquil silence. “There’s work to be done. We can’t let you two start slacking off on your third day.”

Serix groaned and rolled over, “Just give us ten more minutes.”

“Come on,” Quincy said. “You two have already slept an hour longer than the rest of us. Get your lazy ass outta that bed, and I’ll see you both at breakfast in five minutes.” With that, the human exited the room and slid the curtain shut again.

“They just can’t leave us alone for one day, can they?” Serix muttered, forcing himself to sit up once Quincy was gone. He raised his arms over his head in a long stretch and glanced down at Cassie. “I guess we should get up though, huh?”