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Hearing that no one else had found the boy was a relief to Cassie. As she got her food with Serix, she listened in on everything that the others were saying. Ryan spoke about sealing off the main exit, to which Hunter and Monty volunteered on the job. Ryan assigned Gunner to help with unmarked tunnels, Gunner whistling for Dash who came along obediently. Seeing Gunner looking for unmarked passages with his dog worried her slightly. If the lad was still in the caves, what if the dog sniffed him out? She could only hope the boy managed to find a really good hiding spot if he was still in the caves.

Everyone headed off and she turned her gaze to Serix as he spoke, suggesting that they take the rest of the day to rest. He had a point. If no one had found him yet, they probably wouldn't. It would likely take the need for food or water to bring the boy out of his hiding spot, and hopefully by then they would have figured something out to make sure Ryan didn't kill the boy for escaping. She gave a small nod to Serix's suggestion and stood up to give her and Serix's tray to Terra. 

She noticed Terra watching both she and Serix, though Cassie didn't feel any malicious intent in the look. Perhaps the girl was just wary, and after the girl's loss of her brother, she didn't blame her for keeping an eye on things. Yet, looking to the girl, she realized that the look didn't seem quite wary either. More of observant. 

She gave a smile to the girl, hoping to cheer the girl up a little after all that had happened today, then turned to Serix, taking his hand and took his hand, "Let's go get some rest. I think it's been a long day for everyone." Making their way back to their room, she sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking over to him, "What are we going to do, Serix? They won't look for the boy forever. We've got to think of something to stop those interrogations from happening."


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[b]“Yes,”[/b] Came Jaxil's answer to her question, [b]“But it’s never been my favorite activity.”[/b] He looked at the book she had handed him, though didn't seem too pleased with the idea of reading, [b]“Learning about history wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed in my classes. Do humans study for fun?”[/b]

She looked at him curiously at that answer. So then...Lunairans only read to learn? Sure, it was okay to read to learn, it was her own way of learning things since they didn't have school in the caves. But that wasn't why she read, "Well," She began, taking the book back into her grasp, giving a shrug, "We do read history, though it's not always for fun. It's important to know the things of the past, so that we can make a better future. But, history isn't all we read." She looked to him, giving him a smile, "Humans create stories and write them down for others to read. Stories to entertain, but also to teach lessons. Reading these stories is my favorite thing to do." 

Opening the book, she moved to where he sat and sat down beside him to show him the pages, being careful to hopefully not worry him and give him his personal space as well. They had all sorts of colorful and interesting pictures pertaining to the story, "My brother used to go on raids for supplies, and he would always bring me back a book. There aren't any other humans close to my age here in the caves to spend time with, so reading was sort of my way of keeping myself busy." 

Turning to the first page in the book, she smiled. She loved bringing stories to life and when Sally and Charlie were younger she used to read to the two, making the stories come to life she read, putting emotion in her tone as she read the words off of the page. Looking over to Jaxil with another smile, she spoke, "This book is one of my favorites. It's called 'The Little Prince'. Here, listen," She looked down to the pages and began to read, her eyes bright as the story began, 

[i]"Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet scarcely bigger than himself and who had need for a friend.”[/i] She began her story, reading the book to him, the tale spinning as the words left her lips, speaking about an aviator crashing in the desert, who met a little boy. A little prince from a different planet with no way to return home. The two spent time in the desert, and while the aviator attempted to fix his plane, the little boy told the aviator tales of his travel, as well as his home planet, where a rose waited for him. A rose that he was in love with and needed to return back to. 

[i]"The thorns of a rose--what use are they?" Came the voice of the little prince one day.

I did not know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that had got stuck in my engine. I was very much worried, for it was becoming clear to me that the breakdown of my plane was extremely serious. And I had so little drinking-water left that I had to fear for the worst. 
 
"The thorns--what use are they?"  

The little prince never let go of a question, once he had asked it. As for me, I was upset over that bolt. And I answered with the first thing that came into my head:  

"The thorns are of no use at all. Flowers have thorns just for spite!" 
  
There was a moment of complete silence. Then the little prince flashed back at me, with a kind of resentfulness:  

"I don't believe you! Flowers are weak creatures. They are naïve. They reassure themselves as best they can. They believe that their thorns are terrible weapons . . ."  

"I am too busy to speak of such silly matters. You actually believe the that the flowers--"

"You talk just like the grown-ups!" That made me a little ashamed. But he went on, relentlessly: "You mix everything up together... You confuse everything..." He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.  

"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved any one. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: 'I am too busy to speak of such silly matters' And that makes him swell up with undeserved pride.

The little prince was now white with rage, "The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same. And is it not silly to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them? Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important? Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman's sums? And if I know--I, myself--one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing-Oh! You think that is not important!" 

His face turned from white to red in frustration as he continued, "If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened . . . And you think that is not important!"  

He could not say anything more. His words were choked by sobbing.  

The night had fallen. I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what matter now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death? On one star, one planet, my planet, the Earth, there was a little prince to be comforted. I took him in my arms, and rocked him. It was then that he tearfully began to tell me the story of the little rose that still waited upon his planet, his first and only love..."[/i]

She stopped the story for now, though it was not over. Perhaps it was leaving it on a cliff hanger, the story only half way through, but it was getting rather late by now and there was no way she could finish the story tonight. Taking the bookmark within the book, she placed it on the page and closed the book, looking to him, "You should get some sleep and I should return to my own room. It's getting late."