[IC] Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

[Rogue Sloth]

When Serix and Cassie went back to the farm, Jerry sent them to another cluster of bushes to collect some oddly-shaped fruits he called “strawberries.” They smelled sweet and stained Serix’s fingers red when he plucked them from the plant and dropped them into baskets. He wondered what they tasted like, but Jerry had told them not to eat what they harvested. He would just have to wait and find out when the strange fruits were served at a meal.

After a while, Sarah came over to help them work. She started talking to Cassie about something else Serix had never heard of called “lipstick,” and then handed her a small container. He glanced at it curiously. The container held what looked like some sort of red cream and it smelled like the strawberries they were collecting on the farm. By the name, he guessed it was something Cassie could put on her mouth that tasted like fruit, but why would she want to do that when she could just eat the real thing? He shook his head and went back to work. This lipstick was yet another human mystery he doubted he would ever solve.

Once they finished their last shift in the fields, everyone left to relax for a little while before the next social gathering. Serix and Cassie went back to their room like they did the last time, and Serix collapsed on the bed. He stretched his weary limbs, trying to keep his blood flowing so he wouldn’t get too tired before the bonfire. He glanced at Cassie as she sat down next to him and retrieved the container Sarah had given her from her pocket.

“Well, I guess what harm could it do, right?” Cassie said. She popped the lid off and dipped a finger in the red cream, touching it to her mouth. She applied the strange substance until her lips were fully coated in it and then turned back to Serix, “What do you think? Too bright of a color?”

Serix sat up and stared at her, finally understanding what this makeup was for. He shook his head in response to her question, “No. You look beautiful, Cassie.” He leaned in to kiss her and then smiled playfully. “Huh. So that’s what strawberries taste like.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie smiled when Serix spoke, saying she looked beautiful, and she couldn't help the slight blush to creep up to her cheeks. Even though he had said that to her hundreds of times before, it always left her heart fluttering to hear him say it to her. He leaned forward to kiss her for just a moment and when he pulled back, she found herself giggling not only at what he had said, but at the left over red left on him from the kiss. Still giggling, she reached a hand out and spoke, wiping the red from his mouth with her finger, "Oh Serix, you're supposed to wait until the red settles a little before kissing with it on." She giggled some more and when she was done wiping it away, nuzzled her forehead against his playfully, "Well, I guess if you like it that much, I might have to start wearing it more often."

"Hey, you two love birds, the bon fire's about to start. Better come down and meet up with us in the recreation area before we leave you behind." Sarah's voice came from the other side fo the curtain, but thankfully the woman seemed to be the only one in these caves with enough sense to not come barging into their room uninvited.

Cassie smiled slightly and moved to look back at Serix, smiling, "Well, let's get down there. Wouldn't want you missing your first bonfire." With that she stood up, pausing a moment to reapply some of the lipstick from where Serix had taken some of it off, and then hooked arms with him, walking down toward the recreation area. Apparently though, the recreation wasn't set up for a bonfire and this confused her. Looking to Jerry, she spoke, "Hey, where's the stuff we're going to burn? We are still having the fire, right?"

Jerry laughed and nodded, "Yeah, we are. But you didn't think we were having it here, did you? If we burned anything in the caves the smoke would choke us and get on everything. We're going above ground to burn the fire."

"Above ground?" Cassie asked, wide eyed, "But, isn't that dangerous? What if someone sees the smoke or the light coming from it?"

He grinned, "We're in the middle of a dessert, Cassie. No one ever comes this way. Not even when the humans were still around did they try to track through this area."

Cassie frowned slightly, though she just nodded, "Okay....if you all are sure."

By this time, Jake entered the recreation area, smiling at them, "Alright, I think me, Ryan, and Monty got everything. The fire is ready to be lit. Lets get going."

And with that everyone started making their way through the caves and outside into the cool night air. It was really beautiful outside in the area they were in. The stars shined brightly over head and it was a wondrous sight. Smiling, Cassie hugged onto Serix's arm and the two make their way over to a large pile of mainly boxes with a few other little things mixed it. Ryan was the one to walk over to it, a huge grin on his face, "Alright guys. Let's get this party started." There were some whoops of excitement, mainly from the men of the group, as Ryan tossed a match onto the pile and it caught in flames, making a huge fire.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Aw,” Serix frowned in mock disappointment. “You’re making me wait?” He broke into a playful grin and threw an arm around Cassie’s shoulders, kissing her on the cheek to avoid getting any more of the lipstick on his mouth. She just laughed and rested her forehead against his, “Well, I guess if you like it that much, I might have to start wearing it more often.”

Serix and Cassie headed down to the recreational area after Sarah called them, however when they got there, he was a bit surprised to see nothing indicating a fire of any kind. He glanced up at the cavern ceiling. Of course. The humans couldn’t burn anything inside the caves without smoking themselves out. But this revelation only led him to another question: If they weren’t having the bonfire in their hideout, where were they going to go instead?

He was soon answered by Jerry, who explained that they were going to leave the caves in order to burn their fire safely. Serix shifted uneasily at the new information. The humans were taking a huge risk by bringing their entire population aboveground, especially if they were going to light a fire. They hadn’t been caught by his people so far, but smoke was dangerously visible against the night sky. Even if the Lunairans hadn’t sent patrols this way, they would be able to see the glow of the flames or the trail of the smoke from a great distance. On top of that, they were completely exposed in the wide open desert. They would have nowhere to hide if they were attacked. He kept these uncertainties to himself, however. Ryan must know what he was doing if he had kept the humans safe for this long.

The half-bloods moved out when Jake entered the cavern to tell them that everything had been prepared. Serix trailed after Cassie, still slightly uneasy about the idea of taking a group of this size out into the open air. Once they were outside, though, his worries were replaced by awe. He and his mate had been in hiding for so long that he had forgotten what the night sky looked like from Earth. It was like an enormous blue-black blanket, spotted with countless pinpricks of light that he knew to be stars. He didn’t recognize any constellations, having only been taught the ones he would have seen back on Lunair, but the sight was still breathtaking.

Serix brought his gaze back down to the activity that was happening around him on Earth. The humans had set up a massive heap of old boxes and other garbage that glistened with some strange-smelling liquid. They gathered in a ring around it while Ryan stepped into the center, raising a small, burning stick in over his head and shouting, “Alright guys, let’s get this party started!” The humans howled excitedly in response. Their energy was so infectious that Serix found himself joining them while Ryan tossed the burning stick into the trash. The resulting bonfire engulfed it with startling speed, causing the humans to call out even louder.

After the flames died down slightly, the crowd began to disperse as the half-bloods moved to socialize with their friends. Of course, Ryan wasted no time in searching out Cassie. He approached her with a proud grin on his face, “What do you think? Pretty great, huh?”

Serix continued to watch the flickering flames while his mate conversed with the human. Their wild dance was enchanting. He had never seen a fire this large before. In fact, every fire he had seen until this point had been the result of an accident, and each was quickly tamed before it could grow to anything nearly this size. It was clever how the humans manipulated the bonfire’s destructive power to help them remove their waste, rather than avoid it altogether like his people did.

Serix was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a tug at the hem of his shirt. He looked down to see the young human, Charlie, standing at his side. The child looked somewhat annoyed.

“Hey, alien,” he said. “Sally’s gone and gotten herself lost. We were playing hide-and-seek over there,” he pointed at a nearby hill. “And now I can’t find her. I figured that with those glow-y eyes of yours, you’d be able to see her better than I could.” He huffed, as if he didn’t want to admit that a Lunairan could be better at him than anything. “I just want to find her before her big bro notices she’s gone. Will you help?”

Serix hesitated, thinking it over. It seemed odd that the child would come to him for help over one of the other humans, but he sounded earnest. Besides, he might be able to use Charlie’s request to put himself in better standing with the others. It would be a start, at least, and really, what harm could it do to help the kid out?

“Alright,” Serix nodded. Cassie looked like she was still busy with Ryan, so he squeezed her hand and whispered in her ear, “I’ll be right back.” He knew she didn’t want him to go off on his own like this, but surely she wouldn’t object if he was merely helping a child. He followed after Charlie as the young male led him around the hillside where he had been playing his game with Sally. On the other side, he could no longer see the glow of the bonfire, and the chatter of the humans sounded distant. He slowed his pace, his eyes flicking warily over the boulders and shrubs that surrounded them, “You two wandered pretty far from the group.”

“Well duh,” Charlie rolled his eyes. “The game doesn’t work if we can see each other clearly. It has to be dark so we can hide.” He turned and started to walk to the right. “I’ll look over here, and you can go over there, alien.”

“I have a name, you know,” Serix shook his head, but did as the child instructed.

As he searched for the missing female, Serix kept his guard up, frequently glancing over his shoulder for signs of movement. Even if Charlie had no malicious intents, he was still unarmed and exposed. Any other human could easily try to ambush him while he was alone. For a moment, he wondered if the child had been part of some larger plan to separate him from the group so someone could do exactly that, but he discarded the thought after he had spent a good ten minutes wandering the hillside and no one made an appearance.

After another five minutes, Serix sighed and turned back for the bonfire. He hadn’t been able to find Sally in spite of all his searching. Perhaps Charlie had had better luck on his side of the hill. If not, well, the young female would be in quite a lot of trouble with Ryan when he discovered her absence. He hoped his own child wouldn’t be so troublesome.

Serix rounded the corner of the hill saw Charlie and Sally chasing each other in circles around the bonfire. The child must have found her long ago and just never came back to tell him. He shook his head and sighed again, Kids.

Serix walked back over to Cassie and wrapped an arm around her waist, planting a kiss on her cheek as he did, “Sorry I took so long. It looks like he didn’t need my help after all.” He nodded at the two children running around the fire and then turned back to his mate. “Anyways, did I miss anything here?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

The bonfire really was a great way for everyone to just relax and have a good time. No one seemed to be causing problems and everyone was clearly enjoying themselves. Casie had been enjoyng the warmth of the fire silently beside Serix until Ryan had walked up to her, asking her what she thought about it, while at the same time saying how great it was. This made her laugh slightly and nod, "Yeah, it is pretty great. It's nice to see everyone so relaxed and just having fun."

Ryan nodded, "To be honest, thats why we do this. It's less about getting rid of the trash and more of just giving everyone a chance to have a nomral night."

Cassie nodded, "It is pretty nice. It's almost like the bonfires people used to have before the invasion." She just barely notied then that Serix was talking quietly to someone and then, he whispered in her ear that he would be back soon. She glanced over at him, as if to say soemthing against him leaving to go off with someone by himself, but then relaxed a little when she saw it was Charlie. Surely hiim going off with the boy wouldn't do any harm, right? So, she nodded, and said a quiet 'okay' before turning back to Ryan.

Not much was said in between Serix's absence. Ryan attempted to flirt with her for the majority of the time, and she ignored all of his advanced, continuing to speak normally to him. It was a little while after he had left that someone had brought out unbent coat hangers and marshmellows. She laughed at this and agreed that roasting marshmellows would be a great idea, and was just putting one on the end of the coat hanger when Serix came back.

She smiled slightly at him and looked over to where he nodded his head, "Oh? He needed help finding Sally? Well, it was nice of you to try and help anyway." She handed him a coat hanger and a marshmellow, "Now that your back though, your going to learn how to roast a marshmellow."

She waited until he took it and showed him her own marshmellow on the end of the coat hanger, "Just put it on the end of the hanger, then stick it in the fire." She demonstrated while telling him this, "And then, when it gets to be a golden brown, take it out and eat it." She took it out of the ire and blew out the fire, "Oh, and dont burn youself on it, let it cool a second." Once hers was cool, she took it off the hanger an held it out for him to take a bit out of.

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix threw Cassie a quizzical look when she handed him a bent strip of metal with a puffy white thing speared on the end. He continued to watch her while she proceeded to stick her own metal strip into the bonfire until the ‘marshmallow’ began to change colors. Then, she withdrew the strip and held out the brownish thing to him after letting it cool for a moment. He looked at it curiously. It was edible? He had never seen a food like that before. He wondered if it was part of some exotic plant on Earth.

His eyes widened when he took a bite of the marshmallow. He hadn’t been expecting the bland-looking thing to taste so sweet, but it was even more sugary than the Earth fruits he had tried. In fact, it was almost on the border of too sweet for his pallet. Humans had an incredible tolerance for sugar if they ate many foods like this. Still, it wasn’t bad, so he nodded at Cassie who was awaiting his reaction, “It’s… different from anything I’ve ever eaten before. We never had anything nearly this sweet back on my people’s ship. Plants on Earth must produce much more sugar than the ones we saved from Lunair to produce a taste like this.” He stuck his own metal strip into the fire to cook the marshmallow, but he overestimated the amount of time it would take for the food to turn brown. When he moved to pull it out of the flames, some of the fire continued to glow around the now-black marshmallow. He quickly blew it out and looked over the charred thing curiously. Well, no point in wasting food. He shrugged and ate the whole thing in one bite, and then turned to Cassie with a grin, “You know, I actually like it better this way.”

“Hey, the alien likes junk food, too,” Sarah laughed, walking up to them with Jerry and Quincy. She glanced at Cassie and beamed, speaking to her in an odd accent, “Oh, honey, you look darling.” She laughed and switched back to her normal voice. “Makeup suits you. You should wear it more often.”

“She’s trying to say you look pretty,” Jerry snorted and rolled his eyes. “She’s just not very good at it.”

“Oh, shut up,” Sarah replied with an equally sarcastic roll of her eyes. She sat down next to Cassie and dug through a bag of marshmallows to stick on her metal strip. She and Jerry continued to bicker good-humoredly and Quincy crossed over to kneel by Serix. The male leaned in close to his face, staring at him with an unreadable expression. Serix shifted his weight, uncertain about what the human was trying to do. While his people didn’t have as much of a need for “personal space,” the humans always seemed to avoid getting too close to each other. This was the first time one of them had gotten this close to him—apart from Cassie, of course, but even she had been uncomfortable with his space-less behavior when they first met.

“Do you have an off-switch?” Quincy said suddenly.

“A what?” Serix frowned in confusion.

The human tapped the spot between his eyes, “For the glowing thing you always do when it gets dark. I’ve always wondered about that. Is it automatic or something? Or do you manually turn it on and off?”

“Well, technically my eyes always glow,” Serix answered with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “You just can’t see it when it’s bright out. But no, I can’t ‘turn it off,’ as you say. Back on my home planet, we didn’t have anything like your Sun. We had three moons, which reflected the distant stars, but everything was much darker than it is on Earth. So, to compensate for the lack of light, my people used natural luminescence. Many other life forms did, too.” He sighed thoughtfully. “From what I’ve heard, Lunair was a beautiful place because the forest floors were lit up with thousands of different-colored bioluminescent plants and animals. I wish I could have seen it for myself.”

“So, you’ve never actually been to the place where your people are from?”

“No, the migration happened long before I was born. There are only a few elders who still remember their days on Lunair. The planet is probably lifeless by now.”

“Then from now on, I want you to think of this place as your home planet,” Quincy announced, slapping him on the shoulder. “Earth may not be as snazzy as that glowing world of yours, but there’re still plenty of cool things here. Hell, you’ve even got yourself a girl! I’d say our planet’s scored more points than Lunair ever will. True?”

“True,” Serix couldn’t help but grin at the human’s optimistic attitude. If only the others were more like him, living with them would be so much more enjoyable. He spent a few more minutes conversing with Quincy and then turned to Cassie once they were done. “It’s getting pretty late. Do you think we should head back?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie laughed slightly when Serix took a bite out of the marshmallow and was surprised. Apparently he wasn't expecting it to be so sweet, but then again, maybe she should have warned him about that. Then he said something that made her laugh all the more, “It’s… different from anything I’ve ever eaten before. We never had anything nearly this sweet back on my people’s ship. Plants on Earth must produce much more sugar than the ones we saved from Lunair to produce a taste like this.” He thought the marshmallows were some kind of strange fruit. But then again, who could blame him? After all, he probably never had artificial foods as far as she knew, where as before the invasion, a vast majority of the food on Earth had some sort of artificial substance in it. She was sure at least some of the food in the caves was artificially flavoured things gotten by raiding old stores so he would probably have to get used to the sweet taste of some things.

She was about to correct him when some fo the others began to come over and speak to them. She smiled at Sarah and nodded, "Um, thanks. I figured I would try it out and see how I like it. So far I think it looks good too." Then the two siblings went to biking and she stood there quietly, watching as Quincy approached Serix. At first she tensed, unsure of what to take from him being so close to Serix, but hen began to relax as the male spoke normally to her husband and not at all in a threatening way. She smiled slightly at this and though she was quiet, listened to the two of them during their time chatting.

Soon though, it got later and it was about time for everyone to head to bed really. She looked at Serix with a smile when he stood up and asked about going off back to their room. She nodded and side, walking close to him against his side as they said good night to everyone and back their way back into the caves, going back down into the caverns to their room and as they did she smiled, "Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you earlier before the others showed up, marshmallows aren't plants. They're just....food. They're artificially made. Not exactly 'good' for you, but it usually tastes pretty darn good."

Walking in, she flopped down onto the bed and sighed, a smile on her face, "Tonight was really fun."

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix nodded thoughtfully as he listened to Cassie’s explanation about the marshmallows. She watered it down like it wasn’t a big deal, but he was still impressed that the humans engineered artificial foods like that. Was there anything they couldn’t do? He still had to wonder why they would make something so sweet, though. Humans really did have a strange taste for sugar if they enjoyed foods like the marshmallows they had showed him at the bonfire. He much preferred the natural fruits they grew in their farms.

When they got back to their room, Cassie immediately went to lie down on the bed, “Tonight was really fun.”

“It was,” Serix agreed, sitting down next to her. He had enjoyed the night as well, because it was the first time he had really felt accepted by the humans. He knew there were probably still some who were giving him hostile looks at the bonfire, but he had been too distracted by the friendlier people to notice. This was perfectly fine. He had never expected every single human to like him, but there were finally enough that the caves were almost beginning to feel like home.

Well, there was still the annoyance of Ryan’s persistent advances towards his mate, but Serix could handle that. It was Hunter who continued to cause the faint flutter of worry in the back of his mind. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that the human was stalking him like prey. It was unsettling to know that even if Hunter was plotting something, he wouldn’t be able to know when or where it would happen. He wished he could just take a quick peek into his mind to see what was going on in there, but he didn’t know how to do it without Hunter knowing. Only the highest ranking Lunairans learned how to read thoughts without giving their mental presence away to the target, and Serix was never one of them. So for now, he would just have to hope that Hunter really had given up and focus on the ones who were friendly towards him.

Serix laid down next to Cassie with a sigh, “You know, these humans aren’t half bad once you get used to them. I think we’re finally working out a mutual tolerance of each other.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and smiled playfully. “And who knows? Maybe I can use my natural charm to build off of that tolerance and win them over like I did you.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie smiled as Serix layed next to him and she laughed softly, kissing him back when he gave her that quick kiss, "Win me over? If I remember correctly, I believe it was me with my unusual trust and tolerance that won you over, Mr. Why Are You Being So Nice." She teased, thinking back to how her kindness had confused her so much when she had first started to get to know him. She moved closer to him and cuddled up against his side, smiling softly, "But you do have kind of a charm over you. You would have to in order to win me over. So, sure, you could probably use that to win people over."

She sighed quietly, "But I am glad that they are starting to tolerate you. Even if it is just a little bit. Who knows, maybe in a week or two we can actually walk around this place without worry of one of us getting hurt by some of the others here." She said wishfully. Yawning slightly, she rested her head against the front of his shoulder, hugging herself close to him, "Let's just keep doing our best to make them see 'more to you than just you being Lunairan. Shouldn't be too hard though. After all, you are a really amazing man, Serix."

With that, she stayed curled up against him there, letting her mind drift to all that had happened today. It was really great to see that he was starting to fit in, and even seemed to have some friends. But, the thought of those that hadn't accepted him yet still worried her. Would they ever accept him? Or would he be forever hated by those few people? She supposed only time could really tell for that. Giving another soft sigh, she closed her eyes, slowly drifting off there as she layed against Serix.

...

The next morning, Cassie was once again the first to wake up, but this time, she didn't want to get up. She was tired from the night before and all the work they had been doing the past two days that they weren't used to. She was going to lay there as long as she could, whether it was Serix going to wake her up or some of the others in the colony coming there to wake them up. Smiling softly, she snuggled closer to her husband, enjoying how comfortable she was for the time being while she could before they really would have to get up to start the day.

[Rogue Sloth]

“And you,” 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?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie was so comfortable laying there. That was, until Quincy strolled in and told them it was time to get up. She groaned as well at the rude interruption of their quiet time, curling up against Serix a little more as her husband talked to his new friend. Soon Quincy had left, leaving them alone for at least a little while longer. Yawning, she blinked open her eyes and looked up at Serix as he sat up, "Yeah...I guess we should." Still, she found herself curling up for another moment, "Its so comfy. I might come back during break and take a nap."

Sighing she moved to sit up as well and Serix helped her get up as she stretched. Smiling, she hugged him a moment and kissed his lips, thinking a moment as she looked up at him, "You know, I think you're actually starting to kind of fit in here Serix. I hope things keep going the way they are. Who knows, maybe soon you'll be just like any other person here. An honorary human. " She joked slightly, nuzzling her forehead against his before she took his hand and started to head out of their bedroom together toward the dining hall, hoping the others hadn't eaten all the food by then.

The day went by once again fairly normal. It was getting easier to work the farm she noticed. They were starting to fall into the rhythm of things and getting work done much faster than they had the past two days. Lunch was really good as well. They had some blueberries with that meal and she happy ate them, telling Serix what they were and letting him try some as well. She also had a good time talking to both Emily and Sarah, as well as including the silent Tori when she could. She was coming to think of herself and the three women as friends, which was nice for her. It made her feel kind of normal in a way.

After lunch, it was right back to work. More planting and harvesting as always. That went on for a few hours and then, when they were let off, Cassie went to their room to take a nap as she had mentioned to him that morning. It was a nice nap that left her feeling refreshed when it came time for the two of them to wake up and head back to the dining hall for dinner. She smiled at him, holding his hand in hers as they walked, making their way tot he dining hall.

[Rogue Sloth]

Though he would never admit it to some of the humans, Serix was beginning to enjoy working for them and helping them keep their underground society alive. His pleasure went beyond just performing the jobs to fit in. He found that he looked forward to his time in the fields, growing and harvesting crops for their meals. He also realized that he missed living in a community. Like humans, Lunairans were social creatures and, while he loved his time alone with Cassie, there was something about being part of a group that was just so fulfilling. The brief moments of casual banter with Quincy and Jerry were what made him feel accepted in the caves above everything else. So, when Serix and Cassie walked hand-in-hand to the dining hall for dinner, he didn’t get the usual twinge of anxiety in the pit of his stomach when any of the humans glanced at him. Even the gazes of the more hostile members of the society didn’t faze him.

Serix and Cassie sat down at a table with their usual group. The others were having a light conversation, so he just contented himself with eating and listening in silence. It wasn’t until Jerry mentioned Hunter’s name that Serix looked up to pay closer attention. The volatile human was the only one who still set him on edge. There was just something about Hunter that made him reluctant to trust the human.

“You know, Hunter’s been quieter than usual,” Jerry said. “Not that I’m complaining. Usually he just causes trouble when he opens his mouth, but it’s still weird.”

“Yeah,” Quincy nodded. “I wonder if Jake pulled him aside and scolded him.”

“Could be,” Jerry said between bites of food. “By the way, have you seen him lately? He disappeared halfway through work after lunch.”

“I told him to get some water from the river,” Sarah spoke up. “He’s probably slacking off and taking a bath or something. The guy stank to high heaven.”

The others just laughed at her comment, but Serix was still uneasy. He had been letting himself get too comfortable lately. How could he not have noticed Hunter go missing during work? And the fact that he was still missing bothered him. Hunter didn’t seem like the type to ditch work for an early bath. But if he wasn’t doing that, then what was taking him so long to get back?

Serix’s thoughts were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream from one of the tunnels. Everyone in the dining hall froze and turned towards the sound. Gunner drew a gun from his belt and held it up, his finger hovering over the trigger. Connor shifted so that he stood between the potential danger and Emily. Jerry did the same with his mate. Everyone else in the room was silent as they stared at the tunnel, waiting to see what had caused the scream. They didn’t have to wait long, because in the next moment Hunter appeared from the tunnel, dragging something behind him. Serix’s blood ran cold when he saw what, or rather who, it was.

“Hunter,” Ryan gasped. “What is this?”

Hunter threw the Pilot down on the ground in front of him, keeping a gun trained on the back of his head. The Lunairan was a bloody mess. He didn’t even try to get up as Hunter kicked him roughly in the side and looked up to address his stunned audience, “I found this hiding out by the river.” His eyes swept over the crowd. “It got in through an unmarked passage that leads up to the surface. As we all know: There’s no way an alien could get in here without help, but guess what?” His eyes fell on Serix, giving him such a potent look of malice that he cringed. “This alien confessed the identity of its partner in crime.” Hunter kicked the Pilot again. “Go on; tell them what you told me.”

The Lunairan weakly raised his head to first shoot Hunter a venomous glare, and then turned next to Serix, “Him. He is part of my patrol. His orders were to infiltrate your barracks and gain your trust, all while finding a secure passage for me to bring the rest of my patrol and eliminate the rest of you pathetic Earthlings. Of course, this plan is nullified now that I and the rest of my patrol have been wiped out. Your work here is done, Scout.” He met Serix’s eyes and Serix felt his final, chilling words in his mind, If I am to die here, then I swear I will take you down with me. Come, join me in the netherworld, traitor.

“Is this true?” Ryan said sternly, whirling around to glare at Serix. “Were you working for him?”

“No,” Serix turned to him, wide-eyed. “Well… I used to, but I left him long before I came here! I disagree with his ideology. I don’t think we need to kill off every single human in order to live on Earth.”

“Ryan,” Quincy spoke up. “He has an alibi. He’s only left Cassie’s side once since they got here, and even then he was with the rest of us in this room.”

“Wait,” Monty said from the other side of the dining hall. “I remember seeing him wander off to the hills last night.”

“Me too,” a few of the others murmured, looking at Serix warily.

“I did,” Serix admitted reluctantly. “But I was with Charlie. He wanted me to help him look for Sally.”

“I didn’t leave the fire,” Sally said slowly, looking confused. Charlie nodded.

“Then…” Serix fumbled for an explanation, but he could already tell the humans were turning against him. He was beginning to realize all too late that Hunter had planned all of this out somehow. He must have told Charlie to take him into the hills the night before so he would look guilty. Just how long had he been laying the snares for this trap?

“I should have known this would happen,” Ryan growled, raking his hands through his hair. “This is what I get for trusting one of them. Someone could have gotten hurt, or worse.” He turned to Hunter. “Take this one outside and dispose of it.” When Hunter dragged the Pilot back out of the room, Ryan turned next to Serix. “Someone take that one to the hold. I’ll decide what to do with it later.”

“Wait,” Serix took a step back, holding up his hands as Monty and Jake moved towards him. “I swear I had no part in this!”

“Hurry up,” Ryan snapped at the two humans who were slowly moving towards the Lunairan. He moved to stand by Cassie in case she tried to stop them while they seized hold of Serix’s arms and pinned them behind his back. He dug his heels into the ground as they tried to drag him towards one of the tunnels, “I had nothing to do with this! My old leader is just trying to get revenge because I left him. He even said so—err… well, he said it to me telepathically…” He faltered, knowing how fake his explanation sounded. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Hunter had planned everything out too well. He had no way out of this trap. He stopped struggling against Monty and Jake. At this point, his best option was to comply with them and hope they would realize the truth on their own. He looked at Cassie as they pulled on him again to force him towards the tunnel, “I love you.” He added through a quick mental link: I’ll be okay. We’ll get through this somehow.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie couldn't believe what was happening. Things were just starting to go so well. People had just started to trust Serix. And now Hunter had pulled some elaborate plot to get rid of him. And of course they were falling right into the trap. She should have never thought Hunter would leave them be. She should have seen this coming. She should have kept Serix by her side at all times. Then they wouldn't be thinking he would do such a thing. She knew he wouldn't do such a thing, but the others didn't know him like she did. She should have been smarter and more careful. And now they both were paying the price.

"Let him go!" Cassie yelled when both Conner and Jake, who had went to seize Serix's arms in their grasps, going to drag him off. She went to move toward them but she herself was grabbed by Ryan in his attempt to keep her from going after them, "You all know he wouldn't do this! He went up that hill to help Charlie! I saw him go up there with Serix! How is it Serix's fault that he was asked to help?! If Serix was still in league with the Lunairans then I would have been killed long before you all found us! He was with me for over a month before we came here!"

"Cass, we can't trust him. He brought the alien here. He--"

Cassie didn't listen to him though. Instead she jerked from his grasp and turned, smacking him across the face. This made everyone go quiet as she glared him down, huffing fro her outburst, "You know he didn't do anything." She hissed angrily at him before looking to all the others, "You all do. And yet you let someone, who is known to cause more trouble than Serix has since we got here win your trust? Pathetic."

She started walking down the tunnels and when Ryan saw this he started following quickly after her, "Where are you going?"

"To Serix." She stated angrily, not looking back at him as she walked, "If he goes to the hold, then so do I. I told you that when we first came here."

"Cass, "He began, trying to reason with her, "Don't go so overboard about this. There's no reason for you to have to go down there."

She spun on him, "And there's no reason for Serix to be either, but he is. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to join the man I love." She snapped at him. Okay, maybe that was harsh, but she was beyond furious at all of the other hybrids in the caves for being o blind. With that, she turned heading toward the hold.

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix walked with Monty and Jake as they led him roughly down the tunnel that descended into the hold. They said nothing, but he could tell by the looks on their faces that they believed Hunter’s every word. But then, why should they have doubted him? Hunter was one of them. It was much easier to assume that the outsider betrayed them rather than think that a human purposefully led another Lunairan into their home. Even he was still baffled by Hunter’s plan. Where had the human found the Pilot? How had he gotten him to cooperate? Hunter hated Lunairans and the Pilot hated humans. It seemed impossible that they could have formed an alliance at all.

Yet here they were.

As the three continued to descend deeper into the tunnels, Serix noticed that the number of fluorescent lights lining the walls grew more infrequent. As a result, the farther they walked, the darker the corridor became. Sometimes there were even short stretches where the tunnel was completely shadowed. He suspected that the humans didn’t keep these deeper tunnels lit because they didn’t have a reason to come down here often. Either that or they were kept intentionally dark to depress the prisoners they kept locked up.

After a while, the group turned a corner and entered another cavern. Serix looked around, taking in the place that was to be his new home. Like the tunnel that led up to it, the room was dimly lit. It had a low ceiling and was lined with what looked like eight makeshift cells, all of which were empty. They stopped beside the first one. There was a brief moment of shuffling as Jake stepped over to a nearby table and Monty took over holding onto both of Serix’s arms, keeping him tightly pinned as if he expected him to try to break free.

While Jake was rummaging through a drawer in the table, Monty leaned over Serix’s shoulder, “How do you like your new home, alien? I think it suits you: dark and unwelcoming; a place no one wants to be around. It’s a perfect waiting room for your execution.”

“What are you talking about?” Serix said levelly, keeping his gaze pointed straight ahead. He wasn’t going to give the human the satisfaction of even a sideways glare.

“You don’t expect us to keep you in here forever, do you?” Monty gasped in mock surprise. “You heard Ryan. He told us to put you in here until he decides what to do with you, and after that little stunt you pulled with your alien buddy, there’s no way he’s gonna let you off the hook again.”

“I already told you,” Serix said, fighting to keep the frustration out of his voice. “I had nothing to do with that. It was Hunter. I don’t know how he did it, but he must’ve gotten the Pilot to cooperate with him somehow.”

“Yeah, right,” Monty snorted. “Hunter would never team up with one of your kind. You better come up with some more believable excuses, or else you’re not gonna last here another week, alien.”

“Monty,” Jake said, walking back over to them. “Stop talking to the prisoner.”

“Fine,” Monty rolled his eyes.

Jake returned with a key, which he used to unlock the cell door. Monty began to shove Serix inside, but then he stopped. The sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the small cavern. All three of the males looked up as a fourth person entered the room. Serix’s eyes widened when he saw who it was. “Cassie?” he said, attempting to step towards her. Monty held him back with a sharp tug, but Serix was too focused on his mate to care about the human’s irritable gesture. “Cassie,” he said again. “You don’t have to—”

“Go back to the others,” Monty interrupted, nodding his head at the tunnel. “We’re just locking up the alien. No reason for you to stay down here. He’s the only guilty one.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

"Fuck off Monty." Cassie stated right off the bat which was sure to surprise all three of them. Cassie never used that kind of language, but she wasn't about to let him or anyone else for that matter talk down to Serix. It was really starting to irritate her how roughly they were treating him, "He's not guilty and he is not staying down here by himself. Where ever he goes, I go." She glanced over to Serix before looking to them, "He and I are a packaged deal." Walking over to where they stood at the cell door, she glared with icy eyes up at Monty, linking her arm with Serix's arm, "I'm staying."

Monty glanced over at Jake, to which Jake looked at Cassie, "We can't let you do that. If he hurt you and Ryan got word of it, he'd--"

"I don't care what he does! I'm staying and that's final." She stated and to put more emphasis she herself walked into the cell and sat down cross-legged in the middle of it, crossing her arms in a defiant manner.

Seeing this, Monty rolled his eyes and essentially tossed Serix into the cell as well, "Whatever, let's just let her stay, Jake. If she wants to get killed by the thing than its no ones fault but her own."

"Let's just go talk to Ryan about it. See what he thinks."

He moved to shut the cell door, locking it, then guestured for Monty to follow him, the two males tracking off to find their leader. Once they were gone, Cassie's tense body seemed to relax, but just a little bit. Looking over at her husband, she frowned slightly and crawled over to where he sat, curling up against his side as they sat in the cold and dark cavern, silence taking over as their footsteps faded. It was silent for a long while before she finally spoke up, her voice soft and quiet, "Serix....what are we going to do? They don't believe us. How can we possibly prove that you didn't lead the pilot here?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix stumbled when Monty shoved him into the cell with Cassie. The human slammed the door behind him and headed out with Jake, grumbling something under his breath. Serix stared after the two for a moment before sitting down in the far corner. He closed his eyes. The Pilot had done a thorough job of ruining his standing with the humans. They even thought that his relationship with Cassie was an act. They thought he was a traitorous spy, just faking his love for his mate to make them trust him. In a fit of rage, he slammed his fist into the wall beside him. Why couldn’t they just listen to him for once? He hated how little his word meant to these humans; how they completely disregarded everything he said; how one single incident was enough to turn them all against him. He hit the wall again.

Serix jumped when he felt a pressure against his side. He opened his eyes to see that Cassie had curled up against him. He leaned into her, trying to take comfort in her presence, but he continued to tremble with pent-up anger. They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Cassie spoke in a hushed tone, “Serix... what are we going to do? They don’t believe us. How can we possibly prove that you didn’t lead the pilot here?”

“I don’t know,” Serix said sharply. Realizing his mistake, he let out his breath and raked his fingers through his hair. He knew he shouldn’t take his anger out on Cassie. It wasn’t her fault. “I don’t know,” he said again in a quieter voice, lapsing back into silence. He had always known Hunter would cause trouble, but he never expected the human to do something like this. Monty had been right, too: Ryan wouldn’t let him stay locked up forever. Sooner or later, he was going to make a decision about what to do with him. Serix didn’t have much time to convince the human that he was innocent.

He wrapped his arms around Cassie and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. The anger that roiled inside of him was redirected towards his love for his mate, and in that moment, he was glad that she came to join him in the hold. He probably would have continued to bloody his hands on the cell wall if he had been down here by himself. He brought a hand up to the back of her neck and sighed, holding her to himself as they kissed.

After a few more moments, Serix heard the sound of footsteps in the tunnel. He reluctantly pulled away from Cassie and glanced at the entryway. He was still frustrated, but thankfully most of his sudden rage had died away and his trembling had stopped. He could face the humans clearheadedly now.

Ryan emerged from the tunnel with Monty and Jake, looking furious. When he spotted Serix and Cassie in their cell, his cheeks washed with color. He approached the two and glared through the bars, “Cassie, you can’t stay in here with that thing. It’s dangerous, and I can’t have you getting hurt. Look,” he held up his hands before she could say anything. “If you’re adamant about staying down here with it, then fine. I just can’t let you share a cell with that alien. If it did anything to you, I couldn’t live with myself.” He turned to Jake, “Get the key.” He looked back at Cassie when Jake went to follow the order. “I’m getting you out of there.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie hated seeing Serix like this. And when he snapped at her, she flinched ever so slightly. She hadn't heard hi do that in a long while. Not since they had been enemies and she his captive. But even back then it had never been so bad and that made her frown slightly and was glad that in the dark he couldn't see the slightly hurt look on her face. Despite not seeing it though, he seemed to have sensed it because his voice got softer. Cassie didn't blame him for being like this. She was like this as well. Tense. Fearful. Unsure of what was going to become of him. Of the two of them. One thing was for sure though. If anything happened to him, Cassie was sure she wouldn't be able to live without him. She just couldn't do it.

Soon Serix had wrapped his arms around her and she was pulled up close to him, a passionate kiss ensuing that seemed to be fueled by both of their anger toward the humans that lived in this cave. His hand went to the back of her neck and her own hands went to tangle in and grasp his soft dark curls. This was really all they could do. Just take in their time together while it lasted because at any moment someone would be sure to come along and try to mess it up.

And sure enough, after a few moments of their kiss, footsteps echoed in the halls, coming closer and closer until they entered the room and she and Serix pulled apart, looking toward the entrance way.

Ryan was obviously not happy with seeing the two of them so intimate with each other and that might have went on to surge his anger toward Serix as he went to speak to her, glaring down at the both of them all the while, “Cassie, you can’t stay in here with that thing. It’s dangerous, and I can’t have you getting hurt. Look,” She went to cut him off, but he held up his hand to stop her from interrupting him, “If you’re adamant about staying down here with it, then fine. I just can’t let you share a cell with that alien. If it did anything to you, I couldn’t live with myself.” He looked to Jake, “Get the key.” Once that order was given he looked back at her, “I’m getting you out of there.”

"No You're not." Cassie stated coldly, crossing her arms as she once against sat cross-legged and stubbornly on the floor, "I'm staying in this cell with Serix."

"No, you're not." With the cell unlocked, Ryan moved to come in and then, much to Cassie's surprise, went to hoist her up over his shoulder, "Hey! You-you! Put me down!" She tried last minute to grab for Serix, but this merely cause him to kick Serix to the side and force Cassie out of his cell. With that done, Serix's cell was closed and Cassie was set gently onto the floor of the cell beside it, "When you want out of this place with that thing, you let us know."

"I won't you--"

"Don't call me names Cass." He cut her off, standing up straight and moving to the door fo the cell and closing it, "This is for your own safety. You'll thank me later." With that, the three males left, taking all the keys with them. Frowning deeply and feeling utterly hopeless, she moved to the side of the cell closest to Serix's, "I should have known he would do something like this." She tried to reach her hand through the cell bars, but each cell had enough space between them that as much as she stretched she could just barely though the bars of his, "Did he hurt you?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix couldn’t believe it. He had only spent a matter of minutes with Cassie, and now Ryan wanted to take her away from him. He held onto Cassie defiantly when Ryan stepped into the cell. Monty came through behind him, so when Serix started to get up from the floor to stop Ryan from grabbing his mate, the human blocked him from doing so, grabbing his shoulders and pinning him against the wall. He could only watch helplessly as Ryan threw Cassie over his shoulder and turned to take her away. He wrestled against Monty’s grip, managing to break free just long enough to reach for Cassie’s outstretched hand. In the next instant, he let out a gasp of pain as Ryan kicked him hard in the ribs. He caught himself before he fell, but the blow gave Ryan and Monty enough time to leave the cell and lock it behind them. As he caught his breath, the humans moved Cassie to the cell next to his. Ryan made a point of telling her that she would thank him later, as if he was doing something to help her, and then turned to leave them alone again.

Once the three males had gone, Cassie moved to the side of her cell and peered through the bars at him, “I should have known he would do something like this.” She reached between the metal rods, but they were far enough away that she couldn’t even reach the edge of his cell. “Did he hurt you?”

“I’ll be fine,” Serix murmured. He sat back on his heels and lifted his shirt, gingerly touching the spot where Ryan’s boot had made contact to inspecting the damage. His skin was already faintly discolored, and he winced when the injury sent another wave of pain through his side. It would definitely leave a bruise tomorrow. He let his shirt fall back down and moved to sit by the side bars of his cell, reaching across the gap to hold Cassie’s hand. Even though they were close enough to touch each other, the barrier between them was uncomfortably tangible. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms after the way Ryan had treated her just a few minutes ago.

“I’m sorry,” Serix said quietly, lowering his gaze to the floor. “I keep causing you so many problems here. You shouldn’t be locked up with me; you should be up there with your own people.” He withdrew his hand back into his own cell, dropping it into his lap. Even though it was Cassie’s choice to join him in the hold, and it was Hunter who had landed them there in the first place, he still felt guilty. She didn’t have to be part of everything that was happening to him. He felt like he was just dragging her around while he ran into one trouble after another. He went on without looking up, “You don’t have to stay here for my sake, Cassie. I wouldn’t blame you if you want to go back to our room. It’s much nicer than anything down here. There aren’t even any beds.” He sighed and finally glanced up to meet her eyes. “The next time a guard comes through you should ask to be let out. Ryan probably gave them instructions to do it if you say so.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

In the dark of the caves, Cassie couldn't exactly make out the spot Serix had been looking at when he lifted up his shirt, but she knew from how hard Ryan had kicked him that there was sure to be a rather large bruise, if not even a broken rib, from the strike. She felt horrible about it, knowing if she hadn't of come down there that he wouldn't have been hurt like that. Or would he have? Would he have been hurt by Ryan a lot worse if she hadn't come down here to be with him? She guessed she would never know, but when she did know is that she wanted and had to be down here. For the both of them. It was what was best. And so, when he spoke to her, telling her that when some of the others came back again she should ask to be let out, she shook her head, looking over to him, "No. Serix our vows were clear. We're with each other through thick and thin. If the roles were reversed you would do the same thing."

Sitting up, she put her hands on the bars of her cell, her eyes trying to meet his gaze, "I'm not leaving you. And you shouldn't blame yourself. For any of this. This is their fault, not yours." Which was true. Serix had done everything right (well aside from getting into a few scuffles) and had been trying to his very best to get the others to see he was no threat. They were the ones causing troubles and getting Serix hurt. mainly Hunter that is. She wanted to throttle that man and if he didn't have a kid she might have honestly wanted to kill him for all he had done. Serix might be killed for goodness sake! Oh, that was something that she didn't want to think about.

She turned slightly, her back against the cell bars so that Serix couldn't see the worry that had crossed her face now, "Serix....promise me we'll get out of this? I don't care if its true or not, I just....I need to hear that you and I both will be alright. That we'll be able to get out of this mess, start a family, and get to live at least a partially normal life? Please?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix nodded in silent resignation when Cassie said that she wasn’t going to leave. He couldn’t argue with her. They had vowed to stay by each other’s sides through whatever troubles they may come to face. Now that they were in the midst of a challenge, how could he ask her to go back on her word? As much as he hated the thought of dragging her into his problems, he knew he wasn’t going to change her mind. At least Ryan cared enough about her that he wouldn’t let her get hurt down here in the hold. Serix could rest in the comfort of knowing that she wasn’t in any danger while she stayed with him.

There was a pause, and then Cassie spoke up again, her voice sounding slightly strained, “Serix... promise me we’ll get out of this. I don’t care if it’s true or not, I just... I need to hear that you and I both will be alright; that we’ll be able to get out of this mess, start a family, and get to live at least a partially normal life. Please?”

Serix looked up at her again and saw that she had turned around. Even if she was trying to hide the anxiety on her face, he could still hear it in her voice. She must also have realized that being locked in a cell wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him. He was worried about that, too, but seeing Cassie look so tormented was much worse than the simple threat of death. For her sake, if nothing else, he had to prove to the humans that he was innocent. He couldn’t leave her alone like this.

Serix reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but he only managed to brush the fabric of her shirt with his fingers. Again, he was reminded of the distance between them. He let his hand drop back down to his side. “I promise,” he said quietly, managing a halfhearted smile. “I promise we’ll get out of here. We’re... going to have a kid, right? We already agreed before: We can’t let Ryan or any other human get between us. This is just a temporary delay in our plans, okay? Everything will be back to normal soon enough.” He lay down on the stony floor of the cell. After spending so many weeks in a bed with Cassie, he was acutely aware of how cold it was. He rolled onto his side to face his mate, “Let’s try to get some sleep. Who knows what’s in store for us tomorrow, right?” He yawned tiredly and closed his eyes. “I love you, Cassie.”

--

The combination of the frigid ground and the lack of Cassie’s presence at his side left Serix to sleep fitfully that night. Multiple times, he awoke with a racing heart from a recurring nightmare where Ryan entered the hold and took him away from his mate. The human would bring him to the dining hall, where all of the others stood in a ring, and throw him into the center. He would draw a gun and point it at Serix’s head, saying: “guilty.” Serix always woke up just before the human pulled the trigger.

When the first guard of the day entered the hold that morning, he was already awake. He sat up as Connor walked into the room with a tray of food and water. The human passed him by without a glance and slipped the tray under Cassie’s cell door, “Here. Ryan wants you to keep up your energy.” He walked over to sit at the table near their cells and crossed his arms. “He also said you’re not allowed to give any to the alien, so I’m staying here to make sure you don’t. He can’t have any food or water before his interrogation tonight.”

“Interrogation?” Serix echoed.

“Ryan just has some questions to ask you,” Connor said, although he didn’t meet Serix’s gaze. “About what happened yesterday. Your… performance during the interrogation will determine what Ryan decides to do with you.”

“Okay,” Serix said slowly. “But what does that have to do with food?”

“It’s standard procedure. We have our reasons.”

“Fine,” Serix sighed and glanced at Cassie. “Just go ahead and eat.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “It’s just for one day. I can handle that.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Sleep was not well for Cassie. If she had been in the same cell as Serix, maybe she would have gotten more sleep. If she had been curled up against Serix's side she was sure that this night wouldn't have been so bad. But because she was on her own and not in his arms, her sleep had been nothing but her tossing and turning, trying to get comfertable there without him, something that was very difficult for her to do. She also had the habit where every time she would wake up, she would sit up and look over to the cell Serix was in, checking to make sure he was safe and still there. When she was sure he was, she would curl back up and the cycle of trying to sleep and watching out for him would begin again.

She didn't fully sleep that night, but nor was she fully awake either. It wasn't until she heard the padding of heavy footsteps that she did wake up completely, jerking out of her hazy state to sit up and look at the door when Conner walked in, a tray of food in his hands. This confused her though because he walked right passed Serix and went to hand the food to her. They weren't going to let him eat? Why not? They couldn't let him starve in here. Even if it was for just the day it was still angering her that they would pull something as low as that.

She listened to the short conversation between the two males and when Serix looked to her and told her to go ahead and eat, she looked at him a moment before shaking her head and pushing the tray away from herself, speaking, "No. If you're not allowed to eat, then theres no way I can just sit here and eat in front of you. That wouldn't be right or fair to you." She stated and looked to Conner, "And you can tell Ryan I said just that. The moment Serix gets to eat, then I'll eat."

She leaned back against the cell wall in thought for a moment and after a few seconds had passed she looked to Conner once more, "This interogation......am I allowed to be there when you all are questioning him?"