Trash Panda

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix spent the majority of the night tossing and turning in bed. He continually woke up after what felt like only a few minutes of sleep at a time, and he always found himself glancing at the curtain that hung across the doorway as if he expected someone to burst into the room with a gun. Even when he did manage to fall into a deep enough sleep to stir up some dreams, they always turned into nightmarish scenes of humans gathering outside the room with weapons poised, waiting for Ryan to give the signal to attack. When this happened, Serix awoke in a cold sweat with a racing heart, his eyes focusing on the curtain the instant they opened. He had to lie still and remind himself that he was just being paranoid and stifle the urge to get up and search the room so he wouldn’t wake Cassie.

Because he slept so fitfully, Serix woke up the instant the curtain slid open and one of the humans stepped inside. He opened one eye to verify that the male was unarmed, and then closed it again. He was far too tired to bother with the human. He felt Cassie bury her head against his neck. She obviously felt the same way. Unfortunately, the male didn’t leave them alone.

“Hey, you two, Ryan says it’s time to wake up,” the half-blood sounded amused. “Come on; don’t want Ryan to see you two all snuggled up like that. He might get mad.”

“I don't care,” Cassie replied moodily, although she did sit up. “It’s none of his business anyway.”

“Ah, so that spunk wasn’t an act,” the human said. “My name’s Quincy by the way. Just figured I’d say welcome to you two. Breakfast starts in a few so I would get there fast before Jake eats all the good stuff.” Following his own advice, he left the room to head down to the dining hall, leaving the choice to go after him up to them.

Once they were alone again, Cassie leaned over to kiss Serix and then got up from the mattress. Serix didn’t want to get up yet, though. He had hardly slept at all, so he was still exhausted. He rolled over and threw the pillow over his head, “Ten more minutes…” Despite his request, he knew they shouldn’t wait long to join the humans for breakfast. The longer they stayed in the room, the more impatient Ryan would get, and Serix didn’t want to face him this early in the day. He climbed out of bed, yawning wearily, and walked down to the dining hall with Cassie.

They found a place to sit at a table with the group they had met the day before. Only this time, there were two new children amongst them. Cassie’s eyes lit up in recognition of one of them, whom she revealed to be Ryan’s younger sibling, Sally. Serix looked at the young female curiously. Like Hunter’s child, Sally was much more pleasant company than her older relation. However, Serix’s good humor faded slightly when she mentioned Ryan’s obsession with his mate. He impulsively slipped his arm around Cassie’s waist, even though he knew the kid was just innocently relaying information.

The two children went on to torment Sarah until she left and a pair of new humans arrived at the table. The friendlier of the two introduced himself as Ray, and Serix recalled what Jacob said about him being a medic. The second male, Monty, was blatantly hostile, looking down at Serix with obvious dislike. The Lunairan privately decided that this human was one to be avoided in the future.

Serix startled when he saw a dog trot over to the group. How had the animal gotten so far inside the compound? More importantly, how had none of the others noticed it? Then, to his surprise, Cassie smiled at the beast and moved to touch it. The dog further confused him by tamely licking her hand and crawling into her lap.

“Dogs used to be tamed as pets by humans,” Cassie explained, noticing Serix’s baffled expression. “This one isn’t like the wild ones we saw on the streets.”

“Oh,” Serix still didn’t move from his spot at the table. Humans domesticated wild animals? It was clever, but he didn’t understand why it was necessary to keep a dog around. It was just another mouth to feed, and he wasn’t certain that the beast could be fully cleansed of its feral tendencies.

“Some were even trained to do jobs, like I did with Gizmo here.” Ray grinned at Serix. “Go ahead, you can pet him. He won’t bite.”

“Um, okay,” Serix said hesitantly. He crouched down beside Cassie and reached a tentative hand towards the dog. The animal immediately turned and licked it, and then proceeded to waddle over to sniff at him. Serix frowned, “What? I don’t smell that bad, right?” He glanced at Cassie, and his expression darkened when he saw Ryan walking up behind her.

“G’morning, Cass,” Ryan said, completely ignoring Serix as usual. “Did you sleep well?”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix closed his eyes as Cassie rested her forehead against his to show him what had happened between her and Ryan. He watched the events unfold in his mind like a moving picture, while Cassie sorted through which parts she wanted to show him. He felt a pang of irritation when he caught a glimpse of a fast-paced scene where Ryan moved uncomfortably close to Cassie, but he seemed to back off quickly enough, so Serix relaxed.

After a few minutes, Cassie closed off the connection. Serix opened his eyes again and looked at her. She had maintained the link a bit longer than she normally did, but she didn’t seem too exhausted. He smiled and kissed her lightly. She had come a long way since he first started teaching her to expand her Lunairan abilities. To relay an entire hour of her memories to him like that was a big achievement.

“Like I said, we talked a lot,” Cassie said. “And I found out a lot of things that I’ve been searching for the answers to for years. I finally found out what happened to my parents and where Ryan and his family had gone. On top of finding out I’m not the last of my kind, I have to say that today has been a very informative day.” Serix just nodded in response. The day had been ‘informative’ to the point of overwhelming. He wasn’t sure if Cassie felt the same way, but Serix was completely drained. He had been captured twice, saw some his people get shot and killed, discovered a hidden society of human survivors —none of whom seemed to like him very much— and been attacked by one of them. On top of that, he couldn’t even let himself get a good night’s sleep for fear of being ambushed while he was unconscious.

“I’m honestly also surprised he actually agreed to lay off a little,” Cassie continued. Serix stared at her for a moment before he realized she was talking about Ryan. “I mean, even as kids he was very possessive over me.” She laughed. “You aren’t the first guy he’s hated being around me. When we were kids he’d beat up any guy that tried to be my friend. I told him he can’t beat you up though. He should be a little less... vicious toward you. Hopefully. And if I catch him being otherwise toward you I’ll just put him in his place again.”

“Oh, I’m sure that will stop him cold,” Serix teased, placing a hand on Cassie’s head. “You’re such a frightening little thing.” He shifted his hand down to the back of her neck and closed his eyes when she leaned in to kiss him. He returned the kiss, smiling contentedly, and stole one more peck when she moved to pull away.

“Okay,” Cassie said, resting her forehead against his. “So tomorrow, we need to make sure we stay together. We also need to find out exactly which of the people here we can trust and which ones we need to stay away from. Obviously this ‘Hunter’ is one we need to keep away from and Emily and Jake are ones we can be around. All the others are up in the air right now. I haven’t seen much of any of them to really see if we can trust them or not.” She lay down on the mattress and looked up at him. “Serix? Before we go to bed, will you tell me what you think of all this? I mean, you’ve heard how I feel about seeing all these people and being here with my own kind, but you never told me how you feel about being here.”

“It’s… a lot to take in,” Serix said honestly. He kicked off his shoes and lay down beside her, drawing the blanket over them. “I mean, I’m happy that we found more humans. It’s great that you’re not the last one, but you know as well as I do what they think of me. I’m not very welcome here, Cassie.” He reached to put out the lantern beside the bed and then turned back to her. They were close enough that her features were dimly illuminated from the glow of his eyes in the dark. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips once more. “I’m just glad you’re here. I can tolerate the others as long as you’re still beside me. Now, let’s try to get some sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix brought a hand to his face when Cassie asked what happened to him, suddenly remembering the scratch from his fight. It was a dead giveaway that there had been trouble. Of course, Sarah had to go and make things worse by telling Cassie and Ryan exactly what happened, only serving to worry his mate more. The light-haired male’s expression turned cold, and Serix recalled his harsh words about only giving him one chance. He turned to Ryan, his mind racing with possible explanations to defend himself if the human accused him of causing trouble. Unfortunately, none of his options looked good. Ryan didn’t seem like the type of person to lay the blame on one of his own people when he could pin it on an outsider, even though it was Hunter who had started the fight in the first place.

“Serix, you have to stay out of trouble,” Cassie said, wiping some blood from Serix’s cheek. “I know it’s hard. And I know they aren’t exactly the best people to be around. But this is our home now. We don't need to be starting fights and bringing tension.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Serix dropped his gaze to the floor. He hated hearing the disappointment in her voice, but he couldn’t blame her for being upset. She had left him alone for one hour, and he had managed to get into a fight and make a bad first impression on everyone in the compound, when they were both trying hard to get the humans to accept him here. It wasn’t exactly an accomplishment to be proud of.

“Next time this happens, he’s going in the hold, Cass,” Ryan spoke up, glaring at Serix with contempt.

“This probably wasn’t even his fault,” Cassie snapped, flying to Serix’s defense. “I can about guarantee it was the other person's fault. Serix isn’t the type of guy to start fights, but if they touch him, he will sure as hell finish them.” Serix reached for her hand and gave it an appreciative squeeze. He had plenty of things he wanted to say to Ryan, too, but in order to avoid getting locked up, he decided it was probably better to keep his mouth shut and let Cassie do the talking. She didn’t seem to need his help, anyways, as she had no trouble putting Ryan in his place.

Ryan still looked unhappy, “I don’t blame them for starting a fight with him. If I had the chance, I would—” He cried out in pain when Cassie drove her heel into his foot, and Serix had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He was almost certain that he would get sent to the hold if he mocked the human leader now. Ryan muttered something under his breath before he spoke again to Cassie, “Fine, whatever. Tone it down. I get it.” Serix frowned, wondering what that meant. He glanced at Cassie. What exactly happened between them during their hour alone?

“We’re going to bed,” Cassie said to Ryan, ending the conversation. “See you in the morning.” She turned and grabbed Serix, practically dragging him after her. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ryan looking visibly uncomfortable when they left together, although maybe it was just his sore foot. Either way, Serix decided it was probably best to avoid the human for a while.

Cassie spoke again as she led Serix back to their room, “I hope it’s not like this forever. If so, I have a feeling I’m going to have to pummel both of you before you two actually start acting civilized.” Once they were back in the room, she sat him down on the bed and went to grab some of her supplies.

“I promise, I’m trying my best,” Serix said meekly. “But I can only handle so much abuse before I defend myself. I’m not just going to sit there and let them push me around like that, Cassie. Especially when they start getting physical.” He watched as she brought over her medical supplies and sat down in front of him, pulling out a small cloth that smelled of chemicals.

“Hold still,” Cassie said, gently pressing the cloth to the scratch on his cheek.

“Ouch,” Serix said in monotone, wincing slightly.

“I know it stings,” Cassie said. “But it will get rid of germs and make it so it won’t get infected.” She pulled out a bandage next. Serix frowned. It was a shallow cut that would heal in a matter of days. He didn’t need a bandage for it. Cassie seemed to read his expression, because she spoke again before he could argue, “Don’t say you don’t need this. Germs are worse on Earth then they probably are on your ship. Thing can get infected really easily and if that happens I doubt we have the right medicines to fight it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Okay, fine,” Serix gave in and let her put the bandage on him.

Once she was finished nursing him, Cassie put her medical supplies away and sat beside Serix on the bed, “Serix, am I going to have to be worrying about you all the time?” She kissed him gently, and he returned the gesture. It was moments like these that made all the stress worth it and reminded him why here was here. If Cassie had been with him earlier, he might not have given in to his frustration and gotten into a fight with Hunter. She was definitely right when she said that they were a stronger team together.

“I know it’s hard and a lot of these people are complete jerks,” Cassie went on. “But I don’t want you getting hurt because of them. I know for a fact some of them would kill you and not feel a single regret. Just... please... refrain from getting into fights here. If not for yourself, then for my sake? I don’t want to have to worry about whether or not if I go somewhere I’ll come back to find you beaten up or worse.” She kissed him again and leaned into his side. He wrapped his arm around her and sighed, “I’m sorry. I’ll try not to let them get to me.”

“Try to stay away from whoever did this to you,” Cassie suggested. “In fact, don’t agree to be separated again. At least for now until we get a feel of what people are like here.” Serix nodded in agreement and Cassie looked up at him, “Other than the fight, how did it go? Hopefully not all of the humans were rude to you?”

“They weren’t all completely awful,” Serix admitted. “Emily was friendly and there’s another one named Jacob who treated me like a regular member of the group, although I think I came off as temperamental to him because of that fight.” Serix shook his head and sighed again. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they all thought that now, but I swear I didn’t start it. Well… I did say some things to provoke him, but Hunter wouldn’t leave me alone, and he was the one who threw the first punch.” He leaned his head against Cassie’s. “I’m sure he hates me now. I’m definitely going to avoid him for a while, but…” he pulled away from Cassie and met her eyes searchingly. “What happened between you and Ryan? Why did he want to talk to you alone?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow grinned at Penelope’s stunned expression when he revealed the piece of stolen bread. The look of surprise on a person’s face when he or she realized something had gone missing was always one of his favorite parts of thievery. He liked to think of his profession as an unwelcomed magic trick, where he would make someone’s valuables disappear. Of course, he never received an applause from his audience, but he wasn’t looking for their approval anyway. Everything he did was for himself and, occasionally, the other villagers on the outskirts of the kingdom. Whether the knight understood it or not, stealing was a way of life, and it was the only way of life he knew.

His amused expression vanished when she declined his offer. “That’s not fair,” he complained. “The guards barely fed me in prison. I need to build back some muscle for the king’s assignment. If I try to scale a wall now, a strong wind might blow me away.” He poked despondently at his bicep. It was a valid point in his mind, at least. He’d lost quite a bit of weight throughout the past year, and he wasn’t nearly as strong as he used to be. It was more likely that if he tried to scale a wall now, he would wear himself out and fall to his death.

That aside, the bigger concern was his approaching escape. In his current condition, it was going to be difficult for him to outrun his guards if they took chase. Even if he managed to improve his fitness slightly, he had a feeling he was going to have to rely on a distraction to slip away unnoticed. He glanced out the window again, taking note of the buildings outside. They probably had at least a few days left before they would reach the border, so he still had time to come up with a plan.

“How can I be of any use to anyone if you starve me before we even reach Younis?” he went on through a mouthful of bread, using the current topic to keep Penelope from noticing his thoughts had been elsewhere. Turning back to her, he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll have to live with the guilt of knowing that you started a war all because you didn’t feed the king’s thief his rations.”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

As Cassie walked away with Ryan, Serix was starting to rethink his decision to let her go by herself. She didn’t look particularly happy to be alone with him, and Serix definitely did not want to be alone with the rest of the half-bloods. He could handle one or two if they decided to attack him, but he was completely surrounded in the dining hall. The feeling of vulnerability was suffocating. Serix glanced across the table when he heard a whistle. The red-haired girl, Sarah, was staring at him with a raised brow. “Wow,” she said. “That was a bold move in more ways than one. I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed. But,” she leaned forward in her chair, smiling mischievously. “Can you back it up? You’re alone with us now. You can’t hide behind your girl.” “Sarah, please,” Emily said. “Don’t do this now.” “Lighten up, Em,” Sarah rolled her eyes. “I’m just having some fun with him.” “Leave him alone,” Emily sighed. “He just got here.” She turned to Serix. “I’m sorry about that.” “No, it’s fine,” Serix shook his head and looked up at Sarah. “Although, I don’t need to hide behind anyone. You’re not as frightening as you think you are.” “Oh?” Sarah laughed. “You’ve got just as much spunk as your girl. I can see now why she likes you.” “I will never understand it,” a new voice spoke up. Serix glanced over his shoulder to see a tall human male standing behind him. He had black hair and a mean looking snarl on his face. He stared down at the Lunairan with contempt, “I will also never understand why we’re giving this one special treatment. It should be locked up in the hold, where it belongs.” “Is that so?” Serix turned on him. “Please tell me: Why do I ‘belong’ there? Is it because I’m a Lunairan? Because by that logic, you belong in a hold, too. Or are you just special because you have one human parent—” He flinched when the man snatched at the front of his shirt and pulled him forward so they were nose to nose. “Look here, alien,” the man hissed. “You and the rest of your kind are nothing but a bunch of murderers. You should go back to them while you still have the chance. You don’t belong here.” “Hunter!” Emily gasped. “You know it’s true,” the male replied without looking away from Serix. “This alien shouldn’t be here, eating our food and taking up one of our rooms. It’s just a waste of resources.” “I still don’t see why you think that,” Serix said angrily, forgetting his situation. “I’m hardly different from you. Well… except for the fact that I seem to be more intelligent.” Sarah whistled again, seeming completely enthralled by the verbal fight, but Hunter narrowed his eyes at the taunt, “Why, you…” He swung at Serix, but the Lunairan ducked out of his grasp and quickly got to his feet, stepping away from the table to give himself more room. By now, all of the other humans were watching them. Some were even cheering and encouraging them to fight. Apart from Emily, none of them tried to defend Serix— not that he expected them to, of course. If anything, he was worried that they might try to join Hunter in his attack. “You really think you can stand up to me in a fight?” Hunter growled. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing,” Serix said. Part of him knew he was making a foolish decision to start a fight in a place where his audience would probably be happy to see him dead, but he was done letting these humans push him around. He quickly evaluated Hunter’s stance. The human had his left foot forward, but most of his weight was placed on his back right leg. He was most likely going to throw a punch with his right arm. Serix shifted his own stance to create a false opening on his left side, giving Hunter an intentional target. As expected, the human fell right into the trap. He lunged forward, swinging his right arm out to strike Serix just below the ribs. He wasn’t prepared when Serix closed the false opening, stepping to the right so his opponent’s fist just grazed him, and brought his elbow down on the human’s shoulder, using the momentum of his punch to knock him to the ground. The spectating humans hollered with laughter, but Hunter wasn’t finished. He swept his leg up to catch Serix behind the knee, causing him to stumble, and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him over while he was still off-balance. Serix quickly rolled to his feet and spun back around to face Hunter, who was also getting up. This time, Serix attacked first, aiming a jab at Hunter’s throat before he could regain his stance. The human shifted so that the strike caught him on the jaw and then threw a punch at Serix’s face. The Lunairan ducked out of the way, but his opponent’s fist still scraped his cheek. They both parted, looking for openings in each other’s defenses again. “That’s enough!” a voice boomed over the shouts of the small crowd, which had gathered around the two during their fight. Everyone quieted and Hunter froze. Serix turned to see another human approaching them. With the respect the others seemed to give him, he assumed this male was important. The new arrival turned sternly to Hunter, “You know better than to start pointless fights.” “I’m just showing this alien its place,” Hunter muttered, bringing a hand up to gingerly touch the spot on his jaw where Serix’s fist had connected. With the way he winced, Serix knew Hunter was going to have a bruise there tomorrow. He smirked in satisfaction. “Ryan is letting him live here with us,” the older male said. “It’s not your place to disregard his orders like this. If you have a problem, take it up with him personally.” “Tch, whatever,” Hunter grumbled. “I’m going to bed.” He turned and headed out of the dining hall. Once he was gone, Serix brought a hand to his own face to inspect the damage. The cut on his cheek stung, but it was shallow. He estimated that it would heal completely before the end of the week. He licked a finger and wiped the blood away. When he looked up, he saw the older human approaching him. “My name is Jacob,” the human said, holding out his hand. Serix just stared at him for a moment before he remembered how Emily had greeted him by shaking his hand earlier. He took Jacob’s hand and copied her gesture. “Serix,” he introduced himself. “Well then, Serix,” Jacob said with a smile. “I hope you know that you’re not off the hook either. If you’re going to live with us, you have to follow the same rules that we do.” “Err, yes,” Serix said sheepishly. “I know.” “Good,” Jacob nodded. “But if you can’t keep that temper in check, I would suggest avoiding people like Hunter. Oh, and you should see Ray about that cut.” He tapped his own cheek to indicate Serix’s scratch. “He can patch you right up.” “Thanks, but I’m fine,” Serix held up his hands. “I heal quickly.” “If you say so,” Jacob shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see if these pigs left me any food.” He turned and walked away, and Serix returned to his table. With Jacob and Emily, there were now two half-bloods who spoke to him like an equal. Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad, after all. “Are you okay?” Emily asked when Serix sat down. He nodded, but she didn’t relax. “I’m sorry. I probably should have warned you about Hunter. He hates Lunairans.” “I can see that,” Serix said, wiping the rest of the blood off his cheek. “That was… pretty impressive though,” Emily said after a pause. “Don’t you agree, Sarah?” “It wasn’t bad for an alien,” Sarah said with grudging respect. “Hunter is one of our best fighters, but you stood on equal ground with him,” Emily nodded. “I would watch out in the future, though. He hates being shown up and he already hates you for being… well… a Lunairan.” “I will,” Serix said, although the advice was unnecessary. He had already made a mental note to keep an eye on Hunter. He doubted the human would leave him alone after a skirmish like that. “What’s wrong with his eyes?” another voice spoke up. Serix glanced down to see a female child standing beside him. “Oh, Ava,” Emily sighed. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in bed.” “It’s too loud,” the child said plainly, then repeated her first question, pointing at Serix. “What’s wrong with his eyes?” “I’m sorry,” Emily apologized again. “Ava, go to bed, honey. Your daddy’s going to be worried if he sees you’re not there. Go back to your room and leave the nice man alone.” “No, it’s okay,” Serix said. “I don’t mind.” The little kid’s innocent curiosity was a welcome break from the hostile glares of the older humans. He turned and leaned down to address Ava. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyes. I’m a Lunairan. It’s normal for our eyes to glow like this.” “No,” the child seemed skeptical. “Daddy says Lunairans are evil. You’re not hurting people.” “Her father is Hunter,” Emily explained when Serix gave her a quizzical look. “Not all Lunairans are evil,” Serix said, turning back to Ava. “Some of your ancestors… err…” he paused, searching for a word the child would understand. “Grandparents,” Emily supplemented. “Right,” Serix nodded at her. “Some of your grandparents were Lunairans.” “Did their eyes glow, too?” Ava’s gaped in amazement. “Yes,” Serix laughed at her astonishment. “Can my eyes glow?” “No, you also have human grandparents, so your eyes don’t glow.” “Aww,” Ava pouted. “Alright, young lady,” Emily broke in. “It’s way past your bedtime. Say goodnight and go back to your room.” “Goodnight,” Ava said. She wrapped her arms around Serix’s waist for a brief moment and then took off, heading back to her room as instructed. Serix shook his head in wonder as he watched the child scamper out the doorway. “How did Hunter make that?” “She gets her sweetness from her mother,” Emily laughed, gently rocking her own baby. “Well, I need to get this one to bed, too. Goodnight, Serix.” She got up from the table and left, as well, leaving him alone with Sarah— Jerald and Conner had already left by now. Neither of them had anything to say to each other, so they sat in silence for a few minutes before Cassie and Ryan returned. As soon as he saw Cassie come through the door, Serix got up from the table and came over to meet her. Ryan, as always, was displeased to see him, but Serix was too focused on his mate to care about the human’s irritability. He gathered Cassie in an embrace and kissed her on the forehead, leaning close to whisper into her ear, “You’re okay, right? He didn’t do anything to you?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Unfortunately for Crow, the woman, whom he had just learned was named Penelope, also seemed to have realized that Abraxas wasn’t the most reliable guard among them. He clicked his tongue in disappointment as she told her comrade to switch places with her and took up his position in the wagon. She was turning out to be more of a pest than he’d expected. It was still within his capabilities to get away from this group of jesters, but with a more vigilant guard at his side, he would now have to be clever about it.

At the front of the cart, William didn’t seem happy about the change either, but Crow guessed he was more concerned about his authority being challenged than he was about the actual switch. The older man looked like the type to expect everyone to show him their utmost respect whether he deserved it or not. The thief had a feeling they were going to butt heads quite a bit on this mission, since he was the type that refused to stroke anyone’s ego but his own.

Once everyone was in place, the cart lurched forward along the road, the wheels rolling slowly until they gained momentum. In the back, Crow made himself right at home. He found a comfortable place to sit where he could lean back against a soft pile of folded blankets with his legs stretched languidly in front of him. He could already feel excitement bubbling up inside his chest, though he did his best to hide it. The king had practically handed him back his freedom on a silver platter. If the monarch thought he would actually go to some foreign kingdom and do some lowly job for which he’d receive no credit, he was dreaming. He was going to take the first opportunity to escape back to his home in the outer villages.

As they approached the main gates of the citadel, he looked out the side window to watch the sentry signal for the looming barrier to be opened. It was the first time he’d been granted access in or out of the inner kingdom, and it made him feel important. He knew he wouldn’t have gotten the same treatment if he’d been traveling on his own, but it was still nice to pretend. Plus, the enthusiasm he felt about leaving the castle was real. Once they passed through the opening, they would be on their way to the neighboring kingdom in the north, and with it, the peasant villages that laid directly south of that border. He smiled to himself, continuing to stare out the window so Penelope wouldn’t see his expression. It was only a matter of time before he was free again.

Continuing on down the paved road, it didn’t take long before Crow grew bored of watching the towns roll slowly by. He sat with his cheek pressed wearily against the wooden frame, his pastel eyes shifting from the window to the guard on the other side of the wagon. Idly, he wondered how she had ended up as one of his keepers in the first place. All the female knights he’d seen before—the total of which he could count on one hand—had been homely to put it kindly. He couldn’t get a good measure on her body underneath the bulky armor she was wearing, but she had a pretty face at least. He was sure she could have married and settled down instead of volunteered to sit in a stifling carriage with a criminal like him if she’d want to.

Now that he was paying closer attention, he couldn’t tell if Penelope was even watching him. She had seemed observant enough when she’d made her airheaded comrade sit on one of the horses, but now she almost looked like she was lost in thought. He studied her discreetly, pondering if she would try to stop him if he made another attempt to go through their supplies, but she spoke up before he could move.

For a moment, Crow just stared at her, unsure whom she was talking to. When no one responded, he decided to take it upon himself to reply, “I can honestly say I know what you mean.” He stretched out his legs and leaned contentedly against the pile of blankets. “Although I think I have you beat. This is the first time I’ve left the prison walls in a year.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the half-piece of bread he’d managed to keep hidden from William. Taking the soft food between his teeth, he tore off a mouthful and then looked back up at Penelope.

“Oh, sorry,” he apologized insincerely as he swallowed the bite. “Did you want some?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Okay, sounds good to me :)

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

The compound was much less complicated than Serix originally thought. Most of the branching corridors just led to more storage rooms, which led to even more storage rooms. The humans had overflowing amounts of supplies and ample places to keep them stowed. If only his and Cassie’s hangar had had this many provisions, they never would have had to leave in the first place! At least, it would have been much longer before they had to risk confronting the other Lunairans. Thinking of them led Serix to wonder what they were doing now. Most of the Scouts had been killed in the battle with the humans, so he couldn’t imagine the higher powers just sitting back and letting them off the hook. And then there was the pilot. As far as Serix knew, he was still somewhere on Earth. The higher powers wouldn’t let him slide, either. He lost five or more Lunairans in that fight, and they were already toeing the line of extinction. They definitely wouldn’t be happy with his performance that morning. The question was: where was the pilot now? Serix was pulled from his thoughts when their guide led them into a large chamber filled with various plants. It looked like a huge garden, a scaled-up version of the one on the Lunairan ship but with different crops. A few humans tended the underground fields and groves, which flourished with what looked like edible fruits and vegetation. Serix had been mostly unimpressed with the tour until now, but at the sight of this garden, he couldn’t help the soft exclamation of surprise that escaped his lips, “Wow.” The green-eyed human tossed Cassie a fruit from one of the harvested piles, “Go ahead. Try it. Tastes just like they did years ago.” After a moment, Cassie did what he said and bit into the fruit. “It does still taste just like I remember!” she smiled and offered the rest to Serix. “These used to grow here on Earth, before the plague took over and the farmers stopped planting.” Serix curiously turned the fruit over in his hands. It was a deep red color, with a soft, white interior where Cassie had bitten into it. He lifted it to his lips and bit off a piece. His eyes widened. The fruit was ever more flavorful than the canned food Cassie had back in the hangar. He finished the rest of it while they walked, casually memorizing rooms and hallways as their guide showed them around the rest of the compound. Eventually, he led them to a dining area filled with the entire half-blood population. Serix hung back slightly when heads started turning in their direction. He could still see hostility in the eyes of the humans who met his gaze. “Hey Conner,” a female got up and approached the group. She was carrying a small child at her hip. Serix looked down at it curiously. It looked almost identical to a Lunairan infant, apart from the eyes, of course. The baby stared back at him and broke out in a wide, innocent smile. It was the friendliest expression Serix had received since he arrived at the compound. He couldn’t help but grin back. “And I see you’ve brought a friend?” Serix startled when the female reached for his hand. She gave it a firm shake in what he could only assume was a human gesture of greeting. “Emily,” The green-eyed male carefully pulled her away, looking wary. “Don’t get to close to it.” The female turned and gave him a chiding look, handing over her child to him. Serix guessed that the male, Conner, was her mate. “Oh, shush, you,” Emily said. “As much as you don’t like to think it, we’re all half Lunairan. Not all of their kind is bad. We should all know that form out parents.” It was then that Serix decided he liked this human. She was the most reasonable one he had come across so far, and she was even willing to give him a chance to prove that he wasn’t like the more supremacist members of the Lunairan society. Cassie went on to chat with Emily, giving her their names and explaining their relationship, and Emily led them over to get some food, introducing a few more of the humans in the dining hall when they found a table to sit at. The two that Emily called Jerald and Sarah caught his eye. They both had fiery red hair, a color he remembered Cassie mentioning at some point but he had never actually seen until now. The diversity of humans continued to fascinate him. The female, Sarah wasn’t nearly as impressed. She crossed her arms, “What’s the alien doing out and about? Shouldn’t he be in the hold?” Serix was about to tell her where she should go, but Cassie spoke first, “He’s not going to the hold. He’s staying with me.” The red-haired female only laughed, “Whoa, someone’s vicious. Have to say, you’re the first girl here besides me who has even a little spunk in her. Good for you.” “Oh, leave them alone, Sarah,” Emily spoke up. “At least let them get settled in before you start harassing them like you do everyone else.” The banter went on, but Serix stopped listening when he saw Ryan enter the room. Predictably, the human leader headed straight for Cassie, making himself right at home beside her at the table. Serix glared at him and held on to Cassie’s hand as he began to speak, “How have things been so far, Castiel?” “It’s Cassie, Ryan,” she said in reply. “You know I don’t go by Castiel anymore.” “I’ll always call you that,” Ryan said in a teasing way that made Serix’s blood boil. “Just because it annoys you.” The human finally took notice of his presence and gave him a disgusted look. “And what happened to you staying behind, huh? Threaten anyone into letting you come along?” “Knock it off, Ryan,” Cassie said warningly before Serix could respond. “I wanted him to come.” “Fine, whatever,” Ryan muttered. “Well, now that you’ve had the tour, I was think maybe me and you could go and just talk some more after dinner.” He glanced at Serix. “Alone.” “Anything you say to her, you can say to me, too,” Serix spoke up challengingly. “Not everything is about you, you know,” Ryan snapped at him. “I just want some time to catch up with my dear old friend.” He rested a hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “Well, then you can pretend I’m not there,” Serix retorted, pointedly wrapping his arm around Cassie’s waist and holding her to his side. Ryan was getting far too touchy with his mate, and he needed to be reminded that she was off-limits. “You’ve been doing a fine job of ignoring me so far.” “Don’t test me, alien,” Ryan narrowed his eyes. Serix’s gesture had obviously struck a nerve. “I’ve been courteous to you so far, but I still have an empty hold with your name on it.” He smirked when Serix glared at him. “Because I’m feeling generous, I’ll just ask for one hour with her alone. You can see her again afterwards, okay?” Serix hesitated for a moment and then let out a reluctant sigh, “Fine. Just don’t go far.” He turned to Cassie and whispered in her ear, “I’ll be fine out here. Remember what I taught you about panic links. If this creep tried to do anything to you, you call for me right away, got it?” He kissed her and shot Ryan a challenging look. The human just glowered at him in response, his lip slightly curled. “Come on, Castiel,” Ryan said, standing up from the table and offering Cassie a hand. “Let’s go have a chat.”

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

I added a couple more Lunairans to complete the Abrax Platoon with nine total members :)

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

A few more Lunairans for later in the story :P

Celuria Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~20 (13 in Lunairan years) Description: Celuria is a fearsome fighter with a reputation for violence in her platoon. Full of pent-up rage, she feels no sympathy for the humans and wishes to see them all disappear. (More to be revealed in the IC)

Abrax Race: Lunairan Role: Commander Age: ~36 (24 in Lunairan years) Description: Abrax is strict and serious with his platoon. He has little tolerance for errors, although he deals with mistakes in a very level-headed manner. Like Khoer, he is fiercely loyal to his leaders and would fight for them to his death.

Chirok Race: Lunairan Role: Berserk Age: ~27 (18 in Lunairan years) Description: Clearly the most violent soldier in Abrax's platoon, Chirok is a ruthless killer. He has masochistic tendencies that lead his commander to send him on the most dangerous missions or place him in the front lines of a battle.

Peiylo Race: Lunairan Role: Medic Age: ~20 (13 in Lunairan years) Description: Peiylo is a peaceful Lunairan with strong motherly instincts. This is cruelly ironic because she is one of the few barren females among the Lunairan society. Since she can never care for a child of her own, she makes it a goal to look after the younger males in her platoon. She has a special affinity for Jaxil, since he is the youngest and most inexperienced member.

Jaxil Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~18 (12 in Lunairan years) Description: The newest member of Abrax's platoon, Jaxil was practically dumped into the position with no training. His schooling (along with many others) had been cut short due to the human uprising on Earth, and he was assigned to the platoon without even the basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat.

Boraq Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~21 (14 in Lunairan years) Description: A brand new father, Boraq is the picture of optimism. He is slightly ignorant in the fact that he doesn't see the humans as a serious threat. He believes them to be a minor setback in the overall plans of the Lunairan leaders, and he thinks his fighting skills are more than enough to take care of these measly enemies.

Kogren Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~24 (16 in Lunairan years) Description: Kogren is the most experienced member of Abrax's platoon. He is a highly skilled fighter, deadly in both melee and ranged warfare. He is patient with the younger Lunairans and tries to act as a role model for them.

Freidal Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~21 (14 in Lunairan years) Description: The best sharp-shooter in the platoon, Freidal never misses her mark. However, she often frustrates her commander by being unwilling to cooperate with the other members, and often abandons Abrax's strategies completely when she sees an opportunity for herself in a fight.

Rylonn Race: Lunairan Role: Soldier Age: ~24 (16 in Lunairan years) Description: Rylonn has high goals for himself. He is a manipulative opportunist who wants to "earn" himself a place among the Lunairan leaders, and who will do anything to achieve that position, even if it means putting others in harm's way. He is clever, though, and blankets his malicious intent with a charming charisma that few are able to see through. This makes him one of the more dangerous members of Abrax's platoon.