Alanna and Aimil were back in their cabin, and while Aimil sat by one of the portholes, watching the sea, Alanna put her hood back up and decided to take a nap. She was exhausted and nerve-wrecked, she needed to relax and what better way to do so than take a nap? Aimil waited until she had fallen asleep before he could look at her again. He just couldn't help but stare at her in wonder, but he didn't want to scare her away. After a while he took out some scrolls and one of his trusted reed pens. He often wrote important experiences, details and dreams in the scrolls that he used as his personal journals. He felt like writing something even though he had no idea what he wanted to write. As he looked through his previous work, one of the scrolls stood out to him and he opened it carefully. As he skimmed through the first few words, he found himself frowning as the memory came to him. This was one of those strange dreams he had been having for some years now, it was so vivid it barely felt like a dream. In the dream he had turned into a bull to escape those who hunted him. He had ran into the forest in the mountains and found himself in a cave, one side of the cave was covered by bushes while the other side was obstructed by a waterfall that came from above the mountain he was in and went all the way down to the base of the mountain. He had no idea how he'd gotten there but it was sufficient enough to be a safe hiding spot. One day a girl came into the cave while he was asleep, effectively waking him up in a startle and afraid that she was about to attack him, he tried to attack her first. He had almost thrown her down the steep end of the cave opening obstructed by the waterfall but she blew something in his face that forced him into a deep slumber. When he woke up he was in the same cave sleeping on a makeshift bed, but he was no longer a bull, he was in his human form with the girl seated beside him, watching him calmly but warily. The girl had thrown a woolen coat over him to cover his nakedness when he transformed. He'd jumped off the makeshift bed so fast that he dropped the coat but the girl simply threw a bundle of clothes at him and turned around waiting for him to get dressed. Once he was fully clothed she turned back around, gazing at him with a knowing amusement. As Aimil read through the description of the girl he'd seen in his dream, he glanced back at the sleeping Alanna. She looked just like the girl he'd seen, except for the missing purple eyes, golden streaks in her hair, pointed ears and markings on her skin as far as he could see. He had had many dreams about that girl, he went through his dream scrolls in a panic looking over the descriptions of the girl in every dream she appeared. It was always her with slight variations in her appearance but always her. In most of those dreams he knew her, they were lovers, inseparable. Aimil's heart thumped violently in his throat, a strange heat blossomed in his chest as he read in shock, remembering, until the spell was broken by Alanna's muttering.

"Stop!" She muttered, tossing and turning in her sleep. "You can't do this!" She muttered again, her voice cracking, she kept muttering in a language he didn't understand. Aimil rushed to roll his scrolls back up and put them back in one of his satchels when Alanna turned to face him in her bed, that's when he saw it. Alanna's face and hands had marks that glowed in gold, her auburn tresses had golden streaks, her ears were pointed and her previously brown eyes were now wide open with terror, purple with those golden rings around her pupils that were now prominent. For a moment he wondered if she was awake but her thrashing and muttering told Aimil she was still asleep. Before he could do much the ship swayed and he heard a loud splash rattle the portholes. He hurriedly finished packing his scrolls and pen and looked out the window to investigate. Outside, where just a few minutes before the sun was setting and the waters were calm, was now dark clouds, heavy rain and violent waves. Whenever Alanna thrashed, the violent waves seemed to follow suit. Aimil was shell shocked, what was happening? He glanced between Alanna and the storm outside the portholes, he couldn't help but think the storm somehow had something to do with Alanna. He went towards Alanna's bed and sat beside her, taking her hand in his, stroking her hair back, caressing her face and muttering words of comfort in her ear as he kissed her temple. He didn't know what else to do, he didn't even know why he was doing what he was doing, just that it felt like he was supposed to. It felt like something he's done before. After a few minutes, stopped thrashing and her rapid breathing slowed down, and as if on command, the storm outside quickly subsided to reveal clear darkening skies as night fell. He watched in wonder as Alanna's eyes turned back to brown right before she closed them, the marks on her skin disappeared and the golden streaks with them as she fell back into a peaceful slumber. He let out a sigh of relief but he didn't let her go, he wanted to just hold her until she woke up, partly because he didn't want the ship to be wrecked but also because it felt right, he had worked really hard to suppress the urge to just pull her into his arms and hold her since they met. This felt right, that was his last thought before he too was overcome by sleep.

Alanna's stirred awake to a heaviness pressing down on her stomach and the sound of heavy breathing in her ear. She opened her eyes to find Aimil fast asleep next to her, his arm stretched across her midsection to hold her hand and his head nestled into the curve of her neck. Huh? What the hell was happening? She looked down at Aimil again, he looked so peaceful and adorable, she mused to herself. She couldn't help but wonder how they got into this position. She didn't know whether to kick him off the bed to startle him awake or to quietly leave, she needed to relieve herself urgently. She didn't have time to ponder so she quietly slid his arm off her and got off the bed, locking the cabin behind her while she went to find Sergius. She found Sergius easily in the lobby bar and asked him where she could relieve herself. Sergius directed her to a privy chamber next to the captain's cabin, gave her the key and instructed her to bring it back to him at the lobby bar once she was done. The privy chamber was more than decent and exceeded Alanna's expectations, she made quick work of her business and once she was all cleaned up, she locked the privy chamber and rushed to return the key to Sergius. She returned to her cabin with a lamp given to her by Sergius to find Aimil still asleep on her bed. She locked the door, got the satchel that Orin gifted her and sat on one of the chairs by one of the portholes rummaging for a quick snack. She must have been loud because Aimil woke up with a start. She glanced over at him with a raised brow then went back to rummaging through her satchel until she finally found a sandwich she could eat. Aimil quickly sat up, going to grab one of his satchels and walked to his chair muttering an apology to Alanna, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment. He didn't know what to say to her, he didn't know how to ask her about her eyes, her hair, her marks or the storm. He wanted to ask her about her dreams, maybe she also had the same dreams as he did. He dug through his satchel while she ate her sandwich and grabbed a sandwich and a water-skin as well and began to eat, occasionally stealing glances at her from across the table. The air between them was thick with tension, unanswered questions and unspoken words. Finally he decided to break the ice, he needed to know.

"So do you have nightmares often?" Aimil asked in between gulps of water. Alanna stiffened and stopped chewing for moment, then finally swallowing the last of her sandwich she answered, "Um, yeah, maybe, why do you ask?" "I don't mean to pry or make you uncomfortable," he started trying to choose his words carefully, he definitely meant to pry but she didn't need know that. "Just that you seemed to have a pretty bad one earlier, kicked up quite a storm," he said, carefully watching her face. She avoided his gaze for a good minute then looked at him, a hint of fear in her beautiful eyes. "Did I- Did I do or say anything?" She asked quietly, her chest tightening in fear. She had always slept alone for this very reason, she always made sure she was out of sight and hearing range in case of anything. Her gifts had a tendency of showing up in her sleep. She couldn't help but wonder what Aimil might have seen or heard. Is that why he was holding her? Aimil searched her eyes for a moment then he raised his hand and lifted his curls to reveal a pointed ear. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Alanna," he said and she visibly let out a shaky sigh of relief. "So are your eyes really purple?" He asked tentatively. Her now brown eyes widened slightly in shock, internally cursing, Goddess! Her glamour had lifted while she was asleep and he saw her. She deliberated her answer for a moment then decided upon telling him the truth, he couldn't put her in danger without putting himself in danger. "Yes." "Wow, okay, so a glamour then?" He asked and she nodded in answer. He wanted to know more, this was his opportunity and he had to grab it. "Do you have a family?" He asked. "I did, they're all gone now as far as I know," Alanna answered quietly, twiddling her thumbs on the hem of her hooded coat. A wave of sadness washed over Aimil, he could feel her pain. He had the gift of being an empath, among a few others, which is why he often avoided people and had his guard up whenever he was around them. Something about Alanna made him want to let his guard down, he wanted to get to know her, he wanted to get past that wall she had around her. "Where did you come from?" He asked hesitantly at the risk of her thinking he was a creep. "Ortus was my home," she started with a wistful smile then paused, stopping herself before she could say too much. She didn't need to say much more, Aimil knew about the Venator Order and what they did in Ortus. He felt his blood boil underneath his skin, he'd also lost his family to those hateful scoundrels, and nearly lost his life as well. He nodded to show her that he understood and with a slight smile he offered, "Portum, that was my home. It's ashes now." Alanna snapped her eyes to him, she understood exactly what he meant and a a twinge of sadness knotted up in her chest for him, her blood boiling at the thought of others like her being persecuted as her people had been. She wondered if that's what drove him to be a traveler and what he was looking for. She felt a small sliver of hope start to blossom within her, she realized the rumors about other places like her town were true and that meant there could be others out there, safe, she could find more people like her and hopefully even survivors from her home. That night they both went to their beds with a few pieces of the puzzle in place and a whole lot more questions that needed answers, soon falling asleep to the muffled hum of the sea outside.