Will this be a safe haven?

[Zane]

((Enchantment, Inkubus Sukkubus))


In perfect sleep there's beauty
In waking life just cruelty

Alyn was limp in Zane's arms as he carried her. There was no resistance, she moved not and made not a sound. If it hadn't been for her shallow breathing he would have surely deemed her dead. And although she was deadweight, she was still surprisingly, disturbingly, light. To be honest, she weighed next to nothing, and that worried him. He had never been particularly strong; his capabilities for lifting heavy objects were nearly laughable. And yet carrying her was easy, painfully easy, why was she so very frail? What had happened to her exactly? In this state she was like a delicate beauty, fair skin, blond hair, the whole deal. Just looking at her hurt, and so Zane turned his gaze to the street ahead of him instead.

I want to rise with the night
In the light that blinds your eyes

She had said something about a 'Stately Home', off to the left somewhere. He had been walking for a while now, and he had seen nothing so far that was even remotely stately. Crumbling ruins, burned out shells of houses and factories, such a sad and bitter sight. But still he continued on, determined not to give up now that he finally had a purpose and a mission. To bring Alyn to safety, that was what he was here to do and he would not jump ship quite yet. Although the weather was worrying him, and he kept throwing worried glances at the overcast heavens above. It looked as if it soon would rain; they needed to get inside, and soon. His pace quickened slightly, searching desperately now for the goal of his journey. And finally, there it was! A large house loomed up before him, looking exceedingly foreboding but safe and stable nonetheless. He was here, he was here, and they had made it!

Wrapped in the velvet cloak of dreams my spirit flies
As the day slips far from your sight

Somehow he managed to scale the steps and open the heavy oak door all without disturbing Alyn in the slightest, he never once had to put her down. The hinges practically screamed out in protest when he opened the door to one of the inner parlors, and yet Alyn never stirred, not a good sign. The light inside was dim and half dark, but he could see just fine and soon found a bed on which to lay Alyn. The bed wasn’t made, and the sheets were crumpled, but he doubted that she would really mind. It was soft, and that was all that mattered now. Once Zane was sure that she was comfortable he began searching through the room for a source of light, or even better, food. He found an old-fashioned oil lamp hidden away in one of the corners, it was dusty but it would do. And there were several candles in the top drawer of a small desk; they would do just fine with that.

Zane cast a quick glance back at Alyn, wondering if he would dare leave her alone for a few seconds. There didn’t appear to be any danger here, and he would only be in the next room, but it was still a tough decision. After a moments hesitation he finally decided that he would leave her, but that he would return as quickly as it was possible. In the other room he found, to his delight, a small bottle of water. The water itself tasted terribly of plastic, but he figured that it would do, and so he returned to see to Alyn. Slowly he crossed the room, setting the bottle down on the desk and began groping for the lighter that he always kept with him. He began with lighting a solitary candle, then moved on to the much brighter oil lamp. That done he retreated to a chair and sat down. It was rickety, a spindly old antique, but it seemed that it would hold his weight, at least for a time. He cast another glance at Alyn, only then realizing just how bright the oil lamp really was. With a slight moan of pain he held up his hands to shield his eyes, knowing that it was already too late, and that the damage was already done. Then came the nausea, and all he could do to keep it at bay was to concentrate hard on Alyn’s breathing. At least she was still breathing. He could only hope that she would regain consciousness sometime soon.

[Alyn]

For a fleeting moment she was home again, a young child with her parents, getting floods of presents at Christmas. She looked upon the scene as a third party. She watched as her young self opened the present of her favorite doll. She longed to be back in this moment when everything was happy again. She reached out with a translucent hand to touch her memory but failed. Her figure was only half complete here in this insane dream world; her translucent form cried translucent tears on a complete world. Slowly the world around her darkened, she shuddered as everything around her altered. Now she was back in Joe’s apartment a few Christmases later. She didn’t get as many gifts but she was smiling. She reached out to hold onto Joe’s fading image as again the world around her darkened. She longed not to go more into her past but her mind proceeded on. Now translucent tears streamed wildly from her eyes. She didn’t want it to go; she didn’t want to face what was to come. Light started to shine on the next image to come about. She was locked in a small room with no food or water or even clothes. She was rocking back and forth not crying, no, she was beyond crying now. Now she was angry, she wanted blood. She watched her small scared frame pace around the small room and then bang on the door and scream angered words. She watched herself claw at the door and pound on it until her fists bled. Again the scene faded. Now she was faced with a little blonde boy staring up at his father. The little blonde boy only a year old, it was Conner- her son. She watched as Rev pulled out a gun on the little smiling boy and shot him straight in the head.

At this point she awoke screaming; her eyes wide as she jolted up a sitting position. She screamed out only a name, “Conner” before she started trembling wildly. Her eyes were wide and scared now, she took scrambled unsteady breaths. Her small pale trembling frame went to a standing position beside the bed. She was shaking uncontrollably now looking around until her eyes adjusted and she saw Zane. If she could cry she would have been crying at this point but only her mind wept. Her empty eyes filled with sorrow and fear but no tears fell, she couldn’t make them if she tried. She brought her hand to her mouth looking to the ground she slowly sat back down shaking her head. She uttered soft words.

“No… No…”

[Zane]

((Ok, so I was bad and snuck on! ACK, must go! *scurries off*))

Zane started as he heard Alyn scream a name, the name of Conner. He had recognized her quickened breathing as a sign of her coming to, but he hadn't been expecting something quite so...violent. For a moment he just sat, completely still, watching her, surveying her movements, wondering if he dared approach. She was scared, truly frightened, but of what? A dream, a hideous nightmare, or was it something more real, a memory or a vision perhaps? And who was this Conner, a father, a lover, a child? Would he even dare ask such a question, or was that totally unacceptable? Slowly he stood up, making sure not to startle her even more, though he was sure by now that she had noticed him, and hopefully adjusted just a little to her surroundings as well. Zane picked up the water bottle and started to approach her. Stopping for a moment he shook his head, a pained grimace washing over his features. He turned towards the oil lamp and turned it down considerably, murmuring under his breath.

Too bright...

That done he proceeded towards Alyn, making his way carefully across the dust laden floor. It wasn't terribly dusty, so hopefully it would not irritate her lungs as badly as the Inn had done. This house was fancy, elegant; well to do people must have lived here during its prime. But the house also held an air of animosity, hostility, and mystery about it. What sort of ghastly deeds might have been committed in this place? Zane sat down on the bed beside Alyn, glad that she had sat down again but concerned because now he saw just how worried and sad she really was. For a moment he considered reaching out to her, he even stretched his hand out to do so, but then quickly recoiled, as if burned. She wouldn't want that, no, she most definitely wouldn't. Instead he kept his hands to himself and just watched her for a moment longer, giving her his silent support, for all it was worth. She should know that he had been through hell as well, and that he really could sympathise. But he couldn't say that, and she probably wouldn't care, but maybe he could lend her just a bit of solace anyway? Having someone there, be them friend or foe, was always better than being totally alone. That was a lesson which Zane had learned the hard way, the slow and painful way. When he spoke his tone was soft and gentle, gentler than he could remember himself sounding in ages. He was questioning, but not prodding, never trying to be nosy. If she didn't want to tell him then that was all right, though he would admit that he was curious to know more about her past.

Who's Conner?

[Alyn]

She watched his actions carefully, the dimming of the lights and his advancement towards her. She watched as his hand came towards her and then quickly retracted, she had almost flinched but restrained the urge, settling as his hand went away. Her face and body were sleek with sweat making the light shine off of her lightly. She looked to him unblinkingly now. She wondered what about him made him so empathetic. She stared at him a moment when he asked his question and then looked away as if she didn't want to answer. She thought about crying, even sort of wished she could cry, but again she failed to do so. She was shaking quite wildly now and though he could not see it at the moment a look of great sorrow and fear hid behind half empty eyes. She looked back to him slowly letting her eyes run slowly up him until she met his face. She bit her lip slightly unsure of how to say it, and not even sure she should. Her hand slowly reached up towards his face, two of her small fingers taking hold of his sunglasses and slowly slipping them from his face. She knew one thing, she didn't wan't to tell him her story if she could not even see his eyes. She slowly lowered his glasses setting them down on the bed and stared up into his beautifully unique eyes.

"Conner was my son."

She bit her lip unsure if she should say anymore, or if she whould wait for him to ask for what he wanted to know. She could only allow herself to tell him so much, it was hard for her to open up when everything was locked so deep inside of her. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to calm herself but unable to. She continued to look up at him looking for his reaction she was afraid if she broke eye contact she couldn't predict what was coming, what he would do. She was a quite fearful creature but hid it behind her violent nature. She was taugh to kill first and screw the questions all together. She had to admit though he didn't seem to want to harm her. He didn't seem to want to even raise his voice to her, but she could never be sure, people could turn on you at anytime. She sucessfully steadied her breathing but was unable to control the shaking.

[Zane]

When Alyn removed his sunglasses Zane almost made a move to protest. His eyes watered slightly, and he blinked in rapid succession to clear them. After a while they adjusted to the change in the lighting and he could successfully focus his gaze again. He looked at Alyn, for a moment pondering if he should ask why she had done that. But then it dawned on him, he realized her motivations and understood them perfectly. She wanted to look him in the eye, the precious connection of eye contact, and he supposed that he couldn’t really blame her. Maybe it was disturbing to speak with someone whose eyes you couldn’t see. He couldn’t know, as the tables had never been turned, and he had always been the shrouded one, never the one on the outside trying to look it.

When he heard her speak he raised his eyes to meet her gaze. So this mysterious Conner had been a child then, her child? And she used the word was, so apparently he no longer was among the living. How sad, how terribly sad. And she was a mother, she looked so young, how could that be? But he would not question that, to do so would have been cruel, and cruelty was far from his nature. In truth he did not enjoy company, but if he ever did receive company, then he was both sympathetic and polite. And why was he like that, since sympathy and manners had been almost totally absent from his life? But then again, maybe that was the reason, maybe it was exactly that.

He noticed the intensity of her gaze and wondered for a moment if she was scared of him. He had startled her earlier, but he hoped that she would have no reason to fear him any longer. She was trembling, no shaking, but was that because of him or was that because of the memories? Deep inside he wished to know more about her past, but it felt wrong for him to be the only one asking questions. As if he was interrogating her, and that word brought up a whole batch of terrible pictures in his head. No, he didn’t want to pressure her, as her past was probably painful, maybe even more painful than his own. When he spoke his tone was mild, neither forceful nor overly curious. She would answer if she saw fit.

What happened?

If you don’t want to answer then that’s fine. But I think that we all are jaded, and that we all have our crosses to bear.

[Alyn]

She looked at him and listened. She thought it was fair to tell, she had sort of brought it all up. And she figured that one question led to another. She paused a moment though, she took in a deep breath and held it a moment before letting it escape. She swallowed hard like one would if they were choking back tears, though her eyes were not even watering. When she spoke this time her voice was a lot softer and hard to understand for it was shaking so much. Under the tones of sadness though there was a touch of anger and revenge in her voice.

"He was murdered by Rev. All because of my strong will to disobey him. It's my fault he's dead..."

She bit her lip now knowing she was not telling the full story but it was good enough. She knew many more questions could follow this and she was not sure if she could answer them, but if it was possible and not too personal she would try. She could talk about other people in her life but talking about herself directly, revealing secrets about herself stung deeply. She shuddered slightly feeling very cold thought she knew it wasn't cold out. Her face was very pale, more pale than it had been but her cheeks were bright pink. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wraped her arms around them searching for more warmpth. She felt an awful twinge of pain in her stomach but she was more worried about being warm than being in pain. She shook more now, a mix between just shaking and shivering.

It was almost funny how people often pegged Alyn to be a certian type of person, like a whore or a bitch or maybe just a nice person. they only seemed to focus in on the qualities that they wanted to see in her, but in truth she continuously changed. Not just in emotions and feelings, but mentally, her mind was like a maze with walls continuoulsy changing so one minute you might be looking at a straight run to the cheese and then next you hit smack dab into a wall. It was one way she had learned to protect herself, never tell to much and when one wall said it was too much she would shut down almost or become snappy. It wasn't that she did it on purpous, she just tried to protect herself the only way she knew how.

It was hard to deal with a rough past, it never fully goes away. Something is away there, even if its the smallest reminant on the finest shard of glass, its still there. It is what made you you and you cannot avoid it. It shaped your character and there fore, even if you don't want it, it is you. Nomatter how much therapy or denial you cannot change that. And for those who wished to be with one with a rough past, they too had to deal with it, or well the backlashes of it. They could not pretened it didn't exist, and by no means is this an easy feat. Its is not for the weak, the weak cannot protect the hurting.

[Zane]

((Hey, sorry, but real life stuff has been keeping me busy lately. I will get back to you ASAP.))

[Zane]

Zane watched Alyn closely, wondering if she would continue to share or if she would just lock the door on the vault of her past. Most people wanted to do that; because it was too painful, too personal to ever share. Zane had to agree in fact that it was painful, but that he had still wanted to share on more than one occasion. Because maybe, if you had someone to share the pain with, it wouldn't sting quite so bad? And wouldn't it ease your mind and your conscience to finally let it all out, to force yourself to deal with it and come to terms with it all? But the fact was that Zane had never had any such person. His mother had been his confidant, until all the chaos started. Then he had tried with his father, but by then the man was too far-gone. Then there had been Jeff, many years later, and he had been Zane's very best friend. But even that couldn't help, because in the end Jeff was mortal just like the others, and fate was a cruel bitch, robbing Zane of yet another companion. So yes, he had tried, to talk, to share, and to confide. But after so many failures it all seemed sort of trivial, and anyway, no one even seemed to care. No one asked how he was doing, or why he wore the sunglasses truly out of kindness. No, they simply wanted to hear some juicy gossip and gloat over another person's hardships. As if that would make them better, as if that could give them happiness. Sick people, sick and twisted bastards.

He realized that his mind was wandering and he made a great effort to return to the present. His concentration was upon Alyn once more. He noticed just how badly she was shaking and for a moment felt slightly confused. Was she cold or was it just the repressed sadness that made her tremble? He wasn't sure quite what to do, but cast his gaze around the room helplessly. He saw that at the end of the bed there was a thin quilt, it looked old and worn, but it would do. Zane reached for it and then turned back to Alyn. He offered her the blanket silently, hoping that she would take it and that it would help. Just then did he realize how much he cared for this poor lost girl. She wasn't like any of the others that he had met. They had been either snobbish and bitchy, acting as if nothing was the matter, or wallowing in their own problems until they simply couldn't see the real world anymore and decided to off themselves. Alyn had a right to be melancholic, but she didn't overdo it either, and something about her was surprisingly, frighteningly, mature and world-weary. Zane held her gaze firmly, looking deep into her beautiful blue eyes. The sadness that was present there alarmed him; he would have expected her to start crying long ago. But she didn't, and that was another thing that about her that impressed him. We waited until she finished speaking, until she was done relaying her story of pain. Then he spoke, slowly and softly, trying to sound cheery but failing miserably.

I'm sorry to hear that, and hey, I'm sure it wasn't your fault. This world is just a cruel place...

Zane attempted a smile, but it died even before it met his lips. He tore his gaze away from Alyn for a moment, staring out into the room. Looking at something, and yet at nothing. Because his eyes slowly went unfocused and he simply sat there, staring. It was three days until Her birthday, he suddenly remembered, and it pained him to think of that. Why did he still keep track of those days, why was he so damn stubborn that way? And he realized suddenly that he wanted to get out of here, that he needed to move, he had been still for too long, thinking. He picked up his sunglasses and stood up, not putting them on yet, but just holding them firmly in his grip. He began to pace the room slowly, impatiently, knowing that he needed something. God yes he needed to get out of here, to get some fresh air, he needed a drink.

[Alyn]

She took the blanket graciously and wrapped it around herself but the shivering didn't stop. She tried to give him a thanks but she found her mouth to be too dry for words. She brushed a few stray hairs from in her face and watched as he moved now. The world was cruel, it stung her daily, every time she slipped into the unconcious world of the sleeping and then reawoke she wished she never had. Being in a continual sleeping state was alright, as long as the nightmares didn't come, and even then it was debateable. Live or be torumented by nightmares, they were about evenly matched. She curled up into a little ball on the bed in such a way that she could keep her eyes on him, when he started to pace she slifted herself a bit and spoke.

"What's wrong?"

She continued to watch him proped up with one hand. Her frail body still shaking. Her blue eyes were focused in him as if she was waiting for something, a sign from him. A bit of fear entered her mind again. Maybe he was struggling with some hardship in his life. He struck her for the time but she was so caught up in her own sorrow that he forgot to be empathetic, or at least sympathetic. She cursed herself mentally, how could she be so selfish, how could she have forgotten how she lived- others first. Her stomach lurched sick with herself. She slowly made to rize and finally stood. She walked towards him and stopped in front of him touching his arm softly.

"Would you like to share...?"

She spoke softly in a way so that she left enough room for him to say no without feeling sorry for it. She almost didn't expect him to share, alfter all it was none of her business. She did not remove her hand from his arm though, his pacing had been just a slight bit distracting and unnerved her.

[Zane]

((Aw... isn't Zane cute? Vulnerable and sensitive, and such a gentleman, wish I had a boyfriend like that!))

At the feel of her touching his arm Zane jerked, very nearly jumping out of his skin. He had been somewhere far away in his own mind, and the touch had come as a total shock to him. He wasn't used to people touching him, at least not in a kind and compassionate why like Alyn was doing. For a moment he looked at her, his eyes reflecting raw alarm before he finally managed to regain his composure. His gaze fell to the floor, not in shame, but more in thought. He swallowed, collecting himself, and then turned back to look at Alyn. A small smile touched his lips, but it was a sad smile tinged with bitterness. He wasn't quite sure how to answer the first person, no the second, who ever asked him how he was doing. Should he act undisturbed, lie in other words, or did she deserve, truly want to hear, the truth? Zane realized that he had known Alyn barely more than a day or so, and yet it felt like so much longer. Maybe she could be a confidant, and maybe she really did care. All he knew was that he hoped so, because he cared for her, and about her problems, and to have that be mutual, well it would be wonderful. He heaved a small sigh and took to words, realizing that his tone had a hard undertone that he hadn't intended to use. But it was the tone that he always used when he spoke about his past, especially when he spoke about her.

It's just that there's a sort of...anniversary coming up... My late mother's Birthday...

He found that his gaze again seemed to be dropping, but not towards the floor this time, but towards his hand, or rather what he held in his hand. His sunglasses, that retched old pair of sunglasses! Zane's eyes narrowed slightly, a hateful look present in his there now. The muscles of his hand tensed, and he squeezed down hard on the filthy things. If it hadn't been for her, then he would never have had to wear these. None of it would have happened. She had unleashed the chaos, started the ball rolling. And while he knew it was childish of him to lay blame upon a ghost, he couldn't help but feel that it was all her fault. The sharp edge of the sunglass hinge began to pinch his skin, drawing blood, and he loosened his grip with a slight wince. He looked back at Alyn, realizing that her hand was still touching his arm. It felt awkward for a second, he felt strangely frozen in time. Then he shifted his arm, breaking their light contact. He quickly reached for her hand instead, and grasped it gently. He squeezed her hand lightly, revelling at the feeling of human contact, then quickly released it, thinking that he would frighten her. Her skin had been so smooth, and cool, but still warm with life. And a smile spread across his features, a real smile for once, one that truly was happy. She cared, she really did care.

[Alyn]

((yes yes, a boy like him would be nice.))

'Late mother' so she was dead. He'd lost his mother too. It wasn't fair, nothing was fair in life anymore. She looked with sympathetic eyes up at him. She took in a slow deep breath watching his eyes fall this time as he gripped his sunglasses tightly. She sensed his anger, she was very perceptive to emotions. She tired to swallow the fear that arose from within her with his anger. When he took her hand she looked up to him again, she flinched slightly but when he did not hurt her, only squeezed her hand lightly, she calmed slightly. His touch was sort of soothing to her, she let out a deep breath slowly. Her deep blue eyes focused on her even when he let her hand go. She smiled when he smiled, the smile trying to show in her eyes, it really tried, and a little sparkle shown through the winter of her eyes when she smiled. Dimples appeared on her cheeks. She looked to the hand that he caused to bleed, the one that held the sunglasses and she took it in her small pale hands. she turned it so that it was palm up and she pulled lightly at his fingers to open his hand before removing the sunglasses from his hand. She set them down on a small desk near by and then returned to standing right in front of him.

She wasn't sure what to say to him. Her eyes searched his face slightly as if it would tell her wat to say. Her eyes then gazed straight into his eyes, his unique and beautiful eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out slow. What was she suppose to do or say? Tell him everything is alright, well it wasn't nothing was every acutall alright. The world wasn't alright. She reached her hand up to his cheek now and touched it lightly. Maybe that would be enough said. Her small frame was closer to him now that it had been. SHe wished nothing more than to take him into her warm embrace and say that everything is wonderful now.

[Zane]

Zane felt happiness surge through him when she didn't try to push away from the contact. She had seemed surprised at first, maybe even a little scared, but that fear seemed to be settling now. He noticed with slight surprise that his hand was stinging, and that she seemed to have noticed the injury as well. As she plucked the sunglasses from his fingers he almost protested. In fact he even opened his mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come. He found that he was actually glad to be rid of those wretched things for a little while. By morning he would need them, once the sun chose to shine again. But for now he was all right, and he would revel in his freedom while it lasted.

The smile that Zane saw on Alyn's features surprised him. This was a different kind of expression then he had seen from her earlier. This one almost seemed to reveal true happiness; it wasn't that fake, dead smile that she had used earlier. And wasn't it so that some of the frostiness in her gaze seemed to be thawing? She took his hand in hers, and he blinked a few times in reaction. Her hands were so small, and her touch so light, as if it almost wasn't there at all. He gave her another smile, this time lopsided, as he watched her curiously. What was she doing, what exactly was she thinking? He couldn't even hope to know, but it would have been nice. To be so in tune with a person, that would have been so bizarre, and yet wonderful.

What happened next was something that Zane certainly hadn't been expecting. When she laid her hand upon his cheek he shuddered slightly. That touch was strange, almost intimate, and he closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if it was really real. But when he opened his eyes his gaze was still met by Alyn's intense blue eyes, and he knew that yes, it was real. The moment, no matter how strange it might feel, was really happening. He stood still for an instant, noticing for the first time just how close she was standing. He shifted slightly, drawing nearer to her still, and began to reach his arms around her waist, into a gentle embrace. It was nothing more than a hug, and he moved slowly, giving her time to retreat if she needed to. He was careful not to brush up against her stomach, because he was sure that the bruises must still hurt terribly. She hadn't coughed lately, and he was hoping that it was a good sign. Leaning down he spoke softly, whispering into her ear.

How are you feeling? Is it better now?

[Alyn]

She did not move as he started to wrap his arms around her, glad that he was taking it very slow. She allowed him to hug her only wincing once as she tried to swallow the fear that came with making contact with those of the opposite sex. There was something sort of calming about the embrace. She slowly wraped her own arms around him hugging him lightly too. Her deep blue eyes closed slightly but opened again when he whispered in her ear. She gave a slight nod, she was feeling a bit better and she wasn't coughing anymore. But her stomach had swelled and her tight top pressed against it causing it to hurt. She took little notice of it though. She spoke softly to him.

"Yeah."

The blanket slid from one of her shoulders but she didn't seem to care, he was warm as long as she was in his embrace she was warm.

((um my muse when out the door along with several other things... please excuse the crappyness of this post.))

[Zane]

Zane truly enjoyed the embrace, more than he thought he would ever enjoy human contact. He took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes for a second or two. He could feel that Alyn was still cold, but that she was slowly beginning to warm, and her shaking had all but stopped. Zane stood there just a moment longer, glad to hear that she was feeling better. It also seemed that she wasn't scared of him anymore, because she never would have allowed him to get this close to her if she still had been. Finally he took a step back, breaking the contact most abruptly. He made sure though to give her a small smile, showing that he meant no harm and that he was not abandoning her. Taking a few steps to the right he reached for the water bottle which he had set down upon the desk earlier. He picked it up, and then sat down on that same old rickety chair. He kept wondering just how long it would hold up before he went crashing down to floor.

The water was lukewarm and tasted of dust and plastic. A small grimace of disgust appeared on Zane's features, but he swallowed nonetheless. It was better than nothing, and certainly better than becoming sick and dehydrated. He took one more small sip, then held out the bottle to Alyn, offering her some.

I found some water. It tastes terrible, but it's clean. Do you want some?

He continued to hold the bottle out, wondering absently if she would accept the offer or not. Stifling a yawn Zane realized for the first time just how tired he really was. He came to wonder what time it might be, and looked towards the window to check. However, the sight that met him told him next to nothing, except that it was of course night. A quick glance at the watch on his wrist proved even more futile. The damn thing had stopped at 12:15, he had no clue if that was AM or PM, or how long ago it had stopped even. And so the watch, no matter how elegant it may have been, was utterly useless. The absurdity of the situation made him feel momentarily helpless. He heaved a small sigh, and then returned his gaze to Alyn. His expression was tired and a faint hint of bitterness could be seen in his eyes.

[Alyn]

She allowed him to break contact giving her own small smile in return to his. She then wrapped the blanket around her a bit tighter trying to keep warm. She sat back down on the bed pulling her legs up on it and sitting cross-legged. She fixed the blanket around her so that it would keep whatever body heat she had in. She was sure her tempurature had dropped since she had awoken, as it often did after horrible nightmares. She'd get a feaver followed by a sudden drop in body tempurature to a sometimes dangerously low degree. She sat still now, looking to him. When he offered water she shook her head and spoke softly.

"No thanks."

She let her eyes drift to the window, how long had she been out of it? A good while she supposed. It had been mid after noon when the bar collapsed, yes she remembered it, and now it was well past sunset. She let her eyed drift and look upon Zane a moment. She studied his features silently for a moment before speaking again softly.

"You look tired, you should probably sleep a little."

She pat the bed lightly before standing up.

"I'll stay awake and you can sleep."

She offered him an unsure smile. She didn't need any more sleep, it would only cause her more nightmares, she never found an escape from them, they always seemed to coner her in the most lonely and darkest part of her mind. She was always trapped, always weak, always alone. She swayed slightly standing but spreading her feet slightly helped with that problem. She steadied herself and stood looking to him.