DREAMCATCHER || QIMIR

XIV: Alderaan

Eli.

I heard a warm voice faintly call my name. It sounded so familiar, but I couldn't quite point it out.

Eli.

The voice grew closer, and my eyes scrambled in the darkness as I tried to find where it was coming from.

"Eli, wake up."

My body was slightly shaken, and my eyes finally pried open. I squinted as light flooded my eyes, and my blurred vision slowly re-stabilized and focused on Qimir that was hovering over me. He was trying to keep a stoic look on his face, but I still saw the hint of amusement in his eyes.

How long has he been trying to wake me up?

I stared back at him in confusion as I tried to process if I was dreaming. I tried to move, but a pain suddenly shot across my shoulders and back, assuring me that I was, indeed, awake.

Qimir made way to let me slowly sit up, and I groaned how every inch of my body ached with every movement. My face twisted in discomfort as I tried to move all of my joints one at a time, just to make sure that nothing was out of place.

I tried to remember what I even dreamt of last night, and found it odd that I couldn't. It was probably the first time that I had a dreamless night. Thinking about it, it was probably because my body was just so exhausted that it preferred to sleep like a dead log.

Qimir placed some folded clothes on my side and I was quick to recognize those as my black turtleneck and black coat. I looked at him in confusion, and only then did I realize that he was all dressed up.

But not in a good way.

He was dressed raggedly, just like how he did back at Olega when I first saw him. It was kind of odd seeing him in that outfit again, since for the past few days he was rather neat and tidy looking. Was there a reason for him to have to be dressed like this?

I raised my brows at him.

"Going somewhere?" I asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"We're going somewhere." He corrected. "Get dressed. We're leaving in ten minutes."

****

"I didn't even know there was a path here." I said over the waves, pertaining to the rocky pathway that cut across the ocean, starting from the shore and straight to a small rocky island.

"The tide goes low every three days. It's the only time this path appears."

I nodded in understanding as I looked around, only then realizing that indeed, the tide had significantly dropped for about a good six feet. And as we got closer and closer to the island, I started to glimpse a starship that was well hidden behind some tall rocks. It was probably why I never noticed it despite having already spent days here.

"How did you even get a ship like this?" I asked in awe as I realized that it was bigger than I initially thought. I touched the cool metal of one wing as I studied the structure of the ship in general. Well, it could still be considered as a small starship, but the fact that it had two cockpits separated by what I assumed was the power core made the design more broad and bulky.

It would be hard to steal something like this without being noticed, I wondered.

"I didn't steal it," Qimir immediately said as if he had read my mind. He smiled smugly as he climbed up onto the cockpit on one side. "I got it from a barter, fair and square."