Caveship

20 || Battle of Igeon

"Hey. Are you going to sleep all day?" Settled into a bed a bit too small for him, a gentle push awakens Nicholas from his slumber. He stretches, opens his eyes, and notices Sarah standing above him. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Good enough. Last thing I remember was drinking some of that weird purple stuff Tirin gave us. I'm guessing it was alcohol."

"Yeah, you were pretty drunk," Sarah lets out a smirk. "But you fell asleep pretty easily."

"I guess I can't complain. At least it was somewhere soft." Nicholas jokes, slowly pushing himself up to a sit. "What about you?"

"I've been having weird dreams lately. Been staying up most of the night. So not that great, honestly, but I'll be fine. I'll just catch up when we're back on the ship," Sarah replies. "So, I was thinking, I want to go out and see what else this place has to offer. Figured we could go for a walk? Heard from one of the Lokken here that there aren't any predators on this planet that would cause us any issue, so it should be safe."

Still hazy with sleep, Nicholas lets out a loud yawn before he pushes himself up to stand so he can get a better stretch. A few bones and joints crack as they move back to normal placements. "Sure."

The two make their way out of the room they'd been given to rest and quickly walk through the nearest exit, past the landing pads for Lokken ships, and out into the grassy plains. Once clear of the noisy work and engines from the outpost, they slow a bit, getting near the base of a small cliff. "Interesting how this planet looks a lot like Earth. I'd sort of come to grips with the idea that we'd probably never see a planet like ours again, so to see one so soon," says Sarah. "I don't know. It just makes me appreciate what we have back home, you know?"

"Sounds like you're homesick." Nicholas glances over at Sarah as they walk. "I gotta say, considering how badly you wanted to stay out here, I'm surprised to hear you say that."

"Oh, I haven't changed my mind. I still want to stay. It's just that Earth will always be... familiar, and not because of family, or school. I already have you guys here, so it's not like I'm missing my friends. I just miss the morning sunlight. The summer breeze. You know, just the little things that made life on Earth normal," Sarah responds, fidgeting lightly with her fingers. She's only distracted by a large insect that flits past them, a brilliant red color that reflects the sunlight and leaves a distracting red glow on the ground. "I was hoping that one day I would go back and see how things had changed, you know? See my brother again. It wasn't that I never wanted to return. I just— I think I can make something of myself here. I mean, if someone like Raven can do it, why can't I?"

"That's fair enough. Although, I don't see you becoming a badass mercenary raiding ships any time soon, but yeah, I get it. Who wouldn't want to stay out here? We've been exposed to something amazing. Why would anyone want to go back to their old life after this? I guess I can understand where you're coming from," Nicholas says, nodding. "I just wish we didn't have to part ways. You're pretty cool."

Sarah smiles, her cheeks reddening. Several more of the flying insects, in a myriad of colors, flit by in pursuit of the red one that had passed them several seconds ago, leaving a rainbow of colors in the air and on the ground. Nicholas simply keeps his attention on them, distracted.

Sarah watches the insects fly by before she nods in agreement, reaching out to take hold of Nicholas's hand. "You ever wonder what would've happened if we had never found these?" Sarah lifts both of their hands up showing off their omnitools. "I mean, if you think about it, we've been pretty lucky so far. If it wasn't for these, we'd probably be dead."

There's a flash of surprise on Nicholas's face before he turns his attention to the omnitools. There are a few moments of silence, with the only sound being the nearby insects buzzing before he smirks. "Yeah. It's amazing we're still alive after everything that's happened to us."