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The one thing Gabriel noticed about Sweven, was that no matter what time it was, it was always nighttime. During the "day" the galaxies in the sky would form into color and the planets would shift — that's how he knew time was moving — but in the Grove, everything was dark and lit by candles.
Star's bedroom was far in the back of her house. It had a bed and door that led out to a balcony with no guard rail, looking over the other tree homes in the Grove. For a moment he felt envious, that she'd been stuck somewhere so beautiful. But then he quickly remembered how upset he was that she'd experienced it without him.
Along her bedside table there were trinkets, a small music box and a toy boat with the words SAIL ANDROMEDA painted along the bow. "I don't remember this," Gabriel was referring to a photo of the two of them, where Star was covering her face with her hands and Gabriel had his mouth hung open in laughter.
She chuckled, leaning up against her door frame, "That was the day we went to the beach."
He couldn't remember, "When did we go to the beach?"
Her smile faded, "In a dream."
Gabriel felt shivers travel down his body, sitting at the foot of her bed, "You go in my dreams a lot?"
She shook her head, "Not lately, we've been busy."
"We?"
"Me, Gerald and Tessa," she clarified. "Have you met her?"
"I haven't had the pleasure," he mentioned, trying to fill the air with small talk. "How's Carolina doing?"
"She's stable," she replied. "It's more difficult for her since she's in a clan."
"I'd imagine," he met her gaze. "I read a lot about the game — how when you clan up, you each exchange abilities — " "It's a personal choice," she interjected.
He inhaled, "Star — "
"We should get you to HALT," she went over to her dresser, rummaging through the top two drawers. Gabriel could only see her face through the mirror. He stood up, walking over to her, pressing his body up against her back. Her chest was heaving up and down as he trailed his fingers along her arm, with his breath against her neck. "Okay."
He stepped back as she turned around, holding a portal gun in her hand. "What did I do?"
"Nothing," she cleared his throat. " I just ... we don't have time for that."
He placed his hands in his pockets, "Okay."
"Right," she drew out. "So normally this could fuck up a lot of shit but we need to get you to HALT, Gerald's quickening your ascension with cheat codes Tessa's assistant got access to, but HALT is the one thing you can't cheat."
"Why do I need to do that?"
Her shoulders relaxed, "We need as many people who can find the diadem as possible."
