Long was the Battle,

Longer was the Night

2 ~ Deryn

Deryn quickly checked the area for anyone close enough to spy on her, then raised the field glasses. She found Alek in seconds, translating for Hoffman, who was working with Mr. Hirst on attaching the engines. It seemed to be going pretty well, to someone who knew little to nothing about mechanics. Except...wait. Was the engine supposed to tilt at that angle? Apparently not, she realized. Hoffman appeared ready to tear his hair out with frustration.

She giggled softly. This was much more entertaining than being on duty.

That thought made her lower the field glasses. Had she, Deryn Sharp, really just giggled? She was a soldier! Soldiers don't giggle! Granted, soldiers also don't spy on boys they just met two days ago, but she chose to think about that right now.

Deryn shook her head. Of course she would start thinking more like a girl when she disguised herself as a boy. It was one of those horribly ironic things that happen at the least convenient time.

She turned away, looking instead up at Mr. Rigby, who was currently in a Huxley watching for signs of an assault. It didn't take a genius to figure out that one would come eventually. Several days had passed since they had crashed, and even though the airbeast looked healthy again, they still weren't in the best position to fight. They weren't even in the best position to flee, without a way to control where the ship was going.

A yellow flash in Deryn's peripheral vision caught her attention, and she raised the field glasses in the Huxley's direction. Mr. Rigby was frantically flashing the semaphore flags. After two tries, Deryn finally figured it out. An eight-legged walker was coming from ten miles away.

Deryn frowned. Why would a walker need eight legs? The biggest walkers had only six. Well, she thought, this one must be really big.

She sighed and blew a whistle to sound an alert. This was going to be a close one.

~~~()~~~

Deryn took a deep breath as she closed the door of the machine room. It had been a stressful night, and she was ready to sleep. A lot. And if anyone dared interrupt her sleep, they would suffer dearly.

As she was walking to her room and thinking these things, she bumped into Robert, who looked less than happy that moment.

"Watch it," he snapped, narrowing his eyes.

"Nice to see you, too," she said, and rolled her eyes. "Are you ever in a good mood?"

Robert shook his head. "I don't think so, no."

"Well, that explains a lot," she muttered.

"You're one to talk. I never see you acting cheery."

"Well, right now, I need sleep." Deryn paused. Now that she thought about it, there was something about Robert that put her off. Maybe his bad mood just spread through the air and permeated into her head. And it seemed to be just her, because Newkirk could be around him for hours and not be in a bad mood afterward.

Not, of course, that anyone would want to spend hours with Robert, but the Leviathan only had so much space.

"Don't we all?" Robert sighed. "Not getting sleep is the only thing I don't like about being in the Service."

Deryn raised an eyebrow. "I thought there were many things you didn't like about being in the Service."

"Yes, but lack of sleep is the worst," he clarified, and it occurred to Deryn for the first time that Robert was actually being pleasant.

She nodded. "Aye, definitely. We don't have any time to unwind."

Robert stiffened a squick, and something shifted in his eyes. She wondered what she had said, then mentally face-palmed herself. It had been unwind, of course. Robert was American, and pretty much every American younger than eighteen lived in constant fear of being unwound. Things were different in Scotland, where unwinding wasn't as common. Deryn was pretty certain that her mother would never sign the order, no matter how angry she was at her. But from what she heard, American parents unwound their children left and right.

She was about to apologize, but Robert mumbled something under his breath and hurried away. Deryn sighed and continued walking to her and Newkirk's shared room. She was there in minutes, and hurriedly unlaced her boots and crawled beneath the sheets. She closed her eyes, but sleep didn't come, so she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

Deryn lay silently and mulled over the last few days. The captain might think that letting the Clankers aboard was madness, and it was, but this was the second time they'd saved the Leviathan. Was there no such thing as amnesty? Thinking of their new passengers brought her thoughts to Alek, and the conversation they'd had earlier.

It had been too easy to get to know him, she reckoned. If she were in his position, she wouldn't tell anyone her secrets. But then again, Alek had probably had a relatively easy life, for a boy who had been rejected by his family. His parents' murders was the first tragedy he'd had to deal with directly, and it was clearly taking a toll on him.

Deryn swore softly and shook her head. She couldn't let herself have these thoughts. Not only was it completely mad, it was unsoldierly. And Deryn was a soldier first, a girl second.

~~~()~~~

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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