Chapter Nine

Nights were strange things here on Lumria. Jim thought he'd never get used to them. It didn't help that his sleeping pattern was already nonexistent, but now it was just going haywire; his brain didn't know when to sleep and when to wake anymore. He would be hit by bought of drowsiness in the dim lighting of what was considered day, and then he would wake up only a few hours into the night, doomed to roam through the inn restlessly until the intense darkness was lifted. There was no way any of Jim's crew could venture out in the dark; it was so thick, it could have choked a man.

Jim did notice something a little unusual, though. Despite the darkness, voices could be heard outside his window, even in the dead of darkness. People were conversing out on the streets, and it didn't matter that he couldn't understand them, all he knew was that somehow, they weren't getting caught up in the darkness.

Doppler usually knew things like this, but the Doctor was spending more and more time lately supervising the reconstruction of the Silver, seeing as Jim didn't trust himself not to break into a fight with that infuriating girl. What was her name again? Acorn? It was something stupid, he was sure. Everything about her was absolutely stupid. There weren't a lot of locals who visited the inn that could speak English fluently enough for Jim to ask how they could see in the dark, like they obviously were, so until he could catch Dopper and ask him, he would just have to go on wondering.

And whether it was lucky or unlucky, Jim wouldn't have to wonder for long. It just so happened that one of the days he actually did go see the Silver (a certain someone was miraculously absent) he was stuck walking back to the inn just as it was getting dark, and when it got dark on Lumria, it got dark FAST. Before he was even down the hill, he could barly see his hands in front of his own face.

"Fantastic," he mumbled to himself, taking what he thought was the right turn, and then the next…and another…and then a straightaway, but after he was forced to turn right, which he didn't quite remember, and then the ground seemed to be covered in undergrowth, and the road was gone, and before he knew it, he was lost. Smashing into two trees and tripping multiple times, by the time he decided to stop, he was too far away from the town to hear anything. Jim was lost, and in darkness like this, it was doubtful he would find his way back unaided.

That didn't mean he wouldn't try. Attempting to track the stars overhead to locate North, he started in what he thought was the right direction, but as the trees around him grew denser, the patches of sky above him shrunk, until he couldn't see the stars for the leaves.

"Damn it!" he swore, shoving what seemed to be a tall hedge out of the way. "Damn! Where in the hell…? Jeez!" His good arm was being cut up by the sharp twigs he attempted to brush past, and while his ribs were no longer keeping him from breathing correctly, they were still sore as hell, and after a few more minutes of semi-panicked frustration, he decided the effort was futile. He was only getting himself more lost. "I'll just have to wait till it gets light again. Damn!" As he slapped his palm against her face and sighed, he thought he heard slight movement from the direction he had just come from.

Becoming still instantly, Jim tried to listen for any other sounds, but it was eerily silent now. Nothing moved. Nothing made sound. Even the wind was silent, and just as he was about to turn around and try to squint into the darkness, a voice made him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Typical; Captain is lost like a pig without its mother, and I am the one tasked with your rescue." Rustling just to his right alerted him just in time to the girl's presence, and as she stepped out from hiding, he stumbled backwards, tripping over something, and falling to the ground painfully.

"Holy-!" he shouted as he fell, startled by Akmra, who looked on with a bemused expression. True, Jim had been spooked by her near silent approach and sudden appearance, but that wasn't entirely the cause for his curt alarm. No, what had really got him was her eyes. No longer their usual gray, they glowed a pale purple, almost lavender, and illuminated her face, casting her shoulders and everything below her neck in deep, fractured shadows. "What…what…!?"

"I'm guessing you have not been caught in night before like this. You seem surprised, I wonder why?" She smirked. "Could it be my clothing? My hair?"

"Your eyes!" he said, finally getting to his feet, staring openly at her face. "What-?"

"We live on a dark planet," she started, folding her arms. "Even the day is dark. You do not honestly think we let the night keep us from performing our necessary duties? Just because your species has not developed luminescent properties does not mean that no species has." Looking around for a moment, Akmra got a feel for exactly where they were. She had to hand it to the Captain; he did have a way with getting himself lost. They were nearly two miles from town! "We are quite a ways away. If we are to return soon, we had better get moving." Turning quickly, she hopped back through the dense forest and started off. Jim, still a bit shocked, was slow to follow.

"Wait!" he called, shoving his way after her, somewhat angrily. "Wait! Jeez! Hey!" He was about to reach out and grab her shoulder again, but at the very last moment, he remembered what Doppler had told him about the Lumrians and physical contact, and drew his hand back. He didn't want her to leave him behind to dig himself deeper into the forest. The action did not go unnoticed.

"Smart choice, Imperial clod," she said smirking back at him. Jim's fists clenched at this, but he said nothing about the comment. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and proceeded to voice his query.

"You're not Human, are you?" he said, slowly, as if thinking over the words as they left his mouth. He saw her face turn slightly, just enough for her to look at him through her peripheral vision. Her answer took more time than he thought was necessary.

"No." she said simply. "I can see why you might have assumed that we were of the same species. Our appearances are very much similar. It is typical of Imperials to find their own similarities in of others." There was silence for a moment. "It is suspected that we share ancestors. You and I have come from the same root, yet we grow on different branches, and bare different fruit. Actually, I would say your branch only bares flowers; pretty on the outside, but very useless over all." He could practically hear the giggle in her voice. She was enjoying this; she knew he would not dare insult her back, seeing as she was the only one who was willing to lead him back. And then…there was that…

"Why are you even helping me, if you hate me so much?" he asked, loathing seeping through his voice. "If you despise me so much, why not let me wander and get lost? You'd never have to see my face again."

"My Father told me to fetch you; do not disillusion yourself. If it were only I, believe that I would have let you wander."

"Your Father, huh? You and the old man don't seem to get along very well. Why listen? I mean, if it were me, I wouldn't help you." He knew that hit home; she spun around to face him, eyes glowing even brighter as they glared at him.

"Some beings feel loyal to those whom they have no blood ties, while some feel loyal to those that gave them life! I have chosen which I am!" Another insult was just begging to drip from her barb covered tongue, but she held it in. For the sake of silence, she turned round then and continued walking, swallowing her anger. Jim, for all his hot-headedness, knew when to quit. He knew that if he said anything else at this point, this girl would u and leave him stranded.

They walked in relative silence from then on, save for a few 'hurry up's and 'ouch's. When Jim finally felt the road beneath his boots, it was no time at all that he was standing at the porch of the inn, illuminated in pale yellow, flickering light. He could still see the girl's eyes, glaring at him.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure why Akmra was still standing there, until finally, she rolled her eyes and stepped closer.

"'Thank you' are the words Imperials say when helped," she said, looking at him like he was the dumbest man she'd ever encountered. "So perhaps, you should say them to me."

"Why should I?" he snapped, finally able to speak freely, without the fear of abandonment. "You insulted me the entire way; in fact, you haven't said one civil thing o me since we got here! I owe you nothing."

"You stupid creature!" Akmra shrieked, scowling and balling up her fists. "Our branches are nowhere near one another! I am ashamed to call you flower of my tree!" she said, referring to her earlier analogy. Jim only smirked.

"Flower? So you admit I'm better looking?" he said maliciously, and instantly Akmra flushed red, both from embarrassment and fury.

"Useless and bitter and deceitful, more like!" she shouted, before turning her back and stalking off, mumbling what Jim could only assume were insults in her own language. His false smile falling into a grimace, he made a face in her direction, before entering the inn and slamming the door behind him.