Reyna lay on her back on the bed Cassidy had dubbed 'hers', staring at the ceiling. For the first time in a long time she was bored without being simultaneously terrified, apprehensive, or sulky. It wasn't really any better.

Cassidy had assumed, much to Reyna's annoyance, that she would have nightmares about the plane crash. Twice she had caught Cassidy peering into her room around midnight to check on her. Truth be told, Reyna didn't really dwell on the plane crash at all, consciously or unconsciously; once she had woken up with the distinct impression she was falling, but that seemed to be the sum total of the ordeal's effect on her. She supposed that after being taken captive by pirates, watching her father deteriorate into a vengeful ghost and having to flee her home country, a plane crash was pretty much par for the course.

Cassidy, however, didn't know this. And Reyna had no intention of telling her.

The reporter hadn't been a bad host, and was in fact a rather enthusiastic one. The daughters of Bellona's 24 hour stay had become 72 hours, and the clock was still ticking away. Reyna didn't mind this. For once in her life she was in a place where the people appreciated her presence. But Cassidy lived alone, and there was nothing in her house to do aside from jigsaw puzzles. Reyna wasn't very good at jigsaw puzzles, and Hylla never had the patience.

Cassidy's bubbly personality was like a balm after being subjected to the ruff mannerisms of the pirates. In general she and Reyna got along just fine, until the reporter started doting over the younger girl and Reyna pushed her off. Hylla was another story entirely. She could not have been more prickly towards Cassidy White, and while Reyna didn't exactly appreciate Cassidy's repeated, subtle requests for information about the plane crash, Hylla called her out and fed her misinformation. Their tolerance of one another nevertheless surprised Reyna greatly, mostly because of Cassidy's temerity and Hylla's capacity to grind against it.

Reyna also marveled at Cassidy's trust. The majority of the time they were awake Cassidy was working, and Reyna and Hylla were left unsupervised at her home.

The time they spent loitering in the small town outside of Denver, Colorado was not misspent, however. Reyna took the time to figure out a bit more about her two new pets, Aurum and Argentum. They never appeared in front of anyone else, which she supposed was a good thing. There was no telling how Cassidy would react to dogs made of solid metal appearing in her kitchen. Because they did just appear. Most of the time, when they weren't by Reyna's side, they were simply gone. Then Reyna would do her best whistle and they would come running up behind her, frolicking and looking as little machine-of-death-like as they could with burning ruby eyes and teeth that spun like drill heads. They were completely mechanical, but for robots they had pretty complex programming. They had preferences, for example. They much preferred Reyna to Hylla, a point which neither girl raised but was clearly understood. The dogs were Reyna's, and Reyna's alone. They spent time lying down with their eyes dimmed like they were sleeping, but neither ate nor drank. Nor did they seem to require time to charge. Maybe, Reyna thought, that's what they did when they weren't with her.

"They're magic," Hylla had told her when they sat in Cassidy's living room, waiting for her to come home.

"They're mechanical," Reyna had corrected.

"Yes, but there's some magic there too. I can feel it."

Reyna hadn't argued the point. She was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that arguing things with Hylla was fruitless. Hylla was in eternal possession of the trump card: I'm older.

Reyna was also given time to mull over her dream. The voice in her dream had said to go west to Rome. Reyna had heard all about Rome from her father, and knew that the voice hadn't been speaking about the Rome of ages in Italy. It was the new Rome, that had settled somewhere in the west. Reyna knew in her heart that she had to get to the new empire. But Hylla was set on heading to Washington State, and while that was indeed in the west, Reyna felt that it wasn't the 'west' the voice had been referring to.

"Why Washington?" Reyna asked again. She heard Hylla pause what she was doing across the room. "Why Seattle?"

"There are people there who will take us in," Hylla told her. "All we have to do is get there. Then they'll find us."

"How can you be sure?"

"I was told so."

"By who?"

"Whom."

"Same difference."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Hylla reminded her younger sister.

Reyna snorted, thinking of her wild dreams and even wilder experiences. "Try me."

Hylla didn't try her, much to Reyna's annoyance. A few minutes passed before Hylla stood up quickly.

"We have to leave," she said, and strode out Reyna's bedroom door.

Reyna was up and after her in an instant, jockeying for space to maneuver around Hylla in the small hallway. "What, now?"

"Now," Hylla agreed. She stopped in Cassidy's kitchen and yanked open the fridge, pulling out non-perishables and looking around for something to put them in.

"How are we going to get anywhere? Bus?" Cassidy took public transport into Denver every morning.

"No, that won't take us far enough." Hylla acquired her target and slammed the fridge shut. "Get the money. Let's go."

"What'll we tell Cass?"

Hylla blinked at her. "Cass?"

"Cassidy."

"Don't tell her anything."

Reyna finally managed to get around Hylla and stop her, placing herself between her sister and the front door. "You mean run off? After she was so nice to us?"

"Nice?" Hylla scowled and yanked on the door handle. Reyna leaned backward and the door shut again. "She's practically holding us hostage! All she wants from us is information about the crash! She said we could stay for one night and it's been days!"

"Holding us hostage?" Reyna let out a bitter laugh. "That's rich, coming from the person who worshipped Circe."

Hylla shoved Reyna away and hurried out the front door. Reyna followed. She wondered in the back of her mind if she could simply stop trailing after Hylla. "That's stealing!"

"Compensation," Hylla argued. She dumped the bag by Cassidy's car, a red Toyota with the front right bumper smashed in. Pulling a key out of her pocket, she unlocked the car and threw the bag in the back. "Get in."

"Now that's definitely stealing," Reyna said, holding the bag of money and refusing to move. "Or is that compensation too?"

"I said get in."

"I heard you. Can you hear me?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm damn tired of hearing you say that," Reyna snapped.

Hylla stared at he for a moment before climbing back out of the driver's seat. "Listen to me. Cass is not who you want her to be. She isn't sweet, she isn't nice, and she isn't hosting us out of the goodness of her heart because people don't do that. She's been trying to bleed us of information the entire time we've been here. Haven't you noticed? You even gave her some. She saw us as two easy targets and went for us. And you completely fell for it. That is pathetic. After all we've been through anyone would think you had a little more sense. Frankly, Cassidy's just been disrespectful. She thinks we're easy pickings? Let's show her we aren't. She thinks we're dependent on her? Let's prove her wrong. Now get in the car."

"I'm not stealing her car."

Hylla stared at Reyna stonily for a minute. Each could see the gears turning in the other's mind. "We'll leave it with authorities in Seattle. They can return it to her. Worst comes to worst, Cassidy's without a car for a few days. It isn't like she uses it. So it's not stealing, it's borrowing. Besides, the longer we stay here the more time monsters have to find us, then we'll be dead, and Cassidy with us. So we're doing everyone a favor. Now get. In."