Saphira followed Tobias through the hallways of the ship, excited to be able to go for a walk outside. She did not know if there were any animals that she should be worried about as from what she has seen, it has been pretty barren of life aside from the wraith for the moment. When they reached the door that led outside, Saphira winced a little as the sun shone in her eyes, but with a bit of blinking she was able to look around and see everything just fine. She breathed deeply, the fresh air filling her lungs and making her feel very good about her day.

"This is much better than working on the pod and any other ideas. Thank you Tobias," Saphira said, stretching her arms up and placing them on her head. "I am curious to know if there is a nice play to see or sit down in, like a nice meadow."

The wraith was pleased she was happier now they were outside. There were a few masked guards standing outside, but they would not follow them since Tobias would be watching Saphira. "I hate to disappoint you if I said yes, but as far as I know there is not anything here that I would consider beautiful."

She was surprised and walked ahead a little, swaying along thoughtfully while thinking of a song in her head. "I think we could go and find one."

"We could try. But we should still be careful." She looked at him in surprise. The wraith was confused at first, but realized she has not yet met an iratus bug. "You will know it when you see it. There is another creature here that the wraith are related to, but I do not think you will be immune to it. It is not as kind as we are."

Saphira wondered what he was talking about. "Perhaps you should tell me before I run into one. If the creature is as bad as what you say, I think I should know. Unless…this is your plan to get rid of me…"

Tobias looked at her in shock as her thought process. He did not realize it would come across like that. "I promise that is not the plan. I would die for you before I see you hurt by anything else." She stared at him in shock. What he said cannot be undone now, he frowned and turned around to lead her to walk through the forest. "Follow me, and stay close so you can stretch your legs Saphira."

Saphira watched him start walking and she followed him, but she was not focused at the moment. She felt like she was going through a daze right now. He just admitted he would die for her! She could not help but feel worried about that statement, she did not want any of the wraith to die because of her. She moved her hands together to rub her fingers nervously, wondering what would happen if the people of the galaxy discover her allegiance with the wraith. If they decide to kill her, the wraith would stand in their way.

Tobias looked back at Saphira when he noticed she was not talking. He saw she was in deep thought, and worry. He sighed deeply and stopped to wrap his arm around her shoulders, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Do not think too hard about what I just said Saphira. You are the first human in our history to make us feel this way. It is not just me who would stand between you and a gun, most of the wraith will do that too. Even the queens. You are family to us, and I hope we are family to you too."

She felt her cheeks heat up as tears well in her eyes. She looked down, not sure on what to say as they walked together. "I…I have not had a real family, even before I met the wraith properly." She sniffed and looked at Tobias. "Thank you for making me feel like I have one. Even if it is with the beings who have a peculiar way of feeding."

The wraith chuckled gently at her tease. "You are welcome. I think it has brought some of our clans closer too, after all the other hives are eager to have pilotless ships on their hive ships."

"See! That is why we should have worked on the pods so we can share the technology sooner," Saphira said, elbowing his ribs playfully. "I know you wraith are patient, but I do not have the same years as you."

"True…but I would like to test the gift of life on you sometime and maybe we can keep you young for a long time," He said thoughtfully.

Saphira shook her head. "I think I would prefer to live a good, happy life without interfering Tobias. But thank you." Her eyes gaze over his shoulder when she spotted something. "Hey, is that a waterfall over there?"

The wraith turned his head in the direction, and he could hear the sound of rushing water. "It is, maybe this is the secret meadow you are talking about."

"Sort of, lets go over there!" Saphira said eagerly, taking Tobias's hand and pulling him in the direction of the waterfall.

The wraith chuckled and kept up with her easily. The walked passed the trees and bushes to reveal a large pond, the waterfall that Saphira heard came from a tall cliff with many trees at the top and vines and ivy all over the rocks around the falls. Surrounding the lake were many flowers and there were lillies in the water all around. Saphira smiled and ran into the water suddenly, Tobias panicked a little as he did not know how deep the water was, but she did not go deep as she stopped when the water was up to her hips. She cupped some of the water and splashed it on her head.

"This is so nice!" Saphira exclaimed, turning to the wraith. "Come on in, it is refreshing."

"No, I think I will stay dry for now. Maybe when I am wearing a different set of clothes next time. Besides, I think you should not be in there for a long time." He dipped his hand into the water and pulled it back. "That is rather cool."

"I'll have a hot shower when we get back," Saphira said, kneeling slightly to lay on her back to float in the water.

Tobias was not used to this, nor were any of the wraith, but he did not try and stop her. He watched her smile as she stared at the sky, moving her arms gently as she relaxed and simply enjoyed began about to be in a nice, cool water. He did not watch her for long as he heard an iratus bug approaching. He pulled out his long stunner and spotted the insect walking out of the bushes and hissing when it saw Saphira. He quickly speared it with the end of the stunner and threw the body into the bushes. He glanced back and saw she did not even notice. He was worried as iratus bugs can swim, and she would be paralyzed if one got to her in the water. He kept watch for any iratus bugs that would approach, he hoped they would not notice she was here after he had killed one of the bugs. Saphira finally stood up after she began to feel a little chilly after ten minutes. She sighed deeply as she stood up in the water and walked back towards Tobias, but she noticed he had his stunner out and the end of it had blood on it. She frowned, concerned that humans were around, but the blood was not red.

"Did I miss something?" Saphira asked as she walked onto the bank, shaking off excess water to dry off a little. "My ears were waterlogged, I guess something was here."

"Yes, one of our relatives," Tobias said, glancing around again. "We should leave. One of them tried to get to you before, and you would have been paralyzed in the water."

She shuddered at the thought, that was not a fun idea for her. She glanced around, now worried what he was talking about. "You should tell me about it."

"Maybe back at the ship," Tobias said, placing his hand on her arm gently. "And you are shivering, I told you it was cold."

"Yeah, yeah," Saphira shrugged, walking ahead of him to head back to the ship. "You'll just tell me 'I told you so' if I let you."

Tobias chuckled softly. "I would never do that."

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "It is something everyone says once in their life, even you I am sure." She looked ahead again, only to stop when she almost ran into a web with a very large insect on it. "Oh! That's…"

Saphira was pushed aside roughly as the insect seemed to look up at her. She was shocked and watched Tobias spear the insect with the end of his stunner. She realized then that this was the creature the wraith are related too, and she had no idea how or why. Tobias shook the insect's body off his weapon and looked at her, gesturing her to hold his hand.

"What was that?" Saphira demanded suddenly, placing her hands on hips. "That was the creature you were warning me about? How is that your ancestor?"

Tobias sighed deeply and grabbed her arm to pull her towards the ship. "I will tell you at the ship. The queen wants you back, I have warned her that iratus bugs seem to be hanging around at the moment and we cannot keep holding back. I am sorry I have to do this."

"You could at least tell me on the way!" Saphira snapped, irritated the knowledge about this insect was being avoided with her. "How dangerous are they?"

The wraith sighed. "Alright! They are very dangerous, once the iratus bug digs into your skin, primarily the neck, it will feed on your energy until you are dead. It does not take years like we do, but it paralyzes you and it also is a lower slower in the feeding process then we are. And with how we are related, you have to thank the Atlanteans for that, if it were not for them we would not exist."

Saphira was confused. The Atlanteans created the wraith! But they were enemies, this made no sense to her. She wondered if the wraith were an accident, because that is what it seemed. But she was not mad about them being related to the bug, she was mad that she was not told that she could become a bug's dinner if she came outside. It would have been nice to know about it.

"I think you should have told me about it. It would have been your negligence if one got attached to me," Saphira said bluntly. She glanced at her arm and yanked it from his hand. "And I can walk myself."

"I wanted to tell you…but Cynthia ordered me not to. I do not know why, but she did." Tobias was ashamed for not telling her, but he also had to do as his queen ordered.

Saphira was upset Cynthia did not want her warned. She could not help but feel Cynthia wanted her dead, even though she was friendly with her. She knew what Tobias said earlier, but the feeling of them wanting her dead was still there. And maybe she was wrong, but that is how she felt.

"Did the queen tell you not to help me if one attached itself to me?" Saphira asked curiously. "I want to know that one, and tell me truthfully."

"Honestly, yes. She doesn't want you dead, I am sure that is what you are thinking," Tobias said gently. "I promise that…"

Tobias was interrupted when Vladimir walked up to them angrily, Vladimir was angry that Cynthia told him to not tell Saphira. He noticed Saphira was wet and shivering, and his scowl deepened. "How are you all wet?"

"I went for swim in the lake just over there," Saphira said softly. "Don't worry, I am not hurt, I just want to have a shower. Now that I know about the bug, I do not think I want to go for a walk anytime soon. However, I hope we can go and get that sample to help with your shields."

"I'll see if Cynthia can get Simplicity's permission," Tobias said with a smile. "At least you had a good time, aside from the bugs."

That was true, but the lying soured the mood for Saphira. She could not help but feel very hurt that the wraith did not prewarn her about the bugs. She was lucky she did not go out on her own. Tobias was about to walk around Saphira when she suddenly hugged him, the move surprised both him and Vladimir. The blue skinned wraith glared at Tobias, who did not seem to notice Vladimir's jealousy.

"I am sorry for being mad at you, I am just…hurt that the information was withheld by your queen," Saphira said, looking up at the wraith's eyes with her chin on his chest. "Thank you for protecting me, even if it was something I should have known in the first place."

Tobias smiled and wrapped his arms around Saphira in returned, the feeling made her feel protected and warm even if she was cold. "You are welcome. Now go and have a shower, I have to go and speak to the queen. She's requested me presence and hopefully we can being making the pods later."

Saphira's eyes lit up and she grinned at him. "So much for the day off huh?"

"Yeah, well, it was mostly for you than myself anyway," He said half jokingly. Tobias pulled away and looked at Vladimir. "Make sure she gets to her room before she gets sick."

He pats the wraith's shoulder before heading towards the ship. Saphira giggled and followed towards the ship with Vladimir beside her. "If there is a possibility, we could go back to where you found me and use the pond there. There are no iratus bugs on that world."

His face softens and smiles at Saphira's idea. "I think that would be better than the lakes here. While asking Simplicity for permission is a good idea, wait until the other ships start getting their pilotless darts and pods."

"Oh…yeah, I had not really thought of that. I am jumping the fence a little too high I think." Saphira shrugged and looked at the ship. She realized the cooler air inside was going to make her feel very cold. She moved closer to Vladimir. "If you don't mind, the air in the ship is a bit colder then outside…" He immediately put his arm around her shoulders and held her against him. "Thank you, that makes me feel warmer."

"You are most welcome. Loroy would be mad at you and Tobias if you do get sick from today." She smiled when Vladimir mentioned Loroy. The poor wraith has enough on his plate without her being injured and sick all the time.

"Well, let us hurry then and I can have something hot to eat too." Saphira said as they reached the door of the ship. She shivered when she felt the air rush out of the door and clung to Vladimir more. "I think next time I'll take a change of clothes and towel."

"Good idea, I don't think you and Tobias were prepared so hopefully this will be just the one time." He thought about picking her up and carrying her to her room, but Saphira would refuse to be held at the moment unless she asked. "Hopefully I am helping you stay warmer."

Saphira nodded and as she walked while leaning against him, she noticed a scent coming from Vladimir. She wondered if she had noticed before or not, but it was a subtle scent, and it was similar to cologne. She thought about it and realized she had not noticed it before, and it was actually rather pleasant. It was not the same cologne men use, but it had a slightly earthy scent with that cologne smell. She smiled, the scent actually made her happy. She did not make a mention of it as she did not want to feel awkward.

"You should ask me to go with you when you want to walk next time, or back to the world we found you on," Vladimir said suddenly. Saphira widened her eyes but she does not look up at him. "I know that probably sounds silly, but I like spending time with you. You spend more time with Tobias because you love science and technology, so I think we should do something."

She smiled, he was jealous. But he also was proposing they do something together. Just the two of them. "Well, maybe there is something on the ship we could do first. Since you are a commander, we could take a lot at your stunners or I can even tell you about the fighter ideas I have, and you can help me come up with them."

He chuckled softly. "That sounds nice…"

"If you want to have a meal with me, we can do that," Saphira adds while interrupting him, looking up at him with a smile. "I think I would really like that."

The wraith was pleased by her response. "I will set up something for you soon."

She felt her heart skip a beat. Vladimir might actually take her on a date before the others did. And she would love that as she liked him before Tobias and Michladen. Her mind was lost about it when they reached the door to her room and he opened the door for her.

"Alright, I better have a hot shower," Saphira said, walking into her room quickly. She turned and smiled at him. "See if you can bring something hot please."

"It would be my pleasure." The wraith smiled and closed the door as he walked away.

Saphira could not help but giggle like a teenager and dance around the room. She has had two wraith somewhat confess their feelings to her. Tobias has admitted how protective he is, and Vladimir has admitted to wanting to spend more time with her. She could not help but start thinking on whether she should make clothes for herself, what hairstyles she should do and if she should put makeup on. She wanted to be as attractive as possible, she could not even help but look at her breasts and curves, something she has not done before as she wondered how attractive she would look underneath her clothes. Deciding to take her time with cleaning herself in the shower, Saphira became more attentive to shaving her legs and armpits, and using body lotions to soften her skin and give her body a pleasant aroma. And it was only just the beginning.