Hot.

That was the only thought running through Pierce's mind as he led his troops among the forest. It seemed like every single tree was alight, the leaves replaced with embers that danced through the darkness. Most of them were new recruits, fresh from training and visibly uncomfortable in the battlefield. Many weren't even from the kingdom of Daemos itself: they'd been "recruited" from some of the nearby villages to serve.

"General P-Pierce?" a wavering voice piped up from behind him. "A-are we g-getting close?"

The large Daemos spared a glance over his shoulder. A small female, barely large enough to fit into the armor she wore, was panting as she followed closely. Her entire posture communicated barely-controlled panic, but to her credit she met his gaze evenly. "We will regroup as soon as we are clear of this fire."

She nodded, almost jostling the helmet from her head in the process. A few of the others nearby also seemed encouraged by his words and passed the information to the rest of the squad. Almost imperceptibly, everyone began to pick up the pace.

'Good,' he thought, satisfied with their progress. He wasn't sure what had started the fire, but knew there should be an outpost just on the other side of the next hill. If his troops could just make it there, they'd -

Any further thoughts were cut off as a sudden explosion caught him off guard to his left. Instinctively, he leapt to push the smaller soldier out of the way as he felt a wave of heat approaching from above...

Pierce groaned, shifting slightly in Emerald's bed as the dream took a turn. A sheen of sweat was forming over his body, his eyes scrunching up as if he was in pain. The movement was enough to stir the veteran from her own light slumber, but she found herself pinned to his chest by his strong arms still wrapped around her.

"Pierce?" she whispered cautiously, reaching up to check on the cloth still on his forehead. It was grossly warm, so she took it and placed it back in the bowl on the nightstand. She was relieved to feel the water was still fairly cool, indicating she hadn't been asleep for too long.

Emerald carefully wrung the water out with one hand, bringing the washcloth back over and carefully dabbing the sides of his face and neck. He groaned softly and leaned into her touch, but didn't appear to be awake.

"Can you hear me?" she whispered again, only to be rewarded with another groan. Pierce's grip on her waist tightened, but he didn't respond.

'Wonder what he's dreaming about?'

Pierce shook his head to clear it, worried when his vision did not refocus. He was keenly aware of a heavy pressure on his chest. Heat surrounded him on every side, beating him down and making it hard to breathe.

More worrying, none of his troops seemed to be anywhere nearby. He wasn't sure if they'd been scattered by the sudden explosion or if they'd simply decided not to serve the kingdom of Daemos anymore. Either way, the general was in a very vulnerable position.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the female soldier he'd been talking to not two minutes ago. She stared at him, eyes full of fear and panic, as he reached out one hand towards her. "Come..." he ordered softly, meeting her gaze.

She looked down at him, apparently weighing her options. A muffled call from out of Pierce's field of vision caught her attention as she looked past him. A quick glance down at him again, and he saw the determination harden in her eyes as she shook her head. Without a word, the small woman threw her helmet and ran off, leaving him at the mercy of anyone who might come along.

Emerald let out a soft grunt as Pierce nearly crushed her in his grip, a low groan rumbling deep in his chest. He twitched, nearly dislodging the fresh cloth from his forehead. He seemed to be having some sort of nightmare, but the veteran wasn't sure if it was safe to awaken him.

"Pierce." She carefully reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, trying not to make a face as she felt the sweat coating her hand. "Hey, I don't know what you're dreaming about, but it's probably not a very good time." She didn't bother hiding the smile that bubbled up. "Why don't you wake up? I promise I'm a better conversationalist than you might think."

The Daemos general didn't answer her, instead grunting as his dream seemed to shift gears. Under his breath, she heard him murmur "W-wait..."

Pierce groaned as he opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in his quarters. He was a bit worried to find he had no memory of how he'd gotten off the battlefield, nor what had become of his wayward troops. A thick layer of bandages wound tightly around his chest, the pressure almost painful against his still-raw wounds.

'Why wasn't I healed?' he wondered silently, groaning as he brought himself up to a sitting position. Even that small movement was enough to cause a few purple smears to appear, knocking some of the breath from his lungs as he pressed a hand to his side.

"Careful," came a soft warning from the side of his bed. Rhys stepped forward from the shadows, his face serious. "You took a fairly hard hit out there."

"What...happened...?" The Daemos general carefully shook his head, trying to force his missing memories back.

"You led your troops through an unsecured area and were caught in an ambush. Instead of assisting, your troops decided to abandon their duties and defected back to their villages. We have located several of them, who are currently awaiting judgement."

"I...understand. I take full responsibility for my actions and any delays I may have caused in Prince Rhal's plans."

"Your fate has already been decided," came another voice from the doorway.

Pierce's blood ran cold as the Crown Prince approached, his face unreadable in the dim light. "You will take tonight to rest while we waste our own time hunting down your wayward troops. At first light, you will 'discipline' them before taking up your new duty as one of Asch's personal knights."

"I am...being demoted?"

"Think of it as a reassignment. As it seems you are no longer able to handle multiple charges, perhaps your attention will remain focused on one instead." Without another word, Rhal turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, allowing the door to slam shut behind him.

Rhys cleared his throat softly. "I am under orders not to assist in your healing, but I will do what I can to help you rest until you must fulfill your duties tomorrow." He placed his hand against the large Daemos's forehead. "Rest."

Pierce tried to object, but found himself falling back onto his bed, completely unable to move. "What...did you..."

"Rest, Pierce. You have a very full day tomorrow."

Pierce's eyes shot open as he sat up, gasping for breath. He quickly lifted his shirt, checking himself for the injuries from his dream before he remembered where he was. From the floor by the side of the bed, Emerald's head cautiously rose as she stared at him.

"Hey..." she murmured, watching him carefully. "You okay?"

The Daemos took a few shuddering breaths, trying to get his bearings. After a few moments, he sighed and lowered his shirt back down. He made a visible effort to stop his hands from shaking. "I...apologize, Dame Emerald. Are you okay? I did not mean to - "

The veteran sat next to him on the edge of the bed, retrieving the washcloth from where it'd fallen and gently dabbing the sides of his face. "Hey, it's okay. It seemed like you were having some pretty intense dreams there."

He leaned into her touch, savoring the cool of the cloth on his skin as he let out a soft hum of satisfaction. "They were...memories."

Emerald nodded in understanding. "Yeah, those fever dreams are no joke." She brushed the hair out of his face. "Do you want to talk about them?"

Pierce paused, obviously debating with himself. "It was...from when I was still a general. On Daemos."

The veteran paused, barely perceptibly, before resuming her ministrations. "I didn't know you were a general." She let out a soft chuckle under her breath. "Although, I guess that does explain why you are the way you are."

He looked at her with visible shock. "You...are not intimidated by my status?"

Another soft chuckle. "Look, if we were on your world, I'm sure I'd be thoroughly impressed and defer to you in whatever way you Daemos think is acceptable. However, you're on Earth. Furthermore, you're like me: a veteran. We don't exactly inspire reverence wherever we go." She paused, looking a little forlorn. "That tends to be reserved for Active Duty military."

"On Daemos, it is considered dishonorable to be removed from the military." Pierce frowned, mind filled with memories from the past. "I am lucky I was allowed to serve Prince Asch instead of being executed. I -"

Emerald gently put her hand on his chest, pushing him so he lay back down on the pillow. "Shh, it's okay," she soothed, smoothing out his hair and laying the washcloth on his forehead. "Let me go get you something to drink, then we can talk some more." She gave him a gentle smile as she headed towards the door to her room. "I'm just going to check on the portal and get you a glass of water. Just...try to get some rest. Okay?"

He nodded, watching he go before closing his eyes, savoring the feel of the cool cloth against his skin. 'She did not react as I expected,' he thought, allowing himself to relax a bit. 'Still, she adjusted well to the news. She is truly a credit to her position.'

The veteran quickly returned, a somewhat worried expression on her face. He frowned, thrown off by the change. "Is everything all right, Dame Emerald?"

"Hmm? Oh, no...everything's okay." She gave him a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "The portal to your guys' 'personal space' is still closed." Emerald sat down next to him on the edge of the matress, motioning him to sit up a bit as she held out a tall glass of water.

"Rhys has still not restored access?" Pierce sat up carefully, leaning back against the headboard.

"Not yet, but I'm sure he has everything under control." Another reassuring grin as she helped him take a large gulp of water. "Besides, Ava's with them, so they probably haven't even noticed yet. She probably has them all chilling out in the 'hot tub', wondering where we are."

The Daemos nodded, swallowing the water hard before groaning softly. "These human clothes are uncomfortable..." he murmured softly, tugging at the bottom edge of his shirt.

"Do you want the shirt off? I can help you with that, but I don't think you should take off any more." Emerald let out a soft sigh as she motioned for him to lift his arms over his head. "I really wish there was more I could do for you, but I'm not sure how Daemos would react to Earth medicine."

He grunted as the tank top passed over his head, shuddering slightly at the blast of air hitting the sweat on his skin. "That is...better." Pierce met her gaze tiredly. "I will recover with rest. You do not need to worry about me."

To his surprise, she let out a light chuckle. "Hate to break it to you, but with Ava on the other side of the portal I don't really have anything else to occupy myself with right now. You're here, you need help, I can't do anything else, so..." Another shrug of her shoulders. "...here we are." She put the glass on the nightstand, then motioned for him to move over.

He complied, but didn't immediately lay down on the pillow again.

"Something wrong?"

"It's wet." The Daemos made a face.

Emerald put her hand on the pillow, immediately pulling away again while mirroring his expression. "Ew. Yeah, you probably don't want to lay on that anymore." She tossed it to the floor, watching as it landed next to the door. "I'll toss it in the laundry later when I change the sheets. But in the meantime, you don't have anything to - "

To her shock, Pierce wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling his head into her lap and letting out a satisfied sigh. "This works."

The veteran was shocked for a brief moment, but then sighed and grinned. "You really must not be feeling well if you're being this clingy." She wrung out the cloth again, then gently moved his hair out of the way and dabbed at his face. "At least your fever seems to be breaking. That's some good news."

He gave a soft grunt, leaning into her touch as he closed his eyes.

"Oh, so we've moved beyond words, now?" Emerald rested the cloth on his forehead, gently running her hands through his hair and along his back. "Fair enough, I suppose. Go ahead and get some more sleep." She paused for a brief moment. "Do you want me to try waking you up if it seems like you're having a bad dream?"

Pierce shook his head carefully, so as not to dislodge the cloth. "I am sorry I knocked you down earlier. It was not my intention to - "

"Shh..." she whispered, holding one finger against his lips. "You don't need to apologize for that. It wasn't your fault." She leaned back against the headboard, continuing to play with his hair. "Go to sleep."

He briefly thought about arguing with her, but the feeling of her fingers on his head had a hypnotizing effect on him. He allowed himself to drift back to sleep, feeling more secure than he had since coming back from the Fall Festival.

Pierce felt as though he could stay here forever.