After a sufficiently pleasant time Kiley slipped out of Knives' arms and stood. She stretched, arms held high above her head, back arched as she worked out a few kinks in her shoulders.

"You couldn't turn around while you're doing that, could you?" came a plaintive voice from behind her.

"Pervert," she said genially. "Haven't you had enough yet?"

"No."

She looked over her shoulder to see him smiling. "And just what exactly is wrong with this view?" she asked.

"Nothing. The other side just has more interesting bits."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh? It that what you call them?"

"When I'm not being a pervert," he agreed calmly. He rose, tucking the blanket around him, then leaned over and picked up his pajamas.

"Hey there, plant boy. That's my blanket."

He looked up at her. "But… um…" He picked up his shirt and slipped it on.

"Mine," she affirmed, grinning as she snatched it from him. He flushed, then quickly pulled on his pants.

"Aw," she cried. "You're no fun."

He looked at her mock-seriously. "I have been plenty of fun lately."

She grinned again. "Yes. You have been." She leaned over and picked up her clothes, wadding them into a bundle and walking to the door, Knives trailing behind. "Aren't you going to put those on?" he asked, slightly scandalized.

"They're dirty," she said, giving him a puzzled look as they reached the door.

"What does that have to do with anything? You're naked!"

"And there's no one here to see," she said, indicating the empty corridor. "Besides, it's just skin."

"A whole heck of a lot of skin."

"All the skin it takes to cover my body, yes."

"Doesn't walking around like that bother you at all?"

"When it's cold. And when people stare at me. Other than that I'm ok with it. Why? Does it bother you?"

"A little. I mean, I just don't understand how you can have so little modesty."

"I'm modest!"

"You're naked."

"So? It's just skin."

"Modest people do not go about with no clothes on!"

"Why not?"

"It… gives people ideas."

"And why is that my problem?"

"Because," he said, grabbing her by her shoulders and pushing her against the wall. "You give people ideas and then they want to take something from you."

She looked into his eyes, so deep and serious, then leaned up and kissed the tip of his nose. "One, I don't tend to wear nothing around people who haven't seen me in nothing before. You now qualify. Two, if I don't want any amorous advances, I am perfectly capable of taking care of any situation that may arise."

He glared at her. "You are full of innuendo, aren't you."

"Yes. It's much fun. Now let go. I want to take a shower after getting all sweaty and stinky."

"I have heard of these showers…"

"If you want to take one together, we're going to need a larger shower."

"Oh."

"Besides… aren't you just a little hungry?"

"I guess."

"Good," she said, slipping out of his grasp. "You make breakfast, I'll go get clean."

"And dressed!" he called out after her.

"If you insist," she said with a smile. She walked back to her room, bare feet padding softly on the cool metal floor. She fought the urge to hum, but kept losing. Nothing like a few endorphins to make one rather pleased with life. Entering her room, the dirty clothes ended up on the floor, and she pulled some fresher ones out of her pack and took them into the bath with her.

The shower was long and luxurious. The warm water pounded down on her skin, sluicing away the accumulated dirt of days, the heat opening her pores and forcing impurities out. It was a wonderful feeling, clean and comforting.

Which might be why she found herself, sitting on the floor of the shower and biting back tears. Damn relaxing anyway, she thought as she leaned her head back against the wall, spray beating her cheeks and chin. Tension slowly eased from her shoulders as she let the emotions of the past day flow off her with the water.

It was wonderful, being here. But too easy to lose herself in the moment, in his arms. Yes, the sex was great… but she was more than just a bedmate. It would be so easy to lose herself in this role, in his arms. But there was more to her than that. The trouble was she wasn't sure just what that was. If one is defined by who one knows, then she was hardly anyone on this planet.

She just had no clue how to live here. She had drifted through towns until Knives caught up with her, and then she mostly gave over any initiative over what direction they traveled in, as if he were the wind and she just a feather. How did one go about, just picking up a life when they had never had one before? What would happen if she screwed things up… again?

No… she needed to go make a life for herself, to figure out who she was going to be here. Was she going to be a soldier again, violent? She was good at it, very good, but something in her soul quailed at the thought. She had lived through enough violence. She didn't want to see more. But what else did she have to offer? What skills did she have that would be needed on this dirtball?

And… what was she going to do about being a plant? Ignoring the fact wasn't going to make it go away, but she just couldn't deal with the implications right now. To go from having died to being virtually immortal… hard concept to wrap one's mind around. Let alone the power she could tap… somehow. She hadn't figured out just where this power lay within her, but it had to be there somewhere. What was she going to do with it? What could she do with it? It had to have a better use than destruction. But giving it to her was a recipe for disaster.