There was no need for restraints in here. And why would there be? In an airship floating so high above the sky, falling out would mean death. Jagara's troops had all the firepower inside the ship, and it's not like Hubb could steer the damn thing even if he did take it over.

So he sat there, in the holding cell of sorts, as if he was a completely free man. No ropes to tie him up, no handcuffs, no nothing. With Cheza, the Flower Maiden. The girl looked out the window as if she was watching someone, although Hubb knew they were too far up to see anything other then clouds. Of course, her eyes may have been better, and she did see someone. Maybe it was Cher, and Blue, Quent's dog. Or rather, Quent's wolf. Right in front of his eyes, Quent's dog had turned into a beautiful, if rather tomboyish, girl. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was what the Book of the Moon and all the rumors said were true. Wolves lived among them, disguising themselves as humans to prevent their extinction. If so, they were certainly resourceful.

"Kiba." Cheza would say every so often. Hubb didn't know who that was, but it may have been that wolf who was looking for her. The one Cher had seen at Darcia's Keep.

Hubb sighed. He had no clue that things would end up like this. To be freed from captivity just to be captured again. It struck him as odd they didn't just throw him out of the ship since he wasn't Cheza, but for whatever reason, they kept him here.

He didn't really want to be here, of course, but he also didn't want to be around Cheza. There was something about her that just seemed so unsettling. It was probably because Cheza was the reason he and Cher split. It wasn't intentional, he was sure, but it did happen. And it was Cheza's fault. If Cher had worked at something that didn't take so much of her time, they would still have been together. So he tried to ignore her, but in such small quarters, it was really hard too. The room was so narrow that it was only possible to face forward or backward for someone of his size, and Hubb had to lean against a wall or else he'd keep falling over. So he leaned with his back against the door and faced the window.

Cheza crouched next to him, and he tried his best to pretend she didn't exist.

"Do not frown." Cheza told him. She had a very high voice and it was as melodic, if a bit off-putting. "This one knows that we will be saved. Kiba will come."

"Kiba's coming for you, not for me." Hubb corrected her. It was impossible to believe that someone he had never seen before would come and rescue him.

"When Kiba comes for this one, you will be freed too." Cheza had no emotion in her tone, other then the high pitched voice of hers.

"Heh, whatever." Hubb tried to put her off. He really didn't want to talk to her. "If he does, he does, and if he doesn't, he doesn't. It doesn't make a difference to me, you're protected, one hot commodity, and I'm not." He snapped at her.

"Are you…upset with this one?" Cheza asked. She was quiet perceptive, but it wasn't as if Hubb was hiding his belligerence.

"Don't worry about it."

"Please, talk with this one, Hubb." Hubb's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. How did she know his name?

"Oh, that's right, Cher called for me back there, Cheza just put two and two together." Hubb reasoned to himself. "It's fine, I said." Hubb spoke a bit indignantly. "Don't worry about it. Kiba will come rescue you and then we'll probably never see each other again. There's no need to make the most out of this time if we won't see each other."

"You are angered with this one? Please, tell this one why." She pleaded.

"You ruined my entire life, are you happy?" Hubb was so annoyed that he blurted it out without thinking. "Because of you, my wife left me."

"This one understands." Cheza said softly. Although the diction of her voice was similar to the way she always talked, she spoke slower and softer.

"Understanding is nothing." Hubb responded. "There's nothing anyone can do about it now, unless you can change the past." Cheza had strange powers, but he was sure that she could not do that.

"This one did not want to cause anyone hurt. This one is sorry. Please, talk to this one some more. What did this one do wrong?"

"You were asleep when it happened." Hubb responded, not looking at her. "But Cher was among the scientists, no, the head scientist, working on studying you, trying to find out about Paradise, or whatever. And soon, you were all she could think about. She wouldn't be around me since I wasn't you. And so, you stole the woman of my dreams away from me."

It almost looked like Cheza was crying.

"This one does not know what happened when this one slept. But, that woman you speak of, wasn't she the woman with you when you freed this one?"

"Yes, that was her. Cher is her name."

"She seemed so happy around you. This one remembers it vaguely, but Cher would often talk of someone named Inspector Lebowski." Cheza said Hubb's surname as if it was strange to say. Perhaps, because wolves only had one name, the prospect of two was strange.

"Inspector Lebowski is me."

"Is your name not Hubb? Why do you have three?"

"Inspector is a title, Hubb is my first name, and Lebowski is my surname. Humans have a personal name and a family name, and a title is what someone does. Cher's full name is Doctor Cher Degre."

It appeared as though Cheza still found it strange.

"Why is it that you and Cher cannot stay together?"

"Because of you." Hubb responded. "After you went missing, Cher decided to traipse all over creation to get you back. It was only after we found you that we were stuck together, but you were there, you know what happened." Cheza stayed silent. She did know what happened. They had been caught by Jagara's troops and taken.

"This one believes that you should not give up. This one is sorry for what has happened, because, even though this one could not prevent it, this one was the cause. But this one still believes that you and Cher can be together. This one is sure of it." Hubb, for the first time since he was alone with Cheza, smiled. Everyone else he had talked to said it was hopeless to get back with Cher.

"I guess…maybe I shouldn't have been so insufferable. You're not a bad flower. I was just…"

"This one understands how you feel. Kiba is often the same way. Upset at the people he feels caused his pain. This one is not upset."

"We can't all be good little boys and love the world." Hubb said sarcastically.

"You are hurt." Cheza noted.

"Hmmm?" Hubb barely noticed it before, but there was a small trickle of blood running down his arm. A bullet in that previous battle must have nipped him. "Oh, I didn't even notice." He mentioned.

"Please allow this one to treat it?"

"Treat it? It's not severe." But Hubb relented and rolled up his sleeve. Cheza placed her hands upon the wound. Hubb felt tingly for a second, but when he looked down, he saw his skin patching up.

"That's amazing." Hubb said to himself. Cheza wasn't paying attention, but she was singing. The notes were haunting and loud, yet very beautiful. Hubb was enchanted the minute he heard them.

"That song…" Hubb thought. Those words she sung were written in the Book of the Moon. Hubb had originally thought it was just something untranslated.

"This one is finished." Cheza mentioned. Hubb's arm felt…wonderful.

"Thank you. I guess…I should apologize."

"This one understands how you felt." Cheza repeated. "This one understands your regret. This one regrets too, breaking apart the two of you. This one is curious to know if Cher will follow."

"Are you asking me?" Hubb wondered. "I think she will. She's pretty headstrong, but she's tough, she knows what she's doing."

"This one is happy when she talks to you. You have such confidence in Cher." It made Hubb blush. To hear Cheza say that was embarrassing, to say the least. She was so honest it was terrifying.

"It's just like your confidence in Kiba." Hubb smiled. "The persons are different but the way is the same. Makes me wonder who would show up first? Care to guess?" Hubb smiled again, and Cheza chuckled.

"This one does not know." She smiled. "But the anticipation is exciting." They passed the time in silence for a time. It seemed as though Cheza was anxiously awaiting Kiba, while Hubb had his heart set on Cher.

"This one wants to know. What will you do after the rescue?" Cheza asked. Hubb paused, he didn't really know.

"I…never really thought about it. I don't really have a place to go. Although, home would probably be cleared of Jagara's troops once we're rescued. Depends on what happens during that rescue. But…I suppose it doesn't seem like home anymore. For me or Cher. I don't know what we'll do. I'll worry about that when I get there."

"What do you want to do?" Cheza asked.

"Live with Cher." Hubb responded. The answer was a bit flat, but it was all he could really think about.

"Come with this one to Paradise." She offered. Hubb paused.

"Paradise? But…isn't that…just for wolves?"

"Paradise is a place where wolves reign supreme." Cheza explained. "Although this one is not certain, this one does not believe that Paradise is solely for wolves."

"I guess…" Hubb thought. "That if it was only wolves, there would be nothing for wolves to reign supreme over." Cheza smiled at his logic.

"Will you go with this one?" Cheza asked.

"I…I don't know. I don't want to go alone, and you'll be going with those wolves. Won't they get all hissy about humans traveling with them?"

"This one does not know." Cheza would not lie. But it still wasn't a no answer. "But this one wants you to come."

"I…Maybe I should. After all, it was written in the Book of the Moon that the opening of Paradise spells out the doom of this world. I don't think I want to be here when it ends. Maybe…maybe Paradise is where I need to be for everything to…" Hubb trailed off.

"Please continue." Cheza responded.

"I…maybe my life here with Cher was not the real life to lead. Perhaps that was why we couldn't have children. Err…that might, uh…confuse you."

"This one knows what you mean. This one might even have an answer. Opening Paradise would spell out the end of this world, and this one believes that deep down inside, you both knew that and would not bring a child into a doomed world." Hubb thought that didn't make any sense, he knew enough about biology and anatomy to figure out how sex for procreation worked. But, if he knew all that, why didn't things come through. They had worried Cher would never conceive, but then Cheza came along and those plans went out the window. Maybe Cheza was right, not that Hubb had any other answers.

The airship appeared to be landing. Hubb stood up, pushing Cheza slightly behind him.

"If worse comes to worse…" He thought. With the airship on the ground, he might have been able to fight if Jagara's troops were intent on killing him. But when they opened the door, what was present were Jagara's shock troopers. Bedecked in all armor. Hubb would need something high-impact to fight them. Certainly not his fists or feet. And Cheza would be of no help. They roughly grabbed the two of them, and started dragging them out. Cheza was being carried, while Hubb was forced to drag his feet.

"Cheza…I'll rescue you." Hubb promised. He would be closer then any of the people looking for her. Once he found a way to break out of his cell, he could find her and get her out. Somehow, someway. He could scarcely believe that half an hour ago, he hated her.