RACHEL FINDS THE LIBRA
Rachel was feeling rather unwell.
The adrenaline rush of fighting Lovrina, and Rachel's subsequent dash away from the pyramid had worn off. She was alone and without provisions in the desert, and to top things off, she was getting a headache and feeling sick. Rachel was unsure if this, along with the purple-black haze in front of her eyes and the memory problems, was due to dehydration, or a side-effect of the Shadow process, possibly a cumulative effect, as she'd had no such problems after the first two processings. However, she focused her attention on finding water and shelter as soon as she could.
A few minutes later, Rachel thought she could see something through the heat-haze that hovered over the sands. Was it a mirage? She headed for it, but as she got closer, it got more, not less, distinct. Ten minutes later, she could see it was a ship, though what a ship was doing in the desert was beyond her. She had found it just in time-not only was she exhausted, but night was falling. Had she been delayed even half an hour, she could have walked past the ship without even noticing it, and she knew that deserts got freezing cold at night, no matter how hot they got in the day.
There was still enough light available as Rachel approached the ship to read it's name: the Libra. It was broken into at least two large pieces, and she entered through a big hole in the hull. There were big boxes lying about, and with a bit of shoving she was able to make her way further up into the ship until she came out onto the top deck. The wheelhouse looked to her the best place to go, she might find water and a bed in there, but as she went in, she realised there was somebody already in there.
She started backing out and apologised; or at least she tried to. She seemed tongue-tied, just a steam of gibberish coming from her mouth. The man in there seemed to not mind though, inviting her in and offering her a cup of water. She went in and accepted it, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"I'm a hermit, I prefer to live away from people, but you need in look of a good rest and a bit of help. You can rest on that bed if you want, and I won't ask awkward questions, just don't tell too many people that I'm here." She nodded, not trusting her mouth yet. Giving him back the cup, she gave him a grateful smile, and lay wearily down on the bed.
The headache was already easing off, she noticed, and she guessed that that must have been due to dehydration after all. Stretching out on the bed, she sighed in relief, and was very quickly asleep.
The hermit watched her with a mixture of concern and curiosity. When she had tried to speak, she had made a range of sounds that made no sense. She could obviously understand human speech, and seemed mainly human except for the wings, tail and that bizarre lilac skin. Oh well, if she was able and willing to tell him when she awoke, she would, and if not he wasn't going to ask. After all he had promised not to pry.
