We wake up in the morning and break down the camp. Then we resume our journey.

After traveling for most of the day, we finally end up at Hearthpoint.
This is where 'Arton Hunt' is supposedly.

Kara speaks up.
"We'll need to find this person quickly. Andventurers aren't known for sticking around in one spot for very long."

Zack chimes in.
"Let's not waste any time then."

Amelia nods.
"I propose we begin our investigations at the taverns."

Kara asks.
"'Taverns'?"

"Yes, there are two taverns in Hearthpoint. One over there…"
She points to a building ny the entrance.
"And another one facing northeast from the second gate."

Kara seems a little suprised by how much Amelia knows about this town.
Well, she probably had to study the geography of Havengarde and read about all the surrounding towns and villages.
Either that, or she's actually from here. Her tone of voice indicates a level of personal familiarity, although it is difficult to tell with Amelia.

"We don't have too much daylight left."

Zack's right. The sun sets the sky ablaze as it dips closer to the horizon

He continues.
"Let's split up. We'll be able to cover more ground that way. If one tavern is a dead end, check the other. If he's not in either place, then we'll meet back here."

Amelia speaks again.
"I concur with this plan. Any objections?"

No one speaks up.

"Then let us proceed."

Zack, Amelia and Kara start heading towards the nearest tavern.

Leanna calls after them.
"Wait!"

They look back at us.

"We didn't talk about how the group is being split."

Kara smirks.
"I think it's quite obvious."

I blush.

Leanna blinks at me as the group continues walking.
"What does that mean?"

I swallow.
"I think I know."

Mustering up my courage, I gently take her hand in mine.
Leanna's eyes grow wide and she immediately slips her hand out of my grasp.
"That's definately not it!"

I can't help the look of hurt crossing my face.
She luckily can't see it because she looks away, her cheeks pink.
I try to keep my voice steady.
"What else could it be?"

Leanna's blush deepens, but she shakes her head.
"If you have time to make ridiculous comments, then you have time to walk. Let's hurry up and get going."
Her voice is raised, like she tries to hide her embarassment.
Leanna quickens her pace and starts towards the tavern.

I speak softly to myself.
"And why do you think that'd be ridiculous?"

After a moment I notice that she is even further ahead, and that I clenched my fists.
I unclench my fist and call out.
"Wait up!"

I jog to catch up to her. Although she ignores me, I can still see her blush and it gives me hope. I can't help my smile, maybe I haven't blown my chances just yet.

It's a brief walk through town before we reach the place.
As we push the door open, the warm smell of bread wafts through the air, bringing with it a chrous of laughter.
The tables are full of men and women sharing food and pints.
This place has a cozy feel, and as we look around I feel comfortable and welcome.

Leanna speaks up, her voice calm again.
"So Kara mentioned Artan has an eyepatch…"

She pauses as she glances at the patrons.
"We should split up and see if we spot him."

I nod.
"Sounds like a plan."

We seperate and begin our search. I slowly walk around the tavern, looking for anyone with an eyepatch.
As I begin to loose hope that he's here, I spot a man sitting alone. He's scribbling furiously in a notebook, but more importantly, an eyepatch covers one eye.
Finally, a lead!
I hurry over to him. As I get close, I notice he's drawing a map. He stops and looks up at me.
"What do you want?"

His tone is gruff but he doesn't seem hostile.

"Excuse me, are you Artan Hunt?"

He sizes me up.
"What of it?"

Deciding to not want to waste his time, I try to keep it brief.
"I heard that you've found an area of high energy."

He continues to stare at me.

"I was wondering if you could share that information."

He waves a hand dismissively.
"It's not something to be shared."

"I can pay you for it."

He frowns.
"You can't just buy the experience of discovery! Coins are merely a construct of human greed and you need to absolve yourself of materialistic reliance to transcend."

Oh, I've trancended alright.
"Will you at least tell me were it is?"

He glares at me.
"I'd like to get back to my work and you're taking up my time."

He taps his pen impatiently on the table.
"Do you mind?"

I cross my arms.
"When you tell me what I need to know. It is imperative I get there."

He turns back to his notebook and ignores me completely. It looks like I've annoyed that guy. I doubt he'll say anything now.
I leave the man wordlessly and search for Leanna instead.

I find her with the rest of our party and approach them.
Zack is the first to speak.
"Artan wasn't at the other tavern, but we heard that he's here."

I nod.
"He is."

Everyone turns to face me.

Leanna speaks up next.
"Did you find him?"

Supressing a blank stare and a sarcastic retort, I choose to nod instead.
"Yeah, he's back there."

I point to the back tables.
"But it seems like he's not the sharing type. I even offered to pay and he still refused to talk."

Leanna's face falls and Amelia and Zack seem discouraged. Only Kara remains optimistic.
"Great! You've done the hard work for us."

Zack stares at her.
"Did you just miss the point about how that guy won't talk even for money?"

"Finding the target is the difficult part. Getting information out of him is just a matter of being... tactful!"
Kara winks.

Zack cracks his knuckles and grins.
"Ah, I get you. We're finally on the same page."

Kara crosses her arms disapprovingly.
"I didn't mean beat the information out of him!"

Zack frowns.

"You just have to give him an appealing reason to loosen his lips."

Well, continued survival is quite an appealing reason.

"Are you proposing to exploit his humanistic need to procreate with an attractive mate as a guise to extract the needed information?"

"Er, if you mean flirt with him to find out what we need to know, then yes."

"What a cunning method. I approve."

We all stare at Amelia.

"You do?"
I did not see this coming.

She nods.

That was unexpected.

"Who shall be executing this plan?"

I look to the obvious choice.
"Are you up for the job, Kara?"

Kara grins.
"I thought you'd never ask!"

She heads towards the target, her hips swaying alluringly.
Leanna looks on with amazement.
"She turned it on just like that?"

"Seems like she's not the only thing turned on."
I shift my attention to Zack, who very obviously stares at Kara's derriere.

Leanna calls out disapprovingly.
"Zack!"

Zack snaps back to reality and his face flushes when he notices all of us looking.
"What? I wasn't staring."

What a blatant lie.

"No accusation was made, yet your defencive disposition is quite revealing of your intent."
...And Amelia tells him as much.

Zack coughs and crosses his arms as he looks away.
"You're thinking too much into this."

We watch Kara working her magic. She engages Artan and at one point even gets him to laugh. She scoots closer to him and rests a hand on his arm...
Things seem to be going well.
As the conversation continues, Artan suddenly shakes his head and dismisses Kara. She tries to laugh off the dismissal and re-engage him in conversation, but he looks back down at his page and continues drawing.
Still stunned, she makes her way back to us.
"I... I don't understand…"

Her eyes glaze over in disbelief.

"It would appear Kara was unsuccessful."
It would appear Amelia decided to speak the obvious.

I look at Leanna.
"Leanna?"

Leanna looks suprised.
"M-Me?"

Kara masks a chuckle as Zack snickers. Leanna frowns and crosses her arms.
"What's with that reaction?"

Kara smiles.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, you're cute, but I'm not sure you've got the… personality needed for this type of thing."

Leanna frowns.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a bit… shy."

"I can be plenty forward!"

Kara and Zack burst out laughing.

"As if you fared any better!"

Kara's smile drops.
"It's always worked before."

Leanna looks at Amelia.
"You think I can do it, right?"

Amelia studies Leanna.
"I must admit that your propriety does not lend well to the suggestion that you could entice the desired sexual tension."

Leanna crosses her arms and pouts cutely.
"Even you, Amelia?"

Kara seems to take pity on her.
"Aw, okay... How about you show one of us what you've got? If you're successfull, you can try."

"Fine!"

Kara points to me.
"There's your target, what are you going to do?"

Leanna's cheecks tinge slightly as she meets my eyes. I have butterflies in my stomach…
She takes a deep breath to gather her thoughts, then flashes me a determined look.
She over-sways her hips as she walks over to me. The movement is too exaggerated and makes her look like she doesn't know how to walk.
"Oh, um..."

She stammers as she tries to speak, almost as if the words elude her.
"H-Hey there… Sailor."

I look at her blankly.

"What."

"What."

"Poi."

"Despite having an attractive figure and aesthetically pleasing figures, it is now abundantly clear why Leanna has been unable to acquire a companion."

"Amelia!"

"At this rate, the only companion she'll be acquiring is a house full of cats."

Zack nods in agreement to Kara's statement.

"You guys are so mean!"
Leanna pouts cutely, again.

"I didn't think it was so bad."
My opinion might be biased, but I don't care.

Leanna shakes her head.
"You're only saying that to make me feel better."

I was just about to respond to her, but Amelia cuts in.
"I believe we should nominate someone else?"

Leanna crosses her arms but doesn't protest.

Well, the only option left...
"How about Amelia?"

Zack crosses his arms disapprovingly.
"Wow."

Leanna seems outraged.
"What's wrong with you?!"

"Wha-"

Leanna shoots me a disapproving look.
"She's just a kid!"

Kara folds her arms and looks at me just as disapprovingly as Leanna.
"I never thought you'd turn out to be such a creep."

Amelia blinks in suprise as I cross my arms defiantly.
""I believe you are mistaken about my / her age."

Amelia looks at me suprised, but our words fall on deaf ears as the girls continue to give me death glares.

I snort, my annoyance with this whole ordeal reaching new levels.
"Okay, I'll just do it myself, then."

Their disapproving looks melt to suprise as I start to walk over to Artan again.
Zack speaks up.
"But didn't you fail before as well?"

I stop and snap my head back as I glare at them. I'm quite sure my eyes have a slight golden glow.
"I. Do not. Fail."

With that said I close my eyes, take a deep breath and continue my way.
Artan looks up at my approach.
"Oh, you again. Haven't I told you to leave me alone."

"You have, and I will once you have given me the information I need."

He grumbles.
"I already told you no."

I shake my head.
"This is no longer a question, I'm afraid."

He looks at me puzzled.

I lean down, my eyes turning golden as I rake his subconcious fear.
"You will tell me what I need to know. The only thing that's questionable is your state of physical and mental health afterwards."

He stands up and looms over me. He is suprisingly tall.
"Are you threatening me?"

I hold his stare.
"Far from it. I'm merely implying consequences to your defiance."

I lift the veil on my presence slightly, so that he can feel my power as well, but no one else.
Closing my eyes, I exhale.
"Look, just tell me what I need to know, and we have no reason to further bother you."

His eyes grow wide and he trembles, altough barely visible.
"H-Here."

He hands me a parchment with a shaking hand.

I fully conceal my presence again and smile at him as my eyes turn normal again.
"Thanks! Wasn't so hard now, was it?"

I start to walk away while he stares after me. I turn around again and wave at him, the movement concealing me erasing his memories of this encounter.
He blinks confused, waves back and sits down again, turning back to his drawing.
Mind tricks. I have no idea how such a technique can be considered "good" enough for the Jedi, but well.

I walk back over towards my group.
They look at me in suprise.
I hand Kara the parchment.
"Here."

She opens it to up to reveal a map of the neighboring forest. There's a sinewy path drawn in to indicate where pockets of high energy readings are.
Kara looks from me, to the map, and back to me.
"But... How did you get this?"

I smile.
"Let's just say that I gave him an appealing reason."

Leanna looks at me suspiciously.
"What reason?"

I turn to her.
"If you must know, well, no one defies a god."

Leanna looks shocked and Kara looks uneasy, but Zack seems more… impressed?
Leanna speaks.
"What have you done, Xerath? Have you told him?"

"Don't be silly. Judging by your reactions when I told you, he wouldn't believe me. I simply let him feel that I'm someone he should not oppose."

"So you intimidated him into it?"

I nod.
"Basically, yes. Don't worry, though, he doesn't remember that."

Zack looks impressed.
"Wow, didn't think you'd have it in you."

"I don't like that. There must've been another way."

I nod at Zack before I shrug.
"Maybe, maybe not. I don't really care. We have what we need, and that is what matters, no?"

"It also matters how you get that. Intimitaditng someone to get what you need is wrong."

"You know what is wrong? Torture. I haven't done anything to him, okay? He resisted all friendly approaches, so I tried a different one. Not my favourite approach, but sometimes necessary."

Leanna seems unconvinced.
"But still..."

"Look, I'm not a saint. I try to be, really hard, but I'm not. Those dark powers I have, they try to corrupt me. I fight that corruption, but sometimes it shines through. Especially when I'm in a bad mood. And right now, I'm pissed. With his dismissal of my friendly approach and your reaction when I suggested Amelia."

Everyone is silent after that.

I take a few very deep breaths to calm myself and then sigh.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up on you."

Leanna looks at me apolegetic as well.
"I'm sorry, too. We sometimes forget you're not from here as well, so of course you have different costums."

I glance outside at the darkened sky.
"Well, let's just forget it and move on, then. It's getting late as well. Do you think we should stay here for the night or should we head out?"

Leanna smiles slightly.
"We wouldn't be able to make much progress. May as well spend the night here and get a fresh start in the morning."

"Alright."

Amelia stands.
"Now that our business has concluded, I must take my leave."

Everyone stares at her.
Zack speaks up.
"...Where are you going?"

"I have an obligation I must fulfill."

Kara smirks.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounded like you're meeting someone."

Amelia ignores her teasing tone completely.
"You are correct. It will not take long and I will be ready to rejoin you in the morning."

As Amelia turns to leave, Zack stops her.
"Are you sure you should go alone?"
It is a question, but his tone is more of a reminder.

Amelia raises an eyebrow.
"Surely my parents would mean me no harm."

Leanna looks suprised.
"Parents?"

"Yes, they would be very upset if I were to pass through without visiting them."

"You have family here and didn't tell us?"

Well, that explains her displayed familiarity with the layout of this town. I was right once again.

Amelia crosses her arms.
"I did not see the relevance."

"Don't you want to see them?"

"To visit them is currently the obligation I am going to fulfill."

I throw in my two cents.
"I think what Leanna means is, if you actually want to see them. Your choice of words makes it sound like it is a chore, and not something you look forward to."

Amelia blinks.
"I do not dislike spending time with them."

Kara smiles.
"Good! Let's get to it then!"

Kara stands up and pushes Amelia towards the exit.

Amelia looks flabbergasted
"I do not understand."

"We're going to meet your parents."

Before Amelia can protest, Kara has already led her out the door. The rest of us trail behind.
Amelia sighs.
"Very well."

Amelia, Zack and Kara walk ahead as Leanna and I follow. Leanna has a strange expression on her face I can't quite read.
"What do you think her parents are like?"

"I bet they're just normal people."

"I think so too. She grew up at the university and didn't get to spend as much time at home. Most of her behaviours are probably learned from there."

It sounds like Amelia's childhood was a lot more serious than the average child. I wonder if that's why she acted so casually about her parents and made seeing them sound like a chore to knock out.

We pause in front of a modest house. There's a small garden in the front yard and a few flower pots line the stoop.
Amelia steps up to the door and knocks.

"Don't you have a key?"

She looks back at me.
"I do, however it is still at the Academy. I did not anticipate our travels would lead us to Hearthpoint."

The door swings open and an older woman stands in the doorway. Her face face has fine lines which reveal her age, but her smile is warm and kind. Her hair is as pink as Amelia's, so I guess I know from where she has it.
Her eyes light up when she sees Amelia and she draws her into a tight hug.
"Amy! What a pleasant suprise! I didn't know you'd be stopping by."

Kara grins at the use of her nickname.

Amelia doesn't react to her mother's embrace and almost seems to wait out the hug. Eventually, her mother lets go and turns back towards the house.
"Honey, Amy's come home!"

A faint voice calls out from within the house.
"Amy? Be right there."

Her mother turns back to Amelia and hugs her again.
"Oh, we missed you so much!"

Suddenly, she notices the rest of us. She quickly lets Amelia go and ushers all of us inside.
"Amy, did you bring friends? Come in, come in!"

We murmur our thanks as we shuffle into the house.
The walls are painted with light colours giving the house a bright and cheerful air. We convene in the sitting room where we sit on the couch and chairs. The upholstery is clean but has definitely seen a lot of use.
Amelia's father arrives. He pushes his glasses back up onto his nose and breaks into a wide smile.
He also scoops Amelia into his arms.
"What an unexpected pleasure!"

After he sets her down, he stands beside his wife.

"Hello Mother, Father."

Her voice is soft, but something is in her tone. Almost like she doesn't know how to express her emotions clearly.

Her father is undeterred, however.
"You know that we love seeing you, but what are you doing out of the university? It isn't a holiday."

Her mother leans forward in her seat.
"Oh! Was your little field study finally approved? That's wonderful! Remember what I said about how each rejection is a step further to success? I just knew you were bound to get one! Even if it took all those tries and applications."

All those tries? How many times did she apply?
Although she doesn't speak, Amelia's cheeks turn red.

Her father comes to her rescue.
"Honey, let's not embarass her in front of her peers."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I just got so excited. She's been trying for almost a year now!"

She turns excitedly towards Leanna.
"You must be the field lead!"

Leanna looks bewildered.
"Uhh…"

Amelia jumps in.
"Yes, that is correct."

Leanna shoots Amelia a questioning glance which Amelia ignores.

Her parents beam wider as they look on their daughter with pride. Her mother has her hand over her heart and her father nods approvingly.
"It's nice to see you're still working hard at your studies."

"We're very proud of you sweetie, but what sort of mission is this? I should think you would be the apprentice of another Mage or Mage-Caster rather than a Mage-Knight?"

"Leanna is a part of the Mage Guild."

Her father speaks again.
"Ah! So it's an internship with the Mage Guild? That's very prestigious!"

He puffs with pride.

"I see."
Her mother's face softens as she addresses Leanna.
"We entrust our daughter to you. Please take good care of her."

Leanna pauses, but as she looks at the hopefulness on Amelia's parent's faces, she returns their smiles.
"I promise I will."

Once the attention drifts away from her, I notice her gaze linger on Amelia's parents. She furrows her brows in pensive thought.

Her father speaks up again, his voice a friendly inquiry.
"And what about the rest of you?"

Kara grins.
"I assist with locating and exploring ancient sites."

The parents seem intrigued.
Amelia immediately sates their curiousity.
"We have been following instances of magical anomalies in an attempt to understand and explain their occurrences."

The father smiles.
"Of course, of course."

His gaze lands on Zack.
"You look more like a fighter rather than a Mage..."

Zack nods.

"What exactly is your role in this group?"

Before Zack responds, Kara steps in.
"Oh, he's my companion. He helps me secure our sites, and well…"

She grabs his arm and flashes him a coy smile. Zack stares at kara and her hand on his arm.
"Hands. Off."

She laughs lightly and presses herself closer to him.
"Aw, you don't need to be shy. Just pretend it's just you and me."

Zack's scowl deepens. As he twists away from her, a blush tinges his cheeks.

Amelia's father chuckles.
"Say no more! I remember what it was like to be young."

Zack's blush deepens. Kara watches his discomfort with amusement.

Finally, his gaze lands on me.
"And what about you?"

"Well, I'm a sorcerer from a distant land and got lost on my travels. I literally stumbled upon Leanna and now find myself her student, helping with trying to dicover more about the anomalies."

"A sorcerer? You certainly don't look the part."

I sigh.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Part of my apprenticeship with Leanna was to switch to different clothes, to remind myself not to rely on old powers and learn new ones instead."

That's technically not a lie. Her parents nod.
Her mother speaks up again.
"Amy, will you and your friends stay for dinner?"

"We would not wish to impose on you any further. We can return to the inn-"

Her father interrupts.
"The inn? Oh nonsense. You can all stay the night here! We certainly have enough room.

"Yes, we insist! I'll get started on dinner and afterwards you can all relax. Come with me, Amy."

Amelia nods.
"If that is what you wish."
Amelia obliges as they start towards the kitchen.

"That's wonderful! It's so nice to have you home. And we never get to meet any of your friends."
She turns back to us.
"In fact, you all are the first ones she's brought home!"

"Really?"
Kara glances sideways at Amelia who remains stoic.

"I hope she's not giving you any trouble. She's always been a bit hot-blooded!"

This time we all look at Amelia. Thinking back at the time at the carnival, I think I'm the only one of us who can confirm that.
Kara speaks up.
"Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

She laughs and the two of them walk into the kitchen.

We continue to chat as we wait for dinner to be ready. Her father is enthusiastic and shares fun facts about the town. He's a tailor and offers to patch up any clothes for us.
Dinner is a simple but delicious meal and we all clean our plates. Amelia's mother seems pleased.
"Would anyone care for seconds?"

Both Leanna and Zack take a second helping. Leanna piles her plate up with food until it's even fuller than Zack's plate.
As she digs in, Kara watches enviously.
"Where does it all go?"

"Hm?"
She looks at Kara questioningly.

"You have such a healthy appetite yet you're still so slim!"

This has the potential to go horribly wrong…
Contrary to my fears, Leanna smiles coyly.
"Oh, you think so? I'm just lucky I guess!"

Amelia chimes in.
"Rather than luck, I would attribute it to the constant wind resistance you emit during your travels and activities."

Leanna looks suprised and nervous.
"What…?"

Amelia raises an eyebrow.
"I can detect a constant energy utilization from your manipulator which is creating wind fraction-"

Leanna interrupts with loud laughter but her face is bright red.
"Haha, you're thinking way too much into this Amelia! It's probably just... um... magic residue you're detecting."

Amelia gives Leanna an unimpressed look, as if to say that was the silliest excuse she's heard.

I speak up.
"That's genius! I hadn't even considered using magic like that."

"I don't believe this is a common application of energy utilization."

Kara smiles.
"So that's your 'secret'."

Leanna nervously picks at her food.
"Anyway… This is really really good. What is it?"

With the change in subject, the mood relaxes and the conversation naturall flows.
Zack and Amelia's father found a common interest. Although he's a tailor, he takes a special interest in restoring weapons.
Zack speaks.
"Actually, weapons are a specialty of mine too."

"Your dischargers! I did notice that. They're a bit unusual, aren't they? I haven't seen too many with those types of crystals."

Zack nods.
"It serves me well."

Amelia's father pauses as he observes Zack.
"Come on, son, lighten up a bit! No need to be so formal here. Why don't you try to crack a smile? You don't need to look so doom and gloom all the time."

Zack merely stares at him until Kara elbows him.
"Aw, come on, companion, you don't want to be rude, do you? Especially after you've already helped yourself to this delicious meal… twice."

Zack sighs in resignation.
He pauses and seems to collect himself. Kara watches, amused at his display.
After a few long breathes, he looks up with determination.
Reluctantly, he curls up the corners of his lips and exposes his teeth in an awkward grimance-smile hybrid.
His eyes almost seem to be calling for help, as if holding this smile is causing him pain.
Everyone recoils from this look…

…Except for Kara, who blushes.
"Oh wow, that's really hot."

We all exchange confused glances as Zack drops his 'smile'.
Kara leans over to him and lowers her voice.
"I hope we get to see that again… soon."

We all look at each other in confusion.
Amelia's father, Arthur as he introduced himself earlier, is the first to speak up.
"Well then, that was certainly… interesting!"

The group laughs and the conversations flows again.
Kara enjoyed every minute of the night, chatting amicably with Amelia's mother.
Leanna stayed quiet and spent most of her time just observing. Although she had a smile on her face, it seemed like there was something else on her mind.
Amelia didn't talk much, preferring to let her parents do the talking, but she seemed very comfortable and relaxed. I can tell that even though they don't get to see each other very often, they have a good relationship.
Once dinner was over, Amelia's parents insisted on washing up and ask Amelia to show us to our rooms.
She leads us to the back of the house where there are two rooms and stops in front of the first door.
"This is my childhood room. We three will share this room."

She points to the door down the hall.
"That is the spare room. You two may stay there."

Leanna speaks up.
"Are you certain it's alright for us to stay tonight? I don't want to cause any trouble for your parents. They've already been so accommodating."

"My parents are quite happy to recieve guests. It would be an insult to refuse their invitation."

"Okay..."

Leanna seems uncertain, but Kara throws her arm around her affectionately.
"Don't worry! Tonight will be super fun. We'll braid each others hair, play truth or dare, and of course... pillow fights!"

Amelia cocks her head to the side.
"Is that what roommates do?"

Kara nods excitedly.
"Definitly!"

Amelia looks at Leanna, who seems equally confused.

"While we roomed together previously, we did not accomplish any of these tasks."

Leanna chimes in as well.
"I'm just learning about this now too."

"Trust me, you'll love what I have planned!"
Kara laughes and pushes the girls into the room.

She winks at us.
"Girls only."

Then she closes the door firmly behind her.

I raise my voice slightly to be heard through the door.
"Good night to you, too!"

"Oh, right, night you two!"

"Sorry, good night."

"Goodnight."

The three muffled voices call out. I think I can forgive them.
I turn to Zack.
"Why do I always get the feeling that we're missing out?"

"Because we probably are."

A shriek of laughter filters through the doorway followed by giggles.

"Oh my god, don't squirm so much!"
Kara.

"Stop! I'm really ticklish there!"
Leanna.

"I got it off!"

"Hey! Give it ba-hahaha!"

We overhear even more squeals and giggles.
My mind wanders as my imagination paints a very alluring picture of what is going on behind that door.
Zack's stoic stare seems too intense.

"Stooooop!"

"No way!"

"Well, if that's how you wanna play..."

We hear a gust of wind behind the door.

"Wha! No fair, you're using magic-Aiieeee!"

After Kara yelps, Zack's stony expression finally cracks.
"What is… going… on in there…"

I close my eyes and try to get my mind out of the gutter. My wandering imagination suprises me, as I never really had thoughts like that. Not since I was a teenager, back with…
Well, I'm glad they get along so swimmingly.

"Poi…"

I glance down at my feet and see the pango staring forlornly at the door.
"You wish you were in there too?"

He hops closer to the door.
"Poi poi!"

When no one lets him in he lowers his head.
"Poi…"

"I'm sorry buddy, but it's girls only tonight."

As if on cue, the door cracks open.
Amelia's pigtails peek out as she reaches for the pango.
"There you are. You are needed for… science!"

"Poi poi!"
Is it just me, or did that little blob just sound incredibly smug?

The last thing I see is the pango's wide grin as the door slams shut behind him.
Zack sighs.
"Let's just go."

Zack heads into the room and I follow.
We mill about the room awkwardly, and I swear I can hear the seconds tick by. This feels a lot less exciting than the other room.
Zack is already getting ready for bed, and I'm somewhat tired and exhausted myself. So I start to get ready too.
As I crawl into bed, I count the seconds to calm my swirling mind and I fall asleep eventually.

The ending of a strange dream jolts me awake and I sit up in bed. The moon is high in the sky, casting silver light through the window.
Zack remains fast asleep. I don't see anything else, so I lay back down and close my eyes, trying to go back to sleep.
Instead, I toss and turn in bed as uneasy thoughts creep in. I try to lock them away again, but as soon as I loose concentration, they come back again in full force.
Amelia's parents were incredibly kind, and it's obvious just how much they adore, love and cherish their daughter.
I wonder if my parents were similar, when they were alive.
How were they?
How would they have treated me?
How would I have grown up with them?
...Who would I be today?
As that last thought crosses my mind, I throw off my blankets in frustration. I need some fresh, and maybe a chat with the only one I can really call family.

Tip toeing past a sleeping Zack, I creep out of the room and make my way through the dark living room. Seeing through the Force sure has its perks.
I spot the balcony and step out onto it.
Taking a deep breath of the pleasantly cool air, I try to focus on the presence inside me I haven't seen for so long.
Seconds pass, then minutes.
…Please…

Finally, a spectral figure materializes beside me.
"Ahh, son of my sons, You have called for me."

"Indeed I have. It is nice to see you again, Aloysius."

"It is, Xerath. It's been too long."

"That it has been."

"...This was quite the experience, I must admit. Parallel dimensions, I assume?"

I raise an eyebrow.
"What experience do you mean?"

"You remember our contract, right? Using your body and power as a anchor for my presence, I can linger in the mortal realm. And when you were… transported here, I felt our connection grow distant, but not broken. However, I could not return to you. Until now."

"Hmm, that explains the missing sensation I felt during all this time here."

My ancestors voice grows soft, kind. Unusual for a Sith. I guess that runs in the family.
"Your mental defences have increased severalfold, but they are currently crumbled. What is troubling you, son of my sons?"

"It's nothing..."
Knowing I'm not convincing, I continue.
"It's just, today I got a glimpse into what a happy and intact family is like. How it must feel to have loving parents."
I sigh.
"So I guess I just wanted to talk to my family for a bit, or what I have of that, that is."

"I-I'm quite shocked you hold me in such high regards. In a positive way, I assure you."

"Why wouldn't I? You're the only one who stood with me when I had nothing, when everyone seemed to be against me or betray me. You helped me and stayed by my side through it all. Watched over me."

"I had no idea that impacted you so deeply. I must admit that I did so not only on your behalf."

I chuckle.
"I'm aware, and I understand. You didn't want to have our name forgotten, so you helped me reforge it. But you have no idea how reassuring it was to have a Force Ghost watching over me. You may not have noticed, but you are the closest thing I ever had to a father, and I always viewed you as such. I... You're very dear to me."

I cannot see his smile, as he wears his mask even in death, but I can feel his smile.
"...Likewise."

Aloysius Kallig's spectral body moves closer to me, and most suprisingly, hugs me.
After the initial suprise wears off, I hug back. For a ghost he's suprisingly solid.

A moment later he pulls back.
"It seems my presence has not gone unnoticed."

"Yeah, I feel her coming, too. Would you mind to stay? I'd like to introduce you."

Lord Kallig simply nods.

Leanna steps over to me, Aloysius obscured by the door. She looks somewhat sleepy.
"Xerath, is that you? I thought I heard voices, so I came looking."

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

She shakes her head.
"Mm, it's alright, I had trouble sleeping anyway. Wait a moment, we?"

She steps forward as I speak up.
"Yes, we. Remember when I told you about the ghost of my ancestor? Well, I'd like you to meet Aloysius Kallig, Dark Lord of the Sith. Aloysius, this is Leanna Dawn."

She looks at his blue spectral body, frozen in shock.

Lord Kallig bowes respectfully.
"Good night Miss Dawn. I hope my appearance is not too off putting for you."

That seems to have woken her out of the stupor.
"Oh! Oh, no… not at all. You are way nicer than I imagined ghosts. And more human, too."

"I can keep my form thanks to the son of my sons. His power keeps me anchored."

"Ah, I-I see."
Although she appears composed, she is still as pale as a sheet.

Aloysius noticed this too.
"Well, my business with my descendant is finished for now. I do not want to impose any further. It was nice to meet you, Miss Dawn, and please take good care of Xerath."

Too stunned to do anything else, she responds automatically.
"Y-yes, of course."

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, he turns and walks towards the edge of the balcony before vanishing.

Leanna takes a few moments to collect herself. After I give her a few moments, she speaks up.
"Wow. You were right."

I raise an eyebrow.
"Right with what?"

"That ghosts aren't so scary. He was actually quite polite and nice."

I smile.
"Well, I'm certainly relieved you see it that way as well."

She returns it.
"I think I wouldn't mind meeting him again, sometime."

"I'm sure that could be arranged."

"That'd be grand. But what did you two talk about, if I may ask?"

My smile drops and I turn to look at the stars.
"You remember when I told you about how I didn't have a family growing up, and how I was over it?"

She sounds cautious.
"Yes?"

"Well, meeting Amelia's parents and seeing their love for their daughter made something clear to me."

Her voice is gentle as she slowly walks over to me.
"What is it?"

I turn my face back to her. Tears are threatening to spill out and my voice is short of cracking. I shake my head.
"I'm not over it."

"!"
Alarmed, Leanna rushes the rest of the distance between us and holds me in a comforting embrace.

I return the hug, holding her like my life depends on it.
"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not good to bottle up your emotions, so it's okay to let them all out."

"...Thank you."
That was all that was needed to break the dam. I quietly sob into her shoulder and let everything out.

We stay like this for a while, me silently crying into her shoulder while she runs her hand over my back and through my hair in soothing circles.

At one point, I'm finally done.
With a final sniff, I disengage from her.
"Thank you, Leanna."

She smiles slightly.
"You're welcome. Are you better now?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. You have no idea just how much that helped. All my life I had to soldier on. If I ever showed a sign of weakness, I'm sure I would have died. No one ever has seen me so... vulnerable before."

"You have never cried before, not even as a child?"

I shake my head.
"Not when someone else could've heard or seen me. I hope I can count on your confidentiality."

She takes my hand and squeezes it.
"Of course."

While wiping my eyes of the last wetness, I remember something.
"Leanna, didn't you say you couldn't sleep?"

She nods, albeit suprised.

"It did sound like you girls were having a lot of fun."

Leanna blushes.
"Kara got my boot off so I was only returning the favour."

We smile as the conversation lapses.
She looks towards the stars, staring pensively at them. There must be something on her mind.
"Want to talk about it?"

"Hm?"

"It seems like there is something on your mind."

Leanna faces me and absentmindedly picks at her clothes.
"It's nothing really. Tonight has been really fun and Amelia's parents have been so nice. It just started to remind me of my famaly… and then I got to thinking…"

"And you couldn't stop thinking?"
Voiced like a question, but it is more of a statement. Sounds like what happened to me as well.

Leanna nods.
"Kinda like you, I suppose."

She doesn't say any more.
I look up at the myriad of sparkling light in the deep night sky. The stars are still beautiful, but not as clear as when we were camping.
We fall into a comfortable silence. Leanna intently stares at the sky as if searching for answers. I wonder what's on her mind.
Suddenly, she turns to me.
"I promise we'll help you find a way home."

I'm suprised at the conviction in her voice.
"Oh, thanks. I know you will, you've already done so, in fact. Actually, there's something I've been wondering."

"What is it?"

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, as that would be far from it, but why are you doing so much to help a stranger?"

Leanna stares incomprehensibly.
"You were someone who needed help."

"Yeah, but you didn't know who I was. What if I had other intentions?"

She crosses her arms under her ample chest.
"Then I suppose things would have turned out differently."

She notices my look and chuckles.
"I would never leave someone who needed help, especially if it was in my power to help them. I'm sure if it were me in that situation, you'd have done the same."

I nod.
"You're right. I'm not one to walk away from somone in need of help. Heh, that's one of the reasons I always tried to become more powerful."

Leanna smiles.

Still, I wonder why she suddenly promised to help me find a way back home.
"What brought that on?"

"Sorry, I've been thinking about home and how it would feel if I looked at the stars and couldn't recognize a single one…"

I can understand how being with Amelia's family can make her homesick. That's quite what's going through my head as well…
Maybe I can take her mind off of it for a while, preferably both our minds.
"What's that star?"

"Huh?"

She blinks as she takes in my question, then looks back up towards the sky.
"Which one?"

I randomly point at a cluster of stars.

"Which one?"

I point again.
"Those."

Leanna squints, then laughs.
"Nothing! They're just random stars."

"Ah, the ones I'm most familiar with. Well, thanks to you, now I can look at the sky and at least recognise one star."

"But those are just random stars!"

"Yup, that's what they all look like to me anyway, as I live among them, more or less. So I can look up and see random stars and feel right at home."

Leanna grins.
She points to a cluster of stars that vaguely looks like a woman.
"Do you see those stars?"

"Yeah."

"That's my birth sign, Elwina. She was renowned for her beauty and that beauty was immoralized in the stars."

"Birth sign?"

"Yeah, there's a belief that the star sign under which you're born can tell certain traits about yourself. Sometimes people use it to predict matches or fortunes."

"Uhh, sounds interesting. So what does your birth sign says about you?"

"What do you think?"

"She was a woman renowned for her beauty, huh?"

I look at Leanna again and how the silver moonlight surrounds her like a halo. She almost glows as brightly as the stars.
"That looks accurate to me."

Leanna at first looks suprised, then a gentle blush tinges her cheeks.
"I meant personality traits."

"Oh, in that case, it probably means that you're kind and patient and see the good in others."

She seems genuinly suprised by my answer.
"You think so?"

"Definitely."

She smiles, and this time it looks more natural.
"Hopefully this place doesn't feel so lonely and foreign to you anymore."

"Honestly, my time in this peaceful world has almost been like a vacation to me, and coupled with meeting you, it was like a paradise… and meeting the rest of the team, of course."

We lock gazes and I feel drawn to her, even more so than usual.

Leanna lights up as she sees something behind me.
"Look, a shooting star!"

The star rockets across the sky, leaving a trail of glitter. Reminds me of Ilum.

She closes her eyes. After a moment, she reopens them.
"What did you wish for?"

I look at her quizzical.
"Wish?"

I then remember that in some cultures it is common to make a wish when you spot a shooting star. I've heard it's common in the Republic. I think of one of my wishes quickly...
And smile charmingly.
"I wished that we could spend more time together."

She's suprised.
"You didn't wish to go home?"

"I know that eventually you'll help me find a way back home. But in the meantime, it's really not so bad being stuck on a new planet with someone like you."

She blushes.

"So what did you wish for?"

"Oh, I wished to continue going on adventures."

I grin.
"That's fine with me... as long as I don't have to watch you attempt to flirt again."

Leanna's face flushes.
"That's not fair! I was put on the spot!"

I laugh.
"Isn't that how all flirting works?"

Leanna pouts cutely.
"No, it would've been a lot different if I were more prepared."

"Oh yeah? How would you have done it then?"

"That's still putting me on the spot, but..."

She blushes again.
"Well..."

She lowers her eyes to compose herself, then flashes me a confident look.
"Let's see. First, I'd begin by telling him how handsome he looks tonight. Maybe then I'd compliment his muscles, which would give me an excuse to touch them."

Her hands lightly rubs my arm as she gives me a look of appreciation.
Although her cheeks are still burning, this is nothing like the awkward Leanna from before!

"I'd step closer to him…"

My heart quickens as she closes the distance.

"Then I'd have him hold me like this…"

She guides my hands with hers and places them on her hips.
I resist letting my hands wander.
She snakes her arms around my neck.
"And then…"

I can feel her breath on my lips.

"I…"

She leans in until her full lips are only an inch away from my own.
"...say…"

I close my eyes as I feel her lean into me.
Her breath teases me as she stays just out of reach.
"...goodnight."

"Wait, what?"
I open my eyes just as Leanna disengages from me.

All I can do is stare at her as the blood rushes back to my brain. I can't fully comprehend what just happened.
"...What?!"

She looks back at me and grins.
"It's getting late. Goodnight! I'll see you in the morning!"

"Goodnight…"

She disappears from view and I'm left in a desperate need of a cold refresher, wondering what the hell just happened.

I return to my room and crawl back into bed.
My mind is filled with even more thoughts and questions than before. But this time, they are centered around this blond angel.
Eventually, after many thoughts of cold refreshers, I drift to seep.

A/n: I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Feel free to leave a review if you want to.
Also, it will probably take a while before I can give you guys the next chapter, because life comes back in full force, and after a long illness I have much for school and work to catch up with. I can give no estimations, but I try to write more when I have some time.
Until next time, then. Cheers!