A/N: Guh. You want to kill me, right? Can't say I blame you. . . I don't know if this piece is worthy, but if you still read, I hope you'll like it. It's for the theme Sunrise. I need to get my muse back for these! Argh!

Edit: Gahhh! I forgot to mention- this takes place in episode 8, after Van and Hitomi have had their nighttime conversation.

Disclaimer: Owns nothing

Dawn Comes

"Doesn't anyone on this planet get up at a decent hour?" Hitomi asked crabbily, staggering slightly in the darkness. "The sun isn't even up yet!"

"Shh," Merle whispered, and through the blackness, the girl felt the catgirl take her hand to guide her. "Lord Van wants to get an early start to throw off any pursuers. You can probably sleep a bit while we fly." Through the gloom, Hitomi saw a flash of sapphire blue eyes. "Besides, you shouldn't have stayed up so late chatting."

"Were you spying on us?" she hissed, outraged and embarrassed at the same time, trying to tug her hand free.

Merle frowned, keeping her tight grip on the other girl's fingers. "No," she informed her with a scowl. "I couldn't help it- you guys weren't exactly trying to be quiet, you know."

"Still, you should have enough manners to know not to eavesdrop!"

"I'm a catgirl," Merle shot back, rolling her eyes. "I can't help overhearing things with my ears. Now, hush!"

Hitomi bit back a retort; it was too early for fighting, too early for her to even be awake. She yawned sleepily, hating the sluggish feeling of being a zombie but plodded onward, trusting Merle to guide her. Abruptly they stopped, and the warmth of the girl's fingers left her.

"Stand here for a moment," Merle told her before bounding off.

Forcing back another yawn, she blinked, seeing the smooth white metal of Escaflowne before her, the dragon armor now free of the branches and leaves they had spread across it the night before to camouflage it from those who pursued them. Once again, Hitomi found that her emerald eyes were drawn to the energist its soft pink glow intriguing her. She took a step forward, her hand stretching out to touch it and stumbled.

Hands were immediately gripping her shoulders, holding her upright and she leaned back gratefully, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she looked up at Van who gazed down at her, as always his dark orbs unreadable.

"Sorry," she murmured, glancing away from him quickly, unsure of why she felt so awkward around him suddenly. They had shared parts of themselves last night, and she was unsure to what he had thought of that.

"Its fine," he told her quietly, his hands still holding her steady. "It's my fault, really. I kept you up late and then make you get up this early."

She didn't contradict him, her green eyes turning to the horizon where the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. "I'm hardly ever up early enough to see the sunrise," she told him.

His dark gaze flickered to the coming dawn. "I've seen many. They all seem the same to me anymore. But I don't know . . . today it feels . . . different."

Hitomi blinked, startled by this unexpected statement from quiet withdrawn Van, but before she could say anything he was walking her toward Escaflowne.

"Come on. We better get going."