The two returned from the cavern, hand in hand, a new bond formed between the two. Arriving on the doorstep, Signless gently cupped the Disciples cheeks and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead while both were bundled beneath his long cloak, shielding them from the burning sun now making its way across the sky. The two entered the home to find the others fast asleep and a pot of cold tea waiting for them. Silently, the two crept into the back bedroom. Laying down together the Signless stroked the Disciples hair and she purred in his arms.

"You mean more to me than anything." He whispered to her.

"And you to me." Disciple said, stroking his cheek in return.

They lay like that for a while, legs tangled until the breathing of the Disciple slowed and she surrendered to sleep. Yet the Signless stayed awake, at war with his feelings. It was true, she meant everything to him, but in what way? She calmed him so, just as a moirail should, yet he also felt a burning red for her. And the times when she angered him so it felt black before fading back. And when he doubted himself and felt the most disgusting of self pity she always seemed to separate it… it was like he wanted her in every quadrant. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why couldn't he just be more like a normal troll; not only the blood, as if that wasn't enough, but the dreamlike visions and now these feelings? Was his entire existence only meant to be doomed? Or was there a more important purpose to him? Should he really bother with this insane quest of his? Would anyone even listen? The Psiioniic stirred nearby, nearly waking. Signless had to speak to someone about this.

"Psiionic…" Signless whispered. Slowly he rather reluctantly peeled himself from the Disciples embrace so as not to disturb her, and crept over to his bunk. The Psiioniic stirred. Gently Signless places a hand on the trolls shoulder.

"Signless?" Psiioniic turned to him, eyes not quite able to focus on the mutants figure.

They sat until the moon rose again, only talking and sipping cold tea.

"I don't know how to explain it, she just…" Signless sighed, unable to find the words he was searching for.

"I know this sounds outlandish…" Psiioniic resigned. "And not something I personally would do in any way, but perhaps you two don't belong in any quadrents."

There was a beat of silence.

"You're right, that doesn't sound like you at all." Signless chuckled as Psiioniic smirked a little. "But maybe you're right. What if we, her and I, made out own?"

"I wouldn't put it past you. You've had more wild ideas than that."

"Oh and you haven't gone along with any of them nor been supportive I'm sure. I mean look where you are now." Signless said sarcastically.

"Brother," Psiioniic spoke with a serious tone. "You know I will always support you."

"Thank you." Signless smiled warmly toward his friend. "Not many trolls would do such a dangerous thing."

The two clasped hands in a sort of hand shake, a closer bond between them.

That's when there was a knock at the door.

"Who could possible come this early? The sun has only just set?" Psiioniic questioned, looking back at the Signless. Both eyes widened. This would not be a casual visit. The knock came again, more forceful. This time a booming voice followed.

"We know you're in their, mutant, come out now and maybe we'll spare your life." There was a short snigger after the order, and both the Psiioniic and Signless knew that there was no way his life would be spared if captured. Silently, they crept to the back of the hut. Signless pointed to himself, then to the room where the Disciple slept. Then he pointed to the Psiioniic and to where the Dolorosa slept. Both nodded and moved quickly.

"Disciple-" He shook her shoulder quickly. "We need to go now."

"What is it darling?" She rolled onto her back and purred.

"A raid…" The Signless spoke urgently. At those words the Disciples eyes snapped open wide and she stood on her toes. Quickly, she gathered her strife claws and a colorless cloak, not unlike the Signless's. They had practiced this a hundred times. Take the bare minimum. Out in the hall the Dolorosa and Psiioniic were waiting; both wearing cloaks identical to the Disciples. The four of them shuffled to the back of the hut as the troll at the door pounded again and announced they had till the count of three before they busted down the door.

"One…"

The Dolorosa, Disciple, and Psiioniic were down the trapdoor.

"Two…"

The Signless quickly grabbed his speeches and blew out the candle.

"Three!"

The trapdoor was shut as the front door was knocked off its hinges. The four trolls hurried through the narrow tunnel that lead from under the house to far off in the forest. The air was hot and stuffy as they huffed through the tunnel, eventually reaching the forest.

"What do we do now?" Disciple looked to the Dolorosa, worry brimming in her eyes.

"I have a plan." She spoke and turned West, walking briskly. The others followed as she explained. "I always knew this day would come. We would never be safe somewhere so immobile for long."

"Where do we go then?" Psiioniic inquired, keeping pace easily with his long legs.

"To the docks." Dolorosa answered. "I had it all set up, just in case. There's a ship waiting for us there in an emergency such as this. It has food, clothing, anything we may need. If we get there fast enough we can lose their trail in the water."

Signless was impressed, he honestly hadn't thought of any sort of escape route in this situation; only the escape from the house. He had figured they would just run until they found a cave or new town, but this way they would cover ground, or sea, even faster. They could visit new towns, stay hidden, and jump place to place quicker than they ever could on foot. Although he was exhausted, the Signless was filled with a new sense of excitement. Maybe they could all really pull this off.

Miles of walking, the air was cool and crisp as the hours ticked by. Finally, they reached the dock, tired and worn. Signless huffed, having not slept all night. The Disciple was exhausted as well, the Psiioniic and Dolorosa better off with the hours of sleep they had. Quickly, the scurried past the passing trolls to their boat, deemed "The First Ship", and began to untie its ropes.

It was small, but for the four of them it worked perfectly. Large enough for there to be space, but small enough to manage. They pushed away from the dock and set the sails, trying to get away as fast as possible. The trolls after them would be there soon, and so they were off.

Finally they four sat down to rest for a moment. The Signless leaned against the side railing the Psiioniic leaned against the steering wheel to guide the ship, and the Dolorosa sitting near the Signless with the Disciple's head in her lap.

"I guess we've outrun them for now?" Disciple panted.

"Not quite…" Psiioniic spoke uneasy as one of the ships, now on the horizon, left the dock and turned directly toward them.

"We'll have to try and outrun them; if they get close we may have strife on our hands." Dolorosa sighed, carefully watching the boat as it tailed them far behind. "We must stay alert."

The Disciple groaned with the denial of sleep, yet stood watch anyway.

"Don't complain, love, we all feel the same." Signless sighed, his grumpiness beginning to ebb at him.

"Two hours of sleep." She grumbles back under her breath, not wanting to hear his lectures.

"Yes, and I had none, but we are all trying to do out best here with what we have." Signless snapped back a little harsher than he meant. Disciple looked taken aback with him.

"I'm so sick of this bullshit." Disciple glares toward the ship.

"You think we're not?" The Signless barked back, a snarl on his lips. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to him.

"Now is not the time to be at each others throats." Dolorosa interrupted their tiff. "Psiioniic, you keep guiding the ship. Signless, help me see if there's a way to lighten the ship or make it faster. Disciple, you keep an eye on that ship back there."

"Aye aye." Disciple grumbles.

The two moved to the small below deck area and checked through the possessions. Crates of food, medicine, clothes, more clothes, another box of clothes…

"Do we really need all these clothes?" Signless asked.

Dolorosa bit her lip. "Well…" Her eyes stared longingly at the fabrics. "I was hoping to-"

Signless cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh alright, the extra clothes go overboard, but save a few please." She resigned. The two began to lug huge boxes of clothing and fabric up to the top deck.

"It looks like they're only just keeping pace." Disciple observed. "If we do manage to lighten up a bit we may be able to lose them."

Signless nodded and tossed the first heavy box of fabrics overboard. And another. And another. After six heavy boxes, the last one stood alone.

"We need at least one box of clothes." The Dolorosa insisted as the Signless eyes the box longingly. He gave in, however, and the two went below deck to see if there was anything else.

A few nice pieces of furniture sat in a corner, a large single chair, a love seat, and a wardrobe. Signless raised another eyebrow at his mother.

"I thought we may as well make the place feel homey if we're going to live here!" She justified, grabbing one end of the loveseat. Together they dragged all of the furniture up to the top deck and once again, tossed them over the side and into the water.

"I think we're starting to pick up speed…" Disciple reports again. Give it some time, we'll see.

The Signless and Dolorosa sat with her now and watched as very slowly, the boat disappeared behind the horizon. Finally, they could breathe a sigh of relief. They all hugged each other a moment, as a way of apologizing for previous bad attitudes.

"Psiioniic," Dolorosa turned to the gold troll. "Would you mind steering a while? These two need sleep more than you or I, and that way I can steer during the day." She batted her eyelashes a bit.

Psiioniic coughed a little and stammered out a quiet "Sure.", a light brush covering his cheek. He turned to the constellations for guidance.

The other three trolls, jade, ruby, and olive retreated into the below deck area where four hammocks had been set up to sleep. She kissed each other their heads, whispering good things before the two lay down for much needed sleep. Quietly, the Dolorosa returned to the deck where the Psiioniic was quietly humming a song to himself. She recognized it as an old slaves song, particularly for those with psionic powers, like him. She sat beside him.

"You should sleep; you'll need to be awake in the day." He spoke softly, not looking at her.

"I'll be fine." She replied, looking up at the endless sky, sprinkled with diamond like stars.

Silence.

"Do you think we'll ever be free?"

The Dolorosa wasn't sure how to answer that. Instead she stood, placed a kiss on his forehead, and went back below deck to sleep.

The Psiioniic knew the answer to that question anyway.