Head spinning with inebriation and confusion, Zeta wound her way up through the halls of the Grandcypher's lower decks. The whole way, an internal clash burned at her: the joy and warmth springing forth from her time with Fraux, and the frustration with herself, both for her inability to understand what had just happened and her absolute cowardice to not follow through on… whatever that urge was. And how could she tell Fraux to stop masking her feelings, only to turn around and do the same? With an exasperated sigh, she smacked a firm fist against a wooden wall. "What is wrong with me tonight…?"

"You're sure up late, Pupper." A voice rang out from the bottom of the stairs leading to the upper deck of the ship. Frowning, Ilsa approached her, her usual military attire replaced with a nightgown. "I hope you have a good reason; you're on monster duty tomorrow, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Zeta gave her commander a tired wave, intending just to continue on her way. "Just couldn't sleep, needed some fresh air. Heading back down now. Night."

"…Zeta, neither the main deck nor your cabin are in the direction of where you just came from." Fighting the urge to sigh and facepalm at the blatant lie, Ilsa instead took another couple steps toward her with a soft smile. "Why don't you tell me what's actually going on? We can go above deck if you want."

Zeta stopped, contemplating for a moment just moving along so she could be alone with her thoughts. But no; maybe this would help clear things up. Maybe an outside voice is just what she needed right now. Heaving a defeated sigh, she turned and nodded. "…Okay, yeah, sure. We can just talk here though. Not like anyone else is passing through."

"Not at the moment, but if anybody onboard wants to go anywhere, they'll be passing by here. But if you're fine with it, then sure." Stopping beside her subordinate, Ilsa leaned back against the wall Zeta had just punched. She sniffed the air and scowled. "Drinking? On the night of a mission? Come on, Pupper."

"Hey, I barely had any! By my standards at least…" Zeta shook her head. Despite her protest, the headache pounding in her skull reminded her that Ilsa was certainly not wrong. But who cared about those details? "Don't worry, I'll still be good for tomorrow's mission. Four drinks ain't even close to enough to keep me down."

"I'm holding you to that. If you have any issues with it tomorrow, I'm dragging your butt back to basic for a week." Ilsa turned a sidelong look at Zeta, cutting into her with inquisitiveness. "Alright. So, what's on your mind? And don't you give me more bull."

With a sigh, Zeta looked down, color painting her cheeks again. "…It's that girl I sparred with this morning. Fraux. Kinda spent most of the day with her after that. And it was great! But uh… we had a bad encounter with some jerks, and she… uh…"

"Don't worry about the details, that's between you and her." Nodding along, Ilsa felt a smile forming. Already she could just feel where this was going. "So you helped her through it, huh? Good on you."

"Well, yeah, I wasn't just going to leave her hanging, you know? What kind of friend would I be?" Eyes closing, she blew out a frustrated breath. "…She's doing better now. But… can't get my mind off her now. Dunno if I'll even be able to sleep like this."

"Because you're worried about her?" Ilsa waited several long seconds for a response; none came, further confirming her suspicions. "Or is there more to it?"

"I mean, yeah, I kinda am. But... She's amazing. She's so strong that I know she'll be fine, because she's been through so much worse than that. Like, I'd have broken if I'd been put through half the crap she has. But she's come through it all, and is still strong and kind and awesome and... W-what's so funny?"

Ilsa bit down her chortles and flashed Zeta a teasing grin. "You're gushing unprompted about her. Is our little Pupper feeling some puppy love for her new friend?"

"H-huh? The heck? No way that's the case. You know I don't care about that crap." Zeta choked at the suggestion, even as her cheeks flared bright red. But it would explain everything about how she was feeling… She shook her head. No. She refused to buy it. There had to be another explanation than that gushy crap. Not that she had one offhand, but still. "I-it's… it's gotta just be the booze making me say weird dumb things. Yeah. That's all it is."

"Heh. If you say so." It took all of Ilsa's willpower not to sigh though. Of course Zeta was going to deny the budding crush. But oh well; she couldn't force her subordinate to actually face it. "But anyways. It's going to keep you from sleeping, right? We need to fix that, stat. Again, you have monster suppression tomorrow."

"Right, yeah. Just can't get her off my mind, confused as hell about everything, and… yeah." Zeta slumped back against the wall once more and clutched her head. "Maybe I should just drink until I pass out, that'll solve everything…"

All cheer left Ilsa's face as she glared at Zeta. "Pull that stunt, and I'm booting you all the way back to Society HQ."

"Joking, joking, sheesh!"

"You had better be." Breathing the annoyance out of her system, Ilsa turned to face Zeta in full. "Now, listen. Maybe try to stop forcing her off your mind? If you can't escape it, just go with it. It might help."

"Maybe, yeah." Or it could force her thoughts into even weirder things… Zeta shook her head. "…Eh. Guess I'll try that. Maybe it'll help me work stuff out some."

"Mmhm. Sounds like a plan." As Zeta pushed off the wall to leave, Ilsa offered her one more smile. "Sleep tight, Pupper."

In her pitch black room, Fraux stared sleeplessly up at the ceiling. Why had she told Zeta about her past like that? They had just met that day; why was she trusting her with the knowledge that Fraux had tried to end the entire world just like that? Sure, Zeta didn't seem judgmental in the slightest—but what if she told someone who was? Just what in the skies did she think she was doing?

A card resting on her nightstand glowed, and a chorus of voices spoke in perfect unison. "You did say too much."

"...I really can't have any privacy with you around, huh?" Fraux sighed, turning her gaze to the Devil's card. "Yeah, I know I did. Because I'm sure I can trust her. She… promised she had my back. And stood by me when I lost control. But I can't help but be scared; what if she tells someone anyways? I don't want my time in this crew to come to an end already."

"Your worries have no basis in anything. You may have spoke too much, but there is no reason to doubt the girl's trustworthiness. Even I can see as much that she will not betray you. And Djeeta is not one to remove you from the crew for so trivial a reason."

Fraux raised an eyebrow at the card. "So, if that's the case, why do you think I said too much?"

"The walls aboard this ship are thin, and you were not particularly quiet at times. Should someone have desired to overhear you, they would have had little difficulty." A brief pause to allow Fraux to digest his words. "Perhaps curtail your drinking next time."

"Oh, hush, you, I'm not even drunk. Just a little buzzed." Still, Fraux grimaced; she had to admit she probably wouldn't have opened up near as much without the drinks. Maybe the Devil had a point. "You might be right, but I can't think of anyone in the crew that would care enough to follow us like that. And the rooms beside me are Nier's and Haase's, who both already know what I tried to do."

"I merely mean to be cautious. You have been hurt by the underhanded actions of others in the past, not that you need be reminded of your hometown."

"Oh, don't worry, I know more than well enough what you mean." Still, Fraux managed a small smile as she nestled back under her covers. "…Heh. Thanks, Devil. I know you were trying to admonish me, but you actually eased my worries some."

"I do not need your thanks; all that matters is keeping you, my pactbearer, safe until I have exacted my revenge upon the World."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Doesn't change that you helped here. So, again, thanks." Silence followed, and Fraux soon fell asleep, fears morphing into hopes as she drifted off.