Stockholm Syndrome

[Gen]

Despite his trauma, Raeph had managed to calm himself considerably over the next several minutes. Human breathing exercises really helped to manage his anger and anxiety, which anyone that knew him well enough understood was probably for the best. Whenever Raeph became overwhelmed, which wasn't often, he always had two responses: Shut down or Melt down. Neither of these would help them right now, and if he were to have a melt down it would surely be the end for someone tonight.

The healing was nearly finished. He was so irritated that it was taking so long. Silver. He hated that he was susceptible to the damned metal. He wasn't a werewolf or a vampire. The man also mentioned salt an iron. Did they think that he was a ghost? Would it even work...? The boy shuddered at the thought of having to dig hunks of salt out of his skin. He wasn't a ghost.

His arms raised up, his hands locking and resting on his head as they walked. The boy smiled slightly as he looked over to Cernan. He'd forgotten how tall and statuesque the man was. How secure he could make Raeph feel. As his magic faded and their glamour dissipated like dust on a breeze, he felt another very familiar but long lost sensation. His heart felt warmer for a moment, fluttering even. It had been so very long.

And then the question was posed.

Raeph's brow furrowed slightly as the cogs and wheels began to turn. Why would Cernan ask that? He'd just told him that he'd needed to find him. What more to it was there? He sighed softly, his hands falling as he closed the gap between the two, walking beside the white fox finally. His hand occasionally brushed Cernan's, purposefully of course. The sensation he'd received when the man took his hand before was intoxicating, but he wouldn't push for it.

"I... I needed to find you." Raeph said softly. "I told you, Cern... I need to make things right..."

[Cernan]

Cernan looked down at Ahearn a slight frown appearing on his face. He could not fully understand Ahearn's need for forgiveness, the concept was foreign to him. He wanted Ahearn back as much as Ahearn seemed to want to be back, but Cernan had never been one to need anyone elses approval. He had always let Ahearn come and go as he pleased. Still he could see that he needed it, just like he needed answers.

"I know, you said before. You came, and that is enough for me. However that doesn't explain why you were here. Why would you come looking for me in this area?"

[Gen]

Raeph could feel himself getting frustrated. It didn't quite register just yet for him what the other fox was trying to get at here, and he hated answering the same questions repeatedly. Even if they were from him. He sighed softly, letting the man speak. He would slip into a long, deep silence himself for a few minutes, letting the question hang on the air before finally answer.

"I dunno... I guess I was just on this side of the globe. Thought I'd look you up." Raeph said sharply. "I thought I'd have to travel alot further, honestly. What are you doing here? I think that's a better question. Humans were always my thing..."

And then it hit him. Raeph stopped dead in his tracks, visibly zoning out as he began to piece some very strange bits of information together. It was true that Raeph never even really intended to enter Stockholm. He'd hated most areas that bore memories for he and the white fox. Cernan never traveled this far out of his own accord, either. Not often, at least. The humans had been waiting for him. It seemed that they'd done this before-- perhaps several times. He felt an unfamiliar sensation. His stomach turned and he could feel his heartbeat quickening again. A brow raised, he looked up to Cernan.

"What are you getting at...?" He asked, his voice clearly very nervous.

[Cernan]

Ahearn's answer confirmed what Cernan had suspected. For a brief moment his temper flared, his tails suddenly thrashing in his anger, striking the ground and wall with enough force to tear chunks out and shake the whole tunnel. He had to concentrate to tame his temper, looking into Ahearn's eyes with a grave expression.

"I can't explain why I came here either, something just compelled me too. This was a trap all along. These miserable little creatures have been planning this for a long time, and I don't think it is just us. This is an extermination."

Cernan stopped to look down the tunnel ahead of them. When his tails had tore through the ground he had felt it, an escape route a hole in the rock leading up. he judged it's distance, it was just ahead of them just out of sight.

'Come on, we're getting out of here, there's a service tunnel or the like ahead of us. If you could disguise again that would be best, they probably know we are coming, and we might have to fight our way out if we aren't careful."

Cernan walked forward into the darkness, quickly finding the door to the service tunnel he had felt. He ripped it off of it's hinges, tossing it aside, revealing a dim light that lit up the area. It was still in use, so it would lead out.

"This is it, are you ready?"

Cernan stepped into the corridor, and started to head up.

[Gen]

Raeph didn't like where this was going at all. The humans were catching him by surprise one minute after the next, and for the clever fox this was definitely an impressive feat. If what Cernan said was true, then they had somehow developed a way to attract more of their kind? It seemed impossible, but here they were. He wondered just how long this had been going on for. He jumped slightly as the fox's guise fell and he thrashed about angrily, Raeph stepping back and steadying himself against the wall as the tunnel quaked. He watched Cernan, a little worried.

It was a little amusing to him. Humans getting the better of Cernan, the great white fox. Demons and Deities alike had tried their hand at it many times over the years, and he had always come out triumphant. It must have been so frustrating to realize that they had been played like puppets by a race they'd always thought to be inferior. Raeph had always thought the species had potential. He'd seen it many times. Nothing like this, however.

He nodded at Cernan one the fox was ready to continue on. Raeph walked behind him, trying to hide a slight smirk. It probably wasn't wise to tease him right now. His ears twitched when Cernan pulled the door from it's setting, making so much noise. If he wanted to avoid getting caught, this certainly wasn't the way to do it.

As they walked through the corridor Raeph found himself grinning again. He knew just what he'd do. He wanted to wait, of course, in case Cernan had any objections.

"You have to admit..." Raeph would say after a rather long period of silence. "... It is impressive..."

When they finally would come to the exit Raeph took Cernan by the hand again, holding him tight. He didn't want to lose him if they had to run. Hopefully there wouldn't be any resistance on the other side. He gripped the knob himself this time, finding that it was locked as well. He wouldn't let the man just rip it off of the hinges, though. If they could avoid a fight, if they could avoid being noticed, Raeph wanted to do his best. With a sharp twist he would snap the mechanism and then push through gently, leading the other fox into the station.

Raeph took on the appearance of a young, stocky blond haired boy, with bright green eyes and a sweet smile. Tall, dressed in somewhat generic winter clothes. Attached to him by hand, he looked back and almost laughed. He tugged behind him a rather tall, very beautiful young brunette, who also smiled excitedly. The smile was of course just part of the guise, as Raeph knew once Cernan became wise to his appearance, he certainly would not be smiling.

"Cmon, before anyone notices." He said, winking to the disguised fox.

[Cernan]

Cernan glared at Ahearn, there was anger in his eyes, but something else as well, something far away.

"It is impressive, and it has only just begun...."

For a moment Cernan lost himself. He wondered if Ahearn knew, but then why would he? Mankind's place in the world was to be it's eventual masters, and that fate was part of the natural order. Cernan could fight their attackers but he could not fight fate. Ahearn was not bound like Cernan was to the world. He could fight it, change it, and someday leave it. Cernan could not, he was bound to the world, and he had seen the future of their kind. He had accepted this long ago, which was part of why he had let humans settle in what had once been his land in the first place. Someday, Man would usurp their place.

Cernan snapped back too when Ahearn took his hand and then forced the door. He felt again the squiggly sensation of magic wash over him. He felt something else too, something that did not feel right on his body. He looked down and noticed he now had breasts. If Ahearn's illusion had not also pasted a smile over his face he would have seen Cernan's face he would have seen a scowl unlike any other. Cernan was not pleased to say the least and nearly reached out to strike Ahearn, but checked himself. They had to escape, he would get Ahearn later.

"When we get out of here, I will make you pay for this."

He spotted the exit sign and started towards it. With any luck there would be another train coming in on one of the lines that would provide a crowd for them to leave with. As he walked towards the stairs he also left a trail above them, a line of ice forming on the ceiling. It was all the warning he could leave for someone following without giving up their location entirely.

[Gen]

Raeph was too busy concentrating on keeping them from being noticed to really think about any of the implications of what had just happened to them right now. He was already expending plenty of energy embarrassing Cernan, anyway. He grinned up to the man when he'd heard that he'd finally noticed the change and chuckled, shrugging his shoulders with an expression upon his face that alone would ask, "Did you expect anything less?"

The fox was a little taken by surprise when Cernan jerked him off in another direction again, clearly knowing where he was going now. Or at least it appeared so. Raeph didn't know anything about this city other than that he'd wanted to leave it far behind more than anything now.

They were almost to the doors when he noticed them. On the far reaches of the room familiarly dressed figures carrying firearms were waiting, and a couple more by the doors. His heart sank, but he did his best to save face, and he never let Cernan's guise appear even slightly disappointed.

"Once we're outside we'll jump. Then you can beat me all you like." He said, looking up to the fox with a devilish grin an a quick wink. "Just try to keep cool... if we make a scene in here, we're trapped."

Though he spoke of keeping calm, Raeph could feel his heart racing, beating so hard and loud in his chest and ears. How had they detected him before? He'd hoped that his guise would work, but he wasn't sure. The human's had found him once before when he thought he'd been unnoticed. He swallowed hard and walked up to the doors with Cernan, who of course still appeared as his tall, voluptuous young girlfriend.

He nodded to the men and then pushed through. No one had stopped them. Raeph sighed with relief and pulled the other fox with him toward the streets. He was about to jump when he'd heard a voice calling behind them and what sounded like whining. He looked back to see that a soldier and canine companion had been waiting outside the doors.

"Hold on a minute!" The soldier called out, walking toward them. The dog seemed to become rather riled up the closer it got to them. "I said stop!"

Raeph was done. They had nearly killed him, attacked someone he cared very deeply for, and now they were bringing dogs into the mix. He hated dogs with a passion. For such a common, unremarkable creature, they posed him such a threat if he wasn't careful. He was also still very angry about being shot and then tormented by the old man from before.

As he glared to the man that advanced upon them his irises shined like hot iron and the immediate area became swelteringly hot. Rage didn't quite cover the intense emotion he was feeling right now. The light from his irises seemed to drift up into the air like a mist or embers, disappointing the further from his eyes it rose. The man stopped in his tracks, the dog now barking and raising hell. He reached behind him to grab something, but Raeph wasn't going to wait to find out. Cernan might feel a slight shift as though his hand had been released, but only for a fraction of a second. Raeph himself wouldn't even appear to have left his side.

The man that had stopped them let out a gargled choking sound and the dog yelped, both of them taking a moment before crumbling to the street in a bloody mess, cleaved in half. In Raeph's free hand he held a slender, ornate long sword, dark and grey like gunmetal and now drenched in blood. It would soon disappear into the air like a puff of smoke, and soon after they two of them would vanish, appearing again nearly a mile away in some obscure alley as themselves. His illusion had crumbled in the jump.

Raeph could see stars. He was enraged, and this time it was he that was in danger of losing control. Or rather, further losing control. His head was spinning and he was nearly blind. He tried to control his breathing, inhaling through his nose slowly and then exhaling, smoke of course being exhausted. He didn't want to show it, but something was very wrong with his power. He'd never become this exhausted just from a jump before, or from conjuring anything, or from any combination of abilities. Not this quickly.

He had to appear strong, though. He could feel Cernan's disappointment in him, and he was already in enough trouble for teasing and embarrassing him. So many emotions, so many thoughts. His head was reeling and he thought he might scream.

[Cernan]

Cernan himself was nearly doubled over after the jump, breathing hard and holding his knees. He righted himself, as he did so letting out a half growl, half groan. It felt as if the jump had nearly killed him. It had always been a cruel irony how incompatible his and Ahearn's bodies and magics were. He had not used his own method of transportation for fear that in his weakened state Ahearn might not survive it. Even under normal circumstances, having ones body torn apart and then recombobulated as particles of ice that transmuted back to flesh was not a pleasant experience for most, an was particularly incompatible with a being of fire like Ahearn. Now Ahearn had subjected him to a similarly unpleasant experience.

As Cernan recovered he looked around trying to get a bearing on where they were. He could tell they hadn't travelled far which surprised him, looking over at Ahearn though he knew why. Ahearn looked exhausted, he must have moved them as far as he could. Still they had given their pursuers the slip, that was good. He was worried about Ahearn though, he was beginning to fear he had somehow been poisoned. He reached out to place a hand on Ahearn's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" The worry in Cernan's voice could be heard. His eyes were shifting around as he spoke to Ahearn, checking him over.

Cernan could tell something was wrong. Ahearn's aura wasn't right. It was confused and dulled, and Ahearn himself looked tired and worn. Their kind never tired, it wasn't right. They would need to take shelter and hide, at least while Ahearn recovered.

Again Cernan surveyed the alley they were in. It looked like a back alley of between two sections of older row houses. It would do. Cernan headed towards the nearest door, his hand slipping off of Ahearn's shoulder as he moved away from him. When he reached a the door he pushed just above the door knob, forcing the door open. He looked back at Ahearn before entering.

"Coming?" Not waiting for an answer Cernan entered the building.

Once inside Cernan could hear movement coming from the upstairs. The owners had likely heard them. Cernan rushed up the stairs, he didn't want them calling the police or alerting anyone. He came to the bedroom of the owners, a middle aged couple. Before they could react, and without blinking an eye or a second thought he had snapped the mans neck, freezing the woman's brain at the same time. As they dropped to the floor Cernan headed back down the stairs to check on Ahearn. He also started projecting his aura. He wanted to know who he had felt earlier, and they would need a way to find them. He knew the men hunting them mind find them too, but they might not, and it would probably take them time to pinpoint them even if they did . At this point though he had grown tired of running, he would fight them if they came.

[Gen]

Raeph could barely hear the man speak to him when he did, his voice muffled by the ringing and rushing in his ears. Still he looked to him blankly and nodded, not able to find the will or strength or even discipline to speak right now. It was a miracle he hadn't set the whole of the block on fire right now. Of course you had to have power to control it, and lately Raeph's had been questionable.

"Don't touch me..." Raeph grumbled in a voice that was not his own. Deep and dark and full of wickedness. Remnants of a very dark past, but nothing more now.

He followed the fox autonomously, like a drone just shuffling along behind him. He was in such a daze, and though the anger was slowly subsiding, he still found it impossible to think straight or muster any energy. He didn't care how far ahead of him the other fox wandered. Honestly he didn't even care if anyone noticed them. He was sure that entering the building they had eventually come to had made plenty of noise, but Raeph's ability to process emotion would eventually completely disappear, as well as his ability to think logically and complexly. His tunnel vision was also getting worse the more he exerted himself.

The fox by now was completely unable to hear what was going on upstairs, and when Cernan returned to him from wherever he'd gone he wouldn't even look at him. It took several long minutes to climb the stairs, taking one step at a time, his body slowly seeming to shut down. Indeed he needed to rest. Even through his tunnel vision he could see the figures on the floor as he came in, looking down to see them more clearly. He wouldn't even stop, however, and instead looked back up and around to find the bedroom.

Again the wicked voice rumbled from him, saying, "Get rid of them." And then he would walk into the couple's bedroom, stopping at the edge of their bed.

It would take some doing to undress. His coat, of course the first thing to go, took a good five minutes for him to unbutton, slip over his shoulders and pull off. His suit seemed like it would take forever. His vest and tie, the shirt alone with all it's buttons. Why did he dress like this, anyway? Eventually he would become too tired to continue. He could barely even stand. He looked back to the door.

".... Master..." The young man said slowly, and despite the octave he was speaking in, somehow managed to carry with it the tone of a helpless child.

[Cernan]

Cernan glared at Ahearn for a second. He did not like being ordered around. Watching him struggle to remove his clothes though he forgave him, he had clearly been pushed beyond his limit. It hardly took any effort anyway. Closing his eyes and focusing for just a second, the humans bodies froze completely, before disintegrating into flakes of snow which briefly swirled around the room before being absorbed into Cernan's own body. He shuddered for a second after. As easy as it was to do he still didn't like it. For a brief second he could feel the last thoughts of those people as they merged with him.

Cernan opened his eyes when Ahearn called him. He only had to look at the other fox for a second to know something was wrong. He stepped through the door up Ahearn, close enough for their bodies to press together lightly. He reached his hands up and brushed them though the younger foxes hair, just lightly brushing his ears.

"Ahearn, I am not your master, and I have not been since the day we decided we should be more to each other."

[Gen]

Raeph was too far gone right now to even really care that the fox was calling him by a name that he hadn't even acknowledged since he was just a young fox. However, something stirred inside of him as they stood there in the room, chest to chest, just where he should have been all this time. Since they'd landed from his jump his body had begun to grow colder and colder, his flesh appearing more and more pale and his eyes more sunken. The light had all but faded from his copper rings.

His head slowly fell to rest on Cernan's chest. He was able to hear his heartbeat, and with every beat he felt a strange pulse radiate through his own body. The pulse grew stronger with every beat, and so much more so when the fox touched his head and spoke to him. He closed his eyes, feeling as though he could get lost in the rhythm. After all these years, their hearts still beat in sync with one another.

"... I can't... get them off..." Raeph managed to say.

[Cernan]

Cernan moved his hands down from Ahearn's hair slowly, softly running them down Ahearn until the came to rest on Ahearn's hips. He was so cold, he was fading. Cernan pulled on Ahearn's hips slightly pulling them together tighter, closer. He could feel his heart quicken. It had been so very long since they had been so close. For a moment he just held them there, then he brought one hand up, pushing Ahearn's chin up with a finger. Looking into those eyes, he could see how they had dulled, the fire that had always burned in them was dimming. Gazing at them he also found his mind suddenly so very far away, thousands of years in the past and almost as many miles away. He remembered the first time he had stared into those eyes, what he had needed then, and what Ahearn needed now.


Cernan picked Ahearn up, setting him down on the edge of the bed. Gently he removed Ahearn's remaining clothes. Once they were off Cernan reached to the clasp holding his own cloak on. He untied it and removed the cloak draping it over Ahearn's shoulders so that the gold button on the left side was over Ahearn's heart. Cernan leaned in planting his lips lightly against Ahearn's, his aura suddenly growing and expanding to fill the room, but it was not centred on his own body but on the clasp now over Ahearn's heart. As it grew it would invade Ahearn's body but instead of consuming or overpowering Ahearn's aura it mixed with it, and their auras would become more and more entwined as did their bodies.

Love was what Ahearn needed, and that is what Cernan would give to him.

[Gen]

Dull, nearly lifeless eyes looked up to Cernan almost pleadingly, though it wasn't the fox's intent to appear that way. The copper had seemed to all but drain from the rings, more brown and clouded now. Perhaps he had been poisoned, but it wasn't from any enemy, nor would it be accurate to say that it had come as a betrayal. It had seemed that his very soul had been poisoned. He'd felt it for some time now, but even crossing paths with Cernan on good terms, he had never been able to reveal such a secret. Everything they had done, or everything he had done, finally began to take it's toll. Something inside of him had finally broken. Or so he'd thought...

Feeling Cernan's finger on his chin, ever so gently raising the younger fox's face, his eyes to meet the others, something stirred in him. It was a familiar sensation, but in this state it had seemed so foreign. He gazed up into the fox's eyes for the moment that he'd allowed him to before carrying him to the bed. Finally, Cernan was offering him the help he'd intended to request. Much to his surprise, it didn't stop there. It seemed silly to be stripped bare, at his most comfortable, only to have that silly seal skin cloak draped over him. It was so warm, though.

It came as an even greater surprise to Raeph to feel his master's lips upon his own. At first there would be no reaction, simply staring still onto the white fox's face. Slowly, though, the sensation began to seep into him, delivered through the kiss and into his skin. Warmth. It wasn't much, but his skin seemed to take on just a little more heat and color. His eyes though still dull now appeared more orange than brown. His heartbeat even quickened and he'd close his eyes finally. Just from a kiss, Raeph shuddered, breaking it to sigh a soft, ragged sigh.

"... Master..." He breathed softly.

He felt drunk. With the stress he'd been under, the anxiety he'd felt, and now the rush of new yet familiar sensations, the room was spinning out of control and all he wanted to do was lay down. And so he did, when his master allowed it finally. As his senses slowly returned they would become clouded once more. It had been so long since anyone had made him feel desirable or loved, but if anyone could it was Cernan. Much of his reactions to the fox would be autonomous, but somewhere deep down, Raeph was ecstatic to be here tonight.

Raeph would only be able to remain conscious for so long, though. Though the new stress was healthy, it was still exhausting on top of everything else. It would be the first time in a long time that the black fox would sleep.

A bright flash and suddenly Raeph was standing in the middle of a vast, grey field. He was surrounded by fog and smoke, and something floated carelessly in the air that reminded him of snow. The ground was covered in it as well. He smiled slightly as he gazed on, but in the back of his mind he knew that something wasn't quite right. The scent and the atmosphere was all wrong. Instead of cold and refreshing, the air was hot and thick and smelled like something was rotting. It would eventually make him gag.

The ground would rumble beneath his feet and there would be a loud, thunderous crack before another flash. A man stood before him now, so familiar and again so very foreign. His face was so handsome, his figure tall and strong and his hair appeared white at this distance, falling over part of his face. A foxy grin spread across the man's lips and slowly they would begin walking toward one another.

"Master...?" Raeph breathed.

As they came closer, however, his heart lurched. Dark green eyes peered at him from under the locks that, in the light seemed white, but upon closer inspection were revealed to be a lighter grey. Soon enough the two would stand abreast and the face was so much clearer. Raeph felt a knot form in his throat and something tug at his heart and the back of his mind. He shook his head, but before he could speak the man simply raised up his left hand. Raeph watched a moment, his expression black. For some reason he was compelled to raise his right hand, pressing his palm to the man's, his fingers to the others long digits. It was so warm and soft, much like his own. He flinched when he saw the man raise his other hand, but it only gently rested on Raeph's neck. He looked up to the man bewildered, but the man only smiled, prompting a gentle smile from Raeph. Eventually the grey haired young man would close his eyes and a gust of wind would carry through the field, and with a soft sigh the man would suddenly disintegrate into ash as the wind rushed over them.

Raeph awoke with a start, jerking some in the bed he soon found himself in. His heart was racing and beads of sweat rolled down his body though he was covered only in a thin sheet. He panted softly, trying to catch his breath from what had been a rather disturbing dream. The fox looked around a moment, not quite remember how he'd gotten here or what events might have taken place in his arrival. It clearly belonged to someone else. None of that mattered, however, when he realized that there was another body against his own. To his amazement he would look over to see Cernan with him, an arm around him as if to keep him from going anywhere. He smiled weakly. He was too tired to get up anyway, and instead just gazed into the night through a far window. Raeph would eventually frown again, however, as he thought more on his dream.

It was impossible...

[Cernan]

"You're awake?"

Cernan looked over at Ahearn. He had slept fitfully, jerking and twitching as he slept. Now that he was awake Cernan figured the worst had passed. He leaned over slightly to kiss Ahearn's forehead before getting up, taking his cloak with him as he did so. As he re-fastened it around his neck he felt his skin flush and grow hotter. He had given as much of his strength as he could to Ahearn, but he had also taken in some of Ahearn's power as well.

Cernan walked over to the window in the bedroom over-looking the street the house was on. He pushed it open, allowing a gust of cold air into the room, poking his head out of it. He glanced first up at the sky, checking the position of the stars as only one who had walked under them for so many long millennia could, confirming his suspicion that they had indeed moved north when they jumped. Then he checked what he could see of the city-scape. To the north the city stretched into the horizon. So to too the east the city seemed to stretch on. Which meant they were closer to the western seaward edge of the city. He had to figure out a plan of escape. Heading north was his first instinct, but it would be the longest path. Escaping ocean on the other hand would be shorter, but as Ahearn could not move through water and ice as Cernan could, would leave them trapped on the coast. They needed to move soon though. They had been granted a fortunate reprieve so far, as nothing had yet found them, or had come to interrupt them.

Cernan turned back to Ahearn, and noticed the worried expression on his face.

"What is it bothering you?"

[Gen]

Raeph wasn't sure why his former Master was so surprised that he was awake. He smiled when he felt the kiss on his forehead, a hand moving to the white fox's familiar, strong chest for the moment that he was close, and then slid back to his own when he walked away. He didn't bother to watch Cernan, pulling the blanket up over his body before the fox even opened the window. It was always Cernan's way, still using the stars to guide himself.

"You know... the humans have this new things called GPS..." He said teasingly. He reached over to what clothes he had left and pulled out his cellular, and then tossed it over to Cernan. "They've gotten pretty accurate."

The fox laid back, his brow furrowing as he thought about his face. The other man from his dreams. He knew it well, and even as Cernan asked about the concern Raeph hadn't intended to show, he couldn't tell him. He knew that it would concern the winter fox as well. That man was gone. Locked away in a prison not even accessible from this realm anymore. So they had thought, anyway. His hand glided up over his body, fingers gently running over a set of five circular scars over where his heart would be.

He closed his eyes, turning his head away. He still remembered the look on his face even after all those years. Betrayal. Rage. Fear. So much fear. So much so that he'd tried to rip Raeph's own heart from his very chest if it meant saving himself. He would have, too, if it hadn't been for Cernan's sheer strength.

He should have...

Raeph smiled and shook his head saying, "It's nothing." And then rolled over onto his side, away from Cernan. "I'm not feeling very well... I think I'm going to rest a little more. You should lay down, too... you worry too much."

It was like he'd forgotten the events of the last few hours. He could remember being shot, and the man's face, but everything after that was a blur. Had he really been pushed that far? He could tell that his energy was drained. His soul was still sick. Being around Cernan again, though, helped so much. He could feel his heart warming up again. It had been so long since anyone or anything had made it beat like this. His fire was returning... Only a little longer, and he wouldn't have to tell Cernan anything that might worry him.