Heart of Gold

Chapter Three - Separation

Seven days had passed since Kilnor had first attempted to encourage Sunny to exercise, and Sunny was now at the stage where she no longer cared whether Kilnor would be capable of piloting the ship should they some how manage to take control - she wasn't sure cooperating with him was really worth it.

Well, that was a slight exaggeration, but if she saw Kilnor shake his head despairingly at her push-up attempts one more time... well, she shouldn't be held accountable for her actions. Considering the language barrier, Kilnor managed to convey his disappointment in his roommate remarkably well. No doubt he would prefer to have been trapped with her brother Rain. Then they could have been muscly, exercise-fond males together, all grunting and testosterone.

Thinking of Rain distracted her from her task, and she paused, head and chest resting on the hard metal grate, rather than completing the set of fifty sit-ups that Kilnor had demanded. A firm poke in the shoulder let her know that her stopping had not escaped his notice, but the touch did not frighten or startle her as it would have before.

In the days since that first night, where Kilnor had pulled her into his arms unwillingly, using his body to keep her warm, Sunny had learnt that she was safe from harm from him. Big, muscly, and alien though he may be, he had evidently appointed himself her protector, dutifully doling out her food and water and ensuring she kept her strength up. She might have been afraid that he was expecting something in return, except that other than holding her at night, he had mostly kept his paws to himself. Oh, there were the casual touches here and there, like the poking when he caught her slacking off when she was supposed to be exercising, and similar actions, but even when he held her each night, he had not made a single move beyond wrapping his arms around her. No sneaky boob grabs, no hands wandering where they oughtn't. Even his eyes seemed to stay fixed on her face when he spoke to her.

A second poke in the shoulder brought Sunny back from her musings, and she opened her eyes slightly, glaring up at the huge male standing over her with a disapproving look on his face. He opened and closed both of his hands twice, spreading out each finger clearly. His way of telling her she still had twenty sit-ups to go.

Sunny groaned and closed her eyes again, futilely hoping that he would go away. The nudge to the shoulder was even firmer this time, and Sunny knew that should she continue to ignore him, his next target would be her ribs, which he had discovered made her jerk about if poked there. The first time he had done so had been accidentally, and he had been overly apologetic, assuming from her reaction that he had hurt her immensely. Once he had figured out that it was only ticklish, it had become his favourite way of getting her to exercise.

Sunny opened her eye.

"You," she grunted, beginning her sit-ups. "Are a tyrant. A big, nasty tyrant."

The meaning of her words was lost on Kilnor, who simply opened and closed his hands twice more.

Panting, and with a thin sheen of sweat, Sunny finished the last sit-up required, collapsing upon the grate. Her muscles ached faintly, and she was sure that the metal grate had bruised her spine, but she couldn't quite bring herself to move just yet. She could sense, rather than see, Kilnor rolling his eyes, but she ignored him for the time being, focusing on her heartbeat, listening as it slowed.

Her breathing returned to normal, she shivered, the drying sweat giving her goosebumps. Sitting up, she winced as her muscles protested the movement, and she made her way to where Kilnor was leaning against the wall, and plopped herself next to him.

"I wish you could understand me," she said, looking at him. "There are so many things I want to ask you, things that I hope you know the answer to. I want to know if you know what took us. I want to know if you know where they're taking us. I want to know if you know how to pilot a ship. I want to know if I am ever going home again."