Ava had just finished taking a shower when she saw the woman she had tucked in bed walking around like she had a place to be. Reina was reading a book from one of the bookshelves while she wrote notes down with her magic on a note which laid on a clustered table near the walk-in closet. Since Ava had seen Reina do more complicated things, she wasn't the slightest bit bothered.

When Reina had explained the concept of magic to her, she realised it was a lot more complicated than she had guessed. Ava was comfortable with the little magic she had, which was the beasts and power types inside her. As long as she understood that, it was all that she needed to know.

After Ava was in something more comfortable like a loose pants and tank, she ran a hand through her hair as she walked to the clustered table and closed the note. That interrupted the spell and Reina shut the book she was reading.

The woman rolled her shoulders then turned to Ava, her lips falling into a thin line. "Why did you do that?"

Ava shrugged, running a hand through her wet hair. Not answering the question, she replied, "What are you studying?"

Reina hesitated, making Ava straighten up, and the woman sighed. She placed the book back on the shelf then walked back to the clustered table to pick up her note. Without looking at Ava, she said, "More magic stuff like normal."

Ava had a guess she was lying. Mostly because all the emotion in her voice died down. The blonde didn't pry and managed a smile for her. "Are you sure you should be up? You were bleeding from your nose. Is that normal for you?"

Reina flipped to the next page of her note as she said, "When I use too much magic or do mind tricks it happens."

"Tricks? What happened with Silas?" Ava asked curiously, and she bit her lip excitedly when Reina looked up at her.

"He was tricked by that beast to believe he was in total darkness. Meanwhile, he was just closing his eyes in his mind. And with total darkness in your mind, nothing is what it seems. It's like a dream." Reina paused to drop her note on the table then turned back to Ava, "If you are aware of it, you can control it. However, if you are not, it controls you. Just the way the Madara controlled Silas. If I didn't call out to him, Silas would have been stuck in a loop."

"Until he realized he was dreaming and took control of it, right?"

"Yes...well depending on the beast. They could keep someone in a loop with no way of escaping or they could provide a loophole so someone could come out." She sighed. "I never got to the dream-like state he was in because the room he was in tried to kick me back out. Fighting that barrier was enough to give me nose bleeds."

Ava chuckled. "And they say mind readers have it easy."

"Tell me where they say that, and I'll email them a book about why it is not." The dark-skinned woman smiled at her then turned to the table and waved her hand over it.

As she did that, the books huddled on it levitated, then flew onto the bookshelves. All except her note that remained, lying neatly on the table. Ava knew she had seen more magic, but every little display still sparked an odd sense of adventure.

"Can I do magic too?" she asked curiously watching Reina take off the beads that she wore like a blouse. Now all she had on was her black bedlah.

Reina ran a hand down her arm, and Ava had the urge to touch her. Mostly because she had been sleeping all day and hadn't had the chance to touch or hold her a lot except when she passed out. She couldn't remember why she had decided to sleep for so long.

"Ava?"

The blonde looked back at her and replied dumbly, "Huh?"

Reina rose a brow at her, and Ava loved how full and perfectly shaped they were. Not to mention her waist length hair that would soon go up in a bun so big that Ava wondered how the little woman could carry it. Reina was so beautiful.

"I'm going to assume you didn't hear me again." Reina huffed just as she picked her hair up to put it in a bun. She shook her head at the other girl and then walked to the bathroom to get a mirror.

Ava followed behind her mostly because she liked seeing the final look. Reina wrapped her braided hair around where it was packed then tried to pin it down to her head so it wouldn't unravel. Ava quickly ran to her aid and held it down so she could pin it.

Reina thanked her, and Ava smiled at her through the mirror. She stood there awkwardly for a few minutes wondering if Reina was going to ask her to help take off her clothes, but she knew it was only wishful thinking. It was either Reina was seeing the signs and ignoring them, or she was just that oblivious.

"I need the bathroom, Ava." Reina folded her arms over her chest. "Unless there is something else you need?"

Ava cleared her throat awkwardly then turned to leave. It wasn't like that answered the second question that Ava wanted to respond to so badly. Ava didn't know what about the woman she liked so much. Maybe it was her skin or her full hair. Maybe it was the way she controlled situations which sometimes pissed Ava off but was sexy at the same time. Or maybe it was the fact that she was older and all Ava wanted to do was hold the older woman in her arms and tell her everything would be alright.

Fuck! Ava could only last so long hiding her feelings. She marched right back to the woman, cupped her face in her hands and placed her lips on Reina's round ones. She dared not open her eyes as she moved her lips against Reina's, stealing a chance to slip her tongue in her mouth when the woman gasped. She tasted like raspberries – the fruit she munched on occasionally. Ava's heart drummed heavily in her chest for having gotten this far, and it only picked up tempo when Reina's hands grazed down her wrists and gripped her forearms lightly.

Ava slowly pulled away to look at her and Reina's creased forehead didn't help her racing heart. Was she fine with that? Had I done something wrong? Did she not like it? Ava froze in fear but the second Reina took a step towards her, she dashed out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. What have I done? She wondered as she paced in front of the door. Where had that courage even come from?

Ruffling her damp hair, she began to doubt whether Reina was going to talk to her again or if it was going to be awkward between them. Honestly, Ava didn't know. Reina was literally the mature one between them. Ava just hoped she didn't sink low enough to do that.

Trying to calm down, Ava stopped pacing and leaned on the wall, remembering how smooth her skin was and how plump her lips were. It had only been a few minutes, and it felt like forever. She knew she was going to have more vivid dreams about it. Playing with the Rune marking on her wrist, she remembered when Reina bought her that charm. Could it be the Kaymon giving her that confidence?

The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Ava noticed Reina was still in her bedlah. She swallowed when the woman looked up at her then said, "Why did you do that?"

Ava took a deep breath to collect her thoughts then turned to her. "Well, you asked me if I needed something."

Reina blinked, looking quite surprised at her statement then offered a small smile. It relieved Ava to see it, and she returned it just as Reina gestured for her to get closer. She did instantly, and her heart melted when Reina threw her arms around Ava's neck and pressed her lips softly against hers. The little lady slipped her tongue into Ava's mouth with ease and heat rose in Ava's groin at the familiar taste of her tongue. Ava pushed them into the bathroom, straight into the shower, loving when Reina chuckled against her lips. It was honestly about time they had a shower together.

~::~

The sky was a pale shade of blue. The sun shone brightly, having no effect on the cool, breezy weather. The sea was calm, and the ship sailed with a soft hum. Silas felt at peace.

There was a constant growling in his head, but Silas knew how to shut the noise out like a soundproof door so that everything was quiet again.

He sat on the deck with a thick blanket Reina had given him a long while back. He could remember clearly. The ship had been freezing that day, but only Reina and Silas had been affected since the others had beasts that could keep them warm. It was so dark out. The sky was vacant with no stars, only the moon. Reina had said nighttime in different places was different. Some had the moon, and some didn't. Some skies were filled with stars to the point where you could see only a few spots of darkness. Some places had total darkness, and some were the opposite. It made Silas curious to see those places. Back in his world, one could hardly see the stars no matter the place. One would have to buy a telescope, and they had become expensive over the years.

Thinking of his more advanced world where everything was just a software application away, he wondered what month they were on. Silas could hardly sense any changes as it had been only three weeks in Domus. How were his family even doing? Since his body had not been recovered in the incident, he must be registered as missing. Sadly, per protocol, if he was still missing in 48 hours, a national search would be performed on his parents' demand which would take a month. After that, if he was still missing, he would be assumed dead and would be added to the long list of presumed dead individuals.

The process took a lot of patience, time, and money, something he couldn't believe his parents were going through. And not just his parents, but Benji's and Edgar's too. Edgar's mom must be devastated to lose her husband and then her son. Had Edgar even thought through everything?

"You look so focused on whatever you are thinking of. I feel terrible for interrupting you." Edgar's voice whispered into his ear, and his hot breath sent a warm shiver down Silas' spine.

"Hey," Silas whispered back then tilted his head up to kiss him on his lips. "I was just thinking of home."

Edgar leaned down to kiss him again before joining the other boy on the floor. "Well, don't. It'll drain you."

"I noticed," he said as he eyed the fine man beside him. He smelled like coconut and his hair still looked glossy and wet.

Edgar ran his hand over his head and sighed before meeting Silas' eyes. His thick brows arched in askance and Silas shook his head and looked away. It wasn't Silas' fault he couldn't believe that this hot piece of meat was his.

"So, have you seen Wyatt yet?"

Silas shook his head. "Nah. I was going to until you interrupted me." He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and added, "What did you need?"

"No, I was just looking for you. I was done training, and before that, Reina wanted me to ask you a couple of questions regarding what happened to you and Benji in Omar. And I personally want to ask you what the hell happened that caused you to blow half the ship off." Edgar's eyes widened considerably, and Silas bit his bottom lip.

"Um," He started, hoping he could recount all that had happened because he could only remember it vaguely. "We were at a club... Benji and I got out just before the building collapsed. You were still in it, so I thought you were seriously injured."

"Did you cry?" Edgar tagged in, wiggling his brows and Silas hid the blush that formed behind the blanket.

"Edgar, it wasn't funny. That beautiful city was up in flames. Vampires were killing people. I was scared." Silas narrowed his eyes at him and before Edgar could speak he continued. "Anyways, Benji made us run, and we got attacked by some Charmer and a Madara. I think they cornered us, I don't remember clearly."

Edgar stayed silent as if it was going to help Silas recover his memories. Silas did try to think of what happened after they were cornered but it came back blank. That got him angsty because it felt like an important piece of a puzzle was missing from his memory.

"You don't have to think so hard. Let me give you a picture." Edgar offered, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. Silas gave him the nod, and he continued, "You and Benji are backed against the wall. The Charmer and Madara arrive. The Charmer is a fire charmer and goes after Benji. You try to save him, but you are powerless with no beasts, so you are quickly pushed aside by the Madara. The creature bites at you, but you are able to hurt him enough to take his powers. Then you save Benji and take the charmer's powers."

Silas froze as the memories flooded back to him. The feeling of the Madara's sharp teeth gnawing into his skin, Benji's helpless cries, the blood that stained his arms from both the beast and the man. Silas instantly regretted remembering as it reminded him of his parents' death. The blood-soaked living room. Where his beast and power type were currently held.

"I-I killed them." Silas managed in a cracked tone that made his voice sound deeper. "I killed a man, Edgar."

Edgar's shoulders fell, and he reached for Silas, but the boy pushed his hand away, dropping the blanket down when he felt the heat spread through his body. Standing up, he reached his hand out palm up and gestured for Edgar to look at it. The second his green eyes fell on it, small reddish orange flames grew from the center of his palm. It grew bigger as if something was fanning it and soon, it took the shape of a small snow blower robot that looked like an hourglass.

Edgar stood up to have a good look at it. His face was filled with shock just as Silas guessed. The man tried to reach for it, but the flames fell, turning to smoke before reaching the ground.

When Edgar looked back at him, Silas took a step back and said, "I get very hot whenever I do that so try not to touch me after something like that."

"It was incredible. Where did you learn that? When did you get time to do that?"

"All that time the Madara was running around with my body..." he trailed off, and Edgar exhaled.

Silas looked down at his hands. The flames didn't feel hot to him, but he knew they were hot because when he didn't get his other hand to the right temperature, it had burnt him. Rubbing his hands together when he felt his body calm down, he looked back at Edgar and smiled.

"That's as far as I can do for now."

"It's amazing anyways." Edgar smiled back.

A door slammed somewhere in the distance, and Silas looked over Edgar's shoulder to see Wyatt standing outside his office. The man scanned the deck until his eyes fell on Silas, then narrowed. Silas knew what that meant, and he looked back at Edgar and said, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Edgar smirked. "Sure. Then you can show me what other tricks you've come up with. I'll be in our room if you need me."

Silas nodded then walked past him to Wyatt's office. He honestly didn't want to think or talk about what had happened at Omar. Just the image of it replaying in his head was making his heart race. The curly haired boy just hoped the 'punishment' Wyatt was going to give him would be able to take his mind off it.