Lia had decided not to go to class that day, since she too was very exhausted and drowsy from the eventful night. Instead, she slept until ten am and then moved into her room to work on a research project. She did keep an ear open to hear Nikki when she finally woke up. She slept a lot.

It was late afternoon before Nikki woke up.  She opened her eyes and looked around before remembering everything that had happened the previous day.

She shivered in fear and looked around the room. She slowly pushed herself up until she was sitting, and then slowly, cautiously stood up, trying to be as silent as possible. The shape of her legs made walking difficult. Her knees and feet turned outward awkwardly and her weight made her feet hurt. She slowly staggered over to the glass door and looked out the window at the sea. The storm from the previous night had passed, and the bright blue water and blue-green waves glittered and glinted stunningly in the sunlight streaming through the few lingering clouds that drifted lazily in the vibrant blue sky. She had rarely seen the ocean like this before. It made her sad, looking out at it from land, seeing the vast empty blue stretching from the white sand all the way away into the curve of the earth at the end of the distant horizon. From here it looked empty. She sighed and looked at the seagulls gliding in the air effortlessly, free, completely in their element. Something caught her eye and she looked at the wall. There were pictures of the sea world! Anemones with colorful fish swimming close by, an Orca.. she shuddered slightly at the sight of the massive whale. Near to that was a photograph of a dolphin swimming underwater, seemingly laughing at the camera. There were many many more, but her eyes fixed on an image of a baby seal lying on a rock at the shore. In the water, it's mother drifted calmly, watching her little one exploring the land rock. The little one seemed to be sniffing at a crab hiding under a piece of seaweed. It's eyes were large and bright, it's body a soft gray with a creamy yellow white underbelly just visible from the side, and covered with dark gray spots over its back. The focus and detail on the small creature was incredible. She was so enthralled that she didn't hear Lia walk into the room.

"Oh, you're awake now, finally." Lia said, her voice gentle.

Nikki spun around and almost fell, but didn't, and looked at who had approached but when she saw Lia she relaxed a little.

"Fish." Nikki said, looking at Lia expectantly, but still with a hint of nervousness and fear, and pain.

"What about fish?" Lia asked. Nikki said nothing, just snapped her teeth once and smiled then, showing her teeth in the process.

"Oh, you're hungry again?" Lia said, and watched as Nikki looked confused and thought for a minute and then slowly nodded.

"What kind of fish do you want?" Lia asked, leading Nikki into the kitchen. Nikki followed hesitantly and looked around with curiosity and uncertainty.

"Fish." Nikki repeated, and again Lia noticed her unique accent. Lia went to the freezer and got out a piece of salmon wrapped in aluminum foil. She turned to the stove and put a wad of butter into a frying pan and turned on the heat. She unwrapped the fish and set it into the pan, slicing a lemon and putting a slice into the pan along with the fish for flavoring. Soon she heard something behind her and turned to see Nikki rummaging through the freezer, smelling random things and then setting them on the table, before continuing to empty the freezer. After a few seconds, she realized Lia was watching her, and froze in place, then slowly pulled out another package wrapped in aluminum foil and sniffed it and then held it out to Lia. Lia looked at it and saw... another large piece of salmon.

"Really? you want this too?" Lia asked, and Nikki nodded enthusiastically. Lia shrugged and put that piece into the pan as well, and fried both pieces until the pink fish had a light golden brown tinge on it, implicating that it was done.

She used a spatula to slide both pieces of fish onto a plate and Nikki immediately took it, before she could add silverware as well. Nikki walked clumsily to the table and sat down, staring intently at the plate until the salmon had cooled enough so that it was edible. Then she began to eat it in the same way she had previously, biting at it with her face lowered to the plate.

Soon, she had finished it all and she began to lick her fingers and palms. 

"Was it good?" Lia asked, and Nikki hesitated only slightly before nodding.

"You don't speak much English do you?" Lia said, already having noticed Nikki's limited vocabulary, forced speech, hesitation in speaking or replying, and odd accent.

"Small English." Nikki said while shaking her head, agreeing that she didn't speak much of Lia's language. Lia nodded, and as she picked up the plate and walked toward the sink, she noticed that Nikki's skin seemed dry and raw, and she noticed Nikki scratching at the skin on her arms with an annoyed look on her face. Her skin was also still dirty from when they had found her.

"Would you like a shower?" Lia asked. Seeing Nikki's look of utter confusion, Lia led her into the bathroom, and turned on the water in the shower to show her. "See? It's this. You can wash off."

Nikki stared at the shower suspiciously and after a minute or so asked, "Rain?"

Lia shook her head. "Kind of, but it's a little different. Try it." 

Nikki stuck her face into the water and looked surprised, but then stepped all the way in with all of her clothes. Lia stared, once again surprised, and held out a towel which she set on the counter.

"I'll let you clean up a bit, and you can use this to dry off later." She said, as she walked out of the room. She left the door open, since she had a feeling that Nikki did not like small spaces that could seem like a cage.

After a few minutes, Nikki came out, not having used the towel at all, her clothes drenched, and leaving a trail of water all over the floor behind her as she walked slowly and cautiously over to where Lia stood. Lia sighed. This was turning out to be more interesting than she'd anticipated when she had first found Nikki.

"Nikki, where are you from?" Lia asked. Nikki looked surprised at the sound of her name being spoken, and she seemed to try sounding it out with the 'i' sound instead of N'kki, as she had called herself previously. She nodded a little bit, and then seemed to remember the question and come back to reality.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and gestured toward the window that overlooked the beach and the sea.

"I... I come from there..." She said nervously.

Author's note: I am so sorry this update is so late, and also short! I hope that you still like it. Anyway, dramatic ending, huh? Tell me what you think of the characters? Who is your favorite so far? Any ideas what or who Nikki is? What do you think happened to her? I can't wait to hear what you all think and your ideas, and any other feedback you may have, so please comment!

Thank you!