Aley could have cried. In fact, she did, a little. There in front of her, in all its watery, free-spirited glory, was the ocean. It wasn't the warm and salty ocean of home, but if she stared at it long enough, she could imagine it being the same water, the same beach, her parents had taken her to since she was a baby.

After seeing her dismay at the lack of a shower, Xinn offered to take her to the ocean, where most sariun did their bathing—although he did explain that they didn't exactly bathe, they mostly splashed around in the ocean or in the rain and that was generally good enough.

As much as Aley wanted a nap, the idea of being clean appealed to her much more. Sure, she had gotten a sort of shower in the rain yesterday, but since then she had slept in a den, been attacked by a qirwa, fell in the dirt, and spent much of the day travelling. A bath was the closest thing to Heaven right now.

"Is everything all right?" Xinn asked, eyebrows pushed together with concern.

Aley blinked the mist out of her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He eyed her for another moment before turning to his men. "Lore, Caif, Jirn, and Rokh, patrol the area. Kers, you stay with me. Aley, you are welcome to swim anywhere along this beach, just stay within sight and earshot."

"Great. Hold these." Aley tossed him the towel she had brought for after her swim. He caught it easily, though it seemed she had caught him off guard. She took off, running, as best she could with her injured foot, straight into the ocean. A small laugh escaped her when her feet splashed through the water. She waded quickly to deeper water, shivering as she felt the cool temperature more keenly, and fell forward, allowing the ocean to swallow her up.

She resurfaced a moment later, gasping a little from the chill. It was much colder here than at home, but it wasn't the first time she had swam in water at this temperature. Her parents were natives of Oregon, so the few times they had gone to visit family there, they had swum in the ocean there, which was a significant change from the Hawaiian waters. But her dad was a surfer, he had learned everything he knew on that side of the Pacific.

The wind gently blew against her soaked wings, invoking a shiver across her skin. She bobbed her head underwater again, finding it warmer the second time around.

She imagined that she was in Oregon now; her aunts and uncles waiting on the beach, younger cousins chasing each other through the shallows, older cousins shredding the waves out in the deep. Her parents would be catching up with everyone, Rocki would be right there beside her, probably waiting to dunk Aley under again as soon as she came up.

It seemed so real, she could feel it so vividly, that when she threw her head out of the water, she expected to see her sister treading water beside her.

But Rocki wasn't there. Neither was her parents, or extended family. This wasn't the beach they always went to. This wasn't even the same ocean. Not even the same world.

Aley rubbed her face, trying to keep her composure. I'm going to get back to them. I'm going to find Rocki and we're going to go home. Everything is going to be all right. It has to be. There isn't any other option.

"Are you swimming in your clothes?" Xinn called from the beach. Kers had his back turned, surveying the forest, but the general had his arms crossed, staring straight at her with an eyebrow cocked.

"How else am I supposed to swim?" she retorted, pushing her long hair back.

He looked like he was about to say something but shook his head instead. "Never mind."

She dug her feet into the mushy sand underneath the waves, the feeling familiar and calming, even on a distant planet, although her foot ached from the thorn injury. I can see how blue his eyes are from here. Why are they so blue? I mean, I know I have blue eyes, but his are like blue. And he's got the intense stare to go with it, unlike me. Rocki had a little bit of that—not exactly intense but certainly strong. It could be that his eyes look super blue because the rest of his eye is pitch black. Probably makes it pop more.

With a sigh, she threw herself backward to float on the water, spreading her heavy wings. The sun had dropped partway down, not quite far enough to start casting evening shadows, but no longer high in the sky. The warmth it would have provided was dwarfed by the slight chill of the wind on her wet face. This was the most relaxed she had felt since Xinn had kidnapped her. Everything else had been either a blur or uncomfortable.

Speaking of discomfort, how does someone go about fulfilling a prophecy? Just the thought of it made her squirm. She was expected to literally end a war. But how? By becoming a general like Xinn? Or was she simply a good luck charm? Would she and Rocki have to do anything or would just having them be enough?

She could probably ask Xinn. Would he really know anything though? He had thought that she would already know everything by the time she got there—an obvious miscalculation. Would he have any knowledge that wasn't simply speculation? How was she supposed to even bring that up in conversation? "Hey, I know I'm supposed to end the war and everything with my sister, but any pointers on how to do that?"

She snorted, rolling over so she was face down in the water, allowing the waves to tug at her body. The way the world of noise fell away underwater always soothed her. It felt like it silenced her thoughts as well.

After a little while longer of soaking in the ocean, she trudged back to the beach. Xinn held out her towel. She welcomed the fabric blockade from the wind that gently swirled around her. It picked up tiny fragments of sand, tossing them over her feet like a child.

"Would you like to return to the hut now?" Xinn asked as she dried herself off briskly.

Aley nodded, then leaned over to flip her head upside down and rub the towel over her hair. She noticed the wrapping on her foot had loosened during her swim. She would rewrap it once she got back to the hut. "I'm starving and I need a nap."

"Understood." Xinn made a loud, almost roar-like sound that startled her into almost dropping her towel onto the sand.

"What was that?"

"I was just calling for my crew. They've been patrolling the forest to make sure it's safe while you bathed."

Aley flipped her hair back, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. "Oh. Is everything all right?"

"Yes. I just wanted to be sure that nothing came to attack you."

"Gotcha." She glanced over the sea again as they waited, reveling in the sound of waves in her ears. It wasn't the briny water of home, but nothing ever would be.

Xinn took a step closer to her, following her sightline. "You have an attachment to the ocean."

Her shoulders dropped, eyes searching the horizon. "I was raised in it. I've lived on an island my whole life, not to mention my dad is a surfer, so I was always on a beach when I was a kid—I still go there a lot now as an adult. Swimming, diving, snorkeling, surfing, boating, jet-skiing; I've done it all. The ocean is practically my home." The corner of her mouth tipped up in a smile.

Xinn nodded. "When this war is over, if I survive, I plan on building a home by the water. The ambiance is soothing to me."

She glanced at him. "Do you have a family to go home to?" It hadn't occurred to her until just now that he might be married, maybe even have kids.

"My parents live in an outpost village. What siblings I have left are scattered across other villages. I plan on remaining here, in our capitol. It's my duty as a general, even if I won't need to be one after the war." He tucked his hands behind his back, raising his chin a little.

No wife and kids, but... what siblings he has left? How many has he lost? She almost asked, but his crew came jogging in from the forest, gathering around him.

"Nothing suspicious to report," stated Lore, nodding to Xinn. "Everything is quiet today."

"Good. We'll take the savioress back to her quarters so she can get some rest. Someone will need to guard her while the rest train. We've fallen behind recently and we need to stay sharp, especially now that we have a savioress to protect. Formation." Xinn put a hand on Aley's shoulder, tugging her to start walking beside him as his men surrounded them.

She smiled a little to herself. While the situation wasn't ideal, it was kind of nice knowing there were six strong aliens protecting her from any dangers.