"What happened to you?!"
I look up from my breakfast and blink at Llywelyn, who's staring at me with wide eyes. His collar is glowing bright blue, and his hair is a mess.
"Um." I say, and glance around. The restaurant is mostly empty, except for us, Xilukulkas, Mira and some of the hotel staff. "What do you mean?"
"You were gone all night!" He hisses, and then his eyes dart to Xilukulkas, who's watching us with a calm expression. "You didn't come back until morning! I thought you'd been-! You-!"
"I went for a walk." I say, shrugging. "I lost track of time."
"A walk?! All night?!" He snaps, and then runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the strands. "You...! You can't just-!"
"Are you my babysitter?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"No, but I-" He stops, and growls. "Nishi'an! You can't just wander off like that! What if something happened to you?!"
"Nothing did." I say, and take a bite of my food. It's some kind of waffle dish, and it's pretty good. I'm not sure what's in it, but it tastes like vanilla and maple, so it's close enough to home for me to enjoy it.
In actuality, my hand is cut. Just a little, since all I was holding was a steak knife and it must have slipped. But it is there.
I'm not going to point that out for him, though. Obviously. I'm not some kind of masochist. "Surprised you paid enough attention to notice." I tease.
He glares at me, and his collar flashes a bright, angry blue. "Who says I noticed? Mira's the one that said you weren't in your room, you ritzah."
I glance over at Mira, who's humming to herself while she eats. She's got a huge plate of various desserts in front of her, and she's sampling each one. She doesn't seem to be paying attention to us at all.
"Mira, did you notice I was gone?" I ask.
She looks up at me, her eyes wide. "Hmm? No. I was sleeping." She says, and then pops a little cake into her mouth.
I turn back to Llywelyn.
"Nishi'an reh!" He growls.
Xilukulkas clears his throat, and we both look at him. He's smiling, and his eyes are a soft green. "Llywelyn, perhaps you should sit down and eat. Sarah is fine, as you can see."
Llywelyn clicks his tongue, and glares at me, before stomping over to his seat. He sits down heavily, and crosses his arms. "I don't care if she's fine or not. She needs to be more responsible."
"You're not my mom." I say, rolling my eyes.
"Thank the void." He mutters. "I'd hate to have a hetchki like you as a daughter."
"You'd be a terrible dad."
He bristles.
"Enough." Xilukulkas says, his voice calm but firm. "Sarah, you should be more careful. This is not a safe place, and you are still new to it. Llywelyn, you should not expect her to act as you would. She is not you. Now, please, let us enjoy our meal in peace."
Llywelyn scowls, but doesn't say anything else. He just grabs his plate and starts eating. I do the same, and try to ignore the way he's still glaring at me. I don't know why he's so angry. It's not like I did anything wrong.
Mira giggles, and looks at us both. "You two are so cute when you fight!"
I choke on my waffle, and Llywelyn's collar flares bright pink. "We are not-! Keep your broken gem thoughts to yourself!" He snaps.
She just grins, and goes back to her dessert plate.
I clear my throat, and try to ignore the heat in my cheeks. That was... not something I wanted to hear. Not at all.
Xilukulkas smiles, and takes a sip of his drink. "Mira, little one, you should not tease them so. It's rude."
"But I'm not teasing!" She says, and looks at me. "You two fight like a couple, you know? It's cute!"
I stare at her, and then look at Llywelyn.
He hisses at me. "Don't include me in her madness." He says, and then looks at Mira. "We're not a couple, you idiot."
"You could be!" She says, and then claps her hands. "Oh! Sarah, you should mate with him! Then he won't be so grumpy all the time!"
"Choke on your cake!" He snarls.
"Oh, you're so mean!" She pouts.
"Mira," I say, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Llywelyn and I aren't... anything like that. We're just... friends."
"Oh, I see."
She's quiet for a moment.
"You should be!"
Llywelyn slams his hand on the table. "Mira, I swear-!"
"Enough, children." Xilukulkas sighs, and shakes his head. "Mira, stop teasing them. Llywelyn, calm down. Sarah, eat your food before it gets cold."
I.
Am doing nothing wrong.
Except the escape planning, but that's not wrong. The point is I shouldn't be included in his scolding at all. So I just eat my waffle. And ignore the way my face feels like it's on fire.
Maybe I'll go out again tonight. Just to cool down.
And also I still need to find a damn ship.
Maybe I should try in the daylight. The place is chaos out there in the day, but maybe it'll also reveal some opportunities I've missed. And a certain blue idiot can't complain if I go out in the daylight. I'm sure he'll find something to complain about, though.
He always does.
I glance at him, and find him glaring at his plate, stabbing at his food with his fork. I wonder what he's so mad about. It's not like I'm the one saying stupid things about being a couple or whatever.
He glances up and catches my eye, and his collar lights up again. He looks away immediately, and his ears twitch.
I roll my eyes.
Whatever.
I have a mission. I need to focus on that. Not on his stupid mood swings.
After breakfast, I go back to my room. I need to rest a little before I go back out. I lay on the bed, and stare at the ceiling. I need a plan. I need to be smart about this.
I can't just wander around forever.
But I don't know how to find what I'm looking for.
Maybe I should try to find a map? Or some kind of information about the ships that come and go? That might help. But I don't know where to get that kind of thing. I don't even know where to start looking.
I sigh, and close my eyes.
I'll figure it out. I have to.
I just wish I had a plan that was better than 'because I have to'.