The shimmering lights cast a gentle glow on the darkened streets of Talvis, capital city of Talachia. There were still a few vehicles and pedestrians out and about, but much of the day's hustle and bustle had faded into late-evening calm. The moonlight filtered down through a scattering of clouds, shining on a pair of merrymakers who were staggering home from the tavern. While the two were certainly appreciative of beverages of an alcoholic nature, their wandering steps and lively gait were due more to high spirits than actual drunkenness.

"Ohhhh, a farmer lass is a spirited soul, a lively one is sheeeee—her dancing eyes will swallow you whole, if you don't go carefullyyyyy…"

The young man chuckled, dark eyes filled with amusement as he raised an eyebrow at his companion. "Hush, I think you're scaring the natives, Feray."

A mischievous twinkle in her own silver eyes, Feray winked at a passing city guard who glared at her disapprovingly. Blithely ignoring Nathan, she gave him an insolent grin and continued to sing. "Her kisses will turn your insides to fire; her heart may be too wild for you—so if ye go for a farmer lass, be careful, whatever you dooooo!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Nathan remarked dryly, grinning. "Looks like we're here." Brushing his dark hair out of his eyes, he pointed to the sign on the inn before them, which read, "The Silver Wheel".

"Aww. Bedtime already?" Climbing the steps, Feray opened the door and gestured to Nathan. "After you." Still laughing softly, the two entered the inn and headed up toward where their bedrooms and private dining room were located, lowering their voices so as not to disturb the inn's other guests.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but did you really have to take all of my money?" Nathan mock-scowled. "You're always so mean to me."

"Hey, if you gamble, you're gonna lose sometimes! It's not my fault you haven't got a decent poker face!" Feray grinned, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

Nathan chuckled. "Well, I consider losing well worth the experience. But next time, I'm going to win it all back, plus interest."

"Oh yeah? Ha! I'd like to see you try. Tell you what, next time, let's make it strip poker, sailor!" Feray winked, and they both laughed.

"I'm not sure I dare. My luck isn't that good!" Reaching the top of the stairs, he sighed. "Well, we're home! It's past your bedtime, farmer girl!"

"Aww." Feray stuck her lower lip out in a pout, leaning against the wall next to the door to the bedroom shared by the women of the party. "Can't I stay up a little later?" She batted her eyes at him. "Pleeeeease? I'll be good!"

Nathan laughed and ruffled her hair. "Nope! You've stayed up late enough."

Feray sidled up to him, leaned her head on his shoulder, and looked up at him imploringly, her eyes big and sad.

"Augh! No, not the eyes! Stop it!"

"Make me stop, Captain Swanky!" Suddenly she pounced on Nathan and began to tickle him mercilessly.

"Ack! No! Stoppit!" Gasping for breath, he tried to pull her hands away and pin her arms. "Not fair! Don't make me…augh! …Don't make me take drastic measures!" Dissolving into laughter, he sagged against the wall, still trying to fend her off.

"Drastic measures? Like what?" With a sly look, she gave him a playful kiss on the lips, then ceased her tickle attack.

Nathan blinked at her. "Now you're just being silly." He stuck his tongue out.

"Am I?" Smiling softly, she leaned close and kissed him again, lingeringly, then stepped back, chuckling quietly.

"Feray, I don't think…" Nathan stopped, searching her eyes with his own. A moment passed; she arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. Then suddenly he stepped forward, gripping her shoulders with his hands, and kissed her, hard. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes as his lips touched hers, his kiss filled with intensity and fire. She was startled by his vehemence; his hold on her was almost painful, and her neck was beginning to ache. But she responded to his kiss, and when he suddenly pulled away with a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes and looked at him, disappointed. "Nathan…what's wrong?"

"This is." He shook his head. "It's a very bad idea, Feray. I lost control there for a moment. That shouldn't have happened."

"What's so bad about that?"

He sighed again. "Look Feray, you know what I am. You know what the women of my people are like. Romance among us…doesn't really exist. Mating is a temporary thing, and it's harsh and aggressive. Our instincts make us respond the same way, or else we might not survive it. Do you understand? …Okay, let me put it another way. When merfolk pair off, people get hurt. Sometimes we even get killed. Mermaids are aggressive, and we have to be aggressive too, if we're to reproduce at all. So…when you look at me like that, when you touch me, my instincts take over. Losing control is bad, Feray. It means I could hurt you, and I'm not going to do that, so I think we'd both better just go to bed, okay?"

Feray was silent for the longest time, staring at the floor. Then she stood straight, took a few steps toward Nathan, and wrapped her arms around his middle, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't like it."

Nathan sighed. "Believe it or not, neither do I." He took her hands and unwrapped her arms from around him, then pressed them firmly to her sides. "Feray, go to bed. I'm serious."

She tossed her head angrily. "Nathan, I see your point. And it's not that I disagree, exactly. But I'm not some fragile little thing! I'm me, Feray. I could probably kick your butt if I wanted to. Give me a warning, yes. Tell me the facts, yes. But don't treat me like a child! Okay?"

"That's not it at all, and you know it," he hissed.

"Oh really?" Feray wiped an angry tear away, wondering why she was getting so worked up about this. He did have a point…but there was something about the whole mess that made her feel furious…with him, with herself, she wasn't sure. She just knew there was something completely unfair about it all. Her body felt warm, and her head spun. She blinked to clear her vision.

"Look, I don't want to get in a fight about this. We should just get some sleep, and things will be a little clearer in the morning…Feray, are you all right?" He blinked, watching her waver, then darted forward to catch her as she slumped.

"I'm…f-fine…" Teeth chattering, she shuddered. Her eyelids drooped, and she began to convulse. Eyes wide, Nathan gently lowered her to the floor, her head in his lap. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she shook, her whole body wracked with tremors of disturbing intensity. Fishing in his pocket, Nathan grabbed a clean handkerchief and wiped the moisture from her brow. Gently holding onto her as she shook, he waited, unsure what to do but unwilling to leave her. When Feray finally went still several minutes later, he let out his breath in a sigh and wiped the sweat from his own forehead.

Feray was silent for a moment, then moaned softly, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at Nathan's worried face, then close her eyes again and swore colorfully.

"I guess you're feeling better, huh?" Nathan chuckled nervously.

"So what happened…?" He glanced at her face, then shook his head. "Never mind, don't answer. You don't look in any condition for explanations now. Here…" He got to his feet, lifting Feray in his arms. Her eyes widened, and she started protesting. "Nathan, put me down!"

"No, I think you need some rest." He wrestled with the door to the women's bedroom, finally managing to get it open without dropping Feray. The others were all fast asleep. Feray continued to protest, however, so he gently covered her mouth with his hand. "Shhh, you'll wake them. Ow!!" Removing his hand, he glared at her. "Don't bite me, you little vixen!"

"You know you like me that way." Feray stuck her tongue out obstinately, but he could hear the tiredness in her voice. Carrying her to her bed, he pushed back the covers and laid her down on it, then removed her boots. She watched him with her arms folded, sulking. "Are you quite finished?"

"Yes." Pulling the covers over her, he leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. "Go to sleep. We can talk in the morning. All right?"

She looked about to argue, but the protest died on her lips as she saw his soft, slightly worried smile. She grumbled but smiled in return, then covered a sleepy yawn. She shook weakly; he was probably right, she did need sleep.

"Good night, Feray." Without another word, he smiled, then left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Outside in the hall, Nathan leaned against the wall for a moment, closing his eyes in thought. There was something seriously wrong with Feray. He'd tried asking her so many times, but she was awfully close-mouthed about it. She kept her secrets, and he kept his distance. That was the way it was between them. So why couldn't she understand that he was only trying to help her? She was a strong woman, yes, but even the strongest person couldn't handle everything on their own.

He was in no mood to sleep just yet. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he went downstairs and out the door of the inn to sit on the wall that surrounded the little garden in back. The moonlight was bright silver, casting pale pools of light amid the shadows that blanketed the sleeping bushes and flowers. Lost in his thoughts, it took him a moment to realize someone else was there.

"Kind of late, isn't it?"

Nathan nearly fell off the wall. Startled, he looked around, then saw a figure leaning against the stone wall a few feet away. He'd been so distracted he hadn't even seen her. "Lily? What are you doing up?"

Lily shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing. Me, well…my son's missing, you know?" She gave him a rueful smile. "He's a grown man and he can take care of himself, but a mother never stops losing sleep over her kid, all the same. How about you, or should I ask?" Nathan was silent for a moment. She eyed him slyly. "I saw you and Feray come home some time ago. It's not woman troubles, is it?" She laughed softly as he swore. "C'mon, tell me about it. The unthinkable might occur and maybe I'll understand…"

Nathan sighed. "Well…you're a sailor, Lily. You know much about merfolk?"

She nodded. "Some, yes."

"Well then. You understand how violent mermaids can be, at least. I suppose you'll understand that this has led to certain…defense mechanisms in males. Pairing up is very temporary and very aggressive, and sometimes people get hurt."

She nodded. "I see. That makes some sense. So what happened? Did Feray not understand, or did you lose control?"

"Not this time, no. I explained it to her, and I'm not sure she understood. She didn't take it too well." Nathan muttered. "I don't know why I care. She's a lot of fun to be around, sure, and she's a good friend. But I'm not like the rest of you. I'm not in this for the same reasons. Sometimes I even wonder why I'm still here. I suppose I should be trying to smooth things out at home…or trying to get revenge. But for some reason I'm traveling with a person who single-handedly started a war between my people and yours. Why am I doing that, Lily?"

Lily smiled softly, staring up at the moonlight. "Well now, I can't answer all of those questions for you. But something tells me that maybe you've changed since you left home. Seems to me you're more human than you think you are."

Nathan eyed her askance, but she seemed fairly serious, with only a slight, sad smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I'm not human, Lily. That's the problem."

She shrugged. "Perhaps. But who can say what the future brings? I have a feeling that you, and the others, are going to learn a lot about yourselves before this adventure finally ends." She stood, covering a yawn. "I'd better get to bed. But just remember, Nathan…you and your friends started this journey to seek Justin and Feena. But you might end up finding yourselves, as well, before it's all over." She smiled, waving as she headed for the door to the inn. "Good night. Don't stay out too long; you don't want to catch a chill."

The door shut, latching softly behind her. Nathan frowned to himself, then looked up and gazed at the moon, in silence. It was a long time before he went up to bed.