Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oh...

:::She put a finger to her lips if her hands weren't occupied holding Alex still:::

I never asked what time you came from... you come from a time where they still use fire as a means of heat?

:::This seemed surprising to her:::

:::It was funny, Cora wasn't even trying to aviod the subject:::

::She bit her lip this time:::

I would love to come with you Alex... but I just learned something a little...what's the word. Unsettling about me, and this place.

:::She looked away, not sure how this kind of news would come across to the others. Alex would be the first person she'd seen sincing learning of it herself:::

:::Her expression became distant, as though she had thought enough about it already, and put herself on autopilot to retell her thoughts:::

The time that I belong to, originally, somewhere far into your future, no longer exists. Something happened to it, when I left that wasn't supposed to, and now it's... I think it's become something else.

:::Her arms trailed along Alex's back to a spot where she felt like she had the most control of them:::

To put it plainly... I have no time in which to return to. I've been here in the brink for a conescutive 4 months and a couple of weeks. The Captain says I have no where else to go now. I don't know if I can come with you...because I don't know what it would mean for me.

Alex...I can't risk that. What if it means I can never come back here? What if it means that your time becomes mine, permenantly...

:::She paused:::

Are there even people like me in your time? :::She continued with her other thoughts:::

THis place works in a way that I don't understand well enough to know what would happen. Apparently my presence here has made something unstable, and I don't know what moving through times not my own will do to them, or to here...or to me.

What if I showed up in your time, and it too became unstable?

Alex..!

:::She looked at him almost scoldingly:::

It would be terribly unwise to risk such terrible things...for something we could easily wait to share. Please, just let me ask the Captain if it would be alright... If he tells me that its safe, I will be there with you in an instant... But please, understand how much would be at risk.

:::Cora's eyes were begging him not to be upset with her. She knew this was the right thing to do:::

:::She breathed a sigh of reliefe as Alex let the issue go. And her eyes lit up when he mentioned food. All she'd been eating was the sustanance cubes her room provided, and the occasional pack of honey roasted peanuts from the bar. Oh, and pretzels. She really liked pretzels, but they get old fast:::

Ooh! Food? :::She beamed::: I'd like an apple please!

:::Cora smiled at him when he seemed pleased with her response, and gave her a hug. But as he stepped back she could see he was fading, and her insides knotted with fear. She felt a sudden wave of tears come on, but it was so fleeting that she quickly stiffled the urge.

She took the package he had given her, and didn't even give it a glance until he was all the way gone. She looked so sad, but she clentched the box to her chest as though it were him, and then looked at it for the first time:::

Chocolates?

:::She imagined that the box was just a container, that whatever chocolates were was inside. Still she thought she'd investigate before opening it, incase the contents were severely fragile or volatile:::

*Exit Cora to the Library*

:::Cora had overheard footsteps from her room, and decided to be brave. She snuck out, and took a peek into the main room. She was rewarded for her curiosity this time. She'd been hoping to run into Tavin:::

:::She stepped out into the open, and wrenched her hands in front of her, just a little uncertain:::

Hello... Captain.