Abraham opened his eyes slowly. The night felt like it flew by and so he took a moment to stretch. "Since when could I dream?" He mumbled under his breath. This was in fact very bizarre for Abraham. He never used to dream in his sleep. 'Was it because of that apple?'
He massaged his head. Eventually, he rubbed his eyes and noticed the morning light refracting across the shelter. The storm seemed to have passed too.
Solara was already wide awake. "You were never able to dream before?"
"What?"
"I heard you mumble that when you were waking up."
Abraham sighed. "No. I was never able to dream before."
Starrk suddenly woke up in an exaggerated stretch. "That was possibly the best night of sleep I have ever had." He glanced over at Abraham, this time smiling as if he did not have the blood of a war malakh in his veins.
Abraham cleared his throat. "I say we just skip breakfast… we should cover some distance today at least."
Starrk glanced over and smiled. "You sure you don't want to look for something nice to roast?"
"I'm not hungry," Abraham said, a little too quickly.
Solara stared at him a bit longer but didn't really push. "Fine by me."
With that, Starrk lifted the crystal boulder that shielded them from the shardstorm and the trio made their way out. They continued their little walk but this time, it was a lot more… talkative. Starrk was much more talkative today. It was as if sleeping had truly made him become a new man. It almost creeped out Solara and Abraham.
"You know… Young Abraham and Lady Solara. I've come to a realisation."
Abraham was nervous upon hearing that and so didn't say anything.
"And what may that be?" Solara asked in a sarcastic tone.
"That Solis isn't as great as I had thought." His tone went somber.
"Um… where is this coming from?" Solara suddenly asked, caught off guard by Starrk's sudden change from a devout follower to someone completely different.
"Upon discovering Abraham's attribute… I had reminisced on how Anouk was as a person." He paused, his joyful smile gone. "It is not like I was around when she was of course, but when Noctis used to visit Calor he used to tell us stories about her, whenever Solis wasn't around."
Abraham's eyes widened. 'Starrk not being a zealot is insane if only I could save this somehow.'
"Ah but those stories sounded amazing. No one at the time believed them, obviously, but hearing them had our young minds go crazy."
Solara looked stunned. "Wait, you listened to Noctis?"
Starrk chuckled softly. "Back when he used to show up every week or so, all of the elders in Solis' palace panicked. But he'd always come around to the training area and come over to just talk." He paused again, letting his words seep into the moment.
"Ah but now I'm starting to see the truth in what he said. Because I simply cannot imagine Abraham killing people the same way she did. There must've been truth, right?"
Solara crossed her arms. "So now you believe Anouk wasn't the monster everyone says she was?"
Starrk didn't look at her. "I think… monsters and martyrs look the same from a distance," he said softly. "The difference is who writes the story."
Everyone went silent.
"Ah but who cares? Let's just enjoy this adventure of ours."
Abraham nodded his head and smiled. So did Solara.
They kept on talking about random things as they were walking. Abraham was relatively talkative but for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
He looked around every now and then and never saw anything. His gut feeling was driving him crazy. "Guys… where are we headed?" He asked, his tone uneasy.
Starrk turned and looked at him. "Well, we're just travelling through an empty shiny desert to reach the other side. Have you forgotten our mission already?"
"No, no. It's just that I don't like feeling too exposed. Makes me feel vulnerable."
Starrk and Solara looked at him as if he were a madman. "Who would realistically be out here?"
"Who knows? I doubt anyone travelling here would've lived to talk about it."
"Look…" Solara said in a serious tone, "There's three of us. A witch, a resonant, and the successor of the literal Maiden of War."
"That doesn't make me feel like any less of a target…"
Solara shook her head. "You terrified of getting attacked by a crystal cactus?"
"Very funny. But no."
Starrk suddenly cut in. "We'll be fine guys. After all, there's nothing much anyone can do against a resonant."
"Maybe you're right…" Abraham said, looking around one more time.
Solara turned around too, causing her to freeze for a moment. A figure was seen in the distance. She quickly rubbed her eyes and looked again.
'Guess Abraham's got me paranoid too now.'