The day was still warm, but Levy could feel it growing colder. The gentle warmth of night seeped into his bones, relaxing his muscles. His eyes were closed, but he could tell the sun was setting over the distant cliffs. He stretched out his fingers, feeling the sand shift in between them as he moved them gently back and forth. There was a simple comfort in the sand. The wasteland was harsh and unforgiving, but find yourself in the right place at the right time, and it was kind and tender. He took in a deep breath, letting his hands resurface, settling on top of the dune.

Then a soft voice called out.

It was quiet and distant. Levy could barely make out what it was saying, in fact, he barely heard it at all. He furrowed his brows, his eyes shifting under their lids before he slowly opened them. He waited, listening to the breeze as it flowed over him, hoping to catch the voice again before it slipped back into the desert. He sat up, searching the horizon for any signs of the voice's source. As he did, the voice called again, this time accompanied by more. Though they were many, they were quiet and muddled, almost like some of them were speaking through water while others were hushed by some other outside source.

“Where are you coming from?” Levy muttered to himself, getting to his feet.

Though the first voice seemed to have an origin, they all seemed to swirl around him now, drifting with the subtlest of shifts in the wind. Some seemed desperate while others were calm, but pleading nonetheless. He took a step forward, starting to make his way towards the nearest cliffs. Maybe that was their source? He took another step forward. Their quiet cries continued, calling him closer. He took another step.

And his foot started to sink.

He looked down, eyes wide as he frantically tried to dig himself free. He had to make it to the voices. No matter how much he dug, the sand continued to pull him down, knee deep, waist deep, chest deep. He reached out a hand, desperately grasping at anything that might save him, anything that could free him. Until he fell. Levy closed his eyes, taking in a sharp, deep breath before the sand surged over him, dragging him down into its depths.

His body felt light, as if he were floating. Surrounded by darkness he waited.

And waited.

And held his breath for what felt like forever. Longer than anyone could in the waking world. A soft purple glow passed over in front of him, just barely shining through his closed lids. Then it stopped in front of him, pulsing gently for a moment before growing brighter and brighter until it overwhelmed him.

Cabre huffed, grumbling to himself as he glared over at Levy. He’d only traveled with the man for a total of three hours and he was already getting on his nerves. For most people, the stronger sedative usually lasted for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half if he got lucky. He’d had to stop 5 times to make sure he stayed passed out while traveling. They’d ride for about half an hour, maybe a bit less before Levy would start to wiggle and shift as if he were about to wake up. If this guy wasn’t the Celestial, Cabre wasn’t sure what he was. No normal human could recover that fast. Once their time started creeping up on the three-hour mark, Cabre decided to stop and make camp. Just because he was the Celestial didn’t mean this guy wouldn’t have any problems with taking 6 doses of the sedative in such a short period of time. Cabre wasn’t going to take his chances on something like that.

All things considered, the ride on the speeder so far hadn’t gone horribly. Sure he didn’t do a great job steering all the time and sometimes he accidentally went a little too fast for his liking, but he hadn't crashed yet. That was a win in his book. Better than speeder initiation class had gone.

Cabre lifted his gaze as Levy started to stir. Then, he furrowed his brows. The light just barely peeking over the distant cliffs was dim, but gave enough light that a fire wasn’t quite needed yet.

“Did his hair just change color?” Cabre squinted, starting to stand to get a better look.

As he did, the sand around them started to rumble, grains bouncing excitedly with energy and a subtle purple glow emanate from somewhere deep below. There was a deep hum pulsing deep into the air, vibrating everything. It grew louder, drowning out the gentle lull of the speeder's engine Cabre hadn’t been able to turn off.

Then, all at once, it stopped. The sand dropped to the ground as if nothing had happened, the purple glow disappeared, leaving them in the warm yellow of the setting sun, and everything went quiet. Even the speeder. Cabre watched as Levy’s eyes fluttered open. His jaw dropped open as he saw their vibrant purple hue. They were unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Now that he really looked at the man, he realized he was right about his hair changing color. Where at first the tips had been a dark brown, now they matched his eyes. Cabre felt his face flush.

‘He’s beautiful.’

He couldn’t help but smack his hands over his face to hide his embarrassment. Of course, this caught Levy’s attention. First, he wriggled a bit, assessing his situation before he looked up at his captor. His eyes drifted over the little camp he’d set up before they settled on the man. Then he let out an obnoxious groan.

“UUGGGHHHH!” Levy rolled his eyes.

Cabre’s hands immediately fell from his face and he glared.

“Not you guys again.” Levy glowered.

Cabre crossed his arms, leaning forward as he gave Levy a suspicious look.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cabre growled.

Sure, he was pretty, but he was also already as frustrating awake as he had been asleep. Maybe he should have just sedated him and dealt with the consequences later. Levy sighed and slumped back against the body of the speeder.

“Let’s just get this over with, huh? You’re not gonna tell me why the Legion wants me, are you?” He raised a brow.

Cabre was taken aback.

“What? How do you-”

“How do I know about the Legion?” He scoffed. “You guys aren’t very subtle. You know that right?”

Levy leaned forward, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“You have a uniform!” He pointed out. “And it’s not as lowkey as you might think it is. You stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd of commoners.”

“Hey!”

“Hey, what? It’s just the truth.” Levy slumped again. “It’s not like this is the first time one of you guys has tried to take me back to your camp.”

Cabre watched as Levy cocked his head to the side and lifted his gaze as if he were searching the sky for something.

“I will admit though, you’ve done good all things considered. No one else has actually gotten this far along. Usually, they give up in the first fight.”

Cabre huffed.

“Well, regardless of what you might be thinking. I’m not letting you escape. You aren’t going to intimidate me like you might try to do with everyone else.”

Levy rolled his eyes and wiggled around in his ropes, trying to loosen them. Cabre stood, well aware of the sharp glare his captor was giving him as he approached. He ignored him, double-checking his knotwork before resecuring the carrying cords, just in case.

“Well, you’re in luck then.” Levy smiled.

Cabre looked briefly down at his captive before making his way back over to his lean-to. He sat criss-cross, riffling through his bag for some food.

“Intimidation isn’t my only strong suit.” Levy crossed his legs. “I’m sure if I’m difficult enough, I can annoy you into letting me go.”

Cabre rolled his eyes, setting his bag aside before taking a bite out of some stale rations. Not the best meal, but he didn’t have anything else. An awkward silence settled over the little camp as Cabre ignored Levy and Levy dug the heel of one of his boots into the sand. Every now and then, he would let out a loud sigh or flick the built-up pile of sand in Cabre’s direction.

“Hey, can I have some?” Levy asked, staring down at the rations in Cabre’s hand.

Cabre took an aggressive bite and shook his head.

“Maybe if you’re not so obnoxious, you can have some in the morning.” He argued.

Levy grumbled and went back to his idle hole digging. His eyes wandered around the little camp before he moved on to his surroundings. He took note of the little things like where nearby landmark rocks were and where they might be headed. Maybe he could escape during the night and make it to a nearby town. He figured he could at least hide at one of the taller rocks. The ropes made things difficult though. He’d need time to get out of them. Having his speeder would certainly help. He smiled, looking behind him before his jaw dropped open. He found his speeder had been parked with the nose half dug into the sand. The engine was quiet, but the navigation console still glowed faintly, indicating it was still running.

“Hey! That’s no way to treat my speeder.” He fumed.

Levy tried to stand quickly before he found himself restricted to a hunch by the tight hold of the carrying cords. He reached out a foot, balancing on the other while trying to dig the nose of his precious vehicle out of the sand.

“You’re gonna kill the battery, leaving it on like that.” He paused his digging, trying to reach a hand to the power switch. “Leaving the front dug into the sand isn’t good for it either!”

Cabre’s face flushed with embarrassment as he rushed over, flipping the switch off as he hid his face as best he could.

“Whatever. Your speeder’s fine.” Cabre growled, marching back to his tent.

Levy glared over his shoulder, finally freeing the nose from the dunes. With the gentle guide of his foot, he lifted it up to rest on top of the sand. Then, he turned to Cabre.

“Ya know, camping out like this isn’t all that smart either. You’ll get us both killed at this rate.” He plopped back onto the ground.

Cabre turned and glared back. “You think I can haul you up a landmark rock! You’re kidding yourself. Now keep quiet. Might wanna get some rest. We’ve got a long day of traveling ahead of us.”

Levy leaned back and raised a brow.

“What’re you gonna do if I keep you up all night?” Levy smirked.

Cabre didn’t respond. He only leaned back against his tent, grabbing a blanket and tossing it over his legs. Then, he crossed his arms, maintaining eye contact with his captive.

And so they sat there, staring each other down.

And the night was only beginning.