I'll always have you in my sights.

[Alyssa Snow]

"Thanks, Logan..." She smiled at him, but followed it with another swig.

Mr. Blue emitted a muffled warble and began fiddling with the fabric of Logan's leg. He adverted his attention to the bird, but didn't interrupt it.

"You having fun there?" he asked to which Mr. Blue warbled again.

"He likes you," Alyssa stated. "He's a great judge of character."

"That so?" Logan brought his hand to the young phoenix and the bird hopped onto his finger.

"I'm going to Dehlos." The words escaped Alyssa's lips like a fit of Terrets, but her resolve was firm in its tone.

"What?!" Logan's body jerked to look up at her, and Mr. Blue startled. He cawed and flapped his wings while scuttling up Logan's arm and perching on his shoulder. The psion turned his head toward the bird half in surprise and half in confusion.

"I can't reach Tobias, the letter had the crest of Dehlos, and whatever is happening, the answers have to be there."

"Uh... the answers are in Daire's head. If you just wait, I can get them for you." As Logan spoke, Mr. Blue began to pick at his hair as if he were preening Logan's feathers.

"I didn't want to tell Vincent, but in that short moment I connected with Tobias, I saw he was one a boat. There were a banners flying above him, and they all had the same symbol on them as the letter."

"Dehlos?" Logan tried to stop Alyssa's pet from picking at his hair. Instead, the bird squawked and fluttered to the top of his head. There, it settled down as if it were nesting.

"Exactly." Alyssa managed through a giggle at how ridiculous he looked with a phoenix nestled in his hair. Yet, somehow, the pairing of the two seemed fitting to her.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Lyssa," he managed while trying to keep his head as still as possible.

Alyssa snapped her fingers and the young phoenix leapt from Logan's head to perch on top of its cage.

"Thanks." Logan tended to his flyaway hairs courtesy of his new friend.

"I know it's not a good idea, but what is he doing on a Dehlosian boat? Why won't he talk to us? I have to know."

"Well, assuming he is responsible for attacking Daire, that's probably why he doesn't want to talk to us. Otherwise, I have no idea why he's gone dark."

Logan raised a brow and cocked his head as he stared at the distraught girl across from him.

After a short pause, he asked, "Why do you care so much? I have a feeling this is more than getting answers about what happened to Daire..."

Logan's words cut through the air like an arrow and knocked the words out of Alyssa's lungs. Her lips searched for the answer and her eyes locked on the flickering flames. She struggled to provide an answer to a seemingly simple question. Her mind raced on the time she spent with him in Fallien. She recalled the moonlight of Beinost's piers as they talked into the late hours. Then, she remembered that foul impostor wearing Tobias' face as his hands constricted around her neck.

Alyssa brought her fingers to her throat by pure reflex, and her lips began to formulate a reply by taking a gulp of her rose wine.

[Alyssa Snow]

"Have you ever felt a connection to someone you couldn't explain?" Alyssa began as she fiddled with the glass in her hands.

"I have," Logan replied, his brows quirked with interest.

"Well..." She shifted her legs and crossed them over one another, then back again. "I've met a lot of men and women since I left Alerar. Many of them were not good people. They saw me and wanted... Well, what men want."

"Power, women, money," he added.

Alyssa nodded.

"When I first met him, I was on a boat to Fallien, looking for answers to who I was, why they did this to me. Back then," Alyssa smiled, "he was sweet. He was outgoing, kind, and he didn't care who I was, where I came form, or where I was going. He made me feel...normal."

Her head sagged and eyes fixed on the swaying red of her wine.

"He made me feel human, and not as some object of desire."

"I see, but that can't be it. Many people treat you that way now." Logan made a gesture of his hand against his own chest.

"Well, we had plenty of time to talk on that boat ride and when we landed, he inadvertently got sucked into my own personal problem. He was a rock when things got rough and saved me countless times."

Alyssa looked up to her companion across the room. Her eyes held a maelstrom of conflict and nostalgia.

"You know me Logan.You know I'm strong and I always find a way. I wear myself to the bone and even then I'll keep trying to stand."

Logan nodded, remaining quite as the teen poured out the welled emotions inside.

"That kind of situation happened several times in that damn desert. And when I questioned my ability to continue, he would stand there, bloody, bruised, and exhausted as a shield and support. Logan, he barely knew me. He had no reason to do what he did. Even being the monster I thought I was, he treated me like someone important."

"He was just protecting his fellow comrade, Alyssa. It's not uncommon."

Alyssa shook her head.

"You're wrong. I know what you're talking about. Allies for today, strangers for tomorrow. I've known Tobias for years. In that time, seeing him go through all he's been through, he's more than just a comrade. He... he's like me."

"Oh?" Logan leaned forward, a grin on his face.

Alyssa turned her eyes from him.

"He's lost. Misunderstood. A stranger in an unknown land. He's a warrior fighting a battle no one else can see. I can see it. I want to be a part of it. I want to help him like he helped me. I want..."

The teen choked at the words.

"I want to be with him. Let him know I care, let him know he doesn't have to push me away. Even if I have to put my life on the line to do so."

Logan rubbed at the scruff of his chin. "I see," he commented as he leaned back in his seat. His studious eyes narrowed at her.

"Do you love him?"

[Alyssa Snow]

"What?! No! Of course not!" She spat, wide eyed and flushed in the cheeks. "I mean, I don't know. Maybe? I don't know what that's supposed to feel like."

Logan softly chuckled then looked over to the adolescent phoenix in its cage. "What do you think?"

Mr. Blue spanned his wings wide and sang out a sharp, happy tune.

"Yeah, you're right Blue," the psion nodded.

"What!? What'd he say?!" Alyssa jumped in her seat, nearly losing her grasp on the wine glass.

Alyssa's guest rose from his seat by the fire and stepped toward the door.

"He said it looks like you've got more important things to worry about than something as fickle as love. Listen, there's no changing your mind once you've made it up. So, you're going to Dehlos. Find out what that Tobias is up to and worry about the other stuff later."

Logan made for the door and placed his hand on the handle.

"I'll let you know what I learn from Daire."

He turned the knob and pulled the door open.

"Oh, and before I leave you alone, do you mind if I take a few things from the vault? I have some plans coming up and I could use--"

Alyssa, red as the leftover wine in her hands, waved him off. "Take whatever you need."

"Thanks," Logan left her room but paused with the door still cracked. "And Alyssa...? Stay safe. We need you."

The young girl managed an, "I will" before the door shut with a click.

Finally alone to her own myriad of conflict and emotions, Alyssa let out a long, exasperated sigh. She set her drink down on the coffee table at her knees and cupped her warm cheeks. Either she had too much wine, or something else had her face feeling warmer than usual. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she felt a weight with each breath. She spun in her seat and laid across the length of her sofa.

Lost in thought, Alyssa stared blankly at the smooth stone ceiling above, her arm across her forehead. What was love? From the books and conversations she had, Alyssa only surmised it as a strong attachment to another person. She felt strongly attached to Tobias, but she also felt strongly attached to Logan, Rayleigh, Daire, Stella, Vince, and all the other members of her metaphorical family.

Alyssa gripped at the cloth above her chest.

Then why did she feel so torn when Logan asked that question? Why does it hurt? It had to be the wine. She shouldn't have drank while so upset.

Alyssa closed her eyes.

Tomorrow. She'll worry about this tomorrow, she decided. Alyssa took a deep breath and relaxed herself into a comfortable position and as she began to fade, her mind drifted into a sea of nostalgia with the image of the lone soldier fresh in her memory.

[Alyssa Snow]

In the damp darkness of the freighter's cargo hold, Alyssa felt about for the day pack she misplaced for the umpteenth time. Losing something so invaluable to her journey went against her character but with the slew of improperly tethered barrels, boxes, and paraphernalia sloshing around for weeks, it became commonplace. The limited light that penetrated through the deck boards above usually offered some assistance, but some manner of weather or time denied the sun. Weeks as a stow away tends to skew the perception of days passed.

In her attempts, she finally grazed the familiar exotic fabric and clutched to her chest. She patted around for the clip and unlatched it so she could fish around at the contents within. Several different shapes and forms found her grip but were rejected until she plucked out a small glass flask and leaf-bound ration. Alyssa clamored back to her favorite spot in the hold, high enough to keep herself dry and free from the crushing force of loose cargo in swaying seas. Before she dug in to her afternoon, morning, or midnight meal, she tucked a few wisps of moisture tortured blonde back into place.

Alyssa popped the cork to her flask and took a swig of the salt-free water within. Then, she undid the twine and unwrapped the leaves protecting the firm lump of rations. Her teeth sunk into the bitter, unsavory chunk of nutrition and winced with each unsatisfying chew. Anvil, her close friend and Dwarven quartermaster of the Hierarchy, created this semi soft lump of sustenance from his own personal recipe. She remembered him stating it lacked taste where it made up in necessity. He continued to elaborate on some old Dwarven stories about warriors and braving untold hardships, but Alyssa failed to recall the details as she choked down the mouthful of the awful stuff. Admittedly, it had become a taste less foul than the dozen which came before it. The first nearly threw her into a fit of vomit.

"Oye, mate. 'Ave a gand'r," a muffled voice sounded from the deck above. Alyssa halted herself from a second bite to listen.

"It's fuckin' the mid of night! The hell you wakin' me up for?!"

There was a slight pause, followed by some object clattering to the wood above her.

"Y'prick! That fuckin' hurt!"

"Good, now git off yer arse and take a look through th' glass."

Alyssa cautiously wrapped the ration and set it aside while tucking the glass into the neck of her shirt. She tried to avoid making a single noise as she lofted herself up onto a cross beam so she could peer through any crack or hole to get a better vantage. She found one that allowed a faint glimpse at a deck hand beside the side railing as he motioned someone over. A boot slammed against the deck, blocked her vision, and nearly startled her off her perch.

"This'd better be worth it," she heard from the second hand. "I don't go wakin' you up on yer shift. Give it here!"

The deck hand offered over a brass monocular. He pressed it to his eye in the direction his mate pointed.

"There, on the cusp of the moonlit horizon, what d'you make out?"

"It looks like... Is that...? Well wet me lips and smack 'em on Yedda's tits! A full week ahead of schedule! Bless the winds!"

"Land-ho?"

Alyssa felt her chest flutter with anticipation.

"Aye! Land-ho! Ring th' bell and I'll notify th' Cap'n!"

[Alyssa Snow]

The ship went from the silent slosh of sea against wood to the roaring choir of deckhands preparing to make land. Their feet pounded like drums against the waterlogged planks and bellowed orders roared into the twilight. The faint hue of red began its invasion of the ships various cracks and holes into the storage deck where Alyssa busily checked her equipment. Over the barrels and boxes of merchant wares, she clamored until she found the loading gate. Through a hole that the gate's chain ran, she peered.

Land stretched for as long as she could see. Arid and dry, it seemed vegetation was scarce. The homunculi felt a rush of anticipation swell in her chest.

"Make ready!" she heard a man shout. The metallic flutter of a signalling lamp relayed a silent code to shore. Along the rocky coast, a speck of light flashed in reply.

Alyssa pulled away from the ship's hull and took a deep breath. The memory of Tobias dredged up from the recesses of her mind. From smiling adventurer to steeled gaze of a hardened swordsman. The terror fueled cries of Daire echoed loudly and the anger of Vincent felt fresh. Alyssa shook the memories from her mind and focused on her current task. Her stowing away would surely cause problems upon landing, and she couldn't afford the political delay of talking her way out of it.

Alyssa pulled her magnum from its thigh holster and pressed the muzzle against the chain of the loading gate. She pulled the trigger, washing a wave of flames over the steel. She fired again, wood hissing and screaming as the water evaporated form the grains. With a final pull of the trigger, a chilled bolt of ice crashed into the heated iron and cracked the brittle metal apart.

"Hey," she heard a voice call out above, "anyone hear that?"

Alyssa bit her lip and shifted across the rafters to the second gate chain. Again she pushed her muzzle to the chain.

"Hear what?"

She pulled the trigger, and the first fireball hit the wrought iron with a sizzle.

"That. You don't hear that?"

She pulled it again, wood screaming as water left its soaked body.

"Yeah, I hear it now. It's in cargo! Let's go!"

Alyssa fired the bolt of ice, but this time, the iron resisted.

"Shit," she cursed. The magnum slipped back into its holster and snapped shut. Instead, Alyssa pulled her enchanted knife from the scabbard on her opposite arm and pressed a small button. The blade's crystalline edge hummed, than began to glow red hot. She jammed its tip into the ring of the chain and pushed.

The sound of footsteps groaned on the stairwell in a series of two or three. Hammers of flintlock pistols cocked to the readied position.

Alyssa clenched her teeth, trying to force the blade deeper into the iron. Slowly, like a cold blade through cold butter, the iron began to give way. Its rusty surface hissed and screamed as it grew red with anger.

"There!" Alyssa heard behind her. She shot her free hand to her other pistol. The crewmen leveled their flintlocks.

SNAP!

The last of the chain gave way to her blade and as flintlocks slammed against the priming powder, the cargo door gave way to Alyssa's weight. Smoke billowed from the sailor's weapons, working to the packed black powder within. The wood gate slammed against the worn hull of the vessel and Alyssa fell toward the sea. Bouts of flame belched from their weapons and lead balls fled from their barrels. She heard them hiss as one sped through the golden strands of her hair past her ear. The others flew just above her face as gravity pulled her to safety.

SPLASH!

The sea engulfed her, pushed deep by the rolling tide of the vessel's wake.