Naomi stirs in her sleep and then sits up suddenly. Raurlin wraps an arm around her, a deep frown on his face.

"Naomi?"

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple hours...Why what's going on?"

Naomi looks up at Raurlin a look of pure shock on her face. The afternoon sun is peeking through the curtains.. Naomi exhales a small smile that grows bigger. She stands up and stretches and Raurlin watches on with a confused smile. The sun gently caresses the curves of her silhouette.

"Not a single bad dream...no nightmare...no Jackson. That was genuinely the best sleep I've ever had. Except for that time I had my wisdom teeth removed but I don't think anesthesia counts."

Naomi beams down at Raurlin and Raurlin chuckles.

"You suffer frequently with bad dreams, Naomi?"

Naomi nods slowly then withdraws completely. She folds her hands over her chest. "Why is it so easy for me to open up to him?"

'Because you're my arternum. And I am yours."

"You can read my mind?"

Raurlin chuckles "no. But I can imagine how you must be feeling right now."

Naomi walks to the kitchen and settles onto a kitchen stool, feeling the need to put some distance between herself and Raurlin.

"No offense but I don't think you could imagine how I feel."

Raurlin nods slowly and is silent a moment then responds "I know I may be old. Very old. But there was a time in my life where literally overnight everything about me changed. Everything about my family...my people. Suddenly we're gearing up for a war we shouldn't have been fighting in the first place."

There's a hint of sadness in Raurlin's words and his sincerity pulls at Naomi's heart. She wants to hold him but she forces herself to stay sitting.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you."

Raurlin nods "I am too. And I'm equally as sorry that so much of your life is changing in an instant. I wish there was something I could do to make this easier for you."

The statement is more of a question and Naomi muses on it for a few minutes.

"You could give me space so we can learn more about each other. Also I have no intention to be missing out on class so I hope that doesn't irritate our thread or whatever."

"Thread?"

"Yes. Jackson told me about it in a dream. The red thread. Follow the thread. That's how I ended up here in the first place."

Raurlin stops himself from shaking his head. Jackson and his antics.

"Look I won't stop you from going to class or living your life. That's not what I'm trying to do at all. If you'd like I can take you to class and pick you up? We can even go out for lunch after class?"

Naomi nods slowly trying to hide the fact that she loves the idea.

"That would be great. What's your number? I'll forward you my timetable."

Raurlin unlocks his phone and hands it to Naomi. Naomi is surprised at how open he is. She saves his number and forwards the timetable to him and saves her number in his phone as Naomi-Aeturnum with a winking emoji. She giggles at her work then hands the phone back to Raurlin. Raurlin examines the screen with a happy smile tugging at his cheeks. "Perfect" he mutters.

"So what would you like to do tonight, Naomi?"

"Maybe we should talk...about stuff. I mean about ourselves."

"Sounds good. You want to go first?"

Naomi shakes her head and asks "where are your parents?"

"My mother is dead. She died fighting in the war. She was a shield-maiden. That's what they called her at the time anyway. I guess we were all just soldiers in retrospect."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. What was she like?"

"Oh she was amazing. She was bright and bubbly. She had a way of commanding a room with merely a smile. But she had a fury deep and intense. I wish you could have met her. She would like you."

Naomi smiles "and what about your Dad?"

"He's in a nursing home."

Naomi laughs "a vampire nursing home?"

"Well yes. I see why that would be humorous. He has the Illness. He doesn't have much longer."

"Oh. Sorry. Laughing was insensitive."

"No it's okay you didn't know. I don't think you'll meet him unfortunately. He's a hard man. My mother's death affected him deeply."

"So your father is sick but he's the king."

Raurlin shakes his head.

"It's complicated. Your turn. Tell me about your parents."

Naomi points to the pizza box on the table and Raurlin hands it to her.

"Well they died when I was very young. I was just born actually. The police seemed to think it was a robbery gone wrong."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You don't think it was a robbery?"

"How can it be a robbery when nothing was taken? I used to read up on it every day. My therapist says I shouldn't obsess over it."

"I agree. You'll drive yourself to madness trying to rationalise something like that. So who raised you?"

"When I was younger I was passed around from family member to family member. I guess it was too painful for everyone to have me around for too long. I reminded them of my parents. Eventually my aunt, my mothers sister, took me in but she was a drunk. For the most part I raised myself."

"Well I think you did a great job. You should be proud of yourself."

"Most days I'm too tired to be proud."

"I want you to know you don't have to be strong when you're with me."

Raurlin looks deep into Naomi's eyes and the golden glow around his irises seems to grow. Naomi looks at the pizza and pulls out a slice. It's cold but Naomi doesn't mind. She decides warming it up will be too much effort.

"I can warm that up for you Naomi?"

Naomi smiles and shakes her head.

"Can you tell me about the Illness?"

"Sure. Think of it as an autoimmune disease. It can start out by affecting hearing and eyesight but generally progresses quickly, attacking the mind last but most severely. My father, Tormund, is in the dementia phase of the Illness. After the dementia he will spiral into delirium. Usually delirium causes the vampire to become violent and more often than not the king has to..."

"That sounds horrible. I'm so sorry it must be so painful for you...Because your father has it does that mean that..."

"Not necessarily. It's not genetic, it's more sporadic. There's no guarantee that I will be afflicted because my father is."

Naomi exhales a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders dropping with the motion.

"Right, it's your turn again. What are you studying?"

"Business. Nothing exciting."

'Business is very exciting! Maybe I'll even hire you when you're done studying. Very fifty shades."

Naomi laughs shaking her head "you clearly haven't seen the movies firstly and secondly ew."

Raurlin smiles. The steady sound of Naomi's heartbeat is like sweet music to his ears.

"So what business are you in, Raurlin?"

"I got my fingers in a few pies. I own a logistics company though. A partner in some companies. I guess that's the benefit of living as long as I have. You get to be a part of some things just as they're starting and manage to enjoy the long-term benefit as well."

Naomi rolls her eyes and says "just a fancy way of saying you're filthy rich. Small apartment for someone so well off."

"Well if you decide to stick around perhaps you can help me pick something more suited to us."

"I think I'd like that Raurlin."