The Little Things In Our Souls

"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at this stupid, good for nothing planet!" She remarked, throwing her hands up in the air. Rey huffed and lowered her arms, yanking on her jacket to pull it down as far as she could manage to. She sighed, forcing back yet another sarcastic remark and began to follow after him.

Rey said nothing the entire time that they moved, there was nothing that she wanted to say to him at all. There was nothing that she wanted to remark on. There was little to nothing that caught her interest as they moved, focused on just staying in the marks that Xander made through the forest. One step where he stepped and the next, right where his last step had fallen. She didn't want to make the mistake of stepping off the trail again and ending up up in a tree all over again. Fool her once, shame on you. Fool her twice, then it was just her being stupid.

She swore under her breath when Xander stopped dead in the middle of the trail, yet again. Rey had kept her gaze down, focused on her footsteps more than anything so when she looked up, she was more than a little surprised to see a lake just a few feet away from them. "Why the hell do you keep doing that?" She snapped, glaring at the back of his head. "You keep stopping without so much as a damn word of warning!"

Rey fell silent as he spoke, eyebrows raising in mild surprise. She went to argue that they shouldn't stop, that they needed to continue on. If they wanted to get back to the ship before dark. But before she could even say a thing, Xander had sprawled out on the rocks. She let out a sigh and twisted around, eye catching sight of something that almost seemed to be glowing from a bush on the edge of the clearing. Rey was careful to test each footstep before she put all of her weight down, attention now focused on the bush that she was headed toward.

Xander only gave a small pout at her snap. He could stop when and where he wanted to, it wasn't his fault that she was walking so close behind him and wasn't looking forward. He sprawled out on the rocks, they were cool to the touch and were really nice. Rey headed off to some bush, and he glanced at it but it didn't look that bad, so he didn't pay attention. Instead he looked at the lake. The water glistened to prettily and he could almost see the bottom of the lake. Something moved. He became alert, he looked closer. Before he knew it he was by the side of the lake, kneeling down and peering into the water.

A girl stared up at him.

She was really pretty. Not even just pretty. She was beautiful. Her big eyes and her soft plump lips. Xander felt his brows move together, he leaned a little closer. Was he seeing things. The girl too, moved closer. She suddenly came out of the water, quietly and smoothly, without a splash. One hand rested on his cheek. It was cold and wet, but soft. Her fingers were not wrinkled from the water, they were smooth and gentle. She looked into his eyes, her own glistening crystal blue, her lips moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying. Was she saying anything at all.

There were more shapes in the water now. More girls with tails, swirling underneath. Another popped up on the right of him, tugging gently at his jacket. Xander's foot slipped into the water, his other still on dry. It was like he was walking down stairs in a crouch, ready to dive in to the water with all these pretty mermaids.

He wasn't even thinking anymore, all he wanted to do was kiss those lips and touch her skin, and shoulders and hair. They pulled down his scarf from his mouth, and the mermaid that had entranced him so leaned up, ready to kiss and pull under.

Rey finally reached the bush that had caught her attention and she knelt there, reminding herself not to actually reach out to touch anything. Nope. If her life depended on it, she wasn't going to touch a damn thing on this planet until she reached the Temple of the Three Stars. Maybe after she would be able to relax knowing what they were on this wretched planet for. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rey moved to stand back up, intent on returning to Xander and getting their little journey back on the way. As she turned around, she spotted Xander kneeling over the water but thought nothing of it. Maybe he was just taking a much needed sip of water. But then there was a girl coming out of the water. A girl that didn't belong there because she looked so old and decrepit that Rey wondered for a brief moment if she was hallucinating. If she was seeing things because Xander happily began to lean in to kiss a woman that was looked old enough to be Luke's mother.

"Hey!" The word sounded far away as Rey broke out into a run, her heart beginning to pound all over again. She had no idea what would happen if Xander's lips connected with the woman's but by the feeling in her gut, it was enough to tell her the result would not be pretty. The mermaid to his right glanced back, only to turn back around and nudge the girl that had Xander in her hands. She seemed to be urging the other along. To speed things up.

Rey grit her teeth as she pulled to a dead stop beside Xander, swinging her staff out to catch the mermaid's head, all of the strength she could muster behind the strike. The screech that sounded from the mermaid was enough to make her want to crumble into a ball and cover her ears. Anything to get away from the noise that just seemed to get louder that longer that Rey stood there. The mermaid with a hand on Xander sank beneath the surface and Rey took another step, raising her staff to take another swing. The other one disappeared beneath the surface and Rey turned her attention back to Xander.

Her eyes narrowed as she set a hand on his shoulders, shoving him backward. "What in the hell was that? You tell me not to eat, or drink, or touch a damn thing. And you were going to kiss some woman that looks old enough to be your grandmother?!" Rey screeched, yanking her goggles down to stare at him like he was a truly madman.

Closer, closer, just a bit more. Xander wondered briefly what was going on and where he was, but a tug on his collar brought him back into focus at the pretty girls in front of him. The sparkling water was swirling behind her, it looks so damn inviting in this heat.

Suddenly they were yelling in pain. The girls were yelling in pain and it was a weird sound. But it was pain? Or was it anger? Xander couldn't quite tell. Something felt off but at the same time, he just wanted to lie down now. Sleep was good. A new voice was yelling, and the girls were splashing about. Something waved at them. But Xander was too high to realise what was happening and he just stayed there in the water, watching as suddenly the girls were gone and someone was pulling him out and away from the water. He stumbled back, and fell, looking up at the loud noise directed at him. What had he done wrong? Why was someone yelling?

There was a girl in front of him again, unfortunately not as beautiful as the half-naked one in the rock pool, but she was a girl alright. And she wasn't ugly, she would do. She looked angry but Xander couldn't place why. Why no smiles? Her dark eyes weren't as crystal clear like the ones of the water-girl. He blinked up at her almost with puppy eyes, though he was very obviously hazy and his sight was distant.

All he could tell was this was a person that could be kissed. He didn't waste time. Lips were needed to be kissed. He gave her a confused look, then reached up and pulled her closer.

Something had gone terribly wrong. Exactly what it was, Rey wasn't sure but Xander didn't look like his normal stoic self. He looked almost confused. His eyes stared straight at her yet he seemed to be a thousand miles away. Her brows knit together as she stared down at him. Mouth opened and closed repeatedly, trying to place what could be wrong. It had to do with the mermaid's touch surely but she had no idea what to even do to potentially fix the problem. But then again, neither had Xander when he rescued her from that stupid viney plant.

Before Rey could consider another option, she found herself being pulling closer to Xander. In some other situation at a different time and most certainly with someone else because right now she wanted to smack him, Rey would have welcomed the gesture. She let out a small growl as she shoved him away from her. Her free hand shoved his hands away before she took a step back. Fumbling with the zipper on her bag, Rey groaned. This was taking far too long.

"Drink," she said, once she produced a bottle of water from her bag. Unscrewing the lid, Rey held the bottle to his lips and began to tilt the bottle. She had no real clue what would or wouldn't work to fix their new problem but she hoped the chill of the water combined with liquid would be enough to shock him back ot reality. Even bring him back just enough that he could offer her up an idea.

Xander took hold of the bottle and Rey stepped back, setting her hands on her hips as she stared down at him. "Are you going to be okay or do I need to pour the water on your head, buddy?" She prompted after a moment, head tilting to the side as she studied him.

Again, Xander did not understand what he had done wrong. Why did this girl not want to kiss him? Was he ugly? Did he have something on his face? She growled? What did it mean? He didn’t know. He just pouted and looked hurt, as if she had just said the most offensive thing in the world. He watched as she stepped away, still sitting on the ground, his knees near his chest but slightly stretched out – now he stretched them out fully and lightly tapped his toes together.

A bottle appeared in his vision and was roughly pushed to his lips. But that wasn’t what he wanted to kiss. Then water was spilling out from it and unless he was going to choke, he had to swallow this liquid. He did, rather obediently actually, but looking just as confused as before when it was pulled away. Some gesture of hers indicated he should take the bottle, and Xander did, pulling it away from his mouth and looking up at the girl.

“Buddy?” He questioned and looked down at his feet. Who was buddy? He frowned lightly, looked up and around as if only now seeing where he was. “Where are we?” And most importantly, “Who are you?”

He blinked at her, and a goofy smile spread over his lips, as if he saw something he really liked and it made him happy. “You’re pretty.”
The ground was getting rather cold. He brushed his pants and stood up, handing the water bottle back to her and looking around. Something told him he should know where he was going. But he couldn’t quite remember. He tried to remember, his face briefly distorted into another round of confusion.

Rey let out s groan of frustration, setting her face in her hands for a moment. She took a deep breath, glared at the sky for a moment before settling her attention back on him. Her eyes were narrowed just a bit as she tried to sort out exactly what to do. The most appealing one was to march right into the lake and strangle that wretched old mermaid but that wasn't plausible. If anything, it would only make the situation worse. "You're never going to be able to forget this," she muttered under her breath, only to give a look of confusion of her own when he complimented her.

"That wasn't what you were saying earlier," Rey spoke, rolling her eyes. She reached forward, braced her feet into the ground beneath her, and wrapped her fists into the collar of his jacket. "Get up!" She snapped, pulling him to his feet. Rey let out a slow breath, relieved that he was standing. That was a step up from what was just.

Rey grabbed his bag and shoved it into his hands, "carry this." She then leaned up on the tips of her toes and readjusted his goggles to make sure every inch of his skin was covered. He certainly didn't need to breathe in any more toxic fumes. Her face fell as she looked to the other side of the clearing. This meant that she would have to lead because no way in hell was she going to let Xander go off, not in the state of mind he was in.

"I want you to follow my movements exactly. Where I step, you step. If I stop, you stop. If I move, you move," Rey instructed as she readjusted her own goggles, gripping her staff all the tighter now. "Can you do that for me?"

It wasn't what he was saying earlier? He wasn't going to forget what? He didn't know. Xander perfectly still as this girl huffed and fussed around him. He didn’t understand why she was so fussed but he didn’t say anything. Something told him it was better to stay quiet for now. He just smiled the goofy smile and let her pull down his goggles and adjust his scarf. The bag shoved into his hands, and then a rather cool blade. He gathered enough to understand this was his. He blinked as she talked and nodded. Adventure? This was exciting, but he still really wanted to kiss her lips. They were calling. Also he wanted to go back into the water, it was all pretty too. Despite the fact that it was deep in reality, and the close 'bottom' he had seen was merely an illusion.

Xander nodded when she asked if he could follow her. Of course. He knew how to walk. When she started to walk, he followed close behind, doing as she did and stepping where she stepped and being very obvious with it. They certainly made their way through the forest like that for good half hour or so, and the effect of the mermaid was slowly starting to wear off. His first senses came back were of his surroundings and his knowledge of where to not step. At one point, he saw Rey – he blinked, her name? – step forward to a snake and he reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her back sharply into himself.

The brown snake in the leaves hissed and slithered away. He watched it go and then looked down at the girl, Rey, “Rey.” He muttered, as if she had just told him her name and he wanted to confirm it. Again, her proximity was so very convenient, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her lips, parting his own so very slightly and starting to lean in again.

Tap the ground in front of her with a staff and if there wasn't any ill effect, take a step. Rinse and repeat with each step she took. It was slower progress than they had been making but Rey wasn't well versed in any of the plant life or animals surrounding them. She would have rather be safer than sorry, especially since she was leading an especially stupid version of Xander along behind her. Briefly, she had wondered if it would be a permanent problem or not - she certainly hoped not. Even the past half hour had been more than enough for her.

A sharp gasp sounded from her lips as she felt a hand on hers, yanking her backward. Rey's brows knit together as she looked from Xander and back to the snake. Her blood ran cold as she realized just how close she had been to death yet again. After today, she would have been happy to never see another damned plant again in her life. The train of thought was cut off as she noticed Xander leaning down to her. For the briefest of moments, she found herself leaning toward him. Rey jerked away from him as he drew even closer. Nope. No way in hell was she going to kiss him - if he was starting to come back, to risk him remembering wasn't something she even want to chance.

"Never mind," she muttered under her breath, patting his chest. Rey shook her head and twisted around, forging forward once she was sure there wasn't another snake around. "Come on. I think we're getting close to the temple," Rey spoke. It was the strangest of feelings - the further they walked, the worse the feeling of someone just behind them grew. Someone or something was going to jump out from behind and it would be a fight for their lives. But forward? Looking ahead of them, Rey started to become a little more relaxed. That oppressive feeling lessened and grew all at once as they moved through the jungle.

---

It was only a few minutes longer before Rey caught sight of a grand building through the treeline. Her footsteps became a little more rushed because it was right there. A small grin broke out onto her features as she ducked under a vine. She took a few more steps so that she was comfortably away from the line of trees that surrounded the temple. Rey's lips parted, eyes widening as she took in the sight before her.

The girl, Rey, had moved forward to meet him and Xander got all excited – perhaps this time, they would? But his hopes were quickly crushed as she suddenly pulled away and mentioned a temple. Temple? Where were they going? He pouted lightly, looking all confused and sad but followed her again anyway.

And as they walked, he started to slowly come back to his senses though now and then he would slip into the state of loss again and want to run and kiss her, before suddenly remembering it was Rey and ‘why am I thinking this?’. The more he slipped out of the mermaids spell the more he became aware of the heavy presence around them. It grew and grew, and he kept jerking his shoulder and looking back expecting someone to be there up close and staring him in the eye. But nobody was there. Every time.

When the temple finally came into view, Xander was back to his normal self. The confusion and innocence slipped from his face and was replaced by the usual passive stoic expression he wore, unamused and uninterested by this planet, distrustful and wary.

The temple was beautiful. He would have very much liked to enjoy it a little while longer but Rey was rushing up to it and to the steps. At these, Xander slowed. “You go in. I’ll wait for you here.” He said casually, hoping to get a ‘sure’ dismissive response from her, turning away from the temple and sitting down on the first few steps, looking out at the forest. No. He wasn’t going in. He wouldn’t. The aura of the temple screamed Jedi and it wasn’t something he liked, wanted, cared for. He set his bag down and gripped his staff tightly. He hoped she wouldn’t take long to do her meditation.

Rey had truly never seen anything like the sight in front of her - the temple was magnificent stonework albeit it had been largely taken back over by the jungle but she was still in awe. And suddenly everything was okay as she set her foot on the first step - that horribly oppressive feeling drifted away and she felt like she could breathe for the first time wife stepping foot in this horrid planet. Swallowing, Rey took another few steps, only to stop at Xander's words. She glanced back to him, confusion written clearly on her features. She wanted to ask why, she did, but then, perhaps a few minutes away from him wouldn't be that horrible of an idea. Not after leading his high self around. The thought provoked a smirk from her but all she did was nod her head to show she had heard him speak.

The steps seemed to go on for what felt like forever. Rey was beginning to wonder if time was different on this planet - perhaps it really had slowed down. Never mind that. It didn't matter because now she was standing at the top of the stairs. Rey took a moment to turn in a full circle, appreciating the beauty around her with a slight look of apprehension. As beautiful as it was, she had learned it was deadly.

Attention back on the temple in front of her, Rey closed the distance between her and the front door. She said a silent prayer that there wasn't some sort of massive beast on the other side and pushed the door open. Much to her relief, the main chamber was just as empty as she had hoped. Still, vines peeked out from the cracks in the stone. Spinning in another circle, Rey took a deep breath. What was she meant to do?

Following the feeling in her gut, Rey set her staff down, bag right beside it. She pushed her goggles so they rested atop her head before sitting in the middle of the room. Closing her eyes, she focused on her breathing, hoping that she was at least getting this part right. There had already been enough guessing games on this Godforsaken planet, she didn't want any more.

She didn’t ask why, and she didn’t do anything to make him go into the temple and Xander was thankful. He would rather stay with this horrible heavy feeling than go into something else that had a worse feeling, accompanied and felt only by him. So he sat here, staring at the trees and grass that gently swayed in the wind. Now and then he would see eyes of an animal or a beast or a bird but none dared venture close to the temple. He was safe here. He could close his eyes.

…

Xander opened his eyes sharply and looked around. He heard something, though he wasn’t sure what it was. A voice. Familiar. He couldn’t place his finger on it. So he closed his eyes again, maybe it was just the wind.

…

And there it was again. And Xander felt unease rise to this throat. The presence loomed right behind him but he didn’t look back. He didn’t want to. He knew what this presence was now. The reports of those who came here said few things about it. It was a feeling of want, regret, or guilt. Natural for all, present in all.
Xander didn't close his eyes again this time. If he did, he'd hear the voice again. Whatever tried to talk to him would reach out and it would be like muddy water overflowing into a lake via a waterfall. The crystal clarity of his mind would be disrupted.

One moment Rey had been focusing on her breathing. The air entered through her mouth, descended into her lungs, only to be pushed back out through her mouth. In and out, in and out. One. Two. Three. The next moment, she was two people all at once. She was standing right there, watching a younger version of someone she recognized as herself. There was no mistaking who the young girl was, eagerly staring up at a male figure. But then, she was also staring up at a clouded face. No matter how hard either version of herself squinted and tried to make out the male's features, she couldn't. It was almost as if he had a veil covering his face - Rey could make out the general makeup of his face. Eyes were there, nose was there, and she was entirely too sure that if she could see the man's face, he would be smiling. A smile that matched little Rey's.

---

"You know that you shouldn't have punched that little boy, Rey."

Rey's little face was scrunched into a mask of anger and frustration as she shook her head. Her fist balled up as she stomped on the ground. "But he said little girls can't be a Jedi!"

The man's shoulders tensed a bit as Rey tried to defend herself. Fatherly instinct had to be stamped down. Even if he had wanted to go throttle the little boy, that wouldn't have done very much good for anyone in the long run.

Tugging his pants up just a bit so that he could comfortably kneel in front of the young girl, the faceless man let out the quietest of sighs. "But you know he is wrong, Rey," he paused, reaching to cup the girl's tiny fists between his hands. "Jedi are meant to bring order to the galaxy. As the protectors of the galaxy, we need to be able to master our emotions so that they don't influence our decision. Don't you think it would have felt better if you just smiled and said okay? Then when your trainings begin, you focus all of your energy on being the best Jedi you can be. Imagine the look on his face when you surpass him in training."

Rey stared at the ground, her anger dissipating. It was still there, just more refined. Pouting, the young girl kicked at the floor before looking up to him. "Okay, Daddy," she mumbled, leaning to wrap her tiny arms around his neck in an embrace.

Rey let out a breathe that she hadn't realized she had been holding as she was whisked away from the vision. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the temple. Her chest felt ready to collapse inward - she was barely able to breathe. Of all the things that she had been expecting to gain from this wretched planet, a vision from her past had been the very last thing...

Just as soon as she was back in reality, Rey was gone. This time, she was only a spectator.

Two little boys were grinning, tensed, as they faced each other. Each had a staff in hand, glaring at each other, trying to appear fiercer than his opponent.

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that, Ben! What is this? Your first day?" One boy spoke.

Rey's eyes shot to the one that had been called Ben.

"You wish. You're just jealous, Claris!" And just like that, Ben was launching at the one he had just called Claris. At the sound of their staffs colliding, Rey's vision blurred. It was a long moment of darkness before Rey could focus again on the scene before her.

Flames licked up the ruined side of a building. Rey stumbled backward, bringing her arm up to shield from the faux heat. Her eyes drifted from the temple to a man that was on his knees. Instinct told her to step closer to him and she did, even if the cloaked man had no way of responding to her or picking up on her presence. Her eyebrows knit together as she looked from the building to the man, to the little robot that was beside him. R2-D2. She recognized the droid as the one that had provided the missing section of the map that had led her on this little journey.

A metal hand clapped against the robot causing Rey to jerk backward, unsure of what the meaning of the vision was. She recognized it all too well - it was the same vision that had occurred when she held Luke's lightsaber for the first time. Swallowing, Rey tried to shake herself free of the vision.

---

Gasping as her eyes shot open, Rey found herself staring up at the ceiling. Her back against the cold stone, Rey struggled to contain her emotions. She wasn't quite sure she even knew what they were. Longing for her father, confusion at the second, and an intense anger at the last. Anger because the man had seemed so lost... broken. A broken man. No one deserved to feel like that.

'Find the temple from your dreams. Your answer awaits.'

Rey let out a small scream as the disembodied voice spoke. She lurched to her feet and looked around, trying to spot where it had come from. She started for the first door - that led up to a tower presumably. When no one was on the other side of the door, Rey went to each of the other two doors and did the same. When she found no one, Rey slowly made her way back to the center of the room. She collected her bag that she tossed over her shoulder and clipped her staff to her back. She was safe now, she had reached the temple. There was no need for the protection it offered.

Bursting through the front doors, Rey all but flew down the stairs. Her earlier emotions had combined into a determination unlike anything she had felt before. Approaching Xander, Rey began to shout once she was close enough that she knew he could hear her. "A temple was destroyed. That R2-D2 droid was there. What temple was it?" She didn't even clarify why she was asking because at that very moment, it didn't matter. All she knew was that she needed to go. The pull was nothing like the one to this planet, no. It was more intense and if she took too long, she was sure there was a longing there. Deep down somewhere.

"A man with a metal hand. He was there. Do you even know what I'm talking about?" Rey demanded as she finally reached the stair Xander had been sitting on. "I can always contact HQ if you don't, Leia must."

Xander didn’t hear the scream, absorbed himself in a dreamless eye-open sleep. In which he saw nothing, but he felt the presence around him. He had decided to nap, seeing that Rey took forever to come out. The sun was starting to fall closer to the horizon. He hoped that she didn’t fall asleep in there. But he woke up from his nap when he heard the running down the stairs and jolted back into reality. She was shouting, and shouting words he didn’t want to acknowledge. So Xander just sat there until she reached near him and he stood, picking up his bag and staff, looking quite so more normal.

Why was she asking about this temple? He flinched lightly at the mention of a man with a metal hand and gave her a wounded look. “I know what you’re babbling about but let’s get to the ship first. It’s going to be dark soon.” And while we walk I’ll make up excuses as to why I don’t want to go. He could already guess. She probably saw some vision and now this new clue directed them to go there. The temple of Luke’s new generation of Jedi.

He took a breath and turned away, not wanting to look her in the eye, fearing she would see his inner turmoil. A temple destroyed. R2-D2 was there. A man with a metal hand. Did he know? He knew very well. It was no use keeping it from her if she was going to ask Leia anyway should he withhold the information. But first he wanted to get back. He wouldn’t tell her. He didn’t want to. Xander started to walk, his brows brought together in focus.

"I am not babbling!" Rey snapped back at him. Her goggles still rested on top of her head so her glare was unavoidable. She sneered at Xander and for a brief moment, she entertained the idea of shoving him down the stairs. How that would have solved all of her problems, she didn't know but certainly, it would solve at least one of them. The whole having an asshole for a traveling companion problem. Reluctantly, Rey began to follow after Xander.

---

The farther they got from the temple, the more intense that familiar feeling became. Rey hadn't thought anything of it at first. It was just a residual feeling from earlier. Being in the middle of a jungle with someone she didn't absolutely trust was the only reason behind the feeling certainly. With each step, it continued to grow. But still, with each step they had to be getting closer to the ship. The ship would offer them sanctuary from the planets' inhabitants and ultimately, the answers she needed from Xander.

Her throat felt like it was on fire. It was as dry as the desert that she had grown up in... except she hadn't grown up in a desert. At some point, she had been somewhere that training could take place. Just as soon as the thought had drifted, it was gone. Eying the trees around them, Rey's face lit up as she caught sight of a cluster of leaves that appeared to be damp. Damp meant water... water meant her throat didn't have to feel like it was going to burst into flames.

A smile drifted to her features as Rey stepped off the path. She didn't bother to tell Xander she was stopping because she had only meant to take a moment. Reaching the bush, Rey licked her lips in anticipation as she reached for a leaf.

He was getting tired. Twice he almost stepped into a ring of blue flowers, and two more times almost on a snake. He narrowed and sharply veered off to the side, enough for the girl behind him not to crash into him but also not enough for her to smoothly follow close but rather jolt to a stop. Absorbed in his own thought, Xander’s mind drifted in and out of the current presence causing him to have such close encounters.

He kept walking even when behind him Rey stopped, and he didn’t notice her gone until he almost tripped over a branch and stopped short expecting her to run into him. He turned around to reply to whatever snappy comment she had to make when he realised she wasn’t there. His eyes widened. A tree? A vine? He hadn’t come across any again. A beast? Dread filled his whole entire being and he rushed back, following his very footsteps.

Then he saw her by a bush, reaching out a leaf in her hand and it nearing her mouth.

At first he relaxed, she was alive.

Then he saw the leaf, and then the bush from which it had come from. His knowledge of almost all things whirred in his head until a matching description of the bush clicked into place. Xander didn’t know what to do. He shouted. “Oi!”

Within a few strides he was over by her side, though he didn’t see if the leaf made it into her mind. “Rey!” He shouted again, grabbing her shoulder and violently jerking her back away from the bush. He turned to face her, eyes wide and furrowed, goggles pushed up so he could glare down at her more but also check if she was okay.

A small amount of the leaf would certainly make her very not herself while a lot would mean sure death. He wasn’t aware of its side effects, just that she shouldn’t eat it! He grabbed her hand, and bent closer, looking down to see how much of the leaf had been or hadn’t been consumed. “Rey what are you doing!? I told you. No eating, no drinking, no touching!”

"Just a second!" Rey shouted back over her shoulder to Xander. She really wasn't planning on taking that long. Maybe a second lead... Even a third if she was still feeling thirsty. It wouldn't take so long that it would hinder their profess, why was Xander being so demanding?

Bringing the leaf toward her mouth, Rey let out a squeak as she felt herself being yanked backward. Her eyes went wide, fingers letting the leaf fall back to the ground as Xander yanked her hand toward him. She huffed as she set her hands on her hips, glaring up at Xander. An intimidating sight, surely.

"What? I can eat that weird cheese stuff but a leaf is going to spell trouble?" Rey snapped, her lip curling back in a sneer. "Besides, I didn't get a chance to even eat one because you interrupted me! Selfish if you ask me!"

Suddenly, the sneer was gone, replaced by a smirk. Rey let out a laugh. "Don't touch anything?" She mimicked his voice the best that she could. "Which one of us almost got drowned by an old lake witch?!" She nearly shouted. Rey rolled her eyes, looking away from him. "It sure as hell wasn't me, I can tell you that much."

“A leaf on this planet sure is!” Xander snapped back, now genuinely scared and concerned for how much she had eaten. A mixture of those two looks made him look even more angry. But when she mentioned she didn’t get to eat one he relaxed. His grip on her wrist loosened.

That was all until she mimicked him and he was getting annoyed again, but then she said something about an old lake witch. He looked confused. What? He had zero recollection of this. Dropping her wrist, he stood up and looked at her as if she was high or something. “What? Lake witch?”

Then it occurred to him, that yes mermaids were present on this but he had no recollection of anything. He remembered vaguely being by water at one point and then they were at the temple. What happened between there and temple was not in his memory. He looked even more confused and concerned. He was almost afraid to ask and judging by her words, she wasn’t going to live this down. He wanted to ask to know what happened but also didn’t want her to see him panic.

Curiosity would kill the cat and it surely won’t let Xander live this down but he needed to know. He grabbed her ankle, the closest thing to him and sharply pulled her closer to him, dropping his staff and bag so that he was practically kneeling over her on the ground, his hands slamming into the ground on either side of her head.

“Did I kiss her?” He demanded, his own lips curled into a snarl, eyes narrowed. Maybe if he was rough and meaner she wouldn’t question his need to know. “Did I kiss you?”

Rey shrugged her shoulders, just wanting to leave the subject alone. If she did, they would get back to ship faster and she would have her answers faster. Answers were all that she seemed to be after now. She let out a yelp as she was suddenly on the ground. She winced, more out of shock than actual pain. Her eyes searched for Xander.

Rey tensed as his hands slammed down on either side of her. Her breathing quickened, unable to stop herself from flinching the tiniest bit as Xander spoke. The position had been unexpected and all of the sudden, Rey felt small. She wanted to curl into a ball and tell Xander to leave her alone. To forget she existed so she could forget this had happened.

Focus, focus, focus. Control your emotions. Rey kept repeating the words to herself, the vision from earlier coming to mind. She needed to control her emotions if she wanted to gain her composure back. Rey closed her eyes and counted backward from five, completely ignoring Xander and how close his body was to her. Once she hit zero, Rey reopened her eyes and fixed Xander with a blank stare. Emotions had been tucked away, Rey would be alright.

"You almost kissed one. I hit it over the head with my staff and she let out an awful screech. Disappeared with all of her hideous friends," Rey said, shuddering at the thought. She had never seen someone as ugly as the mermaids. Then again, she hadn't been under their spell like Xander had been.

"You wanted to kiss me. I didn't give you the chance. Why? You want to kiss me now?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. Rey was smirking the slightest bit. "It's getting dark. We should probably get back to the ship."

He saw her unease, her surprise and shock at suddenly being below him. In a way, in the inner and deeper and darker corners of his mind where a little sadist lingered, he thought it was nice to watch her be so uneasy again. Though it all disappeared within five seconds and he was rewarded a blank stare. Regardless, he didn’t change his own expression. She may be a barrier from emotion but he still wanted his answers.

The answer she gave did not seem false. At least, he couldn’t calculate as to why she would lie to him so he bought the information with eagerness. He hadn’t kissed the mermaid. He was alright. So his life wasn’t shortened. He would be okay. Not that he would find out soon.

Her next words made him raise a brow and the sneer fell to imitate her smirk and expression right back at her. He leaned in a little, now more out of play than seriousness. He had his information, he was calm. Hovering over her so that his lips were only a finger width’s apart from hers, running his gaze up from the lips to her eyes and giving her a smug almost, almost, bedroom eyes sort of look, Xander tilted his head a little, looking and searching her eyes for any other hint of emotion, “Do you?”

He felt the very big need to spite her then. She got under his skin and irritated him and he wanted to wipe that innocence off her face. Without any more words, he grabbed her jaw tightly with one gloved hand and held it in place, giving the corners of her lips one short but rough kiss (though it couldn’t be called a kiss, there was no tenderness or care for it) and got up and away from her as fast as it had happened. He walked back to the track. “Come on,” he said and mimicked her voice, “It’s getting dark.” And continued his way along the forest.