Sable

The army was large; a lot larger than Conor had led on. 'Some' of the army took up several fields of space. Sable wondered what might have happened to the rest, but she supposed it didn't matter anymore with Lucca dead. The horrifying image of his body falling in two flashed throguh her mind. Sable covered her face and fought back a noise of surprise.

"Sable?" Conor asked. She pulled her hands away from her face and looked up at him, making a questioning hum. He frowned and sighed. "None of this will ever become normal to you, huh? And I don't think it ever should... You were just a normal human girl before all of this. But I do need you to remain strong."

Sable nodded and looked away, back out at the sea of men Conor had gathered. It was dizzying to look at sometimes. They really were all there, and they really were going to help Conor and Sable defeat Finnian and the other demons. She hoped it would be a mission success.

Conor placed an arm around her and pulled her close. Immediately Sable sunk into the embrace, nuzzling into his shoulder. His hand slowly ran over her back- a caress meant to soothe her, and it did.

"Don't think about it for now," Conor whispered into her hair. "We're going in the morning." Sable nodded again and looked up at him once more.

"Thank you, for everything," Sable whispered to him. Conor gave her a warm smile which she returned. "You and Akeem have been the only two people I can trust here. And that's sad: only being able to trust two people."

"No, it's smart," Conor disagreed. He rested his forehead against hers, and his smile grew wider. "A week ago you would have shoved me away and told me to get lost. Now look where we are." Sable rolled her eyes.

"Oh, don't get all mushy on me," she said. She yawned loudly then, and stretched away from him. "I'm definitely ready to sleep right now."

"Then let's get to our tent," Conor said. He stood and helped Sable to her feet.

"Our tent?" Sable asked.

"I'm not letting you sleep by yourself, especially not now," Conor sighed. "You're vulnerable, without a familiar now."

"So become my familiar," Sable said. She gave him a determined look, to which he just shook his head and smiled.

"I'd still be sleeping with you," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but it'd be your job then," Sable nodded. She grinned and blinked at him. "So become my familiar. Please? I would really like for you to be."

"I can't, Sable," Conor shook his head. Sable frowned- that time due to the feeling of rejection. Conor sighed and lifted her chin. He placed a soft kiss against her forehead. "I can't."

"Okay," Sable nodded. She turned from him and began walking toward the tent. "Let's go to bed, then."

"Of course," Conor said from behind her.

They settled into the tent, and Sable curled up comfortably onto her side. Conor laid next to her, pulling her close against his body- his front pressing into her back. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she was glad he was there with her that night. Especially with such a memory so fresh in her mind- it was like it would keep happening, over and over again.

She saw his body fall into two pieces again and squeaked, turning to face Conor and burying her face in his chest. He held her close and slowly ran his fingers through her hair. It was with that soothing sensation that her breathing slowed and she drifted off to sleep.

She dreamed of the dark abyss again. What was the reason for her to continue arriving there, if Inara had completely faded away? Sable looked around, and then spotted a soft glow in the distance. She had seen it before, in the dream she had before the one about Conor.

Sable flushed at the memory of the dream. She had told Akeem about it, but it was something she decided to never tell the man himself about. Besides, it was personal information- of the variety Conor didn't need to know of.

The movements she made felt as if she was walking knee-deep through mud again. It should have been expected by then, with all the dreams she had of the abyss. What even was the abyss? Sable shrugged and continued to move closer to the glow.

There was the hill again, she thought as she grew closer. the air around her grew hotter and hotter; it was almost an uncomfortable temperature. Would she wake before she made it over the hill completely again? She sucked in a breath. It was worth a shot; her curiosity for what lay ahead was too strong to resist.

Once she had made it over the hill, she lost her footing and slid down the grass until she came close to landing in a rocky area. The area looked to be a winding path, that led up a rocky hill, where the gentle glow sat at the top. The area surrounding Sable was definitely an uncomfortable temperature then.

She took her head and strained to see further, all the way to the top to make out the source of the glow. It was still too far away to determine what it was. She got to her feet carefully and continued to approach the glow.

There was a faint hum, as if whatever was there was singing. Sable could see then that it was some small, ethereal being that was emitting the glow. Sable gasped and froze in her steps. The ethereal being turned and looked at her, its eyes an even brighter golden glow. That one, small being was producing so much light and heat...

"My child," the being said, though it had no moving mouth. Sable gasped again and jumped back. "It's so good to have you brought back here once again."

"I- again?" Sable asked. "I mean, there was that once, but other than that I've never seen you before."

"You have forgotten," the being sighed. The glow around it dimmed the slightest bit. "Becoming human can be so rough on the memory."

Sable began to approach the hill it sat on top of again, noting that the heat was steadily growing more and more unbearable. But she had to get closer. What was it talking about? It was so pretty.

"What are you?" she asked it. "Do you have a name?"

"You may call me- Sun," the glowing being said. Sable stared up at it in wonder, above the rocks. "The name fondly given to me. You will have many questions for me now, I feel."

Sable climbed up the rocks, moving closer to the being. Her footing was almost lost as she slipped, but she righted herself. Something like laughter came from the being before her. The air became too unbearable, so Sable stopped there.

"What do you mean by- becoming human?" Sable asked. "I've always been human, except for when I got all of these powers. Do you- do you know if it's really necessary to have the existence of gods?" The being laughed again. Sable waited.

"My dear, the gods have never been necessary," Sun said. "They were always only meant to represent human emotions, the elements, and the like. We stars on the other hand- very necessary."

Sable's eyes widened, and she paused for another moment before she said, "Wait. Sun... as in the sun?"

"The one and the same," the being said.

Sable sank to her knees, overwhelmed by the new information. The sun. She looked over her shoulder, at the abyss that was just over the grassy hill. The dark abyss that she was always coming back to. Always. She looked up at the Sun.

"So... when you said 'we' stars... What did you mean by that?" Sable asked.

"I mean that once upon a time there was a star named Aleidia," Sun said. "You burned so bright- nearly as bright as I do. That's how we communicated, being so far away. Together we watched my earth a long time. You wanted to become a human."

"But something went wrong," Sun sighed. "One of the goddesses cast a spell, and your two beings crossed paths before anything came to be. So you were granted more than just the life of a human. And for twenty years, I've waited for you to notice me again out here. I have been so lonely."

"Wow..." Sable looked up into the darkness so high up above their heads. "What will happen if I die- what will become of the gods?"

"They will reset and be born again," Sun said. It seemed as if he had witnessed such a thing happen many, many times. But the sun was quite old. "You, on the other hand... Being a star, you would have lived on much longer. You threw it all away for the chance to be a human- and feel love. If you die, you will not return to the sky; you will be gone forever, like a human."

"Oh," Sable nodded. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. "I don't think I'll regret it." She smiled to herself.

"I hope that you will not," Sun said. If it had a mouth, Sable was certain that the being would be smiling. "Was it worth it? Finding and experiencing love?"

Sable looked out again. She could see twinkling lights in the abyss- other stars? She thought about her life up until that point. The past three or so weeks had been hectic, but before that she had lived a good life. She had loved and been loved.

"I've experienced family," she said.

"And what of the boy?" Sun asked- a hint of amusement in its voice.

"Well, that hasn't developed into love yet," Sable laughed too. "Not yet. Have- have other stars become human before?"

The being remained silent for a while before it spoke, "A long time ago. Many times ago. Your boy Conor used to be a star, in fact."

"What?" Sable's eyes widened. The world rippled then, and a wave of dizziness rushed over Sable.

"You mustn't tell him," the being said. "He has forgotten long ago. When he was a human, he could communicate with me in his dreams. Now he has forgotten everything- and it must stay that way."

"Alright, I won't mention it to him," Sable nodded. The world around them rippled again.

"Now you must go back; you do not belong in this world anymore," Sun said. "Good luck, Sable."

She sat up awake in the tent.