Throughout the night, I wrestled with sleep, gently swaying in the hammock as my thoughts roamed freely, attempting to weave together the loose threads into coherent ideas.

The dim glow of Demetros, the smallest of the three moons, cast an eerie ambiance upon us. There had been discussions about it and its trajectory in Dreamland forums, speculating whether it would collide with the planet in due time being likely just a dark asteroid captured by the planet eons ago. It spun along a precarious South-West North-East axis and its surface was veiled in darkness. Unlike its counterparts, it remained invisible during the day, probably due to its dark surface.

In the twin God's religion, Demetros held sway as the God of the Afterworld, with Tenebra as its dutiful servant. It seemed fitting, Demetros being the looming disaster waiting to strike—an extinction event I would hopefully not be there to witness.

Amidst my contemplations, a noise pierced the silence, disrupting my thoughts: someone was stealthily approaching our group.

Glancing at Lynx, I pondered whether he feigned slumber or not. He had the capacity to guard us even in his sleep, yet perhaps in this instance, he didn't perceive the approaching shadow as a threat. It was Elenia—I recognized her silhouette.

I sighed recognizing her. Will a thief be always a thief? I pondered in my mind.

With my eyes half closed I followed her careful steps through our camp. She did seem to have a target, but she approached it in zigzag. She even bowed and collected one of our cups at one moment, and seemed to hesitate whether to take it or not. These were ordinary cups from our world but must be expensive porcelain cups here. In the end, she placed it back. She remained a couple of more moments looming over the unwashed dishes, Ju had said she'd wash them in the morning. I'm not sure if she did not take something from our cutlery.

She then walked further and now approached Mike. Was she going to rob him? Maybe she had seen some shining object in his possession? Hopefully, she would not hurt him!

I shadowmelded and came closer to watch her. As she seemed to have finished her business here and started walking away from our camp, I materialized behind her, caught her neck with one hand, picked a knife from my inventory with the other, and pressed it against her neck.

“Another movement and you are dead!” I whispered in her ear.

She froze, her legs trembling light, but before she said anything a voice resonated in my ears.

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“She hasn't stolen anything, she just placed something in Mike's trousers pocket”

It was Lynx, naturally. When I glanced at him, he still appeared to be asleep, giving no indication that he was the one speaking.

“A tracking device?” I pondered aloud.

“It's a lucky charm,” she replied, her voice trembling.

“A lucky charm?” I questioned. “But why not give it to him directly?”

“To bring luck, it must arrive unexpectedly,” she whispered.

I sighed. I wasn't about to debate the finer points of presenting a lucky charm in the middle of the night. She did not know how lucky she was, I could have hurt her if any of her actions had made me think that she had endangered anyone's life.

As I didn't want her to see me uncloaked behind her, I melded into the shadows once more. However, I forgot to place the knife in the inventory before, so it slipped from my grasp, falling in front of her. I would have scoffed in frustration, but it was impossible in my wispy form.

She made a few hesitant movements, realizing she was free, then glanced around anxiously before spotting the knife on the ground. Turning toward the camp, she also faced Lynx. Had she understood that he had been the one speaking?

“Is this a gift? For me?” she inquired.

I nearly materialized to shout NO, but Lynx nodded, and she bowed to retrieve it. Cradling the knife in both hands close to her heart, she bowed repeatedly toward Lynx, whispering her gratitude. I would have rolled my eyes, but her joy and gratitude over the simple knife were too endearing to warrant any further annoyance.

I materialized next to Lynx and rested on his shoulder.

“Really? A present?” I mumbled, scratching his chin.

“You scared her. She deserved some compensation,” he replied.

“And you give her my knife? I'll miss it in my cutlery!" I protested "She deserved to be scared. Walking through our camp at night? What was she thinking?”

He sighed and shook his head.

“Ah, kids! About that knife, you have another ten of the same kind. She refrained from taking anything, so let her have a small reward.”

“Who's on guard?” I wondered.

“Me. It's my shift,” he answered.

“May I sleep here beside you? You're so comfortable and warm...”

“Sure, but be aware that I might have to move...”

“Mmmm, as long as you come back, that's fine. Let me grab my things...”