Dusk falls on the land that Ajax and Shaula walk. The sky is a dim blue with a few clouds in sight.

Ajax and Shaula continue walking forward through the mostly flat landscape before them. On this wild grass plain, Ajax and Shaula notice the number of animals around them have gotten fewer and fewer.

They can see a group of raptors in the far distance, a new group different from the ones they had been spending their day with.

The raptors don’t spot them, they just keep running in search of food or perhaps a place to rest.

Eventually, night arrives with an overcast black sky. Not a star in sight.

Shaula creates a bright fire from the tips of her fingers to illuminate their way forward. It burns brightly like a welders torch.

After walking for one more hour in this eerily lit darkness, Ajax and Shaula spot a slight hill with a tree on it. A lone tree in the plains, its branches moving with the wind.

The tree is a sapling compared to the large leaf, tall trees they’ve encountered in the forest far behind them.

“Let’s wait there, Ajax. I don’t feel like walking anymore...”

“You’re not feeling tired, right?”

“Not at all. Not drowsy at all, my feet don’t even hurt... just want to relax for a bit, no motion. It doesn’t feel very safe to move in the dark like this.”

“You want to sleep here? How is that going to work? I think we should still keep an eye out for predators... even if the raptors aren’t a threat, there might be other large monsters we haven’t met yet. Maybe some that come out at night?”

“You go to sleep first, I’ll wake you up in about five hours and then I’ll go to sleep. Or... how about you carry me when I go to sleep?”

“...I’m not averse to that, but I can’t imagine you’d get a good sleep while I’m walking.”

“You know, whenever I absorb energy from you, my mind shoots up to eleven like I just had a hit of coke or something...”

“You’ve had coke before?”

“No, dipshit... fine, then like an espresso shot. I just mean that I don’t think it’d be possible to sleep if I was being held by you. Sigh. Let’s just sit down for now.”

“Alright.”

Ajax and Shaula walk up the slight hill and sit against the tree. The bark of the tree is particularly soft, much softer than would be suggested from its rough appearance.

The surface of the tree trunk isn’t dry and tough like trees back home.

Or... maybe I just never found a tree like this on earth? It’s like a pillow surrounding a telephone poll...

Shaula enjoys the comfort of the tree against her back. Ajax sits to her right. She looks over at him. His fatigued expression...

Today has been hell for us... so much happened to him...

Shaula reaches over and grabs Ajax’s head.

“Uh... Shaula?”

She pulls his head and torso by his neck to lay on his left side. His head rests against her thighs.

“Shaula... what’s up?”

“Just relax... When was the last time I gave you a lap pillow, I wonder?”

“The first time was... December, right?”

“Weird you know the month...”

“F-Fine... the last time was I think... last week? My mom thinks it’s weird, you know...”

“That’s why I try to do it while she’s away at work. Rita doesn’t even notice! Your mom doesn’t get how we work as friends...”

Ajax lays on Shaula’s thighs, looking forward past her knees to the grass around them. He tries very hard not to look up at her large breasts.

That was what had embarrassed him the first time Shaula gave him a lap pillow...

She’s always been weird with intimate actions like these...

Shaula and Ajax rest. Ajax tries to sleep so he can take over Shaula’s shift next. But he doesn’t feel the urge to. Not just because he’s conscious of Shaula’s luscious thighs but also...

It feels like I have too much energy to sleep... I guess that’s the downside of these powers? But there’s no reason for me to sleep now anyways... I’d rather talk to Shaula or keep walking or something...

He lays down with his eyes closed for about forty-five minutes trying to sleep to no avail.

“Hey Shaula...”

“Hm? I thought you were asleep?”

“Can’t.”

“Should I sleep first then?”

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“Do you feel sleepy at all?”

“...No.”

“How about we just talk then?”

“Sigh, Alright. No point in doing nothing here.”

“Can I get up now?”

“No, just lay here for now...”

“...Ok. Maybe my mom was right...”

Ajax’s breath catches. The realization again hits him. He won’t be able to see his mom for... many years... His family. His father, his mother, Rita. His grandparents...

Every place he’s every visited with them, every sunset and sunrise with them... waking up in his own bed... making breakfast for Rita; all of it gone for what might as well be forever.

“Ajax?”

“N-no... i-it’s nothing...”

“...O-Ok.”

Shaula doesn’t press him further. She can tell what’s wrong.

Another topic. Another topic. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Deal with it later. Don’t show weakness in front of her. She’s here with you. You’re not alone. You’re not alone...

Ajax gets up from Shaula’s lap and sits beside her against the trunk of the tree. He looks across the plain before him.

Sigh.

Shaula realizes that there is very little she can do to get him out of his current traumatic state. She wishes to help him through it. What he needs is a friend to treat him like everything’s ok... and to be there for him when he starts to cry.

That’s what Shaula believes.

“Ajax... I think we should talk about something...”

“...Hm? What?”

“I think we need to have a backstory for when we meet other people...”

“...Yeah, you’re right... What do I need to do for that?”

“How about a fake name and a fake past? That should be the first step.”

“Ok... Do you have a fake name in mind for yourself?”

“Sydney Halifax.”

“What the fuck?”

“What? I’ve always had that as my fake name...”

“Never heard you say that, Shaula... Do I want to know where you’ve used ‘Sydney Halifax’ before?”

“Probably not.”

“Shaula, I don’t think a name like that would work.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It’s a name from our world, right? If they’re going to be looking for us, it would be a dead giveaway if the names are foreign.”

“Hm... Yeah, good point.”

“I don’t think you need a last name either. In a medieval society like this, I think we can only pretend to be poor or working class people. This seems like a medieval world, right?”

“Yeah, from what I gathered, that’s what makes the most sense.”

“So a last name could mean we’re a land owning middle class or noble family. That’s a tell, a dead giveaway. At the very least, we should introduce ourselves with first name only and if they ask for a last name, just don’t tell them for the sake of ‘privacy’ or whatever...”

“Right... medieval social rules... Didn’t think I’d have to consider any of this when I woke up.”

Shaula looks over to Ajax. He sits in silence for a few seconds thinking of a name to himself.

“Hmm... a name pops out in my head... for me I think I’ll call myself Aegis.”

“What made you think of that?”

“I don’t know... it just sounds right.”

Ajax has an understanding of what sounds correct for this world. Unknown to Ajax, the language crystal he was given when waking up in this world allows him to understand much more than just what words mean what things.

It also gives him a new sensibility of what names sound nice to the people of this world. Much like how ‘cellar door’ sounds aesthetically pleasing to English speakers, the same can be said for ‘Aegis’ in this world.

In Omicron, Aegis is a common name like John or Smith.

“Actually it does sound right. That’s so weird.”

“Think of a name that sounds right and I’ll give you my review of it.”

“Alright, Ajax. Hmm... Donna?”

“No.”

“Elise?”

“Try a name that sounds like your real first name. That way it’ll be easier for you to respond to its call.”

“Uh... Shreyl?”

“...hm. Yes. Yes! That’s a great name!”

“Alright, good. So I’m Shreyl and you’re Aegis.”

“Yeah. Shake on it.”

Ajax and Shaula shake hands at their newly chosen names. They try their best not to consider the fact that they have to hide their identities to live in this world peacefully.

“Ok, Aegis... now... backstory.”

“Alright, Shreyl. By the way, I still prefer Ajax when we’re alone.”

“Yeah, me too. Shreyl sounds nice but it’s just not Shaula.”

“Hm... For backstory...”

Ajax and Shaula spend about an hour crafting a backstory together. After thinking about some alternative histories, they settle for the most realistic option.

They wish to be identified as childhood friends trying to make it away from their original village deep in the woods, but got lost in the wilderness. They can keep details like how far they’ve traveled vague.

Nobody would suspect that they’ve actually run hundreds of kilometres in a single day for example.

Ajax and Shaula continue talking for hours into the night. Then they relax together, holding each other with arms around each other’s shoulders.

They look up at the sky. Beautiful. The overcast has vanished. There is no city light so no light pollution mars the star scape before them.

It looks beautiful. Neither of them are familiar with constellation patterns so they can’t really see a lot of difference between this new night sky and the night sky of their home.

Ajax and Shaula sit and talk with each other for many hours after night falls. No feeling of drowsiness hits them.

Dawn arrives.

“Alright, enough rest... let’s head out.”

“We didn’t sleep at all you know... Man... I just don’t feel it even a little.”

“One day without sleep isn’t going to hurt us. Desperate times call for paradigm shifts.”

“Alright. You want to start running?”

“Something else first... have you... felt the need to eat? Or drink?”

“No... wow, I didn’t even notice it. Wait... how long has it been since I pissed last?”

“The fuck should I know? You certainly didn’t do it while I was walking with you.”

“If you’re feeling thirsty, I think I can condense water on my hands with my power for you?”

“No... I don’t need it. I don’t feel hunger. Or thirst. Ajax... there was something else I want to talk about.”

“What?”

“Did you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“You were on my lap for a long time, you didn’t notice it?”

“Again, notice what?”

“How long do you think you were trying to sleep while on my lap?”

“About... a half hour? I think...”

“Felt more like forty five minutes to an hour to me...”

“What about it though?”

“Did you... did you feel me... breath?”

“...Huh?”

“You didn’t know I wasn’t breathing?”

“How long were you holding your breath? Your legs still felt warm so obviously I didn’t feel anything wrong...”

“At first I was holding my breath so you weren’t disturbed by my body while you tried to sleep on my lap.”

“Ok...”

“I tried to see how long I could hold my breath after a while. You know that feeling you get when you hold your breath? Like your lungs begging for air? The lightheadedness from holding your breath too long? What is that, like, carbon dioxide poisoning?”

“Yeah... like when you’re drowning you mean?”

“Yeah... I didn’t feel any of it. Not even the beginning of it.”

“So... how long were you holding your breath for?”

“Did you notice my breathing?”

“Wait... so... the entire time...”

“I was consciously holding my breath for as long as I could. I would have kept going if you hadn’t gotten up.”

“So what... are trying to tell me here?”

“What the fuck do you think!?”

Shaula acts both excited and terrified. This is information she didn’t want to talk to Ajax about willy nilly.

“So, we don’t need to eat, we don’t need to drink. We don’t need to piss or shit. We heal from the worst of injuries. We don’t even need to breath. Large animals, literal apex predators fear the sight of us. And... we can no longer feel any heat or cold of any intensity. None of it. Ajax... what do you think we are?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you remember? He gave us his blood. He spilled his blood so we would be safe here. God did that... You know what I think? I think... I think he made us into... I think we’re... divine creatures... I think, and this is just my theory, that... we’re like... angels... or gods...”