In her dreams, she was a slave again, hiding from her "stepfather", reliving many of the worst moments of that life. The woman who had cared for her had been kidnapped and forced to marry an evil man, and both she and the young terigon had been subject to his whim. At least, until the poor woman died. Strangely, Darthur treated Selien with far more care than he ever had the woman he'd taken to wife. On one of his trips, he even brought her back an egg. Refusing to say where he'd gotten it, he told her only two things: that she would have to show it who was in charge, if she was to keep it; and that even if she ever found out where the Tralvisk was from, she was never to go there. As she was still young, and generally did what the man said to keep him from hitting her as he had her mother, she agreed. And within a day or so, the egg hatched, and the small reptile inside took a day or two to decide that the young female caring for him was his superior. Once he had, he did not leave her side. She named him Brenthar. Her worst dreams were of the last night she spent under Darthur's roof. One of his many enemies had attacked the manor, and killed nearly everyone in the household. The pet Darthur had given her saved her life, and when she found the man, he was nearly dead. But he lived long enough to tell her why he had treated her and her mother the way he had, and why he had gone to the trouble of obtaining the Tralvisk for her. In those dreams, she'd get to his side, and demand to know why. When she woke, she was shaking, and she'd remember the way it truly happened. Despite his treatment of her mother, he'd been decent to her, and the only parent she'd had for several years. And unlike him, she had a good heart; she'd tried to save him. He'd waved her off, telling her the true reasons: he'd only kidnapped her mother to get to her. He had seen her as something to collect; and he'd gotten the Tralvisk to keep her safe from anyone who may have tried to steal her away from him. He may have said more, but the smoke from the then-burning building stole what little breath he had left, and Brenthar had pulled her away, dragging her from the building. Her real life had started then; out on her own for the first time, she had to come up with ways of feeding herself and Brenthar. The tralvisk did his fair share; more often than not, those first few months, they survived on his kills. When they set out on their own, Selien remembered only a handful of years, and Brenthar was two years old. By the time she managed to get off the world she'd been taken to, she'd spent four years entirely on her own. Most of the money she used to get passage offworld had been gotten selling parts of the animals they hunted, and the occasional gems she'd found in the wilderness. She had fewer nightmares these days; something about her friend, Magdenai, kept them away. At least when they were together, that is. Having woken from one for the third time this week, Selien was really beginning to regret agreeing to seperate missions. As she sat up, Brenthar roused and raised his head to look at his mistress. She scratched his neck affectionately, and he relaxed. She smiled; the tralvisk was very tuned into her moods. She was glad this job was finished; now she could meet back up with Magdenai. No more solo jobs. Checking the time, she decided it was close enough to morning to get up. Slipping from the bed, she stepped over her companion carefully, and into the bathing room. She wanted a bath to help wash away the bad memories. Soaking in the tub, she thought about her past. She wished she could remember anything prior to her time with Maarla; her "mother" had told her once that she'd been asked to help the terigon begin her new life, and that Selien may never remember her early days. She hadn't been given much more detail, a brief overview of her species, and her place of birth. Selien hadn't been with her for more than a few weeks when they were both kidnapped by Darthur. She shook her head, breaking that particular train of thought. If she'd remembered what she was then, she may have been able to save Maarla. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away. She didn't have time to feel sorry for herself; she had too much to do. As soon as things were open for the day, she was getting off this planet. It was long past time to meet up with Magdenai. This job had taken far too long; hopefully, Magdenai hadn't given her up for dead! Stepping from the tub, she quickly dried herself off and reentered the main room. Brethar was sitting up by the bed, staring at the bathing room in disdain. After his last experience with the tub, he'd refused to go near the room, and always seemed anxious when Selien took her baths. She patted his head to reassure him and he relaxed. Slightly. "Silly thing, I'm not going to bathe you again. Not unless you get filthy again." She shook her head, and looked around the room. Most of her belongings were already packed up; she hadn't bought any souvenirs here. There hadn't been much that struck her interest. Not that she'd had tons of time to shop. But the job was finally done, and she could do what she wanted again. Which did not include shopping here! She intended to be on the very next transport to Star City, regardless of cost. And given the amount she'd earned on this job, she could probably afford just about any fare. She made herself a quick breakfast; she'd been in her bath for a sufficiently long time, and it was nearly time for things to open. Finishing packing took very little time once she'd eaten, and she shouldered her pack and left the room, Brenthar pacing easily at her side. Heading straight to the shuttle station, she booked passage on the first available flight to Star City. It was leaving in a little over an hour, thankfully, and she was more than happy to wait the few minutes before she was allowed to board. Brenthar almost caused a problem; they needed a special seat for quadrupeds, and the Tralvisk objected to the attendants trying to strap him in. Finally, Selien had to do it herself, with the attendant giving her instructions. Afterwards, though, everything went smoothly. She was on her way to Star City; hopefully Magdenai was still there! Continued