here where I didn't want to be."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it didn't work. He wanted me to get mad and fight with him because he sent me here, and it almost worked, but I couldn't stay mad. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I didn't have a reason to be mad anymore."
Cara smiled, obviously understanding where he was going with this.
"I felt bad for him instead of being angry. It wasn't pity exactly, rather it was the first time that I had really thought about what had happened and blamed myself for it. I realized that I felt bad that I had done that to him and that there wasn't anything I could do to make it better." When he looked at Cara, his thoughts brightened and he relaxed. "I apologized to him. He wasn't happy about it, but I wasn't doing it to get him to forgive me. I was doing it because it was the right thing to do and he deserved to hear it from me."
Cara wrapped her arms around him tightly and Egrix hugged her back.
"That's great. That was so brave of you. I'm sure you feel relieved, carrying something like that around must have been heavy. I'm proud of you, Egrix."
Egrix nodded back happily. "I couldn't have done it if I hadn't met you. I was too absorbed in myself before. I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened, but instead I waited all night to say that I'm really glad you're here. In such a short time, you really pulled me out of a dark place. It doesn't feel real." He gave her a deep kiss before sliding her off of his lap and standing up.
"Anyway, let's play some games?" He looked down at her to see her blue diamond eyes sparkling back at him. In one movement she quickly shifted to dig her camera from its bag, turning and snapping a picture of his curious expression before he had time to react.
"Let's do the games in a minute. Please let me take some photos of you." If she hadn't begged, he would have said no, but the way her eyes pleaded made it impossible for him to resist. Instead, the smile on his face grew, and leaned down close to Cara's face.
"What do I get in return?" He gave her a mischievous grin, but the look she exchanged was strict and determined. "Will you grant me a wish when you're done?"
"Yes, I will. I really want some pictures of you, Egrix." She requested of him sincerely, making his heart skip a beat.
"Okay. I've never modeled before though. What should I do."
Cara's smile was bright like the sun. "Let's just get the game set up. It'll be better to do candid shots. People are most beautiful when they aren't trying to be."
Egrix watched Cara fiddle with her camera after saying something so profound and felt his heart beat heavily in his chest.
The two started playing games together again, Cara's camera strap now firmly attached to her neck. Every once in a while she would quietly lift the viewfinder to her eye and snap a picture, evidenced only by the click of the shutter as it captured him. Every time seemed to catch Egrix off guard, which made Cara giggle. Despite his unsteady heartbeat and the feeling of being on edge, he felt happier than he had ever dreamed.
"How did you get good at this so quickly? I beat you every round yesterday!" he whined.
Cara laughed at his pouting. "Practice makes perfect?" She shrugged, her eyes glimmering with pride.
Suddenly, a ping sounded in the room and Egrix went silent.
"Cara, be quiet for a minute. I need to check something." He spoke in a whisper then jogged to a panel beside the pod door. With a touch from his finger, the wall opened to show a hidden console within.
As Cara watched, a screen displayed text in the language Cara had seen Egrix write in several times. As she watched, he moved frantically, jumping from image to image on the screen, with long strings of typing in between. Cara lifted her camera and snapped a picture, noticing her lover's pointy ears quivering.
She stood cautiously, padding over to him as quietly as possible and peeking around his tall frame. The screen showed the inside of the cave, each transition showing a different angle of some section of the cavern. In the upper corner, a red dot blinked repeatedly. Egrix studied the screen, a look of