As Las'Tai crawled out of the cavern she had to take a moment to orientate herself. When she got a sense of up and down, she could see Eirik already moving away at quite a distance, his pace quick and determined. She once more thought over the choice before her. follow Eirik at her own risk, or leave it be and return to the party inside. The doctor had both urged her to follow him but be careful. Jeanette had advised she forget the whole thing, that this was Eirik's private matter.

She quickly made her way down to the ground to follow Eirik. He was walking in the direction of a nearby valley between the mountain ranges. Seemingly familiar with the treacherous path ahead of him he was making very good time. Las'Tai struggled quite a bit more, but that was on account of wanting to be as stealthy as possible. Of course, wearing clothes that covered most of her scales, and the encroaching darkness, helped quite a lot. Terran's, she had discovered, had very poor night vision, though Eirik and a few of the command staff seemed much more capable of maneuvering in the dark.

For about half an hour, she trailed behind him. In the beginning, she thought she could just listen and hear where he was, but for such a large and dense creature compared to her, he was making frighteningly little noise, even encumbered by a backpack and that small barrel he was hauling.

As Eirik came upon the slope into the valley, he changed course slightly, towards a grouping of rocks nearby. in the middle, a campfire had been prepared, more wood was piled up nearby and a small crude table made from tied-together branches was standing off to the side along with a wooden stump that served as a seat.

Carefully moving along the edge of the slope, hidden by the rocks, Las'Tai observed as Eirik put down his backpack, moved the crude table over near the campfire, and placed the barrel on top of it. Then he fished out 4 small frames which turned out to contain pictures and placed them on the table. next to the barrel. A small wireless speaker was next, set up next to the table, away from the campfire. Then a flat rectangular device which he pressed a few times and she could hear that some sort of music had started playing on the speaker.

After setting this up, he lit the campfire and started tending to it until the fire was roaring and embers had started forming in the middle. That's when Eirik pulled out a horn from the backpack and filled it with something from the barrel. He drank the liquid almost aggressively before filling the horn again right away, the second time he sat down on the stump and slowly drank while the darkness closed in on both of them. At some point, Eirik started talking, seemingly to himself, while he gestured towards the pictures now and again.

Using the darkness to her advantage, she crossed the edge to the slope and quickly dashed into cover behind one of the rocks around the fire, while Eirik was filling his horn for the 3rd time. If she wanted to know what this was about, she needed to hear what he was talking about.

She heard Eirik return and sit back down, but he didn't say anything. The silence stretched out as time passed. Eventually, he got up again, and she risked a peek, seeing him getting another drink, before retreating into cover. As he sat down again, she heard him breathe deeply before he started talking. His words were slurred and his way of speaking was... Different, from what it used to be.

"I still can't accept that you are gone. It's been 8 years at this point and not a single word from any of you. Everything and everyone tells me you are dead, that you died after the last mission. But it doesn't feel like you are dead! Mom says the same. She says there is doubt in her heart, so you can't be dead.

Who knows, maybe I am still the youngest, annoying little brother, living in a dream of my own making. Maybe I just need to accept it and move on. But I can't!! I lack the certainty I have always felt when family died." He stopped for a moment, drinking deeply from the horn before sighing again, "It's just so difficult. I needed you, brothers, to keep me in check when I let my emotions get the better of me. To be there when I started doubting myself and second-guessing my own decisions.

But you are gone now. And all I have left are the memories. Memories and rituals. I hope you are getting drunk right now in Valhalla," Reaching into the backpack again, Eirik pulled out a barrel similar to the one he was drinking from," ENJOY SOME OF OUR FAMILY'S FINEST HOMEMADE MEAD BROTHERS!!!" With these words, he threw the barrel into the roaring fire.

As he threw the barrel into the fire, a countless number of embers were knocked into the air, and the wind carried towards her hiding place. One landed on Las'Tai's tail and she gasped at the sudden pain. As soon as the tiny noise left her mouth, Eirik whirled around and almost fell over. Stumbling forward, he started scanning the area with squinted eyes. His whole body was swaying slightly and his eyes were swimming. She could see the immense concentration it took for him to focus through the alcoholic haze he was currently in. Suddenly his eyes locked with her's and he lifted an arm and pointed straight at her.

"Come out Las'Tai" He slurred, "I see you hiding behind that rock!!"

Las'Tai felt her heart sink in her chest as he spoke. How had he seen her?? She was wearing black clothes and there was very little moonlight. He shouldn't have been able to see her in the darkness!! Eirik took another stumbling step forward. "Don't make me get you myself!! I am too drunk for this shit!" His voice sounded.... not angry, but very close to angry. Las'Tai had already figured out that drunk Terrans were extremely unpredictable. They became creatures of pure impulse, heedless of the safety of anyone, including themselves. She slowly rose and moved closer until the fire made her visible.

As she did, Eirik made his way back to the stump and sat down heavily. "Well??" He sounded tired and resigned.

"What do you mean Captain?"

"Out here you call me Eirik! And, well, why did you decide to follow me? I may not have said it, but it should be obvious that was something private."

"Like the message I received??" Las'Tai retorted,

".......That is a very good counterargument.... FUCK!"

"I did it because I want to understand, Eirik. What is it that makes you the way you are?? You command the loyalty of your men despite acting like anything other than a leader, you fight like a warrior trained from birth, but carry yourself like a carefree idiot and you have this strange notion of free choice that seems to be more important than life to you. I wanted to know how or why you became like this."

"A better reason than many I could think of myself. But the answer is not that simple. Are you sure you want to hear this?? It is quite a long tale and we would be here for many hours, Las'Tai."

"I am sure Eirik. I want to know."

Eirik stared into the flames for a long moment before emptying his horn and slamming it down on the table.

"It all boils down to the last mission I completed in our war against the Plyxii, but it starts at the very beginning of my story," He began.